The Millionaire's Forever (10 page)

There had to be a way he could make her father face what he’d done and yet spare Olivia from being harmed by the revelation.

Getting to his feet, Mason carried the envelope with its contents with him to the wall safe. Punching in his code, he swung the door open and shoved the envelope inside. He didn’t have to act on it that very second. As he’d learned before, timing was everything.

…

When he arrived home that evening, Olivia thought Mason seemed preoccupied. Probably busy thinking of other ways he could ruin her life. “I made a pizza,” she offered, her hand stroking the head of the Great Dane. She wanted to talk about the file he had on her father, but she wanted to ease into it calmly, not let her emotions push her into saying something she might regret later.

He paused in the middle of removing his tie and quirked a brow at her. “You made a pizza?”

“Yes. I dialed the number for the delivery service. They brought it out here, I put it on a plate and heated it back up. I made a pizza.”

“Maybe later. I’m going to change my clothes and get a workout in first.”

His tone was so neutral, so dismissive that it ate at Olivia. Her mother used to laugh and call her the “fixer” and on occasion “the mediator” because Olivia couldn’t stand for there to be tension between herself and another person. Even if there was an issue that couldn’t be resolved, she was a firm believer that two people could still manage to get along.

But this might be the exception. There was no way she was going to be able to get along with the man trying to hurt her father. Mason might not like her father, but he didn’t know him like she did.

He didn’t see her father as the man who’d fought tirelessly for justice for people who’d been victims of a crime. Or as the man who’d taught her to ride a bicycle. As the one who’d tried his best to help her find a prom dress or who’d walked the floor worrying when she’d broken her wrist jumping off a trampoline.

“Let me up, Red.” She gently pushed the dog’s head out of her lap. Leaving her shoes in front of the sofa, Olivia walked barefoot to the room set up at the rear of the home that housed enough exercise equipment that it could qualify as a mini gym. She arrived at the doorway just as Mason peeled off his shirt. She inhaled sharply at the harshness of his scars, remembering how they’d felt beneath her fingers as she’d urged him to drive deeper into her.

He turned at the sound of her gasp, the dark depths of his eyes a magnet that drew her in. “Ugly, aren’t they?”

Pressing a hand against her abdomen, Olivia said, “That’s not what made me gasp. It makes my heart hurt to think of what you must have gone through.” Advancing into the room, she moved around him until she was facing his back. Slowly, she reached out and with her fingertips traced the lines of scars. There had to be over a dozen of them. Some were longer than the others were, but all of them were ragged, raised, and angry-looking.

She touched the scars again, letting her fingertips linger over the outline of the tattoo. It was three heads of a dragon with the circular bodies intertwined and where the bodies joined, the tattoo formed sharp angles. Each of the heads was black with only a small sliver of white color for the eyes. “What does this represent?” she asked.

“Strength,” he said in a clipped tone. “Three dragons are for the three of us who made it out of the facility.”

Olivia opened her hand, laying her palm flat against the design. “Who did the tattoo?”

“A traveling gypsy tattoo artist.”

“Having it done over the scars must have hurt.”

“Like hell,” he said.

“Then why have it put there?”

He turned to look at her. “To prove I was strong enough and courageous enough to take it.”

Olivia swallowed. He sounded like a warrior. If she weren’t still mad at him, she would press her lips to every inch of the scars, but he probably wouldn’t appreciate the gesture. He seemed tense, his face unreadable, his heart unreachable. She suspected he’d suffered far more than she knew and as a result, had locked his heart away. Even though she was beginning to have small doubts about the part her father had played in Mason’s conviction, her father wasn’t well, and she had to protect him.

“I want to talk about that file you have on my father.”

“What about it?”

“I only skimmed it. I’d like to read it more carefully.”

“Someday, maybe.” He turned away from her and indicated a weight machine. “Now unless you want to finish what we started in my office, I’d like to get to this.” When the doorbell pealed, his gaze went past her. “Expecting someone?”

“Beth is coming over for a little while.”

“I told you she was welcome to stay here.”

“She took you up on your offer to stay in a luxury suite instead because she’s hoping her boyfriend, who’s stationed at Great Lakes, might be able to join her. We’d cramp her style if she stayed here.” At that, Olivia excused herself and went to let Beth in.

Giving a low whistle, Beth turned in a slow circle as her eyes took in the interior of the house. “Gorgeous house, gorgeous furnishings, gorgeous man. Must be hard for you to go slumming like this.”

“Extremely, but I’m doing my best to manage.” Olivia led the way into the kitchen and retrieved the pizza from the refrigerator. She popped a slice onto a plate knowing that Beth ate her pizza cold. Sliding it across the counter to her friend, she peered into the refrigerator again and said, “We have lemonade, tea, soda, juice, and the list goes on.”

“You said ‘we.’” Beth pointed out as she hopped up onto a stool.

Olivia pulled her head out of the refrigerator and eyed Beth. “So?”

“So that was a couple ‘we.’ As in you and Mason together playing house.” Beth wagged her eyebrows.

“We’re not. Now what do you want to drink?”

“Water.” Beth’s eyes widened and she swallowed the bite of pizza. “Oh my God, Liv, no.”

“No, what?” Olivia handed over a bottled water.

“You can’t even look at me.”

Reluctantly, Olivia looked at her best friend. “I had sex with Mason and I shouldn’t have. He’s out to destroy my father.”

“You slept with Mason? How do you know he’s out to destroy your father?”

Olivia explained about seeing the envelope.

“Liv, you’ve got to be careful. Especially with someone like Mason. Granted, he’s easy on the eyes and no doubt shows you the time of your life in the bedroom. When it’s all said and done, however, he’s the kind of guy who’s not afraid to crush whoever gets in the way of what he wants. Besides that, you said he only wants one thing from you.”

Olivia settled on the stool beside Beth. “Two things, actually. The land and my body. Aside from what he’s trying to do to my father, I do feel a bit sorry for him because of all he’s been through.”

“So what? You want to try to save him the way you used to do with small animals growing up?”

“No, but something doesn’t add up. I think I need to confront my father about the night of the fire.”

“Have you lost your mind? Your father—” Beth bit off her words.

“My father what?”

“Your father is trying to recuperate. If you go in demanding answers, what if it causes him to have a setback?”

“I do want to protect him, but his therapist said he’s stronger than he’s letting on. I think he can handle it.”

“What if you don’t like what you discover?” Beth asked quietly.

“My only other option is to live a life of possible half truths. I want to know what happened that night, and I think he can tell me.” Olivia bit her fingernail and then stopped. She hated that habit, which cropped up whenever she felt tense. “I have to know.” Nodding her head, making the decision, she said, “At the end of the week, I’ll fly back and talk to my father.”

“Listen to me, Liv, being attracted to a man like Mason is one thing. What if you find out that he really was innocent? I know you. You have a soft heart. You’ll empathize with him, ache for him even more, and that’s dangerous ground. You’ll start to care and the next thing you know, you’ll be in love with him.”

Olivia wanted to laugh it off, but couldn’t. She could see that the coldness he sometimes gave off was a mask designed to hide who he really was and how deeply he’d been hurt, and that tugged at her heart, but his heart would never be hers. He’d said so. Besides, at the end of six weeks, they’d part ways and she’d be fine. She shut off the whisper that told her she was lying to herself. Deciding she needed to stop thinking about Mason, Olivia said, “Don’t forget I have a call set up tomorrow with the producer of the show
My Dream Wedding
. So good things happening there.”

Mason, wearing tight jeans and a T-shirt, his hair wet from a shower, entered the kitchen and headed to the refrigerator. He brushed by Olivia and reached past her to grab a bottled water. After an offhand good-night to her and Beth, he left.

“And I like to wear stilettos and perform in strip clubs,” Beth said.

Olivia’s head swiveled back. “Sorry?”

“I
knew
you weren’t listening to me. Mason walks into the room and he’s all you can see.” Beth slid from the stool. “I asked if you wanted me in on the call tomorrow or not.”

“Of course,” Olivia said, feeling chagrined that she’d not only missed what Beth had said but that Beth had guessed her thoughts. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She walked her friend to the door, where the limousine waited to take Beth back to the hotel. After waving her friend off, Olivia closed the door and turned to head back toward the kitchen to stack the dishes they’d used in the dishwasher. She turned around to grab a plate, then froze.

Mason stood near her wearing only his blue jeans.

Chapter Ten

Disappointment warred with desire. Mason was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t stay away from her. But worse, now that he was aware that he was beginning to care more than he should, he needed to keep his distance. Caring about Olivia wasn’t part of the revenge he’d planned.

Chief Carter was supposed to pay for what he’d done as soon as Mason discovered the proof. That was the deal. He would get the information, share it with Cole and Jake, and the three of them would confront the chief. Olivia would sell him the land and the building would come down. Everything would be perfect. Instead, like a damn teenager panting after his first sexual encounter, he’d fumbled.

He hadn’t called Cole or Jake immediately after learning the information like he’d said he’d would. All because of a woman. No, not any woman.
The
woman. Olivia Carter had always managed to tie him up in knots, and he didn’t like it. He was a man who always got what he wanted. He wanted Olivia. He wanted the land, but she wasn’t backing down and he sure as hell wasn’t giving in. The stalemate on all counts was driving him insane.

His gaze took in the clinging gray cotton shorts she wore and the football jersey T-shirt that ended just below the waistband of the shorts. Her womanly curves hadn’t stopped calling his name since he’d made love to her.

“I have something to admit and I probably shouldn’t say it,” she said.

Her words caught his attention and his heart hammered in his chest.
What had she done
? “Go on.”

“I’m starting to care and nothing that I do seems to stop it. It’s like a runaway train that I can’t catch. I hate that I care.”

Her words made his mouth go dry. “Same here.”

“Really?” Her eyebrows arched.

He nodded. “It’s awful, isn’t it?”

“The worst. If we’re not careful, both of our plans will get shot to hell and we’ll end up in love and married.”

They laughed at the same time. Then their laughter faded and their eyes locked.

She dropped her gaze to his bare chest and Mason caught the raw desire in her eyes. His groin burned for her sweetness. Waiting, he watched as her eyes darkened, as emotions flitted across her face. Indecision. Desire. Determination. He didn’t know which one of them moved first, but their bodies came together with a force of passion he poured into a kiss. He wanted to feel her squirm beneath his raging desire, to watch her eyes widen as he made her his.

In a tangle of arms and legs, Mason walked them backward toward the sofa, never taking his lips from hers. He drank deeply, knowing that before the night was over, he would taste all her secrets again, would know her body and play it as skillfully as a musician played a much-loved instrument.

When her hand dropped to touch the button on his jeans, Mason groaned and ripped his mouth away from hers. He seared kisses along the side of her neck and plunged his hands into her shirt to feel her breasts. His fingers found her already-hardened nipples, and he played them between his thumb and fingers.

Heat sizzled, singing through his body, and Mason felt as if his hard-on would rip through his jeans. He wanted to take her in every position possible, to love her body with his hands, with his mouth, with his hunger. All he could think about was her. Touching her. Being with her. His gaze followed the actions of his hands as he stroked her nipples. She touched his erection as she unzipped his jeans and he hissed. “Easy, Olivia.”

“Technically, I’m still angry with you,” she whispered.

“I know.” He kissed her gently, then with skillful moves, he removed her shirt and seconds later, her bra. She pushed herself forward, pressing her breasts against the bareness of his chest. He took her mouth under his again, thrusting his tongue inside, matching the hungry moans she made.

She gave him back as good as she got, and when she gently sucked on the side of his tongue, Mason fought the urge to lower her to the floor and take her right there. Lowering his hands, he lifted her, cupping her buttocks, pressing the apex of her body against his insistent need for her.

Olivia moved her hands to his body, stroking until Mason knew he had to stop her. On the verge of overheating from the intensity of their passion, he throbbed with a need that would no longer be denied. He decided he would take Olivia all damn night long and then still not be tired of having her. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Olivia.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “You’re sure this is what you want?”

“Yes.” She kissed him back and proceeded to tell him exactly what she did want.

“Well then, let’s—” Someone pounded on the door. Hard. Relentless. Mason paused, then cursed. “Damn.”

She quickly stooped and clutched her clothes against her bare body. Her eyes were wide. Her lips swollen. “Wow. The universe keeps saving me from myself.”

“I’ll get rid of whoever it is.”

“Don’t bother. This shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry. I’m going to bed. Alone.” At that she turned and hurried from the room.

Waiting until the coast was clear, Mason zipped his pants, tried to think thoughts that would calm his body down, and then opened the door.

Jake and Cole were on the porch. Both looking angry as hell.

Jake snarled, “Are we interrupting anything?”

Because shredding Olivia’s reputation wasn’t something he had any intention of doing, Mason didn’t respond. He waved his friends in. “What the hell are the two of you doing here?”

Without being asked, both men walked into the kitchen and took a seat on the stools. “The funny thing about an investigation is when you start investigating, people talk. So when I heard you’d had your attorney digging into Chief Carter’s life, I waited to hear from you about the results,” Jake said.

“Not a damned word,” Cole said.

“We know you got the report. So what was in it?” Jake demanded.

Mason took out a bottled water, offered one to his friends, and leaned back against the counter. “Chief Carter knew less than six months into our sentence that we were innocent. He was told that it was Seth and Bobby who’d started the fire. They framed me to get back at me for kicking Seth’s ass that night. He included the two of you and Adam simply because you were my friends. Chief Carter paid the witness to continue keeping quiet.”

Excited, Jake slapped his hand on the counter. “Then we have enough to bury his ass.”

“We do, but we can’t move on it yet. I need a few weeks,” Mason said quietly. His words caused an instant reaction.

Jake got to his feet, his face a mask of fury. “Tell me you’re not waiting to move on this just so you can have sex with Olivia. Did you agree not to go after her father so she’d give it up?”

Eyes narrowing, Mason said softly, “Don’t question my integrity. Or hers.”

“Are you still going after the land or is that on the bargaining table now as well?” Cole demanded.

“Everything is still on,” Mason said. Before they acted, he wanted to find a way to protect Olivia from any fallout once the media found out what her father had done. Jake shook his head. “Don’t you let us down. Adam deserves justice, and we’re the only voice he’s got now.”

…

The next morning, after Olivia and Beth got off the call with the producer of
My Dream Wedding
, they couldn’t stop smiling.

“Do you know what this means?” Beth asked, her eyes shining with joy.

“It means the big bucks and it also means a lot of hard work.” Olivia looked over the notes she’d taken during the conversation with the producer and paused to press her fingers against her brow. She hadn’t felt well since last night and her throat felt like it was on fire. She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something.

Doing her best to shrug it off, she said, “We’re talking about at least thirteen designs per seasons of the show.” The news was more than good. Once she signed the contract and got the advance retainer up front, she could afford to pay for her father’s care an entire year in advance. That would take so much weight off her shoulders. She sniffed and cleared her throat.

Beth frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Sore throat. Probably nothing.”

Looking guilty, Beth said, “I was around my nephew all week last week and he had strep throat. You better go get checked out. Strep isn’t something to play with. My cousin had it as a child and my aunt thought it was just a cold. It turned out to be scarlet fever.”

“I’ll see a doctor just to be sure. I’d hate to spread that around.”

“Since you’re so obviously incapacitated, why don’t I drive the BMW Mason leased for you and take you to the doctor?”

“I’ll call a cab. I’m not taking anything from him. I already told him that.” Olivia’s anger flared again when she recalled his high-handed actions, and she knew it was a defense mechanism. She hated that she could still be angry with him and yet want him as much as she did.

“You might get the cab driver sick,” Beth said.

Olivia groaned. “You just want to drive the car.”

Putting a hand against her chest, Beth said, “Now that hurts. I’m only thinking of you.”

“Fine. Let me call Bonnie and get her recommendation for a doctor in the area.”

Three hours later, Olivia had a positive strep test and a prescription for an antibiotic.

“You don’t worry about a thing,” Beth said as she drove them back to Mason’s home. “I’ll handle the meetings and phone calls this week and then I’ll fly out with you at the end of the week for Dad Armageddon.”

“Don’t make me laugh. I’m not an invalid, and the doctor did say that I wouldn’t be contagious once I’d been on the antibiotic for at least twenty-four hours.”

“Maybe we should use the place Mason set up for the business. Just for the week until you’re better.”

“No. Once I give on that issue, it’ll be too easy to give on others. Besides, I like taking care of myself. I don’t need a man to do that.”

“Trust me, I can think of other uses you might have for Mason,” Beth said.

So could Olivia. In great, vivid detail. “Until I get better, just hold the meetings in a conference room of one of the hotels.”

…

Three days later, Mason paced his office. He should feel ecstatic. Satisfied. The ball was slowly rolling. Cole and Jake were on their way to his office to pick up copies of the proof he had. So why the hell did he feel so damned twisted up inside? Like he was setting Olivia up?

The verbal foreplay was still going on with her, but they hadn’t shared so much as a touch since the night she’d said the universe had saved her. Whatever the hell that meant. She still acted angry with him for leasing an office for her and adamantly refused to accept that or anything else from him. His glance strayed to the desk and he remembered her being splayed against it, his body pushing against hers. He wanted her, but more than that, he wanted to spend time with her. To talk with her, to laugh with her.

“Mason, Cole and Jake are here.”

Mason lunged for the phone like it was a lifeline. “Send them in.”

As soon as his friends came in and settled on the sofa, Mason said, “Once we start this, there’s no backing out.”

His friends shared a glance.

“We have no intention of backing out,” Jake said.

Cole hit the desk with his fist. “He’s not talking about us, he’s still talking about himself.”

Jake’s mouth dropped open and he snapped it closed. Eyes narrowed, he said, “Please tell me you’re not about to blow this. I won’t let you. I’ve waited too long.”

“I’m not going to blow it. Once I have a conversation with the district attorney and we give him a copy of the proof we have, an investigation will begin and it can’t be undone.” Mason ran his fingers through his hair and walked to the windows that gave him a panoramic view of Chicago.

“That’s what we want,” Cole said. “That’s what you want, too, right?”

Turning, Mason faced his friend. “Of course.” He pushed aside the thought of Olivia. He would do whatever he had to do to make sure that her business didn’t suffer because of him revealing her father’s past actions.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you and Olivia, but you need to let that go,” Jake said. “Have you forgotten that she could have cleared us all and didn’t? Her silence damned us to that hell just like her father did.”

For the quiet space of a few minutes, Mason stared at his friends. “Whether she could have cleared us or not is debatable. She doesn’t remember what happened that night.”

“Then you should tell Olivia that you saved her from being raped,” Jake said.

“What good will telling her now do? It won’t make a difference,” Mason said quietly.

“You always did have a thing about protecting her,” Cole said.

“Instead, you should have looked out for my brother,” Jake said.

Mason inhaled sharply and he did his best not to snap back in anger. “I would have died for any one of you, the same way you would have died for me. Though we weren’t related, I considered Adam my brother just as much as you did.”

Dropping his gaze, Jake said, “You’re right. My bad.” He raised his eyes. “We’re so close to justice I can almost taste it. I don’t want anything to screw that up. I promised Adam.”

“We all made that promise,” Mason said quietly.

The men were silent for a moment. Mason looked at his friends, took a breath, and said, “Then it begins.” He reached for the phone.