The Trouble with Valentine’s (16 page)

‘There should have been kissing.’

‘There was kissing.’

‘The
other
kind of kissing. I think we skipped a step.’

‘Trust me, we skipped several.’ Nick turned to look at her, still mostly naked and so was she. To his credit he kept his eyes on her face. ‘And I broke the rules with you. Again. So much for not getting involved,’ he muttered, almost beneath his breath. ‘Why I
ever
thought I could get away with not getting caught up in you … It’s not as if I don’t have experience when it comes to wayward
women. I have more than sufficient. I should have taken one look at you and ran. And if you
ever
have unprotected sex with a stranger again I am going to lock you up in a tower and swallow the key.’

‘You’re not a stranger,’ she said. ‘I know your mother.
And
you put a clean bill of health certificate in the fact file you sent me. Which I appreciated, by the way. You, on the other hand, neglected to ask me for one, which to my way of thinking makes
you
the one in need of a tower, a lock and a key, not me. You’re reckless.’

Nick opened his mouth to protest and must have thought the better of it and ran a hand roughly over his face instead. ‘I
know
I have a brain,’ he murmured. ‘It’s in here somewhere.’

‘About the kissing …’ she began tentatively and got an incredulous look for her trouble. ‘Kissing implies a certain involvement in one another’s physical and mental wellbeing, right? And seeing as we appear to be somewhat invested in one another’s welfare … I’m thinking why
not
allow more kissing in private if that’s what we want? And hugging, and regular everyday holding. Because I’m feeling a little fragile. It’s not as if one little hug is going to
hurt
.’

Nick reached out and drew her into his arms and,
with sexual appetites momentarily sated, Hallie finally got the kiss she’d been missing. The sweet and easy motion of Nick’s mouth on hers. The now familiar taste of him to savour on her tongue and the gentle slide of his hands through her hair.

Oh, she liked this step.

‘Better?’ he murmured against her lips.

‘Much.’

So he drew her closer and his mouth stayed slow and gentle as he kissed her some more.

Jasmine didn’t know whether waiting to ambush Kai as he left her father’s office the following morning and headed for his own living quarters over the garage was a good idea or not. The last time she’d cornered a man he’d taken one horrified look at her and fled. She’d learned from her mistakes, however, and adjustment number one was that this wasn’t Kai’s room. Adjustment number two was that she had a legitimate reason to want to speak with him – one that didn’t necessarily involve begging for his touch.

He’d seen her, sitting in the open area of the lounge room, he had to walk straight past her to get to the front door and it looked as if he was going to do just that – walk right on by with nothing but
a flicker of acknowledgement unless she stopped him. ‘Kai.’

He stopped. But he didn’t come any closer. That deep vein of wariness had been a part of him far too long for her to be surprised by it. ‘Have you found out anything about the attempts on Nick’s life?’

‘No. Your father’s contacts are working on it. As are mine.’

‘Do your contacts include your father and
his
contacts?’

‘When warranted, yes.’

‘And is it warranted?’

Kai just looked at her.

‘It’s part of a larger question,’ she said. ‘I want to know how much contact you have with your father and the rest of your family.’

‘Why?’

‘I want to know how much contact I would have with them should I become more closely involved with you.’

‘Too much.’ Kai regarded her impassively. Only the slight tightening of his jaw suggested that he wasn’t in perfect control. ‘You wouldn’t like the world I’ve come from, Jasmine. You wouldn’t understand it.’

‘Maybe not now,’ she murmured. ‘But in a few years, after I’ve devoured the world, who knows?’

‘I don’t
want
you to understand it.’

‘That’s the trouble with free will, isn’t it? People don’t always get what they want. I want you to show me your world, Meng Kai. The one you came from. The one you’re in no hurry to return to. I want to know what you
really
do for my father – what his plans are for you – but no one’s in a hurry to tell me that either. So I guess we all just continue to want what we want and plot to take it when we can.’

Jasmine stood, and finally approached him. ‘Your father is the head of a Triad association, isn’t he?’

Kai said nothing. It wasn’t a no.

Jasmine took a deep breath and continued. ‘Triad societies have not always been so closely linked to crime. Their origins are political. Some might say noble.’

‘You are so young,’ he said.

‘You have no tattoos,’ she countered.

‘I am no foot soldier.’

‘Leadership of such organisations is not hereditary,’ she continued doggedly. ‘You came to us when you were younger than I am now. You are outside the chain of command. Your father let you go. Loyalty to your father is not the same as loyalty to Triad.’

‘Are you asking me if I have sworn oath?’

‘Have you?’ Jasmine knew how important this question was and her body reacted. The kick of blood in her veins and the sudden thundering of her heart, her shortness of breath. Fear held her; fear of what he might say and what it would mean for his future and hers. ‘Have you sworn Triad oath?’

‘There are thirty-six of them, Jasmine,’ offered Kai quietly. ‘And, yes.’

‘Oh.’ Jasmine clasped her arms around her waist in a futile attempt to prevent the sick feeling from spreading. This wasn’t the end of her hopes and dreams for a future with Kai. She wouldn’t let it be. Maybe, just maybe, the Triad he was involved with would let him walk away. Not that any Triad she knew of had ever made a habit of
that
. ‘You said my father had given you a way out. A chance at legitimate business.’

‘Your father continues to offer me legitimate business opportunities, Jasmine. He’s a stubborn man. My father encourages me to take them. But it is not a way out.’

‘Because you are sworn?’

‘Yes. You think me a good man and maybe I want to be. But the oaths I took cannot be broken.
Hear
what I’m saying to you.
Think
about what
you’d be getting involved with were you to get involved with me and stay away. Go find someone else to be with.’

‘I
will
try,’ she said, and meant it. ‘I’ll do this for me and I will do this for you. I’ll give it three years. Time enough for a degree. But you have to promise me something first.’

‘I am already burdened with oaths,’ he countered curtly. ‘I need no more. I won’t wait for you, Jasmine. I make no promises.’

‘I’m not asking you to wait,’ she said, and tried to keep her voice even and unbroken. ‘But if I do return and come looking for you I would ask that you treat me as a woman a man could come to love rather than a child who does not know her own mind. A child you are sworn to protect. I want those two things gone from our dealings. You owe me that much.’

‘I owe you nothing.’

‘No? For
years
, Meng Kai, for almost
ten formative years
, my world has been framed by you on one side and my father on the other. That’s not normal. Little wonder, you say, that my eyes have been dazzled by you and my heart has reached out to you. Go away, you say. Go away and look elsewhere, but then you feed my hunger, and yours, with a kiss you
know
I won’t forget, and with your
next breath you push me away again. You owe me,’ she said fiercely. ‘I may not seem like an adult to you yet, but you owe it to me to see me as an adult upon my return.’

Fear and rage and longing and need – all of them vying for dominance within her. Time to leave before she broke down and wept, but as she turned, Kai’s hand shot out to stop her. A hand to her waist and she felt the burn of it through her clothes, heating her skin. How was she supposed to forget this? Forget him?

How?

‘Okay.’ His voice sounded hoarse and strained. ‘Three years, and if you still want to see me, I will do as you ask. I’ll show you my world – whatever I’ve managed to make of it.’

‘Swear,’ she said.

‘I swear.’

This time when she walked away he let her.

Five minutes later, Jasmine stood in front of her father’s desk in his expansive home office and tried to convince herself that cutting ties with her father couldn’t possibly be any harder than severing her ties with Kai.

Kai had known that a reckoning was coming, though. Kai had actively pushed her away,
whereas her father … all he’d ever wanted was to keep her safe and close.

‘University?’ he echoed blankly, when she told him. ‘You’ve never spoken of furthering your education before.’

‘I’m speaking of it now.’

‘Now is not a good time. I have little time to spend on you this morning. There will be more time later.’

‘It won’t take long.’ Jasmine was far more used to obedience than she was to being a voice of dissent. And yes, she knew her father’s attention was for Nick and the deal in progress. Yes, they had guests who seemed to require additional protection and that was of concern too. But this was important, and her courage was with her
now
and she had no notion of where it might be later.

‘Singapore or Shanghai,’ she said quietly. ‘Either would suit.’

‘Why not here?’

‘It’s a big world. I’ve been here. I’ve stayed here, indulged and overprotected. It’s time I stepped out on my own; built a life of my own and made you proud.’

Her father watched her warily, tugging the sleeve of his suit down with his fingers. ‘I am proud,’ he said finally.

‘And I am a dutiful daughter. I am. I try to please you and I always will. But you have to let me go. I’m not asking you, Father, I’m telling you. I intend to strike out on my own – with or without your blessing.’ Jasmine smiled faintly and let the tip of her anxiety show. ‘Of course, I would prefer it to be with your blessing.’

‘Let me investigate your options,’ he said.

‘No.’ Just be firm; that was all she needed to be. ‘Let me.’

That was all she’d wanted to say. No need to take up more of his time. She headed for the door.

‘Jasmine.’ Her father stopped her with a word well before she reached it. ‘Does this have anything to do with Kai asking me to release him from his duties here?’

‘He did that?’ Hard to think of Kai not being here without getting tearful. ‘When?’

‘Ten minutes ago,’ her father said somewhat dryly.

‘What did you say to him?’

‘It’s complicated.’

‘
What did you tell him?
’

‘He’s told you, hasn’t he? Who he is and why he’s here. Is that why you want to leave? Because you want nothing to do with him?’

‘No! How can you say that? Kai has been nothing
but good to me. A friend to me for years. How can you even think that?’

‘Good.’ Her father nodded, as if to himself. ‘Good. I wanted that for you. Nothing good ever comes of hate. Kai’s a good boy.’

‘If you like him so much, why do you use him as a pawn?’ Jasmine asked heatedly. ‘How did you answer him, Father? What did you say to the boy you took in payment for my mother’s death?’

‘I offered him a senior position in one of my companies in Shanghai.’

‘He doesn’t want a position in one of your companies in Shanghai!’

‘So he said.’ Her father’s face held a sadness Jasmine hadn’t seen for years, not since those first few months after her mother’s death. ‘I thought he could be happy here.’

‘You wanted him to turn his back on his family.’

‘Not his family. Just the crime.’

‘He can’t.’

‘He can try. A man’s fate is not governed by the vows he makes as a child.’

‘They’ll kill him.’

‘I’m working on that.’

‘Have you
told
Kai that?’

Her father nodded. ‘He seemed … unimpressed. He repeated his request for release from his
duties.’ Her father looked at her through hooded eyes. ‘It’s complicated, Jasmine. You don’t understand the balances in place.’

‘
What did you say?
’ She wasn’t yelling, but it was close.

‘I said no.’

N
ICK WOKE FROM HIS
slumber with Hallie pressed hot against his side, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder and her hair spreading a silken cage across his heart. His arm tightened around her and his lips brushed against her head.

He’d known her less than two weeks, made love to her twice—okay, maybe somewhat more than that, but time-wise it hadn’t been very long at all.

Too soon to be thinking the thoughts he was thinking.

Way too early to be promising for ever after.

Maybe when they got back to England they could slow this ride down some. He could walk away for a while, regain his equilibrium.

Because he certainly didn’t have any balance here.

Hallie stirred and Nick lifted his hand and
stroked his fingers through her hair and tried not to recall that she might be in danger because of him and that if he had any sense he’d call one of her brothers – the cop one – to come and get her.

‘Do me a favour today and stay here where people can keep an eye on you,’ he murmured when she shifted against him again. He wasn’t quite fool enough to take her sleepy yawn for acquiescence. ‘Give me your word.’

‘Okay.’ She still sounded sleepy but she knew what she was saying. ‘Although what if something untoward happens here and the general consensus is that it might be more prudent to go somewhere else?’

‘Where would you go?’

‘Airport,’ she said.

‘Not the police?’

‘Maybe the police. I could ring Tris. And then he’ll kill me.’

‘Do that,’ he said.

‘You’re awfully cavalier about my demise.’

‘Wrong. I’m becoming increasingly fearful when it comes to your demise. You need to give me the phone numbers of some of these brothers you keep warning me about. If something happened to you I wouldn’t even know who to call.’

‘If I give you their contact details you might take it into your head to call them regardless.’

‘That could happen too.’

‘Traitor.’

‘Perspective is everything. I just want you safe, Hallie. I know I’m not alone in that.’

The hand Hallie had resting on his heart inched its way up and over his shoulder and hooked around his neck. The rest of her gloriously naked body shifted over on top of him and she pressed a moist kiss to the side of his neck before settling her head into the curve of his neck. Nick liked having her this close. Neither his body nor his brain entertained the notion of wanting to get away.

‘You do a lot of hugging,’ he said.

‘I had a deprived childhood,’ she explained.

‘And here I thought your brothers must have passed you round from arm to arm.’

‘Nope. In our family the comforting shoulder nudge is King.’

‘What about your father?’ She rarely spoke of him and it made Nick curious. ‘Doesn’t he hug?’

‘He … has his work …’ Hallie sighed and her breath blew gently across his skin. ‘You want the truth?’

Hallie seemed to require an answer from him, or
maybe she just needed more time to form her reply. ‘Spill.’

‘Truth is he’s never been much of a father. Even when my mother was alive he always had academic papers to write or to mark, always a bright new student to supervise or a lecture to prepare. There was never much time for any of us and when my mother died … when he could have and
should
have stepped up as a parent … he retreated even further into his work. Jake was the one who made sure we all got to school on time and got fed and the electricity bills got paid. He was the one present at all my parent-teacher interviews, the one who took us to the doctor’s whenever we got sick.’

‘I see.’

Nick closed his eyes and traced a lazy path from her buttocks up to the base of her neck and she shivered beneath him.

‘Do that again,’ she demanded.

‘Bossy.’ Also gloriously uninhibited, fearless and eager to learn. But he did it again and she melted against him and sighed her satisfaction against his neck.

‘What are we going to do about this ball?’ she murmured. ‘Do you still want to go?’

‘Do you?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I want the entire Cinderella at the Hong Kong ball experience. The beautiful gown, the handsome prince – that would be you. I want to primp for the ball with Jasmine, and I want to see Kai’s face when he first sees her, and I definitely want to dance with you. I have a feeling dancing could easily equal hugging in the pleasure stakes. You do dance, right?’

‘My mother insisted.’

‘Your mother is a wise woman.’ Hallie shifted restlessly and Nick automatically ran his hand over her again. ‘You should probably phone her today and touch base,’ she offered. ‘And then you should do that again. And I probably shouldn’t get too set on going to this ball, because it really all depends on what Kai and John find out about these accidents.’

‘We’re probably jumping to conclusions about someone trying to kill me,’ Nick said sleepily.

‘This is true.’

‘Kai did say he’d arrange extra security,’ Nick said next.

Also true.

‘I just can’t think of any
reason
for it,’ said Nick. ‘Taking me out won’t stop this deal from going ahead. It won’t stop the people I work with from continuing to develop gaming software. And,
contrary to popular belief, I can’t think of any ex-lovers who might want me dead. There’s just no
reason
for this to be about me. There’s no evidence of poison in the crab, we don’t really know if it was meant for me, and whoever was behind me at the kerb the other day could have simply stumbled and then ran. Maybe Kai’s being over-vigilant.’

‘Does this mean I
can
go sightseeing again today?’

‘Absolutely not,’ said Nick. ‘I may be sceptical but I’m not crazy.’

Nick had to prod Hallie for her cop brother’s phone number later that morning, but she handed it over eventually.

Just in case, she told him firmly. ‘Tris knows where I am. I left him a note – although he may not have found it yet because he could still be in Prague.’

‘Hallie, does
anyone
in your family know where you are?’ asked Nick with a distinct sinking sensation. ‘Have you done anything except leave your absent brother a note?’

‘Two more days and I’ll be back in London. Why bother them?’

Nick figured that for a no. ‘Give me Jake’s number as well.’

‘You really don’t want to be calling that number,’ she said.

‘You’re absolutely right. Give it to me anyway.’

‘I’m weirdly impressed,’ she said, and set her lips to the curve of his jaw.

Nick felt his body stir. Hallie apparently felt it too, and rocked into him, seeking friction and finding it. ‘Do that again,’ he murmured.

And Hallie obliged.

Half an hour later, Nick sat at the desk in the guestroom and added the cop brother’s number to the list of contacts in his phone. Hallie lay dozing on the bed again, it was still early morning, but Nick couldn’t get back to sleep. His body was sated but his brain was wide awake. Hallie’s revelation that no one in her family knew where she was disturbed him – especially given the oddness of recent events.

Hallie’s brothers did need to know where their sister was.

As in now.

It was time to make a few calls.

Nick didn’t know whether to be relieved or dismayed when the cop brother’s phone rang out without anyone picking up.

He tried the Singapore brother next. The time
zone there was the same as this one. Hopefully brother Jake was an early riser.

Someone picked up.

‘Bennett,’ said a deep, impatient voice.

‘Jake Bennett?’ he asked and watched as Hallie’s eyes slitted open. Nick nodded at her – yes, he was doing this – and she groaned and buried her face beneath the pillow.

‘Yup,’ said the voice on the other end of the phone.

Chatty.

‘My name’s Nick Cooper. Your sister’s here with me in Hong Kong for the week and I need to give you some contact details.’ No need to mention the finer details. Why worry the man?

‘Put her on,’ said Jake and Nick held his phone out towards Hallie, who shook her head to signify a vigorous no. Nick rolled his eyes and put the phone back to his ear.

‘Hallie’s asleep right now,’ he said and Hallie nodded that yes, yes she was.

A deep and freezing silence followed.

‘If you have an email, I can send you a couple of contact names and numbers and an address,’ Nick offered.

‘Or you can give them to me now.’

Nick tried to imagine the man behind that
lethally quiet voice. The image would have done his computer game proud. ‘Our host’s name is John Tey of The Tey Corporation. We’re staying with John another two nights and heading back to London on Saturday.’ Nick didn’t wait for another serving of heavy silence; he just gave Jake Bennett the Teys’ home address and John’s business phone number.

‘What’s the flight number?’

Nick gave it to him. ‘John’s head of security is a man called Meng Kai. Wouldn’t hurt you to have his contact details as well.’ He rattled them off and then repeated it for good measure.

‘Why does your host need a head of security?’

‘He’s an extremely wealthy man whose wife was kidnapped and killed many years ago. He has a daughter. He takes her protection seriously.’

More silence while Hallie’s oldest brother digested that little morsel.

‘Anything else I should know?’ asked brother Jake finally, with enough bite to make a man bleed.

‘No. I’m done with the sharing for now.’

‘Do I need to know
you
?’

‘Hard to say, but I’m going to go with yes.’

Hallie’s brother either laughed or growled. Hard to tell. ‘You have no idea what you’re in for.’

‘If, by that, you mean that I might not have encountered your sister’s more impulsive tendencies, believe me I’ve met them.’ Hallie was peeking out at him from beneath the Great Wall of China. Nick eyed her steadily and pitched his next words to her. ‘Or are we talking about you and the protective tendencies of the rest of the brothers Bennett? Because your sister seems to think I’m going to take one look at you all and flee.’

‘They usually do.’

‘I’m heavily invested.’

‘We’ll see.’

‘We’ll be finished here in two days. Hopefully no one will need to be in touch.’

‘You do want to hope that,’ said Jake.

This conversation was going great.

‘Nice talking to you,’ said Nick and hung up, tossing his phone on the table and running a hand over his face.

‘That good, huh?’ said Hallie from the bed.

‘The things I do for you.’

‘I’m very appreciative,’ she said. ‘Heavily invested in what?’

‘Hugging.’

‘Ah.’ Her smile came slow and sweet. ‘Good to know. Come back to bed.’

‘If I do that I’m likely to fall asleep in the meeting
today,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to fall asleep in the meeting today.’

‘How’s it going?’ she asked.

‘We’re getting there.’

‘And the telling John we’re not married?’

‘I’ll try and get him alone some time today and tell him. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s done.’

‘What if he pulls the contract?’

Nick leaned forward in the chair, elbows to his knees and rubbed both hands over his face this time. ‘Yep.’ He desperately didn’t want that to happen, but if it did Nick would accept John’s decision and take full responsibility for the breakdown in negotiations.

‘What if we made up some story about my family not wanting me to marry, or me being already married but separated? Put the reason for us not being married back on me?’

‘No. No more lies.’

‘Honourable.’

‘No,’ he said wearily. ‘I’m just sick of patching over old mistakes with new ones. It’s time to come clean.’

‘Sometimes honour’s a little hard to define.’ Hallie sat up, wrapped the sheet around her. ‘You tried to spare Jasmine’s feelings, you’re about to
come clean to John and you braved Jake and told him where I was. There’s honour to be found in all of those actions.’

‘Eye of the beholder, Hallie.’

‘Yes.’ Hallie smiled at him and damned if it didn’t make him feel invincible. ‘It is.’

‘We could always get a hairdresser to come to us,’ said Hallie as she surveyed her latest efforts to wind Jasmine’s hair into a glamorous bun. ‘I’m thinking we need a professional.’

‘We can do that,’ said Jasmine. ‘Do we need to get our nails done too?’

‘Well, it certainly wouldn’t
hurt
,’ said Hallie. ‘Oh, and I have perfume for you too. A thank you gift for making our stay here such a memorable one.’

‘Hallie—’

Jasmine paused and fell silent.

‘What?’

‘Tonight at the ball – how do I get Kai to notice me?’

‘Really not going to be a problem,’ said Hallie. ‘He already notices everything about you.’

‘Maybe notice isn’t the right word,’ said Jasmine. ‘Maybe I want him to seduce me.’

‘Ah,’ said Hallie.

‘Or I could take the initiative and seduce him,’ continued Jasmine. ‘Or at least try.’

‘Or not.’

‘You don’t think I should?’

‘Depends why you’re doing it.’

‘I’ll be leaving here soon.’ Jasmine looked close to tears. ‘And I know you’re going to say it’s all for the best and that I need to grow up and that Kai needs to not be my paid protector … and I agree with all of that, but it’s hard. Letting him go … Hallie, it’s so much harder than I thought it would be.’

Hallie knew the feeling. The thought of having to uphold her end of the bargain and walk away from Nick once they got back to London made her feel hollow.

‘I want to give Kai something to remember me by,’ said Jasmine softly. ‘Something to hold in his heart.’

‘What about chocolates?’ Empathy aside, Hallie was beginning to better understand the plight of older brothers and sisters.

‘Why not give him me?’ said Jasmine quietly. ‘What if Kai’s the right man but it’s the wrong lifetime? What if I never get another chance with him?’

‘Jasmine, you’re very—’

‘Don’t say young.’

Hallie bit her lip and pulled that particular word out of her vocabulary. ‘Okay, then, how about this? Giving yourself to someone is a big step. You need to be sure.’