Unfinished Business (4 page)

 
Christy inhaled sharply when she glanced through the peep-hole in her door. She couldn’t believe that after all she’d said to Alex last night he would come back. She assumed he had left town to return to Houston that day. Evidently she’d been wrong on both counts.

She frowned. Apparently she hadn’t made herself clear to him. She didn’t need him snooping around on her brothers’ behalf, and she most certainly didn’t need him rehashing that night he had crushed her pride. It was over, done with. That time had passed and she wanted to get on with her life without any thoughts of him in it.

Her session with Morganna Patterson had lasted longer than planned. She had decided that unlike the other reporters she would not file the woman’s story away and forget about it. Tomorrow she intended to go back over the file to see if there was anything in it worth checking out.

The doorbell rang again, grabbing Christy’s attention. She wondered if she didn’t answer the door Alex would assume she wasn’t home. She shook her head. That was a coward’s way out and the one thing she wasn’t was a coward. She snatched open the door.

“Why are you here, Alex?”

Without waiting for an invitation, he walked past her. “We don’t want to give your neighbors anything to talk about, do we?”

Alex turned and took note of the outfit she was wearing, a rather short skirt and a pullover blouse. He always thought she had a gorgeous pair of legs and remembered that she had been a majorette while at Howard University. Her vibrant reddish brown hair, her most noticeable feature, caught his attention again tonight. The way she had it styled around her face and shoulders totally accented her toasted almond–colored skin. “You look nice, by the way. Another date tonight?”

Christy slammed the door shut, her facial features taut and her glare as icy as the North Pole. “Yes, and what’s it to you? Do I need to call my brothers to let them know you’ve done your snooping and it’s time to call you home?”

Alex stared at Christy. “I thought I made myself clear last night when I said I’m not here because of your brothers.”

Christy placed her hands on her hips and stared back. “That’s right. You claim there’s this unfinished business between us. OK, then let’s finish it so you can catch a plane back to Texas and get out of my life.”

Alex met her glare. “There’s no way we can finish this tonight, and as far as me getting out of your life, you can forget it.”

The deep intensity of Alex’s voice startled Christy. “Who the hell do you think you are, Alex? Three years ago you all but told me—although in a nice way—to go to hell, and now you have the nerve, the gall, the damn audacity, to stand here and tell me that you don’t intend to get out of my life the way you asked me to get out of yours? I’m not someone you can kick to the curb, then come back and call out to play when the mood suits you.”

“I was wrong, Christy.”

Christy raised a surprised brow. Not in a million years had she expected him to admit that. She sighed. Too bad. He was a day late and a dollar short. “You’re right, Alex, you were wrong. Now please get out of my life.”

“Can we at least talk about it?”

“For what? It won’t change a thing. It happened. It’s over. There’s no way we can go back, wipe the slate clean, or start over, and it’s all your fault.”

Alex eyed her thoughtfully, then said, “That night you claimed you loved me. If you could fall out of love with me so easily, then I was right all along. It truly wasn’t love you felt after all, was it, Christy?”

The darkening of Christy’s eyes showed her seething rage. “How dare you tell me that I didn’t love you! I’ve loved you since I was thirteen. I never took any of my dates seriously and my brothers’ extreme case of overprotectiveness never bothered me because I always assumed that no matter what, I had you. I wore that ring proudly because as childish as it seemed, I truly believed in my heart that ring stood for something special. And in one night you showed me it hadn’t stood for anything. None of it did—the ring, my love, my dreams—nothing. In one single night you destroyed it all.”

“Christy, I—”

“No, I really don’t want to hear it, Alex. No matter how I might have felt before, I’m no longer in love with you, and if you really care about my feelings, the decent thing to do is walk out that door and leave me alone.”

Alex swallowed deeply. He refused to believe he had messed up so badly that it was beyond repair. He knew the Madarises well, and the one thing he did know about them was that when they fell in love it was forever. But then he also knew from his close association with Dex and Clayton that when it came to the issue of the Madaris pride, they could be unforgiving.

Christy was no different from her brothers. He had hurt her pride that night and there would be hell to pay before she found it in her heart to forgive him. But he refused to give up and let go.

He met her gaze. “I can’t leave you alone, Christy.”

A lump formed in Christy’s throat. Why was he putting her through this? Telling him that she didn’t love him was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do, and knowing it was a lie had made it even harder. But for now, the hurt and humiliation she had endured that night overshadowed any love she felt, and she would make sure it continued to do so. She could not think of forgiveness when she still felt pain. She had learned a valuable lesson and would not let Alex—or any man, for that matter—have control of her heart again.

Before Christy realized it, Alex took a step forward and drew her into his arms. Her breath caught in response to his closeness, the masculine scent he was emitting, and the sensuality of every single thing about him. She knew she had to resist him. She needed to ask him to step back, insist that he leave, but she couldn’t get the words to form in her mouth. And at the moment pulling away from him wasn’t an option, either. It seemed his deep, penetrating gaze had her transfixed in place.

Then the memories of that night three years ago flooded her mind, but not in the way she wanted them to. Instead of remembering the harsh words he had spoken, she was seized with memories of the kiss they had shared; just thinking of it had her light-headed, barely able to draw in her next breath.

Desire between them had flared that night, raged out of control, and then exploded in such a way that it had their tongues mating, licking, sucking, devouring all and resisting none. She believed that if it hadn’t been for his ironclad control, combined with his ingrained sense of honor, he would have made love to her right there, in her parents’ house. And she would have gladly given herself to him as she succumbed to the love she had for him as well as to the urgent hunger he had elicited within her.

“Christy?”

She blinked, returning her thoughts back to the present when she heard him say her name. She met his gaze and felt heat turning in her stomach when he reached out and softly stroked her cheek with his fingers. His gaze remained locked with hers. “I am sorry, Christy, for every damn thing I said that night, and I promise that I will make it up to you.”

His whispered words had Christy taking a deep breath. She wished she could believe him, wished she had the will to turn her heart over to him for safekeeping. She had done so once and it had gotten ripped in shreds, and she couldn’t let that happen again.

She watched as his mouth slowly lowered to hers. “I don’t want this, Alex,” she heard herself say, knowing it was a lie even as she said it. Her heart was resisting and she wished she could get her mind in sync. He was going to kiss her and she wanted it as much as she had wanted anything in her life. This would be their last kiss, she reasoned, and she knew if it was anything like the one they had shared that earlier night, it would remain inflamed in her mind forever.

Before Christy drew her next breath, Alex captured her mouth with his. Her initial reaction on contact was a slow moan that emitted from deep within her throat as a silky heat started forming in the pit of her stomach. Those sexual urges that she had discovered upon their first kiss were revving, taking over her mind, her body, and making her focus on what he was doing to her mouth as it moved slowly, steadily, and intensely over hers, inviting her tongue to join in the stimulating foray and mate with his.

He so easily made the kisses she had shared with Kevin obsolete, a waste of good time, expulsionable. Her heart pumped wildly, and when he tightened his hold on her and deepened the kiss, desire thickened her tongue. That same tongue he was a master at capturing with his, mating with and inflaming it so potently and powerfully. Christy felt fire move through all parts of her body. She felt her knees weaken, felt her brain turn to mush, and felt her vital sexual organs become alive and aroused with a need for something they never had before.

Alex had felt her initial resistance but continued to break down that resistance with passion. He was an experienced man and although he knew he had to be patient and not push her too far, their desire was burning too hot and too bright. He drew her hard against him, needing the feel of her body close to his.

This was the second time he had kissed her. The last time she had been not more than a girl. But no mere wisp of a girl could have driven him close to losing control as she had that night, challenging his resolve and making such mind-whirling sensations grip him as they had. He could now admit that one of the reasons he had unleashed his fury on her that night was because he had not expected her to have such power over him, a man known for his control. She had done something no other woman had ever done. Rock his world. She had made a hunger well up in him so profound he’d been tempted to yield to anything and everything she demanded of him.

Even now, a part of him wanted to kiss her forever, wished he had all the time in the world to do so. He had longed for this again so many times. Every time he had seen her at some function or other, he had wanted to cross the room and take her into his arms. But his stubbornness, his refusal to believe that anything could happen between them had forced him to keep his distance. There was an eight-year difference in their ages. And the biggest reason: she was the baby sister of three of his closest friends. But then, over a period of time, he had slowly come to realize that none of those things mattered. He wanted her. He had fought it, cursed it, and tried to deny it. But now he could only accept it. He deepened the kiss and pulled her closer; so close the hardened tips of her breasts were scorching his chest and her delicious scent was filling his nostrils.

Suddenly, Christy pulled away. She backed up, breathing heavily.

“That was a mistake,” she said softly, fully aware of the quiver in her voice.

“Nothing we do together will ever be a mistake,” Alex said in a deep, husky voice. “That kiss was the best thing we could have done,” he added. His smile was slow and easy. “I enjoyed it and so did you.”

Christy frowned. She
had
enjoyed it, but would never admit it to him. “I have a date tonight, Alex. You need to leave.”

He continued to stand there and stare at her. He was filled with so much raw desire that he couldn’t think straight. Knowing she would be spending the evening with another man wasn’t helping matters. “Who is he? Is he the same guy you went out with last night?”

Christy stiffened and glared at him. “And what if he is?”

“Then I think you should forget about him.”

Before she could gather her thoughts and give him a blazing retort, he said, “Spend time with me this weekend, Christy. Show me around Cincinnati. I want to see the places you enjoy going.”

Christy stared at Alex, trying not to let her jaw drop. He was serious. The damn nerve of him! He honestly thought that one kiss, one that still had her veins sizzling, could erase everything? “I will not forget about Kevin, nor will I spend the weekend with you, Alex. And when you leave here this time, don’t come back.”

“You enjoyed our kiss.”

“It didn’t mean anything.”

He leaned forward, his lips mere inches away from touching hers. She could feel the heat of his breath, could almost taste it. “Oh, I think it meant a lot.” A challenging smile touched the corners of Alex’s lips. “And I
will
be back, Christy.” He then slowly pulled away.

She watched as he turned and walked out her door.

 
There were times when a man had to do what a man had to do.

Alex had been given that bit of advice a few years ago by his good friend Ashton Sinclair. It was why he was discreetly entering the door of the Shades of Blue nightclub.

The advice had been given during the time Ashton was in heavy pursuit of Nettie, the woman he had eventually married. But their beginnings hadn’t been easy, since Nettie had been determined not to get involved with a military man and Ashton was military through and through—a colonel in the Marines, in fact.

Ashton had taken it upon himself to do what he’d said a man had to do to get the woman he loved, which hadn’t just stopped at rigging a charity auction but had also included kidnapping. Alex didn’t intend to go that far. Besides, Ashton was blessed with the gift of vision, so he’d had an advantage in knowing how his future with Nettie would turn out.

Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t quite that certain about Christy, since she was still pretty pissed off with him. If he were to kidnap her she would probably press charges just to see him rot in jail . . . that is, if the Madaris brothers didn’t kill him first.

Not wanting to think about the possibility of either, Alex glanced around wondering what was worse, the crowd of people that filled every nook and cranny or the band who was performing at a near deafening level. His jaw tightened when he spotted Christy sitting at a table with a man who he assumed was this Kevin she had mentioned. He guessed the guy looked decent enough, if you were a woman who went for the cover model type.

Alex was lucky to find a table in the back where he could observe but not be seen. So what if what he was doing could be labeled as spying? He was merely protecting his interests, he reasoned, even if Christy wouldn’t see it that way.

After leaving her apartment he had circled around the neighborhood to wait until her date arrived, only to see Christy leave minutes later by herself, which meant she was meeting the guy instead of letting him come to her place to pick her up. A smart move, especially if she hadn’t known the man for a while.

“What would you like to drink?”

Alex glanced up at the waitress who was smiling at him. Like everyone else in the place, she looked young, in her early twenties. He wasn’t old, but he would bet at thirty-two he was the oldest person here. He took a quick glance back at Kevin and figured him to be probably the same age as Christy. More than ever he regretted the day he had told her to date guys her own age.

He looked back at the waitress. “I’ll take a Bloody Mary.”

The young woman’s smile widened when she teasingly said, “You got her.” She then walked off.

Alex sighed. The waitress was totally wrong. If he had her, he wouldn’t be sitting in a crowded nightclub watching
her
, the woman he wanted, with another man.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything else to drink, Christy?”

Christy glanced up at Kevin and smiled. She’d only had one drink in the hour or so that she’d been here, but for some reason she was beginning to feel light-headed, loose, brazen. She sighed as she shook her head, wondering what was wrong with her. “No, I’m fine.”

Kevin smiled at her, showing a dimple that added charisma to his face. “Yeah, baby, you definitely are, and I’m dying to find out just how far that fine goes.”

At any other time a remark like that from any man would be a total turnoff, but for some reason she liked it. In fact, it made her feel good to know another man wanted her. So
there
, Alex, she wanted to say. Leaning forward she whispered. “Do you think you’re up to it?”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah, I’m up to it all right. Slide on over here and feel how up to it I am.”

Christy laughed. “O Kevin, you’re simply outrageous.”

“I’m also hot for you. Let’s leave this—”

At that moment Kevin’s mobile phone rang. He snapped it open, and after a few short words he looked over at Christy. “Excuse me. I need to take this call. It’s my job.”

Christy nodded. He had told her that he worked as a computer engineer at some huge Fortune 500 company, but for the life of her at the moment she couldn’t recall what company it was. What was wrong with her? She usually was sharp at remembering things.

“Don’t go away. I’ll be right back, and when I return, we’re leaving here and going somewhere where we can be alone. All right?” he said, smiling.

Kevin’s words intruded on her blurred thoughts. She felt herself returning his smile. “All right.” She then watched as he walked off.

Alex’s eyes narrowed as he watched Christy’s date get up from the table and head in the direction of the men’s room. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He hadn’t liked the way the man had been hanging over Christy when the two had danced together earlier. He had held her too damn close.

On two occasions it had taken all of his control not to cross the room and snatch Christy out of the man’s arms. But causing a scene was the last thing he wanted to do. If he thought Christy was pissed at him now, if he went so far as to embarrass her in any way she would write him off forever.

But dealing directly with Pretty Face Kevin was an entirely different story. It was time the two of them met. Getting up from his table, Alex headed towards the men’s room too.

“Hey, man, your date is really wasted. What did you give her?”

Kevin smiled over at his friend as he zipped up his pants after using one of the urinals. “I dropped Trina a huge tip to slip something into her drink, something guaranteed to loosen her up. She’s been playing hard to get and I intend to get into her stuff tonight. The beauty of it is that she won’t remember a damn thing about it in the morning.”

The other guy chuckled. “You’re finally going to find out if she’s really a redhead, huh?”

Kevin laughed. “You know it.”

Alex stopped dead in his tracks, just inside the bathroom doorway. Fury coursed through him. The bastard had given Christy a date rape drug! He burst into the men’s room ready to kill somebody.

The two men turned around and Kevin said, “What the hell!”

Alex went straight for Kevin, grabbing him by the throat. “You bastard!”

The other man grabbed Alex from behind. Alex elbowed him in the stomach before giving him a quick jab to his midsection, followed by a hard kick that sent him sprawling against the wall, where he collapsed, unconscious on the floor.

Alex then turned his attention back to Kevin, who’d remained pinned up against the sink. “What’d you give her?” he asked, his voice deadly.

Kevin was clearly terrified. “Hey, man, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t give anybody anything.”

Alex snatched him up and brought his face within inches of his own. “Then maybe a little flushing might help you remember.”

With a firm grip on the collar of Kevin’s shirt, Alex pulled him into one of the stalls and dunked his head in the toilet and held it there, then pulled him back up. “Can you remember anything now?”

Sputtering, Kevin nodded. “I . . . I had the waitress, who’s a friend of mine, put some ketamine into her drink.”

Ketamine
! Alex’s stomach muscles tightened. That was one of the most potent sexual assault drugs on the streets. He was well aware of the effects it had on a person. “How much did you give her?”

When Kevin didn’t answer fast enough to suit Alex, his head got another dunking. “N-not much, just enough to do what I planned to do to her,” Kevin said, sputtering water again. His hazel eyes were bulging and he was fighting for breath. “L-look, I-I didn’t mean any harm.”

In Alex’s book that was the worst thing the bastard could have said. “You didn’t mean any harm? Then in that case, neither do I.” He grabbed Kevin up out of the stall and threw him against the wall.

Kevin matched Alex in weight and height, and although he tried putting up a good fight, he couldn’t compete with the skillful Alex. Moments later, when Alex had beaten Kevin to a pulp and he lay sprawled on the bathroom floor barely able to move, Alex stared down at him in disgust. Alex knew there was no way he could turn Kevin and his waitress friend over to the authorities without getting Christy involved.

“If you ever come within a mile of Christy Madaris again I’ll kill you.” Without looking back he left the men’s room.

He glanced around. Evidently Christy had gotten bored waiting for Kevin to return, as she was sitting at the bar chatting away with a woman. Alex could tell from the way she was talking to the woman that she was someone Christy knew. Damn, he needed to get her out of this place.

He quickly crossed the room to her, coming up from behind. “Christy, we need to leave.”

Both women turned and looked at him. A surprised Christy then smiled. That smile alone was a definite indication that she wasn’t herself. He couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled at him. “A-Alex, what are you d-doing here?”

He sighed deeply. Her speech was slurring already. “I came to take you home.”

She smiled at him again. “That’s sweet, but I’m supposed to leave with Kevin.”

Alex’s eyes darkened. “Not tonight you aren’t. Come on; let’s go.”

The other woman stood, blocking Christy from him. “Hey, who are you and where do you think you’re taking her?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “And who are you?”

“I’m Shemell Parker, a friend of Christy’s. We work together at the
Enquirer
.”

He nodded, feeling the woman could be trusted, but still he wouldn’t tell her but so much. “And I’m Alexander Maxwell, a friend of Christy’s who’s in town for a few days visiting from Houston. Now if you’ll excuse us, I’m sure you can see she’s had a little too much to drink, and I want to take her home.”

The woman stared at him for a moment, and then as if she had reached the conclusion that he could be trusted she moved aside.

“Come on, Christy,” he said, reaching out and gently pulling her into his arms.

“Umm, I want to dance with you before I go, Alex,” Christy murmured softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and blatantly rubbing her body against his.

“No, I’m taking you home.”

“No! I want to dance.”

Alex stared at her, saw the stubbornness lining her features, and quickly decided if one dance was what it would take to get her out of this place without causing a scene, then so be it. The band had taken another break and taped music was playing. The song by OutKast, “The Way You Move” was just beginning to play. “OK, let’s dance,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

Although Alex knew he didn’t have to worry about embarrassing himself on the dance floor, since he felt that he was a pretty good dancer, he was not prepared for the dance moves Christy was throwing his way. Damn, but he loved the way she moved, just like the song said.

He couldn’t help but watch her body shimmy to the beat of the music as she threw everything she had into it—breasts, hips, hands, legs. And he couldn’t ever recall seeing a pair of buttocks wiggle like hers.

Perspiration began forming on his forehead as he kept dancing and watching her. Regardless of the fact that she was, technically, dancing under the influence, never before had he seen any woman work her body like this. If she shook any more, she would be shaking herself right out of her short skirt.

When she suddenly eased up to him and shimmied, rubbing provocatively against him, he had to forcibly remind himself that she was not herself. And although he was aware of that fact, the combination of her outfit, shoes, hairstyle, and deliciously moving body parts was enough to push that not so minor detail to the back of his mind.

Almost but not quite
.

When it came to Christy he would always be driven to do the right thing, although he had a strong feeling that before the night was over, doing the right thing would nearly kill him.

When the music ended, Christy sagged against him. He gently picked her up and carried her off the dance floor. He took the time to swing by the bar to grab her purse from Shemell before walking out of the club with Christy nestled in his arms.

A few blocks from the nightclub, Alex pulled his car off to the side of the road and turned to Christy. For someone who’d been completely drained when he’d taken her off the dance floor, she now appeared to have gotten zapped with an overabundance of energy. “For Pete’s sake, Christy, do you want me to have an accident?”

He knew she was still under the influence, but he wished she would keep her hands to herself. They had barely gotten out of the club’s parking lot when she unsnapped her seat belt and leaned over and began licking around his ear. Then she had reached down and begun rubbing her hand over his crotch while her fingers slowly inched their way to his zipper.

“I want you, Alex,” she said, leaning over and licking his lips with her tongue.

What she was doing to him felt good, and he was trying like hell to ignore the effects it was having on some of his body parts. He sighed deeply and gently pushed her back in her seat and reached over and snapped her seat belt in place. Alex knew it was the drug talking and before tonight was over things would get worse. Ketamine wasn’t a drug to mess with. Besides causing an increase in sexual desire, impaired motor functions, and slurred speech, it could result in aggressive or violent behavior if the person didn’t get the sexual fix she needed. When Alex thought about what the night held in store for Christy, he had a good mind to go back to the club and kick Kevin’s ass all over again.