A Fortune's Children's Wedding (16 page)

Angelica whimpered and clung to him, her body surging with sheer primitive need. She felt so close to him, united in spirit in a way she'd never experienced with any other person.

Yet it wasn't enough, she wanted—needed—more. To physically express their closeness. This craving for intimacy was brand-new to her. For the first time in her life, the urge for sex finally made sense.

Moaning softly, Angelica arched against him in urgent sensual hunger. Her breasts were swollen and achy, the tips throbbing. She wanted him to touch her there so much she was trembling with it.

When his big hand closed over one breast, she shuddered with pleasure. His fingers cupped her breasts and fondled her, his thumb seeking and finding the almost painfully sensitive nipple. Angelica cried out his name.

It was the sound of that breathless feminine demand that abruptly snapped Flynt out of sweet, sensuous obliv
ion. He opened his eyes, saw the provocative picture they made, and realized exactly where they were—
in Angelica's office with the door not even closed!

He was painfully aware of how inappropriate their behavior was in this setting.

Even acknowledging all that, he had to fully utilize his will of steel to make himself stop. With great effort Flynt rose, lifting Angelica along with him. He set her on her feet, keeping his arm around her.

“Easy, baby,” he said softly, his lips caressing her hair. It was silky-soft and thick and smelled wonderful. “This isn't the time—and it sure isn't the place.”

Angelica leaned her forehead against his chest. Her arms were around his waist, locking her to him. She felt weak and limp.

“We…imploded again, didn't we?” Common sense told her she ought to get far away from Flynt Corrigan as fast as she could. But she stayed exactly where she was.

“Seems that way.” Flynt rubbed her back, the strokes becoming more sweeping, from her shoulder blades to the gentle curve of her waist and back again.

She nuzzled him, her eyes closed, pressing herself firmly to him. She could feel the tension in him, the lusty throbbing of his arousal. Angelica cuddled closer.

Flynt's hand strayed lower. His fingers closed over the rounded curve of her bottom, and a shudder of pleasure and anticipation jolted through him. He wanted to lock the door and place her down on the top of her desk; he wanted to push the skirt of her demure gray-and-yellow pin-striped dress to her waist and—

“Flynt.” she breathed his name.

And snapped him back to sanity once again. This time it was even harder to summon his will of steel, but Flynt dutifully did so. He dropped his arms and moved away from her, taking the necessary steps into the small hallway connecting the rooms of her office suite.

“I have some calls to make,” he said hoarsely. “To my office in Minneapolis. Business related.”

Angelica nodded. She understood he needed some space. Oddly enough, she did not feel that need herself. Flynt had breached the self-protective wall around her, but instead of wanting to withdraw further, she wanted to draw him closer.

“About the computer for Casper,” she said, following him into the waiting room, wanting to prolong their time together. “You said you didn't want money, but you'd ask me for something else instead?”

“That's right.” As the sensual fog lifted, Flynt felt his brain begin to function again. “I'm asking you to dinner tonight.”

Angelica arched one dark brow. “Isn't that kind of a pricey dinner date?”

“Well…” Flynt cleared his throat.

“Uh-oh! What's the catch? Now I'm sure there must be one.”

“It depends on what you consider a catch, Angelica.”

“You're stalling, Flynt.”

“Maybe. But you still haven't said you'll go.”

“All right, I'll go. Now what haven't you told me?”

“You and I won't be alone for dinner tonight.”

She tried not to appear disappointed. “Okay.”

“Don't you want to know who'll be joining us?”

“Could it be…Brandon Fortune? Just a wild guess,” she added unenthusiastically.

“Smart girl.” Flynt tried to coax a smile from her. “But tonight won't be a repeat of last night's awkward trio. Brandon has invited along some new friends he's made in the city. You know them extremely well—Romina, Sarah and Casper.”

“Ohhh!” Angelica did not smile.

“I have to admit, I didn't exactly jump for joy either, when I first heard.” Flynt reached for her hand. He couldn't be near her and not touch her. He smoothed his thumb over her palm. “Since the undercurrents at the table tonight will be more like a riptide, I decided to bring along some reinforcements. You know, the more the merrier, there's strength in numbers. Very applicable clichés.”

Angelica found it difficult to concentrate; his subtle caress was making her shiver with renewed longing. “You asked somebody else to take part in this surefire fiasco? Who?”

“Your old friend TJ. I saw him at the police station this morning. He agreed to come along, but he's under the impression that Mara will also be there.”

“And how did he get that impression?” Angelica tried to sound cross, but she couldn't work up any real ire.

“I guess I gave it to him. Will you convince Mara to come? Then we'll be a party of eight. Enough people to provide diversions, if need be.”

“Actually, your safety-in-numbers theory isn't a bad one,” she conceded. “I'll talk Mara into coming. If all else fails, I'll play on her sympathy for Sarah and Cas
per. The thought of two innocent kids being subjected to an evening with Brandon Fortune ought to do it.”

“You're an excellent strategist.” Flynt lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “I'll talk to you later.” He left the office, his stride swift and purposeful.

“Later,” Angelica murmured wistfully.

She stood in the doorway of the waiting room and watched him go. He didn't look back at her. It wasn't until he had turned the corner and was out of sight that Angelica realized how much she'd wanted him to.

 

Flynt sensed tension the moment the Carroll family, accompanied by Mara and TJ, walked into the Plantation Family Restaurant. There wasn't a smile to be seen among them, and everyone kept glancing covertly at Romina, whose face was a study in fury.

Even Brandon, not known for his astute observations, realized something was wrong. “Oh, man!” He was already seated at the table they'd reserved for their dinner party. “Romina looks ready to blow sky-high.”

Flynt's eyes locked with Angelica's.

She made a slicing motion across her throat with her finger, and Flynt had a sudden image of Romina as the volatile Red Queen in
Alice in Wonderland
ordering, “Off with their heads.”

“This place is stupid!” Casper announced upon joining them. “I didn't want to come but
she
made me.” Her jerked his thumb toward his mother.

Flynt, always a man of action, decided to step in and head off the inevitable fight. “Romina, did Angelica
mention that my company is upgrading computers? I would like to send Casper one of the—”

“You want to give Casper a computer?”

“Yes, I talked to Angelica about it at lunch,” said Flynt. It wasn't hard to guess that his offer didn't please Romina, judging by her troubled expression.

Angelica came to stand beside Flynt. “Mama, before you say anything—”

“Give a computer to a kid who ditches school and spends the day hanging out in a video arcade?” Romina's voice rose on every word.

“You skipped school today, Casper?” Brandon chuckled. “I played hookey a time or two myself at your age.”

Apparently Romina hadn't. She ranted on about Casper's various misdeeds, before roundly rejecting Flynt's offer of a computer. Casper burst into tears.

“What's the big deal, Romi?” Brandon looked confused. “We used to ditch school all the time, remember?”

“Yeah, and look at us! Just take a good look at the both of us! We messed up our whole lives! You think I'd let my kids do what I did? Drop out of high school, spend the rest of their lives having to scrounge for every cent! Let my kids turn out like me? Ha! Not ever!”

Nobody said much during the decidedly tense dinner that followed.

“At least the service was fast. We got our food in record time,” Flynt remarked to Angelica as they left the restaurant thirty minutes later. He hung back, catching her hand to keep her at his side as the others filed out.

“The staff couldn't wait to get us out here. I think they were expecting Mama to start overturning tables and throwing plates.”

“Hmm, so was I.”

“It wouldn't be the first plate Mama's ever thrown, although she hasn't overturned any tables.”

“Not yet, anyway. It doesn't seem too far beyond the realm of possibility.”

Angelica sighed. “I tried to call you to warn you not to mention the computer tonight, especially not after the school called to report Casper's truancy today. I knew it would make Mama even madder. Unfortunately, you'd already left to come here.”

“You know, it's not so awful for a twelve-year-old kid to choose a video arcade over school once in a while, Angelica,” Flynt said calmly.

“But he's never done it before.” Angelica looked troubled. “And then he lied about where he'd been. Lately he's been lying a lot. Mama is so worried.”

“I noticed.” Flynt's lips quirked. “But Brandon eggs him on.”

“He would!” she said, with feeling. “There is an up side to all this, though. If Mama was harboring any sweet, nostalgic pangs over Brandon Fortune, he's killed them. And since his celebrity-sized ego won't tolerate Mama calling him a loser, I don't have to worry about the two of them hooking up anymore.” Angelica was visibly relieved.

“So you consider this evening a success?” Flynt rested his hands on her waist, enjoying the feel of her supple curves. “Well, I'm glad
someone
had a good time here tonight. The rest of us were holding our collective
breaths, just waiting for the next round of hostilities to resume. It's hard to enjoy a meal under those circumstances.”

He happened to look up and see Romina and Brandon at the front of the restaurant. They stood apart, but both of them were staring intently at him and Angelica.

Their scrutiny made Flynt even more uncomfortable than he'd been during dinner. “I agree with you, Angelica. It's a good thing Casper's day off put that pair on opposite sides of the abyss.”

“Definitely.” Angelica smiled wryly. “Look what happened the last time Romina and Brandon played on the same team—me!”

Flynt gazed down at her. She was beautiful and strong and smart. Behind her self-protective wall of cool reserve, she was funny and warm.

Which made him completely rethink his dire Romina-and-Brandon-apocalypse hypothesis. If the two of them could produce Angelica…

“Do you two want to go to the Have A Nice Day Café with Mara and me tonight?” TJ joined them to issue the invitation. “It just opened last week and is supposed to be cool. Everything is from the seventies, the music and raised lit dance floor with a mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling. There are posters of celebrities from back then plastered all over the walls. It could be fun.”

Angelica and Flynt looked at each other and quickly looked away, each remembering their previous evening at another nightspot, Swank. The booth. The kisses.

“We'd better not,” Angelica said quickly.

“Ah, come on, Angel,” TJ pleaded. “Mara won't go
without you. She's still not over me going into your mom's house with the search warrant.”

“I know that wasn't your fault, TJ,” Angelica said in his defense.

“Certainly not,” Flynt agreed. “And if going to this retro place with you will persuade Mara of that, maybe we ought to go along. Although we aren't really dressed for the seventies, are we, Angel? Nobody is wearing bell-bottoms or platform shoes.”

“I'd give a lot to see
you
in bell-bottoms and platform shoes,” Angelica retorted. Flynt hadn't called her Angel before, and the way he said it was something of a challenge. A dare. Should she go with him?

She glanced at Mara, who had remained at the door in earnest conversation with Romina. Sarah and Casper were laughing at something Brandon had said.

“I hope your father isn't sharing tales of his Hollywood childhood with the kids,” Flynt said, following her gaze. “Casper's escapade at the video arcade pales in comparison to some of Brandon's preteen adventures.”

It was as if he'd read her mind! She supposed their shared confidence today had given each of them a certain insight into the other. She thought of little Mark Corrigan, snatched off the streets near his home and still missing, of Flynt's grim family life following his brother's disappearance. But Flynt hadn't used the tragedy as an excuse to fail; he'd grown into a successful, strong adult. Who could still empathize with a troubled kid like Casper.

And like her, he didn't burden himself with fantasies about love and marriage providing all the answers to
life's uncertainties; he didn't kid himself that loving was a salve to soothe pain. It was a relief to find a kindred spirit.

Angelica decided then and there to extend their evening together. She wasn't ready to go home alone, she really wanted to be with Flynt.

The revelation was both scary and exhilarating.

“I'll go tonight,” she said, before she could change her mind. “I'd like to see those old posters, I bet they're hilarious. And I want to persuade Mara not to hold a grudge against TJ.”

She couldn't admit that she simply wanted to spend more time with Flynt. Old habits, like holding back, died hard.

“Of course,” Flynt said, and tucked her hand into his pocket.