Deadly Desire (13 page)

I shook my head, trying to get my mind back to what really mattered. Pierce wasn’t falling for me, but even if he was, it didn’t change the fact that he might be a dangerous guy. I’d seen the report. Maybe he was covering for someone else, but I found that really hard to believe. “But none of that matters if he’s the kind of guy I think he might be.”

“And what kind of guy is that?” she asked.

Something creaked in the apartment, and I stiffened. Cynthia’s eyes widened as she met my gaze. She’d heard it, too. It hadn’t just been me. We both sat there frozen on the couch, listening hard. Maybe it was only the neighbors upstairs, I tried to tell myself. But I knew that couldn’t be right. Despite the age and state of the building, we’d never heard the tiniest noise from whoever lived in the apartment above ours.

Another creak. I whirled around to stare at my bedroom door. It was coming from inside my room. Heart pounding, I slowly stood from the couch, and Cynthia hissed my name. She reached out and grabbed my skirt in an attempt to keep me close. Maybe it was just Pierce. Or one of his bodyguards. He’d just had someone sneak in to keep an eye on me. That was all it was.

I didn’t know why that thought was a comfort, but it was.

His warnings filled my ears. He’d told me I wasn’t safe in my apartment. That whoever had killed Michael Astor could come after me, too.

Before I could decide what to do, the door creaked open, revealing a silhouette on the shadowy floor. The silhouette of a woman. And she was holding a gun.

“Run!” I grabbed Cynthia’s arm and dragged her from the couch just as a shot rang out behind us. The bullet lodged into the plaster on the wall beside our heads, a sharp sound that curdled the blood in my veins. Ears roaring, I threw open the front door, my nails still digging into Cynthia’s arm. We had to get the hell out of there. We had to get to safety.

There was only one place that popped into my mind.

We had to run to Pierce.

Cynthia and I sat waiting in Pierce’s luxurious penthouse with two of his bodyguards standing watch just inside the front door. We’d arrived at his place, breathless and terrified, and I still hadn’t managed to calm my racing heart in the full hour that we’d been curled up on his couch. My soul had been crushed when his bodyguards had told me that he was out at Roxy Club for the evening. I tried to tell myself I didn’t care, but I knew it was only a lie.

For some reason, I’d expected him to wait for me to come to my senses. I wanted him to be there when I came running into his arms. And I needed him to calm my fears. Cynthia and I had just been shot at. Someone had tried to take our lives. And Pierce wasn’t there to say everything would be okay.

I knew he didn’t owe me a thing, especially after I’d shown him nothing but distrust and thrown away his repeated attempts to keep me safe.

The door swung open, and Pierce strode into the room, his face all scowled over with irritation and disgust. When he saw me and Cynthia huddled up on his couch, he stopped short, his eyes widening.

“Emma?” He shook his head and glanced at my roommate, his brows furrowing. “I’m pleased you’re here, but I have to admit I’m puzzled to see you after what you said to me this afternoon.” His gaze swept across my face. “Something’s wrong. Tell me what it is.”

I opened my mouth to recall the night’s events, but everything inside me crumbled. Despite my will to stay strong, the dam holding back my emotions burst, and tears leaked out of my eyes. I started sobbing, my body shaking with fear and stress and pain. All I could do was replay the moment when the bullet had hurtled past me and slammed into the wall.

That could have been me. It could have been Cynthia. Either one of us could be dead, and it was almost too much for me to take.

Pierce’s eyes widened, and he strode over to me in two quick beats. He gathered me up in his arms, pressing my face gently against his chest and holding me steady as the sobs overtook my body. Even though he was trying to comfort me, something about his kindness only made the tears pour faster from my eyes. He’d done nothing but try to help me, and I’d just kept pushing him away, believing whatever anyone said about him.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he said into the top of my head. “You’re here now. You’re fine.”

After I cried out all my tears, Pierce held me for several more long moments before pulling away. A part of me wanted to grab his arms and press them around me again, to feel his warmth as he held me steady. I’d felt safe as he kept me close to his chest, and what I needed more than anything was to feel like the Earth was going to turn another day. Pierce was the only person in the world who could make me feel like that at the moment.

“What happened?” He turned to Cynthia, whose mouth was pressed together hard, her usual rosy lips white and thin. Her own eyes were red and watery, but she’d held it together far better than I had.

“Some lady broke into our apartment tonight and tried to kill us.” Cynthia’s voice was flat as she recalled the story. “She took a few shots at us, but we managed to escape before…anything bad could happen.”

Pierce’s whole face went hard, and I saw his fists began to shake as he clenched them tightly by his sides. “A woman, you say.”

Cynthia nodded. “Yeah, but we didn’t get a good look at her. We were kind of hauling ass to get out of there.”

“I see.” Pierce gritted his teeth, rippling his jawline and making him look harsh and deadly and fierce. “Stay here with Emma. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Pierce walked away from us, disappearing into the hallway after speaking quietly to the two bodyguards stationed at the doors. When he left, they stood even straighter, and their gazes watched our every move. It chilled me to see them standing there like that, but it also gave me a little comfort. Whoever that woman was, she couldn’t get to us in here.

“Mr. Donovan said you two should make yourselves at home while he’s attending to some business,” one of the bodyguards said. “He may be awhile.”

But I didn’t move from my spot. I wanted to wait on Pierce.

***

At some point later that night, I was awoken by the feel of strong arms lifting me from where I’d fallen asleep in a heap on the couch. My eyelids fluttered open to see Pierce’s handsome face staring down at me, a softness in his expression I’d never seen before.

“You’re okay,” he said in a whisper. “I’ve got you.”

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek against his shoulder as he carried me from the living room and down the hall to the room I’d stayed the night before. But instead of stopping there, he kept moving past that door. He stopped at a room several doors down and eased me inside, lowering me gently onto a king-sized bed that was draped in steel-colored sheets. My eyes widened as I gazed around me. It was a stark room, though elegantly decorated, and it smelled of nothing but Pierce. His musky scent surrounded me, warming me from my toes up to the top of my head.

He’d brought me into his own bedroom. My heart fluttered in my chest.

“You’ll stay in here tonight with me,” he said in a low voice. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“What about Cynthia?” I asked, watching him as he slowly took off his shoes and socks. His suit jacket went next, and then his elegant button-up shirt, revealing his chiseled chest and bulging biceps. He was so handsome. Perfect, really. It was obvious he took care of his body, and my hands twitched with the need to reach out and press my palms against his smooth skin.

“I showed her to a guest room before I woke you,” he said with a slight smile. “You were out like a light on the couch.”

“And she’ll be safe here, too? You don’t mind if she stays?” I asked, pressing my hands together and gripping tight. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to my roommate because of me.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, the kindness in his eyes suddenly growing dark. “I know you’re having trouble believing me, Emma, but no more climbing out of windows and running off. I can’t keep you safe unless you agree to trust me.”

I nodded, and he visibly relaxed. “I trust you.”

Emma looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes, and every wall I’d constructed around my heart began to crumble. She’d been scared out of her mind when she’d come running to my apartment, and who could blame her? Someone had tried to kill her tonight. Rachel Donovan would sure as hell pay for this.

When Emma had broken down into tears, I’d sworn to myself that I’d do whatever I could to protect her from any more harm. I couldn’t bear to see her cry. It made me feel like I’d failed her, and I guessed I had. When I’d gone to meet Rachel at Roxy Club, she’d been nowhere to be seen. I’d waited far too long for her to arrive.

She’d stood me up, and now I saw why. It had been a diversion. A way to distract me. She went after Emma when she knew I’d be otherwise engaged, and it had almost worked. I wouldn’t let it happen again. Emma wouldn’t leave my apartment until I tracked Rachel Donovan down.

“Pierce,” Emma mumbled as she reached out and caressed her fingers across my arm. Inwardly, I groaned. I didn’t know how I was going to keep myself from fucking her again, especially now that she was staying in my bed. The slightest of touch from her had already made me hard.

Keeping my distance from her wasn’t working. If I gave into what both of us needed right now, it would only draw her in closer, and that was bad news for both of us. I could already see what had happened to her life after being involved with me for less than a week. And letting her in would only give her the power to destroy me. As much as I scolded Emma for not trusting me, I couldn’t let myself trust her either.

I couldn’t trust anyone. That was the only way my life could work. The only way I could be in control.

Emma’s hand slid down my chest and rubbed against my cock. It strained against my pants, begging to be inside her tight little pussy. Fuck control, I thought with a groan. She looked so innocent and sweet, so eager to please me, her big brown eyes blinking as she gave me that timid smile of hers. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, and I couldn’t fight against it any longer. I was only a man. And I needed to take her the way only a man could.

She was mine.

I could tell Pierce was hesitating, but I needed him now more than ever. My mind was buzzing, and my body felt on edge. After what had happened tonight, I needed to feel alive, and I knew Pierce could make me forget everything that had happened like no one else could.

I rubbed my hand against his length. He was already hard, and I ached for him to be inside me, thrusting roughly into my wet sex. He groaned and shifted sideways on the bed, and I knew by the way he looked at me that he was giving in to what I knew we both wanted.

“Lay back, Emma.” He moved my hand away from his length and pressed his hand against my shoulder. I obeyed, my breath quick in my throat. I would do anything he wanted if that meant he would pleasure me the way I’d never been pleasured by anyone before.

“Now spread your legs for me,” he said in a low growl.

I opened my legs, my thighs wide on the bed. He slipped his hand in between them and slid his fingers underneath my thong. I gasped as he pushed inside me, and I grew wetter and tighter with every beat that passed. I groaned as he teased me. My need built up inside me, bringing me closer and closer to a climax I begged to reach. But just before I came, he pulled away. I arched my back and groaned in frustration. A sexy smile slid across his lips.