Death's Door (22 page)

Aspen cocked his head as if to say,
Aw, shucks,
as Paul closed the pizza box and put it in the refrigerator. She silently promised the dog that she would give it to him later. She didn’t care for cold pizza.

“Let’s go sit in the other room,” he said. “I want to talk to you.”

She followed him to the sofa facing the swimming pool. Daylight was slowly fading, creating long, dark shadows that melded into each other. The ceiling fan circulated the fragrant aroma of the night-blooming jasmine that grew on the high walls encircling Corona del Mar.

She sat down first and he sat right next to her.
Please,
she thought,
don’t let him know how wildly my heart is thumping.

“I know you’re one for facts and statistics,” he began, “so what I’m going to say might not seem plausible to you.”

Madison nodded and reached down to pet Aspen, who’d settled at her feet. She listened as he explained the strange death of Keith Brooks Smith.

“That’s bizarre,” she said, “but what does it have to do with me?”

“Maybe nothing, but two of Wyatt’s children in the Boston area plus this Smith guy died. Now we have three children who could possibly help Wyatt Holbrook dead.”

“How many children do you suppose there are?”

“You’re trying to calculate the odds, aren’t you?”

“Yes. The other deaths weren’t murders. Just this one, right?”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. One was a car accident in a relatively new car. Another was a heroin overdose in a young woman who wasn’t thought to be a user. Conveniently, drugs and needles were found at the scene.”

Suddenly, Madison got the picture. “You think I’m in danger, don’t you?”

What is the largest living organism on Earth?

“I
T’S POSSIBLE
your life is in danger.” Paul took one of her hands in both of his and gazed earnestly at her.

She didn’t believe it, but the intensity in Paul’s eyes told her that he was dead serious. For an instant her mind snapped back to this morning and the way Aiden had been so protective of Chloe. Madison liked to think she could take care of herself, and she could, but something cracked inside her. Knowing Paul cared appealed to her softer feminine side, the side she liked to deny having.

“I don’t think this adds up to my being in any kind of danger,” she told him. “The deaths in Boston don’t seem to be murder. So what you have is
one
of Wyatt’s offspring being killed. That’s all.”

“It’s just a hunch. I admit it, but I can’t tell you how strongly I feel I’m right. ID theft, Erin’s murder, Luis Estevez’s sudden appearance and discovering you’re one of Wyatt’s—”

“I’m not! I’m just trying to help.”

His expression darkened with an unreadable emotion. “So much is going on, a perfect storm of events and you’re at the center. We don’t have the big picture or we’d know what was happening.”

Madison liked to deal in facts. Well, actually, she’d carved out a career from arcane facts. But so much weird stuff was
going on around her that she couldn’t help wonder. “How can we figure it out?”

“I’ll see what the guys in the fraud department have to say about Luis Estevez.” He ran his hand through his hair, then added, “I’ll also contact an agent I know with the FBI field office here in Miami.”

“Good idea.” She wouldn’t have thought to contact the FBI, but banking crimes did come under federal jurisdiction.

“I’m also going to phone the detectives in the Boston cases and see if there was anything…off about them.”

“Off?”

“That just means the lead detective has a hunch something isn’t right but can’t prove it. They may go with the flow and close the case.” He shrugged. “A closed case is a plus for the department. You add it to the ‘solved’ statistics. Detectives are under a lot of pressure to close cases. It makes it appear as if crime is going down, not up.”

“Makes sense,” she said.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

His look was so galvanizing it sent a tremor through her. She believed he was genuinely concerned. Why? He hardly knew her.
Don’t kid yourself,
an inner voice cautioned her. This man had already gone out on a limb for her by not revealing Aspen belonged to Dicon Labs. He was interested in her.

And she was interested in him.

It marked the first time since Aiden had walked out that she’d felt anything for another man. She’d tried to date—at Erin’s insistence—but her heart hadn’t been in it. Paul projected an energy and power that undeniably attracted her. Each time she was with him the pull became stronger.

He scooted closer and slipped his arm around her waist. A delightful shiver of anticipation ran through her. She forced herself to keep her mind on Luis Estevez’s offer. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”

He pressed his lips to hers, caressing her mouth more than kissing it. “Can we talk about it later?” he asked with a smile that would test a nun’s vows.

“No. Is sex all you think about?”

He considered the question for a moment. “Sometimes I think about food.”

She couldn’t help laughing…and enjoying being in his arms. He was going to make love to her unless she stopped him, which she knew she didn’t have the willpower to do. But she needed to tell him what was on her mind.

“Please help me,” she said.

“Name it.”

“Really look closely at Luis Estevez. If he wants my half of Total Trivia for legitimate purposes, I’m inclined to sell it to him.” She stared out the French doors at the pool area, a little surprised at herself. She’d been thinking about this, but she hadn’t realized she’d actually made up her mind. “Being around the Holbrooks makes me want to do something more with my life than run a trivia game site.”

“What have they done other than produce a drug for diabetes?” Paul asked.

“Not a lot,” Madison conceded, “but at least they’re trying. Wyatt wants to have something that will contribute to society after he’s gone. That’s commendable. Right?”

“Yes, I guess. I still think they stand to make a fortune.”

“While helping people.” Madison shook her head. “I’m not helping anyone except to give them a good time. I want to do more.”

“You want to make more money.”

“It’s not about money. When my father was dying, I would have traded anything I had or hoped to have to save him. I’d like to do something to help people. I left MIT before I finished my degree because my father was ill. I’d like to go back—maybe not there—but I would like to complete my degree.”

“If that’s what you want to do, I think you should.”

“There’s something else.” She didn’t know how to explain it exactly. “Chloe took Aiden away from me, and he adores her. I mean
adores
her. Aiden makes no attempt to hide his feelings, yet when I went there to ask about the bank accounts, Chloe went ballistic, like I was a threat or something. Her hatred seemed all out of proportion. It’s as if there’s a time bomb of jealousy—or something—inside her threatening to explode. It’s probably best that I leave the company.”

“I never met the woman, but if that’s how she behaves and you really want to finish your education, I agree. Sell your half of the business.”

“Thanks,” she said in a low voice. He had no idea how much she’d needed to talk to him about this. She had no one, no one at all in her life to discuss her hopes, her dreams with. “Check out Luis Estevez. I don’t want to sell to a crook.”

The concern reflected in his eyes became smoldering desire. She was gathered against a warm, rock-solid body and he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her urgently, hungrily, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She eased her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss.

Her brain reeled as his tongue slipped into her mouth and mated with hers. In a heartbeat her blood thickened to warm honey. Oh, my, kissing him was even better than she’d imagined.

His hands skimmed the planes of her back and waist. She drew closer to him, using her own hands to test the firm contours of his shoulders. Heavens, his shoulders were wide and powerful. They took their time, kissing, exploring with their hands, but the urgency, the need began to build. She heard herself moaning softly, from deep in her throat, as he adjusted their positions until they were stretched out on the sofa side by side. Instinctively, her body arched into his and he grabbed her bottom with both hands and brought her against his erection.

The turgid proof of his virility pressed against her, his heat searing through her skimpy shorts. His hand glided along her body until it found the swell of her breast and cupped the soft fullness in the palm of his hand. Her fingernails dug into his skin as she fought back a cry of pure pleasure.

His mouth lifted from hers and she opened her eyes, set to protest. The irises of his blue eyes were huge and black and gleaming with desire. His raw masculinity struck a responsive chord in her. “Oh, yes,” she whispered.

Yes—what?
her brain had the common sense to ask.
Yes, this is the man for me,
came the answer. All the heartache that had gone before had led her here to this man. Now, she was ready to lose herself in him, in this moment, and forget what tomorrow might bring.

She quivered, inhaling sharply as the hand that found her breast eased under the tank top and thumbed the taut nubbin of a nipple through the sheer lace bra. Her body responded instinctively, a shaft of moist heat invading the apex of her thighs.

Passion flared in his heavy-lidded eyes as if he reveled in the reaction he was causing. Then his mouth touched her damp lips again, softly, barely there. She wound her arm around his neck and pulled him as close as possible. The woodsy scent of his aftershave lotion filled her lungs. Madison’s sex-starved body kicked into overdrive.

She twined her legs between his, thrusting herself upward, silently offering everything she had to give. It had been so long since she’d had sex, so long since she’d wanted a man that she burned to have Paul make love to her.

His lips left hers to trace a path of moist, lingering kisses down her throat to the sensitive curve where her neck met her shoulder. Somehow he’d unhooked her bra and was now caressing her bare breast while he continued to kiss her. He paused for a moment, breathing like a racehorse.

“Don’t stop,” she cried.

He rose and swept her wordlessly into his arms. In a few quick strides, they were in her bedroom. The next second they were stretched out on the comforter. He angled himself across her, letting her absorb some of his weight but leaving enough of her exposed for him to touch.

“You know,” he said, his voice low and husky, “I had the feeling the first time I set eyes on you that we’d end up in bed.”

She grabbed a toss pillow and bopped him with it. “You’re conceited.”

“Thanks,” he said in a tone that would have convinced the toughest jury that he’d just received a supreme compliment.

His mouth captured hers in a fierce, hot kiss and she could feel the rising passion thrumming through his body, flowing like an electric current into hers. The sheer intensity of his kiss took what little breath she had away until she was forced to jerk her head to one side and gasp for air.

“You okay?”

“Never better,” she managed to whisper. “Don’t stop now.”

“Believe me, I had no intention—”

She smothered his words with an openmouthed kiss and arched upward so her bare breasts were thrust against the crisp hair on his chest. What had happened to their clothes? When had he undressed them? Oh, boy. He was just too good at this. A pro really.

Who had he practiced on? asked some distant part of her brain. Did it really matter? came the groggy reply. She tried not to dwell on tomorrow.
Live in the present,
she admonished herself. Still, some little voice in her head reminded her of the heartbreak that could devastate her at a time when she was already oh, so vulnerable.

His slow, erotic kiss robbed her brain of any will to object. Slowly, taking all the time in the world, Paul trailed a series of kisses downward from her lips to her neck to her sensitive breasts. He was tasting her, savoring her as much as kissing her.
All the while, his hand petted and stroked her inner thighs, igniting heat with each caress until she was purring like a kitten and arching upward into the palm of his hand.

Nothing in her life had quite prepared her for this…this pure ecstasy. True, she believed she’d reached the pinnacle of desire on more than one occasion. She’d been wrong. Nothing had felt quite like this.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered, his voice raspy.

“So…are you,” she managed to say.

He angled his body across hers, the weight pressing her down into the soft mattress. The rasp of hair on his chest tickled her breasts and sent yet another bolt of searing heat downward. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him—everywhere.

His cheeks were stubbled with an emerging beard, but it only added to the erotic sensations coursing through her body. Her tongue explored the patch of soft skin behind his ear. It had the faintest taste of salt. His overheated body exuded a woodsy, musky aroma that spiraled through her in a heartbeat. She moved downward until her lips touched the soft hair on his chest and she felt the thud of his heart against her mouth.

Oh, please,
she silently thought.
Let this last for hours and hours. Don’t let it end.

His powerful back was moist beneath her wandering hands, the muscles flexing at her touch. He moved against her, his hard body delightfully heavy as he nudged one leg between hers. His iron-hard erection delved between her legs.

“Oh, my. You’re just too good at this.”

Instead of responding, his lips nuzzled her nipple, sucking the taut bud deep into his mouth. His tongue played with it while she writhed beneath him. One second she wanted to scream for him to hurry; the next she wanted to demand he slow down, make this last all night.

She felt weak, her body quaking with need. Blood thundered in her temples and it was hard to think coherently. Instead she
instinctively reacted and guided his penis into her as she widened her legs to accommodate him.

His mouth claimed hers and he kissed her with a fierce abandon that made her light-headed. He thrust into her in one quick motion that left her gasping for breath. He felt huge and burning hot inside her.

Oh, my. Oh, my.

Nothing registered in her brain for a moment except how thrilling this felt. It was a primal feeling, she dimly realized, a sensation she’d never experienced until this moment. The charged duet of their breathing, their bodies moving in sync seemed so right. So perfect.

“Madison,” he moaned in her ear. “You feel…you feel…”

Without completing his sentence, he began driving into her, then pulling out in a series of long, slow strokes. She lifted her hips to deepen the angle of his thrusts. Then, without warning, he picked up the pace, jackhammering into her. She clutched at him, crying his name. “Paul…oh, Paul!”

Pleasure rippled through her in shuddering waves and she arched higher, lifting off the bed as she reached the crescendo. Her body contracted in a convulsion of pleasure so mindblowing that she saw stars. White-hot stars.

Seconds later he drove into her one last time as he found his own release. He collapsed on her, panting, then rolled to one side, their bodies still joined. She felt languid, dazed and utterly incapable of rational thought. They lay silent for a few minutes, cradled in each other’s arms, still breathing like marathon runners.

“Well,” he said with a typical male smile—a grin really, “am I any good?”