License to Thrill (28 page)
“What’s that got to do with present circumstances?” Mason asked.
Cahill smiled. “I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Twilight Studios has not been particularly financially viable in recent years. As CEO, I’ve had to make a few executive decisions.”
“Such as?”
Charlee could feel the heat of Mason’s breath burning along the nape of her neck and she shivered.
“Convincing Sheila Bradford, who is still on the board of directors at the accounting firm and has a very strong influence there, that a second fix might just be the thing both Blade and Twilight Studios needed to boost our flagging sales.”
“So that’s what this is all about? Cheating on the Oscars.”
Cahill smiled again, uglier this time. “Cheating to get what you want is as American as apple pie.”
“Not in my America, buddy.” Mason’s voice was hard, unflinching.
“I applaud your gung ho, Boy Scout attitude, Mr. Gentry, truly I do, but really it shows an appalling lack of sophistication. I might have expected such lowbrow sentiment from someone like Ms. Champagne here, but from a man such as yourself?” Cahill clicked his tongue like a disappointed parent.
Hey! She bristled. Had that creep just insulted her? She glared at him.
“Listen here, Cahill,” Mason ground out. “Don’t you say disparaging things about Charlee.”
“Ah, I see the lay of the land.” Cahill pursed his lips and smirked. “You and Ms. Champagne have obviously bonded. I’m assuming you made good use of the honeymoon suite intended for Skeet and Violet Hammersmitz.”
“That’s none of your business. Leave Charlee out of all of this.”
My hero.
The words blazed across her mind like a neon billboard. Mason had defended her honor. Her chest swelled with pride, delight, and respect and then she got mad at herself for forgiving him so easily. She was not letting him off the hook without busting his chops first.
“I wish I could leave her out of it, but like it or not, Ms. Champagne
is
involved. You involved her when you left Vegas with her.”
“I don’t care what you say, I don’t cheat and neither does my grandfather,” Mason insisted.
Except on your fiancée,
Charlee thought.
“And she’s not my fiancée,” he growled low in her ear, reading her mind so uncannily that Charlee jumped.
“I’m merely pointing out the obvious,” Cahill continued “But you of all people, Mr. Gentry, should understand how the real world runs. Don’t tell me you’ve never ordered the books to be cooked to make your company’s bottom line look better to investors.”
“Never.”
“And you call yourself an investment banker?” Cahill shook his head.
“You’re sunk, Cahill. I’m damn well going to the television stations with what you’ve just told me. It’s over.”
“If I believed that, then I would have to let Sal and Petey kill you. Fortunately, I’m confident you won’t go to the media.”
“How can you be so sure?”
The intensity of Mason’s anger generated so much body heat Charlee feared he’d sear a hole in her fanny. She had the sense that if Mason wasn’t hog-tied, he would be performing a few of his more advanced tae kwon do moves on Cahill.
“I’m certain you won’t go public. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t have told you a thing. See, we’re now partners in conspiracy, you and I.”
“The hell we are.”
“Such vehemence. I remember what it’s like to be young and passionate.”
“I’m not like you. Not in the least.”
“Perhaps you’re right. However, one fact remains that ensures your silence and loyalty to my cause. Your family’s auditing firm will be implicated if you go public with this information after Bradford receives the Academy Award.”
“But you know my family wasn’t involved,” Mason protested. “We have no motive.”
“It didn’t matter with Arthur Anderson either. Only a few bad eggs were enough to topple one of the top four international auditing firms. Unluckily for you, Mr. Gentry, I’m your bad egg. You not only jeopardize yourself but your entire family fortune as well. Open your mouth and your life as you know it is over.”
M
ason didn’t believe for a moment that Cahill would allow them to walk out of the farmhouse alive. The only reason he hadn’t already killed them was because he was planning on using them as added lever-age to keep Nolan quiet.
Cahill left the farmhouse, instructing Sal and Petey to watch over them. The two men had gone back to their gin game in the kitchen while Mason and Charlee remained piled on top of each other in the beanbag chair.
The weight of her body in his lap would have been uncomfortable were it not so erotic. Every time she squirmed, his body hardened.
“Sit still, dammit,” he said, his teeth clenched.
“My leg is cramping up.”
“That’s not the only thing cramping up.”
She gave a little gasp. “You’re getting a boner.”
“Yeah, so quit moving.”
“I don’t believe this. What are you, Gentry, some kind of sex machine? You’ve got two women and neither of us can keep you satisfied,” she snapped.
“You’re the only one who turns me on.”
“I’m sure Daphne takes great comfort in that.”
“Listen, Charlee, I’m so sorry about what happened”
“Save it for someone who cares.”
Thank God, she stopped moving. They sat together in the darkness, her head tucked under his chin, her spine flush against his chest, his butt buried deep in the foul smelling beanbag chair. They breathed together in a raspy, sweaty, rhythm and it took a while for him to calm down.
“I should have told you I was almost engaged,” he said. “It was wrong of me not to.”
“I don’t give a damn, Gentry. Honest.”
“You lie.”
“Oh, please, don’t flatter yourself.”
“You’re going to tell me last night meant nothing to you?”
“That’s right.”
He clenched his jaw and all the hopes and dreams he’d been spinning in his head about a future with Charlee shattered. Had he been so wrong? Had he just imagined the chemistry—both physical and mental—between them? Or was she simply being stubborn, denying her feelings in order to punish him for not telling her about Daphne?
“I’m going to let this issue drop for the time being. We’ve got a serious problem on our hands.” He kept his voice to a whisper just in case Sal and Petey were straining their ears to listen in on their conversation. “But don’t think the discussion is closed.”
“Yes it is, because the goons are going to kill us.” The calmness in her voice gave him strength. She wasn’t afraid. She wouldn’t panic like she had with the spider.
“It’s a distinct possibility,” he admitted.
“Just my luck I have to die with Don Juan Gentry.”
“Don’t make jokes about this and I’m not a Don Juan.”
“You coulda fooled me.”
“For what it’s worth, I wish you weren’t here either”
“Yes, yes. I’m fully aware you’re regretting ever having met me.”
“Nonsense,” he shouted, then remembered to lower his voice. “I don’t regret meeting you! You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Charlee snorted, sending a puff of warm air rolling over his cheek. “Oh, yeah, right. I’m betting you said something suspiciously similar to Daphne once upon a time.”
“Dammit, Charlee,” he snarled. “Will you let go of your anger for two seconds? Not that your wrath isn’t justified. In fact, I wouldn’t blame you if you never spoke to me again after the stunt I pulled. What I meant by my remark was that I wish you were far away from here and safe.”
“Do you mean it?” she asked after a long pause.
“That I’m the best thing that ever happened to you?”
“I never meant anything more in my life.”
“Seriously?”
“It doesn’t get much more serious than this.”
“How am I the best thing that ever happened to you?”
“Since I met you I’ve come alive. You jostled me out of my doldrums. You’re the breath of fresh air in my stale, studied world. You turned me on my ear. Woman, you made me forget Daphne even existed.”
“You don’t think it’s just the excitement of the car chases and the goons waving guns at us and the hot sex do you?” She sounded as nervous as he felt.
“I’ll admit these past few days have been a thrill ride but they’ve been exciting because of you.”
“Oh.”
He could hear in her tone that she wanted to believe him. Please, let her believe him. He gave her time to mull things over before saying, “I feel like an ass. I was supposed to be rescuing you, but I mucked things up and got caught by Cahill.”
“Hey, I let myself get snatched by Dumb and Dumber Doesn’t make me feel particularly bright.”
“This is all my fault. You were upset. If you hadn’t just found out about Daphne, you wouldn’t have had your guard down.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Gentry.”
“You can’t fool me, Charlee. Last night was special I challenge you to deny it.” He lifted his chin and nuzzled the curve of her neck.
“Well, I have to confess I enjoyed last night a little bit more than I’m enjoying tonight.”
They fell silent.
That nasty old guilt nibbled at him. “I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell you about Daphne before. I guess I never thought things between you and me were going to end up the way they did.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. We need to concentrate on escaping. The sooner the better.”
“You got any plans?”
“No, do you?”
“Not really.”
“All rightee then.”
More silence.
“I do have a rental car parked about a quarter of a mile away. If we could get loose we’ve got a ride back to L.A.”
“Assuming Cahill doesn’t find the car.”
“Assuming.”
“How did you get your hands on a rental car?”
“It was Daphne’s.”
“Oh, I bet that went over big.”
“She’s not an unreasonable woman.”
“Which is what everyone looks for in a mate. Rich, sexy bachelor searching for wife. Must be sophisticated, beautiful, and oh, yes, above all, reasonable.”
“You think I’m sexy?” he teased, grinning into her hair.
She poked him in the belly with her thumb.
“Ow, what was that for?”
“Being cocky.”
“Babe, you have no idea.”
“Knock off calling me babe. I’m not your babe or your sweetheart or your darling and I most certainly am not reasonable. If the tables were turned and Daphne had been kidnapped and you tried to borrow my car I wouldn’t let you have it.”
“You’d let the villains spirit her away?”
“Damned skippee.”
“Lucky for you, Daphne’s reasonable.”
“No, lucky for you. If you were my fiancé and I caught you cheating on me, I’d castrate you with a pocketknife.”
“For the last time, she isn’t my fiancée. I never popped the question.”
“Yeah, but you two obviously had an understanding.”
“Things change, but I do regret the way it all transpired transpired. I never meant to hurt either one of you.” He lowered his voice, dipped his head, and blew on the back of her neck. Delight shafted through him when she shivered against the heat. “And if you were my fiancée, I would never cheat on you.”
“Because I’d cut your balls off?”
“There is that. But mostly because I can’t imagine any woman enticing me away from someone as spirited and exciting as you.”
She said nothing for the longest moment but her breathing quickened. “Was that a compliment?”
“Yes.”
“Well stop it.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to compliment me. I don’t even want to like you.”
“But you do.”
“Yeah,” she admitted after a long moment, “I do. Stupid me. I knew better, I warned myself, but I drank too much champagne and convinced myself I could separate sex from my emotions. I guess I was wrong. I’ve never been able to do that.”
“What do you mean never?”
Charlee blew out her breath. She might as well tell him. She’d been avoiding facing her past for too long.
“It’s a complicated story.”
“I’m all ears.”
She paused, searching for the words to begin. “When I was nineteen and working as a maid at the MGM Grand, I was courted by Gregory Blankensonship, one of the owners’ sons.”
“I’ve heard of the family,” Mason said. “They’re quite wealthy.”
“I was leery. I’d already had a few bad experiences with wealthy guys. Including that senator I told you about, but Gregory was persistent. I would say I played hard to get, except I wasn’t playing. I was attracted to him, oh, boy, was I attracted to him, but I was so scared of getting hurt that I resisted his attention.”
“And that just escalated his interest in you.”
“Uh-huh. He bought me gifts and took me on trips. I admit. He turned my head. It’s an age-old story and foolishly I fell for it. When he told me he loved me, I slept with him. I gave him my virginity, Mason. I thought what we had was the real deal.” Her voice caught and her throat clogged with tears at the painful memory. “I didn’t care about his money, I swear. I was in love with him. Or the idea of who I thought he was.”
“I hate the sound of where this story is going,” he muttered darkly.
“The next day was Gregory’s college graduation party. His parents were throwing him a huge shindig at their house in Tahoe. I thought he was going to introduce me to them at last. Even though I wasn’t officially invited, I felt sure Gregory would want me there.”
Charlee paused. Why did the memory still hurt so much? It wasn’t the loss of Gregory that caused her so much distress. She’d never had him in the first place. What ate at her so cruelly was the humiliation.
“You don’t have to go on, Charlee. It’s none of my business.”
“I just want you to understand,” she said. “Why I came on to you last night and why I was so upset to find out about Daphne. Anyway, I bought a new outfit, purchased a plane ticket, and showed up at the party to surprise him.”
“He wasn’t expecting you to be there?”
“No. I walked into the party just as he was announcing his plans to marry this pretty young actress. I…” She couldn’t go on. Tears splashed down her cheek.
“Ah, sweetheart, don’t cry,” Mason said.
“I’m not crying,” she denied, sniffling.