Victim of Deception (4 page)

M
ax laid down his hammer and leaned his head back to try and relax the stiff muscles in his neck. He’d forgotten how hard construction work could be on the body. Max worked out regularly and figured he was in pretty good shape for forty. A weight machine couldn’t compare to three straight days of manual labor.

He had to admit he liked the physical workout, and he liked the room’s results because of that workout. Kevin had put him in the kitchen. He said the owner wanted this room completely gutted and modernized. That didn’t surprise Max. Karessa had always loved to cook and liked all the newest gadgets. She wanted convenience, but still wanted the kitchen to have an early 1900s appearance. Thanks to the pictures and drawings supplied by her, she’d get exactly what she wanted.

He hadn’t seen her. He’d been working in her home for three days, but he always left before she showed up. She hadn’t officially moved into the house yet, but she did spend the nights in her great-aunt’s bedroom. He’d learned that from talking with Kevin.

Between Karessa here at night, and workers in practically every room during the day, Max hadn’t had the chance to search
for the bond. He would. He was determined to find the bond and get out of here before he ever saw Karessa.

He didn’t think his heart could stand seeing her again.

A final tug with the claw of his hammer and the last cabinet came loose from the wall. Max stood back and smiled. He pictured Karessa’s drawing in his mind, the way she wanted this room to look when completed. She’d always had excellent taste. The room would be beautiful, as would the entire house.

“How’s it going?” Kevin asked from behind him.

Max turned and faced his boss. “Great. I just pulled down the last cabinet. Now I can start tearing down the walls.”

“You can start on the walls tomorrow. It’s ten after five.”

“It is?” Max glanced at his watch. He’d been so absorbed in his work, he hadn’t noticed the time.

“I wish all my men worked as hard as you do.”

“I like the physical work.”

“Yeah, me too.” He clapped Max on the shoulder. “Karessa called me about half an hour ago. She’s run into some problems at her museum, so she won’t be here tonight.”

Max kept his face impassive so Kevin wouldn’t know how his heart had kicked into high gear. “Oh?”

“Everyone else has left. As soon as you gather up your stuff, I’ll lock up after you.”

This was his chance…the chance to search the house without anyone bothering him. “Hey, man, I’d like to work a little longer. How about if I lock up for you?”

Kevin frowned slightly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

“You can trust me, Kevin, you know that.”

“It isn’t you, Max. I’m responsible for this house. I think I should be the one to lock up.”

Time for Plan B.
“Okay, I understand that. How about if you
come back in a couple of hours to lock up? I’d like to start on these walls.”

Kevin rubbed his upper lip. “No, that’d be silly. I don’t want to turn around and come back here once I’m home.” Reaching into his jeans pocket, he pulled out a gold key on a red keychain. “Here. Stay as long as you want to. Just don’t wear yourself out so you can’t work tomorrow.”

“No problem.” Max took the key and squeezed it in his fist. “Thanks.”

“Surely you have something better to do than hang around this house and work all night.”

“Nope. I don’t have anyone to go home to like you do.”

“My wife knows a lot of single women—”

Max held up one hand to stop Kevin from saying anything else. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not into blind dates.”

“If you change your mind, let me know.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Max continued to clutch the key until he heard Kevin’s pickup start. Moving to the window, he watched his friend drive down the lane until he could no longer see the truck.

“Yes!” he whispered.

Slipping the key into his pocket, Max picked up his hammer and left the kitchen. Even though he hadn’t been able to search the house the way he wanted to, he had checked out the downstairs. The bond wouldn’t be in plain sight. It had to be hidden somewhere…probably in some kind of secret compartment in one of the walls or within the woodwork.

He started in the living room. Standing in the middle of the room, he turned a circle, searching for anything that might be obvious. The walls were covered with a hideous pink flowered wallpaper. Karessa’s great-aunt obviously had no taste when it came to
decorating. Two of the walls had already been torn down, exposing the wooden studs. Nothing hidden there. Even though Max had been assigned to the kitchen, he’d wandered through the house at various times to check out what the other guys were doing. So far, no one had discovered anything hidden in the walls.

He had to find the bond before someone else did.

Juggling her briefcase, purse, and the bag holding her supper, Karessa turned the knob to the back door. She stepped into a war zone. Her kitchen had been completely destroyed. She knew it had to be torn apart to be remodeled. Still, the missing cabinets and appliances made her blink. The room looked so empty.

She had no place to set the items about to fall out of her arms. Making her way to the dining room, she placed everything on the table and sighed from relief.

The sound of a hammer pounding made her frown. She’d seen the pickup parked outside, but assumed it belonged to Kevin. Obviously, one of his workers decided to stay late tonight.

She followed the sound to the living room. Standing in the doorway, she watched the man currently knocking a hole in the wall. He stood with his back to her, giving her the opportunity to study him without his knowledge. Wavy, dark brown hair that covered his nape. Tall, at least six feet. Broad shoulders. Trim waist. Long legs encased in tight jeans…jeans that showed off a very nice butt.

Karessa sighed. It’d been much too long since she’d touched a man’s butt.

“Hello.”

He whirled around, the hammer clutched tightly in his fist. Karessa noticed that first before her gaze shifted to his face. Her
mouth dropped open. All the blood drained from her head, leaving her dizzy. She grabbed the door facing to keep from sinking to the floor. “Max?” she whispered.

“Hey, Karessa.”

She stared at him, not believing her eyes. Maxwell Hennessey was in her house?
Maxwell Hennessey
was in her house!

Karessa released the facing and clenched her hands into fists. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He lowered the hammer to his side. “Working.”

“
Working?
For whom?”

“Kevin. He gave me a job.”

Nothing he said made any sense. Max was a multi-millionaire. He didn’t need to work at manual labor. “What do you mean, he gave you a job? You don’t need the money.”

“Yeah, I do. I made some bad investments, Karessa. Things have been…tight for me.”

“They haven’t been too ‘tight’ for you to buy a Thomas Abernathy painting.”

“I bought that before…things went bad.”

She couldn’t believe she was standing here, having a calm conversation with this man. He had lied to her, betrayed her. She should be throwing heavy objects at his head, not treating him as a guest.

“I don’t care about your money situation. I want you out of my house. Now.”

He took two steps toward her. She took two steps back. Dropping the hammer to the floor, he ran one hand through his hair. “Karessa, I need this job.”

“Oh, puh
-lease
. You can sell the Abernathy painting and live comfortably for the next five years. A piddly construction job can’t pay you anywhere near what you’re used to earning.”

“It’s a start. That’s all I need.”

She
would not
feel sorry for him. She’d been a victim of his deception once. That would never happen again. “You can find your start somewhere else. I don’t want you here.”

“You’ll never see me. You’re at the museum all day while I’m here. You wouldn’t have known I was working here if I hadn’t decided to stay late. I only decided to work late when Kevin told me you wouldn’t be home tonight.”

“But I
do
know you’re here and I won’t allow it. I’ll call Kevin and tell him you aren’t allowed on my property.”

She turned to leave the room. She’d taken no more than a step when Max grabbed her arm. “Karessa, please don’t. I really do need this job.”

He turned those pleading gray eyes on her and she began to melt. He’d always had that effect on her. Knowing she couldn’t let him get to her, she narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. “Take your hand off me.”

He gave her arm a gentle squeeze before releasing it. “Look, I promise you won’t see me again. I’ll make sure I leave before you get here at night. I won’t arrive until after you leave in the morning. You’ll never know I’m here.”

My heart will know.
She straightened her spine, ready to tell him again to get out of her house. He continued speaking before she could say a word.

“I know you’re angry at me. I know I hurt you. I regret that more than I can ever tell you. But that was five years ago, Karessa. I’m a different man now. I want the chance to prove that to you.”

“I have no interest in you proving
anything
to me.”

“Okay, fine. But let me keep working here. After your house is finished, I’ll leave Fort Worth and be out of your life forever. Deal?”

Karessa wanted to say no. She wanted to demand again that he leave her house. But if he were really hurting financially and needed this job to survive, she couldn’t turn him away. “I won’t see you at all? You’ll come in the morning after I’ve left and leave before I get home?”

“I promise.”

She stared into his eyes, trying to determine whether or not he told her the truth. His eyes looked sincere. However, they’d looked sincere in the past when he’d been lying to her.

She’d have to watch him
very
closely.

“All right. You can keep on working here. But I want you to leave now.”

“Sure. Whatever you want.” He ran one fingertip over her cheek. “Thank you, Karessa.”

She stood in place, her hand pressed to her cheek, and watched him walk out the front door. That simple, unexpected touch had been enough to bring back all the yearnings he’d been able to stir in her so easily.

Tears filled her eyes.
Damn you, Max. Damn you for hurting me. Damn you for coming back into my life and making me hurt all over again.

Max tossed back a shot of Chivas and poured another one. He downed the second shot as quickly as the first and poured a third. Crossing the room, he sat on the edge of the bed and stared into the glass. Instead of seeing the amber liquid, he saw Karessa.

God, she was stunning.

Her hair had fallen almost to the middle of her back five years ago. Now, it fell to her shoulders in soft waves. It had looked
tousled, as if she’d just risen from bed after a long, intense session of sex.

Max groaned as blood rushed to his cock. He set the glass of Scotch on the nightstand with a loud
thump
.
Don’t think about sex, man!

But the seed had been planted. Memories of making love with Karessa swam through his mind. Her ivory skin shiny with sweat. Full, round breasts with big pink nipples. Long torso. Legs that went on forever. A tight, wet pussy…

He loosened the thin towel around his waist and palmed his hardening cock. Closing his eyes, he remembered burying his shaft inside her, thrusting over and over. He remembered how she’d arch her neck and moan softly before she came. She’d wrap her legs around his waist and pull him even tighter to her. Or she’d push him down and impale herself on his cock. She’d liked the power of being in control of him—of moving the way she wanted, the way she needed, to climax.

He pumped his cock, his strokes slowly gaining speed as the memories continued. They’d made love after their first date. They’d made love
during
their first date, unable to keep their hands off each other. He’d kissed her for the first time in the restaurant over dinner. Luckily, they’d been in a dark corner behind a large potted plant. If the maitre d’ had seen Max’s hand on Karessa’s breast, he would’ve thrown them out of the restaurant.

It would’ve been worth it.

She hadn’t pulled away from him when he’d cradled her breast in his hand and thumbed her nipple. Instead, she’d parted her lips and touched his lips with her tongue. He’d loved her taking the aggressive role. He’d deepened the kiss as she slid one hand over his thigh to tickle his shaft with her fingertips.

He’d almost taken her right then.

They’d hurried through the rest of dinner and refused dessert. In his car, one more deep kiss, one more squeeze of her breast, had to satisfy Max until he could drive to Karessa’s condo. He’d damned his bucket seats all the way to her home.

But once inside her condo, the dam had burst. He’d taken her against her front door with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist while he’d pounded his cock into her creamy pussy.

The first time had been quick, rough sex. The next time, he’d made love to her in her bed, urging her toward her climax with soft touches and gentle licks of his tongue before he ever entered her.

Max’s breathing deepened. His strokes quickened. The orgasm snaked down his spine and grabbed his balls. He moaned deeply and closed his eyes as pleasure flowed through his body.

It took him a moment to remember how to breathe. Opening his eyes, he noticed the drops of cum on the faded carpet. He stared at the spots, wondering if the housekeeper would even notice them in this dump. He normally stayed in five-star hotels, but couldn’t do that and pretend to be poor. This shabby motel had been the perfect solution.

He hated it.

Sighing deeply, Max cleaned himself with the towel, then bent over and dabbed up the evidence of his orgasm. He was beginning to hate everything about this job.