to turn around, and pushed the older man toward the door.
“So you’ll do it? You’ll get Brianna pregnant?”
“Oh, I’ll do it all right.” Cole’s voice was deadly soft in the older man’s
ear.
Somehow, Wyatt seemed to miss the menace behind Cole’s quiet
words.
“Let’s go, Brianna.” Wyatt’s voice was almost giddy with excitement.
“No. She stays with me.” Cole ignored the gasp coming from the
couch. “I don’t want you anywhere near her until next Monday. You got
that,
Mr.
Wyatt?”
Brianna cringed when the door slammed, knowing how her father
would react to a command. His face would darken, the vein at his temple
would grow and pulse, and his nose would flare to the point you could
lose a marble in one of his nostrils.
The two men continued to argue about their “arrangement” behind
the closed door, although Brianna couldn’t understand anything from
the garbled but heated conversation.
She stared, shocked and dazed, at the floor and kept her hands fisted
in her lap, fighting the urge to touch her forehead where Cole had slid
his lips ever so gently over her skin. Twice. Her current panting had
nothing to do with her asthma.
-16-
Blackmailed
The man was gorgeous, with unruly, light brown hair framing his
tanned face. His eyes were the color of the sky just before a storm, a sort
of deep blue-gray. Beneath his T-shirt she had detected a flood of
quivering muscles from his pecs to his abdomen. His jeans rode low on
his lean hips, and even between gasps of shaky breath, Brianna had
wanted to explore what was hidden underneath the snug denim.
Her heart thudded, aiding the rush of blood to volatile parts of her
body. Her very utilitarian white cotton panties were damp. She squeezed
her thighs together when a hint of her essence wafted to her nose, and
closed her eyes, praying Cole wouldn’t notice when he returned.
Maybe he wouldn’t come back. He’d done his duty and played the
white knight. Sympathy, tenderness and genuine concern had oozed
from his pores, but had she seen any real interest on his part? And why
would it offend her if she hadn’t? She’d known from the start she would
never be a temptation for him, no matter how eager she was to jump
him.
This lustfulness was an alien feeling to her since she was hardly ever
around men. Maybe it was a virgin’s reaction to a mouthwatering body.
Maybe her clock was ticking.
Didn’t matter. She shook her head and contemplated why he had told
her father he would go along with this stupidity.
And what had he meant when he’d said, “She stays with me?” She
couldn’t leave Scottie. There was no telling what her father would do to
him if she wasn’t home. Perhaps she could somehow convince Cole to
help her. With what exactly? She nibbled her lip. Why would a
gazillionaire help her with her brother? She didn’t have anything to offer
him in return. Or maybe she did, if the moisture between her legs was
anything to go by. Of course, that would make her a whore.
She shuddered at the image of lying beneath Cole, naked as he
touched her everywhere. She had to get out of here before her fantasies
took over and she made a fool of herself in front of the richest man in St.
Louis.
Brianna twisted and looked around the room for the first time. They
had not gone up any steps, except those leading to the front door, so the
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Annmarie McKenna
ground couldn’t be more than a few feet away. She launched herself off
the pale leather couch where Cole had seated her and dashed to the wall
of windows opposite her.
She yanked on the cord controlling the blinds and sucked in a frantic
breath when the oak-colored wood slats shot upward with an alarming
racket. Her gaze flew to the door and held for longs seconds. When it
didn’t open, the breath she was holding whooshed out of her lungs.
Disappointment soared as she looked out on the immaculate
courtyard. It was a gigantic adult-sized play land, complete with tennis
court, swimming pool, trampoline, putting green and bar. Beyond that,
in the distance, was a spectacular view of the valley containing the
Missouri River.
The problem was that the estate was a walkout and she was at least
ten feet, if not more, above the ground. Heights had never been good for
her.
God, she wished she’d taken those yoga classes years ago. Some
relaxation techniques would be good right about now. If ever there was a
more desperate situation to get out of, the time was now.
“Just close your eyes,” she mumbled and attacked the latch.
“Going somewhere?” The deep, amused voice rumbled from behind
her.
Brianna spun around, a guilty flush staining her cheeks. Cole
Masters lounged in the doorway. The door she hadn’t heard open. His
feet were crossed at the ankle, his arms across his chest. A lock of hair
had fallen over his eye, and she itched to brush it away. A mischievous
grin played at his incredibly sexy mouth. He could have been the model
for the “David”.
Brianna licked her suddenly dry lips. Cole’s face tightened and took
on a look of what she could only describe as hunger.
“Why are you here?” He was blunt, if nothing else. He shoved his
body off the doorframe and stalked toward her.
How much should she tell him?
-18-
Blackmailed
“Why would a beautiful, young woman bow down to a crazy man?”
He held up his hand just as she opened her mouth. “He is crazy, Bri. No
sane man would whore his daughter for the sake of an heir.”
She gulped as he drew closer to her body, his hips swaggering,
drawing her eyes to the very yummy region of his body. He’d used the
exact word she had in describing her situation. Whore.
She straightened, determined he would not see her as a cowering
little girl who did everything her father told her to do. She’d never done
so before, mostly because he’d never asked anything of her, and she
wasn’t going to start now. Somehow, she’d find a way to protect Scott
and get out of this ridiculous arrangement.
Besides, she could give as well as he could. “Why are
you
doing this?”
Cole snorted, startling her, and shrugged carelessly. “I can’t even
begin to imagine why. I was ready to throw your old man out the door
when I saw you struggling behind him. Now you’ve peaked my interest,
and to be honest, there’s something about you I can’t resist.”
“What?”
He leaned in close to her face, and whispered, “You want me.”
“I do not.” The lie sounded pathetic even to her.
He squashed her lips with a lean forefinger and nodded. “Yes, you do.
I could read it in you the minute I laid eyes on you. You just don’t know
it yet.”
Didn’t she? Hadn’t she had dreams of being tied up and screaming
with pleasure as a man took her? This man.
Brianna swallowed. He sounded so tender, not demanding the way
her father did. He began to slowly circle her, his arm never breaking
contact with her body. She shivered in response as he grazed along her
back and shoulder blades, then to her front where he passed by her
breasts. Her nipples stood at attention, straining against the fabric of her
bra and T-shirt.
Cole leaned back and stared at his handiwork.
Instinct kicked in and Brianna crossed her arms over herself to cover
her body’s reaction to his simple touch.
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Annmarie McKenna
“Never.” Cole reached out and grasped her hands, tugging gently to
dislodge her arms. “Never cover yourself with me.” His gravelly voice
demanded obedience, but didn’t even raise an octave. Brianna found
herself wanting to obey anything he asked.
“Were you running away?”
The change of subject shocked her, dispelling the intimate sizzle she
had just experienced as quickly as it had come. She blinked, returning to
reality.
“Answer me, Bri.” His fingers caressed her arm from elbow to wrist
and back again.
Her eyes popped, her hands fisted. Lifting her chin, she finally
answered. “Yes, I was running.” How could she possibly stay here?
Scottie. For Scottie she would have to find a way. She would not let her
father send him to an institution. Again she thought of simply asking
Cole to help.
“By jumping out the window?” He shrugged as if the whole idea was
crazy and stepped closer, his sweet breath tickling her nose. “Seems kind
of dangerous to me.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t imagine you, of all people, would want to have
anything to do with sharing your sperm with me so my father can have
an heir.”
Cole raised an eyebrow. “Me, of all people?”
“Yes you. You know, you being so rich and good looking. You could
have anyone. And probably have.” She muttered the last words under her
breath.
He grinned. An honest to goodness, very boyish grin. Brianna slurped
the drool back into her mouth.
“You think I’m good looking?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Save me from male egos.” She
stepped away from him only to have him advance on her again.
“Do not back away from me, Bri.”
There was that sensual, implacable voice again. She closed her eyes,
savoring it, nearly moaning at the gush of cream flooding her crotch.
-20-
Blackmailed
His mouth tickled at her ear. “I can smell your arousal, Bri. I know
how turned on you are by me. By the thought of us together.”
He pressed into her, effectively trapping her between the wall at her
back and his delectable body. His cock was hard against her much softer
belly. She groaned and dropped her head to his chest, unable to break
the spell he was casting on her.
“I know why your father brought you here. What I can’t understand is
why you, an adult woman, would come willingly. Or is it just you thought
you could get a piece of me?”
The air hissed through her lungs when she sucked in a breath. “Do
you want the truth?”
“No, I like it when my blackmailers lie to me.” The sarcasm dripped
from his perfect lips. The perfect lips just inches from her own. The lips
that pressed against her, asking for more, the tip of his tongue rubbing
along the seam of her mouth.
She gasped as his words sank into her mushy, lust-filled mind and
broke the contact. “Black… My father’s paying you. If anyone is being
blackmailed here, it’s me.”
Cole’s face twisted in disbelief.
“It’s true,” she insisted.
He folded his arms over his chest, tucked his chin, and peered at her
from beneath lashes long enough to make any woman jealous. His eyes
clearly shouted, “Yeah, right.”
Time to come clean
.
“Okay, the whole truth.”
“And nothing but,” he said gruffly.
She swallowed. “He threatened to put my brother in an institution if I
don’t go through with this ridiculous scheme.”
“Brother?” he shouted. “There was no mention of a brother.” He
ground his hands over his face. “Try a different story.”
Brianna’s mind whirled. “What do you mean, no mention? You had
me followed,” she said in sudden realization. “You knew all about this
and were willing to go along with it?”
-21-
Annmarie McKenna
“Hell no. And yes, I did a background check so I could have all the
facts before I was blackmailed.”
“But, I already told you, I’m the one being—”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved her off. “I know, you’re the victim here.”
“Clearly.” She was sooo pissed. How dare the man think she would
have something to do with this.
“So, please keep telling me your lie, I mean, the truth.”
“Oh, you are so gonna feel bad when you see for yourself I’m telling
the truth.” She would have liked to smack the arrogant beast, but he still
had her pinned to the wall. She had no chance whatsoever of getting a
good angle on him. And was it just her imagination, or had his penis
gotten even bigger?
“Like I said, I have a brother, Scottie, well Scott. He was born when
I—”
“Wait a minute,” he interrupted. “If you have a brother, why in the
hell does daddy need an heir so bad.”
“If you’d let me finish, I’ll tell you.”
“Sorry.”
He didn’t look or sound the least bit sorry. She cleared her throat.
“He was born when I was ten.”
“So he’s what, sixteen?”
She growled as he interrupted yet again. “Yes. During the labor, and
right after, he had a series of small strokes. They left him blind and deaf
in his right ear. Anyway, my
daddy
thought he would never be good
enough to continue the business.” She lifted her chin. “I’ve been raising
Scottie from day one.”
“So Scott is a secret? Which explains why Tyler didn’t find anything
on him.”
Aah, now the man was catching on. She nodded. “Who’s Tyler? And
yes, a secret. My father hates that his only son isn’t perfect. If he’d only
spend a tiny amount of time with him, he’d see what a great man he’s
going to turn into. Physical limitations and all.”
She started to get excited. She loved talking about her brother, not
that there were many people to whom she could talk about him.