The Consequence (6 page)

imon’s big body tightened behind her, telling her he was close to release. But she wanted to look into his eyes when he came.

“Simon,” she gasped against the pillow. Her body was jellified from the multiple orgasms he’d given her, and she barely had the strength to say his name. He sensed what she needed, rolled her over onto her back and when he sunk into her again she brought her legs up and wrapped them around his hips.

His strong arms reached above her and snapped the lace ties apart. Her arms came down around his neck and shoulders.

Overcome with emotion, she sobbed his name.

Cupping her head in his big hands he slowed his manic pace, and pulled her hair so that she was looking directly into his fierce gaze. Tears stung her eyes as his searched hers in wonder. “Jesus, Kat,” he rasped. “You own me.” He thrust deep. Reverently she accepted all of him, knowing they had both crossed into uncharted territory. It scared the hell out of her. She’d never been in love before. It was wild and euphoric. There was nothing she would not do for Simon.

He came then, in a wild, wonderful, primal expression of emotion that touched her soul.

It took them both a long time to come down from their high. Entwined in Simon’s arms and legs, Katy was restless and contemplative. Simon was just…quiet. She wanted to talk about what just happened but she wasn’t sure how to approach it. How about, ‘Hey, in case you’re wondering what made that the most amazing and emotional sex of my life, it’s because I’m in love with you. Was it the same for you?’

Ugh, talk about cornering a man. Granted, she was making an assumption about how he’d feel, but Simon, while good with words, wasn’t emo word guy.

Expelling a long breath, she resigned herself to the fact that she was too chicken to talk to Simon about how she felt because one, she felt foolish and two, she was afraid that while she ‘owned him’ (how cool was that?) he wasn’t really the kind of man who could be owned. Maybe rented or leased?

“Spit it out, Kat,” he softly but firmly said.

Exhaling again she rose up on an elbow and looked down at him. His dark hair was sex mussed, his lids heavy and hooded, his eyes soft and satisfied and his lips kiss swollen. “You look like a sated cat.”

His lips twitched. “I am. For the moment.”

She kissed the column of his neck and smiled when his pulse leapt against her lips. “I love touching you, Simon.” She kissed him just below his earlobe. “I love being touched by you.”

His arm tightened around her waist. “The feeling is mutual but you’re avoiding my question.”

“Fine,” she said shaking her long hair over her shoulders. Catching his stare she said, “Sex is amazing with you. I love it. I crave it. If I could walk around with you inside of me all day I would,” she confessed and giggled as she envisioned that.

“Again the feeling is mutual.”

“But tonight, it was different, it was—I don’t know, more emotional. I felt like we were connected on every plane.” Her cheeks heated. “And even though we were kind of kinky, because of the emotion, I just feel like it was better. The best.”

He nodded. But didn’t offer any follow up. Instead he rolled her over and pinned her to the mattress, his face only inches from hers. Smoothing her hair back from her face he slowly said, “I’m not a wordsmith. I’m not one of those guys who brings his girl roses and chocolates and recites poetry. I’m the kind of guy who brings his girl his heart, his body and his soul. I’m offering you that, Kat; in return I want yours. But I also want your thoughts, your dreams. I want you to let me inside you, where no one else has gone.” He kissed her wildly pounding jugular. “I want your pulse.” He grazed his lips across her bottom lip. “I want everything.”

Katy didn’t know what to say. She wanted to pinch herself because she had to be dreaming. Never, not in a million lifetimes did she ever expect to hear those words from a man like Simon West. Hot tears blurred her vision. “Simon,” she softly sobbed, “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything. You know where I stand.”

Tightening her arms around his neck she brought her lips up to his. “I think I fell in love with you the moment you let me wipe my snotty nose on your sleeve.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I know my way around a lady’s heart.”

He looked past her to the clock. It was nearly two in the morning. “I have an early call, Cinderella, let’s get some sleep.” He kissed her on the nose and rolled over, bringing her with him.

She fell asleep like that…with a shit-eating grin plastered across her face.

Katy woke to her alarm and an empty bed. She hurried to the bathroom, finding the air still warm and humid from Simon’s shower. She peed, then grabbed her robe and padded to her kitchen. Empty. The coffee was on with a note propped up beside her coffee pot.

Didn’t want to wake you (as if I could, you were snoring like a drunken sailor). Headed to the office. Livy is sick so lunch is off. I’ll call you in a few. S

Her cell phone that she had left on the kitchen table pinged that she had a text.

PS don’t talk to strangers

PPSS miss u

She smiled. No, Simon did not wax poetic, but his infrequent words were more meaningful than a book full of sonnets.

She simply texted back
xo

An hour later, making sure she was not being followed, she was standing in the ante office to Veronica’s office. She’d been called away on an emergency but Veronica’s assistant gave Katy an envelope.

“There are several papers she’d like you to review, then sign.”

“Does she want them back today?”

“She wants you to take your time, so the end of the week is fine.”

As Katy made her way down to the lobby, she realized her cellphone she had left with Veronica was in the envelope. Immediately she wondered if Evan had sent more texts. Hurrying to the ladies room she locked herself in a stall and quickly turned on the phone and waited impatiently for it to boot up.

Tapping the app she smiled as it alerted her to several more cypher texts. Looks like Evan had been busy. She frowned, despite the possibility of having more dirt on him. Unfortunately she didn’t know Morse code, but Simon did. Smiling, she slipped the phone into her purse, called her car service and in no time was heading south, destination the Santa Clara County Sherriff’s Department HQ.

Simon had said he’d be at the office today; she’d surprise him by showing up. Even though he said lunch was off with Livy, Katy took that to mean he was still taking that half day, so maybe she could surprise him by taking him out for a bite and share the news that there were more texts to decipher? That’s what two people in love did for each other, right?

When the car pulled up in front of the multi-level brick and glass building, Katy started to second guess her actions. Maybe he was really busy? Or maybe he wasn’t allowed to have visitors? Nonsense, he was a captain. He called the shots, not the other way around.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be, John, so please wait.”

“Yes ma’am.”

As luck or bad luck would have it, just as Katy reached for the front door of the building it opened and she nearly collided with, of all people, Amanda West. While she was aware Simon’s sister-in-law worked in the same building, she didn’t expect to bump into her.

They were both about to offer apologies when they realized who they had bumped into. And like any good Mexican standoff, the two women, each in love with the same man, stared at the other, one knowing she had no chance of winning him back and the other terrified the other knew her lover better than most people and would somehow destroy what she and Simon shared.

“Simon isn’t here, if that’s why you’re here.”

Katy swallowed, threw her shoulders back and notched her chin. “Actually, I’m here to see you, Amanda.”

The blonde’s eyes widened. “Really?” she said like a cat about to dig its very long, very sharp claws into you.

“Yes, I’d like to discuss a few matters with you.”

Amanda wrinkled her nose like she’d smelled something bad. “We have nothing to discuss,” she said, then started to walk past Katy.

“I can cut him completely out of your life, Amanda, or we can work together for Olivia’s sake. You decide.”

Amanda whirled around, her red lips twisted in a nasty sneer.

“Do you actually think you have any control over Simon?”

“He loves me.”

Amanda threw her head back and laughed, the sound cold, malicious and knowing.

The hair on the back of Katy’s neck sprung straight up.

“He
loves
you? Are you kidding me?” she spat. “Simon loves no woman. You’re nothing but a means to an end, Dr. Winslow.”

Katy’s stomach began a free fall. “What are you talking about?”

“You really have no clue do you?”

“About what?”

“Do you think he picked you up at that bar by accident?”

“He didn’t—”

“He was there at that hotel because
you
were there. He set you up from the beginning.”

“You’re lying,” Katy choked, refusing to believe it.

“He’s part of a state wide sting operation. He needed you in order to get to the piece of crap you were fucking.” Amanda’s glare swept Katy as if she was the most unworthy opponent on the earth. “And you made it so easy for him didn’t you?”

Katy couldn’t speak.
It wasn’t true!
Simon was not that person!

“He must not have pumped all of the information he needs from you; otherwise he would have kicked you to the curb by now.”

When Katy didn’t respond in any way, Amanda hoisted her bag over her shoulder. “Don’t believe me? Ask Simon. And if he denies it, come see me, I’ll be happy to show you your file.” With a smug smile on her rotten lips, Amanda literally pranced past a stunned Katy.

aty’s heart and head were an emotional meat grinder. Of course she was in denial. Simon was a man of extreme integrity. He’d told her last night he’d given her his heart, body and soul. She’d believed him. She still believed him! Amanda was lying, trying to dig an irreparable wedge between her and Simon.

But Katy was a scientist. She looked at what was real, not emotional reasoning or conjured fantasies. Simon had all but outted himself last night when he admitted he was on the task force. Oh he had skillfully skated on the edge of the truth. Katy knew he and his men were there because of the symposium. A symposium where she was the key note speaker!

And the entire time he’d been pretending? Making her fall in love with him to get information out of her? She refused to believe it. But how could she not when the facts screamed the truth?

Anger flashed. Did he really think she was involved with Evan’s duplicity?

Inwardly she cringed. She should have known Simon was too good to be true. A sexy stud like that interested in her? An introverted lab rat?

She slumped back into the seat of the town car and stared aimlessly out the window. Her heart was not broken it was shattered. Deep sadness consumed her. You could only beat a good woman down so many times before she could not get back up. And right now, she was that woman. Defeated. Done. Destroyed.

By the time they pulled up to her apartment, she accepted that she was not even the consolation prize this time, but simply a means to an end, a pawn in a game she had no idea she’d been a player in.

As she closed her apartment door behind her, and realized what a fool she had been,
again
, she got angry all over again.
Son of a bitch!
He was not going to get away with this without his comeuppance. “Damn you, Simon West!”

Instead of seething in her apartment, Katy changed into her workout attire and headed for the gym.

She ran blindly on the treadmill for an hour. Still unsettled, she lifted weights then killed it on the Stairmaster, but she was loaded for bear. Confused, angry, and hurt, she racked her brain for anything that might disprove what Amanda had said about Simon’s motives for getting involved with her. After all, he’d never approached her. How fortuitous for him that Evan dared her to take him back to her room for a threesome. She’d handed herself over to him on a platter. She’d been such a fool!

She stepped harder when she thought that she could deal with all of it despite him targeting her. Him having sex with her, and him making her fall in love with him. If he had just come clean about it! Was it all a farce? She refused to believe it. Simon cared about her. He had to! No one was that good of a liar.

Just as furious with herself as Simon, she punched the air. She wanted to hurt someone. She took her hurt out on the heavy bag. So intently was she punching and kicking it, she didn’t notice she had an observer. Not until she was a sweaty, gelatinous mess.

Wiping the sweat from her brow with her gloved hands, she caught her breath when her eyes clashed with Evan’s. He was staring morosely at her.

“If I didn’t know any better Katy, I’d say you were a little angry.”

He unwound himself from the wall where he had been standing as he watched her and stalked toward her. Looking around, she didn’t panic. There were plenty of men nearby if she suddenly found herself under attack.

“You lost the right to inquire about my business, Evan.” She yanked off her gloves and tossed them to a nearby bench. Grabbing her towel from the rack she had set it on, she wiped her face, then wrapped it around her neck and moved past him. His arm shot out and he grasped her, his fingers biting into her arm.

He picked the wrong day to get physical with her. She jerked around and brought her free arm up then down on his forearm breaking the contact. “Touch me again, Evan and I’ll geld you.”

“For a woman with everything to lose, you’re acting like a bitch.”

She grabbed the ends of the towel around her neck because if she wasn’t holding something, she was going to punch Evan. “I’ve lost more than you can imagine, Evan. Because of you. I’d say I’ve earned the bitch title.”

“I can give you back some of what you’ve lost, Katy,” he quietly said.

She laughed in his face. “Evan, you have nothing I want.”

“How about your boyfriend’s job?”

“What are you talking about?”

“ A little birdie told me your cop is chin deep investigating me for corporate espionage.”

“If you’re referring to Captain West, he never was nor currently is my boyfriend.”

“So you’re just fuck buddies?”

His words cut her to the quick.

“Considering how we met, we were destined for nothing more than sex, Evan. Another chapter in my life closed.”

He shook his head tsk tsking. “Poor Katrina Winslow, always picking men who exploit her.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’d happily fuck you. That was one thing I never lied to you about, Katy. Even though I couldn’t get you off, you were a good lay.”

Katy turned vicious eyes on him. “You were never man enough to get me off, Evan.”

“But that cop was?”

“You were there, you tell me.”

“Oh, I remember vividly. In fact, I replay that moment in time over and over.” He laughed low, the sound mirthless. “You do know your knight in shining armor
wasn’t at the symposium hotel by accident?”

She moved into his space. Was she the only person on earth who hadn’t known Simon was using her? “What did I ever do to you that was so horrible you insist on hurting me?”

His face tightened, his hazel eyes sharpened. “Do you have any idea how it felt taking a back seat to the renowned Dr. Winslow? I’ve put in twice the lab time that you have and have nothing to show for it. You waltz in and in less than four years revolutionize code sequencing.”

“So it’s my fault you’re a failure?”

“Hardly. You’re the one who’s a laughing-stock with no lab.”

Katy shrugged it off. She was a duck now. Given Simon’s apparent betrayal, nothing could hurt her now. It was all just running off her back. “Go away Evan.”

“I’ll go away when you tell me what your fuck buddy has on me and Genomtec.”

“Even if we were still fuck buddies, he’s never discussed his case with me and you are the last person on earth I’d do a favor for.”

“You don’t need his permission. Find a way back into his bed and dig through his phone and his computer.”

“No.”

Evan pulled out his cell phone and moved to the nearest corner. “Remember our little game of truth or dare? That was no accident either. I saw the way you and that cop ogled each other in the bar. It also occurred to me that your usefulness was coming to an end but I’m a visionary, Katy, I looked ahead. I needed some insurance.” He tapped the screen. “My little policy.” He tapped the screen a second time and there in living color was her getting fucked from behind by Simon in her hotel room, while Evan watched. Her skin chilled when she heard Simon’s deep voice say, “Sweetheart, you’re so damn tight and wet, let me set the pace or I’m going to explode.” Jaw agape; she continued to watch as she came hard.

Evan tapped the screen shutting down the video. “It’s rather simple, Katy, get me the information, otherwise this is going viral, and when it does, I promise you, your boyfriend’s superiors will be the first to see it, and what comes after that will be entirely your fault.”

Simon would lose his job! His identity. What he loved more than life itself.

Furious, humiliated, livid, she snatched the phone from his hand and threw it against the wall where it shattered into pieces. Evan grabbed her and shoved her hard into the corner. “You stupid little cunt. Do you think I didn’t back it up?”

“I despise you.” She blinked back hot tears of anger. How dare he blackmail her? How did she not know he was recording them? God, she hated herself for being so blindly naïve.

“Is everything okay here?” one of the trainers asked, grasping Evan’s shoulder.

“Yes, Tony,” Katy softly said, turning her head away from both men. As much as she’d like to see Evan tossed out on his ass, she didn’t want to make a scene. Not yet. Swiping her hand across her eyes she looked back at Tony and nodded. “I’m good.”

“I’m right here, Dr. Winslow, if you need assistance.”

“Thank you,” she breathed as Evan released her and backed up.

“I’ll be at the Opera House fundraiser this Saturday night. I want the information on a flash drive.”

“What if he has nothing on his phone or personal computer?”

“Get me what he does have and I’ll be the judge of what I can use. If you fail to deliver, the video goes live at midnight.” He strode past her, leaving her standing numb and alone.

It took a supreme amount of effort to move.

In a stupor, Katy walked home. She was sucked dry. As she rounded the last corner to her apartment, she shivered and had that uneasy feeling again that she was being followed. But when she turned around, the sidewalk was clear except for the little old lady who walked her Scotty every day at this time.

She turned her cell on and as soon as it booted it alerted her she had two missed calls and several texts. Only Simon, Rosie and Veronica had her number.

The first text was from Simon two hours ago.
Don’t forget to pack your bags.

The second text was from Rosie asking how she was.

The third text was from Simon an hour ago.
Dinner?

Then thirty minutes after that,
86 that.

Then,
Answer your phone plz.

Then
Kat, I call, you answer!

God he was a control freak! But that sparked a plan in Katy’s head. It was a do or die plan, but if executed properly she would have the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And along with the truth from Simon, whatever it was, she wanted Simon’s job protected because he was good at what he did and people would benefit from him staying a cop. But just as important, the truth would set her free—free from Evan, Genomtec, and yes, Simon. Then she could rebuild her life completely on her terms.

She called him.

He answered on the first ring. “Where the hell have you been?” he gruffly demanded. “I’ve been worried sick.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you, Simon,” she purred. “I’ve been at the gym.”

He exhaled loudly. “Sorry, it’s just with everything going on, I’m worried about you.”

“Oh, Simon, you don’t need to worry about me, I’m going to be just fine.”

“You’re already fine” he huskily said.

Katy’s heart tightened. “When do you think you’ll get out of there?”

“By seven, and I’m hungry now.”

“Me too. Famished actually.”

“I’ll take you to Milano’s.”

“Hmm, I’d rather eat in.”

“Then I’ll call an order in and pick it up on my way home.”

Home. Her heart constricted. He’d said home. A man who didn’t have an emotional connection to her would not have used that word.

“That sounds perfect, Simon, I can’t wait for you to get home.”

“Me either.”

When Katy hung up she smiled but didn’t feel particularly funny. But she set her emotions aside. She was going to get to the bottom of Simon’s motives and at the same time save them both a world of future hurt. This princess was going to save herself and her prince charming at the same time. Even if her prince might turn out to be the villain in the end.