White Wedding Page 6

  “But they came back. When?”

  “Later that night. It was like they were watching the place. Like they knew the security schedule, even the fact the storm would affect the video. The door couldn’t be replaced for a couple of days, and maintenance just boarded it up. However, some time after all the excitement was over and in-between the security rounds, someone returned, ripped the boards off, and stole about a thousand dollars worth of hair equipment and accessories.”

  “What about the alarm?”

  “According to the alarm company it had been turned off for about five minutes, but the system could have also been affected because of the storm. They’d been getting false alarms all night in the mall.”

  “Mind if I take a look at it?”

  “No, of course not. Come with me.”

  He followed behind her, trying his damndest to stay focused on her security problem but unable to stop thinking about how intimately he knew the ass swaying in front of him. He bit back the groan threatening to emerge from his throat; it wasn’t the only thing trying to rise and he had to force both back. She stopped in front of the alarm panel and gestured to it.

  There was no ring on the slender finger of her left hand. No ring anywhere. Hope rose in his chest like a hungry beast. It would have to wait. He had work to do.

  “This is a pretty standard model. Did your former employee know the alarm code?” he asked while he opened up the panel face and took a small case he kept on him at all times out of his jacket—his tools of the trade. He unscrewed the paneling and attached a little meter to the wiring.

  “Yes, she did, but we change the code every couple of months, and it had been changed since she left so she wouldn’t have known it.”

  “How about her friends here? Would they have given it to her, or maybe written it down somewhere, and she found where they kept it?”

  “It’s possible. What are you doing?”

  “Just doing an on-site scan to see if the alarm has been tampered with. Can you put in the alarm code?” After she did, he asked her to disarm it again. He stared at the screen and the data came up clean. “It doesn’t appear your alarm’s been tampered with, so whoever broke in probably knew the code to shut it off. What do the police say?”

  “I’ve told them everything I’ve told you. While they think LaToya is a person of interest, they believe my phone calls and the break-in are separate issues.”

  “They could be right.”

  “I know, but my gut tells me they’re related.”

  “And do you always follow your gut?” Up until this point she wouldn’t hold his gaze for very long, but at this her head snapped up and she focused fully on him. She didn’t look away, and for the first time in months he saw the eyes that had drawn him to her from the first moment he’d seen them. In that look, he finally saw the woman he’d made love to. The desire was still there. Everything else drifted away, and they were back in that room, on that island. He let his hunger for her take him.

  Chapter Eight

  Shanna gazed into eyes she thought she’d never get to see again. Once she’d decided to contact him she feared what could happen. At the same time she hoped something would. Repeating to herself this was just business didn’t help. From the time he’d entered the salon all she wanted him to do was hold her in his arms again. She didn’t stare at him long for fear he’d see the desire she wasn’t sure she could hide. He must hate her.

  Yet, when she’d finally dared to really look into his eyes, the hunger and need in them spoke to her as surely as if he had cried it out in words. She didn’t know how to respond. For all she knew, it was wishful thinking on her part. God, did he miss her as much as she missed him? Why did she call him to her? She’d sworn she wouldn’t until she had her head on straight. Like that was happening any time soon. With everything going on in her life right now, she needed him to help her find out what the hell LaToya was up to. Afterward, maybe, she’d figure out what he meant to her.

  Then why the hell was she in his arms, lips locked against lips. She didn’t know how it had happened or who made the first move, but one minute they were talking about the alarm, and the next his arms were wrapped around her, her fingers buried in the silkiness of his hair. She wrenched herself away from him, holding onto his forearms as much to keep them off her as to keep her away from him.

  “No. No. I can’t do this.” She dropped her arms helplessly to her sides, and he released her. Her body shivered from the loss of his heat.

  “Don’t expect me to apologize.” His voice was raw. There was anger there, too. She couldn’t blame him. “I’m not sorry. Not a day, not a night, has gone by that I haven’t thought about you.”

  She raised her hand up to stop his words. Words she wanted to believe with all her soul, but ones she wasn’t ready to hear yet. “If…if you don’t think you can help me, then…”

  “No, I can help you. I want to.” She followed the motion of his hand as he ran his fingers through his thick hair in frustration. It was longer now, like he hadn’t cut it for a while. Watching him, she remembered each and every time it had been her own fingers feathering through his hair. She remembered the texture of the strands. She remembered other things, too. The scent of his body imprinted over the scent of hers, the way they moved in perfect harmony together. She bit down hard on the moan threatening to give her thoughts away.

  “This was a mistake,” she said instead.

  “No. It’s not.” His statement was emphatic. “It wasn’t then and it’s not now. Look, you’re in trouble. You need me. I believe that something is going on here. Let me help you.”

  Both his eyes and voice were sincere.

  “All right. What are you going to do? What can you do?”

  “First of all, have you had a chance to eat dinner yet?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Me either. The restaurants here are still open. Let’s get something to eat and I’ll get some information from you, then we’ll take it from there.”

  “Can’t we just do that right here, now?” The last thing she needed was to spend more time with him. From her reaction to him, that would only lead to a repeat of what just happened between them, and then some.

  “We could, but I think better on a full stomach.”

  He smiled, and that was all it took for her to agree. Her will power when it came to him was non-existent.

  They were the last ones out of the restaurant. His questions had been very thorough, more so than the police. By the time he’d walked her back to her car, he’d come up with a plan of action for the next couple of days that included talking to mall security, the phone company, LaToya, reading the police report, and apparently following her home.

  “I’m not sure it’s necessary to follow me home,” she said.

  “You were getting hang-up calls, or at least strange ones, at your house. If someone knew your phone number they could find your address. More importantly, I want to take a look at your place myself and make sure it’s secure.”

  “I have an alarm system, and there’s someone stationed in the lobby twenty-four-seven.” She’d been lucky that she didn’t have to move after all. The financing for the sale fell through and she opted to stay, making her life at the time a little easier. She loved her condo; it was in a great location, the perfect size for her, and a secure building.

  “That’s good, but I still want to go over the place.”

  “Fine.” It wasn’t worth arguing about. She knew this might happen if she contacted him again. The attraction between them was still alive and kicking, but she would not act on it. Again. She walked over to her car and opened the door.

  “My car’s a few rows back. Let me get it and then when I’m behind you, you can pull out.”

  She tried one last time to keep him at a distance. “Don’t you think this is a bit much?” She stared at the hand he rested on her car door. Long, blunt tapered fingers. Fingers and hands she knew were capable of giving her such intense pleasure.
She swung her gaze back up to his face, and found even more heat. His face, with its sharp bold lines, was a thing of masculine beauty, and his eyes were the eyes of the lover who blanketed her with his body in the night. Who blocked out everything and everyone but him.

  She shook her head to break the spell she so easily fell into with this man, and realized he hadn’t answered her question. Probably because his focus seemed to be on her mouth. She licked her lips in response, and watched as his parted. The car door between them would not be much of a barrier. The lights from a passing car momentarily bathed them in its glow, bringing them back to the moment—and their senses.

  “I really don’t think it’s necessary for you to follow me home.”

  “Shanna, let me.”

  She sighed. How could she deny him this when she’d denied them both so much already? She wasn’t even sure why she had anymore. “How much is this going to cost me anyway?”

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk about it later. I assure you, you can afford me.”

  “For some reason, I strongly doubt that.”

  He flashed that killer grin of his, where only one side of his mouth lifted, emphasizing the fullness of his lips. Daring her to kiss him the way she used to. It hurt; she couldn’t. That was then and this is now. He waited until she put her seatbelt on before closing the door and walking away. She stared at him in her rearview mirror, admiring the way he moved. He had a nice, easy stride, like a man sure of who he was and where he was going. She’d loved the way they moved together. Shaking her head, she vowed to stop thinking like this.

  He was only there to help as a favor, but that kiss… okay, so maybe he cared a little. Yet she had to remind herself she was not getting back into a relationship with him. Wait—not back. There never was a relationship. It was just a vacation thing, a temporary loss of reality. He returned to his life; she returned to hers, such as it was. When this was all over he’d do the same, as would she. She just had to ignore their earlier kiss.

  He pulled up behind her and flashed his lights. Turning her car on, she led the way to her home with him following her. Twenty minutes later she pulled into her reserved spot. He pulled up behind her just as she got out of the car.

  “Stay there. Wait for me to park.”

  There was a spot a few cars down and she waited for him to meet her. Using her cardkey, they entered the building, walked past the lobby area and the guard behind the desk. He recognized her and said good evening, nodding to them. They headed past the bank of four elevators. As they walked down the hallway to her door, her nerves got the best of her; her heart rate increased and she kept squeezing her purse handle. The word crazy flashed through her head for allowing him to come to her condo, to get so close to her again. She wasn’t ready for him.

  Taking a deep breath and praying for sanity, she unlocked her condo door. The lamp she usually left on helped her see her living room area perfectly. Unfortunately, so could the man behind her.

  “Who the hell is he?”

  The voice came from the man in front of her, who’d risen from the long sofa at their arrival.

  “Kevin?” she said, stepping toward the sofa. What the hell was Kevin doing here?

  “I ran into Ben and he told me you’d had some problems at the salon with LaToya. I came by to check up on you, see how you were doing.”

  “Ben. Ah, yes. LaToya used to do his hair and now I think Chris does. That explains Ben knowing my business, but it doesn’t explain why you’re here?” She hadn’t seen Kevin since the night she’d given him back his ring. For him to pick this time—of all the times—to show up was really bad karma. While she may not have been sure what, if anything, she wanted to do about Ross, she damn sure knew she didn’t want Kevin back in her life.

  “I told you.” Kevin stepped forward and pulled her toward him. “I still care about what happens to you.” He raised his hand to brush the side of her cheek, a motion so familiar, but one that carried no heat. Not anymore. Oh God, Ross. Ross was behind her. She knew when Kevin remembered Ross’ presence, too, by the hostility in his narrowed eyes as he looked over her shoulder.

  “Now who’s he?”

  She stepped away from Kevin’s touch, putting distance between them. “You should have called, Kevin, not just shown up here.” She sighed, knowing she had to introduce them. “This is a friend of mine, Ross Marshall. He’s a security expert. I called him because I thought he could help.”

  “Why didn’t you just go to the police?” Kevin asked, arrogance dripping in every nuance of his words.

  She turned her head back toward Kevin. “Don’t take that tone with me. The police are working on it, but meanwhile I didn’t think that more eyes looking at the same problem would hurt. Hopefully stop whatever is going on that much faster.” She turned back toward Ross, who’d stepped into the room and remained silent the entire time.

  “Ross, this is Kevin Feldman.”

  Ross merely inclined his head, crossing his arms across his chest. Neither man stepped forward to shake the other’s hand.

  “Okay. So, Mr. Marshall, what have you found out so far?”

  Ross raised one curved eyebrow. “I don’t remember you hiring me.”

  Kevin stepped forward, and Shanna got between them. The room was full of the scent of testosterone boiling over.

  “Kevin, that is none of your business. I think you better leave.”

  Kevin turned away from Ross to look down at her. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Okay.” Before she could react, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Ross was directly in the path to the door, but he stepped aside so Kevin could reach it.

  As Kevin pulled it open, Shanna called out, “And, Kevin, leave my key.”

  He paused in the doorway and without turning around, withdrew a key from his pocket. He placed it on a side table, and slammed the door on his way out. She had never gotten around to collecting her things or returning his key, but he could keep the stuff she had at his place and she’d mail him his damn key.

  “You okay?”

  How was it that after only knowing her for a few days, Ross understood her so well, and the man she was supposed to marry who’d known her for years didn’t? “I’m fine. Sorry about that.”

  “I take it you two are no longer engaged or seeing each other.”

  “No, no we’re not.”

  Ross took a few more steps into the room until he was an arm's length from her. He was so close, yet not close enough.

  “How long? How long ago did you break it off with him, and why?”

  She turned away from him and rubbed her arms, heading toward the kitchen area. “Does it matter?”

  “Hell yes,” he said. Then his arms were around her, turning her into him, sinking her into him. His mouth was on hers, devouring her, reclaiming her, rebranding her.

  He raised his head. “I didn’t touch you again because I thought you were committed to someone else. It was the only thing holding me back, the thought you were engaged or still involved with him.” His thumb caressed her cheekbone. “God, Shanna, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you. I haven’t touched, let alone looked, at another woman since you.”

  She shook her head. “How do I believe that?”

  “Shanna,” he said looking into her eyes, “you know it’s true.”

  “I…I haven’t been with anyone, either.”

  He kissed her once more and she was lost in the taste of him. All it took was his touch to break through her excuses for staying away from him. Her body remembered him all too well and overroad any rational sense that it was too soon. He walked her backward to the sofa; his hands were at the back of her dress, tugging the zipper down. He stepped back so it could fall to the floor, leaving her in her black and red bra and panties. She was so glad she put on a matching set this morning. One hand wrapped around her waist while the other came up to cup one breast. She moaned.

  “Mmm, I’ve missed these, to
o.” His head lowered and his mouth covered her bra, sucking at her through the lacy material. Her hands moved to his shoulders to hold her weight up since her strength apparently disappeared. She arched her back, causing her nipple to rise, allowing him to take even more of her into his mouth. With one hand he unsnapped her bra, pushing it aside until she was revealed to his hungry gaze.

  “I need to touch you,” he said. “Have you missed touching me as much as I’ve missed touching you?”

  She was incapable of a coherent response because his mouth now covered her unclothed nipple. Her eyes rolled back into her head and all she could do was moan and run her fingers through his hair while his hand moved down to caress her flat stomach. But he didn’t stop there. He continued until he reached where she ached most.

  “Oh, yes.” Her voice sounded raspy even to her own ears. “Touch me. Especially there.”

  His fingers pushed her strip of underwear aside and his thumb gently flicked her clit.

  “Aaah.”

  “Yes, that’s it. I’m here.”

  He cupped her and squeezed. She rubbed herself against his hand, loving the friction. When he inserted a thick finger into her, the world exploded, and she came in the palm of his hand.

  “Oh, yeah, baby. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He moved so quickly she didn’t have time to catch her breath before she lost it again. He sat her on the sofa, yanked her underwear off, and had her legs spread open, before falling to his knees on the floor between her thighs. Still fully-clothed. Somehow the fact she was naked and he still wore his suit and shirt turned her on even more.