Declan rolled his eyes. “Clearly, neither of you has heard innocent until proven guilty.”
“This isn’t a court of law,” Sharon and Zoe said in unison and then smiled at their same words.
“Clearly, I am outnumbered,” Declan said, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe I should just eat and shut up.”
“Do you get to meet many movie stars?” Sharon asked Zoe.
Zoe smiled. “Some.” An idea occurred. “Do you like the theatre? Next time I get free passes I can send you some.”
“I love it,” she said, and then sighed, a wistful look slipped into her eyes. “Declan’s father never had time to take me. I’m afraid it’s been quite a long time since I’ve been.”
Okay, so Zoe had opened another can of worms. The muffled sound of her phone ringing gave her a much-needed reprieve. “I’m expecting a call. I’ll just step outside.” Shoving back the chair, Zoe avoided eye contact with Declan, reaching for her cell as she scurried to the door. As expected, caller ID indicated her brother Chris was calling. They’d promised to touch base sometime that morning.
“Hello.” She stepped into the exterior hallway outside the apartment and pulled the door shut behind her.
“Anything new?” he asked, not bothering with a greeting.
“Not on my end. Any luck for you?”
“Yeah, I talked to Mike. It took some pushing, but I got him to talk. He says Ray overstated financial reports that went to shareholders and pushed the stock price up. Then Ray sold both his stock and Dad’s.”
Zoe felt a wave of nausea and leaned against the wall. The idea of her father or Ray being guilty scared the hell out of her. “Why would he do that?”
“Apparently, Ray has a gambling problem and he’d borrowed from Dad’s accounts. He planned to make the money back and fix everything, but it backfired.”
Emotions rolled over Zoe. She didn’t know what upset her most. That Ray might just be guilty or that she felt like such an outsider from her family. “Why didn’t Mike just tell me this?”
Silence.
“Chris?”
A sigh. “You won’t like the answer.”
“Damn it, Chris, just tell me.”
“He said that with you working at the paper the less you know the less you could slip and leak.”
“What!” Zoe could barely believe her ears. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to lower her voice. “He thinks I’d give up my own family for a damn story?”
“No,” Chris said quickly. “No, that’s not it, Zoe. He’s worried someone will pump you for info. He said everyone will be after a story and you’ll be a major target.”
“Stop defending him. He told you not to tell me.”
“But I did,” Chris said. “And he’s being an ass, no doubt, but this isn’t the time for a family fight. Let it go.”
Zoe was getting damn tired of letting things slide by to appease the family. She wasn’t sure she could do it this time. This was too much. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Zoe—”
She punched the “end” button and let her head fall back against the wall. A burning sensation formed in her eyes and she squeezed them shut, trying to control the need to cry. She didn’t get all emotional. It wasn’t her style, yet now, for the second time in a week, she felt like bawling. The phone started to ring again and she punched the off button. About that time, the creak of the door opening alerted her of company. Of Declan. She knew without opening her eyes. She could smell and feel him, all masculine and sexy and…safe.
Where the word came from she didn’t know. It just found its way into her head. Because she was so afraid of crying, she didn’t move. Suddenly, his body enclosed hers, his fists resting against the wall by her head. When his palm went to her cheek, she opened her eyes and met his probing stare.
“You okay?” he asked.
His voice, soft and gentle, worked along her nerve endings. She wanted to call the feeling that danced along her nerve endings sexual arousal, but it was more than that and she knew it. “I’m fine.”
“Need to talk?”
“No.” The word came out abrupt. She knew it and didn’t care. His comfort scared her. Made her fear more pain.
“Okay,” he said. “You don’t want to tell me what’s wrong, so I won’t push.”
“Good.” She paused, thinking. Declan equaled another power-hungry man with his own agenda. He needed to be kept in his place. “There is one thing you can do for me.”
His brow lifted. “What’s that?”
Her arms slid around his neck. “Take me home and fuck me.”
Chapter Eight
Zoe’s words replayed in Declan’s head. Take me home and fuck me.
But what she had meant was, Fuck me and don’t ask questions. Make me forget but don’t make me talk. Declan made a living seeing below the surface. Knowing when people hid things. Zoe’s declaration had been meant to distract him from pain lurking in the depths of her deep blue eyes. Even knowing this, not wanting it to work, his cock hardened, pressing against his zipper. The soft scent of flowers and woman inched into his nostrils, clouding his mind with the screams of his body.
Declan reached deep for control. With each passing moment, Zoe became more interesting. More enticing. But her allure held more than physical lust. It touched him deep inside and made him yearn to know her dreams. Her desires. And seeing the vulnerability in her eyes, he wanted to know the cause. What hurt her and made this pain?
With the back of his knuckles, he caressed the soft skin of her cheek. “I want you,” he murmured.
Her eyes narrowed. “Why do I sense ‘a but’?”
“No but,” he assured her, and then changed his mind. “Maybe one.”
Zoe started to slide her hands away from his neck. He reached up and caught her hands, pressing them to his chest. “There you go again,” he said. “Convicting me without a trial. Aren’t you even going to ask what it is?”
“No,” she said in a clipped tone. “I don’t want to know. I don’t like conditions. A ‘but’ is a condition.”
The fingers of one of his hands found her hair and he brought her mouth just within reach of his. Their breath mingled. “Yes, you do. You want to know.” Seconds passed.
One. Two. Heat swirled between them. He wanted to kiss her, to taste the sweetness of those perfect lips. But he resisted. “Don’t you?” he demanded; his tone a bit rougher.
“No.”
He stepped closer, his cock pressing into her stomach, their bodies too intimate for a private building well monitored but he didn’t care. “Don’t you?” he said, his tone more forceful.
Her lashes fluttered. “Okay, damn you. Yes.”
The sound of a neighbor’s door opening, though quite a distance away, forced Declan to retreat. Brushing his lips over hers, he released her. Reaching for her hand, he motioned toward the apartment. “Let’s say our goodbyes and then we’ll talk.”