Unfair Advantage

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT





“Is that your partner?” Dani asked, then saw her best friend step up beside the male in question.



“Sure is.” Roarke signaled the waiter. “Have those two seated with us.”



Dani sipped her mineral water, watched as Ashlyn and Tim were directed to the semi-circle booth. As the two slid in, Dani said, “Maybe we can get a group discount.”



Conversation flowed easily. They ordered an appetizer tray of crispy crab cakes on cucumber, proscuitto-brie stuffed portabella caps and shaved roast beef on toast points. A bottle of Chateau Margot, one of a Napa chardonnay, and the evening progressed. Dani gave her friend a significant look as they ordered entrees.



They escaped to the ladies’ room. As the door closed they spoke at once.



“Omigod! You and Tim!”



“Busted!”



It felt so blissfully normal, removed from recent events. With the wine and circumstances, Dani’s world glittered with a sudden happiness. Ashlyn slipped into a stall, leaning Dani to give her reflection a glance.



Behind her a woman passed close by. Dani murmured, “Excuse me,” stepped closer to the mirror.



The woman continued past, walked straight through the opposite wall.



The scent of an expensive feminine perfume wafted upon the air.



Dani refused to allow the encounter to change her experience. She accepted the constant paranormal facet of her life.



Once and for all.







Mayan had an account tucked away in a European bank. It was intended for retirement. Plans changed.



She’d faithfully deposited at least five hundred a week for five years. She thought about that as she finished all the interviews and began calling about little houses for sale outside the city. Visions of picket fences and flowerbeds firmly replaced fantasies about penthouses and limousines. She saw a life suited to sharing with an honest, hard-working man who would treat her as an equal, rather than use her self-destructive tendencies to enslave her.



Goodbye, she thought, envisioning His face.



Goodbye.







Dani thought about Ashlyn and Tim during the drive back to her cabin. She really liked the idea of them together. Ash would cultivate him in the sunshine of her loving, maternal nature. Tim would adore her, make her the queen-goddess of his universe.



As they pulled into the gravel parking area and stopped beside her Camry, Roarke asked, “What’s on your mind?”



“I’m glad they found each other.”



He climbed out, rounded the truck and opened her door. Taking her hand as she stepped down, Roarke replied. “Me, too.”



Mellowed by the wine and wonderful meal, Dani walked up to the door, unlocked and entered. She released Buddy from the crate. Roarke held open the cabin door for him, then followed the dog out.



The pleasant lull vanished as she realized how easy it had become to settle into this domestic closeness. Their candid conversation that first evening followed by a night fabulous sex, then today’s lazy pace and companionable dinner had sunken in subtle, deep hooks.



Panic gripped her. Why had she done this? Put herself in this position. She wasn’t ready.



Dan hurried into her bedroom, grabbed a tank and shorts from her dresser and went quickly into the bathroom. She locked the door, showered in an almost symbolic frenzy. Hair toweled, dressed, she emerged. Roarke sat upon the bed’s edge. Big, powerful, patient. He’d turned off the overhead light, switched on the low, tabletop lamp.



Deep voice even and soft he said, “Your abilities have rubbed off on me. I can feel it when you start changing mental gears.”



She stood there thinking of all the reasons she should do everything possible to send him back to the city. Out of her life. Trying for a neutral topic, she queried, “Where’s Buddy?”



“Walked and in his crate with a belly full of treats. I put him in the living room for now.”



She had the presence of mind to note his non-aggressive posture, gentle tone. It incensed her to see his combined use of police know-how and accomplished boudoir diplomacy. He knew too much about both to say or do anything that might send a high-strung or angry female bolting.



Dani longed to attack or escape in the same instant. She resented having arrived at the point of no return. Governing herself, she responded. “Maybe we should call it a night.”



“Come here.” A wealth of masculine sensuality promised reward in those two words.



“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”



“You’re the bravest person I know, Dani. Take the plunge.”



Between one breath and the next her resistance toppled. She closed the distance and walked into his arms. Roarke turned, swept her beneath him upon the bed. She yanked his shirt over his head, sucked his lower lip into her mouth, released it, then nipped his hard jaw. In a breathless tangle clothes were shed.



Dani gazed down between their bodies as he donned a condom. The anticipation of him inside her made her shaky and hot. She lifted her hips, taking the tip of his erection beyond the threshold of her body.



“I love you,” he murmured, knifed deep up into her in a slick, devastating thrust.



Sensation washed over and through. A tempest centering around his penetration. Reality vanished. Only pleasure remained.



“Look at me.”



His voice cut the fog. She opened her eyes.



He pressed so deep she moaned and shuddered. Staring into those cranberry brown eyes, she knew no escape. Or regret.



“Feel me all the way to your heart,” he whispered.



“I do.”



He leaned down, kissed her, his tongue finding the sensitive secrets of her mouth. Full of him, Dani surrendered.



When he lifted his head, began the long, strong thrusts that sent her hurtling toward carnal splendor, Roarke repeated his declaration. “I love you.”



She dissolved into a storm of climactic sensation, clung to him, and returned his words with profound and final submission to her emotions.







Roarke woke before dawn. He gently disentangled himself, tugged on his jeans and took Buddy out for a piss. The rapidly growing puppy took care of business, then hurried back toward the door. Roarke caught him just inside the door, used the towel kept there to clean the animal’s feet, and then let him go.



Roarke walked into the kitchen, pressed start on the coffee maker Dani prepared the previous night. His thoughts snagged there. It had occurred during a three-thirty AM raid on the fridge that she’d set everything. That memory of her sleepy eyes and soft mouth would stick with him forever.



Yesterday when he’d gone out alone, he’d managed the forethought to buy some things for this morning. A happy man, Roarke put down Buddy’s food, washed his hands and began making grilled ham, cheddar and tomato sandwiches.



Predictably, his lover wandered out following the scent trail. Her eyes retained their slumberous look. He saw the slight puffiness of her mouth. Hallmarks of a woman who’d passed a night of sexual endeavors.



“Kiss me good morning,” Roarke greeted. “I’m slaving away again to feed you.”



She poured a cup of coffee, came to slip an arm around his waist. Leaning her head against his chest, she rubbed her nose there, then replied, “I guess a thanks is in order.”



He flipped their sandwiches, laid the spatula upon the rest. Hugging her close, he kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be my pleasure to make your breakfast every morning.”



Dani laughed softly. “I meant for shaking me down from my weird ivory tower.”



“Ah. That.” Satisfaction rushed through him. Roarke would’ve never believed you could feel this way from such simple interaction. “Still, my pleasure.”



“You have to go back to the city today.” She turned to sniff the skillet. “Oh my God, that smells delicious.”



He used one hand to sheer off a pat of butter, add it to the pan. “What’s your thinking about splitting time between here and the city?”



“I rented the apartment with that in mind.”



“I can sell my house,” he suggested, “pay half each place.”



She tilted back her head, gazed up at him with so much warmth he wondered if he could catch fire.



“Larkin,” she said, “you just work it off in trade.”







Dave arrived at JFK accompanied by four federal agents and a sky marshal. He’d acted cool. Inside, he was scared shitless. Some cop named Fielding had offered to act as temporary foster while the legal emancipation went into processing.



His eyes scanned the city while his thoughts returned to Denver. By now they would have hauled Uncle Raymond into custody. The moving company would have loaded Dave’s things.



Dave sat quietly in the unmarked car during the ride from the airport. He’d have to get through this trial crap. Then, he’d have the life he dreamed of, living in New York.



For a moment he wondered about this Fielding. Probably an overweight, balding career beat cop with a tiny rent controlled apartment and an old dog he needed someone around to clean up after.





Ashlyn had given Tim a long good-bye. The planned for her to go into the city this weekend and meet the kid he’d offered to foster temporarily. Between now and then, she would get things in motion for her new store. Maybe even browse commercial real estate listings for something small in the city.





Brand dressed in a black tee, dark jeans and the hiking-fusion sneakers purchased that morning. He rolled the snub-nosed revolver and tactical knife in the jacket he’d bought for that very purpose. Everything was in motion, each detail attended except one.



Seeing to her would provide great pleasure.