Dragon Hunts (3 page)

Declan Cairne had messed up my brain.

“Listen, I think we’re both tired from the flight. Why don’t you take a nice long bath then call Bobby?” He looked at his watch. “It’s nine p.m. in New York and I bet he hasn’t gone to sleep. Curran is a bad sitter. He never sticks to regular bedtimes.”

I pouted. This man could turn me from furious to horny in less than five seconds. Some man.

“And we’ll talk about this over dinner. How does that sound?”

I found myself nodding like a good girl. He kissed me again. Deep, long, and unhurried, making my toes curl.

“Say, Declan…”

“Hmm?”

“What would you do if back in New York if I’d said I didn’t want you and we’d ended up in this situation?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Then I just would have had to seduce you harder.”

Declan was unpacking his bags while I wandered around the villa, investigating every nook and cranny. I’d never stayed in a fancy boutique hotel and everything fascinated me. The place didn’t have television or internet connection—the only modern convenience available was a land-line phone. Apparently they wanted the guests to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just relax during their stay.

The villa only had one king-sized bed. The white, crisp sheets were practically begging to be slept in. I rolled my eyes as I thought about how Declan had schemed his way into my panties. I couldn’t stay mad at him. For a young guy, what he’d done was incredibly sweet. For me, anyway. He could have any woman he wanted and yet he’d chosen me.

It left me wondering what Declan had seen in me anyway.

If I do say so myself, my best attributes have to be my breasts. They are firm and lush for my age. But I would have bet Declan had seen better breasts in his days. I wasn’t slim, either. The last time I checked, size sixteen wasn’t classified by Hollywood’s standards as sexy. I had an oval face, a sharp nose and rather full lips. My eyes were icy blue, thanks to my Germanic roots. I’d given up maintaining a beauty regime a long time ago. Good looks didn’t just happen and I had too much on my plate to maintain such trivial stuff.

Declan, on the other hand, was a picture of prince charming.

He had graduated from one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Harvard, I’d heard. Summa cum laude. Came from an old family with old money. His mother had died three years previously from cancer and his father had wasted away from a broken heart, passing away a few months after.

After Declan had graduated, he’d taken over the family business with his brothers. Braden, who was a year younger than Declan, had become the head of the firm’s security and Curran, the youngest, was the mastermind behind the firm’s obscene profits. For the three months I’d been working for him, I’d never seen Declan date or make sexual advances towards anyone—anyone but me. The girls in the office drooled over him and his brothers, but the Cairnes didn’t seem interested in any of them. Some of the girls were even jealous of me because of the amount of attention Declan gave me. I wasn’t popular in the office. I didn’t care. All I cared about was putting food on my table and taking care of my young son.

I sat on the bed and slipped off my high heels. The tiled floor felt refreshingly cold on my bare feet. My weariness gradually washed away. I caught sight of Declan, closing the door to the pavillion. He was talking on the phone, perhaps with one of his brothers. Heavy thoughts suddenly weighed on me.

What should I do? If I told Declan the truth, would he still look at me the same way as before? I was a fraud. I had used faked credentials to gain employment with his company. And I had told him lies. I’d said I was widowed. That my husband had died when Bobby was an infant. My son, smart kid that he was, had been a great conspirator. He hadn’t said anything about our past whenever he’d met my bosses.

Bobby was the reason I’d left Lorenzo. One night my ex had been drunk and beaten me a little too hard. My son had cradled my bloodied body and cried that he didn’t want to see me die.

It had been a wake-up call for me.

If I stayed with Lorenzo, eventually he’d kill me.

I was twenty-six years old when I fell pregnant with Bobby. It wasn’t something I had planned on. My parents had died in a car accident when I was in my senior year, forcing me to survive on my own. I’d worked as a cocktail waitress in a casino, and my dalliance with Lorenzo had been nothing but a one-night stand. At that time, Lorenzo hadn’t wanted anything to do with Bobby. I’d raised my son by myself while struggling to make ends meet.

Four years later, Lorenzo had come back into our lives, saying that he regretted having abandoned us and wanting to make amends. I’d taken him up on his offer because it had been getting hard for me to raise a child on a waitress’s salary. My growing son had also needed his father.

Later on, I’d found out what kind of man Lorenzo really was.

Lorenzo Filocamo was a son of a don from the oldest mafia family in Nevada. One day, during the time he’d abandoned us, he’d been ambushed by a rival family and shot in the groin. The incident had left him unable to perform sexually ever since. When we got back together, it wasn’t a big deal for me as long as he acted like a decent man. But Lorenzo had become bitter about his accident and he’d lashed out in anger at me. I’d thought about leaving him so many times, but he’d threatened to kill me if I dared.

He’d also been obsessed with Bobby. In his family, having an heir was a matter of importance. Lorenzo had never laid a hand on Bobby, but my son was afraid of him. Bobby had witnessed me being pummelled across the room so many times that it had traumatised him. He’d grown up to be a quiet kid, but the look in his eyes held so much sorrow for a boy his age.

I sighed, contemplating my situation.

I guessed there was no way around it. I had to come clean. I didn’t know what would happen when Declan found out the truth. Most likely I would lose my job. My lies had been too great to be forgiven lightly.

I rose from the bed and snatched the phone.

Time to call Bobby in New York.

When I emerged from the bathroom I saw that Declan had slipped into a casual ensemble. I had spent the past two hours washing my hair and marinating myself in bath salts and bubble soap. My skin was pink by the time I’d finished. Donning a white terry robe, I went to Declan to confess.

“Hi, babe. Want some tea?” Declan had ordered room service while I was in the bathroom.

Tea sounded good about now. “Please.” I sat on the edge of the bed. Declan poured me some tea in an earthenware cup. I took a sip. The steaming brew was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The tea was fragranced with jasmine petals, light with citrusy undertones. I savoured every sip as if it were my last. I put the cup on the coffee table.

“Good, isn’t it?”

I nodded.

“Want some more?”

“No. I’ve had enough.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, feeling restless. “We need to talk.”

“Can’t it wait until dinner?”

“No.”

Declan lifted his hands. “Okay. Let’s talk.”

“I…” Suddenly, I couldn’t look into his eyes. “I haven’t been truthful with you.”

He waited patiently as I worked up the rest of my courage.

“I’m a fraud. My name is not Jessica Knapp. My real name is Eliza Vanger. I used faked IDs and creds when I applied for a job at the firm.”

I waited for the bomb to explode, but coolness never left Declan’s face.

“And Bobby?” he asked, totally unexpectedly.

“Robert Vanger. I’ve never been married so he takes my maiden name.”

“Do you like to be called Eliza or Jessica?”

“Jessica. Eliza was my past.”

“Okay.” He nodded indifferently.

“Aren’t you mad?”

“About what?”

“Lying to you. About everything.”

He laughed. “Baby, I know who you are.”

“What?”

“Each employee at the firm undergoes an extensive background check. Braden flagged you as a security risk a long time ago.”

“Yet you still give me a job?”

“That’s because I want you, Jessica. I knew you weren’t who you claimed to be in our first interview. Clearly, you’ve never had experience supporting C-level executives.”

I cringed. “I was a cocktail waitress.”

“I know.”

“You know about Lorenzo, too?”

Declan’s face darkened. “I know you ran away from your boyfriend. My PI disclosed that he has connections with the mob. Unsavoury man, I heard.”

“He
is
the mob,” I bit in hotly. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He rose from his seat and knelt before me, covering my hands with his. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Don’t get upset, babe.” Declan wiped away my renegade tears. “He’s not worth you getting all worked up like this.”

“Declan. There’s something else you should know.” I untied my robe and slid it off, onto the floor. I gathered my loose hair into a tight bun and slowly turned to the side, showing Declan my back. I told him about the real Lorenzo and his fondness for knives when he was frustrated by not being able to perform sexually. Lorenzo had always been careful not to disfigure my face or places that people could easily see. But my back was a testament to his madness. He’d carved my back so many times that my skin was marred with keloids and twisting scars. Declan hadn’t found out about it because he’d never seen me completely naked—I’d kept my shirt on when we’d had our tryst in the limo.

I stopped talking when I heard no reaction. I turned to him, shocked to see tears welling in his eyes. He looked crestfallen, caught between disbelief and anger.

“This is why I don’t think we should be together. Lorenzo is an unreasonable man. I don’t want to drag you into my mess. If he ever finds me—”

“I’ll kill him. If he ever so much as lays a finger on you, I’ll kill him.” Declan touched my back, running his hand from my shoulder to the swell of my buttocks. The anguish in his face was palpable. “Jessica, I know you’ve been through a lot, but I didn’t know just how bad it was. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve this. No woman deserves this.”

“Declan—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “I’m not afraid of Lorenzo. Don’t ever suggest that I should back down because the shithead loves to play with knives.”

“Be reasonable. You’re young. You should find a nice girl and settle down. I’m not good for you.”

“Only I know what’s good for me, Jessica. Don’t say silly things like that.” Declan’s eyes flashed dangerously.

I clammed up. Declan was one of those men who was impossible to dissuade once he’d set his mind on something. With his background, I shouldn’t be surprised.

I enjoyed the sex and his attention. And he was great with Bobby, too. But the thought of Lorenzo and Declan meeting face to face sent abominable chills down my spine. Declan had no idea what Lorenzo was capable of.

“Listen.” Declan lowered his voice. “I brought you here so I could woo you—”

“Woo me?” I bit down my laugh.

“Court you. Seduce you. Get into your pants. I want you to know me as more than just your boss. I want you to consider that I might fit into your future.”

Him in my future? That sounded like a fairy tale.

“So why don’t we put everything else behind us? For now. I don’t want you to worry about anything else but us. It’s just you and me. Nothing else matters.”

“Okay.”

“Good girl. Get dressed and we’ll have a romantic dinner. I’ve made a special reservation.”

“You didn’t strike me as a romantic person.”

Declan looked hurt. “Come on. I’ve been scheming this plan for months. The least you could do is play along.”

“I would love to have a romantic dinner with you, Declan.”

“Excellent. Get dressed. Or do you need my help with that?”

“No!”

“You’re right.” He sounded disappointed. “If I help you get dressed, we might not get to dinner.”

Chapter Three

I felt a thousand pounds lighter as I stepped into the villa’s courtyard an hour later. A heavy weight had been lifted off my chest. I got to keep my job and it appeared I was now seeing my own boss. Bobby was having a good time and he didn’t miss me at all. Curran had treated him to Baskin-Robbins and allowed him to have as much ice cream as he wanted. Braden had taken him to a hobby shop and bought him a rocket kit. Bobby and Braden were working on a project together.

I was as giddy as a schoolgirl with a crush when I spotted Declan hovering near the pool. For the first time in my life, everything was going all right. Perfectly, in fact. I was the luckiest girl under the stars.

Declan waved at me to come over. He’d had the hotel’s staff set something up on the patio. An outdoor dining experience complete with a chef who would cook our food tableside.

Oh, my goodness.

Declan hadn’t been kidding. It was so romantic, it felt like something out of a sappy chick-flick movie. The table was swathed in crisp, white linen and illuminated by white candles. Luxurious china and wine glasses were set out perfectly. The napkins were folded into paper cranes, origami style, and accented with white gardenias. It seemed that Declan had thought of everything, down to the smallest details. I knew him as a perfectionist at work, but I’d never thought he would apply those skills to a matter like this.