Keeping Thyme (Thyme Trilogy) (4 page)

“You know I couldn’t get
this
particular edition SLS into the country because Mercedes had already sold one to someone in Sydney and the arrogant pricks didn’t want anyone else to have it here … No matter how much money I threw at them they wouldn’t budge.”

Trust you to do something like this, Nick Davis
. I smirk at my thoughts. I’m sure Nick did it so that he had something over Tench.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?” Tench’s coffee eyes meet mine.

Strangely, I feel like I’ve missed Tench’s alluring eyes over the last couple of days. He reaches around and pulls me to him. I feel his erection push against my belly and a quick pulse charges across my body.
Maybe I just need to fuck the sad memories away?
I shrug at him and leave my hands by my sides.

“Where the fuck have you been for the last couple of days?” he says as he sucks down on my bottom lip.

For someone as complicated as Tench, he is so easy to me. I shrug again and smirk. “I’ve had a rough couple of days. Just take me upstairs,” I order.

Tench’s eyes flash to mine and I feel his lips stretch in a smile.

“Cheeky Miranda.” He pulls away from me, grips onto my hand and drags me through the grand marble and wood entrance of his mansion.

I lay naked
on Tench’s enormous bed and watch him unbuttoning his shirt above me. The delicious dragon stares out from his bulging left peck. As he pops more buttons open, my eyes are drawn down and I notice the new ink-work across his abs. The words
alis volat propiis
curve in a semicircle above his belly button, stopping either side of the jutting muscle at his hips. My eyes lead further down that muscle until it reaches past the line of his pants. I pull myself back away from the enticing distraction and run my fingers gently across the raised edges of the fresh ink.

“She flies with her own wings,” he whispers sweetly.

My chest feels tight and I look up at him with a softening inside me.
He marked himself for me?
I can’t help myself any longer and I reach up to pull him to me, kissing him hard the moment our lips meet. I want his lust for me to fill every deep cavern that aches for someone else.
I need to fuck the sad away
.

I force his shirt past his bulging shoulders and he grabs the sleeves from his arms. I hear the fabric tear under his pounding pressure. Tench is exactly the kind of mess I need to scatter my grief and distract me right now.

He grips around my hips, tighter than necessary, and forces his legs between mine as he pulls me around him. His body intoxicates me so much that I naturally submit to him without even acting. I feel the heat of his long rod against me. I know we’re going to have unprotected sex again, but something tells me to give Tench this. He
was
technically the last person I had sex with before my boyfriend died, so I’m safe. It’s my heart that’s fucked; the damage was done before Nick died; I was fucked up then anyway, so there’s no difference now.

I close my eyes and anticipate Tench entering me. Holding my breath, I feel him stretch me with a yearning ache as he enters me. He feels wonderful, like he always does. He drives himself into me again and again until I’m saturated from him. I want to let myself go, but something stops me.
Why can’t I come?
I tense in frustration.

“I want to feel you come all over me, Miranda,” Tench growls.

Oh, great!
He thinks I’m about to come. I continue on the performance and let Tench believe that he’s making me orgasm. Right now, I’d rather a punch in the face than this. I had better get my mojo back soon or else this is going to be harder than I’d thought.

Tench throbs inside me. I feel him start to peak towards his climax. I do love this feeling more than anything. I love the power I feel when a man satisfies himself because of my body and my actions … maybe it’s a whore thing? The familiar feeling brings me back up to my climax, my nipples harden and electricity starts to course within me again.

“Harder,” I plead.

Tench grips onto the back of my hair and pulls me harshly into the bed.
Here he is
.
This is the Tench I know
. My eyes involuntarily roll back into my lids. Nothing else around me matters other than the heated electricity running throughout my veins. I give into him. In the midst of my passion, I hear the distant music playing throughout the mansion. Somehow, Jeff Buckley’s sorrowful
Hallelujah
sends me over the top and everything within me releases all over Tench. I don’t care for
his
needs right now …
I
need
this.

CHAPTER FOUR

The moment my
eyes open, I realise that I’ve had the best sleep in days. I stretch out and roll over. Tench is gone, as usual.
Right! Better get to work.
My bags should still be down in the car, unless Toni moved them, which wouldn’t be an issue. Even if he searched through my bags, he wouldn’t find any of the equipment. All of the bugs are hidden within face products, make-up and hair accessories. My firearm is in a concealed compartment within a suitcase and the ammunition rounds are inside tampons.

I sit up and see yesterday’s clothes spread in every corner of Tench’s vast bedroom. There’s such a strange familiarity about being here that makes it borderline enjoyable. Seeing my clothes strewn across the floor like this doesn’t make me as uncomfortable as I’d thought it would. Unfortunately, those thoughts I had about it being uncomfortable were prior to Nick’s death.

I throw my discarded clothes back on and decide to head to my car. Just as I get to the foot of the stairs and dash toward the entrance, I hear Mrs Oktar laughing from the kitchen. My aching heart begs me to run and wrap my arms around her for the motherly affection that I so desperately crave at the moment. But I have to pull myself together and act like nothing’s wrong, which was easy until I heard Mrs Oktar.

Tench’s right-hand man, Toni, interrupts my distant thoughts by bursting out of the kitchen door. The kitchen has a perfect view past the sitting room to the entrance, so Toni immediately sees me. Kicking back into
it, I smile broadly and Toni reciprocates. His arms stretch out wide and he wraps me up in them, his body engulfing me. Toni has always seemed way too soft for the callous murderer that I’ve studied in my notes. Between him and Tench, they have racked up the most kills. The agency has kept the information aside because they only murdered the local drug dealers and standover men … until Sally and my client. I just wish I knew what Sally was going to tell me.

“Nice bloody car, Miranda. I’ve got your bags up in the spare bedroom for you.” He holds me out in front of him.

“As I knew you would.” I smile. “I’ll grab a quick shower then I’ll be back down once I’ve freshened up.” I wink to let him know that I need
girly
space and his eyes soften.

The poor guy is always so shy. I think I’m the only woman he’s ever been close to.

I bound up
the stairs, two at a time, toward the spare bedroom …
my
room. I grab my smallest suitcase and lock the bathroom door at the same time. I need this room monitored first and foremost.

In my toiletries bag, I quickly find the tube of Kiehl’s shampoo and conditioner and insert a hairpin into the hole near the join and the secret compartment pops open. I grab everything inside it and flick through the packets until I find the smallest bugs. I put four around the corners of the bedroom and two in the closet that leads through to the bathroom. This will give me an extra four minutes if I ever need it.

I turn on the new iPhone and watch the vacant bedroom on the screen. I need to find somewhere within this bathroom to hide my pistol. The long narrow drain at the base of the shower is the only decent hiding place in the entire room, but it could be the most obvious. I put the firearm into a snap-lock bag and pop the stainless-steel casing from the drain’s entrance. The pistol fits nicely into position. It will have to do for now.

I turn the shower on and wash the remnants of last night’s taste away.
I feel better already.

I pick out a loose summer all-in-one playsuit in watermelon and pull my hair up into a topknot before heading back downstairs. Tench sits with his back to the door as I enter the kitchen. I press my index finger to my lips for Mrs Oktar to stay quiet and throw my arms around Tench and whisper, “I missed you this morning” into his ear. Mrs Oktar beams a bright smile and continues prepping her meal. Tench grabs hold of my arms and pulls me around to his lap. He kisses me all over my face and holds it between his strong hands.

“I miss you every day you’re not here.” He smiles back to me.

“Well, I’m here now. My brother came home from being away for a long time, so I had to spend some time with him.”

Tench’s eyes light up. “Your brother? You never talk about your family, you know?”

Of course I know this
,
I snigger to myself. “There’s not much to tell you. My father … and mother are dead, and all I have left is my twin brother.”

“You’re a twin? Why don’t you invite him over here? I’d love to meet your last remaining family member, especially a twin. Is he much like you?”

Tench, you are way too predictable
. “Yes he is a lot like me.” I smile.

“So, where’s he been? What does he do?”

My mind races quickly. “Nepal. He’s an adventure travel consultant. He finds rich guys fun things to do with their money.”
Where the hell did that come from?

Tench laughs. “My interest in meeting your brother has just piqued. What an interesting person he must be. So he is very much like you, then? You find fun things for rich guys like me to do with my money.” Tench pulls me to him again and kisses me with soft longing kisses. I laugh at Tench basically calling my brother a male prostitute. I wonder if he’s watching right now?

Mrs Oktar clears her throat. “Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but would you like breakfast, dear?” she asks with a warm smile.

I slide off Tench’s lap and finally give Mrs Oktar the hug I wanted. She smells of flour, honey and nutmeg all mixed into one. Her round body feels caring and squishy around my arms; it’s warm and homely. I wonder what’s going to happen to her when Tench gets locked away forever? I almost want to warn her to run away now while she can, before shit turns bad.

“What’s brought this on?” She holds me out.

I guess I wasn’t the hugging type … until I met Nick. Now I crave that love again, but know I’ll never get it.

“I just realise how much I missed being here,” I say, looking straight at Tench.

He smiles as if he’s just heard everything he’s ever wanted to hear. “Toni said you had a lot of luggage with you this time. I want you to stay as long as you like. I’ll be going over to Russia next week though, but make yourself at home while I’m away.”

This is my chance. “I can come with you. I have a friend over in Russia that I haven’t seen for years …”

Tench’s head twists sideways and he stares at me, attempting to cut into my soul. Is that too keen? Maybe I’ve come on too strong? Maybe he likes me more when I’m not so available?

“… or I could just stay here and spend time with my brother,” I add, hoping I haven’t sounded too eager for him.

Tench sighs and holds out his arm for me. “How can I ever say no to you, Miranda? I would love for you to join me. I have a lot of business to do while I’m over there, though, so I won’t be able to be with you the whole time.”

This sounds too good to be true!
“That’s fine. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with my friend, anyway.”

“Who is this friend?” Tench is not giving up getting information out of me today, and I’m going to give it.

“We were roommates when we were ballerinas. She left to be in the Russian ballet and I left to come home to Sydney.  That was a long time ago.”

His eyes widen in delight. I can see he’s relishing in the parts of my past that he has wanted since he first met me.

“You never wanted to join the ballet yourself? From what I’ve seen, you are a beautiful dancer.” He brushes a strand of hair from my face.

I shake my head. “I came home because my mother was very sick. I had no choice but to make money, fast.”

None of what I tell him is a lie. My mother was sick, but she never died—just her soul did. For me, she is as good as dead.

Thoughts of my past make me wish things had been different. The choices I made in my life were the wrong ones. I just hope this path I’m on now isn’t a bad choice either. How can it be? I’m doing something good for once. I’m doing something selfless; I’m doing this for Sally and Nick. I’m righting all the wrong in my life.

“You should start dancing again.” Tench still cups the side of my face.

“Only if you’ll watch me.” I know I’ve got him now.

The evil inside Tench begins to surface with his wicked grin. I see exactly what he wants. He wants me, in his dance studio. My heart begins to pound at the memory of him having his way with me in there. The nightmares that followed are etched firmly in my mind. I need to take control of that past and turn it into my advantage. I need to claim back what Tench took from me that day.