SOAR (The Indigo Lounge Series Book 4) (21 page)

Had
Noah not known how crazy Gabe was about Angie, he’d have decked his friend
right then and there.

Leia
beamed. “You too, Gabe. Noah doesn’t talk about you enough.”

“Yeah,
with good cause. He’s afraid I’ll steal you away,” Gabe returned.

Sliding
his hand around Leia’s waist, Noah steered her out of his friend’s path. And
straight into Mike…who was imitating a puffer fish in his eagerness to
introduce himself.

Shit.

“Hello,
Gorgeous. I’m Mike,” he supplied.

“Hey,
Mike,” Leia gave a wider smile and tilted her head toward Damian, who lounged
in the doorway, surveying the scene with a resigned look.

“Don’t
mind these two knuckleheads,” he said as he walked forward. “Some old bird with
cataracts convinced them they were God’s gift to chicks a long time ago. I
haven’t been able to restrain them since.”

Leia
laughed, and Damian’s eyes widened.

Noah
felt a growl rumbling from his chest. Leia slipped out of his hold and crossed
to the sofa to gather her stuff.

His
friends turned to watch her.

“Aren’t
you joining us for poker? It’s not strictly a boys’ thing. We’d love to have
you,” Mike coaxed.

“Yes.
It is. And, seriously, you need to watch how you frame your words there,
buddy
.”
Noah fixed him with a deathly look.

Damian’s
shoulders shook with silent laughter.

Gabe’s
eyes narrowed and swung between him and Leia. Noah made a visible effort to
relax as she walked toward him.

“It
was good to meet you all.” That stunning smile made another appearance.

“Yeah,
see you around,” Gabe said.

Noah
led her out of the condo and into the waiting elevator.

“You
don’t need to come with me, Noah. You’ve got guests,” she protested.

“I
didn’t invite them. They’re big boys. They can take care of themselves for five
minutes.” Restlessness prowled through him. He glanced at his watch. “We’ll be
done in a couple of hours. I’ll come and get you when they leave, okay?”

“Sure,”
she replied.

They
reached her floor, and he spotted three packages sitting outside her door.
“Expecting a delivery?” he asked unnecessarily.

“Yep,
I ordered some bath stuff online last night.”

For
some reason that irritated him. “You aiming to take a lot of showers at your
place?”

Her
eyes grew a touch wary and she shrugged. “If I find myself in need of one when
I’m home, yes.”

Pursing
his lips, he took her keycard and opened her door. About to help her with the
packages, he stopped when she put a hand on his chest. “I’ll get them in a
minute, baby. Go back upstairs. The earlier you get your game going, the
quicker I can come back.”

Unable
to argue that sound logic, he yanked her into his arms and drowned in her
intoxicating scent. Then he reluctantly pulled away. “Two hours, tops. Ninety
minutes if I can kick them out without them whining like spoiled brats,” he
promised as he backed away from her.

She
laughed. “Yes, Noah.”

Christ.
Any more of those responses and he’d be begging her to let him stay, his
friends be damned.

He
returned upstairs to find the guys staring at the painting.

Mike
was the first to spot him. “Is that a genuine Mondrian?”

Noah
cocked a brow at his friend. “You’re the only who deals with fakes, buddy.”

The
other two barked with laughter and Mike grimaced. “Shit, one girlfriend with
fake tits and a guy can’t live it down for love
nor
money.”

“Shame
Olga the Ogre took your love
and
your money!” Damian ribbed mercilessly.

Noah
grabbed two six-packs from the fridge and headed for the gaming room. “I’d love
to skewer you to death over that unfortunate, but entertaining, period of your
life, buddy, but I’d rather kick your respective asses at poker as soon as
possible and send you packing. So let’s get this show on the road.”

He
was already missing Leia like crazy, and she’d been gone less than five minutes.

TWENTY-FOUR

Warren
Snyder examined his closet with a sharp eye before settling on the charcoal
grey pinstripe suit. Coupling it with a white shirt, he draped both over a
sleek clothes press and moved to the mirror in his bathroom.

The
bruises had faded.
At least on the outside.
But his
jaw clicked when he moved it the wrong way. Or he chewed anything tougher than
a rare chateaubriand.

According
to his physician the sound might never go away.

That
unquestionable blow to his pride was surpassed only by Leia’s callous betrayal.

In
the silent days, which followed the unfortunate event at the charity ball,
locked away in the lake house no one knew about except him, he’d been fully
intent on plotting to get her back. He’d deemed her worthy of one last attempt
to salvage what she’d ruined. Just as he’d deemed his pride salvageable.
With the right restitution.

His
fingers paused over his still painful jaw. Flexing it delicately from side to
side, he took a deep breath.

The
breathing techniques had also failed him in the past several days while he’d
been mired in fury. He was glad to experience the return of calm.

Changing
his mind had been hard, but he hadn’t come this far, removed the shackles of
his unfortunate past, by being imprudent.

But
that didn’t mean the fire of revenge had abated.

No,
far from it…

Timing
himself, he dressed in precisely seven and a half minutes and tugged on his
sleeves in satisfaction. Clarity of mind had always been his sharpest weapon.
The enforced sabbatical had enabled him to see the forest for the trees.

Timing
was everything. And he was now wealthy enough to make biding his time a
non-hardship. The best chess moves came with patience. And precision—

His
phone beeped with a message. He read it. He considered ignoring it. Then gave
in and dialed the number.

“Miss
Maitland, how may I help you?”

“I’ve
been trying to reach you for days. I kept getting out of office replies.”

“An
appropriate response seeing that I
was
out of the office. Again, how may
I help you?”

“Do
you know that your little…are you aware that Noah and Leia are practically
living together?” she asked through gritted teeth.

Warren
strolled out his bedroom and entered the space he’d been using as a study.
Pressing a button on his laptop, the screen flared to life. “For the sake of
expediency, I’ll say yes and suggest you get to the point.”

“Don’t
you care?”

“Your
point, if you please.”

She
laughed. “You must really enjoy leftovers from Noah King’s table. Or you would
have done something about our situation by now.”

She
wasn’t worth the effort of him informing her he was doing something about it.

“I
don’t doubt that you and King deserve each other. After all, he’s a thug and
you’re a hapless shrew. I’m not in the habit of revisiting failed ventures,
Miss Maitland. But I suppose, if you insist on pursing your objectives…” he
trailed off and waited.

“What?”
she demanded after a minute.

He
told her. And listened to her gloat. “This will be the last time we
communicate. I strongly suggest you lose my number.”

He
hung up, placed the phone on his desk and clicked through the various
electronic files until he located the one he needed. The puppet had responded
to its master’s command.

Flicking
open the button of his single-breasted jacket, he sat at his desk, steepled his
fingers, and watched the time.

The
email pinged at the stroke of the hour.

He
read it.

Warren
smiled, his pride a touch placated.

TWENTY-FIVE

Regaining
her focus after Noah left took a pathetically long time, but once Leia got into
the swing of things again, excitement bubbled under her skin as her pencil flew
over the sketchpad. After completing her sixth design, she got up from the sofa
and stretched.

Going
into her kitchen, Leia poured a glass of wine and eyed the clock. An hour and
fifteen minutes since she’d said goodbye to him. She leaned against the sink
and grimaced at the
full scale
yearning taking root
inside her.

Hell,
it had grown into more than a yearning. It was becoming a full-blown obsession.
She craved Noah all the time.
In bed, out of it.
She
even craved him when he was deep inside her, rocking her world the way only he
knew how.

Was
this how love was meant to be? Or was her particular brand a special strain
because she knew she could lose him to his unborn child at any time?

Ashley…

She
knew the other woman spoke to Noah from time to time. Noah always kept the
conversation short, sometimes curt. But Leia couldn’t hide from the fact that
they had a relationship of sorts.

And
always would.

Could
she deal with that in the long term,
if
there was a long term for them?

She
contemplated the other side of the coin—a life without Noah.

A
spike of pain shot up her spine. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the thoughts
away.

When
the time came to deal with it, she’d dealt with it. Until then…

She
walked into the living room and picked up her mobile. Catching her lower lip
between her teeth, she contemplated what she was about to do. A wave of
electricity sizzled through her belly as she started typing:

You have corrupted this fragile thing and brought out a
writhing, mewling, bucking, wanton whore for your enjoyment and pleasure…hurry,
your whore awaits
:)

Taking
a fortifying sip of wine, she pressed send. The reply came an excruciatingly
long two minutes later:

Thanks
for that. I just lost a very lucrative hand. If you think adding a smiley face
to a paraphrased Sade quote is going to make me go easy on you for getting me
so fucking hard I can’t get up, think again.

She
grinned and typed again:

Please
show this newly deflowered
sexter
a little mercy
.

Noah:

My
mercy isn’t little, baby. It’s a huge, hungry motherfucker. You poked it. You
get to appease it.

About
to respond, she jumped when her phone rang. Only it wasn’t her mobile, but her landline.
Frowning, she crossed to the coffee table and picked up the receiver.

“Hi
there, Miss Michaels. It’s Alex from the concierge desk downstairs? I called
earlier about your packages but there was no response, so I thought I’d
double-check that you got them?”

“Oh…umm,
yes.” She grimaced. She’d totally forgotten about her deliveries. “I got them,
thanks.”

“You’re
welcome. We’ve had another delivery. If you’re available now, I can bring it
up?”

She
reluctantly shut off the mobile and dropped it on the table. “Sure, thanks.”

Hanging
up, she went to the door and brought in the three packages. Opening up the
first one, she stopped to sniff the expensive gel and lotion she’d had
specially made from her favorite bespoke perfumery in Palm Beach. She was
putting away the mood enchanting candles in her bathroom closet, when she heard
the knock.

She
opened the door and gestured to the coffee table. “Thanks, Alex. Can you put it
on there?”

He
nodded eagerly. He was about her age, decent looking, and she’d seen him check
her out a couple of times. In another lifetime, she probably would’ve found him
interesting enough to date.

But
in this lifetime, she belonged to one man only.

Alex
turned. “Do you need a hand with anything else?” he asked.

Leia
eyed the large square box, wracking her brain to recall what else she’d ordered
besides the bath stuff. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

Alex
let himself out, and she walked to the package. It was a large brown
box,
sturdy enough to indicate whatever it contained was
heavy. Double-sealed with industrial strength tape, she would need a knife to
open it. Grabbing one from the kitchen, she slid the blade under the lid,
worked her way round and lifted it.

Horror
engulfed her. The knife clattered to the floor as a scream gurgled in her
throat, choking its way up before ripping through the air.

The
three dolls were grotesquely life-like. But while the bodies were those of
newborns, the heads were large and full-grown. And all three faces were as
familiar to her as the nose on her face.

Shaking,
Leia lurched to where she’d dropped her phone. A sob broke out as her fingers
missed the dial button. Dashing her hand across her eyes to clear her vision,
she tried again.

Noah’s
phone rang four times before he answered it. “Fuck, sweetheart, you have no
idea how tough it is to walk with this hard—”

“Noah…”
Her voice emerged a ragged croak.

“What
the hell’s wrong?” he snapped.

“Some…something
arrived…a delivery.” She shut her eyes as she caught the box from the corner of
her eye. “Please, Noah…I need you.” Another shudder ripped through her. She
curled her body into a ball and wrapped her free arm around her knees.

“Stay
on the phone, baby. I’ll be right there.” Chairs scraped hardwood floors.
Pounding feet accompanied gruff male voices. Her heart hammered and her body
shook as sobs rocked her.

“Ten
seconds, baby. Hold on,” Noah’s voice was taut with anxiety.

A
heartbeat later, the door slammed open and she was engulfed in strong arms.
Phone slipping out of her hand, she threw her arms around his neck as he
scooped her up.

“Are
you hurt?” he demanded.

“N…no,”
she replied.

“Jesus,
who the fuck would do this?” Damian growled.

Noah
tensed and turned to see Gabe, Mike and Damian peering into the box. Leia
closed her eyes, but images of the dolls were fixed on her retinas along with
the labels attached to their chests.

Dead Papa Bear.
Dead Mama
Bear.
Dead Whore Baby Bear.

The
doll made in the image of her father, had a water-filled bag tied around its
head and fishing net around its body. Her mother’s doll had a bullet-sized hole
in her chest. And Leia’s doll had a filet knife inserted in her stomach.

“I’m
calling the cops.” Gabe pulled out his phone and dialed.

Noah
carried her to the seat farthest away from the table and pushed his fingers
through her hair. He kissed her temple and gently raised her chin. “Who
delivered the box?”

“I
don’t know…Alex from the concierge’s desk b-brought it up.”

Noah’s
head reared up. “Get him up here, now!” he said to Mike.

Mike
dashed for the phone and Noah looked into her eyes.

“Did
he say who it was from?”

“I
didn’t ask…I thought it was one of the things I ordered online.” Her lips
pursed. Another shudder powered through her.

Noah
pulled her tighter into his warmth. “I promise you, baby. I’ll find the bastard
and I’ll tear him to pieces.”

She
squeezed her eyes shut and clung to him. Numbness closed around her, and the
men’s voices washed over her. What felt like minutes later, Paddy walked in,
followed by a man in his fifties wearing a detective’s
badge.

Alex,
who’d been summoned, looked nervously at the towering, bristling men in the
room and swallowed before haltingly describing the man who’d made the delivery.

The
detective looked at her. “Does that description ring any bells, Miss Michaels?”

She
shook her head.

He
eyed Noah, then Leia. “Paddy here gave me an abbreviated version of what’s been
going on. Is there any reason why you didn’t report the blackmail threat to the
police when it happened?”

Paddy
clapped him on the shoulder. “Like I told you, they wanted to keep
things…in-house. These days, everyone with a camera phone is a damn amateur
tabloid hack. Not to mention an extortionist.”

“You
including cops in that
pointed
assertion?”

Paddy
shrugged. “No offence.”

The
officer pursed his lips and turned to Noah. “And there have been no further
threats for over two weeks?”

Noah’s
jaw tightened. “Not until tonight.” He rose with Leia in his arms. “I think
we’re done here. If you need any more information, Paddy will fill you in. Or
call me. He has my number.”

The
older man looked like he wanted to argue but sighed. “I’ll take this down to
the station, have the box dusted for prints,” he said.

Noah
was already walking away, followed by his friends.

All five of them crowded into the lift.

Gabe
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, ignoring Noah’s low growl. “Easy,
buddy. Shit, she’s really pale. Want me to call the doctor?”

“I’m…I’m
fine,” Leia forced out through stiff lips. She felt Noah’s probing gaze on her
and looked up. Whatever he saw in her eyes made his own darken and his breath
punch out.

“Noah…”

He
shook his head, strode into his condo and headed straight for the bedroom.

Over
his shoulder, Leia saw his friends’ worried glances. She wanted to say
something reassuring…but she was fresh out.

Noah
settled her on the bed and drew her tight into his arms. A sharp knock on the
door made him tense.

“Yeah?”
Noah snapped.

Gabe
walked in with a bottle of McCarran whiskey and two glasses. He placed them on
the nightstand and looked down at them. “You need anything, you call. Before
or
after you do something stupid. We’ll have your back either way.” His gaze
shifted to Leia and he sent her a crooked smile. “Good night, Princess.”

He
left quietly.

They
lay in silence for several minutes, Noah passing his fingers through her hair
and sliding his hand up and down her body, as if reassuring himself that she
was all right. Against her breast, his heart thudded into his ribs.

She
looked up to see his face contorted in a mask of anger.

“Noah,
I’m okay,” she ventured.

His
fist slammed into the headboard. “He got to you, Leia. The bastard got to you
right under my fucking nose.”

She
twisted in his arms and wrapped herself tight around him. “Please, don’t do
this to yourself.”

He
caught her by the shoulders and rolled her beneath him. His eyes blazed with
fury and self-recrimination. “What if he’d talked his way around that idiot at
the front desk? He could’ve entered your condo…
hurt you
…” his voice
fractured.

She
speared her hand through his hair, the other sliding around his waist. “But he
didn’t. He didn’t get in. And I’m still safe. Here with you.”

His
hands shook uncontrollably as he cradled her face. “God, I don’t know what I would’ve
done if I’d lost you.” A broken sound rumbled from his throat.

They
stared at each other for a single heartbeat.

Then
he was kissing her. Desperately. Ravenously. He devoured her like she was the
answer to world famine, plunging his tongue into her mouth to dominate hers.

Her
numbness fled, replaced by the blanketing heat and sustenance of Noah’s
attention. The pictures of the dolls flashed intermittently behind her lids,
sending shudders through her body. At her gasp, Noah raised his head.

“Look
at me. See only me,” he commanded.

Nodding
frantically, she raised her mouth to his. He offered her what she needed,
pressing back the horrific images and replacing them with his essence. She tore
at his clothes, and he helped her undress him. When he was naked, she clamped
her thighs around him and scoured her nails up and down his back.

Rewarded
with his predatory growl, she offered him more.
Her mouth,
her tongue, the wet hunger between her legs.

Her
panties came away with one rough rip. Her top met the same treatment but,
desperate for each other, he pulled up her skirt and thrust hard inside her.
They held their breaths through the harsh storm of sensation, their eyes
staring deeply into each other.