Imminent Danger (Adrenaline Highs) (34 page)

“Sophomores in high school.”

“Oh my, God. They were babies.” She remembered the movie and how young the parents were, but she thought that had been a Hollywood trick to keep everyone young and beautiful.

“I don’t think love has an age requirement,” he told her, diving in for a quick soft kiss.

“Maybe not, but…” She paused, her curiosity getting the better of her. “Can I ask you something personal?”

He eased away from her and nodded. “You can ask me anything you want, anytime you want.”

She fiddled with the tag on the towel. “How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

“Seventeen.” He didn’t seem annoyed at all.

“Was it a good experience?”

“Uh. Yeah.” He nodded as a blush crept on his cheeks. “I’d have to say yes. Her name was Shawna. She was one of my big brother’s friends. She was very persistent.”

“Persistent? So you didn’t want to lose it?”

“I definitely wanted to, but I didn’t think I was reading the signs right. I didn’t see how someone older would want to be with a kid who didn’t know jack-shit.” He leaned on his side, propped up with his elbow and looked like a sex god on vacation.

Abbey moved on her side, too, and faced him in the same position, keeping the towel over the important parts. “How much older was she?”

“Only three years, but back then it seemed like a lot. She was in college and I was still in high school.”

“How long did it last?”

He snorted as he rolled his eyes and she smiled at his grin. “Not long. I was her winter break fling. She went back to school and forgot about me.”

“Broke your heart?”

He nodded, lost some of the smile. “Maybe a little.” He lifted his gaze and his solemn eyes spoke to her on an intimate level. “Yeah. I tend to fall hard.” He gave her a very meaningful lifted eyebrow before kissing her again. “For some reason, I’ve always been attracted to women a little older than me.”

She laughed. “I remember the first time we met and I thought you were a baby. You look so young.”

Blake shrugged a shoulder. “It’s a curse.”

She laughed again. “We should all be so cursed.”

His grin widened. “I’m only a couple years younger than you. You make it seem like a decade.”

“I just never imagined myself with a younger man.” She glanced away. “Honestly, I never imagined myself with anyone.”

He tipped her chin to face him. “And now?”

She looked into the gorgeous blue of his eyes and couldn’t imagine anything—or anyone—else. “Now, I only see you. I love you.”

His eyes welled up as he took her hand, linked their fingers and smiled at her. “You know that’s about the best news I’ve ever heard.”

Blake wrapped Abbey in his arms and held her close. Finally, finally he had her, all of her, body, heart and soul. He had a little taste of what his dad went through when dealing with his mom over two decades ago. His dad’s words echoed in his head. “All good things are worth waiting for.”

She stroked her fingers along his back and his hungry dick responded by growing harder against her stomach. She eased back, her eyes wide. “No way? You know when you came out of the bathroom, I noticed that bad boy, but seriously, can you do it again already?”

He laughed and hugged her a second time. “I could. But I won’t. I know you’re a little tender and I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her eyes got that soft, doe-eyed expression he loved so much. “That’s very considerate of you.”

“Yeah, well. I have the only sister on the planet who made sure her brothers knew that if they took a girl’s virginity to be aware of the after effects. I’m under orders to be ‘considerate.’”

“I knew I liked your sister,” Abbey teased.

Blake’s phone rang from the stack of mats next to him. He swiped it up and checked the screen. Bren again. He nearly laughed. It figured. “Give me one sec to take this,” he told Abbey. “What?” he said, after punching the screen.

“Are you in any position to save my ass?” Bren asked. He sounded breathless.

“Maybe. What do you need?” Blake sat up and reached for his clothes a few feet away where Abbey had tossed them.

“You’re gonna kill me, but I need you to go to the apartment, open my desk and look for a packet of passes in the top drawer. I swore I packed the envelope, but I can’t find it anywhere. Long story short, I need those passes ASAP for Seger’s guests by the next show. If you don’t overnight them now. I won’t get them in time.”

“What if I get Eric to do it?” Blake asked. He didn’t want to leave Abbey alone.

“Eric and Danny split for Santa Barbara this morning for two days. I tried them first.”

“Okay, okay. As soon as Troy gets back from the airport, I’ll go. I just don’t want to leave Abbey alone.”

“Awesome! Thanks, bro. I owe you one.”

“One? Are you serious? This is more like one hundred.” He winked at Abbey and she grinned. His heart flopped over like a happy puppy wanting its tummy rubbed. After a little more ribbing of his brother, Blake disconnected the call.

“Family calls, huh?” Abbey asked, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. Sorry about this.” He checked his watch. “Troy should be here in a little while. After he dropped off Julie, he was stopping at the office to get some paperwork. As soon as he comes back, I’ll take off. It’ll give me a chance to bring some fresh clothes from the apartment while I’m there.”

Abbey leaned forward and brushed her soft lips against his. “I’m going to miss you.”

He released a puff of air and leaned his forehead against hers. “I have been waiting forever to hear you say those words.” He slanted his lips over hers in a deeper, wetter, hotter kiss and she moaned into his mouth. Blake stroked a hand through her hair. “If I don’t get up and shower real quick, Troy’s going to walk in on us doing it on his gym mat.”

“Surprise!” she whispered.

Blake pulled back. “You’re like a comedy store these days. I love it.”

Her smile slayed him. She was so fucking gorgeous. “I want you to think about something while you’re out,” she said and her tone turned very serious. “Think about me. Under the sheets. With no clothes on. And think about you in the same place with me. Also with no clothes on. Then think about what might happen once you get that picture in your head.”

Blake’s eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head and his dick got harder. He jumped up from the mat and ran to the shower. “The faster I get back, the faster I can make that happen.”

Troy returned a little later and Blake left for his apartment. As he searched Bren’s desk for the all-important envelope, Bren called to say he’d found it in the ripped lining of his suitcase. Crisis averted. Blake grabbed a bag of fresh clothes and headed out.

Taking the stairs at a fast clip toward the garage, he pounded through the doorway on a mission to get back to Abbey. He caught sight of a black sedan outside the iron gate of his apartment’s secure garage and slowed his step. The hair on the back of his neck prickled at a presence behind him. Blake ducked and spun at the same time as a massive weight hit him full on and knocked him back. Air whooshed out of his lungs as he struggled to get to his feet and reach the blade in his back pocket. A fist plowed into his face and pain exploded in his head, but Blake came back with a hard punch of his own and knocked the guy off him. He got to his feet only to be slammed from behind by someone else.

Two against one, just like the last time. Anger and fear pounded through his gut as he fought, throwing punch after punch, but it didn’t seem to matter. They came at him from every direction. He hit the pavement and someone yanked him up while the other one whaled on him with a series of blows to his face and his stomach. He barely got a look at the guy nailing him. Every fresh hit sent a new round of pain blossoming through his body until he was numb with it.

“Just end it,” a voice behind him said. He knew that voice.

With one final massive blow, the last punch sent a rocket through his head then knocked all the lights out.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kim sat forward in the big leather chair and tapped her thumb on the desk while she scrolled through a file on Leo’s computer. She’d been scanning the screen for five minutes and the longer she stared, the more her eyes narrowed. With her glasses on and her hair back, she looked every inch the businesswoman. Leo wanted to take her in his arms, slip the glasses off and find the seductive blond knockout who’d dropped into his life like a mushroom bomb a week ago. He knew exactly how soft her hair would be if he took it down and ran his fingers through it. His dick sparked at the memory.

Sitting on the other side of her with his feet propped on the desk, Leo finally broke the silence. “Something wrong?”

“Oh, sorry.” She glanced at the papers next to her. “I can’t find how these numbers relate to you at all and there are some crazy big numbers here. Do you own property in Palm Springs?”

“Nope.”

“I didn’t think so. The other flash drive had all your information, so is it possible Nathan’s secretary gave you this one by mistake?”

“Anything’s possible.”

“We should get this back to her. She might be looking for it.” Kim picked up a pencil and rolled it between her fingers. “I wonder if she knew what her boss was doing? I know Tom plans to speak with her, but I’d really like to talk to her before I leave tomorrow.”

Like he needed the reminder she was going. “Do you think she’d tell you anything even if she did know?”

“Probably not, but now that Nathan’s dead, it’s worth a shot.” She slid her glasses on top of her head and pegged him with her gorgeous green eyes. “I mean, what if she knows where your money is? Right? Maybe we can avoid the worst case scenario if we get some information.” She lifted a blond eyebrow. “I think we should find her. I’ll bet my PI can get her address.”

“I can do better than that. She told me she’s still at the office…giving Nathan’s clients time to come by and pick up files while she closes up shop. I’ll call and check, but she might still be there.”

Kim’s smile was luminous. “Wanna take Stella out for a spin?”

He grinned. “Baby, that’s always one of my favorite things.” He stood and gestured toward the door. “After you.”

“Give me one minute to grab my purse. Meet you in the garage.” Her smile did weird things to his chest and watching her ass as she clicked out of the room in her high heels did something else to his dick. Never in a million years did he see himself lusting after an accountant. And yet…

A quick call confirmed Bonnie was at the office so the plan was a go.

In the garage, Leo opened Stella’s door and admired the way Kim slid into the low seat with her short skirt and stilettos. She was made for luxury, for the finer things in life. He wanted her to stay longer just to show her what this town had to offer. He closed her door and the sound snapped reality back into his brain. Didn’t matter what he wanted to do because he couldn’t afford it. Technically, he couldn’t afford the gas to fill Stella. That made this trip to see Bonnie that much more important. Because if Kim was right and Bonnie had information maybe he could avoid this whole bankruptcy thing. God, what a colossal clusterfuck. A clusterfuck he was about to face on his own without the help of the pretty blond kick-ass female who’d worked her butt off most of the week helping him figure out his life. No easy feat. He owed her so much.

A few minutes later on the road, Kim cleared her throat. “Um… May I ask you a personal question?”

Leo nearly laughed. “You’re seeing just about everything there is to see while you’re going through my books. I didn’t think there was anything too personal left to know.” A big lie considering Megan was still under wraps, but just barely. When Kim had asked about the monthly charge for The Marion, Leo had told her it was an estate in the Hamptons. She’d told him he’d have to sell it just as he’d have to sell his other property and Leo hadn’t uttered a word.

“I’m really curious about something.”

A wave of heat spread from Leo’s center and worked its way through his veins. What if she found something about Megan after all? He didn’t think she’d tell anyone, but then he never thought Nathan would take his money. “Curious about what?”

“That lawsuit with the cheerleader. For weeks it was headline news, then one day it disappeared. What happened?”

Relief swept through him like a cool breeze. Although this was his second least favorite topic. Still, better than Megan. “Roxanne wanted to keep her money. That meant she kept her mouth shut.”

Kim faced him, her long legs crossed at the ankle in the leg well. “I don’t buy it. Not after the time I’ve spent with you.”

Leo kept his eyes on the road as he passed a chrome Fisker Karma. He’d take Stella any day of the week over that thing. “What’s not to get? She dropped the charges because of the settlement.”

“I don’t get why you were with her in the first place. I just don’t see you with teenyboppers.”

Cringing at the word, Leo glanced at Kim. “Trust me, I don’t either.”

“You’re really going to make me piece this together aren’t you?”

Leo exhaled hard and caved. “I was on location and met Roxanne at a club. She was dressed to kill in fuck-me pumps and enough makeup for three women. We danced. We drank. She told me she was twenty-five. I took her back to my hotel room. We fucked. The next thing I know, my people are getting calls from her lawyer and I’m in hot water for statutory rape. She seduced me. She played me all night long and I let her. Hell, she insisted on buying the first two rounds.” Thinking about that night still made his gut roll. “She knew exactly what she was doing from minute one. I coughed up five million to make her go away because there was no way to win that case in court. No one would be believe
that Sweet Girl
did something so premeditated.” He shook his head and accelerated when the silver Lexus in front of him slid out of the lane. “I was the Hollywood Bad Boy taking advantage of young girls. When my lawyer showed me her deposition, I didn’t even recognize her. No makeup, conservative clothes. She looked like a teenager. If that had been the girl I’d met that night, you can bet I wouldn’t have touched her with a twenty-foot pole.”