Innocence Defied (New York) (15 page)

“You said it yourself, Brice,” Gage said, his voice softer now. “You’ve been intimate with me even as far as sharing yer own wife. If ya trust me that much—with somethin’ so precious as that—where is yer trust now?”

Zoe’s breath caught as that sank in. Her mind sped right past the sharing part and landed on her brother and Terryn’s marriage. They were doing the Dom/sub thing and Zoe had never seen her brother so happy. If they could make it work, she was even surer now of her and Gage.

Brice didn’t turn to look at either of them, only took his wife by the hand and left after uttering only a single word in response.

“Broken.”

For the third time in the last week, Gage fisted his hands at his sides in an effort to restrain himself from tearing out of the house and beating Brice to a bloody mess. Zoe was quietly crying on her bed. She’d been there, doing that, for the last hour and he was going mad. The Dom in him wanted to find what was hurting her and kill it, but that was impossible when what was hurting her was her brother.

It was hard to believe it had only been a week since Brice had stormed out of the townhouse. Gage had done everything in his power to soften the blow of the fallout for Zoe. He was still taking her to work as his “intern” and had made sure to give her efficient and clever mind plenty of tasks to keep her distracted. Whenever work wasn’t enough, he found other exciting ways to empty her busy little mind. And every night he made love to her until she fell into a sated, exhausted heap, then slept like the dead. But the sadness still crept in and times like now, having to stand by helplessly and watch as she cried were tearing him to pieces. She flinched at every sound in the house as though she thought it was Brice coming back. When the phone rang she was sure it was her parents calling, and when the last time someone knocked on the door, Zoe had been sure it was going to be a family member sent to fetch her home.

He had been sure that she was prepared for the backlash when her family got wind of their relationship. She’d been confident and pragmatic whenever they had discussed the reception they were going to face. She had made it clear she knew her family would react strongly and that was why she had wanted to hold off telling them until later. Zoe had reasoned there were two components to her choice to keep them a secret. The first had been that, as much as she was sure she was going to love him forever, she didn’t want to upset her whole family if Gage grew tired of her and it was over after only a brief fling. It would be useless and cruel to put them all through the drama for something that turned out to be a short-lived affair. The second had been that she didn’t want a dark cloud overshadowing the first phase of their relationship. She wanted it to be full of joy and discovery, not tears and turmoil.

It made sense, so Gage had let her have her way. He even agreed with her. He wanted nothing to distract or take away from the happiness they were finding in each other and now, after Brice’s extreme reaction, he couldn’t say he regretted keeping them a secret. He wished they still were.

With a curse, Gage stormed to Zoe’s closet and grabbed one of her suitcases. It landed on the bed with a bounce and he started rifling through her closet with single-minded purpose. Arms loaded, he turned and stuffed the clothes in the bag with little care for wrinkles or fabrics. He had a course of action set in mind and now that he had a plan and a goal, he was focused.

“Gage?” Zoe’s voice was muffled behind a tissue and distorted from her stuffy nose. “What are you doing? You’re not sending me to Brice’s after all, are you?”

“No, darlin’.” He made his voice gentle as he caught the panic in hers. “We’re just goin’ outta town for a spell. We’ll give your brother time to cool off and you’ll be someplace where you won’t be worryin’ that he’s going to come bustin’ in any minute.”

With a sniffle she answered, “Okay. That actually sounds good. I’ll help pack.” She went to her dresser and reached for some underwear.

Gage felt a glimmer of a smile as he plunked a pair of shoes in. “Darlin’, you’re packed. I’m done.” He said and zipped up her bag.

She looked from the bag, to her dresser, to her closet. “But, Gage? You didn’t pack any underwear.”

From the way it felt, he knew his smile was pure evil. “I know.”

Chapter Twenty-One

After a series of phone calls and throwing his own bag together, they were on the way. One cab, private jet and limo ride later, they were strolling along a trail in the Hollister woods, hand in hand. Zoe looked around her in awe. The trees were huge and the leaves were lush and green with just the smallest hint of the coming change showing in the scattered few on the ground. The dappled light fell on her shoulders like a warm blanket, while a balmy breeze flirted with her hair and the hem of her red-and-white sundress.

“I still can’t believe we’re here. Five hours ago we were in New York and now we’re in Texas on our way to have a picnic in a meadow.” She squeezed his hand and sent him a smile full of warmth and gratitude. “I thought nothing would make things better. I was wrong. This is perfect.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and touched her mouth to his. As they resumed walking, Zoe watched the tips of her red canvas sneakers. “Are you sure about leaving New York? I mean, you guys are still in the middle of the whole merger thing and what if your leaving sets off some sort of panic?”

Gage shook his head a little and brought their clasped hands up so he could lay a kiss on the back of hers. “I told you, darlin’, bein’ the boss has its perks. Takin’ a few days off is one of them. Things’ll be fine there. I’ve got good people I trust lookin’ after things for me, and if an emergency comes up, I’m only a three-hour flight away. Besides, it’s just for the weekend. No need for you to be worryin’—leave that to me.”

He gestured with the basket he held and said, “Looky there. That’s our spot.”

Zoe let out a wistful sigh. Just ahead, the trail led to a meadow surrounded by a ring of trees. The grass was a deep lush green and wildflowers covered it in a pattern that was a riot of colors and scents.

“Oh, Gage.” Zoe stepped out from the cover of trees and into the sunlight. “I’ve never seen something so perfect and beautiful.”

“I have, darlin’.” When she smiled at him, Zoe noticed his eyes were only for her. “I have.”

As Gage spread out the blanket, Zoe dug into the basket. “I’m starved. I sure am glad your family has a cook on staff here. Oh, I think I’m in heaven.” She lifted a container lid and showed him three big pieces of fried chicken. “And look at this!” she exclaimed and pulled out another container. “Potato salad. And there’s veggies and dip and fresh rolls and—oh sweet baby Jesus, Gage—there’s cherry pie.” She looked at him in shock. “Homemade cherry pie? Did you call ahead and have her make this for us?”

He chuckled and took the pie from her, “No, Oops, I didn’t. Just your lucky day, I guess. Mine too, since the staff is leaving in an hour for the weekend, so I get you all to myself from here on out.” He gave her a quick kiss on the nose and added, “Get the plates. I’m starvin’ too.”

Zoe was so stuffed she could barely move, but that didn’t stop her from pouring herself a second glass of sweet tea from the thermos. “I swear they put crack in this.” She took a big gulp as Gage rested on his side and twirled a flower stem in his fingers. “I think I’m addicted. If I can’t get your cook to show me how she makes this, we are going to have to figure out a way to have it flown in.” After another long drink, Zoe leaned back, rested her weight on her elbows and lifted her face to the sun.

She cracked one eye open to peek at Gage when he ran the wildflower over her brow and down her nose. She smiled as he traced her lips with the satiny white petals before trailing it down the slope of her neck and then across her collarbone.

Gage tucked the flower in the valley between her breasts. “Darlin’.” His voice was husky and caused a shiver to chase up and down her spine. “What’s your safe word?”

Zoe gulped. The meadow and surrounding woods seemed to be holding their breath as he waited for her reply. “Alamo, Sir.”

Gage sat up, bent his long legs and draped his arms over his knees. The tension in Zoe’s limbs multiplied by the seconds as she waited for him to start whatever it was that he had planned. When he finally spoke, he did so without looking at her, and the one word he uttered echoed like a gun shot in her ears.

“Run.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Zoe scrambled up with a squeak. Her pretty red dress with its white trim would be easy to spot in the lush greens and browns of the woods. Gage watched as she dashed out of sight, her laughter floating on the wind. He waited until he was sure she had a good lead on him before he sprang to his feet. A game like this was always more fun when the prey had room to run.

She wasn’t that far ahead, which told him she had waited to see when he was going to give chase, and Gage clucked his tongue. The necessary adrenaline rush hadn’t hit her yet—this game required a healthy shot of fear to hit all the right notes. He’d just have to see about fixing that.

He dodged off the trail and leaped over a fallen oak. As quick as he could, he zigged and zagged until he burst onto the trail again. Just as he’d planned, he sprang out right in front of her. Her scream was loud and long and she landed with a pretty flounce of skirts on her tail end. She sat for a dazed second, panting and staring up at him with wide, surprised eyes.

Gage made sure to keep his expression menacing as he took measured deliberate steps toward her. The look on Zoe’s face went from her initial shock to smiling but as he continued to stalk her, the smile slowly faded.

Her breath backed up in her lungs and her pupils dilated until they obscured her irises. He watched as her mind scrambled to put things in the proper perspective—as she tried to reassure herself that this was just a game. But her intelligence failed her in this because, though it was indeed a game and they both knew he’d never hurt her, her instincts were kicking in and her body was screaming for her to run. Run now.

This time when she scrambled to her feet and dashed away there was no laughter and she was off like a rocket. His instincts fired to life as well and Gage couldn’t resist chasing her immediately, even though what he’d wanted to do was give her another head start. His longer legs gave him a huge advantage over her and within seconds, he was reaching out to grab her shoulder. She whipped her head around and let out a scream when she caught sight of him so close. Quick as a rabbit, she turned right and leapt off the trail altogether. His fingers caught on her shoulder strap and the thin material gave with a satisfying rip. The sound and the sight fueled them both as Zoe doubled her speed.

So did he.

She ducked under a low branch and dodged around the trunk of a huge oak. Gage circled the other side, and this time when he jumped into what he thought her path would be, he saw that she had outmaneuvered him and headed in the opposite direction.

“Clever girl,” he said under his breath, and was after her in less than a heartbeat. He cut off and sprinted over some underbrush and thickets, taking a harder path he knew would bring him around so he could intercept her again. When he sprinted out in front of her this time, she was in full fight-or-flight mode and struck out when he grabbed on to her. The sound of the ringing slap she laid on him warred with the sound of her dress giving another pliant rip. He shook off the slap and gave a sharp yank on her dress, only to have her haul off and kick him right in the shin.

It was shock more than pain that earned her release and his curse was loud and foul when he charged after her yet again. As his legs ate up the distance between them, he promised himself when he got his hands on her this time she was not getting away.

He was almost upon her. The only sounds in the world were the pounding of their footsteps and the gasps of their breaths. Almost. Almost there. She was going to try and dodge him again—he could see it in the way her head was whipping to the right and left, looking for the most likely exit. With a roar, he took two bounding steps and jumped, his fingers just grasping her dress. It gave another jagged tear as the side seam surrendered and it hung limp from one trembling shoulder. He snaked his other hand around her waist and yanked her back to him with a snarl.

She went wild. Like a hellcat, she shrieked and kicked and scratched at any part of him she could reach, so he kept her facing away from him and within moments easily pinned her arms to her sides.

“Get away from me!” she demanded in a furious whisper. “You let me go, right now or I swear I’ll scream.”

His chuckle was mean and with his free hand, he gathered what was left of the bodice in his fist. “Go ahead.” And ripped it down to her waist. Her scream was desperate and Gage felt the hard edge of desire in the sound like a stroke to his cock.

He bent his head to her throat and she yelled, “No! No. Stop it,” even as her head titled to give him better access.

He bit. Hard. She bucked in his arms and lifted both feet. Gage snarled as she hit the ground and scrambled to her knees, but before she could get away, he was on her.

“I oughtta beat your ass for that stunt.” He fisted a hand in the black silk she had for hair and gave a vicious yank that had her gasping. He used his other hand to tear the rest of the dress away, until the only thing she had on were her ruined red shoes. She was on all fours, naked and quivering with rage and desire. Gage dropped to his knees behind her. The raging lust he felt swirled with a large dose of savagery inside him. He’d run down his prey and now he was going to devour it.