Knight's Game (6 page)

‘Then I want a mutual exclusivity. One that either of us can revoke by email.’

A soundless whistle. ‘That’s cold.’

Low stoked anger glowed in her eyes. ‘You’d know about cold.’

So
not interested in renewing the argument of who left
whom, his voice was smooth as silk. ‘We should be able to manage that.’

‘I should hope so. What’s the point otherwise? You do what you want and I wait for you? That would be stupid of me.’

He smiled. ‘Agreed.’

‘This isn’t amusing, Dominic. I’m not even sure I believe you can fulfil such a requirement,’ she said, crabbed and spleenish. ‘So if this is all just bullshit so you can get me into bed, I’d rather not play this game.’

‘Forgive me. I’m dead serious. Have security follow me. I’ll pay for it.’

She gave him a jaundiced look. ‘Why would I trust them when you’re paying them?’

‘I’ll give you the money,’ he offered, quickly adapting. ‘Hire whoever you want.’

‘I don’t want your money.’

Fortunately for Dominic, there was something he had that she wanted or she would have left long ago. ‘If you have a better idea, I’m listening.’ Unruffled, accommodating to infinity.

She grimaced. ‘To be honest, all these details are missing the point. I’m sceptical you can change.’ She was no prude, but Dominic had no scruples when it came to kink. It was a major part of his life.

‘I told you I’d give up all that. I did.’

‘For me? Oh, hell, bleep that. I’ve been drinking.’

‘No, that’s OK. It
was
mostly for you, although maybe it
was just time to shut it down. Don’t ask me to understand. I don’t. I just know I’ve missed you.’

Maybe he’d pushed all her pity buttons. More likely she’d been delusional in thinking she could withstand temptation when he was so close and so beautiful it made her heart ache. ‘I missed you too,’ Kate said softly. ‘The Johnny Chens of the world just don’t cut it.’

‘Did you fuck him?’ A sudden uncongenial edge entered his voice.

‘No. Tell me about your love life,’ she said, equally acerbic.

‘Fair enough. The only time I even came close to a woman was when a friend in Paris asked me out for dinner. Way before the meal was over, I knew I’d made a mistake. I gave her some excuse and had my driver take her home. That’s it.’ He didn’t mention Tatiana because it was meaningless. ‘Otherwise I jacked off and drank at night. Now, tell me about
your
love life. Was there someone other than Johnny Chen trying to get in your pants?’ That hard edge to his voice again.

‘Not really. I couldn’t go through with it.’ Missoula had been a huge mistake. She cringed every time she thought about it.

‘Go through with what?’ A narrow-eyed, steely look.

‘My roommate set me up. I thought I could forget you if I slept with someone else.’

A visible tick flickered across his jaw. ‘You
slept
with someone?’

‘No, I only kissed him.’

‘What’s his name?’ To be filed away for possible reprisals.

‘Ben.’

‘Last name,’ he said curtly.

‘I have no idea. I was just doing it to do it.’ A touch of sarcasm entered her voice. ‘Surely you know the feeling.’

He dragged in a breath, well acquainted with casual sex. ‘Did Ben
touch
you?’ He kept the fury from his tone by sheer will.

‘Don’t, Dominic. It was nothing. I burst into tears and locked myself in the bathroom. OK? It was totally embarrassing.’

‘And he just left? He didn’t try and talk you into anything?’

‘Unlike you,’ she said pointedly, ‘some men understand a refusal.’

His mouth firmed, but he held his tongue, not about to mention that she almost never meant no when she said it. ‘I see,’ he said tersely.

‘I doubt you do. Now tell me about your dinner date,’ she said with the same green-eyed jealousy.

‘There’s nothing to tell. We ate dinner, my driver took her home.’

‘What’s her name?’

A brief pause, instinctive male wariness. ‘Why?’

‘Maybe I could introduce her to Ben,’ Kate murmured sardonically.

Dominic exhaled softly. ‘Her name’s Victoria Melbury.’

‘That doesn’t sound French.’

‘It isn’t.’

‘Where’s she from?’

He sighed. ‘Does it matter?’

‘Only if you don’t tell me.’

An eye roll. ‘Jesus, you’re troublesome. She’s from London. She’s in the phone book but I hope like hell you don’t call her because she doesn’t matter. Now, could we talk about something else?’

‘My, you’re testy.’

‘Like I’m testy about Johnny Chen slobbering all over you, and probably Ben too. I should punch them out.’

‘Please don’t. And I won’t call Victoria. Deal?’

‘Deal.’ He suddenly grinned. ‘I suppose it wouldn’t be you unless we were arguing over useless shit. Could we get the hell out of here?’ He nodded at her drink. ‘Are you done?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘There. Finally.’ He made a writing gesture to the waiter keeping an eye on their table from a discreet distance. ‘That makes my twelve-hour flight worthwhile.’

‘Speaking of worthwhile,’ she said, ‘what are we going to do about condoms?’

The waiter, who’d arrived at the table, pretended not to hear, but Kate blushed red to her hairline.

Dominic didn’t care if he’d heard or not. ‘Send the charges to my trading station,’ he said politely to the man. ‘And have my car brought up.’

He took one look at Kate and murmured as the waiter walked away, ‘I’m sure the man has heard the word
condom
before, Katherine.’ Slipping a bill from the money in his pocket, he left the tip on the table, looked up and smiled. ‘But I do enjoy your modesty. Not quite as much as I enjoy your lack of modesty in private.’

‘Please,’ she whispered. ‘People might hear.’

His nostrils flared. ‘Christ, don’t blush like that or I’ll fuck you right here.’

‘Dominic!’ A more forceful whisper laced with alarm.

Coming to his feet, he walked around the table to pull out her chair and, bending low, murmured in her ear, ‘There’s a quiet hallway not twenty feet away where I could fuck you if you promise not to scream.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ she hissed. But her body was instantly engaged, eager and willing, the impetuous pulsing between her legs sending out hard-core signals of availability.

‘Don’t challenge me, Katherine,’ he said quietly, then stood upright, eased back her chair and held out his hand. ‘That always has predictable results.’

‘I’m not touching you until you promise to behave,’ she said as quietly, looking up at him, not moving.

‘Don’t be silly. You don’t like me to behave. We’ve always agreed on that if nothing else. Now take my hand. People are beginning to stare. I don’t care, but I know you do. Or would you like to be the centre of attention? I could start undressing you if you like. I could have them clear the room’ – he smiled wickedly – ‘or not if you’re in an exhibitionist mood. I could fuck you on the table.’ He glanced round, smiling at all the staring faces before returning his gaze to
Kate. ‘What do you say, baby? Round one here or are you going to take my hand?’

‘I’ll make you pay for this later,’ she said fretfully, placing her hand in his, aglow with lust after Dominic’s provocative offer of exhibitionist sex. ‘After I’ve come a few times.’

He pulled her to her feet with a knowing grin. ‘Sounds like fun times ahead. We can discuss your agenda in the car.’

Once they were in the car, he asked, ‘Where to?’

‘A pharmacy first.’

He grinned. ‘Is that all I mean to you? A hard dick?’

She ran her hand over the bulge in his crotch, enjoying his quick intake of breath, then flashed him a grin of her own. ‘Let’s just say it’s priority one through twenty at the moment. I think I wore out my vibrator, or actually
your
vibrator. Thanks, by the way, it
was
better than mine. I won’t ask how you knew that because I do have an agenda. Afterwards you can explain.’

‘Maybe there won’t be an afterwards. Maybe I’ll just keep fucking you.’

She briefly shut her eyes, then smiled up at him. ‘Right now that sounds absolutely heavenly. This has been a very
long
month.’

‘Thirty-six days,’ he muttered, looking grim for a split second. Then he turned and hit the switch for the intercom. ‘A pharmacy, Chu. The first one you see.’

As the car pulled away from the hotel entrance, he spoke in a modulated tone, intent on concealing the full extent of the possible risk, avoiding any explanation of the Balkan mafia, the reasons they might be in Singapore, the fact that he’d had Max line up security for Katherine. ‘Would my place suit you? I don’t mean to alarm you, but it might be safer. We’re having slight problems with a business competitor,’ he improvised. ‘A matter of industrial espionage on our research lab here. They might be doing some surveillance.’

She shot him a look. ‘Was that them following me today? I had a creepy feeling someone was following Johnny and me when we left work. Although I can’t imagine why I’d have anything to do with your research lab.’

‘No, of course not. Perhaps it was some of our security people.’ He pulled out his phone. ‘Give me a minute. Max will know.’

His conversation was circumspect after Max said his men weren’t in place yet, each word after that deliberately guarded. After ending his call, Dominic turned back to Kate, his expression neutral. ‘Max said he’d talk to our men. If you saw them, they weren’t doing their job. You should be fine now.’ His comment was only half a lie because she
would
be fine as of tomorrow morning. ‘So no more creeping you out,’ he added with a smile.

‘Just out of curiosity’ – a quick grin – ‘are you stalking me?’

‘Maybe a little.’

‘So no one actually saw me in the lobby at Raffles.’

‘Not really.’ That got him off the hook about CX Capital;
better she thought he was keeping tabs on her. And, of course, he was; he’d known her assignment was closing down before he’d left Paris.

‘You’ve been monitoring my activities.’

He smiled. ‘It’s become a habit.’

‘That leaves me somewhere between pissed off and flattered.’

‘Hold that thought.’ Chu was stopping at the kerb outside a small shop with a green neon Pharmacy sign. ‘Let me take care of this first.’

‘Wait,’ she suddenly ordered, putting her hand on his arm. Faced with the all too obvious danger of becoming involved with Dominic again, she wavered. ‘Why am I doing this,’ she whispered, ‘when I promised myself I wouldn’t?’

‘For the same reason I flew half way around the world. We’re both blind to reason, obsessed, infatuated …’

‘Probably deranged,’ she muttered.

‘But in a good way, babe.’ Leaning over, he kissed her, quickly, heatedly, then sighed softly and sat up. ‘It’s going to be fine. I promise.’

‘Easy for you to say. You’ll get on your plane and—’

‘And nothing. We’re both in the same place. It’s no easier for me than for you. If it was, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be—’

‘Sleeping with some bitch in Paris.’

‘Right. So obviously this is something we have to deal with, although, if you don’t mind, I’d like to do it in five minutes.’ He dipped his head. ‘Someone else might buy all their condoms. Neither one of us wants that.’

‘We could go to another pharmacy.’

‘Or we could be at my place fucking.’

She grinned. ‘When you put it like that.’

‘You always were eager,’ he said with an answering grin.

‘I was thinking
reasonable
.’

He bit back his critical dissent and smiled. ‘I couldn’t have said it better. Now, be a sweetheart and let me get out of this car.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘They might close soon.’

She watched him lope across the sidewalk, stiff-arm the door open, and stride to the back of the small shop. He walked right up to the counter and said something to the elderly customer the clerk was serving, giving them both a dazzling smile. The elderly man laughed and stepped aside. The sales clerk was struck dumb like women were within Dominic’s force field, but he pointed and chatted with the elderly man while the clerk cleared her display of condoms; then he helped her shove the boxes into two bags.

Leaving a bill on the counter, Dominic waved and bolted for the door.

‘Nice old guy,’ he said, entering the car, pulling the door shut and dropping the bags on the floor. ‘The clerk was a little slow, but hey’ – he held up his thumb – ‘success.’

‘Do you have enough?’ she inquired sardonically.

He grinned. ‘Don’t want to run out. Remember, I’ve seen you in action, babe. More, more and more is your motto.’

‘I hope you’re not complaining.’

‘No way. Thrilled, excited, champing at the bit enthusiastic. How’s that for an uncritical endorsement of your sexual appetite?’

‘That’s better.’

‘You haven’t even
seen
better yet.’ Leaning forward, he rapped on the privacy glass. The car immediately picked up speed and, falling back against the seat, he pulled Kate into his arms. ‘Have I mentioned how much I missed you?’

‘Once or twice.’

‘In about ten minutes, I’m going to
show
you how much I missed you.’

‘We wouldn’t
have
to wait.’

‘Yeah, we do,’ he whispered, bending his head, kissing her forehead lightly. ‘I have plans.’

‘Good, because with my assignments done at CX Capital, I’m on vacation.’

His dick really liked the sound of the word
vacation
.

She noticed – her body noticed –memories of Dominic’s versatile dick sending out feel-good sensations to every one of her senses. Reaching over, she cupped his balls, gently squeezed, watched his erection rise higher. ‘I don’t want to wait,’ she whispered, moving her hand to his zipper.

‘You never do.’ He lifted her hand away. ‘Luckily, I can help you out.’ He eased her back on the seat.

‘I want
you
, though,’ she pouted.

He smiled and, leaning over, nibbled on her pouty bottom lip. ‘I’m yours, baby. But ten minutes isn’t long enough for me. Not after I’ve waited over a month. So let me help you relax a little. Something simple, quick’ – he bit her lip – ‘satisfying. Don’t say no.’ He stopped her with a finger on her mouth. ‘You know I don’t like that word.’