Lucifer's Lover (19 page)

She could feel anger wanting to grow in her. It smoldered. But Luke gently added, “I envy you.”

Her anger evaporated. She stared at him, lost for words. “Why?” she said at last.

He started screwing the screw home and she realized he wasn’t going to answer her question.

“Anyway, my cousin—Des, his name is—he runs an employment bureau on Staten Island. He—”

“Successful?” Lindsay interrupted.

Luke pushed his lips out, weighing his answer. “Not at all,” he admitted finally. “Des spends too much time trying to find jobs for misfits and long term unemployed and given the location of his bureau, that’s ninety percent of his clients.”

“How on earth does he make a living, then?”

“Barter, mostly.” Luke grinned. “He agreed, once, to accept a pork roast as payment and was delivered a whole pig—live and kicking. He had to butcher it at home and his wife nearly divorced him as a result.” He frowned. “You distracted me,” he said, trying to sound vexed.

His complaint reminded Lindsay sharply of the last time she had distracted him. Warmth stole through her, prompted by the memory.

“Anyway, where was I?” Luke murmured. “Right. Doug’s greatest talent is in inspiring some of those deadbeats to better themselves. He can get inside them, open them up and help them figure out what they really want in life. I’ve seen him doing it. He can dig out latent desires, hopes, dreams that some of these people didn’t even know they had. And he usually started with a series of questions.” He looked squarely at Lindsay. “What are your strengths, Lynds? What are you good at?”

“I can demonstrate one thing I’m good at,” Lindsay told him. She climbed two steps so that she was straddling Luke’s thighs and crouched down, pushing against his shoulder, forcing him to lie back against the steps behind him.

He looked a little startled but there was a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Oh?” he prompted.

A perverse demon was driving her, one she didn’t understand. All she did know was that she felt an incredible lightness, a freedom from worry and toil and it was influencing her actions. She rested her knees against the steps and reached for the buttons on his shirt, slipping them undone. She pull the shirt from his jeans, opening it all the way and sliding her hands across his chest to part it and push it back over his shoulders.

Luke drew in a small, sharp breath as she leaned forward and kissed each small erect nipple in turn and slid her tongue across each. Her hands were busy undoing the button on his jeans and his own hands came alive, sliding up to her hips.

“Lindsay…”

She slid the zipper undone just before he pulled her on top of him, his mouth capturing hers and his hands holding her against him. Warmth bubbled through her, mixing with the headiness that already possessed her. She delighted in the feel of his hands on her, his mouth against hers, his body so large and warm and responsive. He was matching her mood, her speed—raining little kisses on her mouth, helping her unbutton her shirt and peel it away, deftly divesting each of them of the rest of their clothes, quickly, furiously.

For the kisses grew swiftly heavier, deeper and the mood between them became a sultry, unspoken declaration of all Lindsay could not and Luke would not say aloud. A thousand hours of stilted conversation could pass before they would stumble upon the words to express what they said now in a searing kiss, a soft caress, the touch of his mouth against her flesh. Even the frantic climb to fulfillment spoke of the hunger for the other each had harbored and now sought to appease.

Their union was a joining of body and mind, a rare moment unsullied by neither miscommunication, mistrust nor dark imagination.

As they lay recovering, she could hear her heart beating just beneath the slightly slower echo of his, reverberating against her shoulder. And she knew that something between them had shifted and changed forever.

He kissed her temple and drew her close. The simple action warmed her.

This Luke was so different from the man who drove her insane at the office.

How do I get him to stay
?

Because she knew with a little touch of sadness that this side of him would soon retract and the charming, facile devil would re-emerge and she would have to pull up her shield again.

How long have I got? she wondered.

* * * * *

Eighteen hours, Luke thought.

It had taken only eighteen hours to drop from a stunning high to an all time low.

He stared at Doug Anderson, hoping his expression showed he was dazed and delighted, rather than the sick horror he did feel.

Doug grinned and pushed his hands against his big desk, to kick back in his leather chair. “Kinda nice to see you speechless, Pierse,” he said. “I should promote you more often, if that’s what it takes.”

Finally Luke managed to get his tongue working. “Director of marketing? Lindsay’s job?” He tried a grin. “So, does Lindsay become assistant director or something?” It was a test, to confirm that his suspicions were right.

Doug’s cheery grin faded and he straightened up in his chair. Very deliberately, he placed both hands flat on the blotter in front of him.

Let’s be frank mode, Luke realized.

“I know I can be candid with you, Luke. You’re stepping into her shoes, so you need to know this. Lindsay’s performance in this company has been under question for some time.”

Bingo. His stomach roiled. They’re canning Lindsay.

He’d known as soon as Doug offered him the promotion. The worst of it was, he knew why.

It had nothing to do with Lindsay’s performance and everything to do with how much of a threat Doug perceived her to be.

A big threat, apparently.

Doug was cleaning house now he was general manager, making sure there was no one with any true potential left to climb up the ladder while he wasn’t looking.

Luke frowned. “I wasn’t aware she was under a cloud.” He was deliberately fishing. They must have something concrete to justify firing her for poor performance. It just remained for him to find out what it was they were going to hang her with.

“Oh, poor performance is probably putting it too strenuously,” Doug answered. “It’s more her attitude that is the problem. It has come to my attention that Lindsay doesn’t have the best interests of the company as one of her priorities. As you can fully appreciate, for a director of marketing, this is an alarming and unthinkable approach to the position.”

Luke nodded. Here it comes.

Doug frowned. “There was recently a perfect demonstration that Lindsay puts personal concerns above work interests. There was an incident at the country club’s ski lodge at the top of their ski runs…”

Luke’s heart did a flip and landed on its back.
How the hell did they find out about that?

“I was there,” Luke said through stiff lips. “It was an accident.”

“Not according to the current president of the medical association. He saw it all, apparently, from the cable car he was in. Lindsay very deliberately timed her approach to drop a fairly substantial amount of snow all over the victim. I learned just yesterday that she probably carries a personal vendetta. There was rumor of an old court case…” Doug frowned again. “It’s very tawdry and I’m sure you don’t want to hear the details. Enough said. I’m convinced that someone who would give into impulsive, emotionally driven acts such as that would not serve the company at all in such a public-oriented position as director of marketing.”

Guilt was a rusty sword hacking at his stomach, hammering at his head. When were the consequences of that one moment of temptation ever going to end? All he’d wanted to do was win a simple bet.

Instead, he’d destroyed Lindsay’s life.

He licked his lips, preparing to confess all but Doug held up his hand. “I’m sure I don’t have to spell it out to you, so I’ll stop there. That just leaves us with one more little formality.” He looked Luke in the eye. “Someone has to break the news to Lindsay.”

All the spit in Luke’s mouth dried up, as he looked into Doug’s eyes. No, he didn’t need it spelled out for him. Doug was sweeping house. He was shoring up his support team. Junking those he didn’t trust and testing those he wasn’t sure of.

This was Luke’s initiation into the team. What Doug was saying was, Show me your loyalty to me is stronger than any past loyalty to Lindsay.

Show me by firing Lindsay yourself.

Doug insisted on celebrating Luke’s promotion by buying him a cappuccino at the bistro in the foyer. One cup became two that Luke choked down, all the time wondering how in hell he was supposed to get out of this pickle he was in.

By the time he got to Lindsay’s office, it was close to noon and the room was empty.

He found Timothy.

“She went shopping.”

“
Shopping
?” Luke took a deep breath. “Lindsay never goes shopping. She’s a freak of human nature, a woman who doesn’t like to shop.”

“She went shopping.” Timothy grinned. “It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. She said she had a last minute Christmas present to buy.”

Luke pushed his hand through his hair, wondering what on earth he should do now. He could maybe drive around the several blocks that made up the central shopping area of the town and check out the two shopping malls that were closest to Lindsay’s place. He looked out the window. Thick, low clouds were taking most of the day’s light. More snow was on the way.

If Lindsay didn’t like to shop, for sure the fresh snow would drive her back to the office. Or would it?

He looked at Tim. “Did she say she’d be back?”

Tim shook his head. “No. And that’s the miracle part of it. She said she wouldn’t be back in today, no matter what.”

Then she would be going home.

“Thanks, Tim,” Luke said. “I’ll leave it at that. She’ll be back in tomorrow. That’ll be soon enough.”

He detoured via his office to pick up his car keys before heading for the basement car park. He didn’t think he had fooled Timothy with his breezy dismissal but it might make him second guess where Luke was going when he found his office was empty too.

Luke knew he had to find Lindsay and fast.

It didn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. Lindsay was just as fired in any scenario.

The idea of telling her himself made his gut clench and his heart throb with a sickening jolt and cold sweat break out on his forehead.

But he only had to think about Doug imparting the delightful news to her, a rabid grin on his face, to know that letting someone else do it was unthinkable.

Luke was the only one who knew how much Lindsay’s esteem and self-image was tied to that job. She’d already taken a bitter blow, despite all Luke could do to minimize it.

But there were ways and ways of presenting bad news. Salespeople knew them all and he was, if nothing else, a good salesman. He just had to find a way for Lindsay to look at this as anything but a complete rejection of her as a person.

So despite the wrenching in his stomach, he had to find Lindsay fast and do the deed himself.

And watch and hope he didn’t see her soul die right in front of him.

Chapter Twelve

When the doorbell rang, Lindsay was five feet up in the air.

Her father put down his eggnog. “I’ll do it,” he assured her. “You keep flapping those wings.”

Lindsay turned her attention back to loosening the wings on the back of the angel that for many years had graced the top of their Christmas tree. The wings were mounted on tiny springs that allowed the wings to shimmer and wiggle with the tiniest movement of air, or vibration in the Christmas tree but they were growing stiff with age.

She worked them carefully loose and then stood up on the top step of the ladder and reached over to place the angel on the top of the tree.

“You have a visitor, Linny,” her father said, just as she was reaching. “Look who’s here.”

She looked over her shoulder. It was Luke. Abruptly, she became aware of exactly the view he must be getting—for she was wearing one of her shortest business skirts. She smiled, impishly finishing her task of placing the angel and slowly climbing down the ladder to stand in front of him.

Her smile faded.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, for Luke looked almost ill. Then she remembered. “Oh hell. Dad, is that pine on the fire now?”

“I think so. Why?”

“Luke gets sick when he smells it.”

Edward put down his eggnog again. “Then I’ll fish it out. I only just put the log in there.”

“No, I’m fine.” Luke put out his hand, forestalling Edward from racing to the fireplace. “I’ve never seen anyone pull a log out of the fire without setting fire to the carpet or something. I’ll survive.”

Edward chewed his lip.

“Really,” Luke insisted.

Lindsay shook her head. She could see beads of sweat gathering on his temples already.

Her father was playing host. “Eggnog, Luke? I’ve got some spiced rum to go with it. Just the thing for a chilly afternoon like this.”

Wordlessly, she opened the big French doors that led onto the deck, scraping aside the snow that had already built up on the deck. It was still falling, thick, fast and gentle, from an iron-gray sky. Fat flakes drifted down with hypnotic grace.