Pursued (The Diamond Tycoons 2) (14 page)

Marc saw her and she saw Marc before Nic had a clue that anything was amiss. She tried to slip away before the eldest Durand could make a scene, but the moment she moved an inch farther away than Nic deemed acceptable, he turned to her with a frown. “Everything okay?” he asked.

She, who always had a snappy comeback, had no idea what she was supposed to say to that. And so she just shook her head, letting her eyes find Marc and his date, as they were trying to extricate themselves from the clutches of San Diego’s mayor.

Nic followed her gaze, and sudden understanding flashed across his face. Then he pulled her in close, bending his head to whisper in her ear, “Everything’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Don’t worry? Easy for him to say.

He flashed Marc a grin, but Nic’s older brother continued to glare at her. Which was fine, she told herself as she braced for the impending storm. She owed the man a serious apology—now was as good a time as any to get it over with. She just wished it didn’t have to be in front of all these people. The humiliation of making the mistake was bad enough, but having all these people witness the fallout—people she had to work around regularly—was more than a little daunting.

Nic must not have figured that out, though, because after excusing them from a group of movie execs, he put a hand on her lower back and propelled her straight toward the center of the ballroom. Straight toward Marc.

“Hey, bro,” Nic said when they reached the other couple. He clapped Marc on the back before turning to Marc’s date, a gorgeous redhead with kind eyes and stunning bone structure. “Isa, you look gorgeous tonight as always.” Nic leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“I do what I can,” she responded, hugging him warmly. “Keeping up with the Durand brothers isn’t always easy.”

“I think you’ve got that backward,” Nic told her with a laugh. “You’ve certainly kept Marc on his toes through the years.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to.” She cast a teasing glance at the man in question, then slipped her hand into his and squeezed.

“Isn’t that the truth?” He kept his hand on Desi’s back as he turned to her. “Desi, this is my future sister-in-law, Isa. Isa, this is Desi.” He said her name with a kind of reverence it didn’t deserve, his voice soft and warm and open as he pulled her even closer into his side. It was the first clue she had—or, at least, the first one she paid attention to—that said his feelings might be as strong as hers. Panic raced through her at the thought, mingled with the discomfort she already felt upon meeting Marc. For a moment all she wanted was to find a place to hide.

But that wasn’t fair—to Nic or to Marc and Isa. Desi had screwed up royally and it was time to finish paying the piper. Which was why, when Nic turned to introduce her to his brother, she made sure to meet Marc’s eyes, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. He was as handsome as his brother, but in a much colder, more standoffish way. How did Isa avoid getting frostbite? Desi wondered as she held her hand out to him.

“It’s nice to finally put a face with the name,” Marc said, his blue eyes coolly assessing her as he shook her hand. “Nic’s been talking about his Desi for months.”

The words should have warmed her—God knew, she’d spent much of the past five months thinking about Nic, too—but there was something in the way Marc said them that made the words sound like a condemnation instead of a simple observation.

Then again, in his mind, she’d seduced his brother, gotten pregnant, then disappeared only to write an exposé full of lies about his company. The surprise wasn’t that he was insulting to her. The surprise was that he was speaking to her at all.

With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath and willed herself not to screw up what she was going to say next. Which was probably easier said than done, considering how nervous she was. And how badly she’d already messed up.

“Actually, I’m really glad we’re getting this chance to meet,” she told him.

“Are you, now?” He lifted a brow—it was obviously a family talent, one designed to make these two men even more devastatingly attractive. And infinitely more intimidating. “And why’s that?”

His tone was polite, insouciant even, but—unlike his brother—he had a tell. It was a small one, but the way his lips tightened just a little when he looked at her told her how angry he was. Which was…fair enough.

“I want to apologize for all the trouble my article caused you,” she told him. Beside her, she felt Nic stiffen, then move as if he wanted to say something. Without breaking eye contact with Marc, she put a restraining hand on Nic’s hip, telling him without words that she was a big girl and needed to take care of this herself.

He didn’t relax at all, but at least he didn’t butt in, so she counted it as a win.

“I know that’s not enough,” she continued, keeping her voice steady despite Marc’s laser-like gaze. “Just like I know how much damage it would have done if that article had actually gone to print. I made a lot of mistakes when I was writing that article—including avoiding speaking with Nic early on because of what had happened between us—and I’m really sorry for what I put you both through.”

“It’s fine, Desi.” Nic wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. “Marc understands.” This last was accompanied by a hard look at his brother, one that basically told Marc he’d better accept her apology or there would be hell to pay later.

She hated so much that she was a point of contention between the two brothers. They were close—she’d read that while she’d been researching her article and now, seeing them together, she knew it was true. And the fact that they were bristling at each other right now, because of her, made her a little sick.

“On the plus side,” Isa said, trying to break the very obvious tension, “if you hadn’t written that article, Marc and I probably wouldn’t be together now. And neither would you and Nic. So, that’s two good things that came out of it, right?”

“Absolutely,” Nic said, and from the look on his face he actually meant it. Which seemed crazy to her after everything she’d put him through. But when he’d said clean slate, he’d really meant it. Which—again—made him a much better person than she’d ever imagined.

“That is a good point,” Marc said, and he sounded friendlier than he had just a few moments before. But the tell was still there, the tightening of his lips, even when he was smiling, and she knew things weren’t nearly as over as Nic wanted them to be.

Fourteen

I
t took only two hours for the situation to come to a head. In that time, she’d danced with Nic, recorded copious notes and even managed to make the rounds of the aquariums to see the ones she’d missed. She’d also let Nic talk her into bidding on a homemade wooden cradle for the baby, donated to the silent auction by a San Diego artisan.

It would fit really well in Nic’s house, a traitorous little voice in the back of her head said. Not that she was seriously thinking of moving in with him or anything. Because she wasn’t. Not yet and probably not ever. But the cradle was pretty and she would love to put her baby in it, so who cared where it went as long as it kept their son safe and happy.

“Would you like more water?” Nic asked as they finished a dance and he escorted her off the dance floor.

“Actually, I was hoping to cut in,” Marc said smoothly as he appeared from nowhere. “May I have this dance?” he asked her.

She knew she should say no, knew she should make some kind of excuse and get out of it. But there was a predatory light in his eyes that told her escape wouldn’t be possible—not unless she wanted to cause more trouble between Nic and Marc, which was the absolute last thing she wanted.

Besides, she would have to deal with him some time—he was her baby’s uncle, after all. She might as well hear him out, let him say everything he wanted to say to her right now, and then maybe they’d be able to move past it. If she was lucky.

“I was just going to get her some water, actually—” Nic started.

“I’d love to dance,” she told Marc. Then she stood on her tiptoes to give Nic a quick kiss on the cheek. “The baby and I are perfectly hydrated. So stop worrying and dance with Isa.”

Then she turned to Marc and let him sweep her onto the dance floor.

He was a surprisingly good dancer. He didn’t have Nic’s finesse, but then again, who did? And it wasn’t as if he was trying to finesse her anyway. In fact, when she glanced up at him, it looked more as though he was trying to figure her out.

It was on their second turn around the floor that she said, “Let’s just get it out of the way, okay?”

He glanced down at her, brows lifted in surprise. “I’m beginning to see what Nic likes about you.”

“No, you aren’t. You don’t want your brother anywhere near me.”

“Touché.” He inclined his head. “Unfortunately, Nic doesn’t share my sentiments. And since you’re currently carrying the first heir to Bijoux, that isn’t an option anyway.”

“If that’s the case, then what do you want?”

“And here I was just about to ask you that question.” His eyes were hard.

“I don’t want anything—”

“Everybody wants something, Desi. It’s the nature of the beast. And I’d rather know your endgame now than find out about it the hard way, after you destroy my brother.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“You’re damn right it isn’t going to happen, because I’m not going to let it happen. So tell me what you’re after and I’ll make sure you get it, in exchange for—”

“In exchange for what?” Nic asked from where he was suddenly standing between them. “What do you think you’re doing, Marc?” He kept his voice down and his body language relaxed so as not to draw attention to them, but his gaze was fierce and furious. So fierce and furious that she didn’t know how his brother even managed to look him in the eye.

Marc did, though, and he was easily as livid as Nic. “I’m the one who should be asking you that question, shouldn’t I? This woman nearly destroyed us and now you’re playing house with her? I get that she’s having your baby, but you’re a lot stupider than I gave you credit for if you can’t figure out that even that was a setup. I don’t know what her endgame is yet, but you can’t be so blinded by the sex that you don’t know that there is one.”

Nic’s hands clenched into fists as he gave up any pretense of being relaxed. “You’re going to want to shut up and back off, man.”

“Nic, it’s fine.” She tried to get his attention. “Marc’s just trying to protect you.”

“Yeah, well, he’s doing a lousy job of it,” Nic told her as he moved to put his body between her and Marc.

“Or what? You’ll punch me in the middle of a charity gala?” Marc challenged him. “Go ahead. That’d be great PR for Bijoux, huh? Or has a week with her made you forget everything we’ve worked so hard for?”

“I think you’re the one who’s forgotten—”

“Stop it, Nic!” she said, grabbing his arm. She would not be the cause of them having a fight in the middle of SeaWorld, for God’s sake.

“Okay, that’s enough, you two.” Isa stepped in then, too, grabbing Marc’s arm and pulling him back a few steps. “Tomorrow in the office is soon enough to talk about this. For now—” she shot Marc a look that told him she had had more than enough “—you can take me home.”

“We’re not done here,” Nic told her.

“Yes, you are. We all are.” The look Isa gave him was as pissed off as it was understanding. “Your brother needs a time-out.”

“I’m not five,” Marc told her.

“Then stop acting like you are,” she answered sweetly as she pulled and prodded him until he gave in.

“We’re going to talk tomorrow,” he told Nic before turning away.

“Damn straight we are. And it’ll be your turn to apologize to Desi.”

“That’s not necessary, Nic,” she said as Marc and Isa walked away.

“It absolutely is. You’re my—” Nic broke off, shoving a frustrated hand through his hair. “He doesn’t get to talk to you like that.”

There was a part of her that was desperate to know what he’d almost said, but another part knew it was better if she didn’t know. Better if she didn’t make what was between them—a baby—into more than it was, no matter how she felt about him.

“He’s just trying to protect you, you know.”

“Are we seriously having this conversation right now?” he asked as he escorted her off the dance floor. “He insulted you. Why are you defending him?”

“Because he’s your brother. And he loves you. Of course he’s suspicious of me—why wouldn’t he be after the trouble I caused?”

Nic looked at her broodingly. “I’m not suspicious of you.”

“Because you’re an idiot.”

“Hey!”

“Or maybe just the best person on the planet,” she continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her. “I haven’t decided yet.”

“Well, after we get back to the house, maybe I can find a way to help you make up your mind.” His voice dropped several notches.

She gave him her best sultry look. “Maybe you can.” But as she let him lead her out to the parking lot—and the limo that was magically sitting at the curb waiting for them—she couldn’t forget Marc’s words.

Any more than she could forget the look on his face when Nic had taken her side against his.

She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t be the one who divided the two of them. Couldn’t be the one who broke up the most important relationship in Nic’s life. She’d been alone. She knew how that felt, knew what it did to you deep inside. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone Nic. Wonderful, fun, exciting, beautiful, kind Nic.

But she couldn’t say that to him. How could she when he was holding her and touching her and looking at her as if she’d hung the moon?

There was a part of her that wanted to wallow in it, that wanted to wrap his affection around herself and snuggle in for as long as it lasted.

What kind of person would that make her, though? It would end—of course it would end, because it always ended—and then where would he be? All alone. She couldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t do that to him.

But that didn’t mean she had to walk away yet. She could have this night, could have these last stolen moments with him before she had to give him up. It wasn’t enough—wasn’t close to being enough—but it was what she had. And she would make the best of it.

They didn’t talk much during the ride. Instead, they sat close together in the back of the limo, hands touching, legs brushing. By the time the driver pulled the limo to a stop at the top of Nic’s long driveway, Desi was practically vibrating with desire. With need. With a desperation that came as much from Nic himself as from knowing this would be their last time together.

The moment the front door closed behind them, Nic was on her. He whirled her around, pressed her back against the wall and then slammed his mouth down on hers. And then they were kissing, kissing, kissing, their mouths and tongues and bodies tangling together. She didn’t know where she left off and he began.

It was a powerful thought, a humbling one, and it nearly broke her. How could it not when she imagined how it could have been between them. How it should have been.

His hands slid up her legs, fumbled with her underwear. But she knew if she let him touch her it would be all over. She would be lost in the maelstrom of pleasure he brought her every time he touched her.

And she wanted that—her body was screaming for it—but she wanted to pleasure him more. She wanted to take him as high as he took her and then watch him shatter with the ecstasy coursing through him.

Which was why she pushed him away.

“Desi?” He sounded confused and more than a little pleasure drugged. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer him. Instead she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed, turning him—turning them—until he was the one with his back against the wall.

Once she had him where she wanted him, though, she took her time. If this was all she would have with him, she wanted to go slow, wanted it to last. Wanted it to be perfect.

She pulled his shirt from his pants, slowly worked the diamond studs through his buttonholes. Ran her hands over his smooth, hard chest and reveled in his groans, in the soft, sexy pleas falling from his lips as she undressed him completely.

And then she was on her knees in front of him, kissing and licking and stroking as he called out her name. The sound burrowed inside her, filled her up, filled her to bursting and her heart was so wide-open that she felt it break in two even as he fell apart around her.