Ready for Marriage? (10 page)

‘‘I was just thinking,’’ she said. ‘‘I didn’t wake you, did I?’’

He yawned. ‘‘I’m not sure what woke me. But I could tell you weren’t asleep. What’s the matter?’’

‘‘I had lunch with Rusty last week and he seems certain Cathie was the embezzler,’’ she said. She told him about her lunch with Rusty on Friday and then his telephone call earlier. ‘‘But…’’

‘‘You don’t think Cathie did it?’’

‘‘No. That’s bothered me from the minute I found the discrepancies. One of the reasons I’ve been having such trouble imagining Cathie stealing from the sanctuary was because of her love for the project. Daddy chose her because she shared his vision.’’

‘‘And she didn’t need the money, anyway,’’ he said.

‘‘What do you mean?’’

‘‘Cathie came from a wealthy family,’’ Derek said. ‘‘She had a trust from her grandmother that kept her in comfort. Didn’t you ever wonder why she never asked for a raise? In fact, one year while you were in college, the board tried to give her a raise and she refused.’’

‘‘I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you tell me when I first mentioned my concern that she might be embezzling?’’

‘‘Because I doubted it was true and it wasn’t my place to share information she’d told me in confidence. She didn’t want people to know,’’ Derek said. ‘‘I can understand why. When people find out someone’s wealthy, their perceptions of that person change.’’

‘‘I suppose,’’ she said slowly, wondering at the vehemence she heard in his tone, ‘‘that could be true.’’ Then she forgot all about what they’d been saying as a new possibility occurred to her. ‘‘Derek! What if Rusty is the one who took the money?’’

‘‘Rusty? Why would he?’’

‘‘I don’t know,’’ she said. ‘‘He has awfully ex
pensive tastes. Do you think his business does well enough to support two foreign cars, a country club membership, a Rolex and designer suits?’’

Derek considered for a moment. ‘‘I don’t know,’’ he said at last. ‘‘No one I ever knew got rich selling insurance. It’s a decent living but…’’

‘‘And his family was local,’’ she added. ‘‘Not wealthy at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.’’

She felt Derek shrug from where he still lay behind her. ‘‘It’s possible,’’ he said.

‘‘It would explain why he doesn’t want to contact the police,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s the first thing I would have done if he hadn’t discouraged it.’’

‘‘Maybe you’d better do it first thing tomorrow,’’ he suggested. ‘‘Without Rusty.’’

‘‘Maybe he intended to replace the missing money. I bet he never intended for anyone to know about it, but when Cathie was killed and I found it, he blamed her.’’

‘‘Whoa,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s a lot to assume without any proof.’’

‘‘Yes, but it’s possible, right?’’

‘‘It makes sense,’’ he said slowly, and he sounded a lot more awake. ‘‘He’s the person other than Cathie who knew the most about the sanctuary’s finances. And serving as the treasurer, he might have had the opportunity to cook up a false account or two.’’

‘‘That’s what I’m going to start looking for first thing in the morning,’’ she said. ‘‘So far, all I’ve done was check and recheck figures to be sure they
all match. Now I guess I’ll start looking for anything fishy.’’

They lay silently for a moment, then Derek spoke again. ‘‘Do you think there’s a possibility that she and Rusty were involved in it together?’’

‘‘Not a chance,’’ she said immediately. ‘‘Cathie couldn’t stand Rusty. She always said his ego was bigger than the Goodyear blimp.’’ Then a horrible thought occurred. ‘‘Do you think…could he have arranged her accident somehow?’’

Derek’s arm tightened around her waist. ‘‘I don’t know the answer to that. But now you’ve really convinced me that you need to get law enforcement involved tomorrow.’’

She sighed. ‘‘God, this just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it?’’

‘‘Yeah,’’ he said. ‘‘It seems that way.’’

She glanced at the clock. ‘‘One-thirty-seven. I can’t call anyone for a few hours yet.’’

Derek pulled her closer, stroking his palm along the curve of her hip in a comforting gesture. She savored it for a moment, and eventually her disturbing thoughts receded as she felt him stirring and growing. Her bottom was nestled into the curve of his body and she squirmed against him, rubbing back and forth over his rising flesh. His hand crept up to cup one breast and he gently rotated his palm over her nipple. ‘‘You know, it’s a real shame that we’re both awake in the middle of the night.’’

She laughed breathlessly as her body grew warm
and lethargic. ‘‘Yeah, I wonder what we could do that would help us get back to sleep.’’

‘‘We’ll have to think of something.’’ Derek’s hand slipped down her body and slid between her legs. He lifted her leg over his thigh, then trailed his fingers along the widened V he’d made. She gave a broken cry of pleasure as he brushed over the sensitive feminine folds, touching her there with deft, careful strokes that gently aroused her. His fingers were quickly bathed in moisture and as he slid one deep inside her, she moaned and reached back to pull him hard against her. ‘‘What are you doing?’’

‘‘Having fun.’’ His voice was rough and deep.

‘‘I want you—inside me,’’ she panted. ‘‘Please?’’

‘‘In a minute.’’ His clever fingers wove tiny patterns over her trembling flesh, seeking out the pleasure point that seemed to be drawing her whole body into a taut, needy knot. ‘‘I want you to come for me first.’’

‘‘Derek—’’ But she never completed the thought. A startling wave of sensation burst through her and she cried out, shuddering and arching in his arms. She was dimly aware of him touching her again and again, and yet again, as she was hurled into the maelstrom of her own climax.

Her body hadn’t fully quieted when she felt Derek withdraw his hand and roll her onto her stomach. He slid an arm beneath her and pulled her up onto her knees and in the same moment, slid the hard column of his erection into her, pushing his hips hard against her buttocks. The position angled her up for a shock
ingly deep penetration and she buried her face in the pillow as she screamed.

‘‘Am I hurting you?’’ He stilled at once.

‘‘No,’’ she said. ‘‘Oh, no!’’ She rocked forward and back. ‘‘Just move!’’

‘‘Oh, yeah.’’ There was strain in his voice and she felt his muscles bunch and flex. He braced one hand on the bed beside her as he began to slide in and out of her, thrusting with steady, strong strokes. He pulled almost completely out, then lunged forward and embedded himself deeply.

She was crying out with every thrust, another level of sweet tension building and building, and this time when she came she felt the repeated pulses of his release jetting deep inside her, flooding her with the proof of his desire. As his taut muscles gave way, Derek slowly collapsed on her, his weight pressing her into the bed. He kissed the back of her neck, then rolled slowly aside and gathered her into his arms again.

‘‘Why the hell did I ever think marrying you would be a bad idea?’’ he said above her head. ‘‘I’ve slept better since you moved in than I have since Deb died.’’

His arms were possessive, his tone tender, but Kristin’s heart shriveled at his words. It wasn’t that she begrudged Deb’s place in his life. Or his heart. It was only that she wanted there to be a little space for
her
, as well. But it seemed to her that no matter what she did, it only served to remind him of his loss.

A vivid memory of their discussion of wedding plans played in her head. She
had
always envisioned a chapel and a lavish white dress with all their friends around them, but it had been obvious that Derek dreaded the notion. She’d seen Deb’s and his wedding album. They’d had exactly that type of traditional affair. So she would do whatever he wanted if it would help him not to be reminded of what he’d lost. A big white wedding would have been fun and special, but she wanted him more than she wanted any silly ceremony. And even though she knew he didn’t love her, she could hope that maybe someday when his heart healed…someday…

She woke when he did in the morning and instead of going downstairs and making coffee, Derek was almost late for work when she joined him in the shower. She slipped in behind him and circled his waist with her hands, pressing her long, lean curves against him from the back while her hands slipped down to stroke and cup the male flesh at his groin.

He let her take the lead as long as he could, let her fondle and rub and squeeze, but his self-control, always tenuous in the morning, eroded quickly. Spinning around, he bent her over the bench at the back wall of the shower, widening her stance by simply pressing himself between her spread legs. She was beautiful from this angle as well, the twin globes of her bottom glistening with beads of water. He tossed the loose mass of her hair over her shoulder, then positioned himself and slowly pushed into her, en
joying the sight of her soft pink flesh welcoming him, loving the feel of her body accepting every inch of him until his hips were solidly cradling her buttocks and he was buried to the hilt. She was warm and wet and making little sounds of pleasure and he marveled yet again at how he could have not realized what he would be missing without her in his life.

He was happier than he’d been since he’d first learned Deb was sick. Happier, maybe. The thought made him flinch, but he knew it was true. Deb had always welcomed his lovemaking but she’d never seemed to catch fire in his arms the way Kris did, or heaven forbid, initiated passionate moments. She’d never followed him into the shower, though she’d gone willingly enough when he’d indicated that was what he wanted.

Deb would have done anything to please him, but he wasn’t certain he’d ever really been able to show her how much pleasure her own body was capable of. With Kris…he looked down at himself as he thrust in and out of her, then reached one hand around to search through her nest of curls until he found the sweet little button he sought. He pressed and circled and almost immediately, she gave a strangled cry and began to convulse around him.

He smiled, teeth gritted as he fought off his own finish, but her pleasure was too much to resist, and he began stroking in and out faster, harder, deeper, giving himself completely to her. His climax shivered down his spine and caught fire deep in his groin, surging up and exploding in heavy, pulsing waves of
release as her body milked his length and coaxed the last drops of desire from him.

‘‘Good morning,’’ he gasped as he slipped out of her.

She turned to him, face radiant, and his heart skipped a beat as he drew her into his arms. God, she was beautiful. And her eyes… ‘‘Kris,’’ he said before he even knew he was going to speak, ‘‘you love me, don’t you?’’

Her eyes widened and he felt her body tense for a second before she relaxed again. Her gaze softened as she searched his. ‘‘Yes,’’ she said. ‘‘I love you, Derek.’’

He couldn’t hide his relief as he bent to kiss her, and his heart swelled with satisfaction. ‘‘Good,’’ he said. ‘‘I was hoping I hadn’t read you wrong.’’ He kissed her, lingering over it. ‘‘I need you, Kris,’’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘‘I never thought I’d want another woman in my life, but now I can’t imagine it without you.’’

He knew he wasn’t imagining the pleasure that lit her face at his words as they finished showering and started their day.

D
erek took Mollie to day care after breakfast on his way to the clinic.

‘‘See you at dinner,’’ he said to Kristin. ‘‘What are you going to do today?’’

‘‘I want to work this morning,’’ she said, ‘‘and then I’ll go over to the town house and try to finish packing.’’

‘‘All right.’’ He kissed her. ‘‘I’ll see you at supper, I guess. Tonight I’ll help you unpack.’’

She nodded. ‘‘Hope your day goes well.’’ She stretched on tiptoe to kiss him, then bent to cuddle Mollie. She still felt like she was living a dream and she smiled as she waved them off and headed into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee before starting to work.

Then she had a thought. It was eight-thirty now. In a short while, Rusty would be in his office, if he wasn’t already. She reviewed her thoughts from the night before and a grim fury settled over her. If she was wrong, she would apologize until the cows came home. But she wasn’t. She knew it.

There was a stack of mail that Derek apparently had opened and not dealt with on the counter a short distance from the coffeepot and she picked it up. It would be safer and out of the way in his office, so she picked it up as she moved toward the hallway to get her purse and keys.

She took the envelopes in and laid them in the center of his desk but as she walked out again, her hip brushed the edge of the desk and a different pile of papers slid to the floor. Yikes. Clearly, Derek could use her skills with paperwork, she thought with amusement. She retrieved all the papers and began to stack them again, idly noting that they were bank statements.

Behind the letterhead that read Quartz Forge Bank of Pennsylvania, an unfamiliar logo caught her eye. Manhattan Trust. Manhattan Trust? Hmm. Weird. Why wouldn’t he have all his money at the Quartz Forge bank? She noted the balance: twenty-seven million, four hundred twenty-eight thousand—

Whoa. That was a mistake. Someone had screwed up the placement of the decimal point in that figure. She’d better circle it and tell Derek to call his bank immediately…and then her brain ground to a halt.

She took a closer look at the statement. There were
transactions in the millions in several places. Withdrawals, to be exact. This account had held over thirty million at the beginning of the month. Twenty-seven million dollars. Oh, my God.

Her hands began to shake. She felt breathless, and she gasped repeatedly for air. Derek had twenty-seven million dollars lying around in a bank in New York City. Then she realized he probably had a lot more than that. She’d bet anything those sizable transactions were stock buys.

Oh, my God.

Where had he gotten— It didn’t matter. He must have been wealthy when he came here. But why keep it a secret? Her cheeks burned as she remembered explaining about her father’s financial miscalculations, and her subsequent plan to pay off the debt.

Why on earth hadn’t he ever told her? Had Deb known? Then she realized what a stupid question that was. Deb had known him since they were in high school together. Of course Deb had known.

Which meant that he’d kept it secret from her, Kristin…and probably never had intended to tell her.

God, no wonder he’d told her that he’d pay the bills and she could keep her salary. He must have thought that was hilarious!

Her chest hurt and she realized she was holding her self-control together by the barest of threads. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she carefully laid the statement back on top of the stack. Her hands were shaking so badly she was afraid to pick up her coffee cup so she left it where it was on the desk.

Then she turned and walked out of the room.

She’d have to pack everything she’d already unpacked. He’d lied to her. She couldn’t live with a man who would deceive her like that.

A sob burst out of her. She clapped a hand over her mouth and sank down on the bottom steps of the stairway in the hall. All these years, she had believed she knew Derek so well. She’d clutched all the little details of his life to her and been so—
so smug
about how well she knew him.

And all the time she hadn’t known him at all.

Why would a man who could live like a king reside in what was a nice, but certainly not an opulent home? Why would he work? Drive a rather average American-made car? Questions bombarded her. Was he generous with his money? Was he a philanthropist—?

The donation. Oh, God, the million-dollar donation the animal sanctuary had received not long after Derek had come to town. Her father had been so thrilled, though he’d wanted terribly to thank the donor, who had remained anonymous.

Anonymous, her fanny. Now she knew exactly who the unknown soul of generosity had been.

Hurt sliced through her, so sharp and deep that she actually made a small sound of pain. Why had he hidden this from her? Her thoughts whirled around and around, making little sense as the hurt grew and expanded within her. She’d thought everything she’d ever wanted was within her reach. She had the man she loved and his beautiful daughter. But he
wasn’t
the man she loved, was he? He was a stranger. One she didn’t understand at all, and one who apparently liked it that way. One to whom she wasn’t important enough that he would consider sharing the real story of his life.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She’d known he didn’t love her. But she’d thought, given time and the powerful sexual attraction they shared, that marriage and sharing all it entailed would bring him around. She’d thought she could earn his love, she saw, because she’d assumed she knew him well enough to predict his behavior. Now…what?

What could she do now?

She rose and snatched a tissue from the powder room in the hallway. Blowing her nose and blotting her eyes, she took a deep, quavering breath. She’d have to get her act together by the end of the day when Derek came home because there was no way she could repack and move all her stuff in one day. That was the only thing she was sure of.

Then she remembered what she’d been about to do. Rusty. That was one thing that couldn’t wait. Because if she was right, she was going to have to get the police involved.

But if she hurried, ran over there right now, she could get it over with quickly, and then get back here and pack. If she worked hard enough, she might be able to get most of her things packed again before Derek got home.

Another sob threatened and she hastily spun and
headed for the table where her keys lay.
Don’t think
about it. Focus on Rusty
.

She repeated the words like a mantra the entire way to Rusty’s office, and was incredibly relieved to see one of his little European sports cars parked in its usual spot. If she’d had to wait—and think—she wasn’t sure she could have kept herself from breaking into tears.

Jumping out of her car, she ran up the steps to the landing and entered the foyer of Rusty’s insurance office.

She’d always loved the subdued blue, cream and soft green hues in which the reception area was decorated, but today she looked at it with fresh eyes. Both the pictures on the wall were original paintings by a well-known East coast artist. The patterned rug on the floor was closely woven and for the first time, she realized it was probably old and probably had cost a fortune, as had the graceful mahogany furniture that decorated the entire room. Everything matched. There were fresh flowers in a sparkling crystal vase on a side table. Baccarat?

‘‘Kristin!’’

Her reflections were interrupted by Rusty’s voice and she jumped. ‘‘Hi, Rusty.’’

‘‘I’m not open yet but you’re always welcome. Would you like a cup of coffee?’’ He looked as perfectly groomed as he always did in an expensive summer suit with leather loafers and the Rolex she’d seen before.

Was it her imagination or did his eyes look anx
ious? ‘‘No, thanks. I just came to talk for a moment. I won’t take up much of your time.’’

‘‘All right.’’ He indicated a small sofa. ‘‘Would you like to sit down?’’

‘‘Thank you.’’ She took a deep breath as he seated himself in an adjacent wing chair. Where to begin? How did one go about accusing someone else of embezzlement and possibly murder? She cleared her throat nervously. ‘‘I, ah, I came to talk more about the missing money.’’

‘‘Oh.’’ Rusty lowered his voice, tugging at the end of his silk tie. ‘‘Have you found out something about it?’’

‘‘I think so.’’ She sat back in her chair. ‘‘I believe you stole the money, Rusty. You’re the only other logical choice.’’

A dull red flush climbed his cheeks. ‘‘That’s ridiculous. Why would I—’’

She waved a hand around the room. ‘‘Why, indeed? Appearances are nice but are they worth going to jail for? If I call the police and tell them everything I know and what I suspect, will your bank statements and your past income tax forms bear out all this luxury?’’ Then she leaned forward. ‘‘Did Cathie know?’’

There was a tense silence.

‘‘No.’’ The word slipped out and Rusty sagged in the chair. He passed a hand over his face. ‘‘Although I think she suspected.’’

‘‘Did you have anything to do with her death?’’

‘‘No! Of course not.’’ He looked sincerely shocked. ‘‘What kind of man do you think I am?’’

‘‘I don’t know,’’ she said. A wave of sadness surged. ‘‘I don’t seem to know the men around me nearly as well as I thought I did.’’ She rose from the chair. ‘‘Do you want to get your coat and come with me?’’

‘‘Come where?’’ He blinked at the abrupt change of subject.

‘‘To the police station,’’ she said impatiently, starting for the door. ‘‘Where else? You embezzled money, Rusty.’’

‘‘Dammit, Kristin!’’ Rusty’s voice was frantic. He followed her out the hallway to the front door. ‘‘Look, this can be fixed. Just give me some time to pay back the money I borrowed.’’

‘‘You didn’t borrow it,’’ she said sternly. ‘‘You stole it from a nonprofit organization doing charitable work. There’s a big difference.’’

‘‘Okay,’’ he said, shrugging. ‘‘I stole it.’’ He caught at her hand. ‘‘But—’’

The door slammed open. ‘‘Get your hands up where I can see them!’’

The noise and yelling voices were paralyzing and she froze as three uniformed men suddenly rushed into the room with guns drawn. Guns! Slowly, she raised her hands in the air, but the officers rushed right by her and slammed Rusty against a wall. As she gaped in astonishment, he was searched and cuffed and read his rights.

‘‘Kris.’’ A deep, quiet male voice, a familiar voice,
called her name and she turned back to the doorway as a fourth officer stepped aside and allowed Derek to enter the room. He crossed to her and took her elbows. ‘‘Are you okay?’’

‘‘Of course I’m okay.’’ She pulled free and indicated the police who were escorting Rusty from the room. ‘‘What are they doing?’’

His eyebrows rose. ‘‘They’re taking Rusty into custody for suspected embezzlement.’’

‘‘But…how would they know that? Are they sure enough to be arresting him?’’

‘‘You mean other than the fact that we all heard you elicit his confession?’’

‘‘Other than that,’’ she said tightly.

‘‘I called Walker Glave this morning and told him our suspicions,’’ Derek said, mentioning the president of the board. ‘‘Apparently, Cathie had come to him the day before she died with information about it and he was waiting, trying to decide what to do. You were on his list of people to speak to about it, but when we talked, he decided to go to the police immediately.’’

‘‘So the timing of the arrest was coincidental?’’ That was hard to believe.

‘‘No,’’ he said patiently. ‘‘When I realized where you were, I called them right away.’’

‘‘How did you know I was going to talk with Rusty?’’ she asked.

Derek smiled. ‘‘Kris, I know you. When something’s bothering you, you tackle it head-on. I was halfway to work when it dawned on me that the min
ute I left you alone you’d confront Rusty. And when I realized that, my blood ran cold. Anyone who is capable of embezzling that much money and blaming it on a dead woman who can’t defend herself might be capable of a lot worse.’’

‘‘He said he didn’t have anything to do with Cathie’s death, that it was an accident.’’

‘‘I bet he also said he didn’t take the money.’’

She didn’t smile. She couldn’t. The phrase ‘‘I know you,’’ brought her feelings of betrayal rushing back full force. When he moved to take her in his arms, she stepped back a pace without really thinking about it. ‘‘When were you going to tell me about your bank balance?’’ she asked. ‘‘I thought I knew you, too, but it turns out I was wrong.’’

His face changed, and her last hope that perhaps it was a mistake and he hadn’t really deceived her died. His gaze flicked sideways at the cop standing nearby. ‘‘Could you excuse us for a few minutes, please?’’

‘‘Sure,’’ the officer said. ‘‘But don’t leave yet. The detectives are going to want to hear what you know about this guy.’’ He hooked a thumb over his shoulder to where Rusty sat in the squad car in handcuffs.

Derek indicated a small room just beyond the office, an employee lounge where Kristin had come before for short meetings on sanctuary business. She hesitated a moment. The last thing she wanted to do was go into that little room with him.

Derek must have read her refusal in her face.
‘‘Kris,’’ he said in an implacable tone. ‘‘In here. Now.’’

Her temper flared and she welcomed it. Anything was better than the dull hurt that gnawed at her insides. ‘‘I don’t want to talk to you.’’ It felt childish but she was too close to tears to think of something more sophisticated to say.

‘‘You don’t have to talk. All you have to do is listen.’’ Derek took her arm in an unbreakable grip. He wasn’t hurting her but he didn’t release her until he had towed her into the small room off Rusty’s office and shut the door. ‘‘Now,’’ he said. ‘‘Get it off your chest. You’re mad because you think I hid my wealth from you on purpose.’’

‘‘You did,’’ she said. ‘‘All these years…’’ She shook her head. ‘‘I can’t marry you now.’’

‘‘
What?
’’ If she’d set a match to a dynamite stick, she couldn’t have gotten much more of a reaction. It wasn’t a shout, it wasn’t a demand. It was a roar. ‘‘Why the hell not?’’

‘‘Because,’’ she said. ‘‘I’d feel funny marrying a man for his money.’’