The Consequence (7 page)

n hour later, Katy was showered, dressed, and standing in her bathroom applying lip liner then gloss to her full lips. She was dressed in the exact outfit she’d been wearing that infamous day she bumped into Simon coming out of the elevator. Even her hair was pinned up the same way, same glasses, and beneath her basic beige uniform of sweater and pencil skirt, she wore the same pink bra and panties she had worn that day.

There was only one thing that hinted at the tigress that smoldered beneath her bland exterior. Her red hot lips to match the soles of her four-inch, black, peekaboo Louboutins.

Checking her ass out in the mirror as she turned to one side then another, she smiled. Despite the boring color of her skirt, it was couture and clung to her curves. In the heels, she pretty much rocked it.

Flicking off the light switch, she strode to her kitchen, pulled one of the oak chairs from the table, and dragged it to the middle of the room. Humming, she poured herself a glass of the merlot she had opened and allowed to breathe before she’d hopped in the shower. She decided some mood music would be good to go with her wine.

Just as she selected a smooth jazz station, the front door buzzed. She smiled and sauntered to the front door and pressed the button, “Yes?”

“It’s me, Cinderella.”

Her heart thumped and her belly did a slow nervous roll. “Front door’s open.”

She buzzed him in and cracked the front door to her apartment. Moving back to the kitchen, she took out a bottle of room temperature Guinness, just the way he liked it, and opened it with the bottle opener. She set it down on the table for Simon.

The sound of the door closing then the deadbolts being turned alerted her to Simon’s presence. Warmth skirted along her limbs. Inhaling deeply, she slowly exhaled. When she turned to see him entering the kitchen she smiled a greeting and watched his brows rise as his gaze swept her attire. He was dressed in a dashing black suit, crisp white shirt and black tie.

His lips cracked into a slow smile. He set down the delicious smelling brown bag he was carrying on the counter, then loosened his tie. “You were wearing that the first time I met you.”

Handing him the beer, she smiled and reached up to his tie and slowly untied it. “Tonight we celebrate, Simon. Who knew that day we bumped into each other outside of that elevator we’d be such—fast friends.”

He took a long draught of his beer. When he pulled the bottle from his lips he smiled down at her, wrapping a strong arm around her waist. “Destiny.”

“You really think so?” she asked, backing out of his embrace. Reaching for her wine, she took a thoughtful sip and cocked her head to the side as she watched him watch her.

His brows drew slightly together. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Kat?”

Taking another sip of her wine she set it down on the counter. “Do you trust me, Simon?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“A simple yes or no, please.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’d like you to sit down here,” she patted the seat of the chair sitting in the middle of the room. “Take your jacket off first, please.”

He tipped the beer back and drained it. Setting the empty bottle down on the counter he shrugged off his jacket exposing his shoulder holster. “You can put that on the counter.” Warily he watched her as he unsnapped it then slid it off and set it on top of the jacket.

“Do you have handcuffs?” she casually asked.

He reached behind his back and unsnapped the small leather pouch on his belt then handed them to her. A small smile twitched at the corner of his lips. If he thought she was playing, he was in for a big surprise. Extending her hand toward the seat like Vanna did with the letters, Katy invited Simon to sit.

“Please put your hands behind you, around the chair back, please.”

“Kat?”

She cocked a brow and put a hand on her hip. “You said you trust me. So trust me.”

Exhaling, he did as she asked.

When he did, she moved behind him and slid his loose tie from around his shirt collar. “I’m going to tie your hands to the chair back, Simon, and you’re going to let me.”

“Baby, you do whatever you want to me,” he easily said, a laugh in his voice. Hmm, he wouldn’t be so amused in a minute.

“Thank you, I hope you don’t regret that invitation.”

Once she had the tie snuggly tied around his hands, she took his handcuffs and as she had seen cops do on television she cracked them open around his wrists, then secured them before he’d registered what she was doing.

“No cuffs, Kat,” he firmly said.

“I’m sorry, Captain West,” she said leaning over his shoulder from behind, “But that option is off the table.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir but sometimes we have to endure things we don’t like.”

He twisted in the chair to look at her and raised a quizzical brow. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re pissed at me right now.”

She smiled like the Grinch just before he stole Cindy Lou Who’s Christmas. “You would be correct in that assumption.”

He exhaled and shook his head. “What did I do now?”

She moved past him and picked up the black silk scarf she had put on the table earlier. Gently she wrapped it around his head covering his eyes. But when she tied it she was less considerate.

“All I have to do is stand and crack this chair in half, Kat, and your little party is over.”

“If you do, you will prove to me you don’t trust me.” She took two more scarves and tied one around each of his ankles then securely around the chair legs.

“Why are you angry at me?”

Standing, she leaned down and began to unbutton his shirt. His sharp hiss of breath jolted straight to her core. As she slid it back and over his shoulders exposing his very fine, very muscular chest she resisted the urge to lick every exposed inch. “You are a magnificent specimen, Simon,” she murmured half to herself. “I can see why women jump off bridges when you say, good bye.”

“No one has jumped off a bridge.”

“Amanda jumped off the mental bridge. Who knows how many others followed her?”

“Amanda has nothing to do with us, Kat.”

“Do you know the first time I bumped into you, I had to go back to my room and change my panties?”

He grinned. “So did I.”

“Did you really?”

“Then I jerked off.”

“Oh, my.” The vision of him standing naked in front of a mirror with his big hand wrapped around his bigger cock, stroking it madly as he thought of her sent shock waves to her core. Resolute with her mission, Katy didn’t let his words or her imagination blow her off course.

Tracing her finger down his chest to his belly button she undid his belt, unbuttoned the top button of his slacks, and then slowly palmed him. He was very hard.

“Speaking of people we don’t want to talk about, I bumped into Evan at the gym today.”

Simon’s big body jerked hard against the cuffs moving the chair. “What did he want? Did he touch you or hurt you? Why didn’t you call me? And damn it, why did you go to the gym? You should have come back here directly after your appointment with Veronica.”

“He did put his hands on me when I broke his cell phone, but Tony, one of the trainers made sure he didn’t hurt me.”

Simon’s face turned a murderous shade of red. “I’m going to kill that mother fucker.” He twisted, trying to free himself.

“He showed me a video, Simon. Of the three of us.”

He stilled. “Uncuff me,” he said, dangerously. She almost did given his tone was so menacing.

“Give me a minute.”

“Now, damn it!”

“Hear me out first.”

“Did he threaten you with that video?”

Katy nodded then realized he couldn’t see her expression because of the blindfold. “He’s holding it over my head threatening to show it to the world if I don’t give him what he wants.”

“Which is?”

“You.”

“Fuck that!”

“He wants me to find out what you have on him and Genomtec. He’s given me until midnight Saturday to give him that information or he’s going viral with the video, first stop, your superiors.”

Simon laughed. “He’s blackmailing you with the video and the threat of me losing my job?”

“Yes.”

“What did you tell him?”

“To shove it.”

Simon grinned. “That’s my girl.”

“Now that we have that out of the way, I want to know why you were in San Diego?”

“What?”

“Why were you in San Diego and at the same hotel as me the day we met?”

He swallowed hard when she traced a finger along his pulsing jugular. “I was there to be briefed on an operation.”

“What operation?”

“The sting operation I was working on.”

“Tell me about it.”

“The details are classified, Kat, but you know the gist of it.”

“Tell me the gist again.”

She leaned across his shoulder rubbing her breast against his cheek. He turned, trying to capture it with his mouth just as she moved away.

“Corporate espionage.”

“And what were you tasked with?”

“Heading up the Nor Cal division.”

“Hmm, and what did that entail?”

“Beefing up our investigation.”

“Which meant?”

“Putting men on the principles, digging harder for information.”

“Sounds cloak and dagger.”

She slid a finger along the straining zipper. As she slowly pulled it down she asked, “What’s a principle?”

Simon sucked in a breath when she slid his underwear down exposing his luscious cock. Pushing his knees apart, she blew on it.

“Christ, Kat,” he groaned, jutting his hips into the air.

She flicked the tip of his swollen head with her tongue. “Answer the question.”

“It’s a primary person of interest.”

She licked a long swath from his base to just below the head. “Were any of your principles in the hotel during the time you were there?”

She wrapped her hand around his thick rod. His pulse vibrated through her.

“Yes, damn it,” he hoarsely said.

With his cock in her hand she leaned into him and whispered in his ear. “Anyone I know?”

“Damn it, one of the task force guys was assigned to get up close and personal with you.”

“Not you?”

“No, but after we bumped into each other and I realized who you were, I knew I had to be that guy.”

“Ah,” she purred as she stroked him tightening her fingers around him. So tight he was turning purple. Simon set his jaw, his body straining under the tension of interrogation and manipulation.

“There was even a female cop assigned to engage Evan to glean information from him but he wasn’t biting.”

“But I did,” Katy softly said.

“It wasn’t like that, princess. I was there to shadow you, I had no intention of exploiting you sexually or emotionally.”

“You fucked me!”

“You invited me to your bed!”

“But you thought I was a criminal.”

“No baby, you were a person of interest. We knew Stone was in deep and we knew the two of you were intimate. We were hoping to spring a few facts on you to get you to come over to the dark side.”

“Oh, so you were going to ask me to fuck information out of Evan?”

“No!” He shook his head, his frustration building. “Take this damn blindfold off.”

“No,” she said, hopeful that Simon would prove that he wasn’t the beast his sister-in-law and Evan painted him to be. But settle once and for all that he was the man she thought he was, and the one she had fallen in love with.

“I’m a gut man, Kat, you know that. And my gut told me Evan was playing you. I was right.”

She was still stuck on the sex part. “It was a threesome for God’s sake, Simon. Would you have done it if it wasn’t me?”

“I did it
because
it was
you. I wanted to get you away from that douche. I despised him on contact.” He stopped struggling against the cuffs and ties. “Do you know how much I wanted to tear him apart in that room? How much it killed me to watch him touch you?” He made a low growling sound. “Please, take the blindfold off.”

She did.

His green eyes, warrior fierce drilled into her. “I’ve never lied to you and I’m not now.” He took a deep breath then exhaled. “Cinderella, you make me do things, say things, feel things I’ve never felt or said for another woman. I’m thirty-four years old. I’ve been looking for you all my life. Now that I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”