The Seduction 4 (2 page)

Attempted murder?

Brent leans in close,
and murmurs so that nobody else can hear. “Time’s up, princess.
At the next shareholder meeting, I’m going to call a vote for
Excaliber Finance to buy out the company.”

I gasp. “You can’t.
That will destroy Ashcroft Industries.”

Brent sneers. “No, my
father already did that, the day he named you as his heir instead of
me. Enjoy your lunch,” he adds loudly. “That dizziness will go
soon, I’m sure.”

He turns on his heel
and heads for a table at the other side of the room.

My mind races. “When’s
the shareholder meeting?” I ask Cam.

“Two week time.” He
looks stressed. “Maybe he’s bluffing?”

I look over at Brent,
toasting his friends with what I’m sure is the most expensive
bottle of wine on the menu.

“What if he isn’t?”
I can’t stand the thought. All my work, all my father’s work,
suddenly destroyed. “You know what a takeover would mean. They’d
strip the company for parts, lay off hundreds of people, move
production to sweatshops overseas...”

“Easy there.” Cam
covers my hand with his. He gives it a squeeze. “We’ve got two
weeks to figure out who the votes are and win them back. This isn’t
over yet.”

I try to take a deep
breath, but every time I look at Brent, it turns my stomach. “I’ve
lost my appetite,” I say, pushing back my chair. “I think I’m
just going to head back to my apartment for a couple of hours. I need
to figure this out.”

“Taking a rest is
probably a good idea.” Cam nods, looking worried. “I’ll call
you a cab.”

* * *

The cab lets me out at
an address on the Upper East Side, a huge old brownstone overlooking
Central Park. It’s one of the most exclusive buildings in the city,
part of Ashcroft’s estate that passed straight to me when he died.
With Brent and Isabelle in residence at his country house, I decided
to move in here to be close to the office -- and alone. There’s
twenty-four hour security, and a panic button inside my door
upstairs. Whoever’s out to hurt me--they won’t be able to do it
here.

“Afternoon, Miss
Ashcroft.”

“Hi Tommy,” I greet
the doorman as he lets me inside. “Can you please call my car in a
couple of hours? I’m not staying home long.”

“Of course.” He
tips his cap as I head for the elevators.

I’m still not used to
people calling me ‘Ashcroft’. Part of me feels like it’s a
betrayal of my parents -- the parents who loved me and raised me for
eighteen years, until they were killed in a car accident. But the
more time I spend at the company, the more I realize that the name is
an honor too. Everything I learn about my genetic father tells me
that he was a good man: the kind of boss who cared about his
employees, and the impact his work left on the world.

Charity donations, good
wages and benefits, safe working conditions -- all the things this
takeover will strip away if Brent gets his way.

I let myself in to my
apartment on the top floor, feeling a headache that has nothing to do
with my recent accident. How am I supposed to stop Excaliber when I
don’t even know who they are? Cam told me, companies like this are
a paper trail, registered abroad and filtered through so many dummy
corporations, it’s impossible to know who’s pulling the strings.

“Keely.”

I freeze, opening my
mouth to scream. Someone’s here, waiting in the shadows, but before
I can lunge for my panic button, a hand comes over my mouth, and
strong arms lock tight around me, pinning me in place.

“Don’t panic,”
the voice tells me. “I just want to talk.”

The terror melts away,
my heart racing fast -- but with desire, not panic.

I know that voice. I
recognize the scent of him. And I remember this feeling, being held
tight against his body, the way I fit just right in his arms.

It’s Vaughn.

VAUGHN

I’ve lost my damn
mind. Creeping into her apartment like some fucking thief, grabbing
her from behind. But I don’t have any choice. She’s got paid
muscle keeping me out of the offices, a car driving her around all
day. I can’t get near her long enough to make her listen to what
I’ve discovered. This is the only way.

“I won’t hurt you,”
I promise, holding her tight as she struggles. Damn if the feel of
her doesn’t knock me for six. Her lush breasts trapped under my
arm, her peach of an ass shoved back against my groin.

Strip a couple of
layers of clothing out of this equation, and I’d be buried to the
hilt by now. Fucking her hard and slow, making her scream my name the
way she likes.

But that’s the last
thing that’s going to happen. Not until I make her see sense.

“I just want to
talk,” I say careful not to hurt her. “Keely.”

She goes slack in my
arms.

“It’s you,” she
whispers.

She knows me then. But
can she ever trust me again?

I take a chance and
slowly release her. Keely spins around and shoves me hard. I stumble
back, surprised. “What the hell are you doing?” she yells. “You
scared me half to death! I thought you were him!”

“Who?” I demand.

“The guy who pushed
me at the party,” she recovers, breathing fast. “He tried to kill
me.”

He what?

My blood turns to ice.
I lunge forwards, grabbing her by the shoulders. “What happened?”
I growl, searching her face for any sign of injury. There’s a
bruise I didn’t see, fading just up below her hairline. I touch it
gently, every part of me screaming with guilt and panic. “Did Brent
touch you? I’ll fucking kill him, I swear.”

“It wasn’t Brent.”
She shakes her head. “At least, I don’t think so. I didn’t have
time to see. I heard a noise behind me, and then I was falling.”
She exhales, relaxing. “I was so scared,” she whispers.

My chest hurts.

“I should have been
there, protecting you. I’m so sorry.”

Fuck. All this time, I
didn’t know. The newspapers mentioned she’d tripped on the
stairs, but they made it out like a joke, not this.

“Nobody knows.”
Keely shakes her head firmly. “Until we have proof who did it, or
what they want.”

“I can tell you right
now, it was that scumbag Brent, and he won’t stop until you’re
out of the picture.” I clench my fists. I should have broken his
fucking face the first time I laid eyes on it.

Then I realize what she
said.

“We?” I repeat.

“Cam and I.” Keely
folds her arms, stepping away from me.

Jealousy burns.

“You can’t trust
him,” I growl. “Fuck, he could be in league with them too.”

Keely glares. “I know
that. I can’t trust anyone. I found that out the hard way.”

Silence.

Fuck. I gather my
thoughts, trying to find the words to make her see. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she
shoots back. “Getting hired by Brent to seduce me? Lying about how
your father was Ashcroft’s old business partner? Pretending you
actually cared?” Her voice twists on the last word, and I can see
how much she’s hurting.

It hits me a hundred
times worse.

“All of it,” I
swear. “You have to believe me.”

“Why?” Keely
swallows. “Why should I believe a single word you ever say? It was
all lies, Vaughn. I thought I knew what kind of man you are, but
don’t know anything about you.”

“So we’ll talk,”
I tell her. “Right now. I’ll tell you everything, anything you
want to know. Please, Keely,” I add, desperate. “I need you to
understand.”

Part of me thinks I’m
a pussy to beg. There’s never been a woman I needed like this. I
should just walk out and leave Keely to her mysterious inheritance.
I’m better off without the drama. Hell, I wouldn’t go ten feet
down the street before I found an eager woman ready to spread her
legs and screw.

But that part of me is
dead and buried now. I’m in too deep. I need her like fucking air;
I have to have her -- and now I know someone is out to hurt her,
there’s no chance in hell I’m ever walking away from her again.

“Please,” I say.
“Five minutes, that’s all I need. That’s more than you ever
needed,” I add with a wink, trying to make her smile.

Keely tries not to
react, but I see her cheeks flush. “Fine.” She presses her lips
together. “Five minutes, but you better tell me everything. I mean
it, Vaughn.” Keely’s eyes are harsh. “No more games, no more
bullshit. I need the truth.”

I take a deep breath.
I’ve been so focused on getting her to agree to see me, I never
thought this far ahead. Now I don’t even know where to begin.

I can’t hold back
now. She deserves everything. Every fucking shameful truth.

“It’s true, you
were just a job to begin with,” I admit. “Brent hired me to fuck
you, and get him proof. I didn’t know who he was to you, or
anything about Ashcroft back then. He had the money, and you looked
like you’d be fun. It wasn’t supposed to be real.”

Pain flashes on her
face. Fuck. I’m going to need a drink for this, so I cross to the
bar cart on the other side of the room and pour myself a whiskey. I’m
surprised when Keely grabs it from my hand and takes a long slug.

“Go on,” she orders
between gritted teeth. “Don’t stop.”

So I don’t. I tell
her the whole sordid mess from beginning to end. How Brent demanded I
get compromising poof about Keely, how when I found out she was
Ashcroft’s daughter, my first thought was revenge. He’d destroyed
my father, so I would use her to demolish his legacy somehow. That’s
why I travelled with her to New York, but then things changed.

“I swear, I broke the
contract with Brent before we slept together,” I tell her.

Keely blinks. “Why?
You must have known I’d give it up to you by then. It was easy
money.” Her voice is bitter.

I shake my head. “He
was trouble. I didn’t want that for you, I tried to push you away.
But then you showed up at my place, and I couldn’t resist you.” I
exhale. “And then the Ashcroft thing happened.”

There’s a long
silence. Keely turns away from me, looking out of the windows over
Central Park. I wish I knew what she was thinking, if I even stand a
chance.

“You could have told
me,” she says quietly. “About your father. You could have said
something at any time. How am I supposed to believe this all isn’t
part of your twisted games? Get back with me so you have access to
the company again for your revenge?”

“Because I don’t
even want revenge anymore!” I exclaim. “Not if it hurts you. Not
now I know Ashcroft was being threatened.”

Keely turns. “What do
you mean?”

“Those photos you
showed me.” I move closer. “The ones with your mother in a
bullseye. You think that’s the reason Ashcroft broke things up,
sent her away for her own safety.”

She nods.

“What if he did the
same with my father?” My voice twists. Twenty fucking years I’ve
believed the worst about Ashcroft, that his greed and destruction
drove my father to suicide. But what if I had it all wrong? “You
saw the photos, there were ones of my father too -- of my whole
family. If Ashcroft thought he was in danger, maybe that’s why he
shut him out of the company. To get him away from whatever was going
on, so we’d all be safe.”

Keely’s eyes
brighten. “That must be it! I never believed Ashcroft could do that
to your father. Not if they were friends. He was a good man,” she
insists, and for the first time, hearing that claim doesn’t make me
feel sick to my stomach.

“I don’t know
what’s true anymore,” I tell her, broken. “Everything I thought
I knew is wrong. But I know I hurt you, and I’m so sorry. Forgive
me, Keely. Give me a chance to make it right. Please.”

She watches me, clearly
torn. I take another step towards her.

“You know I’m not
the kind of guy to beg, but I’ll do it,” I vow, desperate. “I’ll
get on my fucking knees, I’ll do anything you want. I’ve told you
everything, the whole truth. You’re in control, Keely. You’re the
one calling the shots now.”

I watch her, waiting
for some reply. For her to tell me it’s OK, or that I need to get
the hell out and never show my face again. My heart clenches, praying
with everything I’ve got that she lets me stay.

I’ve never wanted
anything so bad.

Finally, the conflict
on her face clears. She’s decided.

Fuck. I brace myself
for the worst, already forming another last-ditch argument. But when
she opens her gorgeous mouth, I hear the last words I could ever
expect.

“Take off your
clothes.”

KEELY

I watch him pour his
heart out, begging for another chance. Emotion crashes through me. No
more smooth flirty lines or shocking dirty talk. No more masterful
commands, and the confident dark stare than sends me into a spin.

For the first time,
Vaughn is a real man, flesh and blood and desperation.

And God, it only makes
my heart ache even more.

Since the day we met,
this man has had such a hold on me, such power. To see it all
stripped away is humbling. It makes me realize how much more there is
to our connection. Because it’s one thing to want him when he’s
in control, but seeing him brought low, his agony clear on his face,
I realize just how much he really cares for me.

How much I need him
too.

But still, I’m torn,
not ready to trust him again.

“Take off your
clothes.”

I can’t believe my
voice comes out so even, when my insides are tied up in knots. The
words are out before I can think twice, but I won’t take them back.

I’ve had enough of
people pushing me around. Taking what they want, to hell with the
consequences.

He says he’ll do
anything for me. I’m going to put that to the test.

“Didn’t you hear
what I said?” I ask, my voice mocking him. “I gave you an order.”