One Season Collection

TEN

‘How pissed do you think he’ll be when he tracks you down?’

Miranda shrugged as they relaxed in comfortable chairs in the elegant surroundings of the iconic Waldorf Astoria. ‘Don’t care. He deserves it.’

She didn’t mention she’d never met anyone who could irritate the life out of her one minute and make her so hot it felt as if she had a fever in the next. She’d never behaved so provocatively before, purposefully pushing the boundaries of his control to discover how much he could take. It was a perilous game—one she’d thought she had the sense not to play with a man who oozed danger the way Tyler did—but had that stopped her? Oh, no.

‘You don’t feel the least little bit guilty he might get in trouble for losing you?’

‘I didn’t until you mentioned it so thanks for that—I owe you one.’

Crystal lifted one of the porcelain teacups sitting on the round table between them. ‘That conscience of yours has always been a problem. We still need to work on that.’

‘You wouldn’t have got me this far if I didn’t have a natural aptitude for courting trouble.’

‘I did say I saw potential in you for greatness when we met.’

‘Give me a couple of months to shake off my shackles and I promise to spread my wings and soar,’ Miranda vowed.

She heard the clink of the teacup touching a saucer as Crystal took a long breath. ‘Nothing to tie you down...no one to get in your way...’ She hummed as she exhaled. ‘Put all that freedom together with the absence of a guilty conscience and I might have to abdicate my notoriety throne in favour of a worthy successor.’

Drumming her fingers on the arms of her chair, Miranda gently swayed her crossed leg while she tried to convince herself she wasn’t watching the foyer for Tyler’s arrival. If the stupid man could make up his mind what he wanted it would make things a lot easier.

The way he had looked at her set her body alight, her pulse hammering and her breasts aching for attention. If she had any sense she would have toned it down a little. But the more of a reaction she got from him, the hotter he made her feel, and the desire to push him to breaking point grew. She hadn’t been able to stop.

She’d wanted him to snap.

If the first time she’d encouraged him with a smile had felt like playing with fire, using her sexuality to get to him was about to turn her into a pyromaniac.

She still didn’t like him. She was still mad at him for making her feel like a fool because she’d looked for something that obviously wasn’t there. But apparently the thought of angry sex with him did it for her, big time.

‘You still confident in your fifty-dollar bet on him finding you inside a couple of hours?’ Crystal asked.

‘If he was as smart as he likes to think he is he would have found me already.’

‘If he was as smart as you say he thinks he is he would have found Jimmy Hoffa by now.’

She turned her head and smiled ruefully at her best friend. ‘So much for my great plan... It doesn’t take away from the victory of escaping when he was so determined it wasn’t possible. But slinking back to the mansion to find him waiting for me like another disgruntled parent takes the shine off it a little.’

Crystal’s gaze moved. ‘Well you better dig out your sunglasses because if that’s who I think it is headed our way the day just got a whole lot brighter.’

Miranda’s gaze immediately shifted to the foyer. The sight of him did its usual snatch and grab with her breath. When his gaze sliced through the air and slammed into hers a heady frisson of excitement travelled through her body. He wasn’t just mad. He looked as if he was ready to explode.

‘Wow.’ Crystal sighed dreamily. ‘I want to be in as much trouble as you are right now. Do you think he’ll spank you? He looks like he’s gonna spank you good.’

Her reaction to the suggestion shocked Miranda.

She really was a very bad girl.

Exhaling the breath she’d been holding, she smiled sweetly as he marched straight up to them. ‘I don’t believe you’ve been formally introduced. Detective Brannigan, meet Crystal—Crystal, meet Tyler.’

‘Well, hello, Tyler. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to meet me?’

A low burst of laughter bubbled up from Miranda’s chest when he pressed his mouth into a thin line. ‘He doesn’t have a sense of humour but I thought it was funny.’

‘Awesome,’ Crystal replied.

His dark gaze remained firmly fixed on the cause of his anger. ‘You’re leaving now.’

‘Excellent timing. I’ve just finished my tea. If you hadn’t got here I would have had to hail another cab.’ She lifted her brows. ‘Did you park nearby? I can wait for you to bring the car around front.’

Rage rolled off his large body in waves. ‘I’ll carry you out of here if I have to.’

‘How about we save that for next time?’ She reached to the side for her bag and unfolded her legs.

As she got to her feet Crystal held up a set of neatly folded bills. ‘The fifty dollars I owe you.’

Miranda turned towards her and flashed a grin, ‘Why, thank you. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.’

‘Any time. Don’t forget about that thing at the place we talked about. It should be a blast.’

‘I’ll see you there.’

‘No, she won’t,’ a deep voice said firmly.

Miranda waved a dismissive hand in his direction. ‘Don’t listen to him. I never do. Love you.’

‘Love you, too.’

Taking the lead, she walked across the foyer with her head held high. When they got to the revolving doors she stopped and angled her chin. ‘Oh, dear, this is a bit of a dilemma.’ She looked up at him. ‘Do you gamble on me going first or risk turning your back on me again? It must be a little like playing roulette for you.’

‘Having fun?’ he asked through gritted teeth as he captured her elbow in a potentially bruising grasp and bundled them both into a narrow compartment.

‘I was till you got here.’ But actually, while crushed so tightly against him, she still kinda was.

Wriggling experimentally, she smiled when he tensed.

‘You’re a piece of work.’

She tugged her elbow free when they hit the sidewalk and he’d pushed her in the right direction. ‘You’re just upset I slipped through your iron curtain of security. Through a velvet one, no less.’

‘Did it ever occur to you if you can find a way out someone can use the same way to get to you?’

‘Why would anyone want to get to me?’

‘Famous brings out the crazy. I don’t even care that you’re famous and right this minute I want to kill you.’

‘How did you find me?’ she enquired as they walked to wherever they were going. She hoped it was far away. She was having entirely too much fun to stop now.

‘Your friend Crystal needs to turn off the location option on her Facebook page. And while we’re on the subject of the internet any Twittering you do about the places you’re going should be done after you’ve been there.’

‘They’re called Tweets.’

‘They’re a waving flag that says “come get me, I’m over here.”’ As they stopped at a crossing he flicked a glare at her. ‘Every whack job in the five boroughs could have been waiting for you outside that school.’

‘Is that what spooked you?’

‘I wasn’t spooked.’ His reaction to the word was so vicious the second time around it gave Miranda the distinct impression she’d hit a nerve. He took a long breath and frowned at how long it was taking for the light to change. ‘Someone in the crowd was off.’

Miranda’s eyes narrowed. ‘Define “off.”’

‘Acting odd—hinky—out of place—obsessively watching your every move.’ He captured her elbow again and pushed her across the street.

‘You spend all day watching my every move.’

‘I’m paid to do it and, believe me, it wasn’t my idea.’

‘Whose idea was it?’ She tugged her elbow. ‘You can let go of me now.’

‘Not a chance.’ He navigated their way through the human traffic on the sidewalk. ‘Your head of security used to be my captain’s partner back in the day. When he mentioned he needed an injection of new blood it was my misfortune to be volunteered as the wild card.’

Ah-h-h, so that was what he meant when he said he’d been trying to get out of it for a week. Considering it was the longest conversation they’d ever had, Miranda thought she should make him angry more often. ‘You must have done the close-protection course.’

‘Stop changing the subject.’

She sighed heavily as they rounded a corner. ‘I think you’re overreacting a tad to my having tea at the Waldorf, don’t you? Was I dancing on a table when you got there?’

Tyler stopped so suddenly he had to yank her back into place when she got a couple of steps ahead.

‘Whoopsies.’ Miranda giggled when she almost tripped over, tipsy on the headiness of her success.

He let go of her elbow when she was steady on her feet. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’

‘That this is strike two?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I heard you. One more strike and—’

His body loomed over her, the tip of his nose barely an inch away from hers as his voice rumbled, ‘Get in the damn car.’

Miranda hadn’t even noticed it was there and, frankly, with his mouth in kissing distance, she couldn’t care less. She angled her head in a move that suggested she was about to fit their lips together and lifted her chin, reducing the gap to millimetres. Then she looked deep into cobalt-blue eyes and whispered, ‘Make. Me.’

The gaze glittering with promise of the danger she so desperately craved wandered lazily over her face. His warm breath mingled with hers while her heart thundered so loudly she could hear it in her ears. It didn’t matter that they were standing in the middle of a street in Manhattan. It didn’t matter that there were people everywhere and dozens of cars driving by and that pretty much everyone in the universe had a camera on their phone. All that mattered was how badly she wanted to be kissed.

There was nothing beyond burning need and him.

When her heavy-lidded gaze lowered to his mouth she saw a corner of it tug upwards.

‘You don’t want to do that,’ he said in a low, husky, unbelievably sexy voice before moving his head so he could whisper in her ear. ‘I’m more trouble than you can handle.’

It was as if he’d placed all of her fantasies within her grasp. Endless possibilities spun around and around in her head in ever decreasing circles with Tyler as the focal point. Miranda blinked at him while he leaned away from her and reached for the door. She turned towards the vehicle and blindly took a step forwards when a thought finally made it through her dizziness. They were just two small words but the weight of their importance felt immense.

‘We’ll see...’

The voice that said them wasn’t hers; it was the sultry voice of the siren she’d always suspected lived somewhere deep inside but had been afraid to seek out. Now she realized the temptress had been with her each time she stepped out of the changing room, had fed on his reaction and was gaining the strength she needed to break free.

As Miranda got into the SUV and he slammed the door shut she experienced the crippling fear that stemmed from the threat of its imminent release.

She didn’t know what scared her more: having the siren’s call answered by someone she would drag to disaster or having it ignored and remaining isolated and alone, endlessly calling out to someone who would sail through her life without stopping to take a second look.

ELEVEN

It took intense concentration for Tyler to focus through a blinding rage so he could drive them back to the mansion.

Discovering she’d slipped out through a hidden door in a mural-covered wall at the back of the changing room meant he didn’t have to suffer the humiliation of knowing she’d tiptoed out behind his back. But the thought someone might have taken her made him experience his second wave of unwarranted panic in a handful of hours. The realization she’d stood in front of the hidden door while he checked the space both eased his mind and made him angry as hell.

The latter feeling grew when he had another moment of clarity. He’d been played since the moment they got there.

By the time he’d searched the store, tracked down Janice and interrogated her until she confessed Miranda had left in a cab there wasn’t a rock in the state of New York he wouldn’t have turned over to find her. The mayor’s head of security would rue the day he’d given him the scope to ‘do whatever he needed to do’ when he locked her in a cell and lost the key. His next move was an attempt to get the cab number off the store’s security cameras. When that had failed he’d gone hunting for her partner in crime.

Throughout it all he was battling emotions he’d been unable to control since he’d let them out of the damn box. By challenging him to make a move she’d got a glimpse of him few people on the right side of the law ever saw.

That Tyler came from the dark side. He was the man who had spent so long among the dregs of humanity no amount of scrubbing would ever make him clean. He was the lean and hungry one, the cold one, the one who would devour her until he’d taken all she had to give and left her feeling as empty as he did.

She didn’t want to mess with that Tyler.

The silence coming from the back seat was a wise move. She could forget a third strike; there wasn’t going to be one. What was more, it was time to play the card he’d been holding close to his chest. If she’d behaved he wouldn’t have to use it. Now he didn’t have a choice.

When they landed back at the mansion he followed her inside and headed straight for the control room. Yanking open one of the drawers on a filing cabinet, he searched for the file he needed and checked the contents. Then he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time to speed up the process until he reached the hall and marched to her door.

The three sharp knocks he made on the wood were answered with an invitation to come in.

She frowned when he stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him. ‘You can’t come in here.’

‘You told me to come in.’

‘I thought you were Grace.’

Holding up the file, he stepped across to the small seating area on one side of the room, pointedly ignoring the presence of her large bed. ‘Little light reading for you...’ Slapping it down on one of the small tables beside a deeply cushioned armchair, he folded his arms and widened his stance to claim the ground he was standing on. ‘I’ll wait for questions.’

‘You can’t be here,’ she argued as she moved away from the windows. ‘What if someone finds you?’

‘So long as you don’t start another fashion parade we should be fine.’

She scowled at him as she stepped over to pick up the file. ‘What is this?’

While she opened the cover and bowed her head to look at the contents he studied her reaction through hooded eyes. Her gaze lifted and sought his before she sat down on the chair farthest away from him. Laying the file on her lap, she turned to the next page.

When she spoke her voice was lower and surprisingly calm. ‘How many of these are there?’

‘They’re the ones we take a closer look at.’

‘Because you consider them a potential threat?’

‘It’s the tone as much as the content. After they’re fingerprinted and tested for DNA, a psychologist looks them over and builds a profile.’ He shrugged. ‘Vast majority of them are sent by fruitcakes still living in the basement of their parents’ house when they’re forty.’

She flicked a brief glance his way. ‘Is that true or are you just saying it to make me feel better?’

‘I’d be willing to bet your picture is pinned to more than one of those walls in this city.’

‘Eww.’ She grimaced.

He didn’t mention there’d be less of them if people got to know her the way he had in the last forty-eight hours. When he questioned why he hadn’t mentioned it, Tyler realized his rage had dissipated. Claiming back a little control probably had something to do with it. Added to the fact they were discussing something that felt closer to police work than babysitting, it was understandable he felt more at ease.

When he noticed the almost imperceptible tremor in her hand as she turned another page Tyler assumed she’d got to one of the more twisted letters.

‘Why have I never been shown this file before?’

‘They probably thought it was better you didn’t know.’

‘You obviously disagree.’

As her gaze flickered towards him again the hint of vulnerability he could see in her eyes made him question if he’d done the right thing. He took a short breath. ‘Figured if you knew what was out there it might help you understand why things have to change around here.’

‘So why not show it to me on the first day?’

Determined he could control her without it would have been the honest answer. But since showing it to her would then be somewhat akin to admitting defeat...

‘Wasn’t time,’ he lied.

She turned her head a little, her gaze searching the air while she gathered her thoughts. As something occurred to her there was a blink of long lashes and she looked him in the eyes again. ‘You think the person you saw in the crowd this morning might have sent one of these letters?’

Tyler nodded. ‘It’s possible. I’ll know if I see him again. I’m good with faces.’

She frowned for a moment before confessing, ‘I can’t believe there are people out there who would write these letters to me. Let alone mail them.’

‘I told you, famous brings out the crazy.’

‘I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to this.’

‘Calm is good. A lot of folks would be nailing boards over the windows and bulk buying pepper spray by now.’

The comment earned a brief if somewhat half-hearted attempt at a smile before she closed the file and stood up. One of her hands rubbed her hip while she stretched out the other. ‘Can you take this with you?’ She avoided his gaze. ‘I don’t want it in here.’

For the first time since he’d entered the room Tyler took a look at his surroundings and realized his mistake. He’d done more than introduce her to the darkness in the world beyond the walls of her cushioned existence—he’d brought some of the sickness he dealt with every day into her haven. But it didn’t stop there—one mistake leading directly to another—not only shouldn’t he have come to her bedroom, he shouldn’t have taken a look around.

It revealed more about her than he’d wanted to know.

Large, bright flowers covered the wallpaper, crystal chandeliers and mirrored glass sparkling in the autumn sunshine pouring through the windows. The furnishings were soft and textured, reminding him what she’d said to a little girl about liking the way things felt.

The penny dropped. She was tactile.

It was why she touched so many arms and ruffled heads of tousled hair. She’d demonstrated the same thing when she traced the pearls around her neck. It was part of her inherent sensuality; as witnessed when he’d watched her cup her breasts and smooth her palms over the curves of her body. With the revelation came a question: How did she deal with being surrounded by people who weren’t allowed to make physical contact? The need to touch and be touched had to make her as much of a ticking time bomb as him.

It explained a lot when it came to that kiss.

The file nodded in front of him, her brows lifting.

Unfolding his arms, he stepped forwards and took it from her. As he walked back to the door she followed him.

‘Tyler?’

He turned to look at her. ‘Yeah?’

‘Thank you. You’re the first person who thought I could handle this and I appreciate that.’