Suspicions: A Twist Of Fate / Tears Of Pride

As they approached the apartment house, he killed the engine and sat motionless, his hands still gripping the steering wheel. He glanced toward the windows of Erin’s third-floor apartment.

Erin cleared her throat. “Would you like to come in? For a drink—or a cup of coffee?”

He rotated to face her, and even in the darkness she imagined flames of smoldering passion burning in his eyes. “I’d like it very much.”

He opened the door for her and they walked up the long staircase noiselessly. Although they didn’t touch, Erin felt a bond between them bridging the inches of open air that separated their bodies. She licked her arid lips as she reached into her purse for her keys. Many emotions had come and gone since he had hurried her out of the apartment this morning. God, was it only twelve hours ago? Erin had hesitated only slightly when she thought about asking him up to her apartment. She knew how precarious it was for her to be alone with him, but she couldn’t resist extending the invitation and the evening. Mrs. Cavenaugh had been right; she had hidden herself away from the world of men for much too long.

Her fingers shook as she tried to unlock the door, and Kane took the keys from her hand. He escorted her through the doorway and into the small apartment. Erin went through the motions of taking off her jacket, but her mind was on Kane and the intimacy of the apartment. There was no place to hide. “Could—I offer you a drink?”

He took off his jacket and let it fall casually across the arm of the couch. “Sure.”

Erin moved into the kitchen and opened the liquor cabinet, but her thoughts didn’t leave Kane. Although he was in the living room, the air was charged with electricity and anticipation. It was difficult to think, to move. Why had she asked him up to her loft, and why had he accepted?

She managed to put together some Irish coffee, and the cups were steaming as she carried them into the living room. Kane was standing at the window, looking into the night as if he could penetrate the darkness. His shirt was moist and clung to his body, and the ripple of his muscles was evident through the fabric.

When she entered the room, he turned to face her. His face was ragged, torn with emotion, and she knew that he was as tense as she. “Anything wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he whispered, but the besieged look on his face didn’t disappear. “Thanks,” he said with a tight-lipped smile and sampled the hot drink.

“There is something wrong,” she challenged. “I can feel it. It’s something about me, isn’t it?”

“You’re imagining things,” he retorted, and took a long swallow of his drink.

“No…I’m not. It all started yesterday, at the office.”

His gray eyes bored into her, daring her to continue. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think that you do. You were angry that I was at the office—don’t deny it. And all of those ridiculous questions about Mitch. It has something to do with him, doesn’t it?”

“Why don’t you tell me,” he suggested huskily. “What do you know about Mitchell Cameron?”

“Nothing—except that you fired him, and I don’t know why!”

He set his cup down on the table and strode quietly over to where she was standing. His voice was barely audible, but he pinned her with his gaze. “You can’t even hazard a guess?” he coaxed.

“No!”

“Why don’t you try?” His fingers reached upward and found the nape of her neck. He lifted her hair from her shoulders and clasped both of his hands gently around her neck, massaging her shoulders through the light rain-washed fabric of her blouse.

“I have no idea. I only know that the legal department wasn’t profitable…” His gray eyes snapped.

“Is that it? Would you let him go because of one bad year?”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how you work…”

“Sure you do,” he suggested smoothly, and Erin felt that she had known him all of her life.

“Aren’t you going to finish your drink?” she asked, not able to concentrate on anything other than the warm enticement of his hands. His thumbs traced lazy patterns of seduction along her throat, gently persuading her mind to think of nothing other than his overpowering maleness.

His eyes looked over at the half-full cup of Irish coffee. “Is that my cue to leave?”

Erin braced herself, trying to ignore the dizzying sensations that seemed to build up from within her and explode at his touch. “It’s…it’s getting late.”

“And you’d like to go to bed?” he cajoled, his dark eyes alive.

“I…you…we have to work in the morning,” she stammered, her senses reeling from his closeness.

“That we do,” he agreed.

Erin’s pulse was beginning to dance wildly as Kane’s hands coaxed her to newer heights of sensuality. She could feel his breath, smell his clean masculine scent, and she knew that he was going to kiss her.

His arms moved to her waist and coiled possessively around her as his mouth brushed velvet-soft kisses down her cheek and throat. Her head fell backward, and he rained kisses up and down the length of her exposed neck. Erin’s chest grew tight, and her breath began to whisper in short, shaky breaths.

His hands toyed at the hem of her blouse, at first tentatively, and finally with determination as he tugged the blouse out of the waistband of her slacks. His fingers explored the soft, supple muscles of her back, warming her skin to a rosy glow. Her knees began to give way, and he caught her, pushing his lips over hers in silent union. She moaned, and at the invitation of her parted lips, his tongue found hers, flicking and dancing with moist sparks of unfettered passion.

Moving steadily upward, his hands inched up her spine in a delicious spiraling motion. Her skin heated and caught fire. All her nerve endings ignited in hot boiling passion. His fingertips slowly and sensuously moved forward until he was kneading the tight muscles of her abdomen.

Her breasts ached against the confinement of her bra, and when at last his fingertips played with the lacy garment, she sighed. He pushed her gently and persuasively to the floor, and she felt the cool floorboards press against her fevered flesh. Slowly he let his hands slide to the buttons of her blouse, slipping each button easily through the buttonholes. As the blouse parted he unleashed her breasts from the lacy bra. “God, but you’re beautiful,” he moaned, looking directly at the full white curves of her soft breasts.

She felt her fingers working at the buttons of his shirt. When at last it was opened, and the expanse of golden bronze skin was visible, she moaned with pure animal pleasure. “So are you,” she said huskily, watching his firm muscles flex under her admiring gaze.

His thumbs idled over her nipples as he fondled her breasts. Masterfully, he enticed her nipples to erection, and a smile of triumph lighted his eyes as he noticed them harden. He looked once into her eyes, the smoky gray of his gaze blending into the lilac-blue passion of hers.

It was as if she were drugged; all she could concentrate on was taking and giving pleasure. Her female body was overshadowing her mind. As Kane loved her, explored her, exulted in her, she, too, took satisfaction from touching and enticing him. Body was controlling mind in the sweet dreamlike mist of lovemaking.

They rolled together on the floor, and he rained kisses upon her face, her neck, her breasts. His tongue licked paths of fire over her body and kindled an aching need in her innermost core.

Endearingly his mouth descended on her breasts, and he suckled as if a babe, kneading the sensitive tissue with his hands as his lips lured love from her nipples. His body was upon hers and she felt the bittersweet pain of his weight over her. The cold floorboards touched her back, and his warm, naked torso inflamed her soul, causing boiling currents of lava to course through her veins.

“Oh, Erin,” he called against her, and her pounding heart was triggered to a more passionate rhythm. He tore himself away from her and saw the disappointment in her eyes.

“I want to go to bed with you,” he breathed, “and I want to make love to you.”

“Are…are you asking me?” she gasped, drawing much needed air into her lungs.

“I’ve been asking you all night.” He levered himself over her and leaned on one elbow while one hand still massaged her breasts.

“I want to…” she murmured, closing her eyes and trying to think rationally. Would the ache subside? Would she really be able to make love to him? Would she be able to stop?

“But…” he prodded, his breath ghosting over her hair.

“But…” She breathed heavily. “But…I’m afraid.”

“Of what? Me?”

“No…”

“Then it must be that you’re afraid of your husband,” he guessed.

“Lee? How did you know about him?”

“A small surname discrepancy in your personnel file.”

“Oh,” she murmured, pulling her blouse over her breasts. Suddenly she felt conspicuously naked.

“He is the problem, isn’t he,” Kane asked gently, but there was a cold and calculating edge to his voice.

“No…Lee has nothing to do with us,” she managed, but her mercurial temperature had cooled.

“You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?” His eyes regarded her gently, and he pulled her closer to his body and rocked her.

“No…you’re wrong. You’ve got it all wrong. I’m not in love with Lee. Sometimes I wonder if I ever really was.” His eyes followed hers to look out the window. “Oh, I thought I loved him, once, but some of the things that he did…that he said…” She still couldn’t talk about it without getting a catch in her throat.

“Erin, honey. It’s been a long time, and still he affects you. Are you sure that you’re not still emotionally involved with him?”

Tears began to flow from her eyes, and he brushed them away. She tried to look away from him, but he forced her head in his direction, softly cupping her chin in his fingers. His movements were gentle, but his thoughts were grim. Lee Sinclair, whoever the hell he was, had scarred Erin, and Kane meant to know all about him.

“Have you seen him recently?”

“No…he moved to Spokane about a year ago.” For some reason Erin couldn’t tell Kane about the phone calls and the fact that Lee was back in Seattle.

Kane continued to rock her in silence, only the thin line of his lips belying his calm and comforting actions. Slowly Erin composed herself. She wondered how she had ever let things get so out of hand. She felt an embarrassed burn on her cheeks as she realized that she was sitting half-naked on the floor of her apartment with her new boss, weeping like a teenager, nearly jumping into bed with him. It was frightening and confusing, completely out of character.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffed, managing a feeble smile. “I really don’t know why I fell apart.”

“It’s all right. Here.” He pulled the afghan from the couch and wrapped her in its rainbow-colored tiered folds. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” She nodded, and he rose from the floor, pulling her with him. “Why don’t you go in and get in bed? I’ll bring you some tea.”

“No! Oh, no…I’m fine, honestly.” She was embarrassed by her emotional outburst, and the last thing she wanted was that her boss should wait on her. She hiked the awkward blanket over her shoulders, but it seemed determined to slide to the floor.

“You’re sure?” he asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow in her direction and buttoning his shirt.

“I’m sure.” Her voice was still husky, but the firm quality and tone that he recognized as control were back in her words.

She could tell that he was reluctant to leave, but after a final kiss to her forehead, and his hastily scribbled hotel phone number, he left her alone.

After he closed the door, she listened to the sound of his shoes clicking down the steps. Silently she counted them. Finally she heard the front door open and close with a thud. A sporty engine roared to life and faded into the night. Erin felt more alone than she had in years.

Chapter 5

The morning newspaper was spread before her as Erin sat down to a light breakfast of toast and jam. Her eyes wandered aimlessly over the headlines on the front page, but her mind refused to budge from the intimate moments she had shared with Kane. What had seemed a natural and beautiful lovemaking experience in the darkness had somehow lost its enchantment in the morning light. It wasn’t that she regretted getting to know Kane, not at all. But he was her boss, and she couldn’t let her body control her mind where he was concerned. Professionally it just wasn’t sound judgment to get emotionally involved with an employer. And, although she could still conjure up the enigmatic image of his tanned masculine body and mirthless gray eyes, she wouldn’t let it control her.

She applied a healthy spoonful of raspberry jam to her toast as she turned to the financial section. As her eyes met the black-and-white photograph of Mitchell Cameron, she let the knife fall to the table. The picture was several years old, and Mitch was smiling with his pleasant self-assured grin, but the caption in black boldface print captured her attention. FINANCIAL LAWYER ALLEGED THIEF—and in smaller print—Mitchell Cameron Accused of Embezzling Bank Funds.

“Oh, no!” Erin gasped, and her eyes read and reread the newspaper article several times. “There must be some mistake,” she murmured to herself. “There has to be!” According to the article Mitch had been manipulating bank funds for the better part of two years. When the bank was sold, an audit found him out, and the new president, Kane Webster, had fired Mitch. The police were summoned and Mitch would be arraigned for indictment within the week.

Erin raced to the telephone and dialed Mitch’s number. A busy signal beeped flatly in her ear. Either Mitch had taken the receiver off the hook, or he was already being plied by inquisitive friends and reporters.

As quickly as possible she scooped up the paper, grabbed her purse and slipped on her coat. She took the steps two at a time and nearly ran over Mrs. Cavenaugh on her way out the door. On the run, she apologized to the startled old woman and hurried out to the car. She turned the ignition, the little car sparked to life and Erin proceeded on a mad dash to the bank, hampered only by the early-morning rush-hour traffic.

When she got to the bank, it was already crawling with employees. Although it was still early, it seemed that everyone had arrived with time to spare on this first day of new bank ownership. Erin pushed herself into the crowded elevator and wedged herself between two women.

“Have you seen the paper today?” a middle-aged woman with a faddish, curly hairstyle asked her friend.

“Not yet—I usually wait until coffee break. There’s just not enough time in the morning, what with getting the kids off to school, you know,” the shorter woman in a pink raincoat replied.

The elevator started its upward motion. “Then you haven’t heard about Mitchell Cameron?” the curly-haired woman asked.

“Cameron? The head of the legal department?”

“That’s right. Seems that the new president—that Mr. Webster—had him fired.”

“No!”

“That’s right,” the taller woman said with a firm shake of her head. Her voice lowered, and she looked over her shoulder as she continued. “They suspect that Mr. Cameron was involved in some embezzling scheme…”

“The head of the legal department? Are you sure?”

Erin pretended not to hear the conversation. The elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor and the two women continued their conversation as they disembarked. Erin closed her eyes for a minute. By this time the entire bank staff had heard about Mitch. Could it possibly be true? She fervently hoped that Kane was wrong about Mitch.

The elevator stopped with a jolt, and Erin walked into the legal department. She was early, and only a few of the more aggressive young employees had made it to their desks. There were a few new faces in the crowd, probably some of Kane’s imported troubleshooters from California, Erin guessed as she passed by the reception area and picked up her telephone messages. The most compelling of the notes was a handwritten memo from Kane indicating that he wanted to see her in his office immediately.

After taking off her coat, she armed herself with the newspaper and marched into his office. An eerie, nostalgic feeling gripped her when she discovered that the familiar brass nameplate of Mitchell Cameron had been torn from the door. Only two fine drill holes remained in the wood panels to remind Erin that just last week Mitch had occupied this office.

Kane was sitting behind the desk when she entered. He motioned her to be seated in one of the side chairs as he finished scribbling some notes on a legal pad. But instead, she remained standing with her arms folded against her chest. The rolled newspaper was clamped firmly under her left arm.

“Have you seen the paper?” she asked him, echoing the conversation she had overhead in the elevator.

“Yes,” he replied, looking up from his work.

“And you read the article on Mitch?” she accused.

“I’ve read several, starting last evening,” he replied evenly. His eyes searched her face and he studied her intensely.

“Is it true?” she asked, her incredulity registering on her face. “Did Mitch really embezzle? How do you know—and why did you let the press find out about it? Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve ruined his career. He worked for this bank for over twenty years, and in one clean sweep you destroyed him!”

Her voice had risen with her emotion. She flung the paper onto his desk and turned her head away, biting on her fingernail and trying to piece together her shattered poise. Kane rose from the desk and crossed the room to close the door. He came back beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Gently he rubbed the tension out of her neck and shoulders.

“Don’t,” she implored. “Don’t touch me—just give me answers, preferably straight ones!”

His fingers stopped their comforting motion but remained against the back of her neck. Her hair was pinned into a businesslike knot, twisted behind one ear, and Kane rested his hands on her exposed neck. Her head was bent, and she pressed a hand to her forehead as she waited for his explanation.

His voice was low and soft as he began to speak. “You’ve met my associate, Jim Haney?” His fingers felt the barest of movements as she nodded. “During the conversion, while Jim was still working here in Seattle, he…discovered that funds were being funneled out of some of the larger trust accounts. It took Jim quite a while, but finally he tracked down the culprit.”

“Mitch?” she asked in a voice that was barely audible.

“Yes.”

“But…how can you be sure?” She pivoted her head upward to find his face, and there was an unhidden pain in the depths of her eyes.

“Erin. We caught him red-handed. There’s no doubt.” The words were spoken softly, but there was an almost cruel hardness in his features.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she forced them backward and vainly attempted to keep her voice from shaking. “I…I just can’t believe it.” She averted her face from his intent study.

Kane propped her chin between his fingers and let his thumb rub it caressingly while tracing the line of her jaw. “You were very close to him?” he asked gently.

Erin shook her head faintly and bit her lip. “He’s been a good friend to me.” Her eyes were shining with unshed tears when she looked up at Kane’s face once more. “He…he helped me through a very difficult time in my life…” she explained, and gave in to the urge to lean against him. His arm wrapped securely around her, and for a moment Erin forgot everything other than Kane’s comforting presence. This couldn’t be the same coldhearted man who had fired Mitch, could it? Had Mitch really stooped to thievery?

“The difficult time,” he whispered. “The divorce?”

She nodded mutely against the smooth fabric of his jacket.

A knock resounded on the thick mahogany door, and before Kane could respond, the door swung open. Olivia Parsons, with all of her self-assurance and poise in place, breezed into the room with only a brief apology.

“Excuse me, Mr. Webster…Erin.” She included Erin out of courtesy. Her cool green eyes swept over the intimate scene before her, and although they reflected a glimmer of interest, her professional aplomb never wavered. Erin moved away from Kane with as much grace as was possible, but she was sure that Olivia hadn’t missed the tender embrace between employer and employee. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, but your secretary indicated that you needed these financial statements before the board meeting this afternoon.” The tall brunette with the svelte figure and sleek Halston original dress handed Kane the stack of papers that she was carrying. The confident smile that she was wearing never left her face.

“You must be Miss Parsons,” Kane surmised, his eyes traveling appreciatively over the neatly typed pages.

“Please call me Olivia,” she responded. She gave Erin a fleeting head-to-toe appraisal, as if seeing her for the first time. Turning back to Kane, she continued. “I really didn’t know that you were busy,” she apologized again, and Erin felt a tide of crimson creep steadily up her neck.

“No problem,” Kane assured Olivia, and escorted her out of the room. “Thank you for taking the time to bring the reports by.”

“Anytime,” Olivia suggested in a voice so throaty that Erin barely heard it.

Once Olivia had made her exit, Kane closed the door and deliberately turned to face Erin. His back was pressed firmly against the polished wood grain of the door, as if he were using his own body as a barricade against another intrusion. His body had stiffened, and all of the familiar fondness had escaped from his features. His face had become a mask devoid of emotion, and his words were no longer tender or caring. They were brittle in the air.

“I don’t think that my office is the place to continue this discussion,” he said tersely.

“I think it’s a perfect place to discuss Mitch—right in the middle of his office!”

“Is that how you still think of it, as Mitch’s office? If so, you had better change your mind. Mitchell Cameron is gone. He was an embezzler—a thief—and he’s no longer with Consolidated Finances. I hope that fact doesn’t hamper your work.” He strode across the room to the desk. “We can discuss this later…tonight if you like. But right now I’m very busy.” He sat at the desk and started reading the reports that he had received from Olivia.

Erin watched him with disbelieving eyes. How could he change so rapidly? It was as if he were a kind, considerate gentleman one moment and a heartless bastard the next. He looked up at her and flashed a perfectly condescending smile at her, but she knew it was an act. She had been with him enough to recognize the cool distance in his gray eyes.

“You’re the one who called me in here,” she reminded him, and waved the green personal memo in the air. “Just what was it that you wanted to discuss?”

The petrified smile fell from his face and a darker, more volatile expression took over. “I wanted to ask you to dinner tonight.”

“You’ve got to be kidding! First you call me in here. Then you nearly throw me out. And now you expect me to go out with you?” Sarcasm dripped from her words. “Not a chance!”

“Why not?”

Erin sighed wearily, tired of the argument. “For the same reasons that I spelled out to you yesterday.”

There was a pool of darkness in his eyes. “You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” he suggested, and then continued. “Or is it yourself who scares you?”

“It has nothing to do with fear, and you should know it! It’s just that I don’t think it would be good for either of us, professionally that is, to be the subject of office gossip or speculation.”

“Don’t you think that you’re putting the cart before the horse?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she sighed.

“In order for there to be any gossip, there’s got to be a glimmer of truth. Someone has to start the rumors, and since I’m not one to ‘kiss and tell,’ I’ve got to assume that you are. Otherwise, there would be no cause for concern, would there?”