Copy That (11 page)

When his lips replaced his breath, her brain fizzled. “An ex-boyfriend.”

Jeremy pulled back, his gaze searching hers. “What?”

“The violence. I was young. He was a loser, probably still is.” Meredith rested her palms against Jeremy’s chest and leaned in just a little. “The day he pushed me down a flight of stairs was a wake-up call. I lay there, waiting until he left the house to ‘clear his head’ and then I got ready.”

At the mention of the abuse the skin around Jeremy’s mouth pulled tight. He didn’t show any other reaction except for a subtle stiffness in his shoulders. “For what exactly?”

“I greeted him with my bags packed and a loaded gun. I’d been taking lessons, shooting and self-protection.”

Jeremy’s hands moved to her upper arms. The hold stayed loose, as if letting her know that she could bolt at any time and he would respect her decision. “Sounds dangerous.”

“No, staying was dangerous. It was the only time he got physical, but the emotional battering wore me down to the point where I didn’t see it coming.”

Jeremy bit his bottom lip then let it go. “Please don’t defend him.”

“I wasn’t.” Was she?

“You know any violence is unconscionable, right? Name-calling or whatever he did to you, same thing. Not your fault and not okay. The guy doesn’t get a pass for only shoving you one time.”

“Sounds like you’ve had some experience with this.”

“No.” He rubbed circles over her skin with his thumbs. “We were raised by a single mom who lectured us about the way a man should treat a woman. When she died she asked only that we be decent men when we grew up.”

The simple words explained so much. Meredith’s heart ached for him, for the young man who lost his anchor. “How old were you?”

“Seventeen. Breast cancer.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Did you have to shoot this guy?”

She figured he’d shared enough and it was her turn. “Let’s say I fired a warning shot.”

All the tension left Jeremy’s face as a smile crept across his lips. “Into what part of him?”

“Wondered if you’d figure that out.” She basked in the acceptance. Jeremy didn’t judge or shrink away from the details. If anything, the idea of her defending herself relaxed him. “His foot. I figured he wouldn’t run after me that way.”

“I would have aimed a little higher, but still effective.”

“It was tempting.” Part of her still couldn’t believe she’d worked up the courage to pull the trigger. It took her another year to find the nerve to tell her parents the truth about the relationship. They were close, but having them know, the idea of giving them a peek into what her daily life had become, made her stomach roll.

All the “he was such a nice boy” conversations stopped after that. Her father threatened revenge. Her mother baked five apple pies. The balance of the parent–
daughter relationship evened out again, but Meredith waited every holiday for the pitying looks and concerned whispers about how she was doing and what they could do to help.

Jeremy put his hand under her chin with the barest of pressure. “One more favor. Please tell me you’re not still carrying a torch for this dumbass.”

“It was six years ago. The feelings are long gone. He killed most of them when he insisted I fell down the steps and he tried to catch me.” The physical bruises had healed, but welts no one could see, the ones formed from the never-ending list of her failings, still came back and whapped her now and then.

“Did this man kill everything inside you?”

“I don’t know what that means.” But she did. The heat was right there in Jeremy’s eyes, banked but still burning.

Attraction hit her in rare instances, most of them cloaked in safety, like with the guy behind the coffee counter who barely knew her name and the teacher at her school who never showed any sign of interest. But those old dreams of a normal life with a husband she loved and trusted came rushing back now and then.

She went out. She tried. She just hated the games and the silliness, and at the first sign of bullying behavior she bolted. That left her with a long list of first dates but a much shorter record of second ones.

Violence terrified her and she’d spent hours analyzing behavior and worrying if she’d missed obvious signs. Big men and military men were on her no-go list. The mix of strength and weapons sent her head spinning with fear.

Then Garrett walked into her life. Instead of panicking over his combination of mystery and protectiveness, she enjoyed it.

Looking now at Jeremy, she felt something different. One second spent touring those broad shoulders and her blood heated in her veins and her mouth went dry. She wanted to talk and get to know him, even as her brain screamed at her to hide until he sneaked out of town again.

He cupped her cheek and ran a thumb over her suddenly dry lips. “Do you really not understand the question?”

“I’m not into big men.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “Do you know how tempting it is to make a tasteless joke right now?”

The laughter bubbled up from her chest. This time she didn’t try to stop it. She let the amusement flow through her and wipe out some of the horror of the day.

She pressed a hand to her mouth and wrestled with her control. “You’d think I’d know better since I’m usually with a group of little boys all day. They say things that would make their parents cry.”

“Boys can be gross.”

“But cute.” She gave in to the urge to trail her hand across his chest. Firm dips and bulges pressed against her palm. “Especially the grown-up ones.”

“Maybe I should get a tip or two from your students.”

“You’re doing fine.”

“That’s good because unless you tell me no, I’m going to kiss you. Long and deep, hot and a bit naughty.” He shifted his hands to her hips and pulled her close until his body pressed against hers.

“Jeremy, I—”

“I’ll stop before we go too far because it’s been a pretty long and not-so-great day, but believe me when I say I won’t want to pull back.”

“Still dealing with that surge of adrenaline?”

“Don’t give the credit to the danger high. It’s been an hour. The night is dark and you’re sexy, and if you wiggle like that one more time I’m throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you into that room.” He nodded in the general direction of the door. “And I won’t care about my bad timing until tomorrow.”

Even his words made her insides all jumpy, as if her skin no longer fit right and her clothes were too tight. “You’re not scaring me.”

“Really? This—” he waved his hand between them “—scares the crap out of me.”

Then his mouth was on hers. No nibbling or hesitation. His lips fit over hers, caressing and coaxing until his tongue swept inside and his hand plunged into her hair. The heat enveloped her as the firm touch of him from head to knees sent her heart into a thudding beat.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he lifted her a little. All those boring dates and wasted minutes dropped away. This was about want and need, about the intoxicating feel of his firm body next to hers. About this perfect moment at the end of the most imperfect day.

The warmth wrapping around her. The clasp of his hands. The brush of his skin against hers. It all collided in an energy-sucking kiss that made her knees buckle. Everything from his scent to his hold would haunt her dreams.

He lifted his head, but not before treating her to one more kiss. “Did I really say I’d stop tonight?”

“You did.”

“Shows what an idiot I am.”

Her sneakers hit the floor but her heart floated about two feet above her. “In your defense, it sounded like a good idea at the time.”

“Go inside before I forget my training and lose control.”

His kisses made her dizzy. The force of her weakness for him snapped her back to life. “That would be a bad thing, right?”

His exhalation blew by her. “The timing is wrong.”

“Always the gentleman.”

“There’s nothing proper about what I’m thinking about right now.” He backed up, putting a foot between them that may as well have been a mile. “Besides that, I need to go torture my brother.”

“It’s my turn after you.”

“I’ll let him know he might have another slap in his future. And, Meredith?”

“Yeah?”

Jeremy caught her around the waist and pulled her in for a long, drawing kiss. The kind that had good girls thinking nasty thoughts.

Her vision blurred when she raised her head again. “Uh-huh.”

He shot her a knee-buckling wink. “Good night.”

Chapter Ten

Bruce traced his finger over the carvings in the tabletop. The graffiti consisted of a mash-up of profanity and empty declarations of love. Not very inventive, and barely interesting as a form of entertainment since he didn’t have time for either of those pastimes. Didn’t have time for prison, conference rooms or an overpaid lawyer either.

The overpaid professional in question smoothed his hand over his jacket lapel as he practiced his bored blank stare. “Why did you call me back here tonight?”

Bruce focused on a drawing of a tiny man with not so tiny private parts and tried to figure out why the other prisoners would use perfectly sharp weapons for such a stupid task as scratching figures and words in metal. And the pledges of love to women. He’d bet those same women had landed most of the men in there.

The last woman he let in his bed turned out to be a disloyal whore. Thanks to him she wouldn’t ruin another man’s life.

“I need to get a message to someone,” he said.

“You said this was an emergency. It’s after visiting hours. Do you have any idea how many favors I had to call in to make this happen?”

“I don’t care.” He looked up then, catching the dripping disdain on Stephen’s face right before he hid it.

“This is an abusive waste of my valuable time.” The lawyer stood up, swaying as he did thanks to the stomach puffing over his belt. If his puffy stomach grew any bigger, he’d have to lower his waistband to his feet. “I have other clients.”

“Sit.”

Stephen fell back into his chair. “I’m listening.”

Amazing how one word said in the perfect tone got the job done every time. Bruce learned that lesson from his father. The only worthwhile thing the man ever passed on.

“I am your priority, Stephen, and I expect to be treated as such.” Bruce held up a finger when the other man started to open his mouth. “When I call, you come here. That is the rule from now on, Stephen. Do you understand?”

The other man clenched the arms of his chair. “How dare—”

“Cleary, you don’t. I’ll try again.” Looked like it was time for a serious reality check. Bruce had nothing but time, and making threats came to him as easily as breathing. “You will do as I say or your career will end.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I think you know.” Bruce leaned back in his chair, enjoying the way Stephen gulped in air and fidgeted in his seat. “Back to the topic of my message.”

Stephen’s big-lawyer sputtering and red-faced rage died down. “This is moot. All of your mail except specific correspondence with me that could be privileged is reviewed. That’s one of the rules around here.”

“Which is why I’m coming to you with this request.”

“I have no intention of smuggling notes out of here for you. This isn’t fifth grade and I am not about to lose my law license over something so obvious to the guards.”

For a smart man with a bunch of fancy degrees, Stephen sure wasn’t getting the point. Proved that all that money and growing up with servants didn’t buy street smarts.

Bruce decided to be a bit less subtle. He wasn’t accustomed to watching his words anyway. “You will do as I say.”

“You’re not listening.”

“You don’t seem to understand your position here.”

“You’re the one in prison.” Stephen smiled as he dropped that fact.

“You think a few bars on the window stopped my business? All this talk of drug tunnels and marijuana, and you’ve missed the bigger picture.”

“Which is?”

Bruce let the legs of his chair fall to the floor with a thwap. He slapped his hands against the table, satisfied when Stephen jumped in reaction. “I have a network of allies and business associates. I can’t control all of their actions, but I do find their loyalty to me very comforting.”

Stephen’s face fell flat. All the light and color seeped out of him. “Are you threatening me?”

“Merely making a statement. After all, our relationship only works when we can be honest with each other, right?” Bruce figured he had waited long enough. Time to stop this nonsense where Stephen thought he had the upper hand. He’d see who was in charge. “I’m sure your son would agree. Conrad is his name, isn’t it?”

If possible, Stephen turned even paler. “He’s not involved in my business. He’s just a kid.”

“And a smart one. How is he doing at Brown?”

Bruce was enjoying the performance now. Watching Stephen shift in his seat and loosen his tie made Bruce wish he’d pulled this stunt earlier. Every part of him vibrated with the thrill of taking a bloated hypocrite down.

Sure, Stephen would accept his money while insisting he valued the system. He’d bask in the glory of his amazing litigation skills but insist they never share a meal. It was garbage. Bruce knew the truth. They were the same. They shared a common goal—make money, build the business, succeed.

“How did you know about my son?” The question came out as a whispered plea.

“I know everything, Stephen. That’s what you seem to forget.”

“But I—”

“I hear Archibald House is nice. That roommate of his, though.” Bruce shook his head as he made a
tsk-tsk
sound. “Lots of alcohol and a C in chemistry. You need to be careful with that young man. I’d hate to see Conrad get sucked into that lifestyle. He could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and who knows what would happen.”

Rage poured out of Stephen. “What do you want?”

“As I said, I need to get a message to a business associate.”

“Is he in Arizona?”

“He’s on assignment in San Diego at the moment, and I’m depending on you to help us keep in touch. It’s imperative right now that I communicate with him.”