Seducing the Heiress (17 page)

Chapter 28

“H
er father is a forger?” Farrah asked, frowning at Meeks.

“Yeah, but he didn't start out like that. He was a really good artist—abstracts and stuff like that. He even had a little bit of a following. Then he became ill and had to take a break. Like any art form, you stay off the scene too long, people move on...they forget.”

“So he took up forgery?” Farrah's head slanted slightly to the left. “What did he forge?”

“Government documents, passports, fake IDs...” Meeks said.

“Jasmine told you all this?” Francine asked Meeks.

“No, she didn't tell me any of it. At the time, she and her father were estranged,” Meeks explained.

“I found out about it when her father got arrested. He called looking for help. So, I helped,” Robert said. “I learned a lot more than I ever expected about the man.”

“Do you really think we can get her father to turn on her? Do we even know where he is?” Farrah asked no one in particular.

“We know exactly where he is. He wouldn't turn on the woman who's been taking care of him for all these years. But we can count on him to protect himself,” Meeks offered. “We need to make him think she turned on him...gave him up.”

“You can't go anywhere near him,” Farrah insisted. “None of us can. What we need is a very convincing attorney to approach him with an offer, and I think—”

“Hell no!” Robert barked, garnering both Meeks's and Francine's shocked attention.

Farrah offered Robert a sexy smile. It was ridiculous, but his obvious jealousy brought on a small sliver of pleasure. Farrah placed her right hand over Robert's heart where she could feel his racing heartbeat. She released a satisfied sigh and looked up into his eyes. “I'm talking about bringing Fletcher in on this,” she said quietly.

Robert had either forgotten that they weren't alone or he simply didn't care. His eyes swept Farrah's face before he lowered his head and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. Farrah returned his kiss with equal enthusiasm and was pushing him toward the corner wall when she heard...

“Farrah...”

They moved apart and Farrah stammered, “Oh...oh, I...sorry. I guess we should explain.”

“Not now, we have a job to finish,” Meeks insisted, obviously trying to contain his laughter. “You were saying that we should let Fletcher handle things with Jasmine's father.”

“Fletcher can help broker a deal with the DA to offer him immunity on any forgery charges.” Farrah pushed a few wayward hairs behind her ears. “Then he can approach her father with an offer he won't be able to refuse, especially if he thinks Jasmine is trying to sell him out, which is highly possible when she's facing all these additional charges. Once we have that affidavit along with the others, we'll be able to clear our names and get this bogus lawsuit thrown out.”

“Do you want to call Fletcher and bring him up to speed?” Francine leveled her eyes on Farrah.

Before Farrah could answer, Robert spoke up. “Actually, there are a few things that I need to discuss with Farrah.” His eyes cut to Meeks. “Do you think you can handle it?”

“Sure, we have it from here.” Meeks took Francine's hand and led her out of the room, but looked over his shoulder, saying, “We'll let you know when it's done.”

“What was that all about?” Farrah asked.

“Can we go up to your place? What I have to tell you can't wait another moment, and we need some privacy.”

“It doesn't get any more private than this,” Farrah said, her head glancing over both shoulders.

“I'd like something a little less sterile, if you don't mind.”

“All right.” Farrah raised her hands in surrender. They left the interrogation room, walked to the elevator and rode upstairs in silence. Farrah had a feeling that these next few moments would change things between her and Robert. Forever.

* * *

Robert's heart was pounding a mile a minute and he felt as though the length of the hall from the elevator to Farrah's door had tripled. After he confessed to Farrah the lengths he'd taken to have her, he knew he could very well lose her, and the idea scared him to death. Farrah opened her apartment door and crossed the threshold. She turned to see that Robert hadn't followed her in. Instead, he was standing with his hands in his pockets, staring at her.

She smirked. “Are you going to say whatever it is you have to say from the doorway?”

“You are so beautiful,” he said, his face devoid of expression.

Farrah dropped her smile and held his gaze. “Why don't you come over here and say that again?”

Robert walked inside and closed the door, only he didn't move much farther. He just stood there as Farrah peeled off her shirt and while he knew he should stop her, the minute her breasts came into view, his brain shut down. His heart was racing and his manhood was hard as concrete. Without a word passing between them, Robert followed suit and within seconds, they stood before each other naked in her foyer. Robert reached out to her and Farrah rushed toward him, but before he could enclose her in his arms, she dropped to her knees.

“Oh, baby...” Robert's head leaned back against the door and his eyes slowly closed. “Farrah...wait... Fa...”

Robert's protest was falling on deaf ears and he knew that if he didn't want the moment to end too soon, he had to stop her. He pushed against Farrah's shoulders and extricated himself. He joined her on the floor and kissed every inch of her body before making love to her as if it was their last time.

“Wow...”

“Wow is right,” Robert said.

“I think we should take this to the bedroom, but I don't think I can move.” Farrah laughed.

Robert was up and had Farrah in his arms. “Your wish is my command,” he said, enjoying the feel of her naked body in his arms.

He gave her a quick kiss on her temple as he made his way to the bedroom. As he passed the end table, he noticed that the familiar manila envelope that had recently been there was now gone. Since Farrah hadn't killed him, Robert figured that she hadn't examined the documents yet or they were even better than Fletcher originally thought. Robert bypassed the bed and walked right into her massive shower where they made love again.

Bing... Bing... Bing.

“What's that?” Farrah asked, raising her head off Robert's chest. They'd only just made it back to the bed.

“It's a text.” He reached for his phone. “Fletcher pulled in some favors and was able to get the DA to agree not to bring forgery charges against Jasmine's father. As long as he tells us everything, provides us with any and all supporting documents and testifies against Jasmine, he'll remain a free man. I have no doubt that Fletcher will be able to convince her father to accept the deal.”

Farrah laid her head back against Robert's chest. “That's great. Looks like the authorities want Jasmine almost as bad as we do.”

“I think you're right. Fletcher's flying out to South Carolina tomorrow morning to present the deal.”

“You know, if you wanted to make love to me all afternoon, all you had to do was say so. You didn't have to make up an excuse. Anyway, I think everyone knows we're together by now. No more secrets. Thank goodness. We both know how much they can hurt a relationship.”

Robert stiffened, feeling more as if he'd just been hit in the chest. He slid from under Farrah and got out of the bed. “Where are you going?” Farrah asked, reaching for the sheet to bring it to her breasts.

“I'm going to go get dressed. I didn't make up an excuse. There really is something important I need to discuss with you, but we got...distracted. Every time I try, we get distracted. Can you please get dressed and meet me in the living room? I'll pour us a drink.”

“All right.”

Robert selected two goblets and a bottle of Chardonnay that Farrah had in the fridge. He filled both glasses and brought them into the living room, where he placed them on a serving tray that rested on the ottoman doubling as a coffee table. Farrah walked into the room, wearing a pair of black leggings and a multi-colored V-neck T-shirt without a bra. Robert grew hard.
Down, boy
.

Robert handed Farrah a glass and she took a seat on her sofa, Indian-style. She raised her glass, smiled and said, “To us.” She took a sip of her drink.

“To us,” Robert said before downing his.

Farrah placed her goblet down. “Robert, what's going on? For a man that just got laid—a lot, I might add—you look like you just lost your best friend.”

Robert felt as though every ounce of air had been sucked out of the room, and he was struggling just to keep his lungs working. He pushed out a quick breath and said, “I hope not. Before you came along, Meeks held that position, but now that role belongs only to you.” Farrah gifted Robert with a big smile and he began to pace across the floor.

“What is it? What are you trying to tell me?” she asked in a whisper.

Robert came around to stand in front of Farrah. He knelt before her, took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “I'm in love with you. I love you from the top of my heart to the bottom of my soul.”

Farrah sat mute but held his gaze, and that's when he saw it. A single tear fell, which was soon followed by several more. Robert released her hands and cupped Farrah's face, where he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away her tears.

“Does that mean you love me, too?” he asked, his lips curved upward.

Farrah nodded.

“Can you speak?” he asked, grinning.

Farrah sucked in a quick breath, then whispered, “Yes... I love you, too.”

Robert pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He released her and held her face in his hands again. “There's something else that I have to tell you and I'm begging you...begging you...please let me explain. Because if you forgive me, I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I swear. Can you promise to hear me out before you respond?”

Her forehead creased. “That bad?”

“Please...”

“Okay, I promise,” she said.

Robert took a deep breath and pushed it out slowly. “Farrah, I...we...” He reached for her glass and finished off her drink. “Baby, we're...”

Farrah pressed her forehead to his and gave him a toothy grin. “We're what? Still married?”

Chapter 29

“Y
ou actually thought you could pull a fake divorce over on me?” she asked, containing her laughter as best she could. “I'm an attorney, for goodness' sake. Not to mention you used Judge Cutter to supposedly help expedite the process. The man hits on me every time he sees me at the courthouse. Every...single...time. He most certainly would have had something to say if he had actually handled my divorce.”

Robert released a weary sigh. “This was all on me, so don't blame Fletcher for any of this. In fact, he tried to talk me out of doing it, but I insisted.”

“Why?”

“Because I'd fallen in love with you and I was too afraid to tell you.” Robert's eyes roamed her face. “When you walked out on me...on us, I wasn't sure what to do. All I did know was that I couldn't let you go. Then Lawyer Guy showed up.”

Farrah lowered her hands, laughing. “I told you there was nothing going on between us.”

“I know you did,” he said, leaning forward and planting a quick kiss on her lips. “But I felt like I had to do something. Not to mention the fact that you still thought I was a playboy.”

“That I did,” Farrah confirmed in a hushed tone.

“Are you angry?”

“I was at first, but when I thought about the reason you would have done it, even though I don't like being lied to,” she said, eyes narrowed, a smirk on her face, “I wasn't mad anymore. I just wanted you to tell me. When you didn't, I decided to drop a big hint.”

“Hint?” Robert questioned.

“I brought the bogus documents home and left them out in plain sight the last time you came over for dinner.”

“I saw them. I was planning to say something sooner, but I...” Robert ran both hands through his hair. “I knew how wrong I was. Lying and holding you captive in a marriage you didn't want.”

“A marriage I thought I didn't want.” She reached for his hands and kissed his palm. “Being in love is very scary. Not knowing where you stand with someone can make you crazy. While I can't condone your methods, you made your position very clear.” Farrah released his left hand and cupped his face. “You love and want me and you're willing to do anything to keep me.”

“I absolutely do, baby, more than anything,” Robert affirmed.

Farrah smiled as she fought to keep her emotions in check. “It was a crazy thing to do. It's right up there with the way Meeks loves and treats my sister and how Paul and John fought to marry. Baby, that's my kind of love,” she whispered.

Robert grabbed Farrah and kissed away fresh tears that she didn't even know had started to fall. “So, Farrah Blake-hyphen-Gold?” Robert asked.

“Stay put.” Farrah walked over to the side table in her foyer and opened a drawer. She removed a small box and returned to the sofa where Robert was sitting. Farrah handed him the box. “Here you go.”

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

Robert opened the box and his forehead creased. “A business card holder?”

Farrah chuckled. “Men. Look at the monogram.”

“F.B.G. Farrah Blake Gold...”

“No hyphen, either,” she pointed out.

Robert reached into his pants pocket. “I think this belongs to you.” He took Farrah's hand and slipped a wedding band with a large, emerald-cut diamond onto her ring finger.

Farrah stared down and gasped. “It's magnificent, but this isn't my original ring,” she said.

Robert slanted his head slightly and gifted her with a wide, sexy smile. “It is and it isn't. I took your original band and had it altered. I wanted to keep it as a reminder of the weekend that changed our lives forever, but I wanted you to have something more because
you're
so much more.” Robert kissed her hand.

“I love you...
husband
.” Farrah leaned in and kissed him.

* * * * *