He grabbed Allyson’s hand and started heading across the lecture room. “I’ve heard enough.”

“Wait.” She raced ahead of him to place her hands on his chest. “I know this is hard, but we shouldn’t leave.”

“I’m not going to stay here and take this,” he growled.

Behind him, their lawyer was speaking to Detective Rossi in desperate tones.

“Mr. Prescott, I’ll be needing those files,” Rossi finally said.

Dane turned around to scowl at the detective. “Why should I keep helping you?”

“Because I did you a favor by giving you a heads up about the wiretapping, despite the fact that you’re now one of my top suspects,” Rossi replied. “I’ve scratched your back, now you scratch mine.”

He took Allyson’s hand again and stalked out of the lecture room with her. There was an exasperated expression on her face, but she said nothing. Probably because she knew that he was on the verge of losing his temper. Not with her, but with Rossi. After making the difficult and dangerous decision to go to the police, this was how they were being repaid. With threats and innuendos.

His blood was still boiling when he and Allyson stepped out of the police station, Dane’s father and the family lawyer right on their heels. The black SUV his father often used pulled up to them, the tinted windows coming down.

One of the back doors opened and his father’s new assistant, Francesca Barnes, stepped out. He frowned. There was no love lost between Allyson and Fran. Not after she had make disparaging comments about his wife to Katherine Handel, of all people. His father’s assistant had interned at Prescott several months earlier and then gotten promoted to assistant when his father returned to work. Allyson had been gracious enough to put aside her misgivings about Fran, but right now he was fuming.

“We need the box,” Dane said bluntly to Fran.

Fran nodded and quickly grabbed the cardboard box full of files from the backseat. “I can bring it in for you if you’d like, sir.”

He nodded. “That’ll be fine, thank you. You can go inside with the lawyer.”

With Fran and their lawyer disappearing back into the station, Dane helped Allyson into the car and got into the back seat beside her. His father sat up front.

“That could have gone better,” his father muttered.

“What’s done is done,” Allyson said softly.

Suddenly, a shifty-looking man in a grey trench coat appeared, sticking his hand in through the window by Allyson. “Mrs. Prescott! I’m a photojournalist with the New York City Inquirer and I was wondering if you’d like to comment—”

“You’ve been following us?” Dane’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” the photojournalist responded. Then, he actually grabbed Allyson’s arm. “What do you say? How about a quote?”

Before Allyson could pull her arm away Dane lunged across the backseat, shoved the door open, and grabbed the photojournalist by the collar. He swore loudly. “Touch my wife again and I’ll destroy you.”

The photojournalist struggled in his grasp. “And I’ll sue.” He swallowed. “Fine. You’ve made your point. Let me go.”

“Dane, don’t hurt him,” Allyson pleaded. “Don’t cause a scene. Not here. Not now.”

“You’re lucky my wife is such a sweet and gentle person,” Dane snarled before shoving the photojournalist away. He didn’t bother to watch to see what the creep did. He got back into the car, fury rippling through him. By the time his father’s assistant and their lawyer returned, Dane was so angry he could barely think straight. Nobody said anything. The tension in the car was palpable.

The SUV pulled down the street.

“That wasn’t wise,” his father said, finally breaking the silence. “The media’s just going to start digging in earnest now. We probably only have days before the story breaks. I have no choice but to call Detective Rossi and warn him about the press.”

“Sometimes, I really can’t stand this town,” Dane muttered.

Without a word, Allyson reached over and placed her hand on top of his. Her touch was soothing. Calming. Made the anger that had been roiling through him start to recede.  

“What do we do?” she asked. “About the media? If the story breaks soon, it could be really bad for Prescott.”

“We can make some preliminary statements to the press,” Dane said. “Try to control things before rumors spread.”

“That’s fine, but you two should probably lay low for the next few days,” his father said. “Better to keep your heads down in case some unsavory speculation about your involvement with this comes out.”

“Lay low?” Dane asked.

“Don’t stay in your apartment,” his father instructed. “That’s the first place the press will go.”

“Where on earth can we go?” Allyson asked, her voice trembling.

Dane gritted his teeth. “I have an idea where we can stay.”

 

~~*~~

 

She stared into the fire. Stuck her hands out to let the flames warm her. “It works!”

Dane grinned. “See?” His voice echoed across the mostly empty living room.

After the awful time at the police station, they had spent the day at work. They had only just settled in for the night in the new house. There wasn’t much by way of furniture yet but her new assistant, Cameron, had helped her bring some essential items here so they could do their best and lay low in case news of the embezzlement broke. Cameron was a Godsend. He’d gotten them supplies, toiletries, a food stash, and extra clothes, not to mention the sleeping bags.

“I’ve never lived in a house with a fireplace before,” she said.

He stopped stoking the fire to sit down beside her on the sleeping bag. “Now you have one of your own.”

But for how long? Talking to that detective earlier today had unnerved her. She knew that she might end up a suspect. Especially after Dane had warned her about how suspicious she would look. It made sense, and the police wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t take a good hard look at everyone on staff. Still, she hated that Detective Rossi had not only suspected her, but Dane as well.

If something went wrong, and the police blamed them for the embezzlement, they could end up in a world of trouble.

“I’m sorry about what happened at the police station,” she said softly.

He gave her an incredulous look. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“It was my idea to tell the police, and Detective Rossi suspected you,” she said. “I wanted to help you so badly, but I just got you into a bigger mess.”

“It’s done now.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close. “I don’t like you getting mixed up in all this, but going to the police was probably our best option. At least we look like we’re trying to be transparent and the cops can’t accuse us of a cover-up.”

A sigh escaped her lips. “I just worry that we might get in trouble. Like, no matter what happens, they’ll end up blaming us. Say we’re liable, because we were negligent and didn’t see the embezzlement sooner.”

“We’ve done our best to prevent any kind of scandal,” Dane said. “That’s why going to the police was the right call. Plus, we have a good team of lawyers.”

The photojournalist who had harassed them outside the police station would probably chase down the story. After Dane had gotten in the guy’s face, he was probably out for revenge. Breaking the story about an embezzlement case would be a juicy enough scandal to satisfy that. Especially if the media found a way to spin things and blame her or Dane for the crime.

“What happens when the story breaks?” she asked.

“Dad warned the detective that the press might find out, so right now everything is up to the police,” he replied. “They’ll be tapping the company phones within the next few days. All we can do now is wait to see what they discover.”

“Are you still going to sign your contract renewal?” She leaned against him, loving how safe his solid presence made her feel.

“Yes,” he said. “Right now, it’s my job to protect the staff. We can’t risk telling anyone else at Prescott about the embezzlement yet, because then the thief might hide or get rid of the evidence. So, the staff has no idea that things with the company are going to be rocky. It wouldn’t be fair for me to abandon them right before the police start an investigation like this.”

“I wish there was a way to avoid the worst of it,” she said.

“The best thing we can do is let the police handle things,” he said.

“Even though they suspect us?” she asked.

He frowned. “I don’t like how that cop talked to you today. But after they tap the phones, they’ll have to figure out the truth.”

“Just don’t antagonize the police,” she begged. “I don’t want them going after you—”

“I’m not going to put up with anyone disrespecting you,” he cut in sharply. “As long as the cops do their job, they have nothing to worry about.”

What worried her was what her husband might do if the police didn’t do their job. She had wanted to involve the police so that everything was transparent and above board. Only, that had backfired because the police now suspected them of embezzling. Allyson had wanted to do the right thing, and now it felt like they were both being punished for it.

“I’m just worried,” she confessed. “These last few months with you have been so wonderful, but now we have to deal with this mess.”

He pulled back to cup her face in his hands. “As long as we have each other, everything is worth it.”

She smiled. Dane traced his thumb across her lips and she trembled in response. No matter how afraid she got, knowing that she had her husband’s strength inspired a courage inside her that she’d never had before she met him. Allyson was already melting under his touch, and her eyes fluttered closed. When she felt his lips press against hers, a low moan sounded in her throat.

Allyson wanted him now. Desperately. Completely. The wall he had built up between them had been slowly crumbling since he confessed to not loving his job any more. There was a twinge in her heart at the thought of him being unhappy. But his delicious kiss chased those thoughts away.

As she opened her eyes she wrapped her arms around him, fusing her body to his. The place between her thighs throbbed with indescribable need. Already she was wet, her arousal taking over every inch of her body.     

He dragged his mouth away to start kissing her neck. Each kiss warmed her and made her shiver at the same time. Slowly she started to lie back on the sleeping bag, pulling him down on top of her.

Dane stopped his kissing to stare deep into her eyes. “You’re not going to be too cold, are you?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Not with you here to warm me up.”

With a wolfish grin, her husband pulled at her sweater and helped her get it off. Then, he peeled away her jeans. She was down to nothing but her underwear. Somehow, right before her eyes, his clothes melted away until he was naked before her. His blond hair fell over his hungry eyes, every inch of his perfectly sculpted body making her mouth water.

When he lay on his side beside her she glanced down at his erection, a blush rising in her cheeks. No matter how many times they did this, Dane still had the ability to make her blush like a schoolgirl.

Quickly, she sat up to reach behind her to unhook her bra and then peel off her panties. When she lay back down, her head lay on his outstretched arm. She reached for his other arm and slowly started to guide his hand down to her throbbing sex. Wantonly, she spread her legs.

Dane’s eyebrow quirked up and he flashed a lazy smile. “Is that what you want?”

A giggle escaped her throat and she nodded. “Yes.”

He eased a finger into her slick, wet heat. Intense pleasure made her arch her back involuntarily. One touch already had her losing control. As he swirled his finger into her, she clenched around him. Her lips parted, but the sound of her ragged moan was lost as he teased her mouth open with his tongue.

The ecstasy he was giving her with his hand had her body quivering. The way his tongue swirled in her mouth as he eased another finger into her already had her on the edge. But it wasn’t enough. She ached to have more of him. To be under him.

 She pulled her lips away to gasp, “Dane. I want you.” She whimpered, “Now. Please.”

Dane slipped his hand away from her and positioned himself between her legs. Wrapping her thighs around his waist, she guided him into her. She was crushed beneath his hard, solid body, and the delicious weight of her husband on top of her was already driving her wild.

He groaned as he thrust into her slowly, each powerful stroke filling her with more pleasure than the last. Desperately, she wrapped her arms around him, holding on to him tightly as he started to rock into her harder. Faster. Bliss consumed her. Unraveled her until she was trembling. Moaning his name. Having him like this on top of her showed her just how much he was willing to give. He always gave his all to her. Didn’t hold back as his body gave her pleasure.

The sensation of his hot skin on hers pushed her over the edge, her climax coming hard and fast. When he stared deep into her eyes he forced out a ragged breath, climaxing right after her.

Spent, he slipped off her and pulled her onto his chest. He was breathing so hard that when she placed her cheek on his torso, she felt his chest heave with each intake of breath. Her own heart was racing so fast she felt like it might explode.

Finally, his labored breathing slowed, and he gently kissed her forehead. That made her smile.

“I guess we christened the house,” Dane said.

She laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls. “I guess we did.”

They had just made love for the first time in their new home, and knowing that touched her still-racing heart. This house already meant so much to her, but now she knew their love was what was going to make it a real home. A home and a refuge from the craziness of living an upper-class life. Someday they would add even more love to the house, and settle down to have their children. In her husband’s arms she felt so content that she hardly knew what to do with herself.

“I love you,” she breathed.

“And I love you,” he said.

 “Are you ready for the awards ceremony?” she asked, reminding him of the prize he was going to be given over the weekend.

“Honestly, with all this stuff going on at work this week, I forgot,” he said.

She snuggled up to him. “I haven’t forgotten. I’m so proud of you, Dane.” Despite his heart not being completely into Prescott Global, over the past six months he had done so much for the company. Saved countless jobs. Kept Prescott from going into debt. Made sure the investors were happy. The fact that he hadn’t been thrilled about it reminded her of what a caring, selfless man her husband was. Now he was going to renew his contract, just so he could make sure the company’s employees were well taken care of.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You deserve it,” she said.

He grinned. “I think you’re more excited about this than I am.”

“It’s because I have a speech ready,” she said.

He groaned. “I forgot about the speech. What are you going to say about me?”

“I’m going to gush over you, of course,” she said with a smile.

“You’re obviously biased.” He chuckled.

“Of course, I am,” she said. “I have a thing for strong, capable men. Naturally, I’d take a liking to you.”

“I knew you had a crush on the boss,” he teased.

“Can you blame me?” She rained kisses down on his face, enjoying the feel of his stubbled jaw against her skin.

His laughter was cut short by his cell phone ringing. Dane groaned again. Reluctantly he reached for his pants to yank his phone out of the pocket.

He sat up to answer it. “Dane Prescott.” His blue eyes narrowed. “Oh. It’s you. What do you want?”

Sitting up straighter she hugged her knees, wondering who could be making her husband this agitated already. Her heart froze at the thought that it might be bad news from work. Or worse, the police.

“No, I’m not giving you anything,” he muttered. “And neither is my wife.”