The police came, and they gave their statements. The story became clearer. The impostor had found Dave Cooper, killed him and stolen his ID. He must have gone for a man who looked like him, so Bonnie would glance at the picture and accept it. He’d drawn his gun first. Plenty of people nearby attested to that. But only just. If Bonnie hadn’t had that flash of foresight, he’d have killed her. Probably Elliott, too.
But they were nowhere near discovering who had paid the fake Dave to do that. Somebody had, but the guy had turned out to be a loner, a semi-professional who took jobs on a cash-only basis. He’d killed before. The police were quite pleased, as they cleared up a couple of cold cases.
The only good thing to come out of the attack was that Garrett was talking to his family again. Stilted and uncomfortably, but whatever had driven him away was in the past. At least he was cordial. The rest would come.
“Have you seen this?”
Bonnie glanced up from her Sudoku puzzle to see her husband waving a tablet at her. She took it coolly. No, she hadn’t seen that. She stared at the blog in shock. Georgia had taken her time responding, and this was why.
Guess what, dudes! You remember my faithless ex, the one who dumped me overnight for a new squeeze? Well, he left a little gift with me. One that should be with us, oh, in about seven months!
There was a picture of a fetal scan. Georgia had waited until she could produce the picture.
A series of tweets and other social media comments were listed below.
Numbly, Bonnie scrolled down––and scrolled, and scrolled. The internet was on fire. Just from that one sentence and a suggestive picture.
She didn’t want to meet Garrett’s eyes, but this was a problem she had to face. Bracing herself, she lifted her head.
Garrett was furious. The frown between his brows emphasized the fire in his eyes. His fists were clenched. “It’s not mine.”
“So you said.”
“Unless my sperm jumped from my clothed body and somehow found a way through hers, then it’s not mine. We. Never. Had. Sex. Our marriage was a business arrangement, a fake relationship. I already told you that.”
“Ours is a business arrangement.” And yet they made love every night, at least once. Bonnie was afraid she was getting addicted to it. The hours they spent twined together on the big sofa, on the dining table, with the papers on his desk roughly swept aside, in the shower, and oh yes, in bed, were the high spots of her day. Yes, this was still strictly business. “I thought you said she’d take the compromise? That she would say she stepped aside for true love?”
“Obviously she wants to take another path.” He paced the room restlessly, “How could she do this? It makes no sense.”
Bonnie carried on scrolling and paused to read comments lower down. “Why didn’t you take her to bed? She’s a gorgeous woman. Surely you wanted to try each other out first?” That sounded terrible, but Bonnie was too angry to pick her way through the right words. She wasn’t sure who she was angriest with––Garrett for assuring her Georgia would cause no more trouble, or Georgia for plunging them straight back into the public eye.
“I never wanted her. I looked at her and I saw––nothing. She’s gloss and glamor, and that’s it.” He stopped pacing and came closer, leaning on the arms of the chair where she sat, bringing his face temptingly close. Angry, he was even more stunning than usual.
She glared back. “She seems to have an amazing figure under those clothes.” Since Georgia tended to go for the skin-tight, revealing styles, her curves were often on display.
“It did nothing for me.”
“Because she’s clever?” Undoubtedly Georgia must have had some sense to get where she was. Didn’t she? Bonnie had no idea how these phenomena came to pass. People who were famous for being famous, but they had to have the sense to exploit it.
“She’s not clever,” Garrett said. “Not like you.”
“How would you know?” There, she’d said it. She’d sat around like an idiot this last week. She’d never had a holiday this long before, and now she knew why. She needed to so something meaningful instead of the shopping and dinners in private rooms. Unused to a life of leisure, Bonnie was growing restless. Even more from the sense of isolation. “You don’t need my help, you don’t even ask me to arrange a dinner party.”
“That’s because there are a dozen professionals downstairs to do it for us. You have your job, and you’re doing it admirably.”
He was near enough to see her flinch. “That’s it? A job?”
He frowned. “Yes.” Light dawned, his eyes brightening. Already she understood that in him. Her husband was used to covering his reactions and emotions, but Bonnie had time to learn, and she was learning fast. “Not that. If you had married me and we’d remained celibate, you would still be doing your job, and it’s an immensely valuable one.”
She leaned back, as far as she could in the enveloping chair. His presence was having its usual effect, and sensual desires were swamping her good sense. “But I don’t do anything.”
“On the contrary. You appear with me in public, and you gaze at me like love’s young dream.” In their extremely rare public appearances, of course. “Am I a member of your team, then?”
“A valued member. The only one who does this.” Closing the distance between them, he kissed her, and she was lost.
*****
Bonnie behaved perfectly, allowed the stylists to do their work and appeared immaculate. She hung on Garrett’s arm, smiled adoringly at him, and gave the media a few sassy statements that were never controversial. If he’d interviewed and chosen a candidate she couldn’t have been more perfect.
He took her to dinner once he realized they couldn’t go on with her living in the penthouse and never leaving. They sat at a booth where they could be guarded. Murray stood to one side, keeping anyone from approaching.
Bonnie looked gorgeous. Tonight she’d gone for a shell-pink sheath with pearly sequins around the hem, and a string of iridescent beads around her neck. Button jewelry she calmly informed him. Who knew? Although that reminded him of what he had in his pocket.
He drew out the turquoise box and pushed it across the table to her. “I meant to give this to you under better circumstances, but maybe it’ll help to cheer you up.”
After glancing at him with a look of adorable wonder, she took the box and opened it. She gasped when she saw the contents, and drew out the pendant. “Thank you.” She glanced anxiously up into his face. “It’s not real, is it?”
“It looks real to me. Here.”
He got up and went around the table, taking off the button necklace and replacing it with the emerald. It was perfect for her.
She touched the stone. “Th-thank you.”
Taking his seat, he gave her an easy smile. “Thank me later.”
She rewarded him with a blush.
He found himself thinking about her at odd hours of the day, when he should be concentrating on other matters. In bed, they were still dynamite, and he couldn’t stop wanting her. That worried him. Surely the intensity of their lovemaking should have abated by now. Having her on the premises was bad for his self-discipline, especially when niggling problems concerning the casino kept surfacing, preventing him from taking her somewhere quieter, where they wouldn’t be as fraught.
The news about Georgia’s pregnancy had hit the media at the perfect time for the star vlogger. The media was looking for a new scandal. The press attention had begun to die down, but now, with the announcement, it was back in full force.
Which meant he and Bonnie needed to spend a bit longer together. Relief filled him when the excuse made sense. He wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her so soon. In fact it would be inadvisable to do so.
He studied her carefully, wondering how she’d take the news. “I’m not used to staying so long in one place. I thought I’d have moved on long before now.”
“Why are you staying, then?”
You, was the real answer, but instead he said, “I don’t like leaving a job that’s not done properly. I still want to join the Phoenix Agency in San Antonio. That’s always been my long term plan. I want to take you there, and introduce you to a few people. The ones who are starting the new unit to complement what we do.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed. “For psychics?”
“Exactly. We’re trying to do some research. Your gift is a new one for us. And you might learn something too.”
“Such as how to control it?”
He nodded. “I know it bothers you.”
“You always know me.” She paused, a slight frown appearing between her brows.
He ignored the urge to protect her. It hadn’t worked to ignore it. With any luck it would decline along with his lust for her. Recently the feeling had worsened, but maybe it wouldn’t always be that way. He had to make the situation clear to her. “When I go back to the agency I could be anywhere in the world. We won’t have this.”
“No.” Her face went perfectly still and expressionless. That was how he knew she was distressed. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. But no. He had remained firm about this. They must part and he had to remind her.
“I see.” To his disappointment, she didn’t say anything until she’d finished her main course. Then she looked up. “You want me to come?”
Deliberately, he misread her words. “Again and again,” he murmured and kissed her knuckles. That would make a great picture, and sure enough, several phones were pointed in their direction.
That would send Georgia the right message.
He was back on track.
Bonnie stared into the mirror opposite their table and touched the cool emerald.
That person wasn’t her. The stylist had paid her a visit before they went out, and now she was made up, her hair beautifully styled, not a curl out of place. The reflection looked like a portrait of her, a painting of an idealized Bonnie.
She’d allowed the stylists their way. When she was the center of attention made her too nervous to have the confidence to insist on her own ideas. They knew what the cameras loved, how much make up to apply and exactly how to arrange her clothes and hair. She let them get on with it. She could hide behind the mask they’d created for her.
The dissociation unnerved her, especially with the lovely, square-shaped emerald around her neck. She didn’t feel right, didn’t feel like the Bonnie she knew.
Her disquiet fell into place.
Now she’d established the reason for the uncomfortable feeling that kept her awake at nights. She had security, an attentive husband, and she lived like a princess, so why was she not happy? She broached it. “Do you have anything for me to do?”
He glanced up from his dessert, his eyes alert. “In what way?”
“Sudoku puzzles will only take me so far.” She put down her silverware, her appetite gone. “I’m not used to sitting around all day with nothing to do. I want to work, Garrett.”
He raised a brow, the corner of his mouth quirking. Was he laughing at her? “What do you want to do? You’re my wife. You don’t need to do anything else.”
Vigorously, she shook her head. “But what does that mean? I pick up the phone and I get what I ask for. I call down to a shop for clothes and they fall over themselves waiting on me. But I feel useless.”
Catching her hand, he raised it to his lips. “You’re anything but that.” His warm gaze said it all.
Confused, she glanced away. “Yes, thank you. I understand. But––what else can I do? I did think I might advertise for work. Be a private tutor, work for small businesses and people who need a personal service.” She drew back her hand, holding it in her lap as if it was burned.
He flinched. “I don’t think so.”
“Or I could work for you. I have my degree.” As eager as an applicant for a job, she turned pleading eyes on to him.
“No. I have an efficient PA.” He shook his head. “Relax, baby. Enjoy yourself for a while. After Vegas, we’ll talk again. This project is almost done. Another month or so, and we can move on to San Antonio. We have to keep going for a while, you know that.”
If Georgia hadn’t announced her pregnancy, who knew how long he’d have wanted her? “Yes, I understand.”
He knew what he meant, the pursed lips and frown told her. “You’ve found your place, baby. I want you there.”
“So I’m doing a good job?” Since there might be people listening, she said it with a smile. Baby. That said it all. She didn’t want to be his baby, his pet, she wanted to be his wife, to fill every part of his life, as he filled hers. At least for the time they had left together. She quashed the sense of dread that attacked her when she thought of the end to their marriage. The real end, not the paper one that was set for three years.
“The best.” She pretended not to notice when he reached for her hand and sipped her wine instead. She didn’t want him to touch her. What he’d said was so revealing. It wasn’t his words, it was the way he accepted her phrasing, without a thought.
So that was what she was doing. Doing a job, occupying a temporary slot in his life.
A lump formed in her throat. Blinking away her tears, Bonnie forced a cheerful face, and responded to his conversation without knowing what he was saying.
After the meal, they headed for the lifts, through the public part of the casino. They would not appear to be running away. But Murray followed them and a security guy had gone ahead, to check. They were also being watched upstairs in the security center.
Shouts alerted her to the fact that the recent lull in the press’s attention had ended. Her heart sank. Georgia’s pregnancy had roused them to action again. She sucked in a deep breath and pasted her blissful smile into place.
Garrett glanced at her. “Ready?”
She nodded, unable to unfreeze her face.
A waiter opened the door, and delivered them to the masses.
Murray was speaking into his phone, no doubt alerting the rest of his team to the mob. A Rocque security guard stood by the lift door. Eventually Garrett turned and delivered his prepared speech. Clasping Bonnie’s hand, ensuring her rings were on display, he paused to give the cacophony time to subside.
When the shouts of “Cheater!” and “Crook!” subsided, he said, “I have naturally requested a paternity test from my lawyers. My wife and I wish Georgia all the best, but I have no plans to end my marriage. I don’t know who fathered Georgia’s baby. It wasn’t me.”
Questions peppered them from all directions and Bonnie had to take a minute to separate them out, and let her ears get used to the din. When she did, she felt sick and the taste of the fish she had eaten reappeared in her mouth. The reporters continued to yell.
“So this was all a scheme to cheat Georgia G, was it?”
“What does Bonnie think of you marrying a stranger to avoid your responsibilities?”
“Was Bonnie cheaper than Georgia?”
“Why do you need a fake relationship, Garrett?”
“Is the baby yours?”
“What does she have that Georgia doesn’t?”
“Is Bonnie good in bed, Garrett?”
“How many people can she take at once?”
At the last question, Garrett spun around, his face pale with fury, his fists clenched. Murray appeared from nowhere and grabbed Garrett’s arm. “Get in the elevator.” His voice was uncompromising.
Garrett shook him off. “If I hear any of this in the media I will sue each and every one of you. There is no truth in any of this. I love my wife. It’s that simple.” She’d never seen him so affected by the gutter press.
Fear clogging her throat, Bonnie ran to the safety of the private elevator. Garrett appeared a moment later, his arrival sudden and abrupt, as if Murray had picked him up and thrown him in.
She repeated the mantra to herself. I will not cry, I will not cry!
When Garrett reached for her hand, she let him take it. It lay lifelessly in his until the lift doors closed.
She remained tight-lipped all the way to the apartment at the Rocque.
As Garrett led her into the main room of the penthouse, he noticed how the place had become lived-in. Before Bonnie, everything was in order and someone came in to clean up every day.
Her comic books lay in an untidy pile on a side table next to a bunch of magazines containing her Sudoku puzzles. Her disreputable laptop was on another table, with its lead, a USB hub and a mouse hooked up to it. A heap of costume jewelry lay on a sofa and there wasn’t a pillow plumped up or in its rightful place. In short, it looked like a home.
Garrett didn’t like it. He didn’t want roots, had avoided them for years and he was happy that way. But the sense of coming home called to him. Something deep inside him, something he had suppressed for so long beckoned him seductively. He glanced at the woman by his side and prepared to answer her questions. That was new, too. He hadn’t planned to change his way of dealing with women with Georgia, but Bonnie needed more from him.
He’d flung himself into this marriage with an abandon he hadn’t planned. She’d drawn him in, but he couldn’t blame her. She had brought him a delight he’d never known before. Never. He’d indulged himself in her.
His untypical fury downstairs shook him, his only thought to protect Bonnie from the vicious accusations. He could not feel so strongly about her. Or anyone else. He’d survived for the last ten years by drawing back, by being detached. He had to do that now, for his sake and for hers
“Why did you say all that about a paternity test?”
That was his Bonnie. She never havered when she wanted answers. “Because it’s necessary.”
“Why didn’t you say you haven’t slept with her?” Pulling away, she tossed her jacket on a nearby sofa and turned to face him, folding her arms under her breasts, plumping them enticingly.
He dragged his tie undone. “I didn’t say I hadn’t slept with Georgia because then she could claim I was lying. That would give the press something to get its teeth into. How do you prove something like that? That would give her what she needs to escalate the scandal. They need legal proof and I aim to get it. I’m forcing a paternity test on her.”
“Oh.” Bonnie flushed a pretty pink. Now he knew exactly how far her blush went the desire to see it made him as hard as a rock. She could turn him on faster than a performance car could go from zero to sixty.
That shouldn’t be happening. She shouldn’t incite this powerful desire for her, not after weeks of once a night, sometimes more. They didn’t always wait until night-time.
Worry niggled at the back of his mind. Why hadn’t his desperate need to have her abated? Why did he still feel the visceral, raw need to get her into bed? He wanted to tousle her perfectly arranged hair, chip one of the glossy nails she’d acquired, and make her come alive. Actually, he didn’t like those nails. He recalled the sensation of her digging her real nails into him as they made love. She couldn’t do that with the perfectly smooth artificial ones. She had turned herself into the perfect wife for a man in his position, but Garrett found he disliked it. He wanted the original Bonnie back, the spiky one with imperfect nails and make up.
“Exactly,” he said. “So why did you believe me?”
She surprised him by spinning around and heading for the bedroom. “I didn’t want to believe you had slept with her.” If he hadn’t been following her so closely, he’d have missed what she said. “I know I have no right, none at all where the women you had before our marriage are concerned. In fact, I don’t have any rights now.” She spun to face him, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. What had made her so upset? The thought of him taking Georgia to bed? “We never said anything about prior partners in the contract. We never said anything about fidelity, either.”
“No, we didn’t,” he said. He took a deliberate step toward her, then another. She backed away. “But where would I find the time?” She had her back against a wall. He had her trapped. He moved in, taking all her personal space, the pearly sequins on her dress rasping against the fine fabric of his pants. “You are so demanding, I wouldn’t spend a minute upright if you had your way.”
“Me?” she squeaked. “I’m not the one who––who came home and chased me into the bedroom! I didn’t leave my dinner half eaten, because I said I wanted you for dessert!”
“Hmm,” he said reflectively. “We didn’t have dessert tonight, either. Maybe I’ll take it now. Do you like cream on your strawberries?” The way he said it forced another expression into her eyes. The tears had gone, thank heaven, and need had taken their place. Her gorgeous green eyes were dark, her irises expanded. Her lips were full, her mouth a little open, giving him a glimpse of her white teeth.
With a groan, he slammed his mouth on to hers. She grabbed his hair and tugged, the familiar gesture sending him into the stars. He wanted her, no, he needed her. With his tongue in her mouth, voraciously exploring every part of the hot, wet, seduction he found there, he dragged the dress up to her waist. With his other hand he dealt with his button and zipper, shoving his pants down, and dragging his underwear out of the way. He was as far from the practiced, smooth lover than he had ever been.
She was wearing silk panties, but the fabric was nowhere near as soft and inviting as what waited for him beneath.
A leap sent her up hook her legs around his waist. He shoved her panties aside, and brought his erection to her opening.
Bonnie dragged her mouth away from his, and stared up at him. “Condom,” she said breathlessly.
Garrett froze. He never, ever forgot. Fumbling in his pocket, he found what he needed. He’d never been so clumsy at sheathing himself, but he did it and got inside her before he exploded.
Fear, anger and desire mingled, making a combustible combination, sending him bucking wildly against her. She didn’t complain when she hit the wall with every stroke. In fact, she didn’t seem to notice, but flung her head back, gasping his name as he pounded deep. Cupping her firm, round bottom in his hands, he held her steady for his invasion, giving her no mercy.
She didn’t ask for any. She arched against him, meeting him thrust for thrust, calling words of encouragement as he found his release deep inside her hot, wet body.
Just as he let go, she climaxed too. Her inner passage contracted around him as if she would never let go,
Only the sound of their gasps and the pounding of their hearts were real. Everything else was a fantasy, a story they’d made up to amuse themselves between bouts of lovemaking.
“Now that,” she said eventually, “was a quickie to remember.”
As he recalled his words from their wedding night, a laugh worked its way up his throat and broke free. He wasn’t ready to let her go yet. For all his concerns, this woman still made him hunger for her.
As he was carrying her to the bathroom, a thought struck him. Since when had he put a woman before his work?