Bound For Me(18)
A flame licked over Connor’s abdomen, charring his gut. So she had been planning to go public. “You knew she was going to talk?”
“Maybe. What else could she do?” Hunter looked thoughtful. “I can get a full dossier on her together for you in a matter of hours. In fact—”
“No,” Connor held up his hand. “I don’t want to see it.”
Hunter looked at him like he’d gone loco. “Don’t you want to know what you’re really up against?”
Connor already knew. One determined, intelligent, wary woman.
“I want her to tell me.” Connor muttered. “Herself.” Certainty settled into his bones. “I want her to take me on face to face.”
And he meant that in every way.
A funny look crossed Hunter’s face. Was that guilt? Regret? What the hell was that chink in Hunter’s normally impenetrable facade?
“You okay?” Connor frowned, distracted by that rare display of something more than unmoved.
“Yeah. No. I’ll be fine.”
What did that mean? Since when was Hunter indecisive?
“Oh yeah!”
A call from near the bar snapped his attention back to Savannah. Someone had ordered half a dozen flaming who-knew-whats and she’d just lit the bar up like a Christmas tree. Smack in the center of screaming chaos, she was the ultimate in cool.
“Well, let me know if you need anything.” Connor tilted his head from side to side, stretching out the tension in his neck muscles. He’d let his cock wipe out his cognitive function for a while there, but he was back to full brainpower now. So she’d come here with the intention of setting the media hounds on them? Dragging the Summerhill name down?
Anger surged. Not on his watch she wasn’t.
He’d set her straight on a few things. Disarm her legitimately.
Then he’d screw her so fucking hard neither of them would be able to walk for days. And rid himself of the desire for her.
Hunter slowly lifted the bottle towards his mouth, eyes trained on the woman working behind the bar. “Seems to me you have your hands full enough.”
Not yet he didn’t.
Chapter Eight
The icy anger was back in Connor’s eyes. Savannah straightened instinctively, sending a quick glance at the tall man he’d been talking to. He was staring at her almost as hard as Connor was, except his expression wasn’t as obvious. She looked back at Connor.
Yeah, that was anger all the way. All the incendiary desire of moments before?
Obliterated.
“Problem?” She tackled him as soon as he got within earshot.
The best defense is offense. Always.
“Yeah.”
“What is it?”
“You.”
She ran her tongue along the inside of her lip. Her system flooded with adrenalin as her body switched to fight-or-flight mode but she wasn’t letting him know how close she was to calling it.
She never let it show. High school bullies had taught her well.
“Nice,” she said. “I’m not paying you to stay.”
For a fraction of a second he stilled. Then walked right to her. “Speaking of staying, how long you planning to be in Summerhill?”
“Why?” she braced with her feet wide. Not gonna run.
He glanced behind her. “Take a break and talk to me.”
Talk? Was that all he wanted now?
“I’m still on shift,” she muttered. She didn’t want to face him alone when he had this level of aggression going on. Not that she didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust herself.
The sexual energy underpinning his words? His stance?
Heavens, it was like ambrosia to her suddenly sex-mad senses.
“Come on. A two minute break. Dante can cope.” Connor jerked his head towards the younger brother currently looking slightly overawed by the number of gorgeous women wanting to order complicated cocktails.
Poor kid was like a lamb to the slaughter.
“Two minutes?” Savannah mocked. “That’s all you’re gonna take?”
“We’re only gonna talk, Sugar. Why, was there something else you wanted?”
Asshole. “As I recall, you were the one planting kisses and playing with ice cubes.”
But the real problem was the ferocity of her own response. She couldn’t lose control like that again—not in public, or private.
His eyes glinted. “You scared, Sugar?”
Too freaking astute. It was such a juvenile attempt to bait her, but she let it work. Mainly because she sensed he wasn’t backing away from her any time soon. Not ’til he’d had his say and she’d rather that happened away from all the ogling eyes.
She stomped to the far corner, away from the crowd and turned to face him. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I’d like to poach you to work at the restaurant at the Lodge. We could use someone with your skills.”
She gaped. He was offering her a job? He kissed her like that and then wanted to be her boss? He really thought he was king, didn’t he?
“Too bad. I’m not planning on staying long.” She needed to scrape together enough money to get out of here. Only now did she realize what a mistake she’d made in coming here. There was no beating Connor Hughes on his own turf.
“Enough to get a feel for the place and then move on to the next?” He put a hand on the wall just above her head and leaned in, blocking the rest of the room.
She shrugged and tried to step to the side.
“You know,” he leaned right against her, stopping her from leaving with devastating effect. “My father’s had some correspondence with a guy called Tony Nash…”
“Nash is a fairly common surname.” She stiffened.
“Hmm,” he nodded. “What’s your father’s name?”
“Tony. But I get the feeling you already know that.”
He nodded again.
“And you’ve known this since when?”
He didn’t answer.
“Since before we fucked the other night?” She used the crude word to emphasise her anger.
His hot gaze zeroed in on her. But he didn’t deny it. The bastard.
“You did,” she breathed. “Is that why you did me?”
“In what way would knowing Tony Nash is your father impact on my decision to have sex with you?”
She said nothing. Didn’t move. Didn’t react at all. She was too damn shocked. But he wasn’t knowing it. She wasn’t losing it. Not here. Not now.
“He sent my father some pretty interesting letters.” Connor added. “Did you come here to carry out his threats?”
Oh god, he knew.
“Did you fuck me so you could use it against me?” she asked, rallying. “Because too bad, Connor, I’m still coming after you.”
“No, I think you’ll come first actually,” he grinned evilly. “Like you did last time.”
“Fuck you.”
“You already have.” He peered down at her in mock concern. “That wasn’t your best shot, it must be the drug still circulating in your system,” he soothed.
She seethed.
“Do you think I prostituted myself for the sake of my company? Because of some baseless threat you might make?” He leaned in, his voice a whisper. “Nice to know what you think of me, or is it just that that’s the sort of thing you’d do?” He lifted her chin with his hand. “Is that it? You screwed me in the hope you could use it to get something more out of me?”
“Who’s the bitch now?” She hadn’t even known who he was.
He laughed. “You really don’t trust me, do you? But you’re so prickly, I don’t think you trust anyone. Poor Sugar,” he whispered. “Some one really hurt you, didn’t he?”
“What makes you so certain it was a ‘he’?”
“Wow,” he murmured. “You definitely were hurt.” He rubbed her lip with his thumb. “What is it you think you can do?”
She jerked her chin from his grip with a wild toss of her head. “I’ll tell you when I meet with both you and Rex.”
“You’re not going to get that opportunity. He and my mother are on a cruise. Sorry Sugarlips, but I’m in charge. You’re going to have to settle your little score with me.”
Her little score? The guy really had no clue.
“You planning to expose us?” he asked.
Yes.
Because now she realized that’s what he feared. Well maybe she would let the world know what a phony set-up the Summerhill scene was. And everyone should know how people like him screwed people like her.
He nodded. “I thought so. Not going to happen Sugar.”
Because he’d slept with her?
“You don’t think,” she snapped.
“I know.”
And now so did she. She got what he’d done—he had prostituted himself.
“I protect what’s mine, Savannah. I won’t let you drag Summerhill down.” He peeled away from her, his smile back in place as he turned to go face his fawning customers.
Savannah stepped forward too, her brain scrambled.
Connor knew who she was. Knew her father blamed Rex for his financial ruin. What else did he know—that her father had then sold the hotel and gambled every last cent away?
Did he know the reason for her father’s desperate attempts to succeed? Why it was that he’d risk everything? Savannah didn’t dare pick up any bottle now, the urge to vent her frustration was too powerful. She’d throw it at his head.