“Kendall.” This time he made sure his voice was even and lacked the anger he’d deliberately shown before.
The way she wiped the tears from those beautiful blue eyes was so fucking cute, and he longed to dab them away himself or, better still, kiss them away.
“I’m only going to ask you this once, and I want the truth. Do you understand me, honey?”
She nodded her acknowledgment.
“Are you being blackmailed?”
She quickly shook her head. “No. Nothing like that.” Her character suddenly changed out of all recognition, her tears miraculously disappearing. Almost contemptuously, she then raised her head and stared defiantly at him, apparently unafraid to hold his gaze. “No. No blackmailers. You were right all along. I was greedy, and I took the money because I thought I could get away with it. And do you know what, Mr. Buchanan, sir, if I had done, I’d have been back for more. I’m a classy girl. I have a lifestyle to maintain.”
“I see. You’ve made your position crystal clear.” He sat back down behind his desk. The anger he initially felt was starting to be replaced by bitter disappointment. He thought they’d connected, but clearly she’d duped him, and he figured that Kendall Van Heusen was an accomplished prick teaser, one who used men to her advantage. Her beauty and charm had obviously blinded him to the soulless money-grabbing bitch she really was.
An exquisitely attractive money-grabbing bitch, and one I still want to fuck senseless.
He knew he should despise her for what she’d done to him. For the trust she’d abused, but in fact, at this precise moment in time, he was more sexually attracted to the woman than ever.
Her confession couldn’t have been more blatant. I was greedy, and I took the money because I thought I could get away with it. She’d only shown contrition when she’d thought there was a possibility of getting away with what she’d done. But as soon as he’d made it clear that he knew everything, that contrition had vanished as quickly as an iceberg in the Sahara.
Truth be known, her callous and totally selfish approach to the whole episode surprised him. He’d always thought himself a good judge of character, especially when it came to women, but on this occasion it looked like he’d fucked up big time.
Mac folded his arms across his chest and stared at her across the desk. “What would you do in my position?”
“Call the police.”
“Me, too.”
“And are you going to?”
“I’m undecided.”
“Why?”
“Your story would make great copy, gifting my competitors extra sales. It’s not good business to let everyone know that Buchanan Enterprises employs criminals.”
She nodded. “Yes, I can see that. So what do you propose?”
“I propose you come right over here, right this minute, and stand before me. In fact, I demand it of you.”
“Okay.”
He briefly saw a smile arc across her beautiful full lips before fading away as quickly as it came. As she drew closer to him, he reached across and yanked her onto his lap. “Let’s cut the crap, Kendall. You want me sexually as much as I want you.”
She didn’t answer, but she didn’t dispute his words either.
“Therefore I have a business proposition.”
“Go on.” The beautiful smile returned, lasting a little longer this time.
“My proposition is this. I own you, mind, body, and soul for the next ten days. You’ll be mine to do with as I please. When each twenty-four hour period elapses, one hundred thousand dollars of the one million dollars you stole from me will be written off. After ten days under my total and complete control, you will owe me nothing. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but that makes me a whore.”
“Is that any worse than a common criminal who steals a million bucks from her employer?”
“Maybe not.”
Despite her confession, he figured there were still things he didn’t understand about why she’d stolen the money, and a nagging doubt remained. Mac guessed she didn’t have it anymore. Perhaps she had used it to buy jewelry, or maybe she had paid off bad debts. Whatever the reasons, he still wanted his fill of this beautiful woman. Besides, he was overdue a vacation, so maybe if he took her to his private island, he’d learn more. Keeping her contained could work to his advantage, too, as his private investigator Frank Carrell followed the money trail.
“And if I refuse your proposal?”
He picked up the telephone and tapped in 9-1-1, his finger hovering over the call button as he stared directly into her beautiful china-blue eyes. “Then you leave me no alternative.”
Chapter Five
How the hell did her day go from being summoned to Mac Buchanan’s office, to suddenly becoming his personal sex slave? Kendall felt as though she should be close to tears, but the absurdity of it all meant she couldn’t help but laugh out loud instead.
“Something amusing you?”
She shook her head. “No. More of a tragic comedy really.”
Well, what alternatives did she have? None of them were great. If she told him the truth, that she was being blackmailed by the meanest and most godless sack of shit ever to walk the earth, her confession would undoubtedly lead to a police inquiry. Mac was the type of go-get guy who’d stop at nothing to track down Karl Graves and take back what was rightfully his. Of course, should Karl realize Mac and the cops were after him, he’d probably kill her best friend without a second thought. No. She’d be wise to keep that scenario to herself for now. On balance, playing the common thief was probably the best compromise. This way, she hoped and prayed to buy enough time to save Ashley.
Karl Graves had ruthlessly instructed her that he needed seven days to get himself a new passport along with a new identity, and he needed money to do it—Mac Buchanan’s money. When she’d asked him what he was going to do with Ashley once he’d received the ransom, he’d simply said, “Guess, bitch. But I’ll tell you this for free. Call the cops before the seven days are up, and the lady dies.” After setting up a myriad of false accounts to cover her tracks, she’d had to take the chance that once the million dollars reached him, the psycho wouldn’t kill her lifelong friend. Kendall shivered at the unpalatable thought. Unless she was forced to, she wouldn’t allow her mind to dwell on that unpleasant scenario further.
With her sitting on his lap, and his hard-on thrusting impatiently against her ass, Mac angled her face to his. Jesus, fucking Christ, those searching silver gray eyes held an intent that both frightened and sexually excited her. The finger that hovered over the call button now started to twitch.
“Well, honey, your time’s up. The choice is yours? Jail or…”
If she saw things his way, she’d be selling her body, something she certainly didn’t do lightly, but prison, oh no, she just couldn’t stand the thought of that. Spending the next five years sharing her shower time with other women didn’t figure highly on her things to do before you die list. Kendall wasn’t a physically dominating woman, and she dreaded the idea of ending up as the sexual plaything of some hardened tattooed and pierced lifer who had nothing to lose. She shuddered at the thought. Prison would be unbearable.
The unsavory imagery playing in Kendall’s head helped to make up her mind, and she took the telephone from him and placed it back in its cradle. “Okay, you win.”
The bastard looked smug as hell, as though he’d never been in any doubt over the outcome. “Of course I win. I always do.” He glanced at his watch, an expensive gold Brietlinger. “4:11 in the afternoon. Your ten days as my personal property start”—he raised his index finger high above his head as he stared at his watch, theatrically waiting for the second hand to reach twelve—“now.” He brought his finger down with a flourish.
Kendall shook her head. “Surely you don’t mean—”
“You’re on my time now, honey.”
Fully aware that he wanted to fuck her right here in his sumptuous office, she hesitantly countered with, “But…but…what if someone comes in?”
Mac smiled and then tapped the end of her nose with his index finger. “Clever girl, but I’m way ahead of you. He pressed the intercom button on his desk. “Marcy?”
“Yes, Mr. Buchanan, sir. How can I help you?” Truth be known, she didn’t much like the sound of Marcy’s voice, finding it shrill and insincere.
“No interruptions whatsoever for the next hour, and make my Learjet available at a moment’s notice.”
“I can certainly see to the jet for you, Mr. Buchanan, but you’re aware that you have an appointment with Mr. Jacklyn from the bank at four thirty.”
Kendall watched him shake his head in irritation. “Exactly what part of no interruptions for the next hour don’t you understand, Marcy? Dale Jacklyn will just have to wait.”