“Okay, no more getting off subject, we need to deal with this stalker!”
“We?” Addison asked, with an arched brow.
“We!” said Claudia firmly. “I’m not letting you deal with this alone anymore. Psycho doesn't get to fuck with my new personal cello player.”
Laughter bubbled up in Addison despite herself. “Just don’t expect me to follow you around all day playing to your moods. That thing gets heavy.”
“Okay, how about this? You play for me on special occasions and I introduce you to a friend of a friend. She’s a private detective that might agree to take your case. I heard she’s tough as nails, determined as fuck to find the bad guy and has a soft spot for hard luck cases.”
“But I’m well above the minimum income level as evidenced by this swanky condo I’m living in, and my new friend is dating a billionaire. I don’t see how she’ll believe I’m a hard luck case,” Addison pointed out sceptically.
Addison could practically feel Claudia rolling her eyes as she pushed herself off the plush couch and onto her heeled feet. “You’re blind, woman! How much more hard luck does it get? Plus, we pay her bucketloads of money. She’s a PI, last I heard Private Detectives have to eat too.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Who are the flowers from?” Daniel demanded.
Addison jumped and whirled around. As always she hadn’t heard Daniel enter the apartment, let alone the kitchen. One minute she was alone rinsing vegetables, contemplating her screwed up relationship to an emotionally stunted possible stalker and the next moment he was standing there beside her.
“Well hello, good to see you too,” she said, sarcasm leaking into her voice. “How was work, honey? And how are you doing this evening?”
He reached out and took the vegetables from her hands, turned the water off and then pulled her into the circle of his arms. She shivered as she was reminded once again of his easy strength as the steel smoothness of his muscles brushed against the softness of her plush skin. He held her easily, but she was under no illusion that she would escape from his hold if he wanted her there.
“Don’t be flip,” he said, brushing his hand across her lips in warning before placing his hand around the back of her neck. “Asked you a question. Who are the flowers from, Addison?”
For all of two seconds she thought about not answering, just to annoy him. The perverse side of her wanted to see what he would do, but the side of her that was too scared to push him won. “Claudia Cantore brought them,” she said.
He grunted.
Then, without another word he reached down, took her hand and began pulling her toward the door. Addison made a sound of protest that was, of course, ignored. Daniel rarely listened to a word she said. Which was one of the things she was finding so frustrating about their non-relationship.
“Please, Daniel, I was about to make my supper. I need to eat something!” she protested as he dragged her into the elevator. She felt the elevator ascend and assumed they must be going up to his place.
“We’ll eat at my place,” he growled.
“But I wanted to eat food…”
She trailed off when he grabbed her by the neck and shoved her into the side of the elevator. She gasped, but his lips cut her off in a searing kiss that quickly told her exactly why they were going to his place. Her arguments for wanting to eat supper were quickly scattering under the onslaught of his skilled lips and tongue as they devoured her.
His hips thrust into the cradle of her thighs and he squeezed her breast hard enough to draw a cry from her, which he swallowed in another devouring kiss. When the elevator stopped, he grabbed Addison by the arm and in a swooping movement picked her up and tossed her easily over his shoulder. Addison shrieked in surprise.
A masculine chuckle followed them from the surveillance area, which made Daniel freeze in his tracks. Addison held her breath, feeling the deadly undercurrents.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
He turned and looked at whoever had dared to notice the boss and his woman. He stabbed a finger at the guy. “Fired,” he snarled, “pack your shit.”
He ignored the spluttered protest and turned with Addison to proceed toward his apartment. Addison’s own libido had cooled significantly. She couldn’t believe he would just fire someone so carelessly. He opened the door to his apartment and strode in, dumping her on the bed after he kicked the door shut.
Addison shot up in protest. “How could you do that, Daniel! How could you just fire someone for laughing? I mean, you were carrying me around like some kind of caveman. I’m sure it was amusing to the casual observer.”
She heard his growl of frustration and the tread of his feet across the floor as he paced away from her. “My men know better than to have independent thought while on the job, unless its about the job.”
“What?” Addison said, stunned. “You can’t be serious? That’s absurdly autocratic! They can’t even laugh or joke? And I thought the Maestro could be a jerk, you’re the worst boss ever!”
Suddenly Daniel was on the bed with her, shoving her back into the enveloping bedding and covering her body with his, crushing her into the mattress. She gasped and brought her hands up against his hard chest. Her heart sped up as her fingers brushed against solid muscle.
“I don’t want to hear about your Maestro,” he growled from over top of her. He wrapped his fingers around her throat and held her still while his lips explored her neck and shoulder. Addison shivered as familiar warmth spread through her. “My men have to be professional. Anything else could cost a life, including theirs. Mistakes aren’t an option in our line of work.”
