One of her perfectly plucked eyebrows rose. “Is that a fact? The news has been covering an interesting story out of Tennessee.” She gestured toward the plasma television mounted above the large wooden mantel of the fireplace, beyond the white leather sofas that were harder than cement blocks.
He turned to watch the news, the sound muted, to see the country club he’d left hours earlier, where crime scene tape was stretched in overkill mode. Somebody had been bored. “So?”
“So?” She tossed the towel behind her, those intriguing blue eyes sparking. “Watch longer.”
“Watch your tone.” He turned, bored, and then saw his military ID plastered on the screen.
She stepped closer to him, her white linen pantsuit unwrinkled and molding to her tight body. Even hanging out in one of her many corporate and impossible-to-find mansions, she wore high heels and matching jewelry. “What were you thinking?”
He moved out of instinct, wrapping his hand around her neck and shoving her against the wall.
She gasped, her eyes widened, and color infused her patrician cheekbones. Excitement had her tongue out and wetting her perfectly Botoxed lips. She reached up and clawed sharp nails into his forearm, drawing blood. “Let go.”
He leaned in, every instinct inside him urging him to start squeezing until her eyes bugged out.
Her nipples hardened against the thin material, easily visible since she didn’t wear a bra. “You want to play? We’ll play, Rock. But don’t think for one second that you’re going to take your failure today out on me. We both know I have protection in place.”
Yeah, the bitch had evidence on his holdings that’d be released at her death, enough that he’d never get free. Oh, he might elude the government for a time, but if that evidence got out, his time would be limited. “Maybe I don’t care about your protection.” He tightened his hold and leaned in to bite her bottom lip, drawing blood in turn.
Her sharp intake of breath coincided with lust flashing into her eyes.
Man, she was one screwed-up woman. Serious issues. His dick hardened, and he licked the blood off her mouth.
Her moan set him on fire.
“Any calls?” he asked, grabbing her top to rip it apart, revealing perfectly created breasts. Her surgeon had been a damn genius.
“Forget calls.” She purred and scraped her nails down his T-shirt, tucking them into his waist.
“Business first.” He grabbed her wrists and ground them together.
She winced. “Two calls. One from Mexico, where they’re cutting the product right now. A second from our supplier on the northern route, who will only talk to you.” She pouted, her lip already swelling. “I’m an equal partner here.”
She wasn’t close to an equal partner. Despite her connections, she hadn’t found all of his stash. Though he did need her pipeline, and she knew it. “You’re too public, and they won’t risk talking to you.”
“Whatever.” She glanced over at her many humanitarian awards stacked in a tall curio cabinet. “What happened in Tennessee?”
Clarence Wolfe had happened. Anger rushed through Rock faster than the lust had, and he held her tighter, fury beating into him.
She cried out and tried to pull free, failing completely. “I was just asking.”
“Don’t ask.” Oh, he’d kill Wolfe, but first he’d make the bastard hurt. The game was going to take time, and he was going to cut off pieces of everything and everyone Wolfe cared about. The idiot had always gone with the heart.
Theresa moved into him, even though he still had her wrists. “We’re together, Rock. You went to blow something up, and you were excited. I’m sorry it didn’t happen.”
“It’s too late to appease me.” He yanked her even closer.
Her breath caught and her nipples hardened even more. “You’re mad.” Her voice had dropped to a husky hush that did nothing but add to his fury.
“I am.” One of these times, he was going to kill her. He could control himself today, but he had to figure out a way to get that evidence she’d collected. Torture wouldn’t do it, because she was too damn smart. She had given it to a friend, one he couldn’t track down, with instructions that only on her death would it be released. Rock just had to find the friend. Theresa was almost as big a threat to Rock as Wolfe was. Not quite, and she had other attributes he quite enjoyed. He released her wrists.
She pulled back, rubbing them. “Wha—”
Then he grabbed her hair, yanking her toward the bedroom.
Her pained laugh filled the day as she grabbed onto his belt loops. “Rock? Do you care for me at all?”
The question caught him off guard, and he paused in the doorway, pressing her against the wall. If he cared for her, wouldn’t he get her help? Or would he continue bringing out her darker side? “I care for you.” Probably. He’d never met anybody like her.
