Dancing with Deception (15 page)

Too late now, he thought, smiling at the frizzy-haired blond who’d draped herself on his arm. Pretty little thing, he mused, with a curves in the right places. And she was a dancer in his daughter’s show.
He’d stopped by the dance studio earlier to see Rebecca, but his daughter hadn’t been there. Only
Blondie
, he thought as he pretended to listen to her ramble. Her eyes had widened comically when he’d told her who he was.
Then, they’d been calculating. Now
here
was potential.

She was going to try to hose him, he knew. Maybe for a few free drinks—at the most, some sex. Being a woman, she’d figure sleeping with her rival’s father would be the ultimate insult. It was obvious she and Rebecca didn’t get along.

He would oblige Blondie, for sure. Rebecca wasn’t like most women. She’d understand a man’s needs. Hell, she’d grown up with Lilah as a mother, hadn’t she?

“So, Molly.” He liked her name, liked how she tilted her head when he spoke to her. Like a puppy. “What do you say we get out of here? My place is a construction zone right now—with the big remodel going on—but I’m thinking a nice hotel with a Jacuzzi.”

Indeed, his room did have a Jacuzzi tub. And he’d cleaned it up and had hidden all his things to make it look like a fresh room.

“That sounds just perfect.”

His toes curled as she wrapped her tongue around the word
perfect
. Anticipation pushed him out of his chair. Both for the next con and the night to come. He slid his hand against her bare back, where her tiny dress dipped dangerously low, and led her out of the God-forsaken bar.

“How do you feel about the Wordon?” he asked, naming his hotel.

“I love it.”

Molly’s hair bounced with their every step. Before long, he had her situated in the front seat of his car and he was sliding in beneath the steering wheel. Her flowery perfume played with his senses as he navigated through downtown.

As he passed an old warehouse, his thoughts took a turn from the piece of meat in his passenger seat. His mark was getting hostile. The slightly heated emails had recently turned to detailed threats. He knew where the painting was—did he still think Austin would provide a legitimate fake painting? He almost chuckled aloud.

Yes, they knew where the painting was. The fact that it wasn’t work a nickel didn’t matter. His mark would go after Rebecca, just as he’d threatened, and use her to get to him. He was an important man on the streets now, and there was no telling how unlimited his resources were.

Austin would have to think of something. He’d feel terrible if something happened to Rebecca.

So in a way, Molly had more use than romping in the sheets. He would use her to get a hold of his daughter since Rebecca hadn’t found the prepaid phone he’d stuck in the painting. Maybe he should have told her about it when he’d delivered it to her.

With an inner shrug, Austin parked in front of the hotel and delivered his keys to the valet. His hand settled again on the small of Molly’s back as he led her to stand by a display of fake palm trees in the lobby. He pulled out his wallet and winced.

“Damn. I never leave my house without my credit card. I must have left it at the bar.”

Molly’s bottom lip poked out. “Shall we go back and get it?”

“Sure. It’s only across town.” He took three steps before he pretended to realize Molly wasn’t following. “Something wrong, sweetheart?”

“I guess I could pay. I’d hate to waste all our time.”

“Well, you could. I could always reimburse you when I get my card back.” He took the crisp bills she handed to him.

“I only have three hundred, cash.”

“I’ve got a little with me. No worries.” He kissed her cheek and gave her a smile. “Be right back, doll face.”

He sauntered over to the check-in counter and ordered room service. He signed a receipt, then tucked it—along with the three hundred dollars—in his breast pocket, and pulled out his room key. No sense in paying for a night when he could get it free.

Molly stood right where he’d left her. He held they key up, then took her arm. His blood pumped with success and need as he led her up to his suite. As soon as her back hit the bed, all thoughts of his mark and Rebecca had fled completely.

Chapter Eight

Her house had never seemed so empty and lifeless before. Rebecca attributed it to the fact the Mary and Lilah hadn’t been in it for almost a week. In her heart, she knew it was the dramatic contrast of the Avery’s home and this house that was making her gloomy. Rebecca carefully folded a t-shirt and put it in the backpack she was packing.

She wasn’t going to bring much. She felt bad already, packing her own clothes to bring to the Avery’s home. It made her feel more like a burden now that she would have her things there. Rebecca skimmed a shelf and selected a book and added it to her bag. On a second thought, she grabbed her Ally Bowman, Britney, and a couple more chart-topping CD’s to bring.

She opened her lingerie drawer and hesitated. Gideon had been very adamant about wanting to finish what they’d started in the boat. Yet, he’d left her alone last night after storming out of the house. A part of her had been expecting him to come into her room when he returned from the boatyard, but she had heard him when he had come to have dinner with his family, then heard him tell his sister goodnight in the hallway.

He wasn’t interested anymore, she told herself. But she picked up her silk teddy and put it in her bag along with more of her favorite underwear and birth control pills. She’d bring it for her and if anything happened, she would be prepared. She zipped the backpack up and turned just as Gideon walked into the room.

“You ready?”

“Yes.” She followed him out and down the hallway. They’d rented a cab since the truck Gideon had was parked on Pelee and not the mainland. They hadn’t been followed and noticed no specific vehicle lingering around her house when they’d arrived. Gideon peeked out the blinds and held a hand up signaling for her not to open the door.

Her heart dropped to her stomach when Gideon turned, his expression grim. “Come on.”

He took her hand and pulled her through the great room and into the kitchen. He didn’t stop until they reached the mudroom. He moved the edge of the curtain back and then opened the door, pulling her through it after him.

Rebecca had changed into her own clothes before packing and was glad she was wearing running shoes. They zipped through the back yard and hopped the fence into the neighbor’s yard. They kept running around the side of their house- Rebecca didn’t even know their names- and came out in the front yard.

Gideon stopped and his gaze whipped up and down the street before walking east. “They must have had a camera or listening device on the house,” he told her as they walked toward the highway. “Two guys were getting out of a tan eighty’s model car.”

“Sedan?”

“Yep.”

“Their trunk smells like a gym locker.” She spoke lightly because her stomach felt like a thousand butterflies were at war. He must have known because he chuckled at her dry remark and ran his hand down her back.

He hailed a cab as soon as they reached the highway and they rode in silence to the dock. At least they hadn’t been shot at, Rebecca thought with a sigh. The fact that they had somehow been able to tell she had entered the house just told her she had no choice but to tell Lilah of her father’s return. She wouldn’t be able to go home. The thought brought on a momentarily bout of panic. Surely Gideon wouldn’t insist she stay with them, would he?

With haste, they boarded the speedboat and fled the mainland. Rebecca closed her eyes, feeling the cool air slapping at her face was heaven. Her heart had finally slowed to normal as the land faded away behind them.

“I doubt they’re following us,” Gideon said from the helm. “Maybe we can grab a bite on Pelee before heading to Avery. That way we know for sure we lost them.”

She nodded her agreement but her spirit dropped after having lifted at his first statement. She wanted him to take her out because he wanted to. Not just because it was convenient. Whatever the reason, she told herself briskly, the outcome was the same.

After docking at Pelee Island, Gideon took her hand in his and they walked to the nearest café. The lunch crowd was already gone so they picked a corner booth away from the few occupied tables and ordered their meals.

“Ever eat real food?” Gideon asked her once their food had arrived.

Rebecca glanced down at her colorful salad. “There’s chicken in this.”

He snorted. “It’s grilled and the pieces are tiny enough for an ant to carry.”

“I have to watch what I eat because your mother happens to be a wonderful cook.” She bit neatly into a crisp, green leaf. “And I can’t seem to stop eating her food. I have a recital six weeks from tomorrow and I can’t gain an ounce. Niko would kill me.”

“Niko?”

“My dance instructor. Nicholas Ortoff. He’s a Russian tyrant and we call him Niko. He catches us when we’re changing and if he see’s flab, we run for years. He’s serious.”

“He see’s you naked?”

“Unless we’re quick.” Her grin flashed when she saw his eyes narrow. “He’s happily married to a man named Lewis. He knows our bodies better than we do. Sometimes he’ll notice an extra pound or two and we have no clue what he’s talking about.”

“What’s the big deal about gaining a few pounds?” Gideon sliced into his steak, bypassing the sauce the waitress slipped beside his plate. “I mean, I’ve seen your team and you all look like pencils. Not that it isn’t appealing.”

“Thanks so much,” she muttered. “A couple pounds could make the difference between our balance and how straight our lines look.”

“Lines.”

“Our frames.” She waved her hand up and down over her torso. “It’s supposed to be straight lines with our limbs and posture.” She sighed and resumed picking at her salad when he continued to look baffled. “It’s elegant.”

“If you say so.”

“I need to make rehearsal tomorrow.” She’d said as much nearly every day for the past week but he hadn’t yet told her if he would take her. “I signed a contract.”

“I get that. What if those bastards are watching the studio?”

“I doubt they are. They would have been there last week. You can even watch. They have an observation room with a two-way mirror and everything. Niko wouldn’t mind.”

“I get to sit for two hours watching half naked women stretch and jump?” He said it with such enthusiasm, Rebecca ground her teeth.

Why should the thought of him flirting with the girls on her team infuriate her? She had no claim on him. In fact, she was planning on telling him they needed to slow things down a bit between them. She froze abruptly with the fork half way to her mouth. If she told him she wanted to take it slow—slower—would he give up his pursuit?

Could she stand by at class and watch him flirt with her closest friend Brittany? Or preppy, bubble-brained Molly Hallowitz? Just the thought made her seethe. But if she didn’t tell him, things would move too fast for her. She would fall in love with him, she knew. She already felt more for him then she had any other man she’d been involved with. She would fall madly, wildly, irrevocably in crazy love with him and then she would end up just like her mother.

And that alone strengthened her resolve.

“That also means I get to see you jumping around half naked.”

Gideon’s murmured statement sent little jolts of electricity through her veins. “Listen, Gideon.” She sat her fork down, folded her hands in front of her. “We need to slow this thing down. I’m not very comfortable with how things are heading.”

“You’re only going to be half naked,” he reminded her as he polished off his meat.

“I’m serious. What happened
on your boat the other day was—”

“Only a preview.”

“Nice,” she finished dryly. “It was nice. But I’m not one to jump in to bed with a man just because he’s attractive and makes me crazy.”

“You’re not?”

She shook her head. “You’re very potent. And I’m a little vulnerable right now, with everything going on. So I think it’s best if we hold off on some things for a while.”

“How long’s a while?”

“I’m not sure.”
Until I can convince myself not to fall in love with you.
“You’ll be the first to know.”

“All right. I can agree to that. But I’ve had a taste of you, Rebecca. And I’m not a man to deprive myself of something that taste good to me.” To emphasize his statement, he took a healthy bite of steak. “And you taste pretty damn good.”

She sat her fork down knowing she wouldn’t be able to get anything down past the lump in her throat. “I’m not asking you to deprive yourself. Just to be patient.”