Authors: Elizabeth Moynihan
Unfortunately, she found herself seated right next to her source of agitation. But not a problem, all she had to do was pretend he wasn’t there. Problem solved.
Hunter watched her curiously. He’d seen Aleksei approaching the house, Dani in his arms and was surprised by the image that popped into his mind of he being the one carrying Dani. He’d watched her as she slipped from her father’s arms and courageously made her way to the table, her leg obviously causing her pain, yet she hadn’t complained or whined. She’d simply sat down and acted as if he wasn’t even there. Torn between concern for her well being and acting in kind, he leaned over and whispered, “Are you all right?”
Hunter’s soft question washed over her in a warm breeze, his breath caressing her cheek and making the fine hairs at her temple dance and tingle. Planning to make a tart response, she turned her head and found herself trapped and melting beneath his cognac gaze. Coherent thought escaped her and words refused to come. She saw his beautiful mouth moving as he repeated his question and blinking in surprise, the spell was broken and she felt herself flushing a bright pink.
“I’m fine,” she managed to mumble and made a big show of suddenly needing to straighten her placemat. She was going crazy! That had to be it, Hunter was making her nuts! As sure as there were stars in the universe, before Hunter left this house she was going to either be ready for a sanitarium or a fat-farm. Either way, it didn’t make much difference to her, although, the visions of cinnamon rolls that suddenly took up residence in her mind sounded like much more fun.
All around her, lunch items were being passed and shared yet Dani felt as if she were outside herself watching the goings-on. Chloe, softly calling her name, and passing the fruit salad, brought her back to reality and accepting the bowl of tempting fruits, spooned a portion on to her plate. Passing the bowl to Hunter, her voice filled with humor, she quietly asked the age-old question, “What do you call five-hundred lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?”
Aleksei cringed and shook his head in exasperation, Jordan, with green eyes flashing devilishly, muffled a laugh, Sergei and Chloe weren’t so controlled and their laughter filled the air. All looked at Hunter, and without missing a beat, he calmly answered, “A good start.”
Dani raised her glass of ice tea in a mocking salute and Hunter acknowledged her gesture with a minute nod of his head.
“Danielle,” Aleksei murmured warningly.
“I tried, Daddy. I really tried,” she offered sweetly, her eyes, so like her mother’s, flashing wickedly with merriment, her mouth wearing a Cheshire cat smile.
“Well–try harder!” was all he could manage before he dissolved into the laughter everyone else had already succumbed to.
“Why the hell didn’t somebody tell me lunch was ready?” Whit-taker bellowed as he came through the back door and spotted everyone eating.
So much for a quiet, restful lunch.
Forty-five minutes later, Whittaker was hoisting himself out of his chair, complaining about the amount of food he’d inhaled and inquiring how long Hunter would be needing Sergei and Chloe; their first competition was fast approaching and there were still fine points to be ironed out in their program.
“I’ll start with Danielle; I would imagine it will take the better part of the afternoon to go over everything with her,” Hunter offered, releasing Sergei and Chloe to follow Whittaker, despite their complaints regarding Whittaker’s torturous methods of coaching.
After inquiring if Hunter or Dani needed anything before they headed toward the ice for their own practice session, and getting a negative response, Aleksei and Jordan followed the other pair out the back door and headed for the ice rink.
The silence seemed suddenly overwhelming and with a nervous cough, Dani struggled to her feet, dismissing Hunter’s offer of help and suggested they move to the family room where they might be more comfortable. Hunter’s nod of agreement had him slowly following her lead, and enjoying the view of her shapely backside as she limped stiffly down the hall and into the family room.
Hunter glanced about the huge room, appreciating the fact that despite its immense size, it still conveyed a feeling of comfort and coziness with overstuffed furniture, a multitude of knickknacks, and a fireplace that in only a few months would in all probability contain a roaring fire. The one bare corner of the room, he imagined, was the honorary location for the Christmas tree and when he shared his thoughts, Dani’s gentle smile and whispered “Is it that obvious?” had him smiling in spite of himself.
Hunter found himself once again following Dani as she made her way toward an over-sized chair, nudged the matching ottoman out of the way, and sank into the deep cushions. A sigh of relief escaped her as she finally found a comfortable position to sit in. Hunter seated himself only a few feet away on the long sofa and pulled a small recorder from one pocket, placing it on the table between the two of them.
“Amazing how such a little piece of electronics can bring everything into sharp reality,” Dani stated, nodding toward the palm-sized recorder.
“If you’re uncomfortable with the recorder, I can take notes instead; the recorder simply lessens the chance of misquotes and mistakes,” Hunter explained, his tone one of calm professionalism.
“I would have thought the word ‘mistake’ wasn’t in your vocabulary.”
“I’m human, like everyone else,” Hunter countered.
“Oh, yeah, you’re human. There you sit, in your very expensive Armani suit and fancy silk tie, every hair in place, and your ‘oh so professional attitude’ and condescending tone and tell me you’re human. Sorry, Mr. James, I’m not buying what you’re selling,” Dani stated heatedly, flinching as a sharp flash of pain speared her hip at her sudden movement as she tried to get to her feet.
“Suppose you sit back, relax and let us get through this as quickly, and with as little pain, as possible,” Hunter suddenly growled, gently pushing her back against the cushions as she struggled forward. The heat of his touch, more than the actual force of his hands against her shoulders had her leaning back against the cushions to escape the startling sensations his touch evoked. “If it makes you feel any better, which I don’t suppose it will, I’m not any happier being here than you are having me here. I agreed to come simply because Marcus asked this of me as a special favor to your father. If I didn’t owe Marcus so much, I would never have agreed to this venture. But I owe the man my very life and that means I’m obliged to help him, without question, when he asks.”
“What do you mean, you owe him your life?” Dani asked suddenly.
“That’s none of your business, my life has nothing to do with you. So if it’s all the same to you, let’s just get back to the matter at hand so I can get the hell out of your hair and you can get back to doing what you do! And to make it even easier on you, I’ll even go so far as to remove my
expensive jacket
!” Hunter stated heatedly, his eyes flashing angrily, his expression closed and grim.
“Fine,” Dani agreed flatly. “The sooner we get this done, the happier I’ll be!” But her bland expression faltered as she watched Hunter slide the tailored coat from his wide shoulders, toss it negligently over the back of the couch and then loosen the silk tie. His longer fingers moved deftly as he flipped open the top button on his shirt, just a hint of tawny hair peeking through the open ‘v’ at the spread collar. Through the fine fabric of his shirt, the muscles in his chest and arms rippled with his movements and Dani found herself wondering what if would feel like to run her hands over his warm, sculpted shoulders.
“Ditto!” Hunter replied coldly, his abrupt word bringing her back to reality as he scooped up the small recorder and pushed the record button. For the record, he stated the date, time, and subject matter and introduced Dani, having her state her name, and her relationship to the parties involved.
Several audio tapes later, Dani continued to answer the questions Hunter fired her way, often times repeating her answer to a question she had answered earlier that had simply been rearranged as to appear a different question. After giving the same answer for the fourth time, Dani finally exploded.
“Do you think I’m a total moron? How many times do I have to keep answering the same question?”
Hunter’s low chuckle had her seeing red and thinking about the multitude of ways to commit torture without leaving evidence. “You’re more patient than I expected; most people start varying their answers the third time around.”
“So you’re just trying to trip me up?” Dani asked hotly.
“I’m trying to give you an idea of what you’ll be up against if the Manning’s threats and allegations against your brother become full fledged indictments and you find yourself seated in a court of law with a judge telling you to answer the prosecutions questions,” fired back.
“Let me get this straight. Andrew has spent the better part of the last four years abusing Chloe and getting away with it. And now because he’s throwing a temper tantrum because he lost his ‘toy’, and his daddy’s kissed the right politician’s asses, Sergei’s going to be the one to face charges?”
Hunter’s steady look stated that that was a distinct possibility.
Dani shook her head vehemently; her tone was calm yet filled with firm resolve, “No fucking way. Sergei and Chloe have done absolutely nothing wrong!”
“I’m not saying they have. Consensual sex between people isn’t rape.”
“There has been no sex–consensual or otherwise–between them,” Dani argued, her cheeks flushing beneath his gaze.
“Do you know that for a fact?” Hunter persisted.
“I know Chloe would have said something to me if things had gone that far in their relationship.”
“Do you and Chloe tell each other everything?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t hesitate to discuss personal matters with each other?”
“No.”
“You’re sure? You know every deep, dark, secret, desire each of you has ever experienced?”
“I…I think,” Dani hesitated slightly.
“You’ve never kept anything from each other; nothing at all? Never kept a secret too close to your heart, and special to share, with anyone, even her?” Hunter pushed mercilessly.
Dani shook her head trying to clear her thoughts as Hunter’s deep voice echoed around her. “I don’t know, maybe.”
“Then what makes you so sure she hasn’t kept any secrets from you? What makes you so sure Chloe isn’t afraid to come forward and admit Sergei’s forcing her to have sex with him?”
“Sergei would never force Chloe to do anything she didn’t want to do. Sergei’s not like that,” Dani yelled, aghast at the suggestion even being voiced aloud.
“Would you have thought Andrew capable of doing the very things you’re accusing him of doing?” Hunter’s voice dropped to a low, calm drawl.
“Andrew’s always been a hot-head; for as long as I can remember.”
“Did you ever see Andrew Manning touch or treat Chloe in a threatening or inappropriate manner?”
“She was covered in bruises; bruises that couldn’t possibly have come simply from falls during practice.”
“Answer the question, please. Did you ever see Andrew Manning touch or treat Chloe in a threatening or inappropriate manner?”
“Her behavior changed whenever he was around her. She was fearful and shy and afraid to express an opinion. She’s the exact opposite when he isn’t around.”
“Danielle, answer the question. Did you ever see Andrew Manning touch or treat Chloe in a threatening or inappropriate manner?” Hunter leaned over her, his hands braced on the arms of the chair, his eyes holding hers captive.
“No.” The single word was nothing more than a tiny whisper.
“Did she ever mention Andrew touching or treating her in an abusive manner; physical or otherwise?”
Hunter’s intent look said it all,
answer the question
. “No.”
“What makes you so certain Sergei isn’t controlling her in the same fashion you’re so sure Andrew Manning treated her?”
“Because Sergei would never hurt Chloe; he loves her,” Dani stated without hesitation.
“Asserting physical control over someone is still abuse, even if it’s in the name of love,” Hunter asserted.
“Consensual sex between adults isn’t rape,” Dani countered, enunciating each word with heated precision. “I am telling you, they haven’t been together that way,” Dani argued heatedly, waving her hand toward the table where the manila envelope lay.
“These pictures say otherwise,” Hunter argued, lifting the referred to envelop up for emphasis.
“Those pictures are fake!”
“I’ll admit, in all probability, these pictures were doctored; the bodies may not be connected to the correct heads, but the expressions Sergei and Chloe are wearing look pretty self-explanatory to me,” Hunter stated in wearily.
“What’s to explain? They were having a good time, in all likelihood skating. How could anyone construe their expressions as to mean they were taken in a moment of intimacy?” Dani asked innocently.
“Yeah, they look like they were having a good time to me, too. I’ve had the same kind of ‘good times’ myself,” he stated cynically.
“Don’t be crass, Mr. James,” Dani scolded flatly.
Hunter started to rebut her claim, but paused, chewed his lower lip thoughtfully and finally shook his head in disbelief. Could she really believe her own words? Was she really so naïve and innocent as to see expressions that any adult would recognize as one of sexual bliss and believe them to be nothing more than the happiness that might be found while someone was slipping around the ice on a narrow steel blade?