Chapter 13
W
ell, you're on your own again, Katrina mused dryly, boarding the plane for St. Louis. She fought back the urge to cry. Boyd apparently hadn't felt as strongly as he'd declared. He'd brought her things by the hospital last night, wished her well, then left and she hadn't seen him since.
You were the one who insisted on making it a clean break. You can't have it both ways,
she chided herself. She'd told him to get lost for his own good and he'd obviously realized she was right. Still, it hurt to know he could walk away so easily while she felt as if a part of her had been ripped out
It'll mend. Better to discover now how shallow his feelings were than to find out later.
Clamping her seat belt closed, she turned her mind to plans for the future.
Seated in the back of the plane, his black hair streaked with gray, wearing a false gray beard and mustache and dark glasses, Boyd watched the passengers boarding until he saw Katrina, then he settled back in his seat and slept.
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Entering her home, Katrina set her suitcase on the floor in the living room, then proceeded from room to room removing the bugs from the phones and the various other hiding places Boyd had indicated. During the plane ride her anger had built. She was tired of being spied on and she was tired of people using her as a pawn in whatever games they'd devised. Carrying the devices into her garage, she found a hammer and smashed each and every one, swept up the pieces and threw them in the trash.
Returning to the living room, she picked up the now-dead arrangement of flowers sent by her aunt and dropped them, container and all, into the trash as well.
Then carrying the suitcase into her bedroom, she threw herself on the bed and had a good cry. Frustration was behind her tears. She cried because as hard as she'd tried to prove she was a good person, she was still a suspect in the eyes of many. And, she cried because she couldn't stop thinking about Boyd even though he'd been able to walk away from her without a backward glance.
Finally the sobs subsided and she slept. Waking late into the night, she bathed, changed into her nightgown and went back to bed. Lying in the dark she made a mental list of what she would do the next day beginning with resigning from the police department and putting her house up for sale. She'd paid her dues. She'd tried to make up for the life her father and his family had led. Now it was time for her to have a life of her own. She'd move out of this town, out of this state, and start fresh.
Again she slept.
A knocking on her front door woke her.
Opening her eyes, she saw sunlight streaming in from around the blinds. A look at the clock told her it was past ten. Not worrying about putting on slippers, she grabbed her robe and pulled i. on as she padded barefoot to the door.
“Sorry to wake you,” Dominic Ruzito said with polite apology.
She saw Victor and Louey flanking him and knew she should be scared. Dominic's polite tone was not reflected in his eyes and that generally meant trouble for whomever he was talking to. But she was in no mood to be intimidated. “I've had a really bad few days. Just state your business and leave.”
“That's not very gracious,” he chided. “Don't you think you should ask me in?”
It was an order, not a request. “You may come in,” she replied, making it clear his two thugs weren't invited.
He smiled patronizingly at her, then glanced first at Victor and then at Louey. “You two stay here. Enjoy the fresh air.”
“You sure?” Victor asked, eyeing Katrina. suspiciously.
Dominic gave him a dry look. “I'll yell for help if I need it.”
Victor didn't look happy, but he said no more.
Entering the house, Dominic closed the door, proceeded into the living room and sat down in one of the chairs by the couch. “Louey's having a little trouble hearing. We heard you were on your way back and wanted to make certain you got home safe. He was checking on you when you decided to play exterminator.”
Remaining standing and keeping a distance between them, Katrina gave the impression of leaning casually against the wall while keeping every muscle braced for action. If Dominic had come here to do her harm, she would go down fighting. “I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not.”
Dominic shook his head. “You have always been a problem child.” Exaggerated sympathy spread over his features. “We heard about the trouble you had in Washington. I'm sure your father warned you not to trust the authorities. You should have heeded his words.”
Even after what Lewis had done to her, having a man like Dominic Ruzito talk about him with such condemnation grated on her nerves. “The man had lost his daughter.”
“That's a very generous attitude considering he planned to kill you.”
“He was insane. When you take out someone, you know exactly what you're doing.”
“Now, now. You shouldn't make such accusations. That's slander.”
The warning in his eyes caused a cold chill to run along her spine.
Remarks like that could be considered suicidal,
she cautioned herself. “I doubt you came here to sympathize with me over my escape from death's door. So why did you come?”
Dominic shook his head sadly. “You are like a thorn on the rosebush.”
“I like to think I'm the rose and you're the thorn.” She knew tossing an insult at him was living dangerously, but she didn't care. Because of her family's connection to this man and his kind, she'd been fighting a losing battle all her life.
Dominic sighed a patronizing, fatherly sigh. “Vince is concerned about you. After all, he once was your godfather. This city isn't as safe as it used to be, especially for a young woman living alone. And this career you've chosen, it's dangerous as well. He feels you would be safer in a new location.”
Katrina got the message. She'd become too much of an embarrassment to Garduchi. He wanted her gone, but she didn't like being told to leave.
You were already planning to go,
her practical side reminded her.
Better to leave on your feet than in a casket.
Still she was unable to make herself appear to be caving in to him. “I'll give what you've said some serious thought.”
“You do that.” Smiling politely he rose. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small object, placed it on the coffee table, then strode out.
Katrina couldn't see what he'd left behind. It was hidden behind a decorative bowl. She didn't care. Her whole attention was on him, her body poised for action should he suddenly decide she'd caused enough trouble and choose to terminate her. When the door closed behind him, she moved to the window and did not relax until she saw the three men drive away.
“Washington, D.C.'s a nice place to live.”
Katrina whirled around to discover Boyd, his disguise gone, standing a few feet behind her. “Where'd you come from?” she managed to gasp out.
“The guest room.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “How long have you been here?”
“Since pretty soon after you got home. I let myself in the back door. You were having a good cry, so I chose not to disturb you.” Leaning against the wall, he added in an easy drawl, “You didn't really think I'd let you come back here to face possible retaliation from Garduchi alone, did you?”
“Actually, I did,” she confessed.
He scowled. “You must think I'm as shallow as a dry creek.”
“I'm just not used to having anyone who really cares what happens to me.” She wanted to rush into his arms, but held herself back. Reminding them both of why she'd insisted they belonged apart, she asked, “How's the hunt in Santa Fe going?”
He grinned. “You and I both know they're going to come up empty-handed.”
She didn't grin back. “You know they'll simply think I warned Leona that they were waiting for her.”
“I'll tell them I was keeping an eye on you every minute and you didn't contact anyone.” Approaching her, he slid his arms around her. “You look awfully cute in the morning.” He drew her closer. “You feel good, too.”
“Stop it!” She tried to squirm free, but his hold tightened. “They'll just think I corrupted you.”
“Being corrupted by you could be fun.” He nibbled on her earlobe then kissed the hollow behind it.
Her body wanted to melt into his. “It won't work. I won't ruin your...”
His mouth found hers stopping her protest. The embers his embrace had sparked blazed into a raging fire. She ordered herself to again attempt to free herself but her muscles refused to obey. She wanted to be in his arms more than she had ever wanted anything in her life.
Boyd smiled when she stopped resisting him. “I got used to waking up beside you,” he said, his lips moving tantalizingly against hers as he spoke. “I've missed sharing a bed with you.”
“I've missed that, too,” she confessed.
His hands traveled caressingly over her back then lower, pulling her more tightly against him.
She felt his need and her own burned hotter.
“You are so soft,” he murmured against her neck.
“You're definitely not soft,” she returned huskily.
He ran his hands along the curve of her hips, then up along her rib cage to her breasts. Her robe and nightgown provided little barrier to the feel of her. “Nope. You have that effect on me.”
She smiled and nipped his earlobe. “You have a very stimulating effect on me as well.”
“We're going to have to do something about this.”
“Definitely.”
Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her toward her bedroom.
Katrina had always heard about uncontrolled desire, but she'd thought it was a myth. Or, if not a myth, something that she would never fall victim to. She'd always prided herself on her control. But with every fiber of her being, she wanted to be joined with Boyd. Before they had reached the bedroom, she was unbuttoning his shirt.
This would be her first time with a man and she had always expected to be afraid or at least a little nervous, but this felt right. She craved him as if her body had been waiting for this moment forever.
Standing her beside the bed, Boyd let her finish taking off his shirt, then he removed her robe and nightgown. “You are a tasty sight,” he said, his gaze traveling over her.
The heat in his eyes was so intense, she could feel it touching her naked body like a fiery caress. Desire made her legs weak and she reached for the buckle of his belt
Sensations...excitement, pleasure, joy...swept through Boyd like waves as she finished undressing him.
“I can't wait much longer,” he warned as she moved away from him and lay down on the bed, her arms out to him, inviting him to join her.
“Neither can I,” she replied.
A masculine smile of triumph played at the corners of his mouth as he joined her on the bed and began to take possession of her. He moved slowly, savoring the moment. Abruptly, he stopped. Something was wrong. He was meeting resistance. The truth shook him.
“I know there's more of you than that,” she breathed huskily.
“You're a virgin,” he returned, an edge of guilt in his voice. “You were saving yourself for your wedding day.”
“I was saving myself for you,” she corrected.
Mentally he breathed a sigh of relief. “I'm really glad to hear that because I don't think I could have turned back now.” That he would be the first had added strength to his need to possess her. She would be his woman and only his woman.
Katrina lifted her hips, her body begging for his fullness and Boyd complied.
Her pain lasted only a moment and was vastly overshadowed by a sense of oneness with him. As they began to move together, all thought vanished until there was only her physical being stimulated beyond pleasure to a realm of excitement that caused every nerve to tingle with delight.
Boyd's breathing became ragged. She fitted him perfectly. He began to move with final purpose. Feeling her climaxing, he joined her.
Afterwards, he continued to hold her as they lay side by side, still panting from their exertion.
Her breathing finally becoming more regular, Katrina grinned sheepishly, “That was terrific.”
Boyd grinned back. “And now, since I'm an honorable man and I have deflowered you, you'll have to let me marry you.”
Katrina's smile vanished. “No.” Worried that if she stayed in his arms, her resolve might weaken, she slipped out of his grasp, left the bed, pulled on her robe and exited the room.
Startled, Boyd was momentarily frozen into inaction. But as she left, he bolted from the bed, pulled on his jeans and followed. He caught up with her in the living room. “You can't mean that. We belong together.”