The Golden Chalice Read online

  She didn’t bother to turn. Instead she held herself against the push of the breeze, the sound of his voice. She held firm. “I told you no and I meant it. I won’t marry you. Ever.”

  “What are you afraid of?”

  Michelle did turn and squinted at him. The sun in her face made her smooth, brown skin glisten like warmed honey. Her hair blew forward, almost covering her eyes. “Fear? Oh, it’s not fear. I simply hate myself when I’m with you.”

  “No you don’t.”

  “Fine. I want to hate you.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  “A word of advice, Lee. Let’s not do this. I don’t want to hurt you, I never wanted to.” She swayed a bit because of the motion of the sea.

  Lee looked up and behind him, and threw up his hand, signaling to the captain. The yacht slowed. He took a step toward her and she wobbled a bit, reaching for the edge of the boat to steady herself as she retreated.

  “I have no illusions about our life. I don’t want the loss of our child to give you any. I’m here, Lee, and I will try to accept it. But I won’t marry you.”

  “I understand.”

  “Do you?”

  He stopped his approach. “I do. But I’m not giving up because you have. I want to make it different for us both. Give me that chance. We can have it all. Together. We can do this.”

  “My wants aren’t the same as yours,” she said bitterly. “You never understood my wants.”

  Lee walked toward her. She tried to turn away from him, move away from him, but his hand went out to prevent that escape. “There is nowhere to run to now, sweetheart.”

  “I know.”

  “Stop pretending that part of you doesn’t want to stay with me, and I’ll stop pretending that I’m the man who deserves your forgiveness.” He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her around, so her backside was pressed into him. “I’m lonely for you, baby, and it’s not sex. I miss you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” She sighed.

  He held her and stared out at the sea. His arms circled her tightly, and her cheek touched his. “The life you think you’re missing, it’s a fantasy. I have them, too, Michelle. We have to get strong again, deal with our reality. We can do it together. Let me in again, just one more time, and I promise you won’t regret it.”

  “You have the Chalice. There’s nothing out there I can steal for you that is worth more than the Chalice.” She softened in his arms, and he felt the tension in her body lessen. Lee closed his eyes and groaned deep in his throat.

  “I don’t have your heart, and that’s worth much more.”

  Lee kissed her cheek and held her to him. They swayed a bit but his determination to have her kept them solid to the front of the yacht. At sea, there was such tranquility; he honestly felt better. He rubbed his nose over the side of her jaw, and her head dropped over to her left shoulder, revealing the slender stretch of her neck.

  “Michelle Dixon, you’re so damn addictive,” he breathed through kisses along her neck. He stopped and pressed a tender kiss to the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat. Her fragrance mixed with the sea made his knees weak. And he could feel her struggle with her pride, her anger, and her unwillingness to bend even a little. It only made his obsession deepen and his desire to posses her even stronger. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Lee.” Michelle spoke at last, her voice beguilingly hoarse.

  He turned her so she faced him, moved her hair from her face, and tilted her chin with the push of his thumb. With a charge of satisfaction, he saw his own fire reflected in her shadow-darkened eyes. Yes, it was a gamble to put his heart in it. He knew the risk. But his life was always about risk. Why not take this one?

  Lee’s lips recaptured hers in a demanding kiss. She nearly felt crushed against him he held her so tightly. The kiss became slow and thoughtful, with such uncompromising passion her head spun and her feet felt light. His roving tongue continued to please her, and she moaned her submission. How could one love and loathe a man with both halves of the same heart? She held to his shoulders, seeking to deepen their kiss. He eased to her neck; she angled her head and softened. She smothered his lips, demanding, refusing him any release. She told herself she could release a little, give in just a little, and still do what must be done in the end. She lied to herself, and it felt so good.

  The passion between them came to a natural end. With the sun in her eyes, she looked up into his and smiled.

  “I wish we were different, Lee.”

  “Me, too.” He nodded and kissed her nose. “Can you put on the ring for me? Even if you can’t say yes to my proposal. Wear the ring. Let me make love to you with it on your hand.”

  “Why?” she asked in earnest.

  “I need the fantasy.”

  Lee let go of her and air filled her lungs. She felt tender around her middle from how hard he’d clung to her. His strong, calloused hand slipped into hers and he carefully led her inside. Michelle didn’t object. Lee returned to the coffee table and plucked the ring out of its velvet cushion. He cast her a hopeful glance. Michelle held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Go ahead, baby. I’ll give you the fantasy.”

  The ring slid on her finger with ease. The large stone sent a burst of sparkling rays over her hand. Lee smiled, admiring the fit.

  “Don’t ever take it off.” His gaze lifted to hers, and she saw how intensely he believed in the words he was saying. “Never.”

  “It’s beautiful, Lee. Thank you.”

  He kissed her hand, happy with her response. He led her through the boat, down another set of stairs to a private cabin below. Michelle immediately returned to his embrace. She could feel his uneven breathing. Through his chest his heart raced, betraying his outward sense of calm. She touched the side of his face and realized how nervous and needy he was of her reassurance. She kissed his lips softly and managed to smile without force. Lee gripped both sides of her face with his large hands as he walked them toward the bed. His marauding tongue thrust in and out as it stroked and loved hers. The backs of her legs connected with the cool satin of the sheets. Lee reached for the silk belt that tied her dress together and tugged until it loosened. The fabric fell open.

  A quiver of excitement rippled through her once his fingers sought her breasts. Michelle’s gaze lowered, as did Lee’s. They stood face to face, panting, while he massaged her with his hands. Her nipples strained against the lace of her bra, and she released a sigh of pleasure when he undid the front clasp. Lee’s hand, flat to her back, brought her to him and she rose on her toes. He lowered his head and drew a nipple between his lips, onto his warm moist tongue. The mere stroke sent a current of pleasure through her.

  She’d said she loved him and she meant it. She’d said she forgave him, and she was trying. She tried desperately, in that moment, to let go. Lee’s face lifted and he released her nipple from the soft suction.

  He drew her dress off her shoulders and cast it aside. Next went her bra. Michelle stood in her strappy heels and thong. Lee unbuttoned his shirt and she took in his tempting, male physique. Her mouth dried from one look at the hard beauty of his chest, the powerful arms, the scattering of curled, black hair that narrowed over the flat plane of his lower abdomen and disappeared so tastily down below his belt. Her gaze froze on his hand as he released his buckle and lowered his zipper. The rich outlines of his muscles strained against his sleeves of his open shirt. Lee smirked, approaching her once more.

  Michelle sat on the bed, scooted toward the headboard. Her heels dragged the duvet with her.

  “My answer?” Lee said.

  “The question?”

  “Will you marry me, Michelle Dixon? Will you be my wife?”

  She stared into his eyes. The matter had been settled with the game of pretend. But she’d have to see the fantasy through. She understood. And the idea of the game lessened some of her doubts and anxiety. She gazed into his soft, liquid irises as he crawled over her and hovered. With just one
look into his eyes, a girl could forget how deceptive and dangerously compelling her bad boy could be.

  “I…yes. Yes. I’ll do it.”

  Lee smirked. “That wasn’t hard, was it?”

  Michelle smiled. “You have no idea.”

  Satisfied with her answer, he gave her another mischievous smirk. He withdrew and shed his shirt. When he returned to her, his hands softly caressed her hips before slowly removing her thong. The seduction was maddening. Each delay and act of restraint from her lover became torture, a cruel deprivation. Michelle raised her arms and gave a feline stretch, with her hands flat to the headboard. Lee’s hot gaze remained riveted when she parted her thighs and pointed her dancer toe at him, beckoning. Lee smiled.

  It worked. The slow tease ceased. He dragged off his shoes and socks, stripped off his trousers and underwear. Her heart slowed to a heavy pounding beat at the sight of his proud, erect cock. Its thickness made her squirm with lust. Desire stirred the hot throbbing ache between her legs.

  If only they were different…he were different…she were different…if only….

  He came over the bed, bringing the belt with him, and Michelle licked her lips, a coil of apprehension knotting deep in her core. She knew he could be gentle, but she liked it better when he played rough.

  “So beautiful,” he said, kissing her knee, thigh, the neatly trimmed hairs covering the mound of her pussy. “Tell Lee what you desire.”

  Michelle lifted her arms and put her wrists together to be restrained. Lee looped his belt around and tightened the binding—fastening her to the headboard.

  “Me, too,” he groaned, his voice now husky with desire.

  She hooked a leg around his hip and rubbed her sex against his hardness.

  Damn her to hell for bewitching him so. He’d lay his empire at her feet to be petted by this supple pussy, which he planned to pound into submission. Lust and need threatened to overwhelm him as he gazed down upon her. Resisting temptation to take her, he traced her edible mouth with the ball of his thumb. Her long, even lashes nearly shut and his memories of their love filled him with hope.

  “I will give you the life you deserve. You won’t regret this.”

  “But you will.” She slipped him a secretive smile.

  Eventually time would heal their wounds, and she’d come to love him again. Believe in them. Give him children. He kissed her. She whimpered in frustration and tugged on her restraints.

  To hell with her need to harden their love; he desired her soft and pliant.

  Lee started with little kisses, first her mouth, the delicate line of her jaw, next her throat and the valley between her breasts. Heartbreakingly beautiful, her breasts were full and firm, the nipples plump and suckable. He tasted them, giving them a sly little nip with his teeth. She hissed, squirmed, and jerked on her restraints. Lee chuckled. The tug of war of their passion only heightened the desire they shared for one another.

  “I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want you.” The dark swirl in the depths of her irises and the wry smirk to those lips mocked him. All at once, he needed to convince her. In some mysterious, soul-wrenching way, the sadness over the loss of their child and the pain he’d caused her fused with an urgent need to embrace the light of hope he saw in her eyes when she served meatloaf to customers in the diner, and spoke of someday being a doctor. He wanted Michelle, the woman she kept hidden from him. That woman possessed inherent goodness. Damn it, he wanted her desperately.

  “Just make love to me, Lee. It’s all I need…stop with the games.”

  Games? His loving her was not foolery. He grunted at her words and thrust his hips forward. The first strike was hard and purposeful. She gasped and arched against him. Her hands curled into fists but held in their bindings. He thrust another inch, and another, slipping almost all the way in from the warm, silken glide her channel offered. Her honey walls clenched around his shaft so tightly he gasped and dragged in a breath to maintain his composure. Michelle’s gaze smoldered at his continued thrusts, her body moving sweet and sexy beneath him. Lee gripped her left butt cheek with his free hand and braced the other to the headboard, hovering over her, loving her…hard…harder…. All the while, she moaned and trembled through small, orgasmic releases, as if the pleasure for her came at the expense of his madness. And he realized it did. He kissed her hard, biting at her tongue and lips. The tension in his pelvis and his cock added power and command to his movements, thrust after thrust. Their passion became so fierce, she yanked on her restraints so hard she freed herself from her bindings and clawed at him, her body clinging.

  Fingernails pierced his feverish skin. She gasped beneath him, flicking her tongue at his, as her body began to jerk and shudder in response. Moving inside her sweet warmth, he abandoned his bitter self, forgot all his deceit and grief. Possessing her as he must suddenly seemed to be the purest of goals. He’d love her, take care of her. She’d be happy. He’d see to it.

  Lee turned her and entered her from behind, pressing her face into the pillow. He lifted her hips to angle her ass upward to meet his thrusts and licked the pearls of sweat from the center of her back. Keeping the action swift and precise, he couldn’t hear her moans of satisfaction, thanks to his own. And though he showed her no mercy, she parted her knees even wider and gave him deeper access. Permission sent him over the edge. He fell over her, covering her, holding her around the middle, and released every ounce of his seed into her. The weight of him forced her to collapse. He fell over her, but tried to lift so as to not hurt her.

  Spent, Lee kissed her flawless skin, her body just as hot and sweaty as his. She lay still. When, finally, he withdrew from their embrace, she reached for him. He noticed the red, raw burns around her wrists.

  “Did…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean….” He kissed her wrists and her engagement ring. “I didn’t mean to be so rough. I love you, Michelle.”

  She lowered her face to his chest. He could feel the flutter of her eyelashes against his skin. “I love you. I’ll prove it,” he whispered.

  “How soon?”

  “We can stay all night.”

  “No. How soon can I take Sasha to Prague? How soon can you arrange it?”

  He looked down at her with furrowed brows. Holding her, he stroked her hair. “I…uh, well two weeks. Give me two weeks and I’ll arrange it.”

  “Fine. After…after I know she’s safe and gone, when I return…I’ll stop the fantasy and marry you.”

  He smiled but she pulled away, escaped his embrace. Lee watched her slip into the bathroom and close the door.

  It was a start. He’d just have to trust in it.

  ***

  Kumar sought her in the darkness. She lay under a thin sheet, the other covers kicked aside. He gently eased from underneath the shared sheet and rose from the bed. Sasha didn’t stir. With her hair on her pillow, her back to him, she looked peaceful. He could still smell her scent over his skin. His cock burned with the need to wake her and make love to her once more. Instead, he slipped on his boxers, his pants, and searched for his shirt. The digital display said it was nearly three a.m. The late hour didn’t mean sleep for the men in Lee’s compound. They patrolled until dawn. He would have to be careful.

  Mindful to not wake her, Kumar slipped on his shirt and left the room. The hall, dark and silent, made him wary of the slightest disturbance to the peace. He crept along to the staircase and went down. The Chalice was probably kept on the premises, in one of the many vaults Lee had. Each one had been wired by Kumar himself. But what if he was wrong? What if the Chalice had been moved?

  Kumar checked his watch. Monk Eastman gave him little room or time for error. His options were limited. Lee had started the hunt for the rat in his organization, for whoever’d betrayed him to Cumminskey. His drug habit would have his benefactor jumping to all kinds of wrong conclusions.

  A soft patter of feet behind him stilled Kumar. He glanced over his shoulder. One of the Dobermans appeared in the moonlight. The animal sniff
ed the ground, and looked up and met his stare. Those damn animals scared the hell out of him. Though he’d never seen them attack anyone, just the baring of their sharp teeth spoke of malevolent intent.

  “Good doggie, good doggie,” Kumar whispered. He turned the doorknob to his workroom, keeping his eyes trained on the animal. The shadows nearly covered her. But the animal’s angry glare didn’t waver. “Good dog.” He slipped inside. Kumar released the breath he held and put his back to the wall. He’d figure out his escape later. The safest option would be to begin with the basics. Find out where the Chalice had been hidden.

  In his workroom, he had unlimited access to the security system of the mansion. He ignored the burn in his veins for another hit and began to peck his entry codes into the black keyboard. Ten minutes later, he had three different secured vaults on the monitors. Under his command, the unseen cameras scanned treasures that rivaled those supposedly hidden in Fort Knox. Diamonds, cash, jewels, artwork, rare sculptures, everything but the Chalice gleamed and sparkled. Kumar scratched his head and his jaw.

  “Shit. Shit!”

  He did another sweep of the room, and another. The Chalice was nowhere in sight. “Damn.”

  He rose, panting. If it wasn’t in the vault, he’d have to consider Lee’s office. His personal safe maybe? He couldn’t crack a safe. Not the one Lee kept under lock and key. There was only one woman who could.

  ***

  Sasha felt the bed shift. A warm, male body moved up against her backside. The heat of his erection made her smile. “Mmm…where did you go?”

  “Bathroom.” Kumar kissed her shoulder.

  She reached behind her and grabbed his arm to pull over her. His hand cupped her breast. “Well, you’re here now. Just when it counts.” She yawned.

  “Yeah.” He dropped his forehead to the back of her head. “Hey, let me ask you a question.”

  “Mmm?”

  “Have you seen the safe in Lee’s office?”