Okay, so Zoe had opened another can of worms. The muffled sound of her phone ringing gave her a much-needed reprieve. “I’m expecting a call. I’ll just step outside.” Shoving back the chair, Zoe avoided eye contact with Declan, reaching for her cell as she scurried to the door. As expected, caller ID indicated her brother Chris was calling. They’d promised to touch base sometime that morning.
“Hello.” She stepped into the exterior hallway outside the apartment and pulled the door shut behind her.
“Anything new?” he asked, not bothering with a greeting.
“Not on my end. Any luck for you?”
“Yeah, I talked to Mike. It took some pushing, but I got him to talk. He says Ray overstated financial reports that went to shareholders and pushed the stock price up. Then Ray sold both his stock and Dad’s.”
Zoe felt a wave of nausea and leaned against the wall. The idea of her father or Ray being guilty scared the hell out of her. “Why would he do that?”
“Apparently, Ray has a gambling problem and he’d borrowed from Dad’s accounts. He planned to make the money back and fix everything, but it backfired.”
Emotions rolled over Zoe. She didn’t know what upset her most. That Ray might just be guilty or that she felt like such an outsider from her family. “Why didn’t Mike just tell me this?”
Silence.
“Chris?”
A sigh. “You won’t like the answer.”
“Damn it, Chris, just tell me.”
“He said that with you working at the paper the less you know the less you could slip and leak.”
“What!” Zoe could barely believe her ears. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to lower her voice. “He thinks I’d give up my own family for a damn story?”
“No,” Chris said quickly. “No, that’s not it, Zoe. He’s worried someone will pump you for info. He said everyone will be after a story and you’ll be a major target.”
“Stop defending him. He told you not to tell me.”
“But I did,” Chris said. “And he’s being an ass, no doubt, but this isn’t the time for a family fight. Let it go.”
Zoe was getting damn tired of letting things slide by to appease the family. She wasn’t sure she could do it this time. This was too much. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Zoe—”
She punched the “end” button and let her head fall back against the wall. A burning sensation formed in her eyes and she squeezed them shut, trying to control the need to cry. She didn’t get all emotional. It wasn’t her style, yet now, for the second time in a week, she felt like bawling. The phone started to ring again and she punched the off button. About that time, the creak of the door opening alerted her of company. Of Declan. She knew without opening her eyes. She could smell and feel him, all masculine and sexy and…safe.
Where the word came from she didn’t know. It just found its way into her head. Because she was so afraid of crying, she didn’t move. Suddenly, his body enclosed hers, his fists resting against the wall by her head. When his palm went to her cheek, she opened her eyes and met his probing stare.
“You okay?” he asked.
His voice, soft and gentle, worked along her nerve endings. She wanted to call the feeling that danced along her nerve endings sexual arousal, but it was more than that and she knew it. “I’m fine.”
“Need to talk?”
“No.” The word came out abrupt. She knew it and didn’t care. His comfort scared her. Made her fear more pain.
“Okay,” he said. “You don’t want to tell me what’s wrong, so I won’t push.”
“Good.” She paused, thinking. Declan equaled another power-hungry man with his own agenda. He needed to be kept in his place. “There is one thing you can do for me.”
His brow lifted. “What’s that?”
Her arms slid around his neck. “Take me home and fuck me.”
Chapter Eight
Zoe’s words replayed in Declan’s head. Take me home and fuck me.
But what she had meant was, Fuck me and don’t ask questions. Make me forget but don’t make me talk. Declan made a living seeing below the surface. Knowing when people hid things. Zoe’s declaration had been meant to distract him from pain lurking in the depths of her deep blue eyes. Even knowing this, not wanting it to work, his cock hardened, pressing against his zipper. The soft scent of flowers and woman inched into his nostrils, clouding his mind with the screams of his body.
Declan reached deep for control. With each passing moment, Zoe became more interesting. More enticing. But her allure held more than physical lust. It touched him deep inside and made him yearn to know her dreams. Her desires. And seeing the vulnerability in her eyes, he wanted to know the cause. What hurt her and made this pain?