Dark Lover

When he’d been on that garage rooftop earlier, he’d looked over the edge, and wondered if he’d finally die. When that day came, he’d embrace death as he’d never welcomed anything else. Others might fear death. Ian knew death was peace.

Now, he tested his shoulder. He’d suffered a few bumps and bruises in the car chase.

Sam Rose’s striking image filled his mind. He hadn’t expected her to keep up with him today, just like he hadn’t expected her to stick around last night. But she had. That woman was a cool character. And she could drive like she fought—which was probably how she fucked.

His intention had always been to get her fighting and clawing into his bed. He wanted a savage sexual contest. But suddenly he imagined her smiling warmly, stroking him softly, gentle and tender beneath him.

And he laughed out loud at himself. If she made love to him like a pussycat, he’d be bored out of his mind. What was wrong with him? Where had that fantasy come from?

He shook his head. She was very powerful, very smart and maybe as sexually driven as he was…and so beautiful, she made it hard to breathe. He smiled. She would hold her own with him in bed. She’d be tireless, insatiable, and very demanding.

He realized he was sort of glad that she wasn’t hurt.

That notion surprised him as he rang for Gerard, deciding he was hungry. His one and only interest was himself. There was no way he would care that she was unhurt, unless it was because he wanted her whole for their next encounter.

He was getting impatient for her.

He hadn’t lied when he’d told her he’d moved to New York so he could screw her. Hunting her from Scotland had required more patience than even he had.

He looked forward to their next encounter. He was enjoying the opening salvo in their little war. And then he recalled last night.

He began to pace. He had banished what had happened with John from his mind. He’d gotten his revenge, even if Sam had seen him at his weakest. There wouldn’t be any explanations. He owed her nothing—other than a night or two of extreme sexual pleasure. His secrets were going to stay secrets. He’d lose whatever sanity he had left, if the truth about his captivity ever came out.

The intercom buzzed, interrupting that worrisome thought. He crossed the drawing room of his master suite. “Gerard?”

“Sir, Mr. Hemmer has arrived. Should I wait to bring your supper?”

“Please do. And thank you, Gerard.” He released the button, pleased. It hadn’t taken his old pal very long to add two plus two.

In no particular hurry, he walked into his large walk-in closet and shed his clothes. He slipped on worn jeans and a paper-thin blue cashmere sweater. Although it was midsummer, he kept the town house cool. Then he glanced at his eighteen-carat gold Cartier watch. It was a quarter to eight. He went downstairs to greet his guest.

Gerard had served Hemmer a ten-year-old Philips Insignia cabernet wine, which he hadn’t touched. Instead, Rupert was staring at his recently acquired Motherwell. It wasn’t all that valuable—it had originally been sold for fortyfive thousand dollars—but he happened to like the bold red and black strokes which the artist had used on the starkly white canvas. For him, Motherwell symbolized the life-and-death struggle of good and evil. He’d actually paid for the acrylic painting.

Hemmer turned, scowling and flushed.

“Having a bad day?” Ian asked, trying not to sound too happy about it. He kept his gaze as innocent as possible. He truly disliked Hemmer. Although technically human, he was evil to the core. Stealing the van Gogh for him had purely been business and he relished sticking it to him. “Ye might want to watch yer blood pressure.”

“I know exactly one person who could disable my security system and get away with the Duisean page without triggering a single alarm,” Hemmer snapped.

Ian grinned. “Surely there are other thieves as skilled as me in the world.”

“I invited you into my home as a friend.”

Ian dropped his smile. “We were never friends. Ye asked me to get ye the van Gogh and ye paid me handsomely to do so.”

“That made us business partners, Maclean.”

“Aye…an’ possession is ten-tenths of the law, now isn’t it? Ye’d know that better than anyone.” Ian walked over to a seventeenth-century cupboard to pour himself a glass of the fine wine.

Hemmer followed. “So it was you! You bastard! You came to my party only to steal from me.”

He was calm. “It takes a thief to know one.” He sipped and was impressed.

Hemmer was shaking. “Have you bothered to consider that I am one man you do not want to cross?”

Ian shrugged. “I’m trembling.”

Hemmer grimaced, eyes ablaze. “How much? How much will you extort from me? How much will it cost me to get the page back?”

Ian tried to slip into his mind, but the power eluded him. All he felt was Hemmer’s fury and a sense that Hemmer meant to make him suffer for what he’d done, but he hadn’t needed telepathy to comprehend that. Hemmer had to know that the page had god-given powers. Ian didn’t think he’d pay over two hundred million dollars for it, otherwise. The man wasn’t even Irish.

But there was more. A black shadow clouded Hemmer’s thoughts—a distinct but undefined presence. Was someone else involved in Hemmer’s desire to possess the page? Ian tried again, but he couldn’t quite bring that other person into focus—if there were another person involved. He couldn’t find a name. He merely glimpsed the black shadow, which remained. If the shadow was a demon, that certainly upped the stakes. “I’m taking bids until Friday at midnight. Make yer best offer.”

Hemmer choked on outrage. “You’re taking bids? The page is mine! How much do you want for it?”

“Make yer best offer,” he repeated flatly. “I’m selling to the highest bidder.” He smiled and added softly, “Good luck.”

Hemmer breathed hard. “You’ll be sorry, Maclean. I am not the kind of man you really wish to cross.”

Ian was amused. He feared demons—not evil billionaires like Rupert Hemmer. If Hemmer was playing with demons, he might be afraid, but that still wouldn’t stop him. Because hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake. And wealth was power. “Really? Good luck making me pay, as well.”

Hemmer slowly smiled. It was a moment before he spoke. “I didn’t trust you when we first met. I should have known. So, did you enjoy my wife last night? Did you enjoy her today?”

He’d known they were being taped. He shrugged. “She was skilled enough.”

Hemmer went still. “I know you think yourself above us all. But you should fear me, Maclean. No one has as much power as I do in mortal realm—and I have allies. Allies that will make you seem weak and pathetic.”

A twinge of wariness went through him. He’d been right. Hemmer had demonic allies. He’d intended to sell to the highest bidder, but he did not want to become involved with any great black powers.

On the other hand, he’d spent twenty-five years making himself as safe as possible, and a hundred million dollars or so would be the icing on the cake. Being safe—making his world impregnable—was the driving force of his existence. People thought he was a greedy bastard—how wrong they were.

And he didn’t like threats. There’d been a thousand of them during his years of captivity. “I don’t like being threatened, Rupert.” He nodded dismissively at him.

“And I don’t care to be mocked, and I especially don’t like being duped.” He started for the doorway, then turned. “I taught Becca every trick she knows. I wonder…how many tricks does Sam Rose know?”

Ian stiffened, incredulous.

“When I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”

Ian watched him leave, and suddenly he was livid.

SAM SLOWLY CLOSED the door to her loft and leaned heavily against it.

Her car was more or less totaled. She’d left it right where it was, taking a cab back to HCU, where she’d gone directly to Five. Her rib cage was bleeding and the doctor there had lectured her for not having it properly attended the night before. He’d added three stitches and redone the bandage. She did have a sprain, too, and he’d wrapped that. One of the collisions must have caused her to hit her head, because she had a black eye. He’d given her an ice pack—and then he’d asked her out. Sam had politely refused.

She didn’t move. Her ankle hurt, her rib cage burned and her left eye throbbed. She’d managed to escape the building without being waylaid by anyone, especially not her boss. By now, Nick had to know that the page was stolen—and that one of his top agents had caused multiple car wrecks.

Damn Maclean.