Sexy Silent Nights Read online

  ’Tis the season for remembering Christmases past. Pleasures and fortune are fleeting. You destroyed an innocent life in pursuit of yours. You’ll pay for that soon. Six nights and counting…

  Rereading it had his gut instinct kicking in again. Perhaps it was the wording. And there was something else that kept tugging at the corners of his mind. Some memory that was eluding him. Maybe it was the reference to Christmases past. At twenty-nine he had a lot of them to remember and several that he’d tried hard to forget. Especially that long-ago one when his father had promised to return, but hadn’t.

  He’d also made his share of enemies. Some of them probably dated back to his early days in foster care. He hadn’t always “played well with other children.” As a businessman, he was demanding. He hired and fired people. Over the past six years he’d opened three successful supper clubs in the United States and he was in the process of opening another one in San Diego and a possible fifth in Rome.

  Pleasures had been his first supper club and the result of a dream that had taken shape during his years in business school. His goal had been to create a place where people could escape into a different world and find temporary respite from the harsher realities of life. And he’d known that he wanted to open the club in San Francisco as a kind of thank-you to the saint the city had been named after, a saint who’d played an important part in his life.

  The success of Pleasures had allowed him to open Interludes, a sports-themed bar in San Francisco, and more recently Passions, another supper club in Denver.

  He didn’t like it at all that the word pleasures was used in the note. But perhaps he was overreacting. It was December 19, a peak time for his businesses, and he wasn’t getting much sleep, thanks to Cilla Michaels.

  So he wasn’t going to alarm Gabe yet. And calling Cilla, who was running Gabe’s newly opened office in San Francisco, would be a mistake on so many levels.

  He strode back to the window. Not that he could put all the blame on her. He’d known from the first instant he’d seen her at that party in the Fortune Mansion that she was different. That she’d be different for him. Gut instinct again.

  His eyes had been drawn to her the moment she’d entered the room. No surprise there. Any man would have given her a second look. Her face had grabbed his attention first with its delicate features and stubborn chin. But he certainly hadn’t missed the slender, almost lanky body and those long legs that the charcoal-gray slacks showcased. But it hadn’t been just her looks that had pulled at him. She seemed to radiate an energy that tugged at him on a gut level.

  Then there were those green eyes. The first time he’d looked into them, he’d felt as if he’d taken a punch right in the solar plexus. And when he’d clasped her hand in his, for a moment, he hadn’t wanted to let it go.

  The last thing he wanted or needed right now was to pursue a relationship with a woman who could have that effect on him. A woman like that could change your life.

  During the past year, he’d seen his two best friends, Gabe Wilder and Nash Fortune, meet the women they’d decided to spend the rest of their lives with. Nash had already married his former high school sweetheart, Bianca Quinn, and Gabe was planning to marry FBI agent Nicola Guthrie on Valentine’s Day.

  He was happy for his friends, but Jonah liked his life just the way it was. Simple and uncomplicated. The right woman could change that. But on that night nearly a month ago in Denver, had he listened to what his mind was telling him? Had he heeded his gut instinct?

  No.

  Instead, he’d reverted to the reckless style of his youth when his name had been renowned in the family-court system. He’d followed Cilla Michaels when she’d left the party. He’d even watched her in the airport like a stalker until her flight was canceled. Then he’d followed her to the airport hotel and booked a room. Finally, he’d walked into the lounge, sat down at her table, and propositioned her for a one-night stand.

  In the business world, Jonah Stone was never impulsive. He studied his options, planned various strategies. And he was even more careful in his private life and relationships. He’d been nine when his father had decided to desert his family, nine and a half when his mother had stepped in front of a bus rather than go on without the love of her life. He’d vowed never to be that vulnerable to anyone. Happy ever after didn’t happen. The most one could hope for was a happy right now.

  Instinct told him that Cilla Michaels could have the power to make him hope for the impossible. He turned back to the table and let his gaze rest on the green box with its festive red ribbon. His instinct was telling him something about that box, too, and he might not be overreacting.

  Once again, he debated calling Cilla and hiring G.W. Securities. He had no doubt that his friend Gabe would recommend she handle the case. She was here in San Francisco. Gabe was in Denver. And at the party, Gabe had spent some time singing Cilla’s praises to him. She’d been involved in a high-profile personal security case in L.A. and she’d saved a client from a crazed stalker. In Gabe’s opinion, she had a rare combination of intelligence and excellent instincts.

  But if he called her, he’d also have her in his bed again.

  He pressed his hands against his eyes and rubbed. He didn’t have to decide tonight. In the morning, he was flying to Denver to attend the annual Christmas party at the Denver Boys and Girls Club, a place he’d been running for years with Gabe and Nash. They’d opened the club when the St. Francis Center for Boys, the place where they’d all first met, had closed down. He’d discuss the box and the note with Gabe.

  Jonah moved toward the spiral staircase to his loft. And there was always the chance that tonight would be the night that Cilla Michaels finally faded from his dreams.

  CILLA JOLTED AWAKE AND TRIED to focus. Relief came when she realized she’d fallen asleep on the couch and not in her bed. During the past three weeks, she’d rationed the hours she allowed herself to spend in her bed.

  Because the damn thing was cursed.

  Each time she fell asleep in it she dreamed of Jonah Stone touching her, tormenting her, taking her.

  And each time she woke up to find herself alone, she yearned for him. So avoiding her bed had become almost as important as avoiding Jonah.

  Which was why she’d ended up dozing off on her couch during a Christmas movie marathon on the Hallmark Channel. The credits for Miracle on 34th Street were rolling down the screen. A quick glance at the time on her digital TV box confirmed that she’d dozed off for nearly twenty minutes.

  That pissed her off.

  Not only had she missed her favorite part of the movie, the part where Kris Kringle proves he really is Santa Claus, but she’d also missed the cheese and crackers. The plate sitting on the cushion beside her was now empty.

  She glared at her cat. Flash, a plumply proportioned calico, lay stretched serenely along the arm of the sofa, a good distance from the scene of the crime.

  Pets were not allowed at The Manderly Apartments, a rule that was explicitly spelled out in the lease and articulated equally clearly by the apartment manager, Mrs. Ortiz, a woman who reminded Cilla eerily of Mrs. Danvers in the old Rebecca movie.

  But Flash hadn’t given Cilla much choice. When she’d moved in a few months ago, the calico had migrated from its former home on the fire escape to the living room via an open window. And stayed.

  It had to be for either the food or the conversation since the cat wouldn’t allow her to stroke, cuddle or even pick her up most of the time.

  “You’re supposed to share,” Cilla pointed out.

  Flash’s bland expression clearly said, “You snooze, you lose.”

  Her phone rang and the caller ID lady chimed, “Call from Wilder, Gabe.”

  Cilla sprang from the sofa and raced for her desk. Gabe headed up G.W. Securities’ home base in Denver. Two months ago he’d given her a new beginning by hiring her to manage his branch office in San Francisco when she’d moved on from a personal security agency in L.A. Gabe wouldn’t be
calling her at home on her night off if it wasn’t important.

  Maybe he even had a job for her. Business had been good lately. G.W. Securities offered a variety of services to corporate as well as private clients. Lots of people wanted to give security systems for Christmas, and she enjoyed the challenge of working on their design. But there were times when she missed the action that came with providing personal security.

  Mentally crossing her fingers, she grabbed the receiver on the third ring. “Gabe.”

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

  “Not at all.” The cheese and crackers were gone, her favorite movie was over, and working would give her a perfect excuse to avoid her bed.

  “I need a favor,” Gabe said.

  Cilla’s heart sank. Not a job after all. “What can I do?”

  “I want you to meet someone at the airport and make sure he gets home safely. He’s not a client. He doesn’t even know I’m making this phone call.”

  Hearing the worry in his voice, Cilla reached for a pen and paper. “Who is he and what time does his plane touch down?”

  On the other end of the line, Gabe expelled a breath. “Thanks, Cilla. It’s Jonah Stone and he’s due to arrive in San Francisco at 10:15. There was a lengthy delay because of the weather here in Denver. I was hoping the flight would be canceled, but he’s on his way.”

  Jonah Stone.

  Just the mention of his name had her heart skipping a beat. His image flashed into her mind—all that glorious dark hair, the handsome face with its sharp cheekbones, clearly defined chin with just that hint of a cleft, and the dark gray eyes… Just thinking about him made her knees weak and she carefully lowered herself into her desk chair.

  “Jonah’s not going to like that I’m sending you,” Gabe said.

  Cilla didn’t imagine that he would. She’d had a chance to explore every inch of that taut, toned, amazing body. Jonah was a man who could handle himself on a physical level pretty well. That was definitely part of what made him so damned attractive.

  More than once since their night in Denver, she’d regretted the fact that he was on her Forbidden Fruit list. More than once, she’d run over the reasons why. She’d done a little research on him. According to Gabe, the man had a real talent for hacking and electronic security, and right out of college, he’d helped Gabe establish G.W. Securities and continued to work there while he’d recruited backers for a supper club in San Francisco. In the past six years, he’d opened two more clubs and others were in the planning stages. A man that successful had to put business first just as her father had.

  And still did. Bradley Michaels was handsome, charming and currently working as the CEO of his fourth company. There’d been no time in his life for her mother or her. Not even at Christmas. Christmas had been his time to focus even more on the business and entertaining. After five years of playing second fiddle, her mother had divorced him, and since then Cilla’s contact with her father had been limited to phone calls on her birthday and Christmas.

  “I’m worried about Jonah,” Gabe said.

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s worried enough to cancel his plans and fly back to San Francisco early. He received a threatening note today. It was inside a green box tied with red ribbon and hand delivered to him while he was at a Christmas party he and Father Mike Flynn and I were throwing for the Boys and Girls Club we run here in Denver. I have some people still working on the box and the ribbon, but there were no prints, and I’ve had no luck tracking down the sender. He or she wore a Santa suit and sent it in with one of the kids. An early present for Mr. Stone. I’ll send the contents of the note right now in a text.”

  Cilla grabbed her cell phone. “It’s the first one he’s received?”

  “No. I asked him that right away and he admitted getting one yesterday during the height of the cocktail hour at Pleasures.”

  “I’ve got the text.” Then she read it aloud.

  “‘’Tis the season for remembering Christmases past. Pleasures and fortune are fleeting. You destroyed an innocent life in pursuit of yours. You’ll pay for that soon. Five nights and counting…’”

  Today was the twentieth of December. Cilla did the math in her head. “Five nights until Christmas.”

  “Yeah. The first had the exact same message except that it read, ‘Six nights and counting…’”

  Holding the phone pressed to her ear, Cilla rose and began to pace. “The first one is delivered to his club here in San Francisco, the next to Denver. The sender wants him to know that someone’s keeping close tabs on him.”

  “We think along the same lines, and so does Jonah.”

  “Does anything in the wording ring a bell for him?” Cilla asked.

  “Not that he can put a finger on. But he has a feeling about the threat. His feelings are usually spot-on, so now I have one, too.”

  She was beginning to get one herself. Gut instinct should never be ignored. Her mind was already racing ahead. What she had was a reluctant client and the possibility of real danger. A tricky combination, but she could do tricky. In fact, she enjoyed tricky. One reason she’d been delighted when Gabe had approached her was because the jobs in L.A. had become a bit too predictable and boring even before she’d had a disagreement with a client and decided to move on.

  “Jonah has an office and living quarters over his club, Pleasures. That’s where he’s headed.”

  “Good to know.” Going to Pleasures would mean a wardrobe change. The jeans she was wearing would be out of place at the fancy supper club.

  “I’ve known Jonah since we were in our teens. Ask him for help and he’ll give you anything he’s got. But at heart, he’s a bit of a loner. He doesn’t like to depend on anyone.”

  “In other words, he’s going to try to ditch me.”

  “Yeah. He wouldn’t let me send anyone with him. He wouldn’t even let me tag along.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll stick.” The two years she’d spent working personal security for some of Hollywood’s youngest and brattiest stars had honed her skills in the sticking department.

  The moment she hung up the phone, she raced into her bedroom and threw open her closet door. She didn’t have a lot of clothes, but during her time in L.A., she’d acquired some special pieces. She pushed aside hangars and decided on the little black cocktail dress that had visited some of Hollywood’s hottest nightspots.

  Whirling, she was about to toss it onto her bed, but Flash lay sprawled across the middle. The cat could move like lightning when she really wanted to.

  “I have to leave for a while.” She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Business. Fancy place.”

  Pleasures was very upscale. Though she’d never been there, she’d frequently walked by. And each time she’d passed the front doors during the past three weeks, she’d resisted the temptation to go in. If she had, the chances were good that she’d run into him. The plan was to get over Jonah Stone.

  So far the plan hadn’t worked. And seeing him again…

  Jonah was a client, she reminded herself. And she had very strict rules about clients.

  She turned her attention to Flash. “Dress needs something, don’t you think?” The red peep-toed shoes had cost her half a paycheck, but when she held them up for Flash’s inspection, the cat made a sound deep in her throat.

  “I agree. These things will dress up anything.”

  It took her three minutes to change and another ten before she was satisfied with her hair and makeup.

  She paused to survey herself in the mirror. She definitely didn’t look like a bodyguard. That ought to make it easier for a man like Jonah Stone to accept her as one. At least for the evening.

  Then she narrowed her eyes on the image in the mirror and swept her gaze down and up. “Who are you kidding? You’re wearing this just as much for him as you are for the job.”

  Moving closer, she tapped a finger on the mirror. “The man has three strikes against him. Not o
nly is he like your father, he’s also your boss’s best friend and now he’s a client. One night with Jonah Stone is understandable. Enviable. Any more could be disastrous. You are going to handle this.”

  Turning back to her closet, she grabbed her red leather coat and transferred her gun from her dresser drawer to her pocket. She was almost at the door of her apartment before she felt the eyes boring into her back.

  Flash.

  “Sorry.” Whipping around, she saw that the cat had returned to her station on the sofa. Right next to the empty plate.

  “I’ve got to go, pal.” Crossing to the sofa, she crouched down and looked into Flash’s eyes. “It shouldn’t take long. But it’s my chance to impress my new boss.” She lifted a hand and then dropped it, remind ing herself that Flash didn’t like to be touched. “No more food. Remember our little talk about lifestyle choices.”

  It was one that they’d had several times since she’d taken her new roommate to the vet. Dr. Robillard had prescribed a “modification” in Flash’s diet. The pediatrician her mother had taken Cilla to when she was thirteen had used nearly the same words.

  “Moderation is the key. It made all the difference for me when I was in my teens. You’ll get used to it.”

  Flash’s expression said, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “Tell you what. I’ll leave the Hallmark Channel on. They’re having a marathon of Christmas movies. It’ll take your mind off food.” She snagged the remote, hit the channel. “Look. A Boyfriend for Christmas. That sounds like a great one. Santa, presents and romance thrown in.”

  And now she didn’t have to watch it herself. Cilla silently sent up a prayer of thanksgiving to Gabe as she rose and raced for the door. “Meeow.”

  Flash’s mournful reproach followed Cilla as she headed for the stairs.

  3

  JONAH STONE HADN’T BEEN HAVING the best of days when he stepped into the airport parking garage. A chilly blast of wind followed him. His flight to San Francisco had been delayed three hours because of a blizzard in Denver, and he’d spent most of his wait time at the airport thinking about another blizzard and another night.