Renaissance Rogue (Cursed Painting Book 3) Read online

  They stopped into the next apartment building and called the driver. The miserable crook wanted three hundred dollars for it, saying he could easily sell it for that amount and it had been given to him fair and square. She begrudgingly agreed and within a half an hour, he drove by, pulling up to the curb with his hand out.

  “Phone first,” Daniel said, stepping in front of her.

  “No way, what if you run?”

  Jade waved the pile of twenties she’d gotten from a cash machine. “Good God, do we look like criminals to you?” He handed her the phone and she handed him the money. “Please try to be less mercenary from now on,” she said primly.

  He nodded at Daniel. “Don’t run out on your man without leaving him any money from now on,” he countered. “This dude made me break at least three traffic laws trying to get here in a hurry.”

  “Oh. Well, thank you then. And thank you for not pawning my phone.”

  “As long as somebody gave me what it’s worth,” he said with a shrug. “Stop fighting, you two.” He winked and took off with a squeal of tires.

  “He must think we were in a lover’s squabble,” Daniel said. He turned to her with his head tilted to the side. “Why didn’t we ask him to drive us home?”

  She burst out laughing at her stupidity. No, not stupidity. She’d earned her current lack of brain power. “Because I am exhausted beyond measure. There’s a really nice hotel just up the street. Let’s check in and eat and drink everything in the minibar and then pass out. Sound good?”

  “I didn’t understand some of that,” he said, offering her his arm. “But if it sounds good to you, it sounds good to me.”

  “Perfect answer, Daniel.”

  ***

  The room was huge. She went all out and asked for a suite and it was perfect. Cool and comfortable, but no pictures of her and Reynolds together, no gifts he’d given her that he might have given to another woman. Just a room and Daniel.

  She showed him what a minibar was and they’d polished off the chocolates and the nuts, and had just unscrewed the tiny cap from the second rum. The luxurious suite only had one bed but it could have easily fit four people. They had propped up all the pillows and now sat with their legs outstretched, swathed in the thick hotel robes, mindlessly flipping through the channels with the sound down while they chatted about everything and nothing.

  “Tell me something important about your old life,” she said. “What’s important to you?”

  He appeared stunned by the forthright change of subject after they’d been discussing the age old question of whether mermaids were evil or not. He said yes, she said no. Now that he had to actually think, she felt sorry for asking and hoped she didn’t ruin the night.

  “My father was important to me,” he said slowly. “I loved him, but I knew I could never live up to him. I suppose by all accounts I was more successful than him, thanks to Hugh’s father’s gift of the merchant ship. But he was always so much more upright, honest, generous… more content with his life than I was. My wine business made a decent living. I could have had a comfortable enough life, but I still yearned for more. That’s when I began smuggling.”

  “Smuggling? I thought you said pirating.”

  “Pirating came later, after I grew bold. No one would believe anyone who dared to say it was my ship who robbed them. Not with the backing of the Marquess of Altonshire. It was all very exciting, but I still couldn’t find contentment.”

  “Always wanting more?”

  “Always wanting more,” he agreed. “I thought things might change if I could save Hugh from a life of misery with that woman. I told myself I wanted him to be happy since he was like a brother to me. But deep down I knew our pirating days would be over once he was married. I went into that painting never knowing a moment of true happiness. Lots of good times, mind you. But no happiness.”

  “How awful,” she said.

  She wished she could change the subject, not wanting him to be miserable, which would remind her of her own misery. She wanted to hear more though, certain he had more to say.

  “So,” he said, turning to face her. “You asked me what was important about my life. That was my father. And what is important to me now?”

  She nodded, mesmerized by his searching brown eyes. “Yes?”

  “You are, Jade.”

  If he had been a man from her time she would have made a vomit noise and kicked him out, but she could see he was being completely sincere. He believed what he said, whether she did or not. And she wanted to believe him.

  “Me?” she asked, feeling like she was fishing for compliments.

  “I was somehow set free from my curse when I laid eyes on you. It isn’t gratitude I feel, though.” He took her hand in one of his, and rested his other hand alongside her cheek.

  “What do you feel?” she whispered.

  He smiled, putting her broken heart back together with just the quirk of his lips. He leaned over and kissed her gently. “I love you, Jade. You are as beautiful and vibrant as your name.”

  “No,” she said, tears prickling at her eyes. He even liked her name.

  “Yes.” He kissed her again. “I know because I never felt a sense of true happiness in my entire life. Until I saw you. Until you spoke to me. I am complete now.”

  She closed her eyes, two fat tears plopping onto her cheeks. “Oh, Daniel.” She opened her eyes to find him looking at her adoringly with that overly gorgeous face. “Oh, my God, Daniel.”

  She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself onto his lap. Running her fingers through his long locks, she traced his jaw, his collarbone, his shoulders. How could he be real? But he was. Very real, very warm, and wanting her as much as she wanted him.

  He slipped his hands around her waist and she felt him smiling as he kissed her with lips that were soft and firm and tasted like chocolate and rum. His beard tickled her jaw as he made his way down the side of her neck and goosebumps popped out all over as he untied the belt of her robe.

  He nudged the soft terry cloth off her shoulders as he nuzzled the hollow of her throat and she pulled herself closer to him, aching to feel his skin against hers. Letting her head drop back, she closed her eyes and concentrated on his bristly beard and skilled mouth working their way down her chest.

  She clutched his shoulders and moaned as he lifted her by the hips to access her breasts. She was in heaven, absolute heaven. His dark auburn hair glinted in the light of the bedside tables and she ran her fingers through the shiny strands, breathing in the scent of sea air and pine trees. How did he even smell so good? He pushed the rest of her robe aside and trailed his fingertips down her spine, chuckling when she shivered.

  He paused, making her drop her chin and face him. His eyes were full of wonder and love and she felt it as surely as she saw it there. She’d always craved to be loved without reason or logic. Not because she was a hard worker or for anything she did or had. She saw that in Daniel’s eyes and at that moment she felt it just as strongly for him. But it couldn’t be. They hardly knew each other. It had to be his expert touch. Which she definitely wanted more of.

  Stop thinking, she admonished herself.

  He gently eased her off his lap and kicked aside the covers. “You’re cold,” he said, chafing away the goosebumps that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. “Let’s get under.”

  She was perfectly fine with that suggestion. When they were snuggled close together under the fine hotel sheets, he smoothed away her hair from her face and ran his finger along her jaw and over to her bottom lip.

  “You’re far too beautiful,” he said. “You make me weak.”

  She shivered deliciously, despite being under the covers. “And you give me goosebumps.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. She reveled in the feel of all those muscles rippling under his smooth, warm skin.

  “Let me heat you up, then.” He rolled, keeping his arms tight aroun
d her, until she was snugly beneath him. “Cozy?” he asked, propping himself on his elbows and grinning down at her.

  She shook her head and giggled, wrapping her legs around his hips and wriggling around until she felt the hot, hard length of him pressing against her. It stifled the giggle with a gasp of pleasure and she went still, her bones feeling like they’d turned to liquid.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, closing her eyes. Just being on the cusp was enough to send her into a paroxysm of pure pleasure.

  He pushed ever closer, kissing her jaw and stroking her breasts and muttering her name. He was as lost as she was. She twined her fingers in his hair, gripping to bring him back to her.

  “Daniel,” she gasped, bucking under him.

  It was both a plea and a demand. She remembered she could make him do whatever she wanted. Oh, this was going to be fun. But her mind was blank of commands. All she could do was call his name again.

  He answered with a strong, smooth thrust, joining them together at last. Yes, now she was definitely in heaven.

  Chapter 12

  Jade rolled over to a blinding beam of sunlight streaming through an opening in the blackout curtains. She was in the Aristocrat Hotel, the nicest hotel in Annabel. In bed with Daniel. His arm was thrown across her stomach and she managed to turn enough without waking him to look at him. Warm sensations and delicious memories gushed through her at the sight of his bare chest and brawny shoulders.

  She had about thirty seconds to bask in those memories before a guilt storm blew in and battered her with self-recriminations. She slithered out from under Daniel’s arm and got out of bed, wrapping herself in the hotel robe, which had managed to end up across a chair. She tried to blot out the images of the clothing trail that had led her to the truth about Reynolds by feasting her eyes on Daniel’s sleeping form again.

  She had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

  Her phone had dozens of messages waiting for her and she groaned, knowing she had to have missed at least one meeting. She sent a quick email to her assistant telling her to beg everyone’s pardon, but she needed a personal day.

  She finally had messages galore from Reynolds and she deleted them all without reading them. She accidentally caught the word doll in one of them and nearly woke Daniel with her feral growl.

  “What’s this?” she said, sitting down. There were several very long messages from Reynolds’ boss. “Holy cow, he didn’t.”

  But he did. She read through them all, feeling sick and sorry for both herself and Reynolds’ boss for having been involved with two such rotten people.

  It turned out the random screw was not only the wife of the big boss, but she was also a VP at Daniel’s company. What a mess. Jade was glad to be out of it, and cleanly. She didn’t care about the few personal things she had at his apartment. Now she knew why he never wanted any signs of her around. She highly doubted the VP was his only paramour.

  “Are you all right?” Daniel asked. He sat up and the sheet slipped down, revealing lots of rippling abs. Concern etched his sleepy face.

  “Yes,” she said, meaning it. She took off her ring and put it in her purse.

  He beamed. “You’re done with him, then?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yes,” she repeated.

  “That’s wonderful news.”

  She held out her hand to keep him from continuing. She didn’t like where things were clearly heading. She didn’t like that she was about to break Daniel’s heart while getting hers broken all over again. But she needed to figure things out. Like why she had allowed Reynolds to treat her so badly for so long. Was she the kind of person who needed to be in a relationship even if it was toxic?

  She knew she put too much importance on the fact that Reynolds was from a “good” family and had the “right” connections. Even as she hated herself for it, she knew she valued those things, only wanting to get as far away from her messed up, low class upbringing as she could. Even though she didn’t care about Reynolds anymore, it was going to hurt her pride when everyone she knew found out.

  Her relationship with Reynolds had somehow become the better part of her identity. And she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to be the kind of person who jumped into a new relationship the second the old one ended, either. Her mother couldn’t go three months without being married and it had caused her and all her children nothing but misery.

  “I’m sorry, Daniel, but it’s not wonderful news.” Her voice broke and she coughed to try and hide it. She blinked back the tears and gathered her resolve. “I can’t be with you.”

  “But why not? If you’re free of that fool, why not?”

  “I’m not free of some other things,” she said. “I want to be. I hope to be one day, but I’m not now. That’s why. You have to go and forget about me.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t have to heed your commands anymore. I realized it last night.” He turned away. “Though I did what you said to please you. And because it pleased me as well.”

  Her face heated up and her body yearned to take back what she said, forget about self discovery. What was so important about loving herself when someone like Daniel loved her enough for the both of them?

  “Then I’ll ask you instead of command you. Will you please go and forget about me?”

  He was silent for so long, she turned back to face him, not sure she could ask again. His fists were clenched at his side and his chest heaved. At her glance, he let out a gusty sigh.

  “I’ll go, but I won’t forget about you. Never. Not if I somehow live another five hundred years.”

  A whimper escaped her and she flapped for her purse. “Let me give you some money.”

  “Please don’t insult me, Jade.”

  Now it was painful and awkward, but how could she let him go out into a world he was ill-equipped for? Her wretched heart tried to convince her he could stay in her house while she healed and put her life back together.

  “It’s nothing to me to help you get started out there,” she said, knowing the words were wrong the second they were uttered.

  “I will only ask you to please call your friend Seda and tell her where I am. Hugh may still be angry at me, but we were like brothers growing up. I’m sure I can stay with Hugh.”

  “Yes, that’s perfect.”

  She set it all up while he got dressed, feeling like ice had replaced her blood when he headed to the door to leave. She followed him to say goodbye, not certain it wouldn’t kill her.

  “Let’s be together,” he said quietly, almost knocking her off her feet with that cruel request.

  Yes, her heart screamed. But her mind was made up. She couldn’t trust her feelings, they’d lied to her before. You’re wrong! Daniel is the one, her heart tried one more time.

  “Goodbye Daniel,” she said, holding open her arms for a hug.

  He shook his head. “I won’t say goodbye.”

  And he wouldn’t hug her, either. He walked out the door, letting it quietly click shut behind him. She sank to the floor and cried into the plush bathrobe.

  ***

  Daniel sat in the hotel lobby feeling like an abandoned orphan. Every fiber of his being wanted him to run back up the stairs, fall to Jade’s feet and beg her to let him stay. He would continue cleaning her pool and cooking her meals, if only to get a glimpse of her each day.

  But Jade didn’t want him. He sat staring dully out the revolving front doors, waiting for Hugh to pick him up. He was supposed to be the one to rescue Hugh, but now he was the one being rescued. Yes, it hurt his pride. That pain wasn’t as great as the pain that wrapped around his heart, threatening to stop it.

  Hugh finally bumbled his way through the revolving door, looking harassed as it threatened to continue going around with him still in it. Daniel would have laughed if he had any laughter left in him. And if the same thing hadn’t almost happened to him the night before. He’d laughed then, with Jade, delighted to keep experiencing new things with her.

  �
�Come along,” Hugh said sourly. “Seda is what she calls double parked. It’s apparently not a good thing.”

  Daniel dragged behind, loath to leave Jade, despondent about being dependent on Hugh, but having no other choices. In the car, Seda pointed out how to put his seatbelt on, explaining it was to keep him from flying through the windshield should she crash.

  “And there’s a fine if a cop sees you without it,” she added, not at all concerned about this seemingly inevitable crash.

  “I’m positive I didn’t have to wear this uncomfortable harness in the taxi last night,” he groused.

  “Your driver was probably irresponsible,” Seda said. “Nobody’s dying in my car, nope.”

  Daniel put his head in his hands. He’d been out on the ocean in the roughest storms and never been seasick, but these modern vehicles made him feel like his insides were being bounced to pieces.

  “It will all be fine,” Hugh said gruffly.

  Daniel shrugged. “It’s only the movement of the car,” he said.

  Seda turned around and gawked at him. Alarming, since she was driving. “Are you saying you’re not brokenhearted at Jade sending you away?”

  “Seda, love, do you have to be so straightforward?” Hugh asked quietly, but not so quietly that Daniel didn’t hear. Hugh’s pity was just more acid burning away in his stomach.

  “I’m only trying to see if I was wrong again.” She turned around once more. “Was anyone else at the house when you came out of the painting?”

  “Please watch the road,” he snapped. “And why are you asking me such questions?”

  She faced the front and glanced back at him through the little looking glass that hung from the roof. He set his teeth, determined not to yell at the person whose hospitality he now relied on, but did she not understand that she needed to watch the road while at the helm of this racing death trap?