What is the largest living organism on Earth?
“IT’S POSSIBLE your life is in danger.” Paul took one of her hands in both of his and gazed earnestly at her.
She didn’t believe it, but the intensity in Paul’s eyes told her that he was dead serious. For an instant her mind snapped back to this morning and the way Aiden had been so protective of Chloe. Madison liked to think she could take care of herself, and she could, but something cracked inside her. Knowing Paul cared appealed to her softer feminine side, the side she liked to deny having.
“I don’t think this adds up to my being in any kind of danger,” she told him. “The deaths in Boston don’t seem to be murder. So what you have is one of Wyatt’s offspring being killed. That’s all.”
“It’s just a hunch. I admit it, but I can’t tell you how strongly I feel I’m right. ID theft, Erin’s murder, Luis Estevez’s sudden appearance and discovering you’re one of Wyatt’s—”
“I’m not! I’m just trying to help.”
His expression darkened with an unreadable emotion. “So much is going on, a perfect storm of events and you’re at the center. We don’t have the big picture or we’d know what was happening.”
Madison liked to deal in facts. Well, actually, she’d carved out a career from arcane facts. But so much weird stuff was going on around her that she couldn’t help wonder. “How can we figure it out?”
“I’ll see what the guys in the fraud department have to say about Luis Estevez.” He ran his hand through his hair, then added, “I’ll also contact an agent I know with the FBI field office here in Miami.”
“Good idea.” She wouldn’t have thought to contact the FBI, but banking crimes did come under federal jurisdiction.
“I’m also going to phone the detectives in the Boston cases and see if there was anything…off about them.”
“Off?”
“That just means the lead detective has a hunch something isn’t right but can’t prove it. They may go with the flow and close the case.” He shrugged. “A closed case is a plus for the department. You add it to the ‘solved’ statistics. Detectives are under a lot of pressure to close cases. It makes it appear as if crime is going down, not up.”
“Makes sense,” she said.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
His look was so galvanizing it sent a tremor through her. She believed he was genuinely concerned. Why? He hardly knew her. Don’t kid yourself, an inner voice cautioned her. This man had already gone out on a limb for her by not revealing Aspen belonged to Dicon Labs. He was interested in her.
And she was interested in him.
It marked the first time since Aiden had walked out that she’d felt anything for another man. She’d tried to date—at Erin’s insistence—but her heart hadn’t been in it. Paul projected an energy and power that undeniably attracted her. Each time she was with him the pull became stronger.
He scooted closer and slipped his arm around her waist. A delightful shiver of anticipation ran through her. She forced herself to keep her mind on Luis Estevez’s offer. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”
He pressed his lips to hers, caressing her mouth more than kissing it. “Can we talk about it later?” he asked with a smile that would test a nun’s vows.
“No. Is sex all you think about?”
He considered the question for a moment. “Sometimes I think about food.”
She couldn’t help laughing…and enjoying being in his arms. He was going to make love to her unless she stopped him, which she knew she didn’t have the willpower to do. But she needed to tell him what was on her mind.
“Please help me,” she said.
“Name it.”
“Really look closely at Luis Estevez. If he wants my half of Total Trivia for legitimate purposes, I’m inclined to sell it to him.” She stared out the French doors at the pool area, a little surprised at herself. She’d been thinking about this, but she hadn’t realized she’d actually made up her mind. “Being around the Holbrooks makes me want to do something more with my life than run a trivia game site.”
“What have they done other than produce a drug for diabetes?” Paul asked.
“Not a lot,” Madison conceded, “but at least they’re trying. Wyatt wants to have something that will contribute to society after he’s gone. That’s commendable. Right?”
“Yes, I guess. I still think they stand to make a fortune.”
“While helping people.” Madison shook her head. “I’m not helping anyone except to give them a good time. I want to do more.”
“You want to make more money.”
“It’s not about money. When my father was dying, I would have traded anything I had or hoped to have to save him. I’d like to do something to help people. I left MIT before I finished my degree because my father was ill. I’d like to go back—maybe not there—but I would like to complete my degree.”
“If that’s what you want to do, I think you should.”
“There’s something else.” She didn’t know how to explain it exactly. “Chloe took Aiden away from me, and he adores her. I mean adores her. Aiden makes no attempt to hide his feelings, yet when I went there to ask about the bank accounts, Chloe went ballistic, like I was a threat or something. Her hatred seemed all out of proportion. It’s as if there’s a time bomb of jealousy—or something—inside her threatening to explode. It’s probably best that I leave the company.”
“I never met the woman, but if that’s how she behaves and you really want to finish your education, I agree. Sell your half of the business.”
“Thanks,” she said in a low voice. He had no idea how much she’d needed to talk to him about this. She had no one, no one at all in her life to discuss her hopes, her dreams with. “Check out Luis Estevez. I don’t want to sell to a crook.”
The concern reflected in his eyes became smoldering desire. She was gathered against a warm, rock-solid body and he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her urgently, hungrily, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She eased her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss.
Her brain reeled as his tongue slipped into her mouth and mated with hers. In a heartbeat her blood thickened to warm honey. Oh, my, kissing him was even better than she’d imagined.
His hands skimmed the planes of her back and waist. She drew closer to him, using her own hands to test the firm contours of his shoulders. Heavens, his shoulders were wide and powerful. They took their time, kissing, exploring with their hands, but the urgency, the need began to build. She heard herself moaning softly, from deep in her throat, as he adjusted their positions until they were stretched out on the sofa side by side. Instinctively, her body arched into his and he grabbed her bottom with both hands and brought her against his erection.
The turgid proof of his virility pressed against her, his heat searing through her skimpy shorts. His hand glided along her body until it found the swell of her breast and cupped the soft fullness in the palm of his hand. Her fingernails dug into his skin as she fought back a cry of pure pleasure.
His mouth lifted from hers and she opened her eyes, set to protest. The irises of his blue eyes were huge and black and gleaming with desire. His raw masculinity struck a responsive chord in her. “Oh, yes,” she whispered.
Yes—what? her brain had the common sense to ask. Yes, this is the man for me, came the answer. All the heartache that had gone before had led her here to this man. Now, she was ready to lose herself in him, in this moment, and forget what tomorrow might bring.
She quivered, inhaling sharply as the hand that found her breast eased under the tank top and thumbed the taut nubbin of a nipple through the sheer lace bra. Her body responded instinctively, a shaft of moist heat invading the apex of her thighs.
Passion flared in his heavy-lidded eyes as if he reveled in the reaction he was causing. Then his mouth touched her damp lips again, softly, barely there. She wound her arm around his neck and pulled him as close as possible. The woodsy scent of his aftershave lotion filled her lungs. Madison’s sex-starved body kicked into overdrive.
She twined her legs between his, thrusting herself upward, silently offering everything she had to give. It had been so long since she’d had sex, so long since she’d wanted a man that she burned to have Paul make love to her.
His lips left hers to trace a path of moist, lingering kisses down her throat to the sensitive curve where her neck met her shoulder. Somehow he’d unhooked her bra and was now caressing her bare breast while he continued to kiss her. He paused for a moment, breathing like a racehorse.
“Don’t stop,” she cried.
He rose and swept her wordlessly into his arms. In a few quick strides, they were in her bedroom. The next second they were stretched out on the comforter. He angled himself across her, letting her absorb some of his weight but leaving enough of her exposed for him to touch.
“You know,” he said, his voice low and husky, “I had the feeling the first time I set eyes on you that we’d end up in bed.”
She grabbed a toss pillow and bopped him with it. “You’re conceited.”
“Thanks,” he said in a tone that would have convinced the toughest jury that he’d just received a supreme compliment.
His mouth captured hers in a fierce, hot kiss and she could feel the rising passion thrumming through his body, flowing like an electric current into hers. The sheer intensity of his kiss took what little breath she had away until she was forced to jerk her head to one side and gasp for air.
“You okay?”
“Never better,” she managed to whisper. “Don’t stop now.”
“Believe me, I had no intention—”
She smothered his words with an openmouthed kiss and arched upward so her bare breasts were thrust against the crisp hair on his chest. What had happened to their clothes? When had he undressed them? Oh, boy. He was just too good at this. A pro really.
Who had he practiced on? asked some distant part of her brain. Did it really matter? came the groggy reply. She tried not to dwell on tomorrow. Live in the present, she admonished herself. Still, some little voice in her head reminded her of the heartbreak that could devastate her at a time when she was already oh, so vulnerable.
His slow, erotic kiss robbed her brain of any will to object. Slowly, taking all the time in the world, Paul trailed a series of kisses downward from her lips to her neck to her sensitive breasts. He was tasting her, savoring her as much as kissing her. All the while, his hand petted and stroked her inner thighs, igniting heat with each caress until she was purring like a kitten and arching upward into the palm of his hand.
Nothing in her life had quite prepared her for this…this pure ecstasy. True, she believed she’d reached the pinnacle of desire on more than one occasion. She’d been wrong. Nothing had felt quite like this.
“You’re incredible,” he whispered, his voice raspy.
“So…are you,” she managed to say.
He angled his body across hers, the weight pressing her down into the soft mattress. The rasp of hair on his chest tickled her breasts and sent yet another bolt of searing heat downward. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him—everywhere.
His cheeks were stubbled with an emerging beard, but it only added to the erotic sensations coursing through her body. Her tongue explored the patch of soft skin behind his ear. It had the faintest taste of salt. His overheated body exuded a woodsy, musky aroma that spiraled through her in a heartbeat. She moved downward until her lips touched the soft hair on his chest and she felt the thud of his heart against her mouth.
Oh, please, she silently thought. Let this last for hours and hours. Don’t let it end.
His powerful back was moist beneath her wandering hands, the muscles flexing at her touch. He moved against her, his hard body delightfully heavy as he nudged one leg between hers. His iron-hard erection delved between her legs.
“Oh, my. You’re just too good at this.”
Instead of responding, his lips nuzzled her nipple, sucking the taut bud deep into his mouth. His tongue played with it while she writhed beneath him. One second she wanted to scream for him to hurry; the next she wanted to demand he slow down, make this last all night.
She felt weak, her body quaking with need. Blood thundered in her temples and it was hard to think coherently. Instead she instinctively reacted and guided his penis into her as she widened her legs to accommodate him.
His mouth claimed hers and he kissed her with a fierce abandon that made her light-headed. He thrust into her in one quick motion that left her gasping for breath. He felt huge and burning hot inside her.
Oh, my. Oh, my.
Nothing registered in her brain for a moment except how thrilling this felt. It was a primal feeling, she dimly realized, a sensation she’d never experienced until this moment. The charged duet of their breathing, their bodies moving in sync seemed so right. So perfect.
“Madison,” he moaned in her ear. “You feel…you feel…”
Without completing his sentence, he began driving into her, then pulling out in a series of long, slow strokes. She lifted her hips to deepen the angle of his thrusts. Then, without warning, he picked up the pace, jackhammering into her. She clutched at him, crying his name. “Paul…oh, Paul!”
Pleasure rippled through her in shuddering waves and she arched higher, lifting off the bed as she reached the crescendo. Her body contracted in a convulsion of pleasure so mindblowing that she saw stars. White-hot stars.
Seconds later he drove into her one last time as he found his own release. He collapsed on her, panting, then rolled to one side, their bodies still joined. She felt languid, dazed and utterly incapable of rational thought. They lay silent for a few minutes, cradled in each other’s arms, still breathing like marathon runners.
“Well,” he said with a typical male smile—a grin really, “am I any good?”
“There’s only one way to tell. Let’s do it again. This time I’ll critique you as we go.”
MADISON WALKED through the lobby of St. John’s Hospital. The blood tests and physical exam to screen her for organ donation had taken most of the morning. It was almost noon, she noticed, checking her watch. She’d promised Paul that she would examine the underside of her computer to see if a keystroke logger had been attached to the keyboard, then call him. He was probably wondering what had happened to her.
Paul. Lord have mercy. What was she doing? She had no business getting involved with a man right now. Too late! She was involved, if that’s what you called making love to a man all night long.
When she woke up alone in bed, she figured it was par for the course. Men were into sex but had no idea what to say to you in the morning. Wrong. Paul had been in the kitchen, scrambling eggs and brewing coffee.
The aroma of the coffee had drawn her like a powerful narcotic, but she made a quick dash into the bathroom to brush her teeth and rake a brush through hair like a tumbleweed blown across Texas. The mirror told her that she could haunt a house and charge by the room, but it didn’t keep her out of the kitchen.
Paul had kissed her, then insisted she eat breakfast. He was a little upset to hear she was going to the hospital for testing instead of heading straight to the office to check for the keystroke logger, but she’d promised and didn’t feel she could let down Wyatt and Garrison.
“How’d it go?” a male voice asked, breaking into her thoughts.
She looked up, startled to see Garrison walking toward her. What was he doing here? “Fine. It took longer than I expected. I didn’t know it would be a complete physical, including a stress test on the treadmill.”
“I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t miss something at work.” His expression was sympathetic and she realized she must have sounded snippy.
“It’s okay, really.”
“Donating part of your liver involves major surgery. You have to be in excellent physical health.”
“I know. Dr. Miller explained the procedure in detail.”
“Have you got time to grab a quick lunch?” He gestured toward the cafeteria off the main lobby. “My father’s in there, saving a table. He had to have a series of tests this morning, too.”
She wanted to say no but couldn’t bring herself to do it. True, Garrison and Wyatt had their own agenda, but they’d both treated her with such kindness. The way things were shaping up, she would need to stay at the guesthouse for at least a week. “Thanks. I’ll have to make it quick. I need to get back to my office.”
Hand on the back of her arm, Garrison guided her into the large cafeteria. It wasn’t an ordinary cafeteria, with steam trays filled with dried-out or greasy food. There was a salad bar and turkey being carved by a chef at a make-your-own-sandwich station. Fresh fruit was arranged in bowls on shaved ice.
“They’re really into health here,” Garrison explained when he noticed her looking around the room. “Nothing fried, no red meat.”
In the far corner at a round table for four, Madison saw Wyatt. He waved at her, but she barely managed a smile. At his side was the ever-charming Savannah. If she’d known the woman was going to be here, Madison would have made an excuse, but it was too late now.
Wyatt stood as she approached the table. Savannah smiled, but resentment etched her beautiful face like a death mask. Garrison pulled out a chair for Madison.
“Thanks for beginning the testing process,” Wyatt said.
“No problem,” Madison replied. He appeared tired even though it wasn’t much past noon. She remembered what Garrison said about his father being more ill than he appeared.
“What would you like?” Garrison asked. “A salad or a sandwich?”
“A salad with chicken and iced tea,” she said. “Let me help you.”
Garrison was already walking away. “I’ll get it.”
Madison reluctantly lowered herself into the chair. Savannah and Wyatt had partially eaten salads and drinks in front of them. There was a half-eaten sandwich at Garrison’s place beside her.
Wyatt nudged his daughter with his elbow. “Savannah has something to say to you.”
I’ll bet. “Really?”
“I’d like to apologize for the way I behaved yesterday morning,” Savannah told her with all the enthusiasm of a woman receiving the last rites. “I was out of line. I know you’re just trying to help my father.”
Madison couldn’t bring herself to say it was all right, because it wasn’t. And Savannah wasn’t one bit sorry. Somehow her father had found out about the incident and forced her to apologize.
“I was very rude. I don’t know what got into me. I guess I’m just overly protective of my father.” The gorgeous redhead’s tone softened a bit. “I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
Most people would have assumed Savannah was referring to Wyatt’s health, but yesterday morning, Savannah had been upset about her father’s money.
“We’ve been talking about the Holbrook Foundation,” Savannah added in a voice that was just a little too perky. All is forgiven. Get over it, her tone seemed to imply. She smiled at her father, then asked Madison, “Do you know what the largest living organism on the earth is?”
“Coral reefs,” came Madison’s automatic reply. Did this woman think a quick “sorry” meant she wanted to have anything to do with her?
For a second Savannah looked stunned. “Oh, I forgot.” She rolled her vibrant green eyes. “You’re a trivia expert.”
“While we were waiting for you, Garrison was trying to explain that coral reefs hold endless possibilities for medical discoveries,” Wyatt said.
“Aren’t the reefs being killed by global warming and here in Florida from pesticide runoff from golf courses?”
Wyatt smiled at her while Savannah kept talking. “Garrison is nutso over those corn sprouts that have been successfully used to treat hepatitis B.”
“That’s not from the ocean,” Madison replied, not knowing where this confusing conversation was going.
“True, but my son is…well, how can I put it?”
“Bonkers. Simply bonkers,” Savannah supplied with an unflinching stare like a vulture. “My brother believes the future of medicine lies not in chemistry but in nature, especially the sea. This hepatitis B discovery only validates his theory. Garrison is determined that Father award the lion’s share of the foundation’s research money to scientists involved in plant-or sea-based discoveries like the one he’s working on.”
“It’s an ongoing discussion we’ve been having—”
“Father,” Savannah chided. “I wouldn’t call it a discussion. It’s more like an ongoing fight that my brother won’t give up. Garrison thinks he’s won this round—”
“Savannah, that’s enough.” Wyatt smiled at Madison and she had the impression he was embarrassed by his grown children’s bickering. “Scientists often disagree on the best method to achieve the same goal.”
Madison tried for a smile, but she couldn’t help wondering what Savannah’s role was. As if reading her mind, Savannah spoke.
“I’m working on skin rejuvenation products from what’s left at the bottom of a wine cask. You know, grape skins and seeds. Their antioxidant properties are fifty times more effective than—”
“Vitamin E.”
“Exactly,” Wyatt said with a warm smile for Madison.
Savannah’s eyes narrowed slightly; she didn’t even attempt a smile.
Garrison arrived with a large chicken salad and a glass of iced tea. He placed them in front of her. “Thanks. Looks great.” She immediately stabbed a chunk of chicken with her fork.
“We’ve asked the lab to process your blood work as quickly as possible and have Dr. Miller look over the results of your physical. It usually takes three days, but we should know tomorrow. The next day at the latest.” Garrison gave her an encouraging smile, then took a bite of his sandwich.
“Did you straighten out the ID theft problem?” Wyatt asked.
“Not yet. Apparently it takes longer and is more complicated than most people imagine.”
Garrison touched her shoulder. “Do you need—”
“I’m fine. Just having a place to stay while I straighten out the mess is a huge help.” She looked directly at Wyatt. “Thanks.”
“You know, every day twenty people die in the United States waiting for a transplant,” Savannah said, using her tongue like a whip.
“Savannah!” Garrison scowled at his sister.
She shrugged defiantly and her red hair flowed over her shoulders like molten lava. “It’s true. I just—”
“I’m sure Madison understands the gravity of the situation,” Wyatt told his daughter in a tone that said Savannah should shut her mouth. “I don’t have a lot of time.”
“The waiting list for organs is months—even years—long, depending on the type of transplant an individual needs,” Garrison added.
Madison thought about this for a moment. She’d meant to go online and learn more, but with everything that had been happening—and Paul—she hadn’t had time. “A person can’t just jump to the top of the waiting list, can they? What if I match someone who’s been waiting longer?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she had time to think.
Savannah’s quick glance at her brother telegraphed…what? Was Madison missing something?
“The person at the top of the list would receive the donation,” Wyatt assured her in a level voice. “But if you’re related to someone, you can choose to give him the organ instead of the person on the top of the list.”
Shock must have registered on her face because Garrison quickly said, “Most living-donor liver transplants are from family members. Few people volunteer to have part of their liver surgically removed for a total stranger.”
Thoughts tumbled through her brain like loose change. She recalled Rob telling her that this was a risky surgery and wondered how long the recovery would take. Along with that thought was the realization that this family honestly believed she was related to them. No doubt she would have to sign some sort of document saying she was related in order to bypass the donor recipient list.
Madison would have to admit she was part of this family, and they would have to formally accept her. Legal documents must be involved.
That’s what had Savannah in such a snit. She was insecure and didn’t trust her father to love her the way he did now if another sibling arrived on the scene with a lifesaving transplant. Or was it more about the money? Madison couldn’t be sure. Savannah was hard to read, but Garrison was an open book. He wanted to save the world—the oceans first—and his father. Who knew what Savannah really wanted?
Madison was tempted to assure them of what she knew to be the truth. She was Zach Connelly’s daughter. But she could see no amount of arguing was going to persuade this family. Only the facts would.
“They swabbed the inside of my mouth for a DNA test,” Madison told them. “How soon will it be run?”
“That takes weeks,” Garrison told her. “Best-case scenario. Could take up to two months. By then you’ll have gone through the battery of tests necessary before you can donate.”
She had the sinking feeling there was much more to this than anyone had told her. Savannah looked away while Garrison took another bite of his sandwich.
Finally, Wyatt said, “I have a very sensitive immune system. I’ve always been allergic to cats, strawberries, mold of any kind, shellfish…you name it. The doctors will need to see if our immune systems are compatible.”
“That means a bone marrow test.” The way Savannah said it with such relish told Madison it wasn’t going to be pleasant. She’d heard of the test, of course, and Garrison had mentioned it, but she didn’t know what was involved.
What had she gotten herself into?