Nightfall by Anne Stuart Page A

hers. She was seeing him as a man who'd lost his pregnant wife and children in the most horrible of ways, and she wanted to press his head against her breasts and comfort him. The thought amused him. She'd probably try to comfort a rattler who'd made the mistake of biting a scorpion.
    "I tried to put Bellingham off," Sean continued in a faintly fretful voice. "I can't have these interruptions when things are moving so well."
    "When do you want me to read it?" Cass asked.
    Sean stared at his daughter as if she'd suddenly grown two heads. "Read it?"
    "Read it," she repeated with exaggerated patience. "The manuscript. Isn't that why I'm here? Apart from being a glorified secretary, getting your research in order, I thought I was supposed to be editing this as you go."
    "You know I can't abide having anyone peer over my shoulder while I work!" Sean shot back. "You'll see it when I'm good and ready."
    Cass sighed, rising from the desk. "In that case, I'll go back to Maryland, and you can let me know when you're ready for me. I'm not going to waste my time shuffling papers while you consort with your muse."
    "Cassidy, come back here!" Sean thundered, but she'd already vanished into the hallway, and he turned to Richard, frustration on his ruddy face. "Never have children, Tiernan. They're sharper than a serpent's tooth."
    "I don't expect I'll have the chance to father any others," he said coolly, dropping the book in his lap. "Are you going to let her go?"
    There was a faintly crafty expression on Sean O'Rourke's face, one he didn't make much of an effort to hide. "I don't know if I can stop her," he said with a show of regret.
    Richard leaned back, watching him. That regret was only a front. He must have thought better of offering his daughter up to Richard Tiernan, and he was glad of the chance to let her escape.
    But he'd reckoned without Tiernan. "If she leaves," he said softly, "so do I."
    "Richard, you don't need her," Sean said, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. "I don't know why you think you do. Any reasonably intelligent editorial assistant will do, and I can find any number of good-looking ones who'd be more than happy to go to bed with you. Women tend to be fascinated by notoriety, God bless 'em."
    "If I wanted a straightforward fuck, I can find it for myself," he said. "Certain kinds of women are attracted to the hint of danger. That's not what I want Cassidy for."
    "You don't want her?"
    "I didn't say that. I just said things weren't all that simple. Are you going to change your mind? Are you willing to give up my cooperation with your goddamned book in return for your daughter's escape?"
    Sean's flushed face turned even darker. "You make it sound as if I'm willing to whore my daughter for the sake of my career," he protested.
    "Aren't you?"
    "I got you out of jail, Tiernan. I offered to stand bond for you, and it was my name, my reputation that convinced the judge…"
    "Your name and reputation are almost as bad as mine," he interrupted the old man ruthlessly. "Mark Bellingham might not have the clout of Matthews, but he can manage a simple appeal. And I don't have to be here. You and I both know it. We made a bargain, and you're going to keep your side of it."
    "Nobody can make Cass do anything she doesn't want to do."
    "She'll want to," Richard said quietly.
    "I don't like it."
    "It's a little late for you to decide that, isn't it? You told me she needed to get out in the world, live a little. You're providing her with the opportunity."
    "Why do you want her?" Sean asked. "You've never given me a straight answer. I know it's not a case of love at first sight—you're a cold-blooded bastard at best. What do you want from my daughter?"
    Richard leaned back, considering it, considering the man who'd sell his daughter for the sake of his bloody career. "Salvation," he said, with more honesty than he'd ever given Sean O'Rourke before.
    But Sean was past the time of recognizing truth when he heard it. "I'll have to