Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“It’s perfect for my needs.”
I walk to the largest pool. The air is balmy, so the water must be heated. “For a late-night swim?”
“And other things.”
Across the room, Rex opens a hidden panel on the wall and presses a button. I half expect the pool to open and a sea monster to come out. Instead, the air around me ripples. The hair on my arms rises like I’ve been shocked with static.
“What was that?”
“Anti-surveillance technology. Patented by the military contracting arm of Roy Enterprises.”
“Knight Corp,” I recall the name of the company.
“Exactly. I told you I’d tell you everything. This will make sure no one can listen in.”
“You think your playroom is bugged?”
“If I were St. James, I wouldn’t let an opportunity like that pass me by. I have it swept every so often. But this way, I can be sure.” He paces to the side of the pool. We’re on opposite sides, our reflections rippling between us. “Now. Strip.”
“Excuse me?” Heat rises between my breasts.
“You heard me.”
“I thought you said no games—” My voice dies as he shrugs off his suit jacket and lays it on a nearby lounge chair.
“I did, and I meant it. But I need to be sure you’re not wearing a wire.”
“Seriously?”
He undoes his cufflinks and rolls up his sleeves.
At the sight of his veined forearms, my mouth goes dry.
He slips off his belt and makes a show of winding it around his palm. “Do you need help?”
“No.” I turn away and peel my top over my head, taking care to slip off the collar. The leather skirt is more of an issue. It’s tight, and the zipper snags. “Next time you buy me a wardrobe, make sure I can reach all the zippers on my own.”
“Or I can make sure I’m always available to undress you.” His voice comes from a few feet away. I glance over my shoulder and get a view of thickly muscled shoulders and a set of powerful pecs.
“No,” I yelp. “Go back to your side.”
He chuckles.
I get the zipper down and wave my arms to show my bra and underwear. “Happy?”
“Very. But as much as I love the sight of you in the lingerie I choose, this conversation only happens when you’re naked. Keep stripping.” His velvet voice tempts me to look at him. I know he’s naked and enjoying the show.
I’m soaking wet, and I’m not even in the water.
I wriggle out of my undergarments and toss them on top of the pile. I head to the edge of the pool and pause to gather my hair. He tossed away my hair tie, but maybe I can improvise so I don’t get my hair wet.
I’ve piled it onto my head when he barks an order.
“No.” His voice comes from a distance. He’s back at the other side of the pool. “Leave it down.”
I let my hair tumble down my back. I don’t want him coming over here or insisting on a cavity search. It’s bad enough we’re both naked in this exotic, private space.
I keep my eyes down until I’m neck-deep in the pool. The warmth embraces me, and I dance to the center, enjoying the buoyancy. Then there’s a small splash, and the water ripples toward me.
I raise my gaze. Rex stands a head taller than me. He’s so beautiful, his dark features caressed by the low light. The heat in his gaze sets the temperature to boiling. My knees buckle, and I almost slip under the water.
He paces toward me. For a moment, I’m afraid he’ll keep coming until he has me in his arms. If he holds me again, I will lose myself to him.
But mercifully, he stops a few feet away. We’re face to face, alone in this huge space.
No clothes. No wires.
Nothing between us.
Once again, he has me where he wants me, and gods, I can’t help it. This is the only place in the world I want to be.
“Now,” he says. “Where were we?”
22
Rex
She stands before me, looking serious but unsettled. With her dark hair floating on the water, she looks like a siren. A silent one who doesn’t need to sing to lure a victim. The water laps at her breastbone, and the slanted underwater lights give me a skewed view of her golden curves. If I die now, I’d die a happy man.
Her brows crease. She’s here to work.
“I asked you where you were the night Gregory Martin lost his life,” she says in her detective voice. If she knew it made me hard, made me want to kiss her soft, solemn mouth, she’d never use it again around me.
I let her prompt me. “I was here with you. But after you went home, I paid a call to Martin Shipping. Gregory was working late, as usual.”
“Gregory?”
“He and I ran in the same circles. My companies have contracts with his. Still do.”