psyches was second nature to her. "There's a big difference between playing the bad guy on-screen and playing him in real life, or at least feeling as if you are."
"Not very subtle. If you want to know about Karli, just ask."
She hadn't been thinking just of Karli, but she didn't back off. "Maybe you need to talk about what happened. Darkness loses some of its power when you shine light on it."
"Wait here for me, will you? I have to throw up."
She didn't take offense. She simply lowered her voice and spoke more softly. "Did you have anything to do with her death, Ren?"
"You're not going to shut up, are you?"
"You just told me all I had to do is ask. I'm asking."
The look he shot her was withering, but he didn't walk away. "We hadn't even spoken in over a year. And when we were dating, it wasn't a grand passion for either of us. She didn't kill herself because of me. She died because she was a junkie. Unfortunately, the less savory members of the media wanted a sexier story, so they invented one, and since I've been known to play fast and loose with the truth myself when it comes to the press, I can hardly cry foul, can I?"
"Of course you can." She said a quick prayer for the soul of Karli Swenson, only a few words, but in light of her current spiritual black hole, she was thankful she could pray at all. "I'm sorry for what this has put you through."
The chink in his self-protective armor had been a small one, and his villain's sneer returned. "Spare me the sympathy. Bad press only adds to my box-office appeal."
"Gotcha. All sympathy retracted."
"Don't do it again." He took her arm to guide her through the crowd.
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's not to antagonize anyone with a fanny pack."
"Funny."
She smiled to herself. "See those people staring at us. They can't figure out why a babe like me is walking around with such a geek."
"They think I'm rich and you're a little treat I bought for myself."
"A little treat? Really?" She liked that.
"Stop looking so happy about it. I'm hungry." He took her arm and steered her into a tinygelateria , where a glass case held round tubs filled with the rich Italian ice cream.
Ren addressed the teenager behind the counter in pidgin Italian laced with a hokeyDeep Southaccent that made Isabel snicker.
He shot her a quelling look, and a few moments later they emerged from the shop with double cones. She dabbed at the mango, then the raspberry, with the tip of her tongue.
"You could have consulted me about what flavor I wanted."
"Why? You'd just have ordered vanilla."
She'd have ordered chocolate. "You don't know that."
"You're a woman who likes to play it safe."
"How can you say that after what happened?"
"Are we back to our night of sin?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Proving my point. If you didn't like to play it safe, you wouldn't still be obsessing over what turned out to be a less than memorable experience."
She wished he hadn't put it that way.
"If the sex had been great – now, that would have been worth obsessing about." His steps slowed, and he slipped off his sunglasses to gaze down at her. "You know what I mean by great, don't you, Fifi? The kind of sex that makes you so wild all you want to do is stay in bed for the rest of your life. The kind of sex where you can't get enough of the other person's body, where every touch feels like you're being rubbed with silk, where you get so hot and—"
"You've made your point!" She told herself this was simply Ren Gage showing off his tricks and, in general, trying to aggravate her with those smoldering eyes and that husky, seductive voice. She took a slow breath to cool off.
A teenager shot by on a scooter, and the sun melting from the golden stones fell warm on her bare shoulders. She smelled herbs and fresh bread in the air. His arm brushed hers.
She licked her cone, swirling the mango and raspberry against her taste buds. Every one of her senses felt alive.
"Trying to seduce me?" He pushed his
"Not very subtle. If you want to know about Karli, just ask."
She hadn't been thinking just of Karli, but she didn't back off. "Maybe you need to talk about what happened. Darkness loses some of its power when you shine light on it."
"Wait here for me, will you? I have to throw up."
She didn't take offense. She simply lowered her voice and spoke more softly. "Did you have anything to do with her death, Ren?"
"You're not going to shut up, are you?"
"You just told me all I had to do is ask. I'm asking."
The look he shot her was withering, but he didn't walk away. "We hadn't even spoken in over a year. And when we were dating, it wasn't a grand passion for either of us. She didn't kill herself because of me. She died because she was a junkie. Unfortunately, the less savory members of the media wanted a sexier story, so they invented one, and since I've been known to play fast and loose with the truth myself when it comes to the press, I can hardly cry foul, can I?"
"Of course you can." She said a quick prayer for the soul of Karli Swenson, only a few words, but in light of her current spiritual black hole, she was thankful she could pray at all. "I'm sorry for what this has put you through."
The chink in his self-protective armor had been a small one, and his villain's sneer returned. "Spare me the sympathy. Bad press only adds to my box-office appeal."
"Gotcha. All sympathy retracted."
"Don't do it again." He took her arm to guide her through the crowd.
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's not to antagonize anyone with a fanny pack."
"Funny."
She smiled to herself. "See those people staring at us. They can't figure out why a babe like me is walking around with such a geek."
"They think I'm rich and you're a little treat I bought for myself."
"A little treat? Really?" She liked that.
"Stop looking so happy about it. I'm hungry." He took her arm and steered her into a tinygelateria , where a glass case held round tubs filled with the rich Italian ice cream.
Ren addressed the teenager behind the counter in pidgin Italian laced with a hokeyDeep Southaccent that made Isabel snicker.
He shot her a quelling look, and a few moments later they emerged from the shop with double cones. She dabbed at the mango, then the raspberry, with the tip of her tongue.
"You could have consulted me about what flavor I wanted."
"Why? You'd just have ordered vanilla."
She'd have ordered chocolate. "You don't know that."
"You're a woman who likes to play it safe."
"How can you say that after what happened?"
"Are we back to our night of sin?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Proving my point. If you didn't like to play it safe, you wouldn't still be obsessing over what turned out to be a less than memorable experience."
She wished he hadn't put it that way.
"If the sex had been great – now, that would have been worth obsessing about." His steps slowed, and he slipped off his sunglasses to gaze down at her. "You know what I mean by great, don't you, Fifi? The kind of sex that makes you so wild all you want to do is stay in bed for the rest of your life. The kind of sex where you can't get enough of the other person's body, where every touch feels like you're being rubbed with silk, where you get so hot and—"
"You've made your point!" She told herself this was simply Ren Gage showing off his tricks and, in general, trying to aggravate her with those smoldering eyes and that husky, seductive voice. She took a slow breath to cool off.
A teenager shot by on a scooter, and the sun melting from the golden stones fell warm on her bare shoulders. She smelled herbs and fresh bread in the air. His arm brushed hers.
She licked her cone, swirling the mango and raspberry against her taste buds. Every one of her senses felt alive.
"Trying to seduce me?" He pushed his
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