groaned against her, pulling her sideways into his lap as he bit at her lower lip. She could feel his erection against the backs of her thighs, and she shifted a little. He slapped at her butt; she barely felt the contact, but she gave him the little yip she knew he wanted from her.
“I am going to keep my promise to you,” he said, his voice closer to a growl than anything else. “But first, we need to talk business. I need to know everything you know about Arturo. Everything you even suspect about my father, about AEGIS, about the will. I need to know what’s going on, Zoey, and I’m starting to think that there’s no one else I can trust. Not even my mother.”
“Not your mother? What do you think she has to do with it? Just because he was in her office—”
He was shaking his head. “No, that’s not it,” he said. “I think—God, this is hard to say. I think Arturo might have been—well, a half sibling of mine. And I think my mother just might have had him killed to protect my inheritance.”
Read on for a sneak preview of the sizzling sequel
Available now! FREE for Kindle Unlimited customers
CHAPTER ONE
Zoeysat perfectly still in the back of the town car that was driving her God knew where. Ale x’ s home seemed the most likely destination, but with the dark light that shone in his eyes, she was n’ t sure she wanted to ask him. She had absolutely no fear that he would hurt he r— well, not unless she begged him t o— but there was a level of determination in his eyes that made her not want to do anything that would make her look like prey to the predator. The man had just, with a completely calm expression, accused his mother of murder. Sh e’ d known since the first time she saw Alexander Blankenship in the club that he was a force to be reckoned with; this was the first time it had occurred to her that he might actually be dangerous.
In her view, there were two ways she could respond to what h e’ d said. She could act like a girlfriend, reaching out to touch his hand and try to tell him that everything would be okay. She thought h e’ d probably respond all right to that, but he would probably try and reassure her back. It might help; comforting her might let him feel more in control of what was happening, which might help him be calm and cool. But at the same time, it said that she did n’ t think he could control himself, that he was someone who needed to be soothed.
So she went with the second option. She just answered his questions .“ The trouble is , ” she said ,“ That I have a lot of suspicions, but not much I can actually prove. Where do you want to start? Philip, Arturo, or AEGIS ? ”
“ Olivia , ” he said. There was a light strain to her voice .“ Do you think she could have had something to do with all of this ? ”
She shook her head very slowly .“ I do n’ t know, Alex. She was n’ t something I was looking into this afternoon. I do n’ t know her personally, so I do n’ t have a read on whether or not sh e’ s capable of arranging a murder . ”
He nodded, his face quiet, but the expression in his eyes was deeply wounded. Not by her, she thought. By the fact that he felt the need to ask. It was one of those questions where the asking said more than the answering ever could .“ Philip, then . ”
“ I suspect you know a lot of this . ” She reminded herself briefly that she was speaking about this ma n’ s father, and then dove in .“ The stories are everywhere. The gossip columns had him paired with a different woman every month, and sometimes, after he was gone, the women in question were pregnant. Sometimes, they seemed to have greater means than the y’ d had before he was there. None of the women were ever willing to publicly state the father of their children, and he never claimed any of them publicly . ”
Alex nodded .“ The old man fucked anything that moved. Especially if it was
“I am going to keep my promise to you,” he said, his voice closer to a growl than anything else. “But first, we need to talk business. I need to know everything you know about Arturo. Everything you even suspect about my father, about AEGIS, about the will. I need to know what’s going on, Zoey, and I’m starting to think that there’s no one else I can trust. Not even my mother.”
“Not your mother? What do you think she has to do with it? Just because he was in her office—”
He was shaking his head. “No, that’s not it,” he said. “I think—God, this is hard to say. I think Arturo might have been—well, a half sibling of mine. And I think my mother just might have had him killed to protect my inheritance.”
Read on for a sneak preview of the sizzling sequel
Available now! FREE for Kindle Unlimited customers
CHAPTER ONE
Zoeysat perfectly still in the back of the town car that was driving her God knew where. Ale x’ s home seemed the most likely destination, but with the dark light that shone in his eyes, she was n’ t sure she wanted to ask him. She had absolutely no fear that he would hurt he r— well, not unless she begged him t o— but there was a level of determination in his eyes that made her not want to do anything that would make her look like prey to the predator. The man had just, with a completely calm expression, accused his mother of murder. Sh e’ d known since the first time she saw Alexander Blankenship in the club that he was a force to be reckoned with; this was the first time it had occurred to her that he might actually be dangerous.
In her view, there were two ways she could respond to what h e’ d said. She could act like a girlfriend, reaching out to touch his hand and try to tell him that everything would be okay. She thought h e’ d probably respond all right to that, but he would probably try and reassure her back. It might help; comforting her might let him feel more in control of what was happening, which might help him be calm and cool. But at the same time, it said that she did n’ t think he could control himself, that he was someone who needed to be soothed.
So she went with the second option. She just answered his questions .“ The trouble is , ” she said ,“ That I have a lot of suspicions, but not much I can actually prove. Where do you want to start? Philip, Arturo, or AEGIS ? ”
“ Olivia , ” he said. There was a light strain to her voice .“ Do you think she could have had something to do with all of this ? ”
She shook her head very slowly .“ I do n’ t know, Alex. She was n’ t something I was looking into this afternoon. I do n’ t know her personally, so I do n’ t have a read on whether or not sh e’ s capable of arranging a murder . ”
He nodded, his face quiet, but the expression in his eyes was deeply wounded. Not by her, she thought. By the fact that he felt the need to ask. It was one of those questions where the asking said more than the answering ever could .“ Philip, then . ”
“ I suspect you know a lot of this . ” She reminded herself briefly that she was speaking about this ma n’ s father, and then dove in .“ The stories are everywhere. The gossip columns had him paired with a different woman every month, and sometimes, after he was gone, the women in question were pregnant. Sometimes, they seemed to have greater means than the y’ d had before he was there. None of the women were ever willing to publicly state the father of their children, and he never claimed any of them publicly . ”
Alex nodded .“ The old man fucked anything that moved. Especially if it was
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