blind eye.”
“Did you tell all this to the police?”
“Of course. They have Luke’s address book, but nothing in it points to his lovers’
identities. He was careless in every aspect of his life except when it came to protecting his sexual partners. In that one way, he was painfully discreet.”
His wry tone countered the despair in his eyes. “So Luke dies, chooses my balcony to leap from, leaves no note that they can find. And who do the authorities look at? Me.
The only person who gave a damn about him. The only one who…”
He shook his head and pressed his fingertips against his brow. “I feel like I’ve been dragged to hell and back. Like I’m being punished for caring about him. What they can’t see is that I didn’t care enough. I could have gone beyond Azure and contacted the authorities with my concerns when I saw someone was physically hurting him, when I saw how bad his drug abuse had gotten. But I didn’t, and the next thing I knew, Luke was dead.”
Sympathy tightened Billie’s throat. Her instincts told her he was innocent, racked with guilt and grief on top of insult and indignation at being suspected, but the stoniness in his demeanor proclaimed nothing would comfort him.
“Will Azure vouch for your innocence during the investigation?”
A rueful smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “She doesn’t need to. Like I said, I have an alibi for that night. I was working.”
59
Shelby Reed
Relief, followed by a surge of irrational jealousy, clenched her stomach. “Well, good,” she said firmly. “Then it’s over for you.”
His black gaze shifted back to hers. “But it isn’t. During questioning I had to break the confidentiality clause in my Avalon contract, and the investigators on this case have all the integrity of a watering can. The client I was with…hell. Everyone suffers on this one. My days at Avalon are numbered.”
Billie waited for him to say more. When he only looked at her in silence, she said, “I won’t put any of this into the article. I’ll respect your privacy, Adrian.”
“I’m past caring what you do with this information,” he retorted. “Tell it all.
Nothing’s sacred in this world. If you want to know more, I’ll tell you. No, I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you.”
The drop in his tone shivered along her nerves, and she stiffened. “What?”
“I want to show you what I do.” He slid a hand along the back of the sofa and inched toward her. “I want you to know why women pay for me.”
Billie recovered just in time to flatten a palm against his chest. “Adrian, no.”
He paused. “I’m sorry— no ?”
“Right. That’s what I said.” She swallowed and felt like a child bypassing a jar labeled Free Candy .
Beneath her hand his heart thundered, his cool words belying the frantic rhythm that matched her own pulse. “Our track record is beginning to worry me.”
The dry comment brought a reluctant smile to her lips. “You don’t hear ‘no’ very often, do you?”
“I can’t remember the last time.”
“Don’t get me wrong…I find you incredibly attractive,” she said, knowing honesty was her only defense with a man who made his living by peeling away female inhibitions. “What woman wouldn’t be aroused by you?”
“What woman would follow me home, two miles on foot in the dark? You’re not just any woman, Ms. Cort, although you work damn hard at blending in with your tailored, conservative persona. You’d like people to think that wildness right under your surface is tightly reined. But it’s not. It radiates from you in waves.”
“Thank you, I think.” Her voice trembled.
“It’s not a compliment. I’m not a nice person.” His hand cupped her jaw, his thumb brushing her cheek. Then his palm slid down to her neck, and the slight pressure he applied snagged her breath in her throat. “You’re awfully trusting to assume I’m telling you the truth about Lucien.”
She swallowed. “I pride
“Did you tell all this to the police?”
“Of course. They have Luke’s address book, but nothing in it points to his lovers’
identities. He was careless in every aspect of his life except when it came to protecting his sexual partners. In that one way, he was painfully discreet.”
His wry tone countered the despair in his eyes. “So Luke dies, chooses my balcony to leap from, leaves no note that they can find. And who do the authorities look at? Me.
The only person who gave a damn about him. The only one who…”
He shook his head and pressed his fingertips against his brow. “I feel like I’ve been dragged to hell and back. Like I’m being punished for caring about him. What they can’t see is that I didn’t care enough. I could have gone beyond Azure and contacted the authorities with my concerns when I saw someone was physically hurting him, when I saw how bad his drug abuse had gotten. But I didn’t, and the next thing I knew, Luke was dead.”
Sympathy tightened Billie’s throat. Her instincts told her he was innocent, racked with guilt and grief on top of insult and indignation at being suspected, but the stoniness in his demeanor proclaimed nothing would comfort him.
“Will Azure vouch for your innocence during the investigation?”
A rueful smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “She doesn’t need to. Like I said, I have an alibi for that night. I was working.”
59
Shelby Reed
Relief, followed by a surge of irrational jealousy, clenched her stomach. “Well, good,” she said firmly. “Then it’s over for you.”
His black gaze shifted back to hers. “But it isn’t. During questioning I had to break the confidentiality clause in my Avalon contract, and the investigators on this case have all the integrity of a watering can. The client I was with…hell. Everyone suffers on this one. My days at Avalon are numbered.”
Billie waited for him to say more. When he only looked at her in silence, she said, “I won’t put any of this into the article. I’ll respect your privacy, Adrian.”
“I’m past caring what you do with this information,” he retorted. “Tell it all.
Nothing’s sacred in this world. If you want to know more, I’ll tell you. No, I’ll do better than that. I’ll show you.”
The drop in his tone shivered along her nerves, and she stiffened. “What?”
“I want to show you what I do.” He slid a hand along the back of the sofa and inched toward her. “I want you to know why women pay for me.”
Billie recovered just in time to flatten a palm against his chest. “Adrian, no.”
He paused. “I’m sorry— no ?”
“Right. That’s what I said.” She swallowed and felt like a child bypassing a jar labeled Free Candy .
Beneath her hand his heart thundered, his cool words belying the frantic rhythm that matched her own pulse. “Our track record is beginning to worry me.”
The dry comment brought a reluctant smile to her lips. “You don’t hear ‘no’ very often, do you?”
“I can’t remember the last time.”
“Don’t get me wrong…I find you incredibly attractive,” she said, knowing honesty was her only defense with a man who made his living by peeling away female inhibitions. “What woman wouldn’t be aroused by you?”
“What woman would follow me home, two miles on foot in the dark? You’re not just any woman, Ms. Cort, although you work damn hard at blending in with your tailored, conservative persona. You’d like people to think that wildness right under your surface is tightly reined. But it’s not. It radiates from you in waves.”
“Thank you, I think.” Her voice trembled.
“It’s not a compliment. I’m not a nice person.” His hand cupped her jaw, his thumb brushing her cheek. Then his palm slid down to her neck, and the slight pressure he applied snagged her breath in her throat. “You’re awfully trusting to assume I’m telling you the truth about Lucien.”
She swallowed. “I pride
Similar Books
