A Kept Man (19 page)

Damn
.

That just meant he was in even bigger trouble than before.

He had to report this new development to Frank now that his guess had
become a certainty, or at least as close to one as he was going to
get without finding Hastings’s real partner. He stepped out of
bed, not bothering to cover himself either. Even if he was the shy
type, Jess had seen all there was to see by now. Becoming modest at
this late date seemed like a pointless endeavor.

He went back to the guesthouse to use his cell phone there. Frank
answered on the second ring.

“What do you have for me?”

“She’s not involved.”

There was a beat of silence, then, “You sound positive of
that.”

“I am. I heard the whole story from her. She was as duped by
Hastings as everyone else.”

“She could have been feeding you a story. She’s had
enough practice reciting it by now.”

“I don’t think she was. I’d stake my reputation on
it.”

“You very well may be.”

“Have I ever been wrong before?”

“Everyone’s wrong sometime. You’re sure she has
absolutely no knowledge of who Hastings’s partner might have
been?”

Frank’s question drew him up short. While he didn’t
believe Jess was involved in Hastings’s criminal activities,
she had spent a great deal of time with him in the days, weeks and
months before his death. If there was anyone who might have seen
Hastings with the person who was his partner, it was her. She could
have information she didn’t even know she possessed.

“Carpenter?” Frank prompted him.

“She could know something without even being aware of it,”
he admitted.

“That sounds like a longshot at best. Do you think spending
more time with her could yield anything useful?”

Again, he hesitated. The logical answer was no. Trying to suss out
useful information from all of Jess’s memories of Hastings
wouldn’t be easy, if he could even get her to open up more
about the man than she already had.

But the answer that came to mind was yes, and logic had nothing to do
with it.

He didn’t want to leave yet. He didn’t want to leave her.
It was as simple as that.

“Carpenter,” Frank barked. “What’s going on
out there? You fall asleep?”

“Give me a couple days. Let me see if I can find out anything
more.”

“We might not have a couple days.”

“If she doesn’t know anything we’re screwed anyway.
Unless you’ve come up with something else, we don’t have
any other leads. If you don’t want me to stay, you might as
well pay out the policy now.”

Frank didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I’m
going to ask you again. Are you involved with this woman?”

“I’m doing the job you’re paying me to do.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that a lot lately. I’ll let you
know what I find out.”

He hung up without waiting for Frank’s response. He didn’t
want to hear it. He had enough trouble dealing with his current
situation without trying to explain it to his boss.

Because no matter how hard it would be telling Frank that he’d
crossed a line, telling Jess the truth would be so much harder.

AFTER HER HASTY EXIT, Jess was relieved to find Charlie gone when she
returned to the bedroom. She didn’t want to have to explain her
reaction, which she knew she hadn’t hid all that well. She
didn’t want to have to deal with it at all.

She dressed quickly, ignoring the rumble of her stomach, and padded
into the office. There was no time to eat. Now that she finally felt
like she could make some progress, she needed to chase her muse to
the computer before she lost it again.

But when she sat down at the desk, she found herself reaching for the
phone instead. She had the number half-dialed before she realized who
she was calling.

This time, Suzanne answered on the second ring. “What do you
want?”

“That’s how you answer the phone when you’re awake?
It’s a miracle anyone ever calls you at all.”

“Anyone who doesn’t like it can hang up and leave me
alone. I wouldn’t feel like talking to anyone that touchy
anyway. But I’ll make an exception for you.”

“I’m honored.”

“You should be. So how was the sex?”

“How do you know I even had sex with him?”

“Please. I practically had to disinfect my phone from all the
hormones oozing out of it. We both know you called because in some
twisted way, you wanted permission. I gave it to you. So how was it?”

An involuntary sigh escaped from Jess’s mouth. “Amazing.”

“I knew it. And aren’t you glad you did it?”

Ah, there’s the rub
. Jess bit her lower lip. “I
don’t know.”

“Well, then it couldn’t have been that amazing.”

“Believe me, words wouldn’t even begin to describe it.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I think I’m in trouble.”

“I hope you don’t mean pregnant, because you’d
sound like someone from a bad ‘50s movie.”

“Ha ha, and no. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to feel what
I’m feeling for him.”

There was a long beat of silence, followed by a disgusted grunt.
“Tell me you’re not falling for him.”

An embarrassed flush climbed into her cheeks. “That’s
what I want you to tell me.”

“I told you to boink his brains out, not fall for him!”

“Well, I did that, and now I think I’ve moved on to the
second part without even trying.”

“It’s just great sex. It’s not love.”

“I know the difference between the two, and this is not just
great sex. We’ve been talking a lot since I got here, and I
don’t know…I like him. He’s funny. He’s
quick on his feet. He’s smarter than he seems to want me to
know.”

“Of course he’s all those things. It goes with the job.
It’s all part of the act.”

“You can’t fake being funny or quick-witted. You have to
be those things to pull them off.”

“So you’re falling for a genius gigolo. Is that really
better?”

Jess sagged back in the chair. “No.”

“Exactly. So get over it. Accept this for what it is, which is
all it can ever be. It’s not like you can ever have a future
with this guy, no matter how amazing he is in the sack.” She
paused and lowered her voice. “He was really that amazing?”

“That doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

“I think I hate you.” Suzanne sighed. “The point
is, enjoy it while it lasts, but for God’s sake, get over
whatever it is you think you’re feeling. If you can’t,
you need to stop sleeping with him.”

“I tried to avoid sleeping with him ever since I got here. Now
that I started, there’s no way I’m going to be able to
stop.”

Suzanne groaned. “Now I know I hate you. I’m hanging up.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

“Take it,” her sister barked. With that she
unceremoniously hung up.

Jess slowly lowered the phone. “Easy for you to say,” she
muttered. Suzanne wasn’t the one dealing with the flutter in
the pit of her stomach, the way her heart lurched in her chest
whenever Charlie was close. It wasn’t attraction. She’d
spent enough time with him to be more than familiar with that
emotion. This was something else, a stronger emotion, one completely
foreign to her. One she was afraid to name.

She shook her head and reached over to power up her computer. She
didn’t want to think about Charlie anymore. She couldn’t.
All this time he’d been a distraction from her book. It was
about time for the book to serve as a distraction from him.

CALEB WASN’T SURE WHEN TO EXPECT JESS to emerge from the
office. He puttered around the kitchen, preparing dinner just in
case. And he waited, each moment dragging on longer than the last.

He almost wanted her to keep working longer. He genuinely wanted her
to make progress on the book. He also wanted to delay the inevitable
conversation that was looming, the end that was coming. He would have
to tell her the truth, and she would leave. He knew it. There was
nothing else she could do. And more than anything else, he didn’t
want to let her go.

It was midnight by the time she bounded into the kitchen. She had the
biggest smile on her face he’d seen yet, and that was saying
something. Seeing her so happy made him smile in turn.

She bounced right up to him and threw her arms around his neck. He
could only wrap his arms around her and catch her in mid-air as she
pressed as kiss against his cheek.

“I’m guessing it was a good day?”

She leaned back to beam at him. “The best.”

“Wow. I wish I could have put that smile on your face. I’m
going to have to try harder.”

“You did your part, believe me. It went so much better than I
ever thought it would, even at my most optimistic. I finished four
chapters.”

“That’s good?”

“That’s huge! The words just came so easily. It was like
I didn’t even have to type them, they just flowed from my head
to the keyboard. Of course, my hands are so cramped up I can barely
feel my fingers, so I know I typed them, but you know what I mean.”

“I’ve never seen you so excited.”

“You’ve never seen me when I had a reason to be. God, I
missed this feeling. It’s such a rush. Writing, just having the
words come. Creating something. Telling my story in my words. And
it’s all because of you.”

He shook his head, uncomfortable with her praise. He couldn’t
take the accomplishment from her. “No, it’s not. It was
all you. You had the words inside you all along.”

“But they wouldn’t have come out if not for you.”

“All I did was listen and tell you what you already knew.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you being modest all of
a sudden? I told you, it doesn’t suit you.”

“Because I knew you could do it all along, and you did. All on
your own.”

“You knew all along, did you? I wish you’d told me that
sooner.”

He shrugged. “You weren’t ready for it then. The question
is, what are you ready for now? You hungry?”

She dropped her arms and pushed away from him. “Yep.”

“What do you in the mood for? There’s some chicken left.”

“Nope.” With a mischievous smile, she reached down and
pulled off her shirt, tossing it square at his chest. He didn’t
catch it, his eyes already lowering to hers. She wasn’t wearing
a bra. Her breasts gleamed in the pale glow of the kitchen. He felt
himself start to harden.

Guilt stabbed through him. He knew he should resist. He knew he
shouldn’t let this go any further. “You haven’t
eaten anything all day.”

“I’m not interested in food. I’m in the mood to
celebrate. And I know just the way to end a great day.”

Her hand was already on the clasp of her shorts. She popped the
button and slid the zipper down. Once free, the garment fell loose on
its own, crumpling at her feet.

She wasn’t wearing any underwear at all.

Well, that was handy.

“What do you say? You up for a little celebration?”

No question there. His cock was already straining against the fly of
his pants.

He knew he should tell her the truth. He knew she would hate him when
she found out.

But he’d already crossed the line long ago. One more
transgression wasn’t going to worsen his sins.

One more night, on the other hand. That was all he wanted. It was all
he could ask for. One more night to remember once she was gone.

She looked so sexy, so utterly brazen, standing before him, baring
all of herself to him, from every inch of skin to the open desire in
her eyes.

It would take a stronger man than him to say no. And around her he
was nothing but weak.

He took one irrevocable step forward. “I think you deserve a
reward for all the good work you’ve done today.”

Her lips quirked. “I like the sound of that. Something special,
I hope?”

He closed the distance between them. Their bodies were inches apart.
The electricity sparking between them made it feel like they were
already touching. “For you? Of course.”

And, feeling much like a condemned man sealing his own doom, he
lowered his mouth to hers.

“YOU WERE RIGHT.”

“I usually am,” Thomason replied to Roderick’s
greeting. “What I was right about this time?”

“I pulled up Charlie Wells’s DMV record. The guy who’s
there now is definitely not him.”

“So who is he?”

“His name’s Caleb Carpenter. He’s a freelance
insurance investigator/recovery type.”

Roderick’s explanation went on, but Thomason stopped listening.
The man’s name was unfamiliar, but his occupation told Thomason
what he needed to know. Carpenter had been using an alias the last
time they’d met as well.

Now that he knew the context, Thomason had no trouble recalling the
memory. He’d been with a blonde named Sheila at the time, a
woman who had a great mouth and was incapable of keeping it closed.
They were in the south of France, celebrating a job well done after
liberating a particularly nice 16th-century tiara and necklace from
its owner. The holiday hadn’t lasted long when both pieces had
vanished.

At the time, Thomason had been convinced that Sheila was trying to
steal from him, something she’d denied right to the end. But
now he recalled the man he’d seen Sheila flirting with on more
than one occasion. Just another buff, blond, no doubt brainless beach
bum, he’d thought. The man was too handsome, too obviously
vacuous in the way he paraded around half-naked and depended on his
looks, to be anything else.

Except that here he was again, sniffing around another of Thomason’s
treasures.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. He had no doubt it wasn’t.

It appeared fate had given him an additional chance to settle an old
score.

“Are you still there?”

Roderick’s voice cut through his musing. Thomason focused his
thoughts back on the present.

“I’m here. Send everything you found to my phone.”

“Will do.”