Simply Sinful (Simply Series Book 1)

by Carly Phillips

  She hadn’t reached his inner depths yet, but with time and patience, she would. “I have all the books,” she said, accepting his parameters. “That’s what’s so strange. The guy said he wanted the books. But I’ve been doing them for the past year. Nothing unusual. No extra income, nothing unaccounted for…”

  “They stashed the money somewhere.”

  Although she hadn’t reached his emotions, his words tapped into her own. Kayla grabbed his sweatshirt, desperate for him to understand and believe. “They didn’t stash anything. Whatever my uncle may or may not have been up to, my aunt wasn’t into prostitution.”

  He met her gaze, his eyes darkening to the color of a stormy sea. “That remains to be seen.”

  “No. My family may not be as fine as some, but I assure you we draw the line at that.”

  “I wasn’t accusing her…or you. But the fact remains someone wants something from you…and he doesn’t much care how he gets it.”

  “I know.” Just the thought of her attacker’s voice sent tremors of fear spiraling through her.

  Kane grabbed hold of her wrists. His protective warmth eased the terror. “Nothing will happen to you, but we have to find out who these people are and find the books they’re looking for. To put an end to all this once and for all.”

  All this included them. She could read the truth in his eyes and planned to fight it. She just wasn’t sure how.

  Needing distance, Kayla placed her hands on her jeans and stood. Kane’s gaze followed the movement, his eyes traveling the length of her and back. A sensual gleam lit his expression. Swiping a black, V-neck Lycra top from Catherine’s closet had been a good idea for more reasons than warmth. She doubted her own silk blouses would have elicited the same heated response.

  Apparently, the trail toward Kane’s heart began with sex. Under normal circumstances, Kayla wouldn’t offer herself as an object; she’d spent too many years fighting the idea. But Kane was different from other men. For the first time, she intended to use her God-given assets to their best advantage.

  “I started with this box,” he said. “I figure maybe there’s something hidden in one of these puzzle books.”

  “Like?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  She wanted answers as much as she wanted Kane. Kneeling beside him, each movement she made was deliberate and calculated. She reached inside the large, cardboard carton, bending close enough to smell his cologne and far enough over to give him a glimpse inside her shirt…if he cared to look.

  She darted a glance out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t notice her watching him. His gaze was glued to her cleavage, his eyes cloudy, his cheekbones pulled tight.

  She suppressed a smile. Despite the less than perfect circumstances and the threat hanging over her, she had Detective Kane McDermott just where she wanted him. The last time he’d lost his focus, they’d slept together. And she had every intention of making it happen again. Only this time, it wouldn’t be just sex. After she coaxed him into opening up to her, she’d engage his emotions, too.

  For now, she would tackle what was within her control. She perused each page, smiling as she remembered how both her mother and her aunt would curl up for hours with this pastime. Her mother had been hiding from life. Her aunt had just enjoyed the escape. Kayla shut the paperback and laid it on the floor. “Nothing here.”

  “The ones I’ve looked through are all completed. Your aunt was an expert.”

  Kayla grinned. “Easier to be an expert when you work in pencil. Erase your mistakes, cheat a little by checking the back.” She laughed aloud. “Aunt Charlene was pretty good. Mama did more cheating than her sister. She made more mistakes, too.”

  “And you made none at all?”

  “I’m not perfect, Kane.”

  He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  She glanced at the book in her hand, one that looked like an old crossword but held precious family memories. “This one’s completed, too.”

  “Let’s cover them all. I don’t want to miss anything important.”

  Half an hour later, Kayla wanted to scream. They’d been through more than half the box. The pencil-smudged books were all the same. Most finished, the last few half-finished. She grabbed for the next book in the box. “This is ridiculous.”

  “Just keep looking.”

  She curled into a more comfortable position, picked up a pencil, and grabbed the next book. This time, she started working the puzzles, much as her aunt had probably done. She chose puzzles and individual questions at random and, just as she suspected, her answers matched Aunt Charlene’s. They would, of course, since her aunt had been as intellectual and meticulous as Kayla was.

  Gnawing on the end of the pencil, she tossed the book down and went for the next one. Fifteen minutes and three books later, she began finding mistakes. Obvious ones. Ones her aunt would never have made.

  Unless she’d done so on purpose. And considering Kayla had also begun finding a pattern of last names in the puzzles, she suspected these were more than game books. The implication of that sent chills crawling along her skin, and she groaned aloud.

  “Find something?”

  She glanced at Kane, knowing she had to reveal her discovery, hating it at the same time. “Mistakes in the entries, names instead of answers,” she muttered.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Let me take a look.”

  She handed him the two books she’d made headway with, and he scanned the pages along with her notes. “Looks like pay dirt.”

  She frowned. “Don’t sound so pleased.”

  “It’s better than coming up empty.”

  “What’s the date on that first one?” Kayla asked.

  “Date?”

  “Every book has a handwritten date next to the first puzzle.”

  “Hadn’t noticed,” he muttered.

  “Marks your progress from month to month, or year to year. Didn’t I mention my family was slightly neurotic?”

  “No, but you should have. We could have started at the bottom of the box and come up with something sooner. Come on.”

  “Where?”

  “These books need to be decoded, and you need your strength to do it.”

  “So I can prove my aunt guilty of prostitution and lose my business in the process?” she asked.

  Kayla might have been ambivalent about putting her dreams on hold for the sake of the business, but she refused to damage her aunt’s reputation to get her life back. Aunt Charlene had been the only person other than Catherine who understood Kayla and all her emotional insecurities—because she’d suffered much of them herself. Kayla had no intention of betraying her in the worst possible way.

  “So we can exonerate her and save Charmed!’s reputation through you.” He glanced down at the first book she’d found with any discrepancy. “This dates back eight months. But Charmed! had been in business for a little over fifteen years.”

  She nodded.

  “Your aunt married your uncle a little under a year ago and took him in as a partner almost immediately.”

  She didn’t question his knowledge. “Yes.” Kayla did the math. “The date on the first book coincides with Charles Bishop’s entry into the escort business.” She heard her voice rising in pitch. “Which gives him opportunity.”

  “Do you have a reason to suspect the man of anything?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing more than sweeping Aunt Charlene off her feet. But the names in these books began around the time he joined the business.”

  “Which makes him an equal suspect.” Kane grasped her hand.

  He obviously sought to reassure her, but tremors of awareness acted to arouse her instead. He had no right to be so distracting when so much was at stake. “You may have to face the fact that your aunt wasn’t an innocent victim,” he said.

  She shook her head. “Not without concrete, irrefutable proof.” The kind of proof she intended to get. She didn’t want to believe her aunt’s husband had betrayed the
woman he claimed to love, but better her uncle be found guilty than her aunt. Kayla believed in Charlene.

  Kane nodded. “Okay then. We have our work cut out for us.”

  “We? Does that mean you believe me?”

  “Yes.”

  One little word with a wealth of meaning. She glanced at him for confirmation and found it in the warm blue of his eyes.

  “Kayla…” He held his gaze steady with hers. “I believe your faith in your aunt is unshakeable unless we find out otherwise. But I have to reserve judgment until the facts are in.”

  Kane the cop, Kayla thought. And that was okay. Because hidden in all that qualification was one unmistakable fact: he believed in her. No one other than Catherine or Aunt Charlene ever had.

  She didn’t think. One minute she was standing beside him and the next she’d wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.” She molded her body against his, trying to tell herself it was gratitude. She knew better.

  His hands snaked around her waist. If he wanted to push her away, now was the moment, she thought. His grip tightened. The masculine groan and the unmistakable hardness pressing against her told her he wasn’t going anywhere, at least for now.

  Another second’s thought and he might back off emotionally. Kayla recognized her one opportunity to reach inside Kane and make him hers. To do it, she’d have to dig deep inside herself, as well. Take the ultimate risk and defy every principle by which she’d lived so far. She took two steps back. With trembling hands, she reached for the hem of her shirt. She drew it over her head and tossed the garment onto the floor.

  Chapter Seven

  Kane took in the vision before him and tried to catch his breath.

  Sunlight came in broken waves through the window blinds, bracketing Kayla’s incredible body in a blazing glow of light and warmth. She inhaled and her hands shook as she clasped them before her. “Aren’t you going to say something?” she asked softly. “Do…something?”

  He was no saint. He never had been. Faced with Kayla’s offering, he couldn’t say no. Her body was too temmpting, her curves too full, her heart too big. He couldn’t turn her away.

  “Kane?” Even as she asked, she was reaching upward, wrapping her arms around her shoulders to cover herself. From him.

  He muttered a savage curse, grabbing her arms before she blocked his view, pulling her against his straining body. He held her hands against her sides and looked down at the gift he’d been given, if only for one more night.

  He traced the black marks on her throat with his hands. “This never should have happened.”

  “It’s not your—”

  He cut her words off with his mouth, sealing his lips against hers. He didn’t want to hear how she didn’t blame him. He didn’t want anything except the sound of her soft moans echoing in his ears. He wasn’t disappointed.

  She responded to his kiss. Her lips softened, her mouth opened, and her tongue darted inside. Wild and unrestrained, she met him move for move. Her back arched, crushing her chest against him until he felt the rasp of tight nipples through the material of his shirt. Too quickly even that barrier became unacceptable.

  He yanked the hem, pulled it over his head, then flung it across the room. Only then did he have what he wanted. He and Kayla, skin to skin, her breasts full, flush against him. He exhaled, feeling her supple curves and heat fuse with his. It wasn’t enough, for either of them. She moved restlessly, abrading her nipples against his hair-roughened skin. Her fingers gripped his shoulders.

  Her nails bit into his flesh and conscious thought intruded. Instead of listening to the pulsing in his groin, he forced himself to think. He couldn’t have sex with her again. Not without consequences. Not with this woman. She broke his concentration and destroyed his common sense. He raised his gaze, forced his lips off the soft skin of her cheek. Her green eyes were fogged with need and more. With emotions he couldn’t, wouldn’t face.

  He ran his thumb over her damp lower lip. “No protection, sweetheart.” He felt sure she wouldn’t test his resolve by coming up with a box of spare condoms in the bathroom vanity.

  “Oh.” Shock then disappointment flickered in her eyes.

  He couldn’t stand it. A cold shower would take the edge off his problem, though he knew after last night it wouldn’t be damn near enough. But he couldn’t leave her hanging, not when he wanted to satisfy her any and every way he knew how.

  He wanted to teach her how good things could be between a man and a woman. She’d had little experience, all of it bad. Even he had hurt her in the end. Not this time. Just this once he could give to her, yet still be able to walk away later.

  He reached out and cupped his hand around one full breast, letting his thumb brush in rapid motion over her taut nipple.

  Her entire body shook in reaction. Had he ever met a woman so responsive? She exhaled a moan that had his body clenching with need.

  “But you said…”

  He covered her lips with one finger. “That I didn’t have protection, not that we had to stop completely.”

  Her eyelids opened wide, comprehension dawning. Before she could answer, he swept her off her feet and laid her down on the couch. At the jarring motion, she groaned aloud. He brushed her hair off her forehead, fingering the still red bruise near her temple. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’d be better if you stopped talking.”

  He laughed aloud. Kneeling beside her, he placed his hand the button of her jeans. Kane needed to see her writhe with pleasure in his arms, to watch her climax beneath his hands. He undid the button and began a downward slide of her jeans.

  Kayla helped, raising her hips and shimmying out of the denim. This might not be the result she’d planned, but she had to admit it might be enough. Without realizing it, he’d still given her a measure of control. He seemed more relaxed, less guarded and, best of all, she still had him all to herself.

  A phone call to her sister would solve the protection problem later. Catherine wouldn’t mind a trip to the drugstore for the right cause.

  A rush of cool air accompanied the loss of her jeans, but heat quickly followed when Kane placed his hard, hot hand at the juncture of her thighs, his palm covering her sex. A deep, pulsing rhythm took hold, starting where his hand pressed intimately against her and traveling to every nerve ending her body possessed. She arched into his waiting palm.

  “Damn, but you feel good.” His roughened voice caused her heart to trip in reaction. “Hot and wet for me.”

  She forced her eyes open to see his eyelids shut tight and his jaw clenched. He was as affected by them together as she was. Kayla didn’t need sex to reach Kane. She could touch him with warmth and intimacy, trust and caring.

  She laid her head back against the cushion, prepared to show him how much she trusted him. As he picked up a sensual rhythm, waves of pleasure washed over her, building, then easing up only to rush her again, more insistent than before. The sounds coming from her throat ought to have embarrassed her, but they didn’t. Because this was Kane and the only way he would know how she felt, the only way he’d open up in return, was if he felt her trust.

  The initial hesitancy of their first night together was gone. The soft moans coming from deep within her shook him as nothing ever had…until her legs relaxed, opening wide, inviting him to continue. Kane sucked in a ragged breath, realizing his mistake. He’d underestimated this woman and her effect on him. Not only was he too damn close himself, but he’d been a fool. He hadn’t saved himself by not making love with her. He’d drawn himself in deeper.

  He picked up the pace with one hand, easing his finger inside her smooth, wet heat with the other. She gasped aloud. Lowering his head, he drew the tip of her nipple into his mouth and tugged gently with his teeth. That was all it took.

  The spasm hit her hard, and she arched off the couch. The clenching and unclenching around his finger hit him even harder. His own body was close to the breaking point, and she hadn’t even touched him. He opened his e
yes in time to watch her face contort with pleasure he gave.

  “Kane.” His name burst from her lips unexpectedly, and the sound triggered an intense reaction so strong, he could no longer remain in control.

  He straddled her until their bodies aligned, grinding himself hard against her, searching for the fulfillment he’d deliberately denied them both. His unexpected climax took him by surprise. Seconds later, Kane eased himself off her. She couldn’t take his weight any more than he could handle what he’d just done.

  “That was…”

  “Don’t say it,” he muttered. He’d lost control. Around Kayla, it seemed to be a permanent state.

  “Incredible.” She turned to her side and gazed up at him with trusting eyes. It was more than he could stand and he started to walk away.

  “Don’t!” Her harsh tone startled him. “Don’t you dare walk out on me.”

  “You need space.”

  “You mean you do.” She dressed in silence before turning back to him. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair. “The second you drop your guard, you back off.”

  He was surprised she read him so well. He shouldn’t be. There’d been a connection between them from the minute they met. He raised his hands in a gesture of defeat.

  Kane walked back to where she stood, hands on her hips, her expression guarded. He hated that look when directed at him. “You got me.”

  Her dark lashes fluttered upward. “Do I?” she murmured.

  He placed his hand around the back of her neck and drew her close. Tasting her lips brought him more pleasure than he could have imagined. Too much and he broke the kiss.

  He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her question. “Yeah, you do.”

  Light entered into her green eyes. She looked like a starving cat that had finally found a scrap of food and wasn’t about to let go. Of him. Damned if he couldn’t get used to the idea—and that unnerved him.

  He grasped her chin between his hands. “But don’t get used to it, sweetheart.” Kane knew he was talking more to himself than to her.

  He met her even gaze. The glow in her eyes didn’t fade as he’d expected it to. Kayla had obviously decided to take him on, and that put him on edge. Her next words proved him right.