by Zara Chase
She fell to her knees in front of him and rested her head on his thigh, the urgent need to comfort him making personal contact seem natural despite the havoc it caused to her equilibrium. She ran a hand over soft denim and the hard, unyielding muscles beneath it.
“It’s okay to cry,” she said, conscious of her own tears escaping. “We both miss her.”
“You have no idea.”
Ty startled her by reaching down, pulling the band from her ponytail, and running his fingers through the thick waterfall of hair that cascaded free. Then he splayed his thighs wider and she shuffled forward to crawl between them. With a strangled moan, he clasped her face between his hands, lowered his head to her upturned face, and kissed her like a man with demons to exorcise. Lingering doubts about his guilt evaporated beneath the firm persuasion of his mouth, the erotic feel of his long fingers massaging her scalp and the physical alchemy between them, so strong that it defied the laws of nature. A man who could make her feel so good couldn’t be so very bad. Could he? Damn, he’d gotten her all confused and she didn’t know what to think. In fact, thinking was out of the question. Going with the flow seemed like a better option.
“Sorry,” he said, breaking the kiss far sooner than Jodie was ready for it to end. Another…oh, ten minutes or so would have suited her agenda much better. “One minute I’m telling you I loved Flavia, the next I’m trying to jump your bones.”
“It’s okay. We both loved her, but she’s been gone for a long time now. She would be appalled if she knew our lives had stalled due to her loss.” Jodie’s lips kicked up at the corners. “Knowing her the as well as I did, I’m convinced she’d get a buzz out of seeing us like this.”
“You don’t still believe I’m a murderer?”
“No.” Jodie shook her head emphatically. “I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“I deserved them.”
“No, you didn’t.” Jodie sat back on her haunches, acutely aware of the impressive bulge testing the strength of his zipper. “But I’m doubly glad you’re not because I felt…well, a connection to you the moment I laid eyes on you. I was furious to think I could be attracted to a man who could do that to Flavia, so I’m glad to have it confirmed that there’s nothing wrong with my instincts.”
“You liked the look of me, huh?” A devilish light replaced the melancholy on his eyes.
“Stop fishing for compliments, Vaughan. I’m guessing most women meeting you for the first time like what they see.”
“And I like most women.”
Jodie rolled her eyes. “You don’t say?”
“Hey, I’m a healthy heterosexual guy in my prime. I’m hardwired to notice hot chicks. Last time I checked, it wasn’t possible to go to jail for what you’re thinking.”
“I noticed you noticing Consuela.”
Ty quirked a brow. “Jealous?”
“How could I be? She’s gorgeous. Hell, she even has a nice personality.” Jodie shrugged. “What can I say? Life ain’t fair. Of course you noticed her.”
“Yeah, but it didn’t take me long to notice you”—he winked at her, causing her insides to liquefy, hopeless case that she was—“and prefer what I saw.”
“Me over Consuela?” Jodie widened her eyes. “Are you crazy? Consuela is almost as gorgeous as Flavia was, whereas I…well, how long have you got?”
She waved her hands at her podgy middle, suddenly full of self-doubt about her ability to hold the attention of this decadent god for more than five minutes. Not that it mattered. She’d come here looking for answers, not to get it on with the love of Flavia’s life. Besides, he’d made his point when he said he noticed women. He noticed them, probably had his fun and satisfied his physical needs, but she’d bet the farm he hadn’t gotten emotionally involved with anyone since Flavia. Well, that was okay. Jodie wasn’t looking for happy ever after either. Was she? Even if she was, she’d never done the stuff Flavia and Ty had been into, so he wouldn’t want to know her long-term.
“Consuela’s a good girl,” Ty said in a smoky, provocative voice that snapped Jodie out of her reverie. It set her body pulsating with awareness as he fixed her with a wicked smile, settling all her doubts about not fighting harder against the strong, gravitational pull she felt toward him. Sometimes she thought too deeply about stuff, but this time she’d put her brain on hold and let her hormones have their day. “But good girls don’t do a whole lot for me.”
“Are you implying I’m…well, bad?” Jodie demanded to know, trying to sound incensed and probably failing miserably.
The curve of his lips was a sensual, sinful suggestion. “Honey, I sure as hell hope so.”
“Oh, you!”
She thumped a rock-hard bicep, glad to see that his tears had dried up. She felt awkward still kneeling between his thighs, much as she was enjoying the view, so she got up and sat next to him on the couch. She didn’t have any objections to this conversation getting personal, but there was still stuff she needed to know about Flavia’s murder before she completely lost the plot.
“What made you come to Nevella?” she asked. “I can understand your need to get away from Boston and all the unpleasant memories it held for you, but why here? It’s not exactly a worthy showcase for your talents. Hell, a lot of people don’t even know the country exists because it’s so small and those that do would have trouble pointing to it on a map.”
The flirtatious light left Ty’s eye and part of Jodie was sorry to have reminded him of his living hell that was the loss of Flavia, a loss he blamed himself for and hadn’t stopped beating himself up over.
“Flavia did a shoot in Russia a year or so before her death,” he said, staring off into the distance. “That’s where she got hooked on hard drugs. Oh, they dressed them up as designer drugs to make them sound cool. No big deal.” Ty scowled at the floor. “That made them ‘recreational,’” he said, using his fingers to make quote marks around the last word, “to the in crowd and therefore de rigueur.”
“I didn’t know Russians were into drug-pedaling.”
“Darlin’, since the fall of communism it’s been a land of opportunity for those who aren’t too fussy how they make their money. It’s the new Wild West. Drugs, prostitution, arms-smuggling…you name it, someone in Moscow will point you in the right direction. For a cut, of course. And wealthy Russians now have a presence in all major cities in the world. No one seems to care how they came to be wealthy, and they’ve become respectable, glamorous.” He paused, as though trying to decide how much more to say. And there was more. Jodie could sense it. Something significant to do with Flavia’s death. “They also like to have bolt holes where they can launder their ill-gotten gains.”
“Nevella,” Jodie breathed, belatedly catching on. “It’s a tax haven.”
“Right,” Ty said, his jaw set in a rigid line. “And the guy who I think ordered Flavia’s murder just happens to be a resident.”
Jodie, whose thigh seemed to have pressed itself against Ty’s but who had been fighting the urge to lean her head on his broad shoulder, jerked bolt upright. “You’re kidding me.”
“Trust me, it’s not a subject I find remotely amusing.”
“Okay,” Jodie said, rapidly thinking the subject through. “You’re right about wealthy Russians spreading themselves over the globe, and I know there’s a lot of Russian money here in Nevella. But I also know from working in the EU that banking regulations are much tighter and there’s no way anyone can bank large sums here without accounting for its source.”
“Don’t you believe it. Wealth buys privilege. Nevella needs the money and only pays lip services to EU regulations.”
She nodded, accepting that she was being naïve. “So you came here and…”
“And Leo had just arrived. We hooked up and he offered me the opportunity to run his restaurant. He knows my story, but none of the other guys do. We respect one another’s privacy that way.”
“Okay, but you haven’t told me who you think it is that ordered Fla
via’s murder.”
“A man called Goran Belikov.” Ty curled his upper lip disdainfully. “A real sharp operator. Smooth and civilized on the surface, with all the trappings of wealth to support the image, including a trophy wife who doesn’t often come to Nevella with him. She likes the more glamorous places where she can fault her husband’s wealth. That doesn’t stop Belikov chasing every woman who takes his fancy, including Flavia. She assures me she resisted him. I hope she did. Anyway, Belikov is in his fifties, ex KGB, with his fingers in every murky, money-making pie there is going.” Ty thumped his curled fist against his thigh, not appearing to feel the pain. “It makes my blood boil to see him strutting his stuff, knowing what he is and not being able to do a darned thing about it.”
Jodie touched his hand. “He must have a weakness.”
“If he does, I’ve spent the past five years trying to find it without any luck.”
“Two heads are better than one.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near him! He eats little girls like you for breakfast.”
“Have you any idea how sexist that sounded?”
“I don’t care. The man is evil and he’d see through you in a New York minute.”
“Men say things to women that they wouldn’t to another man.”
“Right. You’ll ask him if he’d kindly tell you if he ordered the murder of your best friend and he’ll spill the beans?”
“Well, put like that, I suppose…but—”
“Stay away from him, Jodie. That’s not a request.” Anger flared in his eyes. “I’ve lost Flavia due to my inability to protect her. You are not going down the same route.”
He’s classing me in the same bracket as Flavia. Why?
“All right,” she said because his anger scared her and because she kind of liked it that he wanted to protect her.
“He eats in this restaurant sometimes. It’s all I can do to resist adding arsenic to his meal.” Ty ground his teeth, violent energy smoldering in his eyes. “I’d be doing the world a favor, getting rid of scum like him, but I have no intention of doing time for killing the bastard, when what ought to happen is I should get a medal for services to humanity.”
“What makes you so sure he’s the one Flavia ran drugs for?”
“He hosted the party in Moscow where she started doing heavy drugs. She told me about him. What a fun guy he was. Then she admitted, when I pressed her, that she’d help him out a few times with, as she put it, logistical problems.”
“But would he really kill her when she stopped helping him?” Jodie asked, frowning.
“In a heartbeat. It’s what those people do. Once you sign on, you don’t just get to resign. I have a file on his activities three inches thick, so I know what I’m talking about. Leo has a lot of contacts here in Nevella. The chief of police is a regular in the dungeon and the Padron family, who own this valley, owe Leo big time for raising its profile. Between them, they keep me advised about Belikov’s activities when he’s in Nevella. The problem is that he’s wily. He knows if he puts a foot wrong here, he isn’t protected. He courts the people who want to keep him and his money here, and he needs to keep his residency so he can run here if it gets too hot for him in the rest of Europe. He won’t do anything to jeopardize that.” Ty spread his hands. “I’ve all but given up hope of ever getting anything on him.”
“There’s always hope,” she said, giving in to temptation and resting her cheek on his shoulder.
“Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself.” He ran his arm along the back of the couch and rested his hand on her shoulder, idly winding a lock of her hair around his forefinger. The gesture was familiar yet oddly sensual, and she felt herself reacting to it in her most sensitive places. “It’s what keeps me going.”
“You haven’t gotten involved with someone else in five years?” she asked, putting into words her earlier assumption.
“Only in the dungeon, and then not often. I haven’t been tempted into a full-on relationship since Flavia. But…” His other hand cupped her chin. “For the first time, I sure am tempted now.”
Jodie moistened her lower lip and tried to clear her throat of the obstacle that was blocking it. “Then what’s stopping you?”
“Darlin’, you work in my kitchen and I have a hard-and-fast rule about never getting involved with co-workers.”
“Hmm, I noticed your…er, hard rule a moment ago.” She sent a significant glance toward his groin.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize.”
“Problem with you and me is that I have certain proclivities you might not share.”
Jodie felt empowered because it was him who’d instigated the discussion. Well, sort of. She might have thrown herself at him, but he didn’t have to pretend to be tempted if he wasn’t, did he? She got the feeling that Tyrell Vaughan never did anything he’d prefer not to.
“I’ve never tried all that pleasure and pain stuff, it’s true,” she said in a speculative tone.
“But you’re curious about it?”
She nodded. “When Flavia first got interested, she read everything she could find on the subject. Which meant I got to read it, too.”
The fingers resting on her shoulder started a slow, probing massage, sending desire lancing through her. Damn it, he was only touching her frigging shoulder and she was creaming her panties already! “And it got you curious?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never met a man I felt comfortable discussing it with, much less feeling tempted to put it into practice.” Reckless sensuality made her…well, reckless. “Until now.”
“Oh, darlin’.” He shook his head. “Don’t tempt me. You’re a player in the making. It was one of the first things I noticed about you. That was why I was so glad to see you turn up again today. I thought I’d frightened you away.”
“You had reason to, after the accusations I hit you with.”
“It must have taken courage to come back. I admired that about you.”
“I almost didn’t. I was terrified you’d bawl me out in front of everyone and send me packing.”
“I never bawl.”
“No, you just ignored me instead. That was almost worse.”
“You think I was ignoring you?” He chuckled. “Much you know.”
“It felt that way.”
“I wasn’t sure how to play it.”
She sent him a playful look. “I can’t imagine you ever being unsure about anything.”
“Oh, I’ve made my share of bad decisions.” His expression closed down and Jodie assumed he was thinking of Flavia again.
“She’d like to think of us together,” Jodie said, touching his face softly with the fingers of one hand. “She kept telling me I needed to try the life she was into. She said I would be a natural at it, as well.”
“See, we can’t both be wrong.”
“So why are you hesitating?” She scrunched up her features. “It’s not very flattering to feel you don’t want to bother with me.”
He sighed and Jodie knew then it was nothing personal but more a case of his conscience—her working for him and being Flavia’s friend—doing battle with what his body wanted him to do. She relaxed, pretty sure that his animal instinct would win the day.
“Tell me about the men you’ve been with who didn’t make you want to try the things that interest you. I want to know what makes Jodie Norton tick.”
“There’s not much to know. What you get is what you see.”
His eyes sparkled with wicked intent. “I haven’t see much yet.”
“I went to school in France, university in England, then went to work in Brussels as a translator.”
“There has to be more to it than that.”
“Well, I did have a big fight with my parents about my career path. I wanted to be a chef, but they said it would be a waste of my talents and guilted me into doing what I do now.”
“Which you hate.”
She blinked up at him. “How did y
ou know?”
“You’re passionate about food and that sort of passion isn’t satisfied by dabbling in a kitchen. So it stands to reason you’ve either taken the safe path and I don’t have you pegged for a safety-first kind of gal, or you were, as you say, pressured into doing what you do.”
“Very astute, Mr. Vaughan.”
“I do my humble best, Ms. Norton. Amateur psychology is a hobby of mine.”
“Hmm, there’s absolutely nothing humble about you.”
His grin was broad and infectious, crinkling the corners of his eyes and raising his profile from merely hot to knock-out status. “Ain’t you glad about that?”
“Teach me, Ty,” she said intently. “I trust you to show me what I’ve been missing.”
He didn’t pretend not to understand her. “You absolutely sure?” he asked, his velvety tone making her think of satin sheets, hot male torsos, and sinful, hedonistic pleasure.
“I’m sure. All the ladies here with the other guys. They’re into it, right?”
“Right. But none of them were when they got here. They’ve been indoctrinated to the pleasures and now they wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Well, I guess they can’t all be wrong. It’s about time I understood what all the fuss was about. What it was that so lit Flavia’s fires.”
“Now that will take some working up to. How long do you plan to stay?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Your job?”
“Stop being practical.”
“Okay, we’ll go with the flow. For now. And the reason why I asked about the length of your intended stay is that Flavia’s tolerance for pain was remarkable, but you don’t get to that stage overnight.”
“Then I’ll have to stay for more than one night.”
“You will indeed. Even if I have to chain you to my bed to keep you here.”
Jodie playfully nibbled at her index finger, causing Ty to groan like he was in physical pain. Given the increased size of the bulge in his pants, she figured he might well be. “Now there’s a thought.”
