by Zara Chase
“In front of a roomful of witnesses?” Ellie asked softly. “That wasn’t so smart.”
“Yeah, well, I was too mad to think straight.” He fixed Ellie with a purposeful gaze. “I meant every word of it, and, drunk as he was, he knew it. I could see it in his lousy eyes. He was scared of me. But how was I to know that the stupid fuck would carry on drinking, fall over on the way home, knock himself out, and then freeze to death. No one gets that lucky.”
“I can make something out of that,” Ellie said, touching his shoulder. “Get the sympathy vote.”
“I don’t want it dragged out in the open.”
“Too late for that,” Rex said.
“Exactly.” Ellie regarded him with concern. “I asked you if there was anything I needed to know.”
“I was never a suspect. I told the sheriff the truth. Witnesses in the bar confirmed that he was fine after I left and carried on drinking for several more hours. The autopsy confirmed that my hitting him didn’t cause any internal bleeding or stuff like that.” Josh shrugged. “He was simply a useless drunk who ran out of luck.”
“Even so—”
“I told you I didn’t want this to get personal,” Josh said, switching to the offensive. “But you insisted that trading on my links to the town would bring attention to the Lodge.” His lips curved upward in an ironic half smile. “You got that bit right. We’re finished, but at least we’ll go down in a blaze of publicity.”
“It’s not her fault, Josh.”
Josh thumped the surface of his desk and shifted his butt away from the corner that stuck into it. “No, I guess not,” he said, sighing.
“Any publicity is good publicity,” Ellie said, “but we need to get your side of the story out there before the rest of those hacks go ferreting into your father’s death and come up with their own versions.”
“There’s not much to find,” Josh said. “Just a few column inches in the local press. Like I say, I was never arrested or charged with anything.”
“I remember him dying, but you never told me you’d been interviewed,” Rex said.
Josh shrugged. “No reason to. We weren’t particularly close at the time, and it wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Rex paused. “How did Annabel find out? I assume you didn’t tell her.”
Josh shot him a look. “Hardly.”
“I think I might know,” Ellie said, rubbing her cute chin in thoughtful contemplation. “I saw her the other day, in deep conversation with a couple of guys I wouldn’t have expected her to give the time of day to. They looked local.” She rummaged in her bag and produced her cell phone. “I was suspicious so snapped off a couple of pictures.” She thrust her phone beneath Josh’s nose. “Recognize either of these two gentlemen?”
“Oh yeah!” Josh nodded. “Now I start to understand.”
Rex peered over his shoulder. “Me, too.”
“Well, I don’t,” Ellie said, clearly frustrated. “Will one of you please enlighten me?”
“Those gentlemen, as you so euphemistically term them, are the Clark brothers,” Josh said. “They are local bums who’ve had it in for me ever since my first day at high school. They were the ones that lead the taunting that first day. I beat Glen, the bigger one, into submission and made him look stupid in the bargain. Not that that was too hard to achieve. He does a pretty good job of it all on his own.”
“Their father wasn’t much better than Josh’s,” Rex added, “so they didn’t have anything to be superior about.”
“And probably resent the fact that I’ve moved up in the world, but they’re still languishing at the bottom of the heap.”
“They would know all about your father’s demise then?”
“Yes, Clark senior was in the bar when I hit my late, unlamented old man. I would imagine the case was the talk of that dive for a while, so, yes, those two would know all about it. What’s more, it’s probably got exaggerated over the years. Besides, they’d do just about anything to get one over on me.”
“Especially if they were approached by someone who looks like Annabel,” Rex added with a cynical twist to his lips.
“She would have paid them, as well,” Ellie added. “Papers usually do if the information’s reliable.” She frowned. “But she would have to corroborate it first, so how did she do that? I dare say the original sheriff is long gone, and if you weren’t arrested all records of the interview would either be destroyed or sealed because you were underage at the time.”
“She was too anxious to get me to care about it being correct,” Josh said bitterly. “Notice she hasn’t put anything in print herself.”
“She would have had to ask you for a comment first before she did that,” Ellie said. “My father’s paper wouldn’t publish if she didn’t.”
“She also worded her question very carefully in the press conference, merely implying my involvement.”
“Yes.” Ellie nodded her agreement. “She knew that would be enough to add fuel to the furnace.”
“Fire,” Josh said, smiling in spite of himself.
“What?” Ellie frowned. “What has fire got to do with anything?”
“It’s ‘adding fuel to the fire,’” Rex explained.
Ellie flapped a hand. “Whatever.”
“Why do you do that?” Rex asked. “Get your similes all twisted, I mean.”
Ellie smiled. “It’s a game Dad and I used to play when I was a kid. He said it was good not to be predictable, and so we used to make up silly alternatives to ordinary sayings.” She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “It’s kind of a habit now, and I do it without realizing it, especially in times of stress.”
She paced the length of the office, nibbling the tip of her index finger as she worried away at the problem. Josh watched the sway of her hips, remembering just how good her body felt beneath his hands. Those little whimpering noises she made when she was close to orgasm. He hardened just thinking about the way she took to those damned nipple clamps, and everything else he and Rex had done to her for that matter. Fuck it, his entire future was on the line, everything he’d worked his nuts off to achieve was about to go south, and here he was, fantasizing about what she was wearing under that crisp, white business blouse.
Get a grip, Cooper.
Apart from anything else, Josh still hadn’t completely absolved her from blame for this entire situation. He shouldn’t have let her persuade him to talk about his private life, and he should definitely have insisted that Annabel be removed from the story. Still, hindsight was a fucking irritating bitch at the best of times.
“It’s so damned annoying.” Ellie’s voice snapped him from his reverie. “Right now I’m ready to set aside my pride and snitch on her to my dad. Problem is, she’s been too clever for me and technically hasn’t done anything a good reporter shouldn’t.”
“Other than not confirming her facts,” Rex pointed out acerbically. He glanced at Ellie, and his frown gave way to an engaging grin. “Do you have any idea how damned sexy you look in that cute blouse, sweetheart?”
Josh laughed aloud, something he thought he’d never do again, unsurprised that Rex’s thoughts mirrored his own. “No arguments there.”
Ellie looked confused by their banter and ignored it by keeping the conversation focused on the subject at hand. “Anyway,” she said, “Dad’s involved with Annabel, so I doubt whether he’d see things my way.”
“So,” Josh said, abandoning the uncomfortable corner of his desk and standing to join Ellie. “What now? Any suggestions?”
“Well, all publicity’s good publicity,” she said, clearly trying to convince herself as much as him, “so I guess we make the best of it and get your side of the story across as quickly as we can.”
Josh grimaced. “I’m not standing up in front of that pack of hyenas again.”
“No, you’re not, which is why I had a word with Carla. She’s coming in tomorrow morning. You give her your side of the story, and in the
meantime I’ll prepare a press handout for after she’s been.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, people love to see good triumph, and by the time Carla and I have finished with you, you’ll be purer than the driven ice.”
“Snow,” Rex and Josh said together.
“Yeah, that, too. Carla’s firmly in our corner, and her viewers love her. She doesn’t much like Annabel because, apparently, she tried to inveigle her way in with Carla’s bosses and take Carla’s job.”
“Nothing that woman does surprises me anymore,” Josh said, curling his lip in disdain. “What the hell did I ever see in her?”
“You didn’t have a lot of choice,” Ellie said. “When Annabel sets her mind on something, or someone—”
“Did you tell Carla about Annabel and me?” Josh asked.
“I had to. Sorry, but there was no time to consult you first. She was suspicious because she’d been wondering why Annabel was here on such a comparatively small story. Carla wouldn’t be here herself if she wasn’t shadowing you.”
“Okay.” Josh gritted his teeth, aware that it was now open season on his past. Still, if that meant he could save the Lodge, not to mention Rex’s investment in it, then who was he to complain? “Let’s put our heads together and decide precisely what I’m going to say to Carla.”
“Good.” Ellie sat at the table and opened her notebook in front of her. “Tempting as it is, you really can’t hit back at Annabel. It would be the worst thing you could do, especially to someone as vindictive as she is.”
Josh smiled at her. “A dignified silence on that front it is, then.”
Chapter Twelve
Two hours later, Ellie had thrashed out the content of the press handout with the guys. They’d also agreed what Josh would tell Carla in the morning, which was basically the unabridged truth.
“If you don’t, she’ll smell a hamster—”
“Rat,” Josh said, chuckling.
“Will you please stop correcting me all the time? I know what I mean.”
“Sorry.”
Ellie glanced at him, wondering what he was thinking. He appeared to have regained a modicum of composure now that he’d vented his anger. Even so, she knew how much he hated having his privacy so comprehensively invaded by a pack of self-serving individuals who’d do or say just about anything to secure an exclusive. It was all her fault, and she didn’t blame him for holding her responsible. If she hadn’t been so keen to kick-start her new career and prove to her father that she absolutely didn’t need his help, she might have taken more notice of Josh’s unwillingness to go along with her suggestions.
She certainly should have listened to him when he expressed his doubts about Annabel. Ellie hadn’t admitted it to herself until recently, but she’d felt uncomfortable about the way Annabel rode roughshod over people to get what she wanted, not caring whom she hurt in the process. Only loyalty and pathetic gratitude for being included in Annabel’s inner circle had prevented her from seeing any wrong in her friend.
Well, she was through with being naïve. From now on, each time the world kicked her in the teeth she’d kick it right back, only harder. Ellie was no longer afraid to see the worst in people.
“We’re going around in circles,” Josh said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. “Let’s call it a night.”
Ellie glanced at her watch, surprised to see that it was gone eight o’clock. Time flies when I’m having fun.
“Fine.” She snapped her book shut and stood up. “I’m for the shower.”
“Join us in the kitchen,” Rex said. “We ought to eat.”
Ellie wasn’t the slightest bit hungry, nor did she want to put herself in the embarrassing position of being alone with them outside of working hours. They’d think she wanted to climb into bed with them again, and they’d be right. But they’d made it crystal clear by their abrupt dismissal of her the night before that they didn’t want a repeat performance, and she had absolutely no intention of clinging.
“You go ahead. I’ve still got a few calls to make.”
“We’ll wait,” Josh said, furling his brow, presumably at her reticence. Women probably didn’t make a habit of turning him down.
“No need. I might be a while.”
She escaped before they could question her further and hid herself away in her room until she heard their muted voices heading for the kitchen. Ellie then pulled on a bikini, wrapped a large towel round her body, and headed for the spa. She enjoyed swimming, and right now she needed an exercise that required no cerebral contribution on her part—something mind-numbingly routine that would rid her of the overwhelming feelings of guilt and failure that threatened to rob her of her dwindling self-confidence. Swimming ticked all the right boxes.
Half an hour later, breathing heavily from her exertions, she pulled herself from the pool and draped the towel round her body again. Feeling physically exhausted but still mentally astute, she headed for the sauna. She ladled water onto the hot coals and sizzling steam filled the small cabin, along with a strong aroma of eucalyptus. Ellie breathed it in, feeling it clear her nasal passages as she lay flat out on her towel, her eyes fluttering to a close.
They sprang open again when low voices penetrated her slumber. She sat bolt upright and bashed her head against a ripped male torso.
“Josh, what the—”
“We wondered where you’d gone to,” Rex said, peering at her round Josh’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I was asleep,” she said, more acerbically than she’d intended. Tough! Two naked hunks invading her sauna didn’t get to have polite conversation. She moistened her lips, blaming the dryness of the sauna for their arid condition. She absolutely didn’t need these two, crowding her space, making her think about all the things she’d just spent the last half hour trying to put out of her head. At least she was wearing her bikini. These two were starkers but didn’t seem the slightest bit embarrassed about it.
“Do you always walk about the hotel dressed like that?”
“Like what?” Rex asked, deadpan.
“You don’t like what we have for you?”
Ellie hadn’t been able to miss seeing what they had for her. Both men were rigidly erect, but if they were expecting compliments, they’d come to the wrong place.
“Business hours are over. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
“This has nothing to do with business, babe,” Rex said, flashing an engaging smile. “Have pity on a horny guy.”
Ellie tried to look annoyed, but all the reasons why she shouldn’t have anything more to do with them appeared to have taken a vacation, because she couldn’t summon up a single one. Perhaps she and Rex could have a little fun. The strange thing was, Josh was right there with him, equally erect, his eyes glistening like agate as they regarded her with an expression that obviated the need for words. He wasn’t upset enough with her to exclude her from his bed, then.
She wanted them both so badly she had trouble drawing breath, and she couldn’t blame that on the dry atmosphere in the sauna. Her pussy throbbed, so did her nipples, hard and taut as they pressed against the fabric of her bikini. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Her mind had been full of the prospect of taking them both together, which she instinctively knew they intended to do tonight.
If she let them.
But would she? Hell, why did life have to be so damned complicated? A casual fling with Josh and Rex was no longer on the agenda. She was unsure how it had happened, but she had somehow managed to develop deep feelings for both of them that precluded casual sex. If she had to pinpoint the change in her attitude, she guessed it must have crept up on her at the press conference when she was too preoccupied to notice. It was the dismay on Josh’s face when Annabel fired off her bullet that started it all. Rex’s automatic support of his buddy, mindless of the fact that he had so much invested in the Lodge himself, truly moved her. One couldn’t buy that sort of friendship. It got worse when Josh related the sad story of his father’s death. Ellie
sighed. She really was a lost cause.
Ellie didn’t remember saying she’d help them out, but something in her expression must have given them the green light. She didn’t object when Josh leaned over, swept her into his arms, and carried her sweat-soaked body out of the sauna.
“Too hot to fuck in there,” he said.
Ah, so it was just a fuck to him—his way of paying her back for dropping him in it. She should have known. Ellie’s heart withered, but she put up no objections when they reached the hot tub and Josh set her back on her feet. The tub was already bubbling away. It obviously hadn’t occurred to them that she might object. With good reason, as it happened.
“You look a little overdressed, babe,” Rex said.
She felt hands grappling with the tie at the back of her bikini top. Those hands weren’t held up for long. Nor was her top. It fell to the floor, forgotten by all three of them. So, too, were her bikini panties when Josh peeled them down her legs and she stepped out of them without being told to. It was Rex who picked her up this time and lowered her gently into the hot tub. Both guys climbed in after her, flanking her with their muscular bodies, pinioning her features with deep, intense gazes. She wanted to tell them that she didn’t need intensity. There was no need for them to pretend. She understood that they just wanted to get rid of the frustrations of the day and it meant nothing more to them than that.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for her, but they didn’t need to know that. A girl had to have some pride.
“The same rules apply, Ellie.” Josh’s voice was a deep, gravelly purr against her ear as one hand brushed repeatedly across her breasts. “You do exactly as we ask without question.”
Ellie nodded. “Yes,” she said, powerless to do or say anything more in the face of his compelling allure.
Rex leaned into her and captured her lips in one of his provocatively probing kisses. Bubbling water fizzed against her butt and beneath her pussy, sending sensation cascading through her. As though sensing her pleasure, Josh’s fingers crept down her back and slipped between the cheeks of her ass. She closed her eyes, kissed Rex back with unbridled passion, and pushed her butt closer to Josh’s fingers. The large hand that had been brushing her breast now cupped it firmly, pinching the nipple hard enough to make her wince. She’d already figured out that it didn’t take long for the discomfort to turn to pleasure.
