by Cat Schield
She pulled the door shut, leaving him standing on the sidewalk, staring at her through the side window. How could this woman be so sensual and yielding in bed and stubborn and prickly out of it? Naked in his arms, she gave every part of herself to the moment and to him. But heaven forbid he fixed her favorite cocktail or made her dinner or—gasp—opened her car door, because then she became surly and churlish.
By the time he circled the car and slipped behind the wheel, she had her laptop out and was madly clicking away on the keys. From her extreme focus he might as well not have been in the car at all.
“Where to?” he asked, starting the engine. If it had been up to him, he would’ve driven straight to Billy Holmes’s house and demanded answers.
“Just a second.”
Asher was growing accustomed to Lani’s ability to block out all distractions when she was investigating and didn’t take offense when she put him off.
Still, he decided to do some musing out loud. “Why do you suppose Billy was using a different name in LA?”
“We don’t know that it was Billy.”
“But Zach seemed pretty sure,” Asher argued. “And he was right about Billy’s look being distinctive.”
Lani made some noncommittal noises and continued to work away at her laptop. With a weary sigh, he put the car in gear, signaled and pulled out of the parking spot. One way to find out about Billy was to ask the guy himself. A tempting move, but he suspected he would do himself no favors if he started confronting people and accusing them of the theft. However he could go ask the suspect’s good friend, Asher’s brother, Ross.
They were halfway to The Edmond Organization when Lani looked up from her laptop and realized they weren’t on their way back to the estate. “Where are we going?”
“To talk to Ross. He’s known Billy since college and they’ve kept in touch all these years. Surely he knows what his good friend has been up before he moved to Royal two years ago.”
“Are you out of your mind?” She rolled her eyes. “We can’t barge into Ross’s office and start asking a bunch of invasive questions about his friend.”
“Why not?”
When she didn’t immediately answer, Asher glanced her way. Her pained expression was like a knife in his chest.
“Why the hell not, Lani?” he demanded, a sick feeling swirling through him.
“A few months back your brother was struggling financially.”
“You don’t seriously think that Ross was involved in this embezzlement, do you?”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ross wouldn’t do something like that to him. Yet even as he rejected Lani’s inference, her logic began eroding his trust. Whom was he supposed to put his faith in? The man he’d called brother since he was a teenager? Or the woman he’d spent a fun-filled summer frolicking with? The same one who was currently investigating him for embezzlement?
“Let’s put it this way, I suspect everyone.” Her answer was a sharp kick that connected with his head and set his temples to throbbing.
“Including me,” he stated flatly, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
“Yes.”
Presuming he’d made inroads with her had been too optimistic. Just because they were sleeping together, didn’t mean her opinion of him had improved. No. Just as it had been between them five years ago, he was little more than a walk on the wild side for her. She’d been clear from the start that she couldn’t take him seriously. He wasn’t relationship material.
While he’d been ruminating, she’d gone back to typing. If they weren’t heading to the Edmond headquarters, he needed some destination. “So, where are we going?”
If Lani heard the tension in his voice, she made no sign. “I think the best thing is to head back to Elegance Ranch. I have some research to do on this Bond Howard character. We need to figure out if he and Billy are the same guy.”
“And how do we do that?”
“Well, we can start with his social media.”
“Billy’s?” Asher had no idea how that was supposed to help.
Lani shook her head. “Bond Howard’s.”
Asher gave her space to work as he drove back to the estate. The moments of freedom he’d known while driving during his all-too-brief trip to the Royal Diner left him hyperaware of how little he’d appreciated his freedom until now.
As the estate gates loomed, he had a fleeting but overwhelming urge to turn the car around and head straight for the airport. He knew he wouldn’t get anywhere with the electronic-monitoring device strapped to his ankle, but a jittery restlessness had taken hold of him. In the past he had exorcized his demons by indulging in some sort of risky action. That door was shut and barred to him for now. He would just have to face his reality and learn to make the best of it.
The thought actually made him grin. Was this what personal growth was all about? It figured it would take something as drastic as looming imprisonment to wake him up.
“Any luck finding Bond Howard’s social media presence?” he asked as the car raced past the main house and made for the stable.
“Hmm.”
It really was time for a change, he mused. As much as he enjoyed living close to his horses, he really should put the entire string up for sale and move away from Elegance Ranch.
“There’s quite a bit actually,” Lani said, clicking away on her laptop. “Turns out he has several online personas.”
Asher mulled that bit of news as he parked beside her SUV. Her preoccupation with whatever data she was finding gave him enough time to shut off the car, exit and have her door open before she closed the lid. He smirked at her scowl and went the extra mile by offering his hand to help her out of the low-slung sedan.
The tingle in his fingers shot straight to his groin. He pushed all thoughts of sex from his brain and asked, “How did you find the additional social media profiles so quickly?”
“I have software that allows me to find similar images on the internet. Already the search has yielded profiles for Bobby Hammond and Brad Howell, in addition to Bond Howard.”
“That looks pretty suspicious,” Asher said, hoping she agreed.
“Maybe.” She started for the stairs to the apartment. “We’ll need to do some more digging before that becomes clear.”
“We’ll,” he echoed, grinning. “I like the sound of that.”
Nine
For days after their meeting with Zach, Lani kicked herself for letting Asher think he was participating in the investigation. It was hers to handle. She shouldn’t have involved him at all. And the excuse that she enjoyed his company was too lame for her to acknowledge even though it was absolutely the case. So much for her lone-wolf policy. Maybe she’d been too quick to downplay her need for associates. His determined approach to the task was altering her attitude. Sure, his style was different from hers. But that didn’t mean his results weren’t sound. Could she let go of her need to control the entire process? Should she?
Still, day after day they’d set up their laptops at his breakfast bar. Side by side, typing away in companionable silence. She’d done a deep dive into Bond Howard while Asher researched Bobby Hammond and Brad Howell. Sure enough, Billy Holmes had been living in various parts of the country under different names. They’d contacted anyone who had tagged him in their photos and a picture was beginning to form. The women were quickest to respond. Asher and Lani discovered Billy had left a trail of jilted lovers and unsatisfied investors in his wake. Everyone was angry.
And now he was comfortably ensconced in the Edmond estate, living rent-free in one of the guesthouses and showing no sign of moving on. Lani gazed in the direction of the main house, wondering how a college friendship had translated into the relationship Billy now enjoyed with the entire Edmond family. From what she could tell, he was practically a member of the family. Did Ross know abo
ut Billy’s multiple identities? She hadn’t seen the two men interacting. Was it possible that they’d been working together to bring the festival down?
If so...why?
It was well-known that once Ross’s former lover—and their child that she’d never told him about—had returned to town, his relationship with his father had completely fallen apart to the point where Rusty had disinherited his biological son. Would Ross’s financial troubles have made him an unwitting pawn in Billy’s schemes? Or had Ross gotten in over his head and chosen to frame his own brother for the crime to avoid taking the fall?
Either way they couldn’t tip off either man until she gathered more information.
“It’s not looking too good for our boy, is it?” Asher’s delight broke through Lani’s introspection. His lopsided smile had appeared. For the first time since she’d visited him in jail, he looked genuinely relieved.
Although she wanted to reassure him, her instincts warned her to be cautious. “Not at all.”
Asher’s good mood dimmed. “You don’t sound all that sure.”
“It looks bad,” Lani agreed. “But nothing we’ve turned up is proof that Billy is connected to anything illegal with the Soiree on the Bay festival. Adopting multiple aliases and convincing wealthy women to invest in his business ideas might be sketchy, but not every venture is successful. Maybe the guy is better at ideas than execution.”
“So I’m still the bad guy.”
He’d raked his fingers through his hair frequently over the course of the last two hours and several unruly spikes poked up in various directions. She liked his disheveled look. It reminded her of all those mornings when she’d awoken in his bed and watched him sleep. She’d known such joy in those unguarded moments. Anything had seemed possible. Like she could have it all... The satisfying career she craved. A happy life with the man who showed her how to let go and have fun. Lani pushed away the fantasy. These dreams of the perfect future were a distraction she couldn’t afford.
“Look, don’t give up hope.” She set her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “We’ll find something.”
Asher took both her hands in his and faced her. His somber expression made her stomach drop. She traced his features with her gaze, absorbing the sensual curve of his lips, the strong bones of his face, the hint of stubble that blurred the sharp jut of his jaw. Naked emotion flickered in his dark brown eyes. Relief. Gratitude. And something...more. Her breath caught at the vulnerability she glimpsed in that unguarded moment. She set her palm on his chest. In the stillness that followed, her heart found a new rhythm and beat in sync with his.
A second later he lowered his thick lashes and the link between them snapped. The recoil stung. Neither one of them was brave enough to acknowledge the connection between them for long. Yet each day it grew stronger. The ache more acute when they were apart. And unlike when they’d been together that summer, she was losing the will to resist her longing to be with him. In the sensible moments when her emotions weren’t in control, she wondered what would happen when this case ended.
“I hope you realize how much I appreciate that you believe in me,” Asher said, covering her hand on his chest and giving a light squeeze. “I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through this without you.”
Lani’s throat tightened, making speech impossible. This would be the perfect moment to tell him that she still had doubts about his innocence. Her last report to Kingston Blue had been objective and scrupulously professional. Afraid that she was letting her personal feelings interfere with her judgment, she hadn’t voiced her suspicions that Asher might have been set up. Once again she had prioritized her career over her personal life and doubted Asher would understand.
Instead of facing her mistakes, she apologized to him in a way that they could both appreciate.
“Hey,” she murmured, sliding her fingers through his hair and offering him her best come-hither smile. “I could use a snack.”
Asher’s sleepy gaze stroked her features. “I’m feeling a little hungry myself.”
“You know I’m not talking about food, right?”
His wicked grin said it all. “What did you have in mind?”
She slid off the stool and snagged his waistband, drawing him toward the living room. “It’s about time we christen this chair, don’t you think?”
“Oh, yes. I’d been thinking that exact thing just an hour ago.”
“And you didn’t bring it up?” she teased, unfastening his belt, the button on his jeans and the zipper below. With her breath escaping her lungs on a languid sigh, she burrowed under all the fabric and dropped to her knees before him, taking his clothes with her. At her urging, he stepped out of each pant leg, letting her undress him. His fingers brushed a stray lock off her cheek. She knew he would tangle his hands in her hair later, riding the movement of her head as she brought him pleasure with her mouth.
Lani placed her hands on his thighs, palms skimming his hair-roughened skin, past his jutting erection and over the smooth, chiseled plains of his abdomen. There, she gave a gentle shove and he sat down in the armchair with a quiet grunt of surprise. Then she was parting his knees and sliding between them. Her fingers began working the buttons of his shirt. When she had them undone, she spread the fabric wide and leaned forward to press a kiss to his throat. His Adam’s apple worked as he swallowed hard and she smiled as she nipped and nuzzled her way to his ear, across his jaw and finally to the corner of his mouth. He turned and slanted his head so their lips met. Their open-mouth kiss was a slow, sultry tease of breath and flicking tongue. Lani’s hands tracked down his chest and stomach, savoring the splendid muscle beneath all his silken skin. The man was perfection in so many ways.
With her hot gaze on his arousal, she set to peeling off her own clothes. Stripped down to her underwear, she fondled her breasts through her lace bra before bracing her hands on the chair’s arms and bending forward.
“Care to do the honors?”
“My pleasure.”
He reached behind her and popped the bra clasp. The fabric fell into his grasp and she bestowed a saucy wink.
“Thank you.”
As the ache between her thighs intensified, Lani skimmed her palm down her belly and beneath the edge of her panties. Because he loved to watch her like this, she threw her head back, rolled her hips from side to side and pressed her fingertips against her clit. Wetness soaked her panties. When he made a strangled sound, she opened her eyes and focused on his face.
A moment later she dropped to her knees once more and let her hair down, knowing he adored the seductive slide of the strands against his skin. With a brazen smile, she moved between his thighs and wrapped her fingers around his erection without warning or preliminaries. A breath ejected from his lungs, a startled curse that made her smile.
Lani eased her hold on his shaft. “Too much?”
“No.” The single syllable wheezed out of him as her thumb circled the head of his shaft, sliding over the bead of moisture she found there before gliding her fingers to the base. “It’s perfect.”
Asher clenched his fingers over the chair’s arms and settled deeper into the seat, offering his body for her to play with. She repeated the stroking motion, watching the way his head dropped back and his lips parted. He watched her from beneath heavy lidded eyes, tiny flecks of copper blazing in their depths. While his posture looked relaxed, his expression remained tight with anticipation. She understood. She couldn’t wait to get her mouth on him. And why bother holding back when that’s what he wanted too?
She licked her lips and lowered them over his blunt head, purring in delight at the salty taste of the velvety flesh. A growl tore from Asher’s throat as she flicked her tongue over him, tormenting him the way he had done to her the night before.
“God, Lani.”
Her name on his lips was heaven. She decided to reward him. Shutting her ey
es to block out all distraction, she hummed and took him in, the vibration making him jerk in reaction. He was clutching the arms of the chair now, bracing to endure the wicked pleasure she was giving him.
Making her lips into a tight circle, she took as much as him into her mouth as she could handle. It was a lot, but she’d learned how to relax and open for him. When the head of his erection hit the back of her throat, his fingers slipped into her hair. He played with the strands, applying no pressure as she withdrew, circled him with her tongue and bobbed backed down again.
His appreciative murmur, punctuated with the occasional hiss of acute pleasure were the only sounds that came from him. He’d let her know when he was close. Communicate if he wanted her to finish him in this way or climb aboard. In the meantime she would make this a night to remember. By alternating between teasing and deep dives, she held him on the brink longer than she expected.
But his willpower was only so resilient and she’d mastered the art of pleasuring him this way. When he cupped her face in his hands and angled her head away from his erection, her body awakened with delight. He covered her swollen lips in a tender kiss that tangled their tongues and said without words how deeply he appreciated her.
“Come here.”
He pulled her up off the floor and drew her onto the chair. There was just enough room for her knees on either side of his hips. His long fingers bracketed her hips, moving her into position. His thick shaft bobbed against her thigh, seeking the connection they both hungered for.
Lani gasped as he speared into her dripping heat. Utterly turned on, the full length of him filling her was nearly enough to trigger her orgasm. She was close...so close. Swollen with longing and impatient with need, when his mouth closed over the tip of one breast and sucked hard, she knew there would be no more holding back. Her hips bucked enthusiastically against him, grinding her clit against his pelvic bone, and a heartbeat later, her climax ripped through her.
She clutched his head against her breast, riding him hard, launched even higher at the scrape of his teeth against her nipple. The bliss seemed to go on and on, aided by the length of him driving into her over and over. Lani gasped and cried out, ridiculous incoherent chanting as her pleasure soared higher, so much higher. She could scarcely breathe. Surely she should have plateaued by now. But his persistent thrusts, so smooth and with perfect rhythm, made her muscles tense and coil as she ascended toward the peak of yet another orgasm. He’d done this for her before. Made her come and come and come again.
