As he explored her with his hands and lips, she did the same to him, running her fingers through the thatch of dark, curly hair on his chest, tasting the warmth and texture of his skin.
Wildness. It seemed to infuse them both. And it didn’t take long before he took a condom from his nightstand, put it on, then moved between her thighs. She was ready for him. She felt as if she’d been ready for him from the first moment they had met.
He slid into her, then froze, every muscle in his body tensed. He gazed down at her, his features taut and his dark green eyes gleaming. He whispered her name with a tenderness that threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
She placed her hands on the sides of his face, and he bent his head down and kissed her. When the kiss ended he moved his hips, thrusting into her as a low groan issued from his throat.
All thoughts of murders and arrests and silent little girls vanished as she gave herself to the pleasure of their lovemaking.
It didn’t take long for her to feel the slow build of tension coiling in the very depths of her. Sawyer seemed to sense it and quickened his strokes. She gasped and clung to him, her fingers biting into his back as waves of pleasure crashed through her.
She gasped out his name and shuddered with the force of her release. Seconds later he stiffened against her and moaned as he found his own release.
He rolled off her and onto his back, both of them gasping in an effort to regain a normal heartbeat. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere.” He got out of bed and padded into the adjoining bathroom.
She smiled. She couldn’t have moved if a bomb exploded in the middle of the room. Her limbs felt like noodles, weak from the exertion.
He returned a moment later and slid back beneath the sheets and gathered her against him in an embrace. She snuggled against his side, loving the warmth of him, the scent of him.
“I told myself it would be selfish of me to make love to you,” he said.
“It would have been selfish of you not to since I wanted it as badly as you,” she replied.
He tightened his arm around her and released a deep sigh and she knew with that sigh that the outside world had come back to them.
“Amanda, I don’t know where we go from here.”
“We go back to what we’ve been doing. I take care of Melanie, you do what you need to do to get through each day, and we try to find out who killed Erica.”
He laughed. “You make it sound easy.”
She raised her head to look at him. “If you’re worried about what I might expect or demand because of what happened tonight, then stop worrying. I understand the situation, Sawyer. I don’t expect anything to be different just because we fell into bed together. What we need to focus on is finding out who owned those items in that box.”
“I guess I need to call Lucas and turn it all over to him. But before I do I want an inventory of everything that’s in that box.”
“I can make a detailed inventory first thing in the morning,” she replied.
“After you do that I’ll turn those things over. Maybe Lucas can figure out something that we can’t.”
“We need to check out those motels, see if maybe a clerk will remember seeing Erica checking in with a man.”
He smiled again. “Were you a private detective in another lifetime?”
“Maybe, but if I was I have no memories of it. All I know is that we have to find the proof that you’re innocent, and the only way to do that is to find the real killer.”
“Finding a killer definitely wasn’t in your job description,” he replied.
“I know, but taking care of Melanie was, and I don’t want to see her lose her father.” There were so many other things she could have said, like the fact that she couldn’t bear the thought of him behind bars, like the fact that she didn’t want to lose him, either.
And with this thought she knew she had allowed herself to get too close, not only physically but mentally, as well.
She sidled away from him. “I need to get back to my own bed,” she said. “I don’t want Melanie to wake up in the morning and not find me where I belong.”
He didn’t stop her as she slid out of the bed, grabbed her clothes from the floor, then disappeared into his bathroom.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Cheeks flushed, eyes shining, she looked like a woman who had just been thoroughly, wonderfully loved.
You’re nothing but a rebound for him, a little voice whispered in her head. He’s going through the worst possible time of his life and you’re an easy convenience to release stress, to feel not quite so all alone.
Even knowing all this she couldn’t regret what they had just shared. She turned away from the mirror and pulled on her clothes, then stepped back out of the bathroom and into the bedroom where Sawyer hadn’t moved from the bed.
He sat up, the sheet slipping down to expose his firmly muscled chest. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” But she wasn’t. She suddenly needed to escape the room, to escape him. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned and left the room, then hurried down the hallway to her own bedroom.
A glimpse into Melanie’s room let her know the little girl was sound asleep. Amanda pulled off her clothes once again and got into her nightgown, but she knew sleep would be a long time coming.
Her mind whirled with all the events of the night. The discovery of the box of Erica’s odd keep-sakes, the euphoria of a real dose of hope and finally the exquisite pleasure of Sawyer all battled in her head.
You’re just an easy convenience, that little voice whispered once again. And she’d do well to remember that, to not put any weight into what they had shared tonight. When all was said and done, she was still just an employee, a nanny hired to help his daughter through a rough time.
She sat on the edge of her bed and wondered what Sawyer would think if he knew about the tragic event that had forced her to leave Kansas City.
She’d certainly given him the benefit of the doubt where his guilt was concerned. Would he be as willing to do the same for her?
She drifted to the window and peered out onto the moonlit landscape. She froze as she saw somebody standing on the dock, somebody whose shape was far too broad to be Sawyer’s.
George.
What was he doing there? As she watched he turned to face the house, and she could feel his gaze focused on her window. She stepped back, heart beating fast and furious.
She peered out once again, knowing that he couldn’t see her, as her room was darker than the night outside. He still stood there, still as a statue, watching…as if waiting.
Waiting for what? She left the window and wrapped her arms around herself to warm the bone-chilling shiver that worked up her spine.
SAWYER SAT AT HIS DESK in his Baton Rouge office, staring out the tenth-floor window into the blue skies outside. In his hand he held the gold lighter that had been in the box Amanda had found the night before.
He’d taken the lighter out before leaving for work that morning. He’d awakened before dawn and had known who the lighter belonged to. It was as if during the night, while he’d slept, his subconscious had worked to give him the answer.
The flame leaped to life with a flick of his thumb. He should have called Lucas this morning, told him about the box, told him about the lighter. He moved his thumb, and the flame extinguished. He should have called Lucas but he hadn’t. He rubbed his finger over the raised silver star that decorated the side of the lighter.
There was a cold hard knot in his chest, a knot of anger he hadn’t felt since the night of Erica’s death. He felt as if for the past couple of months, since that dreadful night, he had stopped participating in his own life, had gone into a place where all his senses, all his emotions were numbed.
But last night, holding Amanda in his arms, feeling the warmth of her skin against his, her fevered sighs against his neck, he’d realized how much he wanted a life, his life back. And he was
n’t sure that Lucas could get it back for him.
He’d be a fool to trust anyone at this point. Despite their brotherhood and friendship, even Lucas was a suspect at this point. Sawyer had no idea who might have been snared in Erica’s web and to what lengths they might have gone to extract themselves.
Before last night there had been a part of him that hadn’t wanted to know who Erica had slept with. He hadn’t wanted to know the names, see the faces of the men with whom she’d betrayed her marriage vows.
Now he wanted to know them all, knew in his gut that among them was a monster. He flicked the lighter once again and the flame jumped up. He let it burn until the lighter got hot, then he allowed it to go out.
Amanda. She leaped into his mind as he tossed the lighter onto the top of his desk. They had both been foolish last night. They should never have taken their relationship from professional to intimate. His life was in chaos, and even if it wasn’t, he wasn’t sure he was prepared to jump into another relationship.
Last night hadn’t been fair to her. The only thing that consoled him was the fact that she seemed to know the score. She’d made it clear that she expected nothing more from him than what he’d given her.
And it wouldn’t happen again. One mistake was bad enough. Eventually this would all be over. Melanie would be talking again, she’d go back to school and they wouldn’t need Amanda anymore. Funny, how the thought of Amanda not being in the house, not being a part of their lives in some form or another bothered him.
As he heard the outer office door whoosh open, all thoughts of Amanda flew from his mind. He grabbed the lighter from the desk and stuck it in his shirt pocket.
A rap of knuckles sounded on his door, then it opened and Adam swept in, a broad smile on his face. “We got it, partner!”
“Got what?”
Adam sat in the chair opposite Sawyer’s desk. “We got the Ribideaux account.” He jumped back up, as if too excited to sit. “It’s huge. They want condominiums and shops, restaurants and lots of green space. They want to see tentative plans in a month.”
“That’s great,” Sawyer replied. “Why don’t we go down to the Drum Room and have a celebration drink?”
“Sounds good. We deserve a celebration.”
They left the office together, Adam chattering on about the new project. He’d been courting Samuel Ribideaux for the past six months, knowing that the wealthy developer was in the process of putting together a plan for a huge project.
He continued to talk as they walked into the elevator that would take them to the bottom floor of the building. In the evenings and on weekends, the Drum Room was a popular singles hangout, but during the day it was a place for businesspeople to meet over lunch or for drinks.
As they rode down, Sawyer imagined he could feel the heat of the lighter burning a hole in his pocket. A muscle ticked in his jaw as he eyed Adam. He and Adam had been business partners for seven years. Their firm of Bennett and Kincaid had been quite successful, particularly over the past two years.
The job for Ribideaux was an indication of the fact that they had truly arrived, that their reputation for excellence was firmly in place.
At the moment, Sawyer didn’t give a damn about the business or the Ribideaux project. After all, if things didn’t change, he wouldn’t be around to enjoy whatever success the new project would bring.
The elevator doors opened, and he and Adam stepped out and headed to the hallway that led into a back entrance of the Drum Room.
The scent of cooking food and cigarette smoke hung in the air. The Drum Room was one of the few restaurants left in town that still allowed smoking.
Adam gestured toward one of the empty, lushly upholstered booths. “That okay?”
“Fine,” Sawyer replied. He slid into the seat across from Adam, and a waiter immediately appeared at the booth.
“Two Scotches, top of the shelf,” Adam said. “And bring us an order of those Cajun wings.” Sawyer nodded to the waiter to let him know that was all.
Adam leaned back against the booth, looking inordinately pleased with himself. “I still can’t believe we landed it. This is our ticket, Sawyer. This project will put us on the map, not just here in Baton Rouge, but all over the country.”
He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “You’ve got to get all this legal crap behind you, Sawyer. I need your undivided attention on this. Ribideaux was quite impressed with your work.”
Again Sawyer felt the tic along his jaw, the burn of the lighter inside his pocket. “I’m doing the best I can to get my legal issues behind me,” he replied as calmly as possible. “I’ve retained Jackson Burdeaux in case things escalate.”
Adam raised one of his blond eyebrows. “He’s the best in the state. I certainly feel more comfortable knowing you have him on your side.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew one of the Cuban cigars he was fond of. “Do you mind?” he asked as he tucked the cigar into the side of his mouth.
“Not at all.” Sawyer reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter. “Allow me.” He flicked the flame to life.
“Hey!” Adam pulled the cigar from his mouth. “Where did you find my lighter? I’ve been looking for it for months.”
At that moment the waiter arrived with their drinks and order. It wasn’t until the waiter left that Adam again asked, “So where did you find it?”
Sawyer tucked the lighter back in his pocket. “I found it in some of Erica’s things.” He stared at the man he’d considered a friend, as well as a partner. “When did you sleep with her, Adam? When did you have an affair with my wife?”
The fire of denial lit Adam’s eyes as he met Sawyer’s gaze. For a moment his mouth worked but nothing came out, then his eyes darkened and he stared down into his drink.
“It just happened once…about eight months ago.” He looked at Sawyer, a deep agony darkening his eyes. “I’m sorry, Sawyer. God, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I hoped you’d never find out.”
Adam leaned back once again and took a deep swallow of his drink. He stared off at some point just beyond Sawyer’s shoulder. “She came to the office one day and you were out. She asked if she could sit in my office and wait for you. I poured her a drink, we chatted, and things just got out of control. Stella had been out of town for a week, Erica was coming on strong, and I had a weak moment.”
Sawyer waited for the rage he’d expected to feel to fill him, but there was none. There was only a weary sadness that the people he’d thought he could rely on, the people he should have been able to trust, had betrayed him.
“It was just that once, Sawyer. I swear it was just that one time. Erica must have taken my lighter that day. I don’t know why she’d do such a thing.”
“I don’t know why you’d do such a thing,” Sawyer replied.
“Tell me how to fix it,” Adam said fervently. “What can I do to make this right?”
“You’ve been talking about wanting to buy me out for months. Have your lawyer get in touch with me with a reasonable offer and I’m gone,” Sawyer said.
“Jesus, Sawyer, that’s not what I want, especially not now. Surely we can get past this. I’ve told you how sorry I am, how bad I feel about it.”
“Adam, the problem is I can’t get past it. The problem is now I understand that you have no integrity, and I can’t work another day with a man who has no integrity.”
Adam rubbed the center of his forehead, an anxious bewilderment twisting his features. “You can’t mean that.”
“But I do,” Sawyer replied and stood. “And that’s not the least of your problems. Now I have to turn this lighter over to Lucas Jamison and you’ll be investigated as a potential suspect in Erica’s murder.” Adam’s bewilderment transformed to horror.
“That’s crazy,” he exclaimed. “I had nothing to do with her death.”
“You can tell it to the authorities. Enjoy your Cajun wings, Adam.” With these words Sawyer turned and headed for the exit.
As he left the Dru
m Room and stepped out into the hot, sultry early-afternoon sun he hoped he hadn’t just made a major mistake. He’d wanted to confront Adam, but he suddenly realized it was possible he’d just given Erica’s murderer time to perfect an airtight alibi.
Chapter Nine
“I heard Sawyer quit his job,” Lillian said as she and Amanda walked down the sidewalk toward Glad Rags, the absolutely most awesome boutique in town, according to Lillian.
It was Thursday midmorning and Sawyer had given her the morning off as he and Melanie had been invited to have brunch at a friend’s home.
“Yeah, he went in Monday morning and told Adam he wanted out,” Amanda replied.
“Why?” Lillian asked curiously. “Why would he want to quit his job?”
“He just decided maybe his time right now would be better spent at home with Melanie.” It was the story Sawyer had come up with to tell people, even though he’d told Amanda what had really happened between him and Adam.
They had turned over the box of Erica’s keep-sakes to Lucas, and Amanda desperately hoped Lucas was doing his job and trying to find out who those items belonged to. It was quite possible that one of them was a murderer.
“Anything new in the investigation?” Lillian asked.
“No, nothing,” Amanda replied. She could have told Lillian about finding the box, but she was tired of thinking about Erica’s murder, tired of talking about it and speculating about it.
“What I’d really like to do is not think about all of it today,” she said. “It seems like Erica’s murder has consumed every minute of every day lately.”
Lillian flashed her a bright smile and took her by the arm. “Then today it’s strictly girlfriend fun. We’ll buy something extravagant and useless, then go find someplace to have a decadent chocolate dessert.”
Amanda laughed. “Sounds like a great plan.”
Lillian hadn’t exaggerated the pleasure of Glad Rags. The store sold not only darling blouses and skirts, jeans and dresses, but also offered a vast array of sexy lingerie and nightclothes.
The two women combed through the racks like excited teenagers, Amanda flipping through the jeans while Lillian beelined to a display of purses.
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