It was her last chance to meet up with Iris Perry, Bruce’s girlfriend. Shane had done some snooping around this morning after she refused to talk to them about Bruce. Iris was spending the day in the spa which was the motivator behind Travis sending Aubrey here for the full treatment. She’d been exfoliated, plucked, and massaged to within an inch of her life but she hadn’t been able to maneuver anywhere near Bruce’s girlfriend. Now Aubrey was finally sitting next to Iris for at least the next thirty minutes if not more, and the woman couldn’t get up and walk away with wet toe polish.
Aubrey relaxed back in the heated chair and sighed, a contented smile on her lips. “I could get used to this.”
The woman next to her smiled as well, lifting her wine glass in a toast. “No kidding. This is exactly what I needed today.”
Iris Perry was an attractive woman in her mid to late twenties with copper colored hair and dark eyes. She was also draped in a thick white robe but Aubrey could easily see that the woman sported a neat, trim figure. Not surprising.
Bruce had never spent much time or energy on unattractive females.
“Rough week?” Aubrey asked innocently. “My boss has been running me ragged but my boyfriend treated me to a day of pampering. He’s the best.”
Shane and Travis had coached Aubrey unmercifully about this conversation and being careful in general, but Iris had given her an opportunity to bring up boyfriends right off the bat.
“You’re lucky. Most men are too cheap. They only do things that have some benefit to themselves.”
The spa manager refilled Iris’s empty wine glass. Hopefully the alcohol would loosen her tongue.
“Sounds like you need a new man. What’s your type?”
Iris took a big drink and laughed, her hand over her mouth as if she didn’t want to tell a secret.
“The same type any girl wants. Handsome. Built. Rich. Generous. Your typical Prince Charming. Is that too much to ask?” The woman sighed, her gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. “Men like that don’t grow on trees. I’ve maybe met one man who fit that description. What about you?”
Keep it light but keep her talking.
“My boyfriend is pretty wonderful, and sexy as hell. But he’s not perfect, of course. I think every man has at least a few good qualities. I’m sure your boyfriend has a couple.”
“He loves me and that’s what’s important. He’s also gorgeous.”
Aubrey had to fight the urge to frown or laugh. Iris must not have that high of a standard. “He sounds pretty great. How long have you been together?”
“About a year, give or take. What about you?”
The wine was doing its thing. Iris’s face was flushed and her eyes were glazed over. The staff had been plying them with booze all day long, although Aubrey had kept her intake to a minimum.
“A month. Not long, really. We’re in the new stage I guess you would call it.”
Iris giggled and tossed back the rest of her wine. “I love the beginning. It’s all sex and puppy dog eyes.”
“You need more wine.” Aubrey pointed to Iris’s glass. “I’ll get someone’s attention.”
“I shouldn’t have any more. I’ll be asleep before dinner at this rate.”
“You look like a woman that can handle her drink.”
Aubrey wasn’t above flattering Iris if it would help. So far the entire conversation was quite surreal. Iris was speaking about Bruce as if he were still alive. The praise she’d heaped upon the deceased also seemed strange since he had few friends to compliment him.
“Maybe one more,” Iris agreed with a sleepy smile. “I really needed this today. It’s been a bitch of a weekend so far.”
“That’s terrible. What happened?” Aubrey asked casually. “Work troubles?”
“Just too much going on.”
Really? Her boyfriend being murdered didn’t even make the list? What the hell?
“I guess it could have been worse. I heard someone died at a party here in the hotel last night.” Aubrey shuddered and took another sip of her wine. “It made me want to pack my things and check out right away.”
There was a telling moment of silence and Iris’s features had turned bland, completely devoid of any sort of strong emotion. “I doubt there is a killer running loose that’s going from room to room murdering guests of the hotel. I think I saw something on a television show once about the odds of being murdered. They weren’t high.”
Iris didn’t look worried. Interesting.
“It’s still creepy. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
Aubrey hoped to turn the conversation toward the details of the crime to see if Iris might inadvertently let something slip, but she didn’t have a chance. A sunny eighties tune began to play and Iris reached into her robe pocket and pulled out her phone.
“Excuse me. I have a call.”
Frustrated, Aubrey waited but the woman chatted for the next several minutes, mostly just answering “yes” and “no” but never saying anything that would reveal who she was speaking to and what they were talking about. Iris was still on the phone when her pedicure was complete and she was exiting the salon. Aubrey gave her a wave and Iris nodded absently in return, still engrossed in her call.
Who was she talking to so intently?
It didn’t look like Aubrey was going to find out. She’d learned very little today but one thing was very clear.
Iris Perry wasn’t mourning the loss of Bruce. Not one little bit.
* * *
“That’s strange.” Travis perused the menu while the waiter scuttled away to fill their bar order. “She didn’t say anything at all about Bruce’s death. Not a word?”
After Aubrey’s day of beauty, Travis had insisted on them dressing up and going out to dinner at a classy French restaurant just a few blocks from the resort. She’d chosen a flame red cocktail dress with thin spaghetti straps and he was in a gorgeous heather gray suit that looked like it was made for him.
Damn hot.
She was so aroused by his “suit porn” her knees were jelly and her hands were trembling. Her mind might be hesitating to make love to him but her body was all systems go.
“Not a word. She acted like he was still alive, which was really kind of creepy. She also said he was gorgeous.” Aubrey made a face of distaste. She didn’t feel good about speaking ill of the dead but Bruce hadn’t done much to endear himself to her. Or anyone, for that matter. “Ick. She must really love him if she feels that way.”
“But then wouldn’t she be upset? Sad? You didn’t describe a woman torn up with grief.”
“She was drinking an awful lot. Maybe that’s how she processes death. And talking about him like he’s still alive? She could be deeply in denial.”
“She could be guilty as hell too,” Travis retorted with a grin as their drinks were placed in front of them. Jameson on the rocks for him and a cranberry and vodka for her.
“What was her motive? If they were happy there would be no reason to kill him.”
Travis closed his menu and placed it on the edge of the table. “I don’t know what her motive would be. Maybe money? According to Martin she was holding all of Bruce’s ill-gotten gains from his insider trading. She might not have wanted to split it with him.”
The waiter interrupted them and Aubrey ordered the coq au vin and Travis ordered the beef bourguignon, followed by a chocolate soufflé with a Chantilly crème that they would share.
“So Iris didn’t give us anything but more confusion. Where do we go from here?”
Travis reached across the table and captured her hand, lifting it so his lips could brush the knuckles. A shiver ran up her spine and that familiar ache between her thighs began to make itself known.
“I’m glad you asked that. Jason is digging into Bruce’s financial affairs and found out that he owes Tom Lovell almost two hundred thousand dollars from a joint real estate deal gone bad. Apparently they invested in some property that was going to skyrocket in value but that didn
’t happen. Then Tom found out he’d overpaid for the land in the first place and the person they bought it from was a good friend of Bruce’s. See where this is going?”
“Business is cutthroat, isn’t it?”
She’d seen Travis in meetings and dinners, more than she could count, and it had never ceased to amaze her how downright nasty people could be to one another. It all looked civilized on the surface but underneath it was a street fight to the death.
“It is, baby. Dog eat dog, and all that. Apparently Tom threatened to sue so Bruce signed a promissory note to pay the money back, but he hadn’t so far. Maybe Tom got tired of waiting.”
“Let me guess. Tom is here this weekend?”
The rich and famous were certainly different. In Aubrey’s experience, people who owed each other money didn’t hang out together and act like friends. In fact, they usually avoided being in the same room.
“He is. I think we should pay him a visit tomorrow and see what he has to say.”
“I hope we have more luck than I did today. Do you know him very well?”
“Pretty well. From what I’ve seen he’s a nice guy who may not be the greatest businessman or judge of character. According to Jason, Tom is clean and doesn’t have any unusual or expensive vices unless you count a string of polo ponies.”
Aubrey sipped her drink, the cranberry tart on her tongue. “He plays polo. Now that’s a sport that they don’t show on television very often. Do you play?”
Travis laughed, that dimple flashing in his cheek. “Are you kidding? I ride broncos, honey, not polo ponies. You want a trust fund baby I can introduce you to several this weekend, but that’s not me.”
Images of Travis in his well-fitting old blue jeans, worn boots, and a flannel shirt were making Aubrey uncomfortably warm. She’d seen him tame a wild horse and it had been incredibly erotic to watch how gentle and sweet, yet firm, he was with the animal. Completely in control and totally trustworthy. The horse had ended up eating a sugar cube out of Travis’s palm.
“I don’t think that’s really my type.” She gave him a flirtatious look from under her lashes. “I already have my eye on someone.”
Travis growled but his eyes lit up playfully. “Tell me his name. I want to know my competition.”
Aubrey giggled, pretending to hesitate. “I don’t know if I should say it. I wouldn’t want to start anything.”
“I bet he’s a loser.”
Shaking her head, she leaned forward so only he could hear her. “Far from it. He’s handsome and sweet. Smart and successful.” Something inside made her bold. “And I adore him. When he kisses me my knees go weak.”
Clearly she’d lost her damn mind. What on earth made her say that out loud? Her momentary courage had flown the coop and now she had to press her hand to her stomach so she wouldn’t throw up. She didn’t want him to think she was pushy. She didn’t want to give him the chance to reject her.
But Travis didn’t think she’d gone too far. Their gazes locked and he was looking at her like she was a juicy T-bone and he was a hungry lion.
Oh shit.
“Then there’s no chance for me?” His smile grew wider and her heart skipped a few beats. “It sounds like you might be in love with him.”
Love? Did he use that four-letter word?
She wasn’t ready to say it. She wasn’t even sure she was ready to feel it.
Did he love her?
Aubrey was so nervous she thought she might faint. Her pulse fluttered and she had to concentrate to keep her breathing even.
Apparently Travis didn’t expect her to respond, which was good because her mouth and tongue didn’t seem to be working properly. Instead he smoothly changed the subject to the mine contract they’d sewed up right before this weekend and what it would mean when they returned to the office in a few days.
Her heart rate returned to almost normal and she didn’t feel like tossing her cookies any more.
A temporary reprieve only. Travis was still looking at her with an almost feral intensity. When they returned to the suite things were bound to get interesting.
Would they or wouldn’t they?
She didn’t know the answer but her body was begging for a definite yes.
It was wrestling her stubborn brain to the ground and giving it a wedgie.
It was going to be a cage match to the death. Winner take all.
Chapter Fourteen
‡
Travis had pushed too hard at dinner.
He’d mentioned love and it was way too soon, really. But, dammit, he wasn’t some callow youth who didn’t know what he wanted in a woman. He was a grown ass man, over forty, who had been around the block more times than he could count or remember. Finding a wonderful woman like Aubrey felt like a miracle after all these years. He’d given up hope of there being a woman out there who cared about him for himself and not the Anderson fortune. If he lost everything tomorrow she’d still be by his side, of that he had no doubt.
“Do you want to watch some television?” Travis asked as they entered the suite. They needed a distraction from the tension brewing between them, and Aubrey had mentioned she was too keyed up to sleep. “We could order in a movie or something.”
She kicked off her high heels with a relieved sigh. “That sounds like a great idea. Let me get changed and take off my makeup.”
Aubrey slipped into her room and Travis quickly shrugged out of his suit, replacing it with a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. He padded out to the living room and picked up the television guide on the coffee table to see what movies were playing. There was a romantic comedy she would enjoy and the latest blockbuster superhero flick as well.
“Did you pick one out?”
Wearing pink cotton pajama pants and a matching tank top, Aubrey looked impossibly young. Her face was scrubbed of any cosmetic artifice and her feet were bare with cherry red tipped toes from her pedicure earlier in the day.
A wave of unaccustomed insecurity washed over him as he gazed at this tiny woman who had the power to hurt him so much. She was young, not yet thirty, and he was over forty. He worried that eventually she’d grow bored with him or worse, that he wouldn’t be able to satisfy her. At his age he couldn’t make love all night anymore, although he was no slouch in that department. Just because he couldn’t come a dozen times a night didn’t mean she couldn’t. He’d be more than happy to make sure she experienced multiple orgasms every single day of her life if she wanted them.
“I’m not fussy. What do you think?”
He held out the guide and she pointed to the superhero movie with a delighted smile. “This one. I love these, especially the bad guys. Is that all right?”
He far preferred it over the romance, but he would never have said no if she chose the other one.
“That was my choice too. Let’s get comfy on the sofa.”
This had to be the best part of Travis’s day. Any day. He worked his tail off from morning to night, but then he was able to snuggle up to the most beautiful woman in the world for a few hours and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist. Perfection.
He was lying behind her so that she was between his legs, her back resting on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stroked an exposed patch of skin right above her hip while his chin rested on the top of her head. Time seemed to come to a standstill as they watched the movie, their limbs entwined. He could smell the vanilla of her shampoo and feel the steady beat of her heart. The rise and fall of her chest with each breath was subtly hypnotic and he had to struggle to stay focused and not be swept away with all the delicious sensations she evoked just being this close. He was certain she could feel him half hard against the curve of her spine.
“Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Can I get you something?”
Travis really didn’t want to disturb their peace but manners had been hammered into him from a young age. Even when all he wanted to do was lift her into his arms and carry her to his bedroom.
Aubrey twisted in his arms so she was facing him. “I’m fine. Do you not like the movie? We can watch something else if you’d rather.”
Actually I’d like to throw you over my shoulder and carry you to my bed where I’ll ravish you like there’s no tomorrow.
“This movie is fine,” he said, instead of what he really wanted to. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Tilting her head, she gazed at him for a long moment. “I’m okay. But you seem like you’re in a strange mood. You have been all evening. Is it this whole Bruce thing? You’ve gone beyond the call of duty and I’m more than grateful, but I’ll understand if you want to bail on all this. You can go back to Tremont in the morning and I can stay here until the cops let me leave. I’ll come back as soon as they do.”
“Shit. No.” He’d fucked this up and needed to fix it fast. “That’s not it at all. I’m not leaving you here by yourself. It’s just–”
He broke off, more unsure of her than any woman he’d ever dated and that included every girlfriend he’d had as a teenager. Aubrey made him feel like a pimply, geeky kid again.
“Just what?” she prompted softly. “Have I done something, Travis? I’m sorry if I have.”
She was apologizing and he was the horny lecherous asshole here.
“You haven’t done anything wrong. This is all me, kitten. I’m the problem.”
Dear God, he hoped she’d simply drop the entire thing but he couldn’t be that lucky.
“Then what’s going on? You haven’t been yourself. If it’s not Bruce and it’s not me…is it Martin? Are you worried about him? Or is it something at the office? Maybe I can help.”
Christ, her gentle questioning, worrying about his well-being, was going to be the undoing of him.
“Baby, maybe it’s time for us to turn in. We have a big day tomorrow. We need to talk to Tom and then find out where Prather is in his investigation.”
Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 3) Page 8
