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around the time Brad got killed, Jake said.
 Convenient.
She watched him put a tray down on the patio table. Arranged on the tray were
a bottle of chilled Chardonnay, two glasses and several small dishes
containing a variety of interesting tidbits. The selection included three
kinds of olives, crackers, some artichoke and Parmesan dip that Jake had made
the day before, a hunk of rich, crumbly English cheddar, radishes, raw snow
peas and some crusty sourdough bread.
The one thing that all the items had in common was that none of them had
required cooking. Neither she nor Jake had felt like going to the trouble of
preparing a meal after returning from the spa, so they raided the refrigerator
and the pantry together.
 I dunno. Jake poured wine into the glasses.  Some might see Kimberley
leaving her job as a reasonable response under the circumstances.
 Brokenhearted lover plunges into despair upon learning of the death of her
boyfriend, quits job and goes back to wherever she came from? Maybe. But my
instincts tell me there s more to the story.
 So do mine. Jake handed her one of the glasses of wine.
 We really need to find Kimberley Todd, Clare said.
 It shouldn t be too hard.
 Unless she s trying to hide because she is a potential witness or maybe even
a suspect in an unsolved murder.
 That could complicate things, Jake agreed.  But I know someone who is very
good at tracking people online. I ll give him a call tonight.
 Someone back at your home office?
 Sort of.
When he did not offer anything further, she decided to move on to another
subject.
 Elizabeth and I are going to talk to Dr. Mowbray tomorrow, she said.  He was
the one who treated her during her so-called depression episode.
 Did you make an appointment?
 No. I thought we might have better luck if we surprise him. I don t want to
give him time to prepare. If he saw Elizabeth s name on his schedule, he might
be worried that she s contemplating some legal action for the lousy diagnosis
he gave her and call his lawyer.
Jake leaned back in the lounger.  I like the way you think.
 Thanks. She was oddly pleased by the compliment.
He drank some wine and munched a cracker saddled with a slice of cheddar.  Got
to say that you really do have a flair for this kind of work.
 I told you, I ve had some experience with scam artists. And when you come
right down to it, that s what Brad McAllister was.
 Looks that way. But the thing that s bothering me is why he was willing to go
to so much trouble to get control of Glazebrook, Inc. It was a huge gamble at
best, not a sure thing. And it involved a hell of a lot of risk, what with
trying to make Elizabeth think she was crazy and then planning a couple of
what would have been very high-profile murders.
 Brad wasn t a typical scam artist, that s for sure, she said slowly.  They
usually hang around just long enough to collect the money and then they
vanish. She put down the notepad and pen.  Maybe he just liked the idea of
being a major player in the business world. If he had gained control of
Glazebrook, Inc., he would have commanded a lot of power and respect here in
Arizona.
 Or maybe he had another agenda, Jake said quietly.  One we haven t figured
out.
She waited for him in a swath of moonlight. He turned off the bathroom light
and walked toward her, a towel around his hips.
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When he reached the bed he stopped, indulging himself in the sheer elemental
satisfaction the sight of her gave him. Her hair was a dark wave on the white
pillow. In the shadows her eyes were even deeper and more mysterious than they
appeared in daylight.
She smiled, welcoming him.
He did not try to examine too closely the unfamiliar hunger and urgency that
drove him. He accepted the sensations, the same way that he accepted the
predictability of the sunrise.
He got rid of the towel, pulled back the covers and looked down at her. The
nightgown reached just to the top of her thighs. He could see dark, inviting
shadows between her legs.
He lowered himself slowly on top of her, opening up his senses to fully savor
the moment. The world around him took on another dimension. He became aware of
colors that had no names and sounds that were otherwise muffled. Sensation
intensified. The heat of Clare s body compelled him. Her scent was a powerful,
arousing drug. But it was the knowledge that she wanted him as much as he
wanted her that had the most exhilarating effect.
Energy pulsed in the atmosphere around them.
 You re running hot, aren t you? he asked, sinking down along the length of
her body.
 Yes.
 Then you ll know I m telling you the truth when I say I want you so badly I
think I would go crazy if I couldn t have you tonight.
 Jake.
Her arms went around him. He felt her nails sinking into his back. He liked
the fact that she was leaving her marks on him. He intended to leave his own
on her tonight. The need to bind her to him, to imprint himself on her in such
a way that she never forgot him was vital. He wanted her and she wanted him.
That was all that mattered.
He slid one hand down her side and up under the hem of the nightgown. He
kissed her, long and deep, and cupped her firmly. It only took a few strokes
of his fingers to bring forth the telltale dampness that let him know she was
aroused.
His body ached with the need to sheath himself inside her tight, wet heat but
he forced himself to wait until she was twisting beneath him, until her soft
pleas became sharp commands.
 Now. She clutched him.  Do. It. Now.
Glorying in the small triumph, he rolled onto his back, dragging her with him.
When she was astride his body he used both hands to tug off the nightgown. He
dropped the garment on the rug beside the bed and gripped her waist.
The feel of her inner thighs pressing warmly against the sides of his body was
enough to push him to his limits. It took everything he had to stay in
control.
He was about to guide her onto his erection when she surprised him by changing
position. Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the mouth. Then she moved
her lips to his chest.
He was enthralled by the sight of her dark hair spilling across his bare skin.
Her mouth was wet and hot. He shuddered.
 I think I know where you re going with this, he managed.  But now isn t a
good time.
She raised her head and looked at him through a veil of silken hair.
 Why not? she asked.
It was, he realized, the same question he had asked her when she tried to
resist. He wanted to laugh but the sound came out as a husky groan.
 Because I m already on the edge, he admitted.  I ll be lucky to last long
enough to get inside you.
 Doesn t sound like a good reason to me. Got any other excuses?
 I thought that was a pretty good one, he said.
 Nope. Speaking as one control freak to another, may I suggest that you just
lie back and enjoy it?
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 You re going to make me pay for that crack, aren t you?
 Oh, yeah. She lowered her head and went back to what she had been doing.
A moment later her mouth closed over him. He sucked in a lungful of air and
discovered that the oxygen level in the room had declined markedly in the past
few minutes. It was all he could do to breathe, let alone drag her away from
his erection.
He reached down and gripped her head with both hands, intending to pull her
free and reposition her where he wanted her. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]