The Pleasure of Sin (11 page)

“Did you have sex with her?” she asked.

His jaw clenched. “Yes.”

He heard her sharp intake of breath. This definitely wasn’t a road he wanted to travel with her. He hadn’t brought her here to talk about his past exploits. Hell, he wasn’t proud of them. They fed a hunger in him, yes, but no one ever sated his passion like she had.

No one had ever blinded him to everyone else.

As much as it excited him, it also scared the hell out of him.

She walked around to face him, her eyes boring into his. “Like you did with me?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

“It was different with you.”

Her chin lifted stubbornly, her jaw set. “How?”

He didn’t want to answer, wasn’t ready to dissect his feelings for her just yet. They were still too raw, too fragile to be tested. “Jade…”

“Did she kiss you like this?” she asked, as she leaned over to let her tongue travel the length of his lips.

* * * *

He opened his mouth, allowing her to tease his tongue, the roof of his mouth. Power coursed through her blood. He was completely at her will. She could do whatever she wanted to him, and he couldn’t stop her. Never before had she experienced such a rush. Her lips traveled the length of his jaw, the curve of his neck, before taunting his nipple.

The harsh sound of his breathing let her know just how much he was sacrificing by giving her control. She smiled against his chest at the thought that he was all hers tonight. She tasted the skin of his stomach as she lowered to her knees. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his.

* * * *

His eyes darkened as he watched her undo his pants, sliding them slowly over his hips. God, she was going to kill him. Her fingers grazed the skin beneath the waistband of his boxers. His erection sprang free when she moved them down his legs. Her mouth hovered over the tip of his cock, and he thought for sure that he was going to die from lack of oxygen. God, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Part of her beauty was the fact that she had no idea how intoxicating she actually was.

She would learn.

He just hoped like hell that he could be the one to teach her.

Her luscious pink lips parted, and he fought the urge to push against her as his cock disappeared into the sweet warmth of her mouth.

“Jesus,” he hissed, the intensity of the feeling making his knees weak.

Her tongue swirled over the sensitive tip, and his hips began to move of their own volition. Her mouth moved on him as one hand came up to clutch his buttocks.

She licked him from the base to the tip, reaching up to take him in hand.

“Do you like this?” she taunted.

He closed his eyes, praying for control. “You know I do.”

“What about this?” she asked, treating the tip to a series of quick flicks with her tongue.

“Jesus,” he exhaled. “If you don’t stop…”

Each roll of her tongue brought him closer to climax. When her hand came up to caress the sensitive sacs below, he knew that he couldn’t hold out any longer.

“I’m going to come,” he warned, wanting to grab her and lift her onto his cock.

The thought of sliding inside of her silky, wet heat was all it took to push him over the edge. He felt himself spill into her mouth, and waited for her to pull away.

But she didn’t.

She took all of him, licking him clean.

When he was done, she got to her feet, her tongue snaking out to lick her lips. One eyebrow arced playfully.

He smiled. “Let me out,” he demanded.

“Why?” she asked innocently.

“Because I’m not done with you.”

Chapter 15

Jade stretched beneath the sheets, a wide smile sliding across her face. Her nipples piqued at the feel of the smooth cotton caressing her naked body. She felt…sated.

For maybe the first time in her life.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t had sex before. She had. But never in all those times had her body felt so well used. She cast a glance at the man who had mastered her body many times throughout the night. He lay on his stomach, his head turned to the side.

She still couldn’t believe how hungry they had been for each other. The club had been nothing more than an appetizer.

In the elevator.

In the kitchen.

On the couch.

That had been the main course.

In all her life, she had never been so reckless, so unbelievably hot for someone. She had always played it safe. Done what was expected. But last night, when she took that whip in her hand, she had experienced a control most only dreamt about.

Clay had given her that.

Turning her head, she stared at him fully. She had known that coming here was a risk, but the last thing she expected to risk was her heart. After last night, one thing was blaringly clear. She was in real danger of falling in love with the one man she’d sworn she would never be with. Her pulse raced at the realization that she was in far too deep.

Being careful not to wake him, she slid out of the bed, grabbing her panties from the floor. She pulled them over her legs before reaching for a white dress shirt that hung on the valet in the corner. Sliding her arms into the sleeves, she turned her face into the collar to breathe in his scent. Tiptoeing, she crept down the stairs, the wooden steps cold on her bare feet. A thin metal railing was all that protected her from hurtling over the edge.

She walked toward the kitchen, her stomach rumbling at the thought of food. Great sex, it seemed, made a person quite hungry. She couldn’t help the grin that stretched across her face at the thought. Clay was sure to be famished, too. First, though, coffee. As she walked over to the kitchen, she heard a sound coming from the desk in the corner. She cast a quick glance upstairs, but Clay showed no sign of moving. As she edged closer, her hip accidentally bumped into the side. She winced as the computer screen came to life.

The computer alerted Clay that he had a new e-mail. She looked away, feeling like she was intruding on his personal space. But something else caught her eye. Part of a picture was hanging out of a manila file folder. Curious, she pulled the photo out. Her eyes widened as she stared at herself. She opened the file, and what she saw sucked the air from her lungs. Her fingers rifled through the photos.

Photos of her.

At Café du Monde with Zoë.

Walking down Royal Street.

At Antoine’s with Alex.

Her jaw clenched. The bastard was having her followed. Why? She scooped up the file, shoving the photos back inside.

She was sure as hell going to find out.

* * * *

Clay awoke to something slapping him on the arm. His eyelids fluttered open, his mind still hazy from sleep. Finally, the haze cleared and he was left to stare into the hell he saw in her eyes. And it was pretty clear whom she was aiming it at. Scattered across the bed, lying next to him, were photos of her.

Damn.

He turned over, sitting up against the headboard. “Jade, it’s not what it looks like,” he managed gruffly.

She glared at him, her hand flying to her hips. “So, you’re not having me followed?” she challenged.

He sighed heavily. “Okay, so it is what it looks like,” he conceded. “But not for the reasons you think.”

Shaking her head, she glanced up at the ceiling. At her silence, he continued.

“I was worried about you,” he admitted.

Her eyes glittered as they met his. “So, you had me followed?”

Now it was his turn to look away.

He looked away because he didn’t have an answer. He looked away because he couldn’t bear the betrayal he saw in her eyes.

“I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t get hurt. I figured if I had someone watching you, I could keep you safe.”

Jade let out a huff of aggravation as she grabbed her dress from the floor. He watched her dress quietly, wondering what could possibly be going on in her mind.

Whatever it was, he was pretty sure it wasn’t good.

* * * *

Jade stared at him in disbelief. He had done it to protect her, he said.

Or to keep an eye on her?

Was she getting too close to the truth?

His truth?

The thought made her sick. She scooped up her dress, pulling it over her head. All this time he had been lying. He had lied about the club. He had lied about having her followed.

What else was he lying about?

She rushed over to the stairs, ignoring his cry of protest. Just as she got close to the door, she felt a firm hand cover her wrist.

“Jade, you have to understand,” he reasoned.

She spun around to face him as she let out a harsh laugh. “What? That you’ve been lying to me?”

He tilted his head to the side. “I wouldn’t exactly call it lying.”

“That’s what worries me,” she replied, jerking her arm away to walk out the door.

As soon as she reached Ruby’s apartment, she jumped into the shower. The hot water streamed over her body, but it did nothing to comfort her.

She had been a fool.

Twice!

What the hell had she been thinking?

The answer was simple. She hadn’t been thinking. Clay was dangerous; he had the ability to make her shut out all good reason and lose herself in the feeling of being with him. All he had to do was flash that sexy smile at her and she melted like a teenager.

Well, not anymore.

It was time for her to get back to the reason she came here. One way or another, she was going to find out who killed her sister. And she knew just whom she was going to talk to first.

* * * *

“What have you come up with, Mr. MacLean?” she asked.

He flushed a little at her curt tone. “Well,” he began, moving papers around on his desk to retrieve his notepad. “It seems like your sister was pretty popular.”

“Yes, I know,” she explained, her hand coming up to rub her eyes.

“I’ve checked out most of the men she was involved with. The first was no easy task, you know,” he said with a tilt of his head. “You didn’t tell me your sister was involved with Alex Talbot.”

“I didn’t know that at the time I hired you,” she offered.

He leaned back in his chair, causing it to squeak loudly. “You know, he’s a pretty big deal around here. They say he’ll probably run for Senate.”

Jade leaned in closer, her eyes narrowed. “Yes, well, I’m not interested in his political aspirations, Mr. MacLean. I’m interested in what he knows about my sister.”

His cheeks became ruddy at her bluntness. “Well, I did some digging into his past. Turns out that he was charged with attempted rape when he was in college,” he explained, casting a quick glance at his notes. “Tulane, I think.”

She inhaled sharply. “Attempted rape?”

He nodded. “Pretty brutal stuff from what I hear. She had handprints on her neck for days.”

Her eyes widened as she fell back into her chair. “Jesus! What happened?”

“Girl just up and dropped the charges.”

Her gaze shifted back and forth as she tried to assimilate the information. “But why?”

“When you’ve got as much money as Alex Talbot, people rarely stick with their stories,” he explained, sliding the notes back into a file folder. “Men like Alex Talbot rarely have to pay for their crimes, Ms. Monroe.”

“How is it that no one else found out about this?”

He shrugged. “Because the story got buried. There’s no record of it anywhere. I looked.”

She shook her head. “But then how did you find out about it?”

He beamed. “Because I know a few old timers on the force, and when I started asking they started talking.”

Jade leaned back in her seat, her head spinning with the recent developments. “Unbelievable.” She exhaled.

He nodded. “I know,” he agreed. “Then, there’s Clay Devlin.”

Jade gripped the arms of the chair. She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear this, especially considering their recent interlude. Still, she couldn’t turn squeamish now. She had to know. “What did you find out about him?”

He pursed his lips. “Not much, I’m afraid. I followed him for a few hours until I was told to back off,” he admitted, his jaw clenching.

Her eyes narrowed, her brows drawing together in a furrow. “Told to back off? By Clay?”

He rubbed his jaw. “No, by someone I assume he employs. A pretty big guy who just appeared out of nowhere to tell me that if I didn’t stop investigating Mr. Devlin, I wouldn’t be investigating anything for quite a long time.”

Her hands clenched painfully on the arms of the chair. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured.

In truth, she didn’t want to.

It was too damning.

“Well, believe it. I’ve got the bruises to prove it,” he confessed.

She frowned. “Bruises? What are you talking about?”

He leaned across the desk. “Well, let’s just say that when I said he told me to back off, he did it with his fists.”

Jade sat back in her chair, stunned.

Deep down, she had actually thought Clay was innocent. Now, it seemed, it was getting harder and harder to defend him against the mounting evidence. She only saw what he wanted her to see.

And that hurt.

“I’m sorry, Mr. MacLean. I had no idea that anything like this would happen,” she offered solemnly.

He held up a hand to silence her. “I’m not angry about it, Ms. Monroe. To be honest, it kind of made me feel young again. Reminded me of when I was a beat cop,” he explained with a grin.

She smiled back at him, but she still felt horrible. What had she dragged him into? If she hadn’t prodded him, he wouldn’t have been attacked. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done,” she replied, leaning over to scoop up her purse from the floor.

“Actually, there was one more thing,” he said hesitantly.

She looked up at him. “What is it?” she asked.

Color crept into his cheeks as he judiciously avoided her gaze. He grabbed a file off the corner of his desk, opening it to look inside. His face grew redder as he peered at the contents. “I’m not really sure how to say this, but…” He trailed off, unable to find the words.