deep burgundies and forest greens. Large, masculine furnishings filled the room, two sofas in dark leather, a pair of club chairs with ornate feet, a handful of end tables and an antique writing desk in the corner. I gingerly perched on the edge of one sofa, feeling like I'd entered a museum where some docent might pop out at any second and tell me to stay behind the ropes.
'Maddie.'
My head whipped around so fast I feared whiplash.
'Felix,' I squeaked out.
He was wearing his trademarked white rumpled button down and khaki pants, a worn pair of sneakers on his feet. He leaned casually against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. 'What are you doing here?' he asked.
I licked my lips, my throat suddenly dry at the sight of him.
'I, uh, need to talk to you. Your phone was off.'
He frowned. 'The battery died. What's going on, are you all right?' He came into the room and sat down beside me. I immediately jumped up as if he'd shocked me. I licked my lips again as I wandered over near the fireplace. 'Me? Yeah, uh, I'm fine.'
Again the frown. 'What's going on?'
I cleared my throat, not really sure what to say now that I was here. Being careful what I said around Felix was nothing new – let the wrong thing slip out and you were libel to be front page news next to Bigfoot. But being careful he didn't stab me with my own pumps? That I was still trying to wrap my head around.
'Um, well, see, here's the thing. I uh…' I took a deep breath. 'Why didn't you tell me you were dating Gisella?' I blurted out.
'Ah.' He rose from the sofa, taking a step toward me.
Instinctively, I took one back.
He frowned again, this one deep enough to create little lines between his eyebrow. 'We went out a couple of times. Nothing serious. I didn't think it relevant.'
'Relevant? Felix, she's dead.'
His face became a blank. 'Yes. I know.'
'Why didn't you tell me you'd been in her hotel room before? That you were at the party? Why did you keep this from me?'
'I didn't. When I got the room key, I told you I'd been seeing her.'
'You told me you
'I never said 'tricked.''
'You could have told me you were with her at the party.'
'We had a few drinks, I walked her to her hotel room. That was it.'
'And that was the last time you saw her?'
He paused. Then shook his head. 'No. I saw her the night she died.'
'The night she died?' I thought back to what Angelica had said about hearing a man in the next room. 'Ohmigod, you're Mystery Man?'
Felix cocked his head to the side. 'Who?'
'You… you were in her room the night she died. You were fighting. You slept with her, then starting fighting.'
Felix looked down at the floor, the toe of his sneaker toying with an invisible spot on the rug. He said in a low voice, 'Yes, we fought. She wanted me to accompany her to a party the next night. I said I didn't think we should see each other anymore. She got angry.'
'Wait, you were dumping a supermodel?' I asked with a snort. 'Why do I find that hard to believe?'
He looked up. 'Some men are looking for more than a pair of long legs, Maddie.'
I wasn't certain, but I could have sworn his eyes flickered to my own short pair currently half encased in a foam Smurf boot.
'So why sleep with her first if you knew you were going to dump her? That's low even for you.'
He shook his head. 'I didn't sleep with her.'
'Angelica heard you. She was in the room right next door.'
Again that frown settled between his brows. 'I didn't sleep with her, Maddie.'
I let it go, focusing on the more important part. 'So, you fought, then what?'
'Then I left her.'
'Alive?'
Felix took a step closer.
I backed up again and bit my lip. When had his dimples and rumpled khakis suddenly become so menacing?
He cocked his head to the side, an odd look coming over his features. 'No, don't tell me.'
'Tell you what?' I asked, my hands starting to sweat at my sides.
'Don't tell me that you of all people think…?'
I threw my hands up in the air. 'Well, what am I supposed to think? The necklace belongs to you, you were dating the dead woman. Hell, the story about the stiletto in the jugular was printed in your paper. That's a lot of coincidence, don't you think?'
'Ironic. You talking about coincidence.'
I squared my shoulders. 'Tell me the truth. Did you kill her, Felix?'
He clenched his jaw, his eyes going dark as he took a step forward. 'If I was a cold blooded killer,' he said, his voice suddenly growing a hard edge, 'do you really think I'd confess it to you?'
I gulped, my heart rate increasing tenfold.
He shook his head, a slight movement, his eyes saturated with some unreadable emotion. 'I can't believe you'd doubt me. Not after all we've been through together.' His voice went low, almost a whisper. 'After you kissed me.'
So he hadn't forgotten.
'That was an accident,' I said, wiping my sweaty hands on my dress.
Felix raised an eyebrow at me. 'An accident?'
I nodded, taking another step backward.
Felix took two forward. 'Is that what you think?'
I nodded again. 'Look, you don't think I meant to kiss you? I mean, I'm with Ramirez.'
'Actually…' He took two more steps forward. '…it looks like you're here. With me.'
I gulped, my back coming up against the massive stone fireplace.
'Kinda,' I squeaked out.
Felix took one more step forward, until he was standing directly in front of me, his body inches from mine. I could feel the heat coming off his skin, the scent of coffee on his breath.
'W-what are you doing?' I asked, silently checking his person for anything that looked like a weapon. Specifically a stiletto heel.
None that I could see. Or feel. His white rumpled shirt lay carelessly over a frame that felt a lot more solid than I'd ever imagined.
'Being deliberate,' he said, his voice deep and barely louder than a whisper.
I held my breath.
'D-deliberate?'
But he didn't answer. Instead, he leaned in, his body pressing into mine. Despite the fear tickling my spine, my body instantly responded. My heart sped up, heat pooling in my stomach as my lungs suddenly couldn't get enough air. I felt his belly rising and falling against mine, in sync with his warm breath on my cheek.
He paused there, his blue eyes never leaving me.
Then he slowly closed the gap between us, his lips moving closer until they hovered a breath away. I tasted coffee and toothpaste, felt his lips brush mine.
I closed my eyes in anticipation of what came next.
His tongue flicked out and tasted my lips, so lightly I wasn't even totally sure it happened, before his mouth covered mine in a soft, slow movement. Nibbling, tasting, nipping. Before I knew what happened, I was returning it, doing a little tasting and nibbling of my own. I must have liked what I sampled, because all on its own my body let
