of stuff for his girlfriend, from furniture to clothes to a five-thousand-dollar stereo system he'd obviously enjoyed while he stayed at her place. To my horror, I realized that / was now tens of thousands of dollars in debt because everything was in my name, too.'
She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers, letting the lamplight glimmer off the shiny band. 'Which brings us back to this ring I wear, and three years without sex,' she said humorously, as if she hadn't just given him a very private glimpse into her past, and possibly even a part of her soul. 'In a nutshell, I've been working my butt off to pay off all those creditors and make sure I don't lose my business in the process. And then there's the money my aunt and uncle loaned me as part of my investment that I haven't paid in full yet, either, since I had to cut back on their monthly payments in order to meet my obligations with those credit cards that I'm still trying to pay off.'
Now he understood her desperation in accepting his cut-rate fee in exchange for his help in finding her cousin, as well as her insistence on signing her paycheck over to him so he wouldn't be one of those debts hanging over her head. Their deal was temporary the whole way around, yet he'd never expected to be so intrigued by Liz beyond anything sexual.
While she'd been an unabashed vixen an hour ago, this strong yet vulnerable facet to her appealed to him, too. She was so determined not to depend on anyone to get her out of the mess she'd gotten herself into with her deceased husband, and now she was taking on the responsibility of finding Valerie, too.
'Dating and men are a distraction I haven't been able to afford the past three years,' she said, bringing his mind and attention back to her.
'And I am?'
'You, Mr. Wilde, are a very exciting fling that came around at an opportune time.' Smiling drowsily, she brushed her fingers along the tribal band on his arm. 'I know exactly where we stand with one another. Neither of us wants anything long-term or complicated, so our arrangement is perfect.'
She was offering him the kind of reassurances and rules he would have demanded from any other woman, yet his jaw clenched in denial, his reaction knee-jerk and unexpected. But Liz was right about them, and he'd do well to remember the boundaries of their temporary relationship. Which meant ending their night together and leaving- now.
'I'd better get going,' he said abruptly. 'You're about to fall asleep on me, and I've got an early day at the office tomorrow. I plan to talk to a few people I know with some connections and see if I can get anything on the inside track of The Ultimate Fantasy.' Moving off the bed, he pulled on his briefs and jeans. The rest of his clothes were still in the living room.
'I'll walk you to the door so I can lock up after you.' Sliding off her side of the mattress, she grabbed the worn and faded cotton robe tossed on a nearby dresser. 'I also have that application filled out with Valerie's personal information, or as much of it as I could find when I went digging through her bills. There's some bank and credit card numbers I pulled from statements, along with her social security number and mother's maiden name, just in case you need any of that to check her accounts.'
'That's great. Every little bit will help.' He caught one last quick glimpse of her sweet curves before she slipped into the thigh-length cover-up and tied the sash around her waist. 'It's amazing how one little detail can lead to something substantial.'
She headed out of the bedroom. He followed her back to the entryway, his eyes drawn to the gentle sway of her hips as she walked, his senses filling with the scent of soft, sexy woman.
She waited quietly while he yanked his T-shirt over his head, secured his weapon and holster back in place, and shrugged into his leather jacket. She watched him avidly, with sensual green eyes that seemed to eat him up. When he finished getting dressed, she handed him the application, which he glanced at briefly before folding the paper and tucking it into his pocket.
She started past him to open the door, but before she could execute the move, he gave in to the urge to catch her in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers, open and seeking. Like a woman in sync with her lover's demands, she wrapped her hands around his neck and responded enthusiastically, without hesitation. Her luscious body melted into his embrace, and she returned the sensual kiss with abandon, telling him without words that she wouldn't mind if he stayed.
He was unable to suppress a deep groan. Everything male about him acknowledged that she was naked beneath that flimsy robe she wore, that it was just a matter of unzipping his fly, pressing her up against the nearest wall, and sinking right back into her tight, lush body and losing himself once again in her dampness and heat.
God, if he didn't get the hell out of there, neither one of them would get any sleep tonight, and he'd end up in a morning-after situation he didn't want or need.
Or so he had to keep reminding himself.
He ended the passionate kiss he'd instigated, and saw the questions in her slumberous eyes, an eager hope that he'd change his mind about staying. He took a much needed step away from her.
'I'm going,' he said, his tone gruff.
She licked her lower lip, and gracefully accepting his decision, she opened the door for him. 'Good night, then.'
Their gazes met and held, and he paused, much too long for his own peace of mind. ' 'Night,' he finally said, then left while he still had the willpower to do so.
The early-morning rush of customers at The Daily Grind kept Liz's mind occupied and her hands busy making a steady stream of cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas. It was a diversion she welcomed, considering she'd spent too much time thinking after Steve had left her apartment last night-thinking about the incredible foreplay and sex they'd shared and how good it had felt to let go sexually in a way she'd never done before. She'd held nothing back with Steve, mainly because he hadn't allowed her to retreat. He'd been bold and dominant, yet so generous with her pleasure, and she'd been greedy and utterly shameless. Not that Steve seemed to mind at all.
Despite how tired she'd been after their time together, she'd tossed and turned in her bed, her mind replaying the conversation she'd had with Steve about her marriage-an intimate conversation she'd never intended to have with him. Their relationship was short-term and purely physical and, out of self-preservation, shouldn't have crossed over into anything emotional or personal.
Yes, he'd been persistent, but she could have refused to talk if she'd really wanted to. Instead, she'd allowed herself to be swayed by his questions, willingly so. With that deep, mesmerizing voice of his, his soothing touch, and the genuine interest she'd seen in his eyes, it had been so easy to open up to him, to reveal details of her relationship with Travis that should have remained private. It had been too long since a man had made her the sole focus of his attention and treated her as if he really cared about what she had to say, and she'd taken advantage of his listening ear. After revealing so much about herself, she was now doubly curious about his own marriage-and especially the female name she'd seen etched on the tribal band around his arm.
Despite sharing part of her personal history with Steve, there were a few emotional issues and deeper secrets she'd managed to keep to herself. While he'd been so understanding about her turbulent marriage, and even a bit riled over Travis's thoughtless actions, she didn't deserve Steve's vindication on her behalf, because she was hardly faultless.
What she hadn't revealed was the crushing sense of regret she'd lived with since Travis's death, for disappointing her aunt and uncle by marrying Travis when she'd known how much they disapproved of him. She'd gone against their wishes, seeking instead the kind of excitement and adventure he'd brought into her life, not realizing that his wild ways would come close to destroying everything she'd worked so hard to attain.
Now she was living with the consequences of her actions and trying to make amends for a past mistake that had not only cost her financially, but she'd also hurt her aunt and uncle with her own rash actions. She was working hard to gain their respect back, to make up for the disappointment she'd caused by letting someone so reckless sweep her off her feet and take advantage of her in the process.
At least with Steve, she knew where they stood with each other right up front. He wouldn't be sweeping her off her feet, and she instinctively knew he wasn't a man to take advantage of anyone. Least of all her. Not when she was giving him what he wanted of her own free will.
At ten after ten, when a lull in business finally presented itself and Liz was certain her morning employee, Gloria, had things under control, she heated up a cafe mocha for Mona and strolled over to The Last Word with her
