He rubbed his stubbled chin, glancing at the paper, perhaps looking for more than just what led to Pamela’s death. “She asked for help, and though she came about it the wrong way, I didn’t give her what she needed. I told her to stop blaming my father for everything, even though I do the same.”
“She mirrored your behavior, and you didn’t like what you saw.”
“Exactly.” He folded the pages and sat them aside.
Her pulse fluttered, and she had to mentally restrain herself to keep from stretching out her hand to him. Sure, she didn’t trust him and a part of her loathed him for what he’d done to her. But damn, he’d cared about his sister enough to find out the truth. That had been more than anyone, family or friend, had done for her. That truth was like an invisible blade, slowly twisting its way into her flesh.
“I’ll need a list of who was working that day.”
“My assistant Jackie will be here in the morning. She’s the one who schedules employees and keeps up with that kind of stuff.” She toyed with the idea of calling Jackie and summoning her to come over, but decided not to. She didn’t want to worry Jackie about Brooks’s motives, and she certainly wouldn’t want Brooks to believe she was eager to help him. “You can talk to her then.”
“Can I take a look around? How many entrances do you have?”
She stood, and soon she showed him out of the office, striding down the halls. “Three. The main entrance, an emergency door and a food and beverage delivery entrance out back.”
“I got her on camera coming in the main entrance, but she never came out,” he said.
She led him to the emergency exit first, and he studied it, looking at the passcode pad next to the threshold. “This is part of our alarm system in case someone breaks in.”
“Is it possible to deactivate the emergency door so it won’t beep if someone takes off?”
“Maybe, but that’s not how we proceed.”
“I need to see what this leads to.”
“Knock yourself out.” She gestured with her hand, and he opened the door, the annoying sound filling the space. She followed him out, and besides a recycle container and a dumpster, didn’t find much.
He glanced around, scratching his chin. “Let me see the other way out.”
“Okay. Come on, cowboy,” she said, chastising herself immediately for using a playful pet name for him. Why had such a word moved past her lips? She increased her pace, wanting nothing more than Brooks gone. Heat stirred in her stomach as he easily caught up with her stride, and the image of his strong and muscly legs upped her internal temperature a notch.
Damn it.
Having sex with him had been a mistake. Still being attracted to him could destroy her.
When she showed him the last exit, two reinforced steel doors that led outside, he sighed. “Do these have heavy traffic during auctions?”
“Some, but not much. Catered food and the waiters arrive much earlier than the guests, and so does security. Jackie goes over everything with them.”
“Do clients ever leave through these doors?”
Why would they? She frowned. “No.”
“Do you ever have rowdy guests who bully the pretty waitresses or act like assholes?”
“Not very often, but sometimes. There’s an incident report somewhere,” she said, adding to the list of things Jackie would have to provide. “You insisted on coming with me, fine. I told you all this information wouldn’t be available at the drop of a hat.”
Light rain fell from the sky, but he didn’t move an inch. “Maybe I wanted to be close to you, Madam,” he said, in that deep, rich, Texan accent that had first gotten her in trouble.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t pretend you’re not here only because of your planet-sized guilt and compulsion to play Sherlock Holmes.”
“I’m not keeping anything from you, Alexa,” he said, leaning closer. She stepped back, bumping into the concrete wall. Drips of water kept sliding down the roof, dampening her hair. Another part of her was damp, too, shamelessly so. “Not anymore. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
She cleared her throat, telling herself to behave.
Flecks of gold flickered in his rich brown eyes, and a close-lipped, apologetic smile formed on his handsome face. “I’m here to find out what really happened to my sister. But this chemistry between us makes it hard for me to think.”
She inhaled, her chest rising and falling with each gulp. His gaze slid down her neck, and her nipples tightened in a silent invitation for some action. If she could fire her erogenous zones, she would. She parted her lips, but no sound came out.
He lifted his hand to her neck, without touching her, but hovering within a breath of her skin. Warmth passed between them, the air around them suddenly humid and thick. “If you’re honest with me, and with yourself, you’ll agree. You want me, too.”
She shifted her attention to his hand, how nice it’d feel buried between her legs, parting her folds, teasing her clit to exhilaration. The image stirred her up inside. “Sexual desires don’t dictate how I live my life,” she said with a weak voice, the type of tone she’d never used until Brooks stormed into her life.
“No. But denying them can make your life hell.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m trying to keep from touching you, and all I can think about is how I miss your luscious legs around me. Fucking you deep and hard. Making you come again and again.”
She moaned. Her blood thrummed in her veins with the urgency of a mayday alert. Instead of giving her what she craved, he took her
