“Why me?” His voice came low; his eyes turned glassy with want.
“Because I heard you’re good. And I need somebody good, somebody who can do this job well, and quickly.”
Just then, the door opened behind her.
“Hey, I just—hell, sorry, man. I thought you were alone.”
Liz spent a split second wondering just how tight her skirt stretched across her ass, just how high it rose on the backs of her thighs, before turning to see the man who’d come in. Tall, blondish, a bit lankier than Jack Wade, he was tan and classically handsome. A neater haircut would have made him a perfect Malibu Ken doll, but she instantly liked the rough edges she saw. Like Jack Wade, this guy hadn’t shaved today. But whereas the P.I. wore a simple polo shirt, his friend sported shorts and a tee that made him look laid back and comfortable in his own body. Despite his loose-fitting clothes, she could see the sinewy muscles in his arms and legs and couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to have them wrapped around her. Liz couldn’t remember a time she’d ever been aroused by two men at once, so as her body ached, almost painfully, she counted this as another new, unlikely experience.
“Hi,” he said to her, a smile playing about his lips. “Sorry if I interrupted something.”
“No. I mean…” She glanced between the two guys who were currently filling the room with more testosterone than she’d ever felt before. “I’m a client of Mr. Wade’s, that’s all.”
The blonde tilted his head back with an, “Ah,” but his amused expression said he wasn’t sure he believed her.
Jack Wade chuckled again. “You’re makin’ quite a presumption there, chere.”
Liz bristled at his words. Something inside told her she’d come too far to turn back. To walk out of his office now without “winning” would feel like a huge defeat. Because this wasn’t just about business any longer—it had definitely become sexual; it had invisibly turned into an issue of something like…conquest. She’d dressed provocatively because telling a guy your fiancé was probably cheating seemed like the ultimate embarrassment, and she’d thought she could handle it better if she made the P.I. think her fiancé was a total idiot to look elsewhere for gratification. To walk out now would make her feel she’d failed at that, too.
“Maybe I am,” she said. Then she leaned back over the desk again, not caring what kind of view she gave the Ken doll if it meant seducing Jack Wade into taking her case. She licked her lips and gazed into those dark eyes of his, letting her voice go husky. “But I don’t think so. I think you’re too curious to turn me down.” About what, she didn’t say, but she wasn’t talking about the case.
“Is that so?” His voice was just as gravelly.
“Yes, that’s so.” She rose back up and turned to the Ken doll. “Don’t you agree? Don’t you think Mr. Wade should give me what I want?”
The blonde man looked as aroused by her as she was by her own boldness. “Oh yeah. I think he should give you whatever your pretty little heart desires.” Then he looked past her to the P.I. “Quit giving the lady a hard time, Jack.”
Jack Wade looked back and forth between the two of them, appearing half-annoyed, half-amused. Finally, his gaze settled back on Liz, turning her warm and a little wetter than she already was. “Darlin’, I’m findin’ it hard to believe a guy would cheat on a jolie fille like you.”
A rush of gratification washed through her at the compliment—she knew little French, but was fairly certain he’d just called her a pretty girl, and his sexy tone alone turned the words more suggestive.
“So why do you think he’s steppin’ out?” he added.
Of course, this brought Liz back to reality, back to the reason she was here, and it bit sharply into her excitement. “The usual signs, I suppose. Repeated claims of working late, very late, and coming home looking more rumpled than a man should get at the office. Little to no explanation when I ask why he has to work so much, and he acts like I’m nagging him when I express concern.” She paused, thinking how thin her suspicions sounded. “Maybe it seems as if I’m jumping to conclusions, but it’s just a feeling I have, and I need to find out if he’s really working or if he’s going someplace else.”
As the Ken doll stretched out quietly in a chair in the corner, Jack Wade took notes on a small pad of paper. “How often does this happen?”
“Lately, nearly every night of the week.”
Jack nodded, made another note, and then asked for a few more specifics centering on her fiancé’s place of business, normal working hours, and route to work.
Then he looked up at her. “Just so you know, nine times out of ten, if you think they’re cheatin’ on you, they are. Might save you some time and money to just go with your gut and turn the guy loose.”
But Liz only shook her head. “I need to know for sure.”
“All right then. I’ll need your name, and a number where I can reach you discreetly.”
“Liz,” she said. “Liz Marsh.” She recited her work number, watching him jot it down.
“Liz,” he repeated, letting the ‘z’ sound roll off
