A HIGH STAKES SEDUCTION (13 page)

An unplanned crime—or night—of passion was a little different.

She jumped when the phone rang, as if the person calling could read her thoughts.

And maybe they could. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hello, sweetheart, are you busy?”

“Yes, very, I’m afraid.” She didn’t want to get into a conversation that might involve little white lies.

“How long are they going to keep you out there in Massachusetts? It’s the church picnic this weekend and I promised you’d run the till. Sally is baking two hundred cupcakes to raise money for the mission in Kenya.”

It was Thursday. The thought that in two days she could be back in Ohio, miles away from John, chilled her. “I don’t know if I’ll be back. I thought I would be, but it keeps getting more complicated. I’m sure you can run the till.” She felt a bit guilty. She usually enjoyed helping out at these events. It was fun to see people coming together for a good cause. Now all she could seem to think about was herself and the affair she shouldn’t be having.

“I already promised to run the lemonade stand. I suppose Sally’s daughter can manage, though. I do wish you were back home. I worry about you being so far away and with the wrong sort of people.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. They’re all quite normal, really. It’s a business like any other.” She glanced at her face in the mirror, wondering if her nose was getting longer. There was nothing normal about John Fairweather. He was larger than life in every possible way.

“I know people visit casinos of their own free will, but profits from gambling just seem like the wages of sin.”

“They’re wages like any others when you look at the account books, and that’s all I’m here to do. How’s Dad doing? Is he taking that new medication the doctor gave him?” Her father’s cholesterol had tested high recently. She was so used to taking care of them. If anything, they’d grown even more dependent on her since she moved back home from college, and she wondered how they’d manage without her if she did move out. Especially if she moved away to a different state.

Not that she should even be thinking along those lines since it was very unlikely to happen.

“Your dad is taking his medicine, but he won’t stop putting mayonnaise on everything. You’ll have to talk some sense into him when you come home. It’s odd here without you. The house feels empty and there’s no one to do the dishes after dinner.”

She had to smile. “I miss you, too. I’m still not sure when I’ll be home, but hopefully by next week.”

They wished each other goodbye and Constance hung up, then sighed, thinking about the endless nights of putting dishes into the machine and watching alarmist news shows that stretched ahead of her like a lonely highway. Then she shoved her phone in her pocket and headed out the door.

Without a change of underwear.

* * *

Constance spent the afternoon stalking the cashiers and wandering around the game rooms. Luckily for her, the New Dawn did not have any kind of middlemen between the customers and the cashiers. Everyone had to bring their own chips to the cashier to turn them into money.

Nothing untoward seemed to be happening at the tables, either. John had told her that the dealers were all experienced professionals, mostly from Atlantic City or Vegas, though he was hoping to train some local people soon.

She walked among the tables watching the customers gamble. People won money. Others lost money. Some won it then lost it. There was nothing that looked fishy. She paused at a roulette table, and watched the croupier spin the wheel.

“Hello, gorgeous.” That deep, rich voice in her ear sent a shiver of warm lust to her core.

She resisted the urge to spin around and instead turned very slowly to face John. A smile was already creeping across her face and she worked hard not to let it get too goofy. “Good afternoon, Mr. Fairweather.”

“I see you’re examining our operations again with that eagle eye of yours. Do you like what you see?”

“Like it? Not so much. I’m still not a fan of gambling.” She smiled primly. His own easy expression didn’t budge. “And I really should keep my findings confidential at this point, don’t you think?”

Now she did see a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “What findings?”

“Any findings I should happen to make.” She attempted an air of sphinxlike calm. “I’m not saying I’ve found anything unusual.”

“But you’re not saying you haven’t.” He frowned. “You will tell me if you find anything, won’t you? I’d be damn surprised, but I’d want to know right up front.”

She hesitated. “My first responsibility is to my client.”

“The BIA.”

“I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d tell me about anything you find first.” His face was now deadly serious.

“I don’t think I’m in a position to offer personal favors. I’m here to do a job.” This was getting awkward. He obviously thought she’d found something unexpected in the books that she didn’t want him to know about it. Still, if she did, she should keep it secret while she investigated, so the casino wouldn’t have a chance to cover it all up before she reported back to her client.

She glanced up and saw his uncle Don throw down some chips at a distant roulette table.

“I have no desire to interfere with your performance on the job you’ve been hired to do. You know that. But honestly, if you find anything amiss, I’d be as keen to know about it as anyone else.” His earnest expression preyed on her emotions.

“I’ll tell you if I find anything,” she whispered. “I really do believe you want everything to be aboveboard. But so far, so good.” She smiled. “Though I shouldn’t be telling you that.”

In the distance, Don swiped up a fistful of chips from the table with a smile and shoved them in his pocket. Darius, who managed the cashiers, had told her that Don gambled. She supposed there was nothing illegal in it. Or was there? This was a perfect instance of where she needed to do her own research rather than asking John about it.

Don Fairweather was now heading toward them, a confident smile on his rather wrinkled face. Constance braced herself. She’d better be on alert to see if she could pick up any information to substantiate or debunk the rumors about him.

“Consorting with the enemy, eh, John?” Don turned to her and winked. “You know I’m just kidding. We welcome the scrutiny of the BIA and all their friends in the media. Life would be dull if everyone just let us go about our business.”

“My contact mentioned money-laundering charges against you.” She looked at Don and came right out with it. She wanted to hear if his answer would be any less evasive and uninformative than John’s. And something about Don’s nonchalant attitude pushed her buttons and she wanted to see how he reacted under pressure.

“Load of bull. I used to own a chain of dry cleaners. We were laundering shirts, not money.” His grin challenged her to argue. “As you probably know, they didn’t find enough evidence to convict me of anything.”

“Don was found not guilty,” John cut in. “By a jury of his peers.”

“Not that I have any true peers, of course.”

“Don is by far the most arrogant of the Fairweathers.” John shot a wry glance at Constance.

“Which is saying quite a bit with you around,” Don retorted with a crinkly smile. “We keep each other on our toes.”

“That we do. One of my favorite things about the New Dawn is that I get to work with family every day.” John wrapped his arm around Don. “Sometimes it’s a challenge, but maybe that’s why I enjoy it so much.”

“You’d be bored if life was too easy. And neither of us knew there were so many of us. Some of them barely even knew they had Indian ancestry until John got them excited about this place. Now the kids are begging him to dig up some old songs and dances so they can compete in the big powwows.”

John shook his head. “Easier said than done. I vote that they just make up their own. Why does our culture have to be old and historic? Why can’t it be fresh and new?”

“Won’t win any prizes with that. The judges are traditional. We already have strikes against us because we don’t look like most people’s idea of an Indian.”

“Then people need to change their perceptions, don’t they, Constance.”

“I suppose they do.” How did he always charm her into agreeing with him? She really didn’t have an opinion of any kind on the matter. She did think it was sweet how John obviously worked hard to create a sense of community, and was paying a fortune to academics to dig up the Nissequot tribe’s shared history. “And if anyone can do that, it’s you.”

She blushed, realizing that she’d just praised him in front of his uncle. Don’s eyebrows rose a tad. Did he suspect anything between her and John? That would be disastrous. Don Fairweather was something of a loose cannon, aside from his dubious reputation. “I really must get back to the offices.”

“I’ll ride up with you.” John’s low voice gave the innocent offer a suggestive tone.

“Actually, I need to get something from my car first.” She didn’t want Don to see them disappearing together.

John wouldn’t tell Don about their liaison, would he? She really didn’t know. Don was his uncle and they were obviously close. She reminded herself that she barely knew John at all. She nodded to them primly and hustled toward the lobby. She didn’t actually need anything from her car but she’d fiddle around in there for a minute or so. Anything to get away from John’s dark, seductive gaze.

She futzed around with her bag on the passenger seat for a moment, then pulled it out and closed the car door. She turned toward the casino and gasped when she found John right in front of her.

“I’m not letting you sneak off.”

“I wasn’t trying to sneak off.” She lifted her chin. “I was getting my phone charger.”

“Oh.” His smile suggested that he knew it was a ruse. “You looked like you were running away from something.”

“Your uncle Don doesn’t know about...us, does he?”

John shrugged. “I haven’t told him anything. Even if he figured it out, he’d be discreet. He’s got enough skeletons in his own closet that he’s not going to throw open the door to anyone else’s.”

Why was that not at all reassuring? “I don’t think we should walk back in together.”

“Why not?” He looked a little put out. “I’m the CEO of the place. I hardly think it’s inappropriate of me to escort the forensic accountant up to the offices.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Even if I do know how she looks without her clothes on.”

Constance sucked in a breath. Heat flushed her entire body and she wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or lust. It didn’t really matter. Neither was at all helpful right now.

“You’re incorrigible.” Luckily there was no one else around.

“I know. It’s an affliction. Do you think you can cure me?”

“I doubt it. I also have no intention of trying.” She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder. “And I have work to do.”

“Let’s go.” He led the way, then waited for her to catch up so they could enter the lobby together. She held her chin high, self-conscious as she walked with him through the public space. The staff all knew who she was by now. Did they suspect anything? She felt so different than she had even yesterday, it was hard to imagine that she could still look the same from the outside.

When they reached the office, John ushered her in, then followed her and closed the door. She heard the lock click and felt his arm reach around her waist and her backside crushed up against his hard form.

“Constance, you’re making me crazy.”

She tried to hide her smile. “Maybe you were crazy already.”

“I don’t know what you’ve done to me.”

“I can’t imagine that I’ve done anything.” His big hand splayed over her belly, where all kinds of sensations churned. “I’m just trying to do my job.”

“And I keep distracting you.” His lips brushed her neck and heat flickered low inside her.

“Yes. Very much so.”

“I think you needed some distraction.” His low voice sent a rumble of desire to her toes.

“So I’ll be unable to properly investigate your books? You’ll make me think you’re trying to hide something.”

“Maybe there is something I’m trying to hide.” His voice contained more than a hint of suggestion, and she felt his erection jostle against her. She was slightly appalled by how arousing that was. What had happened to her since she met John Fairweather? It was as though a switch had turned on inside her. Now energy coursed through her veins whenever she was around him. Her mind strayed in previously forbidden directions and her body ached to do all kinds of things that she knew were wrong.

“What are we doing?” she asked in a half whisper.

His mouth played below her ear, heating her skin. “I think I’m kissing your neck.”

“This is foolish.”

“I won’t argue with you.” He went back to kissing her neck. Her nipples were starting to tingle.

“So shouldn’t we stop?”

His mouth worked its way up to her ear and he nibbled softly on her earlobe, which sent a surprising surge of sensation to her core. “Definitely not.”

He spun her around and kissed her full on the mouth. Her lips parted to welcome him and she felt her arms wrap enthusiastically around him without her permission. They kissed for a solid ten minutes, until she was in a thoroughly befuddled state. Then he excused himself with a polite nod and left her all alone, in a state of agonizing arousal, with nothing but ledger books for company.

She stared at the door. What a nerve! Now he had her all worked up and he’d waltzed off? He hadn’t even said where he was going or when he’d be back. How could she work now that he’d left her with blood pounding in every part of her body other than her brain?

She glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly seven o’clock. She’d wasted most of the afternoon seeing nothing downstairs. Except for Don Fairweather swiping those chips off the table.

Of course she’d seen him put chips down to bet, so nothing truly suspicious had happened, but wasn’t it rather a conflict of interest for him to gamble in the tribe’s own casino? He wasn’t involved in the day-to-day operations on the floor. He did publicity and booked the bands, but he was obviously fairly intimate with all the other workers. She’d noticed his jovial exchanges with at least half a dozen employees on the floor. Which was hardly proof of wrongdoing.