Into the Night (39 page)

Oh, wow
. Unable to top that, she pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him, pouring every ounce of emotion into the fusing of their lips, the tangling of their tongues. Until she moved the wrong way and a stitch in her side reminded her that she needed to take it easy.

He touched his forehead to hers. “Marry me, Nicole.”

“Yes.” She smiled as he kissed her softly, reverently, and wondered if she’d ever felt so happy. So whole. So complete.

She didn’t think so.

Not until this very moment.

Not until Nathan.

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NIGHT AFTER NIGHT

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Sean followed Zoe into the foyer of her apartment at the Panorama Towers, a luxury high-rise known for its exclusive amenities and outstanding views of the Las Vegas skyline. She led the way into a spacious living room with a wide wrap-around couch, a glass-topped coffee table, and a mahogany entertainment center with a flat-screen TV. The contemporary décor was uncluttered and precise, yet warm and inviting.

Just like the woman who lived there.

“Nice place,” he said, catching sight of the adjoining kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and beige granite countertops.

“Thanks. It’s small, but functional. Only a thousand square feet and two bedrooms, but it’s really all I need.”

After setting her purse on a side table, she strolled through the living room in front of him, drawing his gaze to the provocative sway of her hips and a pair of long, slender legs that had his fingers itching to touch all that silky, bare skin.

“But it was the outside balcony and amazing view of the strip at night that ultimately sold me on this place.” She pushed open the sheer curtains covering a glass sliding door and floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing a spectacular sight of bright neon lights that stretched for miles.

She unlocked the sliding door and stepped outside, and he did the same, standing beside her at the concrete-and-rod iron railing securing the area. Even at twenty-one stories up, a balmy evening breeze reached them, lifting and playing with the few loose strands of her hair that had escaped the wide gold clip she’d used at the nape of her neck. Her smooth shoulders, completely exposed by the low, sexy neckline of her dress, gleamed like alabaster in the moonlight.

Pulling his gaze from her profile, he looked out over the city, so deceptively beautiful at night. “I bet this sight never gets old, does it?”

“Nope.” She curled her fingers around the rod iron and slanted him a sidelong glance filled with a beguiling amount of heat. “Especially on a night like this. Clear. Warm.
Sultry
.”

The soft, throaty way she spoke the last word evoked images of steamy, erotic kisses and hot, lazy caresses in intimate places. Ever since she’d asked him back to her place, the attraction between them had become a slow tease of sexual awareness. The onslaught of arousal thrummed through his system, and she wasn’t helping matters by looking at him like
he
was dessert.

God, she was messing with his head, and making him want her more than was wise considering how he felt about her cheating, lying father and Grant Russo’s part in making sure that Sean’s father spent years in prison for a crime
both
men had committed. And judging by the information Caleb had collected for their client on this case, it was clear that Russo was still in the business of scamming people.

Sean had agreed to accompany Zoe to her place to discover anything else he could about her father. Based on their exchange at dinner, it seemed like she had a somewhat close relationship with her dad, but after listening in on her conversation with her mother and watching her reactions, Sean was pretty much convinced that she wasn’t aware of her father’s shady dealings and genuinely believed he was on a business trip—in
Chicago
, she’d told her mother.

Sean planned to pass that bit of information on to Caleb as soon as he left Zoe’s tonight so they could get a jump on that lead and see if that found Russo, or if it was nothing more than a diversion.

Ultimately, Sean’s main objective was to remain as close to her as possible in the hopes that she heard from her father. Zoe was his daughter, and contact with him had to happen
sometime
. And when it did, Sean wanted to be around to learn where the cowardly bastard was hiding out so the Reliance Group could take him down.

Obviously, he couldn’t be with Zoe 24/7 to monitor her actions and calls, but one of the Reliance Group’s team members, an ex–computer hacker, had already put a tap on her cellphone, enabling them to track her incoming and outgoing calls, as well as text messages. They couldn’t actually listen in on her conversations, but they were able to monitor her contacts and approximate where they originated. So far, there had been plenty of business calls, but no interaction with her father.

“Let’s head back inside,” she said after a few quiet minutes, and he followed her into the living room. “Make yourself at home.” She waved a hand in the general direction of the entertainment center. “There’s a CD player in the wall unit. Why don’t you put some music on and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

As she started to walk away, he couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you going?”

She stopped, tipped her head, and gave him one of those slow, sweet smiles that made him feel sucker-punched. “To get out of this restrictive dress and change into something more comfortable,” she said, as if that should have been obvious.

She disappeared into a nearby bedroom and shut the door behind her, leaving Sean alone to contemplate what, exactly, she’d meant by
comfortable
. All his fertile male imagination could conjure was something flimsy, with silk and lace and lots of bare flesh. He groaned and tried like hell to shove those images from his mind before they got him into trouble.

He was a man who was used to fast women and mindless sex when the opportunity arose—no names necessary. Admittedly, he was a player, and he never made excuses or apologized for his preferences for casual, one-night stands. Because of his less-than-favorable past as a con man, cultivating any kind of lasting relationship had never been on his agenda, and most likely never would be.

Because, at the end of the day, what woman wanted a long-term commitment with a man who’d spent most of his adult years scamming people, only to spend time in prison for his stupidity? With such a huge black mark on his resume as potential husband and father material, he’d found it much easier to keep things with women simple and uncomplicated.

Fulfilling his physical needs had never been a problem for him before … until now. Because the woman he wanted was someone he shouldn’t touch. Not only did they reside in completely different worlds socially, but even more damning was the fact that he was dating her under false pretenses. He was using her for information, and if she ever discovered his deception, she’d undoubtedly, and rightfully, hate his guts.

Knowing all that, however, didn’t stop him from wanting her. Far more than was wise.

Feeling warm and knowing it had more to do with his internal temperature than the outdoor weather, he removed his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair, then discarded his tie as well. He unbuttoned the too-tight collar of his shirt as he made his way to the compact disc player, where he selected one of John Mayer’s earlier CDs, then adjusted the volume so the music wasn’t too loud.

Waiting for Zoe to return, he stood by the sliding glass door, hands in his trouser pockets, and gazed out at the brightly lit horizon, until he finally heard her bedroom door open again.

Not certain what to expect, he turned around, initially relieved to find that there wasn’t a bit of silk or lace on her anywhere that he could see. She wore a pair of pink drawstring sweatpants and a white camisole–type top with thin straps, and while there was nothing overtly revealing about what she’d changed into, the casual outfit showcased everything her dress had concealed—the tantalizing curve of her waist and hips and the full, rounded shape of her breasts. She had a stunning figure, the kind that had the ability to bring a man to his knees—for all the right reasons.

“Dessert is in the kitchen.” Giving him a coy look, she crooked her finger at him to follow as she walked by.

The playful overture in her voice was unmistakable.
Dessert
took on a very suggestive meaning, and as he turned to follow her, he nearly groaned when he caught sight of the word
JUICY
stamped across her perfect ass, which accurately described the way she smelled. Like a ripe, succulent peach he wanted to suck and savor before taking a big bite out of.

He shook his head. Hard. God, she was going to kill him with all her innuendo before the night was over. He was sure of it.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

INTO THE NIGHT

Copyright © 2011 by Janelle Denison.

Excerpt from
Night After Night
copyright © 2011 by Janelle Denison.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-0-312-37227-9

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / April 2011

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

eISBN 978-1-4299-9328-9

First St. Martin’s Paperbacks eBook Edition: March 2011