Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“Me too.”
“You’re safe with me. Know that, Ruby. Just know that.”
“I do know that. And I do know you, and I like you.”
“Same here,” I said, then wrapped my arms around her.
I liked this contact too, far too much for my own good.
39
PARTNERS AGAIN
Ruby
We showered, Jake washing my hair and then soaping my body. I savored every second of it as he moved his hands from my breasts to my belly, then down my legs. I was slippery and wet, and he couldn’t stop touching me.
I liked it that way. I loved the attention. I was so very glad to be past my doubts about him. The mysteries around Eli, the case of the diamonds—those worries still loomed. But I could face them with Jake unreservedly as a partner and a temporary lover. He excelled in both roles, I was learning.
“I’m hardly that dirty,” I teased as he lingered while washing my calves.
“I know, but I can’t seem to stop touching you. Your fault for being so sexy.” He stood and dropped a kiss onto my nose. I smiled and sighed happily.
I wasn’t wild about fighting, but hard, hot make-up sex and a tender moment in the shower was a better resolution than I’d ever known before. I grabbed the bar of soap and returned Jake’s favor, washing his arms, flat belly, and back. I shampooed his hair too, loving the way the wet strands felt in my hands.
Once we were both rinsed and clean, we stepped out of the shower and toweled off.
And then my stomach growled.
Jake arched an eyebrow in a silent question. I grimaced. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast, which seems ages ago.” I shrugged with a coquettish jut of my shoulder and said, “Want to take me on a date, roomie?”
He shook his head, bemused as he finger-combed his hair. “An hour ago you thought I stole your diamond. Now you want me to take you out for food?”
“I do,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows as I met his gaze in the mirror.
“Then I’m taking you on a date. Even though you’re a pain in the ass. Evidently, that’s one of the things I like most about you. So get ready to be wined and dined,” he said, giving me an order.
I gave him a cheeky salute. “Yes, sir. May I have the lotion now? And a full report on your findings from the gallery, sir?”
“I’ve been trying to tell you, but you had your mind on other things.” He handed me the hotel lotion.
“I did, but now you’ve satisfied me, so I’m ready,” I said, even though I knew sex wasn’t what he’d meant.
Jake caught me up on his gallery visit as I rubbed lotion onto my legs. “The obvious thing first,” he said. “No art. The walls were absolutely bare. Kalila’s tip was wrong or just out of date.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I think she worked there some time ago. She wouldn’t know if they’d moved things recently.”
“And she didn’t say the stones were hidden inside the frames. That was our theory based on what she’d told us. The art could be unrelated.”
Two bits of info connected in my head with a spark. “Except Willow told me they’d recently moved the diamonds out of the gallery. It would be too coincidental if they removed the art from the office and it wasn’t related.”
“That would definitely support our theory about where the gems are hidden,” he agreed. “So, anyway, I figured if I couldn’t leave with precious stones, I’d have a quick snoop for valuable information. And fortunately, Willow is quite organized.” He squeezed a dollop of toothpaste onto his toothbrush. “Her office is a shrine to minimalism. Her desk held nothing but pens, a Moleskine notebook, and some nuts.”
I scoffed. “Nothing like a little high-protein snack between grueling hours of walking around an air-conditioned gallery, selling paintings of straight lines.”
“Well, not everyone is cut out to be a brilliant private-eye-slash-bounty-hunter,” he said, tapping his temple with humor in his eyes and a smug grin on his lips.
“What was the document that you took with you?” I asked.
“Why, I’m glad you asked, Ms. Ashley. Basically, it’s a document saying Willow donated fifty grand last month to a charity that helps kids affected by child labor in diamond mines go to school and get an education.”
“Is it the one the Frayer mine supports? She’s listed on their website as a major donor.”
He nodded. “Same one.”
I headed to my suitcase for fresh clothes. “We’ve been focusing on Eli, thinking he might be converting the diamonds to cash bit by bit. But could Willow be cashing in the stones for charity? Or maybe laundering them through a charity? Either way, both Willow and Eli could both be involved.”
Jake followed my every movement as I dropped my towel and pulled on panties and a bra. “That would be an interesting twist, wouldn’t it?” he asked while I rifled through my suitcase for my blue dress with slim white stripes. “When I scoped out her gallery the first night I was here, I noticed that the Lynx paintings sold for five thousand apiece. Today, a peek at the gallery records showed that she’d sold ten of them.”