The Pleasure of Sin (6 page)

She heard the sound of a condom being ripped open. She knew that she should stop him, that this was her last chance, but when she felt his erection prod against her all reason fled.

She let out a breathless sigh. “God, yes.”

He drove into her, grunting as her body stretched to accommodate him. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her knees up against his chest as his body commanded hers. She cried out at the sensation of having him fill her so completely. Waves of pleasure built as his body continued to penetrate hers. Her body rose in an attempt to claim the crest that dangled in front of her. As if sensing her urgency, he spread her legs wide, his thumb sifting through the soft curls to stroke her clit. She bit down on her lower lip, drawing blood at the rush of sensation. He leaned over her, his tongue circling her nipple before pulling it into the warm hollow of his mouth. She felt his teeth nip at the tender bud, and a cry escaped her lips as the climax rushed through her body.

He reached out to pinch both nipples, and another wave of pleasure crashed down on her. Suddenly, as if unable to stop, he began to pound into her. He gripped her hips with such force, she knew that it would leave marks, but she didn’t care.

Reaching down to stroke her aching clit, his thumb moved in lazy circles. Jade’s head rolled back and forth on the bed as she felt the waves of pleasure began to descend on her again. When he came, she was right there with him. Their cries echoed throughout the thin walls. She felt his body withdraw from hers as she tried to slow her breathing. Trying to recover, she lay there for a few minutes, her body sated, her mind still.

Then reality hit.

A quick movement of her arms proved that he had released her from her bonds. She reached up to pull the blindfold from her eyes, sitting up in the bed only to discover that she was alone. He had left her. Shame and mortification made her stomach churn as she saw people staring at her outside the glass.

What the hell had she been thinking?

She had acted like a whore who was begging for it. She had begged for it! Pulling her top down, she grabbed her skirt and panties from the floor. She dressed as quickly as she could, but her hands were shaking so bad it wasn’t easy. Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she wouldn’t release them.

Not yet.

Once she was fully clothed, she all but ran out the door, stumbling into Zoë. The surprise in Zoë’s eyes made heat creep into her cheeks. Jade stared at the other woman for a moment, unsure of what to say.

No excuse could explain her actions tonight.

She wasn’t drunk.

She hadn’t even bought a drink that could’ve been spiked.

The blistering truth was that for once in her life, she had done something without thinking it through first. She hadn’t worried about what could happen; she hadn’t thought of ways to protect herself from recriminations.

No, this time, she’d just done it.

And despite how wonderful it had felt at the time, now reason had returned.

Thankfully, Zoë broke the silence. “I didn’t mean to leave you, but someone pulled me away,” she offered, surveying Jade from head to toe.

“Me, too,” she croaked.

If she could crawl under a rock and die, she would.

“So I see,” Zoë remarked, her eyes bright.

Jade flushed. “You saw us?”

Zoë shook her head, a grin settling across her lips. “No, I heard,” she answered.

The shame was so intense that she felt like she might just crumple against the wall. “Oh my God,” she whispered, her eyes wide.

“Come on,” Zoë said, putting an arm around her shoulders as she led her out.

She wanted to argue that they hadn’t gotten any of the answers they came for. But another part of her just wanted to retreat, to get away from the eyes that seemed to follow her as she left the club.

Later, after she showered and changed, she told Zoë everything. She finished the story, wringing her hands together in her lap as she waited for Zoë’s disgusted reaction. But when the other woman finally spoke, disgust was far from her thoughts.

“So, how was it?”

A shiver ran through her body as she thought of the events that had transpired in the club. It seemed that when the bed spun, her life had done the same thing. She had never felt such vulnerability and such intense pleasure all at once. In that moment he could’ve done anything to her, and she would’ve welcomed it.

Hell, she would have begged for it.

Her tentative smile answered Zoë’s question.

“Well, that’s great!”

“No, Zoë, it’s not. I don’t do things like this,” she assured her.

Zoë gave her a sly grin. “Well, tonight you did.”

Unfortunately, Zoë was right.

Tonight she had.

Tonight, she had acted against everything she knew was normal and right. She had given into every primal desire, and her body had soared to heights she had never thought she would reach. She had let the animal out of its cage, and it had turned and roared. Still, she knew that it could never happen again.

Once was forgivable…a temporary lapse in judgment.

But twice…twice would seal her fate.

Chapter 8

Jade was rudely awakened the next morning by a pounding at the door. She stumbled off the couch, yawning, and rubbed her eyes as she pulled the door open. Clay loomed before her, one arm resting high on the doorjamb. Spinning on her heel, she walked back into the apartment to collapse on the couch. She snuggled under the covers without greeting her unwelcome guest.

“Good morning, Clay, come on in,” he prompted sarcastically.

“Good morning,” she answered drowsily.

He sat in the chair to her left, eying her as she leaned back against the couch. The intensity of his stare suddenly seemed intrusive. “What?”

“Nothing. How are you?”

Jade lifted one eyebrow. “Okay, why?”

“No reason,” he said. “Did you enjoy yourself last night?”

Her eyes widened as an unwelcome heat crept into her cheeks at the memory of her complete surrender to a stranger.

Did he know?

He couldn’t. Could he?

Then it hit her.

“I was supposed to meet you for dinner.”

Clay sat back in his chair, a half-smile forming on his lips. “Yes, you were.”

“I’m sorry,” Jade explained. “I completely forgot.”

“Apparently,” he observed with a harsh snort.

“I tried to explain that I might be busy, but you wouldn’t listen.”

He was silent for a moment, his eyes traveling hungrily over her body. She pulled the covers around her, uncomfortable with the sensation his gaze was creating.

“What about tonight?”

Her gaze skittered around the room. “I’m not sure.”

Clay got to his feet, taking a few steps toward the door. “Give me a call when you are.”

She stared at the door for several seconds after he left. What had just transpired? Despite the fact that he had all but ordered her to have dinner with him, she couldn’t help but feel terrible at standing him up. She usually never missed an engagement, but this was unavoidable. If she kept seeing him on a regular basis, the thing she had avoided most might happen. And that was something she couldn't allow. Her attraction to him was undeniable, and if last night was any indication, it might soon make her do something she would regret.

No, it was best if she backed away from him.

Zoë called her later that night and suggested they meet for a drink at a local bar. She arrived at the club to find Zoë sitting in a booth up front. Sliding in across from her, she ordered a martini over her shoulder to the waitress.

“I have some news,” Zoë informed her hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“Someone contacted me this morning. He says that he knew Ruby. He wants to meet you.”

“What’s his name? Who is he?”

Zoë passed her a sheet of paper with a name and address scribbled across it. “Here. He said he wants to meet you tonight at this address.”

Jade stared at the name.

Alexander Talbot.

The name echoed through her head, but didn’t pull up anything significant. Questions sprung about like fireflies in the night.

How did Ruby know this man?

What was their relationship?

Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out, and it didn’t involve having a drink with Zoë. She grabbed her purse, throwing down a few bills for the nearly forgotten drink.

Zoë reached out, her fingers curling around Jade’s arm. “Be careful,” she warned, her voice barely a whisper.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured her, heading toward the door.

After walking a few blocks, Jade began to doubt what she had told Zoë. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might actually leap right out of her chest. When she reached the bar, she took a deep breath.

This was ridiculous.

She could be walking into a trap.

What if the killer knew that she had been asking around?

What if he had decided to silence her once and for all?

She pulled the door open, refusing to think about the danger she was putting herself in. Her eyes scanned the smoky interior. Several tables were scattered in the middle, with a long bar to the left. Booths lined the wall to her right. Several heads rose at her entrance. She looked around the room, searching for the man she had come to meet, the man she had never met.

She tried to still her racing pulse. Maybe this guy was just a friend of Ruby’s? Maybe he just wanted to help her find the real killer? After all, it was a public place. She tried not to think about the fact that in New Orleans, that didn’t mean much.

A man in the back booth motioned her over. As she began walking toward him, she noticed that he didn’t look like the type of man who belonged in a place like this. He wore a navy suit with a crisp pinstripe shirt. The top two buttons were undone. Immediately, his polished exterior eased her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder why clothing could instantly quiet a person’s fears.

“So, you’re the illustrious Jade Monroe?” His blue eyes twinkled, and a sly grin touched his lips.

She slid in across from him, noting the small details. His blondish brown hair was neatly trimmed around the ears, and he looked like he’d just shaved, even though it was late at night. His hands were perfectly manicured, and a Rolex cinched his wrist.

“And you are?” she asked, one eyebrow arched high.

“Alexander Talbot,” he answered, grasping her hand lightly across the table. The touch of his hand gave her a slight chill.

“Nice to meet you,” she offered, eyeing him warily.

He leaned back. “Not half as nice as it is to meet you.”

“Oh?”

Her question inspired a boyish grin. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” he elaborated.

“From whom?”

“Ruby, of course. She spoke of you often.”

“Funny, she never spoke of you,” Jade said in a biting tone. “How did you find me?”

He took a sip from his glass. “It wasn’t hard. Not much happens in this town that I don’t know about.”

A waitress appeared at their side, and Alex ordered for her, causing her eyebrows to rise. Obviously, Alexander Talbot was a man who took many liberties.

“What do you do, Mr. Talbot?”

“Alex, please. I’m an attorney. One of the best in New Orleans,” he explained, his chest expanding with pride.

“How exactly did you know Ruby?”

Something clouded in his eyes, but it dissipated before she could decipher what it was. “We were friends.”

“Just friends?” Jade challenged.

His eyebrows lifted as he stared at her. “Are you implying something, Ms. Monroe?”

She took a deep breath. “Were you lovers?”

His eyes darkened. “For a short time, but it ended long before her death.”

“Why did it end?”

Alex sighed heavily. “Ruby and I were very different people. We were smart enough to realize that before it got ugly.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry into your personal life, but Ruby was seeing someone when she died.”

He nodded. “I know. And before you ask, I have no idea who he was. She talked about a man named Clay, but I don’t know if he was the man she was seeing when she died.”

Clay.

He seemed to be around every corner she turned.

But he couldn’t have killed Ruby, could he?

She would sense it, wouldn’t she?

“I saw you the other night,” he remarked, his gaze traveling over her body.

“You did? Where?”

A slow smile slid across his face. “At the club.”

Humiliation spread through every inch of her body at those three words. She leaned back against the torn leather of the booth.

The club.

She had spent the day trying to forget it, but the aches of her body continually reminded her. How could she have been so brazen? The intensity of his stare and the thought of what he’d seen left her speechless.

“You were incredible.”

Her heart seemed to stop.

Was he the one?

Her eyes began to search out every detail of his body for some memory, some recollection of something familiar. Panic ripped through her stomach. Was she sitting across from the man who had so passionately taken her in front of everyone at the club?

“When I saw you in that room, I knew I had to meet you. Tell me, did you know the man you were with?”

Relief spread through her that it wasn’t him, but it was tempered by guilt of the answer she had to give.

“No,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.

He leaned back. “Amazing. I’ll admit, I’ve thought of nothing but you since that night.”

She shifted uneasily in her chair. Something about the way he was looking at her made her feel like prey. An involuntary shiver crept up her spine.

“Tell me, will you be joining the club?” he inquired, taking a sip from his glass.

She hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure.”

“You should. It can be quite liberating, as you’ve experienced.”

She had to get this back on track…fast. “Was there anything that Ruby might have said that could help with the investigation? Anything that might lead to the person who did this?”