A Shameless Seduction

“I’ve had my share of relationships,” he refuted. But Noah was right about his dedication to his work. The wealth of responsibilities he’d taken on at a very early age was all he’d ever known. He wasn’t complaining. He loved his job and career. So, at the age of thirty-three, he’d pretty much resigned himself to being a confirmed bachelor, and he was fine with that status. Work and past obligations had consumed him, a single-minded trait that stemmed from the bitter divorce of his parents, his mother’s tragic death and then the loss of the one man he’d always looked up to and thought of as his own personal hero.

Unerringly, his gaze shifted to the eight-by-ten picture of his father hanging on the wall in his office. In the candid photo, his dad was dressed in his police uniform and Cole was standing next to him, a beaming young teenager without a care in the world. That had been years before his father had been shot in the line of duty and Cole’s entire life and future had shifted in a way that he’d never, ever expected.

Cole’s strict work ethics had been borne out of sheer preservation—for him and his younger siblings. Yet despite the burden and duties he’d accepted as his own, he’d never resented the choices he’d made. He’d like to believe that the past had made him a stronger, better man—albeit one without as great a sex life as his carefree brother.

“If you’ll remember correctly, I was left with a family to support at the age of twenty-one,” he reminded Noah. “That didn’t exactly leave a whole lot of time for play.”

The mention of their father’s death sobered Noah and softened his features. “You did a damn fine job with me and Joelle. And you’ve spent the past ten years building this investigative firm into a reputable agency. Hell, we’re all gainfully employed because of you. So maybe it’s time you put a little fun and excitement into your life and enjoy whatever comes your way.”

Cole grinned wryly. “Is that your answer to everything?”

“Most things, yeah,” Noah admitted unabashedly. “The fun balances out the stress. Wanna place a bet here and now that I live longer than you?”

“Because of all that great sex you’re having?”

Noah’s grin broadened. “I’m telling you, Cole, you really ought to give it a shot—on a regular basis, that is.”

A frustrated breath eased out of Cole. “Do you think we can get past dissecting my sex life?”

Noah smirked. “You mean your nonexistent sex life.”

“Thank you for reminding me of that. Repeatedly.”

“Hey, us guys have to stick together. You’ve spent a whole lot of years looking out for me, so I’m trying to repay the favor.”

Cole shot his brother a pointed, direct look. “Can we get back to the original discussion?”

“Sure.” Noah sat up straighter in his chair, affecting a serious demeanor. “Let’s see, you need a woman and you think I can supply one for you. Is that it?”

Cole cringed when his secretary, Melodie Turner, walked through his open office door just in time to hear Noah’s outrageous comment. Her deep brown eyes grew wide with surprise, which quickly ebbed to curiosity as her gaze slid from Noah to Cole. She studied him with a look of feminine interest that made his skin prickle and the heat of awareness settle deep in his belly.

He shook off the subtle reaction and damned Noah for putting thoughts of sex into his head. Dressed in a conservative navy dress that covered her from neck to calves, and with her hair in a neat and tidy French braid, his prim and proper secretary was the last woman to inspire lustful thoughts. Or so he’d been trying to convince himself for the past few months.

She was pretty enough in a fresh, wholesome kind of way, but she wasn’t even close to being the type of woman he’d favored since graduating from college years ago. Melodie was too sweet, innocent, and nurturing for his tastes. A quintessential good girl who looked prime for the prerequisite 2.5 kids, dog and house in the burbs. After raising his brother and sister, he wasn’t in a hurry to repeat the process with kids of his own, if at all. Cole had no desire to be tied down. He liked his freedom—to come and go as he pleased, to stay as late as he wanted at the office—the only responsibilities being those he inflicted upon himself.

If his own personal credo wasn’t enough to give him a much needed jolt of reality, then there was the important fact that he’d hired Melodie two years ago as a favor. His efficient secretary was the only child and daughter of Richard Turner, who’d been his father’s sergeant and best friend, and had become Cole’s mentor after his dad’s death. The elder man had been grateful that his little girl had accepted the position at the Sommerses’ agency and was working for a man Turner highly respected and trusted.

Cole stamped that as a mantra in his brain, certain Richard wouldn’t appreciate knowing he’d entertained a fantasy or two of peeling off those buttoned-up dresses from his daughter’s body and finally getting an eyeful of the curves he suspected hid beneath the loose material. He’d often wondered if her breasts were as full and lush, and her legs as long and sleek, as he suspected. And did she wear serviceable cotton underwear, or lacy, silky lingerie that hinted at a softer, feminine side?

His brother cleared his throat, intruding on Cole’s private musings. He jerked his gaze back to Noah, who wore a goofy grin on his face.

Cole shifted in his seat, realized he was semi-aroused, and experienced a moment of disgust. What the hell had gotten into him? Christ, maybe he did need to get laid as his brother had suggested—especially since provocative thoughts of his secretary were beginning to distract him more and more lately.

He’d left his door open because his conversation with Noah wasn’t what he’d consider a private one. Melodie had been in his office plenty of times when he’d discussed a confidential case with his brother or Joelle. Her knowledge of his clients and cases was what made her such an exceptional, proficient secretary.

Keeping that in mind, he did his best to ignore her presence as she walked across the room to his oak cabinet to put away a client file and other paperwork. He figured she would become familiar with the Russell case quickly enough. As soon as he talked to Noah, he planned to hand over the contract and initial statement he’d taken from Elena Russell, so she could type up the report for him before he began the investigative process.

Inhaling a deep breath to clear his mind, he refocused on his brother. “Let me give you the details of the case from the beginning, so you quit jumping to wrong conclusions,” Cole said meaningfully. Leaning forward, he opened the file on his desk and scanned the information he’d jotted down earlier that morning. “My client, Elena Russell, owns a shop in Pacific Heights which deals primarily in selling antique jewelry and rare collectibles she’s acquired from collectors and estate sales.”

“Pacific Heights?” Noah interrupted, then followed that up with a long, low whistle. “That’s a ritzy part of town. What’s a rich girl like her doing hiring a middle-income agency like ours?” he joked.

Cole had asked Elena the same thing, albeit a bit more tactfully. “She wanted someone outside of her social set to make sure her request for investigative services was kept as private as possible.”

“Did you tell her that’s why we’re called private investigators?” Noah drawled with amusement.

Cole rolled his eyes. “I figure if she wants to throw her money our way, who am I to question her reasons?”

“Point taken. What’s the name of the shop?” Noah asked, his own P.I. instincts kicking into gear.

“Heritage Estate Sales. Considering where the business is located, Elena has built quite an elite, wealthy client base over the years and has earned a reputation for the quality of the antiques and collectibles she sells, and for being fair, reliable and honest…until now.”

“I take it someone is trying to besmirch her reputation?”

Cole nodded. “Yes. That would be her ex-lover, Jerry Thornton, a real estate magnate. According to Elena, during their one-year affair Jerry gave her an antique, five-carat European diamond ring that was appraised at over twenty thousand dollars. When the relationship ended, he asked for the ring back. She’s holding on to the trinket claiming it was a gift, but Jerry is saying that she stole it from his collection of vintage jewelry, and he’s just filed a lawsuit to that effect. He’s been very public and vocal about his accusation, which has affected Elena’s business and her reputation.”

Noah rubbed a hand along his stubbled jaw as he mulled over the information he’d been given. “Maybe she did steal the ring.”

“Maybe,” Cole agreed, not discounting anything. “Except Elena says there’s a personal letter that Jerry wrote to her that says he gave her the ring as a gift, and states that it’s hers to keep forever as a token of the love they shared.”

A deep chuckle escaped Noah. “A real romantic, eh?”

“Romance didn’t even come close to what the two obviously indulged in. Apparently Jerry and Elena were fond of writing explicit love letters to each other, and it was in one of these erotic exchanges that he promised her the ring.”

“No doubt, in the heat of the moment,” his brother commented with sexual humor, which gained a small grin from Cole. “I take it she doesn’t have the letter on hand.”

“No, and she needs it to prove she’s innocent and clear her name.” From the corner of his eye, Cole watched as Melodie closed the cabinet drawer, then headed toward his desk with a stack of papers in her hand.

He absently flipped through the notes in the Russell file as she stopped beside his chair, sorting out the credit reports, invoices and contracts that needed to be reviewed and signed. She shifted and reached, and Cole caught a whiff of a soft, floral scent that wrapped around his senses and wreaked havoc with his concentration—and restraint. Her hip brushed his arm, inciting another damnable rush of heated desire he was hard-pressed to ignore.

He clenched his jaw and continued where he’d left off. “Elena claims the letter is at Thornton’s hilltop mansion, tucked safely away in a monogrammed leather box she gave him for his birthday. The last she saw of the box, it was in his library.”

“And she wants you to break into Thornton’s house and find it?” Noah asked incredulously.

“No, she doesn’t want me to break in,” he shot back, his tone more irritable than was warranted. He inhaled deeply, which did little to soothe the racing pulse that Melodie’s nearness had incited. “Two weeks from this weekend, Thornton is hosting a charity auction at his place for the rich and richer, and she managed to get ahold of two tickets to the formal affair. Since Thornton wouldn’t appreciate her attending the event in his house, it gives me the perfect cover to get in and find that letter.”

Noah shrugged. “Sounds easy enough.”

Yes, at least that part of the case was uncomplicated, Cole thought. Unfortunately, Elena’s other request wasn’t as simple.

Finally, Melodie slowly moved away from him and headed for the door. He breathed a sigh of relief. “This part of the case brings me around to needing an experienced, sophisticated woman who can play up the sexy siren act as my date. A one-night, no-strings-attached kind of deal.” Before his brother could issue another smart-ass remark about his sex life, he explained the stipulation Elena had insisted upon. “Since the letters Elena exchanged with Thornton are risqué and suggestive, and she’s uncomfortable with a man reading what she wrote, she requested that a woman read the letters to find the one that mentions the ring as a gift.”

“Ahh,” Noah said in understanding. “Now I get it.”

Closing the Russell case file, Cole clasped his hands on top of the folder. “Considering the bevy of females you know, I figured you could help me out. And if I could have my choice, I’d prefer if the woman who accompanies me to the charity function isn’t a complete airhead.”

“So you want sexy, stunningly beautiful, and intelligent.” A grin quirked the corner of Noah’s mouth. “Man, you don’t ask for much, do you?”

Cole glanced past where his brother sat, noticing that Melodie had paused at the door. One slender hand rested on the frame and she’d cast a glance at him from over her shoulder. She’d obviously listened to the end of his conversation with Noah and was watching him in a way that made him feel way too warm. Their gazes locked, and she dampened her bottom lip with her tongue in a slow, sensuous glide that contradicted her wide eyes and guileless expression.