Legal Attraction. Lisa Childs

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ photographer just shook his head. “You can stay,” he told Ronan. “But don’t distract me.”

      â€œWhat about me?” Muriel asked.

      â€œHe’s a good distraction for you,” Lawrence said.

      Could he be? Could Ronan distract her enough that she would withdraw her complaint to the bar association?

      He had to try, at least. That was why he was here. That and the fact that thoughts of her and that damn kiss had been keeping him awake.

      He wanted more than a kiss.

      * * *

      He was not a good distraction for her. But as Muriel peered over Lawrence’s shoulder at the computer monitor at the thumbnails of all the photos the photographer had taken, she couldn’t deny that Ronan had certainly inspired her. This was by far the best shoot she’d ever had and she had been modeling since she was fourteen years old—more than a decade.

      â€œIf you’re not going to take that man out for a drink, I will,” Lawrence said. “He got you to the money shots, baby!” He turned around and kissed her lips. “You have never looked more gorgeous!”

      Muriel chuckled at the photographer’s enthusiasm. “I’m sure he’s already gone.”

      She couldn’t imagine why he had showed up to begin with...unless he was after the same thing she was.

      The truth...

      He probably wanted to know how she’d gotten her hands on the memos she’d turned over to the bar association. At least he must have finally accepted that Bette hadn’t given them to her. That was good. She never would have used them had she known the problems it would cause for her friend.

      â€œI’m still here,” a deep voice murmured.

      That was not good.

      She glanced up to find his long, muscular body leaning against the doorjamb of Lawrence’s office. He was wearing a suit; he must have come either straight from the office or from court. Who else’s life was he ruining?

      She was afraid it might be hers again if she dared to try her plan to seduce him into a confession. Could she take the chance?

      â€œI can leave,” he offered, “if I’m interrupting...”

      â€œYou interrupted the shoot,” she said. “And you didn’t offer to leave then.” Hours ago. He had stayed through changes in wardrobe, hair, makeup and backdrops.

      Why had he stayed so long?

      â€œHe improved the shoot,” Lawrence said. “Your best work ever...” He turned back to the computer monitor with all the frames and murmured, “Maybe mine, too.”

      A little thrill chased through Muriel, but she worried it had less to do with the praise than with how Ronan was looking at her, with how he’d been looking at her the past couple of hours. With every wardrobe change, his eyes had gotten darker and his body even more tense. Despite the way he was leaning now, she could feel that tension; it fairly radiated from him.

      So that she felt it, too—coiling low in her body, pulsing in her clit. She couldn’t remember ever wanting a man more, which was crazy. She had been in love before and hadn’t felt this powerful attraction. But this man—this man she hated—she wanted more than any other.

      Maybe she had lost her damn mind. That was the excuse she was going to use for what she was about to do. “So, how about it?” she asked as she walked toward the doorway. “Do you want to go for a drink?”

      His dark eyes narrowed as if he was as suspicious of her offer as she was of his showing up at the photo shoot. Now a little chill moved through Muriel, raising goose bumps on her skin despite her having changed into street clothes of jeans and a sweater. She hadn’t felt a chill like this when he’d been staring at her, when she’d been wearing nothing more than a bra and panties. Then she had felt hotter than hell. And it showed in those photos.

      But wondering how he’d tracked her down unnerved her. How had he found her?

      She hesitated as she neared the doorway where he stood. But then he stepped back into the hall. “I didn’t come here just to watch,” he said. “That’s not my thing...”

      She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Was it just that everything he said sounded like sexual innuendo or was he actually implying that there was something between her and Lawrence?

      Of course, he had seen Lawrence kiss her. But Lawrence kissed everyone. Everyone.

      â€œGood night,” she called back to the photographer. He barely glanced up from the computer monitor to wave.

      As she walked down the hall of the old warehouse, she turned to Ronan and asked, “Why did you come here? And how did you find me?”

      â€œI have my sources,” he said.

      And that chilled her blood even more. “I am well aware of that,” she said. “But I can’t believe they actually got it right this time.”

      He stopped at the elevator and turned toward her, his dark eyes narrowed. “So all those witnesses were lying and you’re the only one telling the truth?”

      â€œYes,” she said. Her grandparents had raised her with values—one of which being that it was never okay to lie, not even little white ones. Too bad those witnesses hadn’t been raised the same way she had.

      â€œWhy would everyone else lie?” Ronan asked her.

      â€œYou tell me,” she challenged him. “Did you pay them?” He must have. What else could they have had to gain, except for some time in the horrible spotlight that the scandal had shone on her?

      He chuckled. But he didn’t answer her question. He just turned and pressed the button for the elevator.

      What would it take to get him to confess to somehow coercing those witnesses into lying? He was rich. So he didn’t need money. He had probably used his own to pay them off since Arte hadn’t had much money until he’d taken most of her savings—and the apartment and car—in the divorce. He didn’t even know how to drive.

      The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open with a swoosh of noise and air. Muriel sucked in a breath at the thought of getting into another elevator with Ronan Hall.

      He stepped back and waited for her to pass through the doors in front of him. “Come on,” he said. “As long as you don’t mess with the control panel this time, we’ll be fine.”

      She hesitated. “We could take the stairs...” It would probably be safer—for a few reasons.

      â€œWe’re on the twelfth floor,” he reminded her. “Did you take the stairs up?”

СКАЧАТЬ