The Pleasure of Sin (17 page)

That fact alone scared her more than anything.

“I said get out,” she repeated.

He turned away for a minute. When he turned back to face her, her resolve nearly crumbled. “Jade, please. If anything happens to you…”

“I’ll be fine, Clay,” she said, her tone firm.

When he looked like he might protest, she continued. “I don’t want you here, Clay. Please go.”

For a moment, she thought he might push the issue, but then he turned and walked out. She hurried over to the door to lock it. Releasing the breath that she had been holding, she leaned back against the door. All of the strength that she had been holding onto dissipated. She slid to the floor, her skirt pooling around her legs.

Her traitorous heart still wanted to run after him, but she couldn’t listen to the impulse. She had to find out who killed Ruby. That was the reason she was there. Not to give her heart to a man she couldn’t even trust.

So, why did she feel like she was already lost?

Chapter 23

Jade grabbed a bottle of wine from the cabinet. She watched the red liquid flow into the glass before bringing it to her lips. Closing her eyes, she felt it ease down her throat. She downed the first glass before pouring another. She knew that getting drunk wouldn’t solve her problems, but after what had happened with Clay, she needed it. Even now, she wanted to run to him. But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t give into the impulse. She told herself that it was out of loyalty to Ruby.

But was that the real reason?

Or was she running, like Clay had said?

She had never felt like this before. When she was with Clay, she lost control. And that was something that didn’t happen to her very often. If she completely surrendered to him, would she ever be able to go back to her normal life? Somehow, she didn’t think so. Being with Clay was too tempting, too addictive to simply walk away from. Even now, she wanted him.

Each time her glass emptied, she refilled it. She wanted to forget him. She wanted to forget about what had happened to Ruby. She wanted to go back to Florida and pretend that none of this had ever happened.

But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

After her fifth glass of wine, she walked into Ruby’s room, carrying the bottle under her arm. She sat it down on the nightstand next to Ruby’s bed, taking another drink from the glass in her hand. Would she ever know what had really happened here? Would she ever be able to find the killer?

Putting the glass down, she sat on the edge of the bed. She scooted to the center, laying her head back against the pillow. Her eyes fluttered closed.

The next thing she knew, she felt someone tugging on her arm. She drew in a steady breath. She tried to stretch, but something stopped her. Her eyes flew open to find Alex leaning over her. His smile was pure evil.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he mocked.

Her mouth fell open, her pulse racing with fear. She tried to move, but she couldn’t. One arm was tied to the headboard, while Alex held the other to her side. He sat on top of her, effectively trapping her legs as his knees dug into the mattress. She tried to twist away from him, but he was too strong.

“How the hell did you get in here?” she demanded angrily.

He reached into his pocket with his free hand. He dangled a key ring in front of her. “Didn’t you know that Ruby gave me a key? I could have come in whenever I wanted. But I waited. I waited until you were ready.”

“Ready for what?”

His smile widened. “I think you know.”

Her jaw clenched. “Let me go,” she demanded, her voice shaking.

He loomed over her, his face too close for comfort. “Not so fast, love.”

She felt her stomach roll at his nearness. She tried to throw him off, but he held strong. He pulled her other arm high, causing pain to shoot through her shoulder as he laced a tie around her wrist. With his task complete, he looked down at her, his eyes lit with anticipation.

“Alex, let me go,” she pleaded.

His hand stroked the side of her cheek before moving lower. He undid the buttons on her shirt, pulling it wide.

“You’ve teased me for too long,” he said brusquely.

His finger twisted in the material of her bra, giving it a hard yank. It came apart, baring her breasts to his view. He stared at them hungrily. His hands closed over them, his fingers roughly pinching the nipples.

She cried out in pain.

His hand clamped down on her mouth. “Shut up! I don’t want to have to hurt you, but I will!” he bit out angrily.

Dear God, he was going to rape her.

“Are you going to be a good girl and be quiet?”

She nodded under his imposing hand. The satisfied grin he gave her made her insides quake. “Good,” he replied, his gaze trailing over her body.

His hand left her mouth.

“Alex, please. Just let me go. No one has to know about this,” she reasoned.

He chuckled, his hands moving over her breasts. “Don’t worry. No one will.”

“What do you mean?”

His eyes met hers, a smug look spreading across his face. “They didn’t find out about Ruby. Did they?”

Nausea climbed into her throat, and her eyes closed. “Oh my God, you killed her.”

His head snapped up, a harsh look in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to. It was just a little game we used to play.” He leaned closer to her. The feeling of his breath on her ear made her shiver. “Ruby liked the rough stuff. You will too. I can see it in your eyes. It gets you off.”

She shook her head violently. “No! It doesn’t! Let me go!”

“Not yet, love. Not until I get what I came for.”

He moved lower, his knees pushing her thighs apart. She tried to squeeze them back together, but he was too big. She pulled at the bonds on her wrists, but they wouldn’t budge. He pulled her skirt up. Her thong came apart in his hand with one hard yank. When he leaned back to unbutton his pants, she found the leverage to kick him. Her foot connected with his chest, and she gave it everything she had.

He fell off the bed, grunting in pain. She twisted and turned on the bed in an attempt to free herself, but nothing she did seemed to work. Suddenly, she saw him stand at the foot of the bed. His eyes blazed with cold, menacing fury. He grabbed her ankles, spreading her legs wide. He pinned them down with his knees as he climbed on top of her. She watched him raise his fist only seconds before the blow connected with her cheek. Blinding pain shot through her face as white streaks clouded her vision.

She opened her mouth to scream, but his hands closed painfully around her throat. She tried to cry out, but no sound came. She felt him rustling with his pants as she fought for air. Choking sounds filled the room as she fought to stay lucid. She twisted her head from side to side, but it was getting harder by the second. She felt his erection push against her leg, and she thought she would surely vomit.

Dear God, was this how she was going to die?

Being raped and murdered by the man who killed her sister?

He leaned over her, his mouth close to hers. Her eyes wide, she watched in horror as his tongue slid across her cheek. “Sweet,” he muttered. “Sweeter than she was. I knew you would taste sweeter than she did.”

She felt his penis prod against her, and tears slid down the side of her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to face what was about to happen.

Suddenly, she heard a thudding noise. She looked up to see Alex’s eyes glaze over before he fell off of her onto the floor. When her eyes met the gaze of the person standing behind him, relief spread through her.

“Bastard,” Zoë mumbled.

Tears fell from her eyes. “Zoë, thank God you came. He was going to…” She broke off, unable to voice what would have happened if she hadn’t arrived when she did.

Zoë walked around to the side of the bed. She kept a gun trained on him as she lifted his leg with her foot only to let it drop to the floor. “Well, he won’t be doing it anytime soon.”

“Is he dead?” Jade asked, her shock evident.

“Knocked out,” Zoë clarified.

Jade pulled at the ties again. “Will you please get these off of me?”

Zoë came around to sit on the side of the bed, her gaze raking over Jade’s partially nude body.

“How did you get in?” Jade asked.

Zoë rolled her eyes as she glanced at Alex. “Idiot left the door open. I never have understood how someone so stupid could be so successful.” Her hand trailed over the rope that held Jade’s wrist. “He was right about one thing, though.”

Jade’s eyebrows crowded together. “What?”

Zoë leaned closer, her face hovering over Jade’s. “I bet you do taste sweeter than she did.”

Her mouth fell open.

Before she could say anything, Zoë’s lips met hers.

Chapter 24

Jade felt the other woman’s tongue slide into her mouth, and she recoiled. She turned her head away, her eyes narrowing.

“You and Ruby?”

Zoë pulled back, a blistering look in her eyes. “Until she met up with that idiot,” she explained her tone harsh. “She thought he was actually going to marry her.” She shook her head. “She was a fool.”

Jade swallowed. “Was she in love with him?” she inquired.

Zoë shot her a quelling look. “She was in love with me!”

When Jade didn’t say anything, Zoë continued. “I loved her. We were happy. Then, all of the sudden, she tells me that she met someone. I’m not a fool. I saw them together at the club. But then she tells me she was just experimenting when she was with me. She said that it was over. That’s where she was wrong.”

Her gaze softened as she turned to face Jade, the gun cradled in her lap. Her hand stroked Jade’s cheek before letting it trail down her chest. “Have you ever been with a woman before?”

She watched Zoë’s hand glide over her breast, and her stomach knotted with fear. “No,” she replied.

Zoë’s eyes met hers as she licked her lips. “There’s nothing like it. Men are so focused on their own pleasure that half the time they don’t get the job done. But a woman does. A woman knows just where to touch. I could show you.”

Jade felt her stomach roll at the other woman’s touch. “I don’t think so.”

Zoë lifted her chin, her gaze piercing. “Why? Because of your precious Clay?”

“Zoë, please untie me. If Alex wakes up, he might try something,” she reasoned.

Zoë scoffed. “Are you kidding? He’s not going to hurt me. After all, I am the one with the gun.”

“But he killed Ruby.” The words came out in a rush. “He admitted it to me.”

Zoë’s eyebrows arched. “Did he?” Her laughter filled the room. “That’s perfect.”

Jade’s eyes narrowed.

What the hell was the matter with her?

Didn’t she understand that they were still in danger?

“Why are you laughing?” she demanded.

Zoë’s hand came up to stroke Jade’s hair as she leaned closer. The piercing look she gave her made a chill race up Jade’s spine. “Because he didn’t kill Ruby. I did.”

Jade felt the room spin.

“What?” she asked, shaking her head. “That can’t be true.”

Zoë got to her feet, walking over to the foot of the bed. “But it is. I gave her a chance, you see. A chance to be happy with me. But Ruby didn’t want to be happy. She wanted to waste her time on scum like him,” she said, pointing to Alex.

“So you killed her?”

Zoë’s jaw clenched. “She had a choice. She made the wrong one. I was even willing to let her have her stupid affair with him, but then she had to go and get pregnant. She was sloppy and she was stupid. She thought he would marry her if she told him. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“No!” she cried out, not wanting to believe what Zoë was saying.

“When I saw him come into the building, I knew that she was really going to do it. She was really going to blackmail him into marrying her.” She glanced over at Alex, her lips twisting on a smirk. “Stupid fool choked her so hard that she blacked out before she even got the chance. When she came to, I was waiting. She was so scared that she started promising me that it would just be me and her, that she would stop seeing him. But I knew it was all lies. Everything with her was lies. She actually thought that she could play me. Well, she was wrong.”

Jade pushed herself up as far as she could, her eyes glittering. “How could you do that to her? She trusted you!”

Zoë leaned over, a menacing look on her face. “I trusted her too. Don’t you get it, Jade? She was a whore. You’re sister was a whore who’s better off dead!”

She shook her head, her cheeks wet with tears. “What about Mr. MacLean? Did you kill him too? Did he get too close to the truth?”

“He would still be alive if you would have just dropped it,” Zoë callously reminded her.

Pain sliced through her heart. “Damn you, Zoë! He didn’t deserve to die.”

Zoë shook her head dejectedly. “I thought you were different, Jade. I thought we could have something together. I thought if I took you to the club, I could make you see that. But then you went to stay with him.”

“Clay?”

Zoë leaned her head back, her eyes rolling. “Yes, saintly Clay who can make just about any girl drop her panties in front of him and forget her morals. Ruby used to talk about him like he was some sort of god. I could never figure out why he broke it off with her.” Her gaze centered on Jade. “But I guess now I know. How long were the two of you fucking around behind Ruby’s back?”

Rage mingled with fear as she fought against the ties to be free. “What I do doesn’t concern you, and it never will,” she bit out.

A slow smile crept across Zoë’s lips as she raised the gun and aimed it at Jade’s chest. “Pretty soon, it won’t concern anyone.”

Jade heard the sound of the gun being cocked and knew that her time was up.

This was it.

If only she had listened to Clay, she would be at his apartment right now. Instead, she was about to end up just like Ruby. With only seconds left, she thought of all the things that she would never do. If only she could tell Clay how she really felt about him. If only she could be with him one last time.