The Pleasure of Sin (3 page)

She reached the apartment, falling onto the couch. No sooner had her head touched the pillow than she was asleep. Her dreams were violent and frightening. Someone was chasing her, but she couldn’t see his face. She ran faster and faster, but he just kept coming. Just as he was about to reach her, a knock on the door jolted her awake. She sat up, trying to get her bearings as another knock sounded. Pulling herself off the couch, she crossed the room to pull the door open.

It was him.

The man she had dreaded seeing. The man she had hoped to avoid.

Clay Devlin.

“Did I wake you?”

Jade shot him a worried glance as she smoothed her hair. His blue eyes twinkled as they moved over her trim form, causing an unwelcome tingling to heat her body. His light brown hair was slightly ruffled, and his high cheekbones rose in mischief. He leaned in, his broad shoulders straining against the white dress shirt. The top two buttons hung open to reveal the curly brown hair on his chest. His dress pants were slightly wrinkled, probably from spending too much time in the car.

She hadn’t seen him in years, ever since…

“Yes, as a matter of fact you did,” she bit out, spinning around to begrudgingly allow him to enter behind her. She wasn’t ready to deal with him.

Not yet.

She returned to the couch, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He came in, closing the door behind him.

“Sorry. Why didn’t you tell me you were in town?”

“I didn’t realize I had to issue a press release,” she retorted with a huff of aggravation.

“And I didn’t realize I was on the same level as the press,” he returned, his frustration beginning to show. He towered over her, causing her head to fall back to hold his gaze.

“It didn’t occur to me to notify you when I arrived,” she informed him briskly.

He took a seat in the chair to her left. “I’m sure it didn’t,” he agreed. His eyes met hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to the funeral.”

She quickly looked away, not wanting to remember how much it hurt to bury her sister. “It’s okay,” she replied, her tone shaky.

He shook his head solemnly. “No, it’s not. I wanted to be there, but I wasn’t sure I would be welcome. And I didn’t want to make the day any worse for you than it already was.”

His admission startled her.

“Thank you,” she mustered.

He took a deep breath before forging ahead. “So, why are you here? I could’ve packed Ruby’s things for you. You didn’t have to come.”

His eyes scanned the room, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. She could sense his discomfort at being here. She didn’t blame him. She felt the same way.

“I should be the one to do it.”

“Because I’m not family?”

Standing up, she walked into the kitchen in an effort to put some distance between them. “Because I have to find out what happened to my sister,” she admitted.

He walked across the room to join her. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means that I’m not going to rest until I find the bastard who did this.”

“Jade, don’t get involved. The police can handle things,” he reasoned.

“The police are no closer to finding Ruby’s killer than they were the day she died. Besides, they have their hands full in this city,” she scoffed.

“Jade, be sensible. Leave the investigating to the professionals,” he commanded.

When she didn’t answer him, he came closer, his body almost touching hers.

“Jade,” he prodded.

She inhaled the scent of his cologne. A quick glance down told her that her nipples were already responding to his nearness. She had to get away from him—quickly.

“Okay,” she lied. “Okay, I won’t get involved.”

Her eyes met his briefly before looking away. His stare lingered a minute too long. “Good. Maybe we could have dinner tonight?”

His suggestion caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered. “Okay, I have a few things to do today. Why don’t you pick me up at about seven o’clock?”

The boyish smile he offered made her heart flutter uncomfortably. She didn’t want to remember how those lips felt against hers. As she watched him leave, she wondered if her gamble would pay off. Being alone with him could be dangerous. She found that out a long time ago. They had been planning Ruby’s surprise birthday party…

* * * *

For weeks, Jade and Clay made preparations for the party. Finally, the day came, and they were feverishly working to finish decorating the hall.

“Ruby’s going to love all of this,” Jade marveled aloud, sitting on the floor to admire their handiwork.

“She better, after all the work we’ve done. You know, you could make a fortune planning parties,” he joked as he finished hanging the last of the streamers. With his final task completed, he joined her on the floor.

“I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the way you handled the caterer. I was beginning to think he was going to offer to pay us,” he laughed, leaning back on one arm.

“Well, he shouldn’t have tried to raise the price,” she reasoned, rolling her eyes.

“I was starting to think I was going to have to step in to protect him. I think if you even blinked in his direction, he would have gladly given you his house and his family,” he chided.

She leaned back on her elbows. “Okay, so I was ruthless!” she admitted ruefully, tilting her head to the side.

He chuckled, turning to look at her. “I’m not complaining. You were wonderful. You’re going to make a hell
of a real-estate agent.”

The sincerity in his tone touched something deep inside her. Their eyes met and held for a few moments. An involuntary sigh escaped her parted lips. He heard the sound and its silent plea, and he responded. His head began to descend toward hers.

In that second, that breath of a moment, she didn’t want to think about right or wrong. She no longer wanted to weigh the outcome of every choice she made. All she knew was that if she didn’t feel his lips against hers soon, she would die.

His lips met hers briefly, tentatively. She sensed he would soon pull away, and a part of her rebelled. Her head turned to the side as her tongue stole a forbidden taste. That was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue ventured into her mouth, teasing, stroking, searching out every hidden spot. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, her neck. She returned his kiss beat for beat, her hands coming up to cradle his head, not allowing any room for reason to intrude.

His body followed hers down to the floor, covering her fully. The weight of his erection pressed into the cleft between her thighs, making her sigh into his mouth. God, she wanted him. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her. When his mouth blazed a trail down her throat, covering her nipple through her shirt, she moaned in ecstasy.

The sound of someone clearing his throat caused them both to jump apart. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you know that everything is ready,” the caterer informed them before scurrying out of the room.

Jade quickly got to her feet, refusing to look at him for fear something inside her would break. “I should go check on the food,” she stammered as she rushed out of the room. She heard him call after her, but she didn’t dare look back.

She couldn’t.

No words could erase what they had just done.

When the time for the party arrived, she wasn’t sure how she would make it through the night.

What if Ruby found out?

What if he told her what they had done?

She should wear a scarlet ‘K’ for kissing on her shirt as punishment. If she weren't so upset, she would realize how ironic it was. She, who had always been so levelheaded and true, had become the jezebel sister. She wanted to crawl into a pit and die of shame. She was throwing a surprise party for a sister she had just betrayed.

His eyes met hers across the crowded room.

“Surprise!” the crowd bellowed.

Jade did her best to busy herself throughout the festivities, under the guise of checking on the arrangements. Finally, after realizing that she was being avoided, Ruby cornered her.

“Hey! It’s my party and you haven’t spent ten minutes with me,” she complained.

Jade smiled, wrapping her in a warm hug. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’ll stop now.”

Miraculously, Ruby didn’t seem to notice the tension that seemed to envelop the two people closest to her. When Ruby threw her arms around Clay after blowing out the candles to give him a long, passionate kiss, Jade wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. She tried to look away, but inside, her heart ached. She tried to reason with herself that this was the way it should be, but she couldn’t stop trembling.

After a couple hours of festivities, Ruby pulled her aside. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered, leading her into a side room.

She knows
.

The words replayed over and over again in Jade’s head as she followed her sister into a small room on the right. “What is it?” Jade asked.

“I just talked to Clay.”

Jade’s heartbeat went into overdrive.

He told her! She couldn’t believe it.

Was he insane?

“What is it, Ruby?”

“He wants me to come to New Orleans with him. Can you believe it? Apparently his company, WebTech, offered him the job a few days ago. He’s going to be manager of the whole design department. Can you imagine me in New Orleans? I’m so excited I could burst!”

Jade felt the bottom of her stomach drop to the floor. “That’s wonderful,” she replied, her entire body numb as realization began to sink in.

Two weeks later, her sister boarded a plane to Louisiana, and Jade began the arduous task of accepting the fact that the only man who had ever made her feel reckless was the one man she could never have.

Up until now, she had done a good job of accepting exactly that. Now, everything had changed. Now, she needed answers about Ruby’s life.

And unfortunately, he was the only informant who was willing.

Chapter 4

Clay picked her up at exactly seven o’ clock, wearing a white polo shirt and khaki pants. His eyes traveled over her, taking in the black sundress she wore with strappy sandals. Heat pooled in forbidden places.

“We should get going,” he muttered, leading her out onto the street.

The Court of Two Sisters was ablaze with light when they entered. Clay quickly led her to a table in the courtyard. Tree branches decorated with lights created a twinkling canopy overhead. After taking a seat, she took the menu from the waiter.

“So, how long will you be in town?” he inquired casually.

“I’m not sure,” she replied, trying not to think about the strong thighs that occasionally bumped hers under the table.

“If you need help packing her things…” he offered.

“No, I want to do it.”

“Have you decided?” The waiter asked as he appeared at their side.

She quickly ordered the duck, while Clay followed with the crab soufflé. Their eyes met across the table, but she quickly looked away. This unease seemed to be a terminal illness they were forced to bear since that long-ago night. Still, she had to remember she was here for one reason and one reason only—she needed information.

“I need to ask you something,” she ventured.

He brought his wine glass to his lips, his gaze meeting hers over the rim. When he returned it to the table, he answered. “Ask me anything.”

A fluttering began in her stomach at the implication of his low tone, but she quickly dismissed it. “When was the last time you saw Ruby?”

He shifted in his chair before replying. “I guess it was maybe two weeks before…” he trailed off, his expression grim.

“Did she say anything? Anything about someone she might be dating?”

“No. We didn’t exactly talk about who we were dating. For obvious reasons.”

“Did she say anything that might provide a clue as to what happened to her?”

He shook his head. “No. Like I told the police, I don’t have any idea what happened or why.”

The waiter appeared with their plates before disappearing again.

“After the split, we still met every couple of weeks for lunch. You know, just to keep in touch,” he elaborated.

“Wasn’t that awkward? Especially when you were dating someone else?” she prodded.

He leaned back in his chair, a curious smile forming. “Oddly, no. Things were never awkward with Ruby. I always thought it was because she loved life so much, nothing could bring her down,” he reminisced.

“Until someone did,” she reminded him absently.

He leaned across the table, his hand covering hers. His thumb trailed lazy circles over the back of her hand, causing her to flinch.

“I know it’s been hard for you,” he observed cautiously.

She sighed heavily. “It’s been hard for all of us.”

“That’s not what I mean. I know that you felt like Ruby was your responsibility, that it was up to you to protect her,” he began slowly. Tears hovered in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. “It wasn’t your fault, Jade,” he assured her.

She pulled her hand away, clearing her throat. “So, what did you two talk about when you met for lunch?”

The look in his eyes told her that he wanted to press the issue, but didn’t. For now, he would give her the polite conversation she needed to keep it together. “Lots of things. Work, life, family. Whatever seemed important at the moment. You know Ruby—she could talk about anything.”

Jade took a tentative sip of wine, savoring the flavor as it slid down her throat. “And she never mentioned whom she was seeing?”

He shook his head. “No. She said some things, but she never told me whom she was dating,” he answered distractedly.

“What kind of things did she say?”

“The last time we met, she kept talking about some big thing she was into. She said it was ‘something I wouldn’t believe if she told me,’ but she never got into specifics.”

“And you didn’t press her on it?” she asked incredulously.

“You know Ruby—she always had crazy ideas, crazy schemes that never panned out. I just thought this was another one of those times.”

Jade shook her head, her hand twisting around the linen napkin. “You should have asked.”