ENTANGLED PURSUITS (MEN OF ACTION Book 1)

by Brenda Jackson

  That had definitely been one wild mating, Toni thought, waking up a few hours later to find her body all twisted together with Drew’s. When she left work, she had made up her mind to throw her rules out the window. A smile curved her lips. Who’d have ever guessed that such sexual hunger on her part would leave her ever-ready Andrew Logan totally worn out?

  Taking her time, she slowly untwisted their limbs. She glanced over at him when he shifted in sleep, and thought he looked simply adorable with a satisfied look on his face. It made her feel pretty good knowing she’d put it there.

  She was about to ease out of bed when a firm hand clutched her thigh. His hands on her body felt hard, masculine, and so darn good.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked in a deep, husky voice, his eyes still closed.

  “To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

  He opened one eye to look at her. “You haven’t eaten dinner?”

  “No. Have you?”

  When he gave her a sensual grin and licked his lips, reminding her of the meal he’d greedily made of her, she said, “Besides that.”

  “Not sure anything is tastier than you, Toni.”

  She chuckled. “You’re talking crazy, Andrew Logan. Now go back to sleep.”

  He returned her smile, and it was such a sexy smile that her body flared in response. Then, in a surprise move, he reached up and cupped her head, pulling her face down to his. His lips brushed over her ear in a way that made her shiver. “Go eat your PB&J and come back to me. I got something for you when you get back.”

  She knew exactly what he had for her if the size of his erection was anything to go by. When he finally released her, she quickly scooted out of the bed, slipped into his shirt, and left the room.

  Toni smiled all the way down the stairs. A rush of desire touched her insides with every step she took. Only Drew could do this to her. She had broken her own rules and he had made her very glad she had. How could she not love a man like that?

  She eased around the breakfast counter, then saw a packet laying there with the words, Investigation Report-Antonia Oliver, written on the cover.

  She frowned. What in the world? She snatched the packet off the counter and was about to open it when she heard Drew’s voice behind her. “I thought I’d join you for some PB&J.”

  She turned around as anger spiked all through her. “What is this about, Drew?” she asked, holding up the packet.

  “Can we talk about it over the PB&J?”

  “No. We need to talk about it now.”

  He obviously heard the anger in her voice and paused. Searching her features, he asked, “What are you mad about, Toni?”

  “You had me investigated?” she asked.

  “What makes you think I had you investigated?”

  “It says so, right here.”

  “No, it doesn’t. And I don’t particularly like you jumping to conclusions.” He turned around to leave.

  Toni was incensed. How dare he walk away from her? “Where do you think you’re going?”

  He stopped and glanced back at her, anger and disappointment clear in his expression. “Read the damn report, Toni. When you’re finished, you know where to find me.”

  She watched as he went back up the stairs without looking back. It was obvious he was pissed, but then, so was she. Why would he hire an investigation firm to check up on her? She should leave...but did she really want to? So instead, she pulled the file out of the packet and sat down on a barstool to read it.

  It only took a few minutes for her to realize the report had not been about her—it had been for her. The person under investigation was Thomas Gilmore. It was then that she began reading in earnest.

  • • •

  A part of Drew felt entitled to be angry. Toni should know better than to assume he’d invade her privacy. Of all the idiotic things.... However, another part of him really did not want to stay angry.

  He recalled what it had been like in his home, back when he was a kid. When his parents got angry, they’d throw around hateful words that they’d later regret saying. And then one of them would stalk out the door, without anything being resolved.

  It would always be his dad who’d leave to go drinking with his friends. His mom would be left at home, crying. He’d never managed to figure out if she had cried because of the argument or because she’d known just what a drunken asshole Andrew Logan, Sr. would be when he returned home. His dad had never hit his mother, but the harsh words he would throw at her had hurt, nonetheless. Andrew would never forget that.

  He slid out of his jeans and got back in bed. Why was he remembering his dysfunctional parents now? Mainly because he wished he could remember happy times and couldn’t. His mother had been a good mom, but she had worked herself to death, just as his father had drank himself to death. Andrew now realized the reason he’d gotten into so much trouble as a kid was so that he could deflect their attention off each other and onto him. Only that hadn’t worked.

  “Drew?”

  He glanced up. Toni was standing in the doorway. “What?”

  “I am sorry.”

  Andrew figured if she was waiting for him to accept her apology, then he would let her wait a little longer.

  “You did that investigation for me,” she added, when he refused to respond.

  Since she had not presented her statement as a question, he figured she was not expecting an answer. So he still didn’t say anything. Refusing to be ignored any longer, she came to stand by the bed. “Why, Drew? Why would you do that for me?”

  Now she had asked a question, one he had no problem answering. Especially when it was asked in a tone of wonder. Obviously, she had never expected anyone to ever do something like that for her. Help fight her battles. Conquer her demons. Take whatever action was necessary to protect her, even if it meant kicking somebody’s ass. Or…having them investigated.

  He met her gaze. “I would do just about anything for you, Toni.” No longer angry, he extended his hand to her.

  Andrew watched as she eased his shirt off her body before taking his hand. He tugged her into bed beside him, and she turned in his arms. “But why?” she asked, looking up at him.

  He drew in a deep breath. “I listened carefully when you told me about what had happened. Something about it didn’t feel right. It seemed as if Gilmore had deliberately changed the narrative, and I couldn’t figure out why. That’s when I hired Duan.”

  “Duan?”

  “Yes, Duan Jeffries. He owns a PI firm in Atlanta and is a friend of mine.”

  “You took action.”

  He recalled Duan had said basically the same thing. “Yes, I took action. I refused to let anyone hurt you.”

  “Why?”

  Andrew decided to go for the truth. “Because I love you, Toni.”

  He waited. Would she respond in kind? God, he hoped so. He held his breath when she reached up and traced a fingertip along his bearded jaw. “And I love you, Drew.”

  Andrew released the breath he had been holding, not believing what she’d said. Instead of asking her to repeat it, he leaned in and took her mouth, needing the connection in ways he never thought possible. All he knew was that she was critical to his very existence—the reason his heart was beating, and the center of all that was essential to him.

  He released her mouth, then stared at her for a moment before kissing her again. When she began to shake, he ended the kiss and tugged her closer into his body’s heat.

  “I can’t believe it,” she said softly. “You love me.”

  A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “Yes, I love you. And I can’t believe that you love me.”

  “I do, trust me.” She paused a minute. “I’m very, very sorry. Do you accept my apology for jumping to conclusions?”

  “I accept everything about you, baby.”

  Smiling, she snuggled deeper into his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me about the report the moment I got here?”

  He chuckled so
ftly. “If you recall, the moment I opened the door, you jumped my bones. Literally. Everything else flew out of my head at that point.”

  She laughed. “I did jump your bones, didn’t I?”

  They didn’t say anything for a long time while he held her, and just enjoyed the moment. Finally, she said, “I can’t believe Thomas Gilmore was having an affair with his own son’s wife—and that it had been going on for years.”

  “From the report, Gilmore is the one who introduced them. I guess he wanted his son marrying his mistress. He’d been the woman’s ‘sugar daddy’ while she was in college, and I guess he figured having her married to his son would be one way of keeping her close.”

  Andrew shifted their bodies slightly, then continued, “Finally, after five years of marriage, the son suspected his wife of being unfaithful and hired a PI to find out the truth. Can you imagine how he must have felt when he was told the identity of his wife’s lover, and how long the affair had been going on? And then to see his suspicions confirmed in pictures. No wonder the guy snapped.”

  “No,” Toni said, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine.”

  “So, what are you going to do with the information in that report?”

  “I’m not sure. I need some time to think.”

  “Take all the time you need, baby. That report isn’t going anywhere. It’s yours. Whatever decision you make, I know it is going to be the right one.”

  He lowered his head to hers for another kiss, intending for this one to take them to the next universe.

  “ARE YOU DOING OKAY, this morning, Toni?”

  Toni glanced over at Drew after she got inside the police car and buckled her seatbelt. Smiling, she said, “I’m fine, thanks. What about you?”

  He had placed a pair of aviator-style sunglasses over his eyes, but she didn’t need to see them to know his eyes were twinkling in mischief. He knew exactly how she was doing this morning. After all, they’d spent most of the night, and an hour or so this morning, in his bed making love. When she’d left his place, she’d had just enough time to go home, shower, and get into the office.

  “My days and nights are getting better and better,” he said, as he started the car.

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Drew had been thoughtful enough to bring her coffee and a muffin, and had placed both on her desk so they’d be there when she arrived. Before leaving his house, they decided not to place any limitations on the amount of time they would spend together from here on out. From now on, there would be no rules, no limits.

  Today, they were heading out to Baltimore to meet with Myrtis Gunther. They were hoping to find out if Maria had mentioned anything about the flash drive to her mother’s friend when the two had lunch.

  When they arrived at the home of Myrtis Gunther’s sister, they were graciously invited in and shown to a sitting room where Mrs. Gunther was waiting for them. She was an attractive woman in her mid-fifties, who had a friendly smile and welcoming disposition. After telling them that she and Constance Evans had become friends when the two worked together years ago, she welcomed any questions they had.

  “Thank you for meeting with us today, Mrs. Gunther. We understand that you had lunch with Maria a month before her death,” Toni said.

  “Yes. We didn’t actually have lunch because we didn’t have much time. I had come to D.C. to shop, and she drove over during her lunch hour. We met for tea. I hadn’t seen her in years.”

  “I understand you moved out of the area after your husband died.”

  “Yes, I moved to California to be near my son.”

  “Could you tell us what you and Maria talked about?” Drew asked.

  “Of course. Mainly, we just caught up. She told me how she was doing and that she loved being a teacher. And she mentioned how much she missed her mother and stepfather.”

  “So, she and Morey Evans had a close relationship?”

  “Yes. Constance got pregnant with Maria at eighteen, her first year of college. The family of the guy responsible gave Constance money to get an abortion. Instead, she dropped out of college and moved to another state to raise her daughter herself. Constance never saw the guy again and she refused to tell Maria anything about him. So Maria never knew the name of her father.”

  Myrtis Gunther paused a moment. “Morey loved Constance, and when he married her, he accepted her daughter. He even suggested that it might be an idea to give Maria his last name, so the four of them could be a real family.”

  Toni lifted a brow. “I’m sure that didn’t go over well with Jennifer.”

  Myrtis shook her head. “No, it didn’t. Constance said the girl pitched a fit about it and threatened to disown her father. He told her to go ahead, that with her crappy attitude, she’d be lucky if he didn’t disown her first.”

  Toni nodded. “Was there anything else?”

  “I apologized for not being there when she needed me, when Morey and Constance were killed, but I was going through my own personal hell at the time. The reason my trip with Constance got canceled was because my husband had a heart attack. I rushed back to town and went straight to the hospital. I didn’t know what had happened to Morey and Constance until a policeman showed up at the hospital to ask me questions.”

  She paused a moment, then added, “I honestly don’t recall what they asked or what I said. I was not in a good frame of mind at the time. In fact, the day of their funeral was the same day my husband died. He never left the hospital, and I was there with him most of the time. I only heard how Jennifer had treated Maria months later.”

  “When you heard about it, did you reach out to Maria?” Toni asked.

  “Yes, I did. She was shocked and hurt by Jennifer’s treatment of her. Even though they never got along, she never expected her stepsister to be so cruel.” Myrtis Gunther shook her head sadly. “I guess Morey had had that conversation with Jennifer after all.”

  Andrew lifted a brow. “What conversation?”

  “He intended to tell her that he had put up with her foolishness long enough, and that she either had to accept Constance and Maria in his life, or he was taking her out of his will.”

  • • •

  The drive back from Baltimore was a quiet one. Myrtis Gunther had given them a lot to think about.

  Just when they hit the Alexandria city limits, Toni finally felt that she had a handle on today’s revelations. She glanced over at Drew. “I wonder if Morey Evans was really going to go through with it, removing Jennifer from the will.”

  “It was probably just a scare tactic. Jennifer Evans is a handful now, so I can just imagine what she’d been like six years ago. I sure don’t envy the man marrying her,” Andrew said.

  Once they were back at their desks, they documented what they’d learned in Baltimore, and noticed that the judge had not yet made a decision regarding their petition for access to Wizzin’s records. For it to be taking this long to get what they needed told them that Wizzin’s attorneys were putting up a good fight. Toni and Drew could only hope that now that there was another murder, the judge would be pressured to sign off on their request.

  • • •

  Later that evening, Andrew was on his way up to Toni’s apartment carrying bags of Chinese food. When they’d finished work for the day, she asked if he wanted to join her for dinner. He volunteered to grab Chinese take-out.

  Her door opened before he had a chance to knock, which meant she’d seen him approach. She was either glad to see him, or glad to see the food he was bringing. Either way, he’d take it. “Thanks,” he said.

  “Need help with those bags?” she asked.

  “No, I got this,” he said, heading straight for her kitchen. The apartment smelled just like her—amazing. It was even better than the take-out.

  After placing the bags on her counter, he turned around and saw that she’d followed him. “But I want this,” he said, his voice husky as heat fired up his blood. Never before had he wanted a woman this much. Love combined with pa
ssion was a powerful thing and at the moment, he was a willing sacrifice to its energy.

  His mouth closed over hers in a hungry display of both need and want, and sexual tension blasted through his loins. Some days, it was harder to keep his hands off her than others. Today had been one of those days. And now he was letting her know the temptation had been almost unbearable.

  He figured, given her response, that she must be feeling it, too. Her mouth was just as greedy as his, and he could feel the erratic beating of her heart against his chest.

  He suddenly broke off the kiss. “Do you want to eat now or later?” he asked, whispering against moist lips.

  “Later,” she breathed out the words. And to make sure he understood, she leaned forward and recaptured his lips.

  What a woman, he thought, returning her kiss with as much vigor as she was showing. And then, when she planted her middle against his hard erection and began grinding her body against it, he knew that dinner would be much, much later.

  He swept her into his arms, heading toward her bedroom. Only they didn’t make it there.

  Andrew needed her. Now. Putting her back on her feet, he immediately began removing her clothes. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to do since she wasn’t wearing much—just a pair of joggers and a t-shirt, without a bra or undies. She had come prepared. He had come ready.

  After relieving her of all her clothes, he quickly pulled his shirt over his own head so his gaze could once again roam over her skin. He needed to get his visual fill of the most gorgeous body he’d ever seen, tasted, and been inside of. And he couldn’t wait to get back inside of her again.

  When he kicked off his shoes and pushed his jeans down past his thighs, he watched her gaze shift from his face to his groin. Just knowing she was looking at him there aroused him even more. He kicked his jeans aside.

  He wasn’t sure who moved first. All he knew was that the moment their flesh touched, he was overcome with pleasure. Backing her up against the wall, she once again jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

  “You’re getting good at that,” he said, holding her close enough to support the position of her body. Unable to help himself, he leaned in and went after her mouth again, devouring it.