“So what do you want to know about Lewis that could possibly help the investigation?”
Hunter drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Although he had been watching her every move he hadn’t realized she had ended her conversation and had placed the mobile phone back in her purse until she had spoken. “Does he still work for the IRS?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Hunter nodded. That had been another reason he hadn’t been overly eager to make friends with Mallory’s brother-in-law. Although Hunter paid his fair share of taxes like the next guy, people who worked for the Internal Revenue Service made him nervous. “Do you know if he’s been going out a lot at night lately? More so than usual?”
He watched as a frown marred Mallory’s forehead as she thought about his questions. “No,” she said moments later. “Lewis is a homebody and I can’t recall Barbara mentioning that he’s started going out at night. In fact, Barbara and I usually talk every night and he’s always home in bed already.”
“Has he begun talking any business trips?”
“No.”
Hunter nodded. “That means if he is involved with someone, he’s doing it on his lunch hour.”
Mallory brow raised. “His lunch hour? That wouldn’t give him enough time, would it?”
His lips curled into a lazy smile. The reason she had probably asked was because whenever they’d made love they would stay in bed for hours and hours. Sixty minutes had not been enough time for them. “It might. Depending on what all he’s doing.”
He watched as she swallowed hard and saw her lips tremble when she said, “I hope for Barbara’s sake that he’s not doing anything.”
“Well, that’s what you’ve hired me to find out. Starting tomorrow I’ll watch how he spends his lunchtime.”
Mallory nodded. “Anything else you need to know?”
There was something else he needed to know, but it had nothing to do with business. It was a question that had been gnawing at him since he had seen her earlier that day, and his mind just wouldn’t let it go. It was as if he was driven beyond reason to know the answer, like his very life depended on it. “Yes, there is one other thing I need to know, Mallory.”
He leaned forward across the table so his next words could not be heard by anyone else. It brought him so close to her, he could clearly see the darkness of her eyes, and when she also leaned forward to hear what he had to ask, their mouths almost touched.
When he hesitated, she raised a brow and quietly breathed out her next words through water-damp lips. “What is it, Hunter? What else do you need to know?”
He swallowed and felt his sexual frustrations come to a head when he again remembered that sex with Mallory had been absolutely mind-blowing fantastic every single time. He felt a shiver of desire go up his spine and the erection straining against his zipper harden even more. And when she tilted her head slightly, which only inched her lips even closer to his, he couldn’t hold back his question any longer.
“I need to know what color panties you’re wearing,” he whispered.
Three
Mallory went still.
Her hand, which had been reaching for her coffee cup, dropped to the table as a small gasp escaped her lips. Of all the questions she had anticipated Hunter asking her, the color of her underwear was definitely not one of them.
She met his gaze, not sure she had heard him right and that she must have imagined his question. However, the heated look in his eyes indicated she had heard him correctly and that he was actually waiting on an answer.
Mallory’s eyes went wide. Only the untamable Hunter Sloan thought he could ask such a thing. She sat back in her chair and straightened her spine. “Is there a reason you want to know?” she asked coolly, thinking that he really had a lot of nerve.
He shrugged. “Just curious.”
Mallory frowned wondering why he was “just curious.” It wasn’t like he would be getting into them, so why the interest? He was the one who’d decided to end their relationship six months ago; so the way she saw it, the color of her panties was no business of his.
When she saw the intensity of his gaze she couldn’t help but remember a time when what she wore under her dress had been his business. She had vivid memories of how his dark gaze would sweep over her and his breathing would quicken whenever she would strip down to her panties and bra. And likewise, her body would flare in heat anticipating what was to come.
In the back of her mind she could actually hear the moans she made when he removed her bra and then knelt before her to remove the matching pair of colorful, scanty panties she’d worn. But before he would take them off, he would take his hand and stroke her through the material, making her panties soaked as the scent of aroused woman filled the room. He would ease the scrap of lace down her legs and continued to stroke her in such a way that would leave her quivering and gulping for air. Then he would look up at her and give her that damn untamable Hunter smile and proceed to show her just how much he loved that particular area of her body by cupping her hips into his hands and leaning forward, kissing her intimately, letting his tongue thrust deep. She would nearly pass out from his lusty enjoyment of her, eliciting her cry of release and giving her one hell of an orgasm even before they reached the bed.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Mallory breathed in deeply, inwardly admitting that she missed those times with him. Hunter was definitely a man who brought fantasies to life. Sex with him had always been incredible, devastatingly wild, and bone-curling, desire-filling good.
He had found out rather early in their relationship—that first night to be exact—that he was her first lover. And he had set out to make sure he would be her only lover by raising the bar and her expectations too high for anyone who followed. When it came to making love to her, his delivery had always been intense, overwhelming, and very gratifying.
Mallory knew that any woman who had an affair with Hunter would be getting the best. That thought reminded her that she was no longer that woman, and in fact, in a few hours he would be meeting another woman for dinner. The thought that he wanted to know the color of her panties when he would be seeing someone else later didn’t sit too well with her, and she became downright angry. She placed her hand in her lap, fighting the impulse to lean over and slap him silly. But then she was too dignified to let any man bring out the worse in her, no matter how much she wanted to lash out in pain.
Deciding she didn’t owe him an answer to his question and that they had finished the only business between them for now, Mallory picked up her purse and stood. “Enjoy your dinner date, Hunter, and I would think she would be the one whose panties you would be interested in.”
Without saying another word Mallory walked out of the restaurant.
“You don’t seem to be in a good mood tonight, Hunter.”
Hunter glanced up from his meal to stare into the concerned face of his aunt. He knew if he didn’t give her a reason for his surly mood she would only continue digging. “I had a rough day,” he said, and then, as he resumed eating his food, he realized it wasn’t far from the truth. He had wanted Mallory to think he’d had dinner plans with another woman. No sooner had Mallory walked out of Rowdy’s than he had felt the impact of his deception.
“So when was the last time you saw Mallory?”
Drawing in a slow breath, Hunter lifted his gaze and stared across the table at his aunt. Not for the first time in his life he wondered if she had ESP or something. “Why do you ask?”
She smiled at him. “Just curious.”
He swallowed hard. Those had been the same words he’d given Mallory when she had asked why he wanted to know the color of her panties. Even now he couldn’t believe he had actually asked her that, and far worse was the fact that he still wanted to know. It was as if it was privileged information that he felt he was entitled to. But he had to be realistic enough to know that when it came to Mallory Standish, he was no longer entitled to anything.
He pla
ced his fork down, knowing his aunt was waiting on an answer. As casually as he could, he said, “I saw Mallory earlier today.” There was no need to tell his aunt that he and Mallory had also shared coffee less then a few hours ago. He leaned back in his chair when he saw his aunt’s eyes fill with speculation.
“Really?”
“Yes, and before you ask the answer is no. Mallory and I are not getting back together. It was strictly a business meeting. She thinks her brother-in-law may be messing around on her sister and has hired me to find out if he is or isn’t.”
“Oh.”
He looked at his aunt uneasily. “And what does that mean?”
She smiled that same smile his mother would often give him. And not for the first time he thought that she should have been his mother’s sister instead of his father’s since the two women had similar mannerisms and thought so much alike. “I meant nothing by it, Hunter. You’re a grown man and I think a fairly smart one. It’s been six months, and if you haven’t realized by now that Mallory Standish was the best thing to happen to you then that’s your loss.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go into the kitchen to get our dessert. I tried out a new recipe. It’s called the ‘better than sex’ cake, and I want you to let me know what you think.”
Hunter leaned back in his chair as he watched his aunt leave the room. He didn’t have to eat a piece of cake to know there was nothing on this earth that was better than sex, especially if it was with Mallory. Just the thought of kissing her made him hot, because locking lips with her always led to other things, intimate and erotic. The woman was so irresistibly sexy he couldn’t think straight. And the thought that he had been her first lover still left him in awe. She had been an eager student, a quick learner, a woman who’d taken in everything he had taught her and had put it to good use.
Before he could dwell on his intimate encounters with Mallory any further, his aunt returned with a huge slice of cake on a plate. “Here you are, Hunter. I hope you like it.”
He took the plate from his aunt. “I’m sure I will.” He took his fork and after tasting the cake, he thought it was good. But not as good as Mallory, and by the time he had finished half of it he had concluded that, although it was delicious, it wasn’t better than sex.
“It’s a shame about that lunatic on the loose isn’t it?”
He looked up from eating his cake and met his aunt’s concerned expression. “What lunatic?”
“That man who’s going around calling himself The Mighty Charger and attacking all those women.”
Hunter frowned. He had remembered reading something about it in the papers. “They haven’t caught him yet?”
“No, and I’m concerned that most of the attacks have taken place not far from where Mallory lives. I hope she’s taken every precaution to stay safe.”
He finished off the last of his cake before responding. “I’m sure she has.” He then remembered that she was meeting a girlfriend tonight. Had she returned home safely?
He stood quickly knowing he wouldn’t rest until he knew for sure. “Look, Aunt Judith, I hate to rush off, but I just remembered something I need to do.” He walked around the table and gave his aunt a kiss on the cheek. “Lock the door behind me.”
And then he was gone.
So much for getting Mallory out of my life and keeping her there, Hunter thought, a half-hour later while parked in the yard of a vacant house directly across the street from where she lived. Her car was not in the driveway, which meant she hadn’t come home yet.
If anyone had told him that he would be spending a good portion of the night waiting for a woman to arrive back home, just to make sure she got into her house safely, he wouldn’t have believed them.
He eased his car seat back for better comfort and folded his hands across his chest. He had turned off the radio awhile ago when nothing was playing that he wanted to hear. He glanced around thinking that he actually liked this older neighborhood of homes, and knew that Mallory had bought the house a few years ago, not long after her sister had gotten married. Up until that time, she and Barbara had lived together in an apartment while they had worked and attended college.
He straightened when he recognized her car as it pulled into the driveway of her yard. He exhaled a sigh of relief and watched as she got out and walked up to her door. Moments later she went inside and closed the door behind her.
He cursed softly when he felt an overwhelming urge to march up to that house and force her to answer the question he had asked her earlier. He’d never had a fetish for women’s underwear until he’d made love to Mallory. She used to wear some of the sexiest and most colorful panties and he enjoyed taking them off of her. For months after their breakup he would still fantasize about her. In fact he still did.
Hunter lost track of time as he just sat there in his car and stared at Mallory’s house. Then he figured he had done the gentlemanly thing tonight by making sure she had gotten into her house safely. As he turned on the ignition to start up his car he decided that he would handle the case involving her brother-in-law as quickly as possible so that his life could return to normal.
But for some reason the prospect of that happening didn’t seem real.
Four
“Boy, don’t you look serious.”
Mallory glanced up from the huge calendar spread out on her desk and gazed into the smiling face of her sister, Barbara. She couldn’t help but smile back. Evidently her emotional state was so apparent that Barbara sensed that something was wrong.
As always her sister’s appearance in her office always brought a ray of sunshine. At five foot six in stocking feet yet with a somewhat petite build, which they had both inherited from their mother, Barbara took great pride in the way she looked and always had the ability to garner a lot of men’s attention. In fact, they both had, only Barbara was always the one with the willingness to return that attention. She had been able to balance with ease getting her schoolwork done and dating.
Not only was Barbara her sibling, but she was also her best friend. With only a two-year difference in their ages, they had grown up as playmates and confidantes in the constant chaos that seemed to inhabit the Standish household.
Her father, a financial adviser with a major bank, went on numerous business trips and always returned home with sloppy evidence that the trips had been more pleasure than business. Instead of getting fed up with her husband’s unfaithfulness, Olivia Standish was the dutiful wife, intent on making her marriage work and providing her daughters with a roof over their heads. However, their father finally took the decision out of their mother’s hands when he arrived home one day and announced he wanted a divorce to marry his “young” assistant. Mallory would never forget that day for as long as she lived since it just happened to be on her twelfth birthday.
Although their mother had been devastated by her husband’s departure, both Mallory and Barbara had thought, Good riddance, and had tried moving on with their lives. It didn’t help matters when, less than a year later, their mother, still suffering from a broken heart, had gotten killed in a car accident.
For Mallory, the moral of the story had been to never grow up and fall in love with a man who had “playboy” tendencies. Yet she had done that very thing after meeting Hunter Sloan.
Barbara, on the other hand, had always looked at things through rose-colored glasses. Her take on the entire Standish family affair was that their father had been a class-ass jerk and that not all men were like him, and had been determined to fall in love with one who wasn’t. She and Lewis had met four years ago after Barbara had completed college and gone to work for a huge marketing firm in San Diego. They had met one night at a nightclub and, according to her sister, it had been love at first sight. Their courtship had been short and sweet and they had gotten married less than a year later.
Mallory had always liked her brother-in-law, although she did consider him somewhat too serious at times, the complete opposite of Barb
ara. But it always appeared that he loved Barbara immensely and went out of his way to make her happy. Other than their desperate desire to have a baby, she always considered Barbara and Lewis a happy couple and perfect for each other.
At least she had until that day she’d seen Lewis at the hotel. Like their mother, Barbara would be devastated if she ever discovered Lewis was cheating on her, and Mallory hoped and prayed that was not the case.
Standing, Mallory quickly rounded her desk and crossed the room to give her sister a huge hug. “I’m always serious, Barb. You’re the playful one. Besides, it’s different when you run your own business.” She glanced back at the calendar on her desk. “Although business is good for the remainder of the year, I often wonder how I’m going to pull things off. For instance, in two weeks I have three big parties planned on the same day. Luckily, they’re at staggered times, but still that’s almost stretching me thin.”
Barbara raised a concerned brow. “Then why did you do it, Mal?”
Mallory smiled. “To stay busy.”
From the look on Barbara’s face they both knew there was a lot more behind her response. Every since her breakup with Hunter she had been working extremely hard to keep him off her mind. Now it seemed her attempt to do so had been a waste of time since he was definitely back on her mind and had been there since she’d seen him yesterday.
And then there was the question he’d asked her…
“You need a life, Mallory,” Barbara said, interrupting her thoughts. “Let me introduce you to this guy I was telling you about who works with Lewis. He moved to town recently from Atlanta and—”
“Forget it, Barbara. I’m not interested.”
Barbara took Mallory’s hand in hers. “I wish you would get interested. I think he would be perfect for you.”
Some Like It Hot Page 28