Courting Suspicion

by Kimberly Dean

  * * *

  Josh strode into Luxxor’s offices like a man on a mission.

  A friendly smile lit Rielle’s face. ‘Hi, Josh. Nina’s – Are those flowers?’

  He looked down at the bouquet in his hand. Gunderson had sent her roses, and he’d wanted nothing like them. She was better than that, more unique. He’d bought her purple orchids that the florist suggested. The woman had included some kind of red leaves and ferns. It had looked pretty to him. Like her. Delicate, but bold.

  ‘Yeah,’ he said, without breaking stride. ‘Hold her calls. Please.’

  The office manager blinked and sat back. ‘All right, but –’

  No buts. He didn’t want any interruptions.

  He pulled up short, though, when he walked in and found Nina talking with Genieve. Their heads were bent over the desk, and they were deep in thought.

  He’d been so focused, he hadn’t caught Rielle’s clues that he was the interruption. ‘Oh. Sorry, ladies.’

  Nina looked up, and her shiny hair slid over her shoulder. ‘Josh!’

  He jerked his thumb towards the lobby. ‘I can wait.’

  He didn’t want to. He didn’t know if he actually could, now that he’d made up his mind, but he backtracked.

  Instead, Nina waved him forward. ‘No. Wait. I want to show you this.’

  Genieve held up a finger. ‘Just give me one minute.’

  She wrote something, and the two women smiled. Nina held out her hand, and Genieve shook it heartily. Apparently the gesture wasn’t enough, because the redhead hurried around the desk for a hug.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said in his direction.

  ‘Here,’ Nina said. She handed her employee a stack of papers, reached into her desk and pulled out a tissue.

  Genieve’s eyes were teary as she walked past Josh, clutching the paperwork.

  ‘She’s the best,’ she said. She stopped for the smallest of seconds beside him. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

  He felt the two-ton weight in his pocket. ‘Not likely.’

  With a grin, Genieve blotted the tears from her cheeks and hurried on.

  Josh’s brow furrowed, and he looked at Nina. Was Genieve leaving the escort game?

  ‘Everything OK?’ he asked.

  Nina took a deep breath. ‘It’s really good. I want to – Did you bring me flowers?’

  His gaze dropped. He’d forgotten they were in his hand. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Oh, Josh.’

  He turned and closed the door. Squaring his shoulders, he walked towards her. How many times had he walked in this room to question her? Too many times to count, and she’d gone toe to toe with him every time. Yet today’s question was the most important one yet.

  He watched her carefully, looking for any of her tells.

  She touched her necklace. ‘Josh?’

  He slowed down. He was making her nervous.

  Hell, he was nervous.

  He let his gaze run over her. She was stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. For a little thing, she’d always been able to stop him in his tracks. Today was no different, but with the sunlight streaming through the window and her blue glass figurines taking life all around her, she looked like something special.

  She was special.

  He cleared his throat. It had taken him too long to make the first move. He wasn’t going to screw this up, too.

  He rounded the desk until he stood beside her. Her eyes were wide now, and her pulse was fluttering in her throat. He held out the flowers to her, and she peeled back the paper.

  ‘Thank you. They’re beautiful.’

  ‘Not as beautiful as you.’ He reached into his pocket, pulled out a box, and dropped to a knee.

  She inhaled sharply and pressed a hand to her mouth.

  ‘Nina,’ he said. ‘I love you. Will you marry me?’

  The plastic on the flowers crinkled as she clutched them tightly. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

  ‘Proposing.’ He leaned in closer. He knew he was pressing hard. He didn’t want to interrogate her, but he needed an answer. All her little blue animal friends were watching, playing witness. ‘Will you marry me?’

  She sank down on her chair. She was right on the edge of the leather seat, barely perched upon it. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Yes!’

  The iron vice around Josh’s chest turned loose. He took in a ragged breath and leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were sweet, and they trembled beneath his. It was something he’d never felt from her before.

  He looked at her pretty face. Her eyes were wide, and her hands were shaking. He’d surprised her. Carefully, he took the flowers from her white-knuckled grip and put them on the desk. Pulling back, he took the ring out of the box.

  ‘When did you do all this?’ she asked. Her voice was tight, and she was sitting stiffly.

  He knew her better now. She wasn’t cold. She was trying to hold it together.

  He held the ring up where they could both see it. The sunlight coming through the window caught the blue gem in the middle and made it glow. ‘This thing has been circling the Morgan family for generations. I know it’s not a diamond, but I think it’s a sapphire. I know you like blue glass, but I can always get you something else if –’

  ‘This one.’ She took a shaky breath and exhaled slowly. ‘I love it. It’s perfect.’

  He took her hand. They’d been intimate for a while now. He knew her body like nobody else, but sometimes the difference in their sizes still took him aback. Her will was so strong he sometimes forgot how petite she was. But he felt it now.

  He held her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. As he’d guessed, it was too big, but on her hand it look did look perfect.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw the blue elephant on her desk trumpeting. He knew how the little guy felt.

  He looked up into her eyes, only she was still staring at the ring. She closed her fingers together tightly, and her eyes welled with moisture. His breath caught. He’d never seen her cry. Sometimes she was angry or quiet, but this was something different. He was seeing a softer side of her, and the fact that she trusted him enough to be vulnerable around him made him humble.

  He touched the gem. It could be worth ten bucks or ten thousand. He didn’t know, but she seemed to like it.

  ‘I love you, Nina. That’s the bottom line, but this ring means more than that. When we’re married, I can’t be forced to testify against you. You don’t have to worry about trusting me any more. You don’t have to always be on your guard when it comes to Luxxor. This ring protects you.’

  She shook her head. ‘I don’t need protecting, Josh.’

  ‘I know you have faith in me now, and I’d never do anything to hurt you, but this ring makes me relax, too. It protects us.’

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks and tucked both sides of her hair back from her face. She lifted the flowers and grabbed the papers that were scattered underneath it. She shuffled them up and handed them to him. ‘Josh, I don’t own Luxxor any more.’

  The words didn’t quite sink in. His brain was on a single-minded path. ‘What?’

  ‘I sold it. To Genieve.’

  ‘No!’ He pushed himself to his feet, but he didn’t feel steady as he tried to read all the legalese. He leaned his hips against her mammoth desk and tried to catch up. ‘But Nina, you put your heart and your soul into this company.’

  ‘And I’ll do the same with my next one.’ She rose from the chair. ‘I’m going legit.’

  The bottom of Josh’s stomach dropped out. Oh, hell. ‘It’s all right. Stay right here. I’ll go get Genieve. I’m sure she’ll give it back.’

  ‘No,’ Nina said, catching his wrist. She let out a wet chuckle and patted at her eyes again. ‘I want to do this. I’ve been tinkering with a matchmaking company idea for a while now. I decided to go all in.’

  Josh still didn’t like the feeling in his chest. His heart that had been so full felt like it had a chunk missing. ‘Aw, baby. You didn’t do this for me,
did you?’

  ‘I did it for us.’ She looked at the ring on her finger and then pulled it close to her heart. ‘You’re a good guy, Detective, and I’ve been a bad girl.’

  ‘Nothing wrong with that,’ he interjected.

  She laughed, this time with humour, and the sound made Josh hard. Tears and now laughter. He was moving closer.

  But he wanted all of her.

  She pressed her hand against his chest. ‘I know you said you could handle my little transgressions, but you shouldn’t have to. It would wear on you. It already has. I don’t want you to end up resenting me for it.’

  She cupped his face. ‘I want to be good enough for you.’

  ‘Nina, you’re already out of my league.’

  She shook her head and took the paperwork from him. She flipped through the pages and, finally, just hugged them to her chest. ‘Josh, I’m excited about this. I’ve thought about it, and I’m really an entrepreneur at heart. I’m good at matchmaking. I set up Jason and Sienna, Erin and Colton, Dane and Noelle … I want to do this.’

  ‘Are you sure? Like a hundred percent sure? Because I don’t want you to resent me for giving up the company you love.’

  Her voice dropped to a whisper. ‘I’m tired of hating men, Josh. I finally found a good one. Everybody should have what I feel now.’

  He caught the papers and put them aside. He could see the truth on her face. She didn’t get excited about much. He’d seen it only once before when he’d invited her to his house. But he’d just seen it again when he’d put his ring on her finger.

  And he saw it now. ‘Then we’ll make it happen. You just tell me what to do.’

  She lifted her hand so the sapphire caught the sunshine, but then looked at him hesitantly. ‘You didn’t just ask me to marry you because of spousal privilege, did you?’

  He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. ‘Like even you could get a forty-year-old bachelor to propose on a whim?’

  He caught her by the waist and pulled her to stand between his outstretched legs. ‘I want this, too. I want you to be mine in every way, and I want to be yours. I don’t want any suspicions between us.’

  ‘So we’re engaged?’ she said.

  ‘And, apparently, we’re starting a company.’ He pulled her in for a sultry hot kiss. ‘Matchmaking, huh? I think you’d better move us to the top of your list.’

  Epilogue

  Nina was sitting in Josh’s bed doing too many things at once. She was writing ideas for her new company’s name. She was noting things about Luxxor’s transition for which she needed to talk to Genieve. And while she wasn’t a Bridezilla at all, she did have a few ideas she’d texted to her wedding planner, Erin. It was bedtime, but she hadn’t felt this energised since she’d left corporate America to strike out on her own.

  Of course, then she’d been driven by cold fury.

  Now, she couldn’t wait to bounce out of bed to get to work.

  She glanced up when Josh stepped into the room. He’d been turning off lights and getting ready for bed, too. She breathed deeply as she looked at him. All he wore was a well-broken-in pair of jeans. They rode low on his hips. Her gaze took in his muscled chest and rippled stomach.

  ‘I got you a present,’ he said softly.

  She fought not to smile. She’d heard that one before.

  She was surprised when he held up something wrapped in tissue.

  ‘Josh.’ She put her things aside. He was beginning to spoil her. ‘Is it another glass animal?’

  He shook his head. ‘Your zoo is big enough.’

  ‘Never,’ she said.

  He stopped by the bed. ‘You know the rules.’

  His house, his side of the bed.

  ‘That’s going to have to change,’ she argued. ‘What happens when we only have one house?’

  ‘You’ll have to wrestle me for it.’

  She glared at him, but scooted over to make room. He sat beside her with his back propped up against the headboard and his jean-clad legs stretched out before them.

  He handed her the gift. It was flat and rectangular.

  ‘When I decided to ask you to marry me, I did it pretty fast. But I want you to know I thought about all the grand gestures like putting my proposal up on the Nationals’ scoreboard.’ He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘But that’s really not either of our styles, and it didn’t work so well the first time.’

  Nina sucked in a breath that hurt. ‘I’m sorry about that, Josh. Running away like that.’

  ‘I know. It was too fast for you. You shouldn’t have been put in that position.’ He pointed at the gift in her hands. ‘But I did like the end result.’

  She unrolled the layers of tissue paper. She’d known it was a picture frame by touch, but she’d only seen the shot of them together that night once. The rolls were endless, but she finally lifted the framed picture out of its mummy-like encasing.

  When she saw the intimate shot again, her belly clenched just like it had the first time. ‘Isn’t this evidence?’

  ‘I went to Nationals Park and convinced them to give me another print.’ He watched her closely. She could feel his gaze on her. ‘It’s our first kiss, Nina. I had to get it for us. Think of when we’re old and grey.’

  She blinked fast.

  Damn. How could a big tough guy have such a sweet side?

  She kissed him. Just leaned over and pressed her lips to his. His fingers threaded through her hair, and his mouth ate at hers. The kiss was soft and intimate. This time, for them alone.

  She kissed him on the cheek before pulling back. ‘How much work did it take for you to get it?’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘Not as much as it cost me to get the Kiss Cam guy to focus on us the first time.’

  Nina’s mouth dropped open. Her gasp was distinctly unladylike. ‘You didn’t!’

  He laughed and chucked her under the chin. ‘I’m kidding, but I’d be willing to buy the guy a beer now.’

  He looked at the photo. ‘It’s a good picture, isn’t it?’

  Nina ran her fingernail along the silver frame. ‘It’s hot.’

  Josh looked at her quickly.

  She lifted an eyebrow as she reached across him to stand the picture on the nightstand. She still couldn’t reach, so she climbed on top of him and straddled him.

  His hands went to her waist. ‘Always trying to get on my side of the bed.’

  She pressed her hand to the front of his jeans. ‘Are you complaining?’

  His eyelids got heavy. ‘Not me.’

  ‘I didn’t think so.’ She unzipped his jeans and worked them down. His hands were already sliding up and down her body. She was wearing the white and black lace gown again. It was one of his favourites.

  She shivered when he hooked his finger under her shoulder strap and pulled it down. His mouth was on her breast in the next moment, and his strong tugs made her back arch.

  ‘Ooohhh,’ she groaned. His tongue swept hotly over her nipple before pressing it tight against the roof of his mouth. ‘Josh!’

  She wrapped her hand around his cock, and he came up gasping for air. Rising on her knees, Nina scooted up over him. Just that little bit of fooling around, and she was wet for him.

  She’d gotten wet when she’d seen their first kiss.

  Holding onto his shoulders, she dropped onto him, taking him deep inside her. His hands tightened against her ribcage, but she settled on his lap and didn’t move.

  She wanted to make sure she had his full attention.

  She looked into his dark eyes. ‘Do you remember what we were talking about right before that picture was taken?’

  His sexy eyes turned alert. ‘Yes.’

  She licked her lips nervously. ‘You’re the only person who’s ever teased me. You talk to me like I’m your equal, and you don’t try to hold me back. You let me be me.’

  She gave him a hug.

  ‘Josh, I want you to know you’re not only my lover. You’re my best friend.’
>
  A Mischief Novel

  When times get tough, how bad does a good girl have to get?

  With bills piling up, Sienna signs a contract with Luxxor Escort Services. A contract that strictly forbids any sexual contact with clients… And then she’s assigned to companion Jason Sloan.

  Discover more about Courting Trouble

  A Mischief Novel

  Even Nice Girls Have Needs.

  Erin starts using matchmaker Luxxor Limited, not realizing that the company is truly an escort service. But she gets more than she bargained for when Luxxor sets her up with her big brother’s best friend.

  Discover more about Courting Innocence

  A Mischief Novel

  Good Girls Finish Last

  Rielle Sands ventured too close to the fire once and got burned. Now when it comes to men, she’s vowed to play it safe. But then a dashing, mysterious man shows up at Luxxor Limited after hours, the agency she manages, needing an escort.

  Discover more about Courting Danger

  About the Publisher

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