St Kilda Consulting 02 - Innocent as Sin

felt her shiver.
    “I never knew I had a thing for tattoos,” he said, “until I saw yours.”
    “You’ll love my third one,” she said, her voice husky.
    “Where is it?”
    She turned, showed him.
    He whispered something, bent his head, and licked. Sucked. Nibbled. Sucked harder.
    She tried to breathe, but there wasn’t enough air in the room. The tension that had been drawing her tight, achingly tight, tighter—suddenly snapped, sent her spinning, crying, heat exploding.
    Rand felt her release, tasted it, and shuddered. He barely remembered to sheathe himself in the condom before he sheathed himself in her.
    She was everything he’d been afraid she would be.
    Perfect.
    Tight.
    Hot.
    For the first time since his twin’s death, he let go of hate and allowed himself to live.

38
    Royal Palms
Sunday
6:15 A.M. MST
    F ully dressed, Rand sat beside the bed and watched Kayla sleep, telling himself how many kinds of fool he was. The problem was that he couldn’t decide whether he was a fool for letting himself love her last night or if he was a fool because he wasn’t in bed with her now.
    I’m sorry, Reed.
    When Rand heard his own thought, he was shocked. Was he really feeling guilty because Reed was dead and he was alive?
    Got that in one, fool.
    He didn’t know if it was his own voice or Reed’s that pitied him.
    After I kill Bertone, then I’ll …
    Then what? Reed would come back from the dead? Rand would be alive again?
    I was alive last night.
    And guilty as hell for it this morning.
    Rand set his teeth and told himself he was a fool.
    Big news flash that was.
    Sunlight slid through a crack in the drapes and spread across the bed, across Kayla, highlighting the rose tattoo on her collarbone. He’d been with other women since Reed’s death, but he’d never felt guilty about it. Why Kayla? What was it about her that made him want…too much?
    That’s easy, bro. She makes you feel alive.
    Rand went stiff. Reed?
    About time, too. I told you to live for both of us. One of us dead is plenty. Kayla is good for you. Don’t fuck it up and blame it on me.
    Before Rand could move, could think, he realized that Kayla’s eyes were open, slowly focusing on him.
    “Who was here?” she asked sleepily.
    “Just me.”
    “No. Someone else.” She yawned. “Like you, but different.” Her eyelashes lowered, stayed down. “’S too early to get up.” She sighed, pulled the covers up over her shoulders.
    “Go back to sleep,” Rand said softly.
    One eye opened. “What about you?”
    “If I get in bed, neither one of us will sleep.”
    “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Or are we out of condoms?”
    He smiled in spite of himself as he remembered the hours before they fell asleep. “Getting there.”
    “No wonder they gave you five thousand dollars.” She yawned again. “Condoms aren’t cheap.”
    Rand laughed out loud. It felt so good that he did it again.
    “Are you laughing at me?” she asked around another yawn.
    “No, at me,” he said.
    He took off his shoes and stretched out next to her on top of the bed. She turned toward him. She smelled of bath oil and sex and sleepy woman. He pulled a bundle of covers and her against his body.
    “Go back to sleep,” he said against her forehead. “I kept you up too long last night.”
    “Huh. I thought I was the one keeping you up.”
    “Sleep, Kayla.”
    She tried to, but it didn’t work. She was awake enough to remember all the reasons she shouldn’t be relaxed.
    Bertone.
    Handcuffs.
    Dirty money.
    Her name on the bottom line.
    “Well, damn,” she said against Rand’s chin.
    “What?” he asked.
    “I’m awake.”
    “Hungry?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’ll call room service.”
    “Food?” she said, nibbling on his chin, tugging on his beard with her lips.
    “Not many calories in a beard,” he said dryly.
    “Mmmm, the Beard Diet. Works for me. Nibble the pounds away.”
    “You don’t need to lose weight. In fact, some more weight would look good on you.”
    “More? Yowsa. Now I know I’m in love.”
    Rand didn’t fight the laughter crowding his throat. He just let it go and enjoyed.
    She snuggled closer. “Yesterday I felt like I was in a combat zone. Today I feel ten feet tall.”
    “Life is a combat zone. That’s why you have to take love where and when you find it. But I’d forgotten about that until last night. You aren’t sorry, are you? I know you’re not the one-night-stand type.”
    “Couldn’t prove it by me,”