My phone vibrates.
“Yeah?” I press my earpiece, answering the call without taking my eyes off Cora. She stands with her friends, her long neck arching back as she laughs.
The way her lips part, the shimmer of her skin under the low lights—it does something to me. She leans in to speak to someone, her fingers brushing her collarbone, tracing the line of her dress. My mouth goes dry.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the way her body moves, the way her hips shift as she adjusts her stance. Every little motion is a tease, a slow burn I can’t seem to extinguish.
She glances my way, just for a second, and a jolt of awareness flares between us. I clear my throat, trying to regain control.
Fuck.
“Come again?” I mutter into the mic, barely registering what’s being said.
“West? It’s Craig Anderson.”
The gruff voice snaps me to attention. I’d asked Craig to dig into the Valeur family after my search hit a wall. Zane had informed me that Cora was clean, but he hadn't provided any details about her family. I needed more. “What’ve you got for me?”
“Not much,” he says. “They’re pretty clean like you said. But for a family of that status, it doesn’t mean shit. I’m sure they’ve got a team of lawyers polishing their names daily.”
I purse my lips. He’s got a point. “You said pretty clean. So what did you find?”
“It’s not dirt,” he warns. “I dug up an old police report. The parents were mugged years back. Similar M.O. to your girl’s recent incident. That case was sealed. I can’t put in a request to open the file without raising suspicion.”
“The case was sealed? A random mugging? Is that common?”
“No. But, like I said, a family this rich? I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked the police chief himself to do it as a personal favor.”
I watch Cora sway to the music, her hips hypnotic. “Any details on the mugging?”
“From what’s left, textbook stuff. Side street. Nothing you haven’t seen a hundred times.”
I frown, pieces refusing to fit. “Why bury it? Doesn’t scream scandal.”
“Who the hell knows how the one-percenters think?” Craig sighs. “Maybe they were embarrassed. Maybe Daddy didn’t want the company stock to take a hit. Take your pick.”
I nod to myself. “When was this?”
“Twenty years ago, give or take.”
Ancient history. Cora was barely a toddler.
I scan the dance floor again. She’s with her friends now, at least not on that damn stage anymore. Small mercies.
“Nothing else?” I press.
“Nada. Like I said, West, they’re Teflon. But you know as well as I do—money talks, and it can make a lot of shit disappear.”
“Appreciate it, Craig. I owe you one.” I end the call, my mind churning.
A buried mugging from two decades ago. Could be nothing. Probablyisnothing. But my gut’s been itching since I took this job, and it refuses to settle.
Cora’s eyes find mine across the pulsing crowd. Even from here, I can see the challenge in them, the way she’s daring me to react. Trouble.
Her dress rides up as she moves, revealing miles of leg. She turns, and I get a view that makes my mouth go dry.
Will you spank me?
Her earlier taunt echoes in my head. God help me, I want to. I want to turn that perfect ass red and then sink myself in her until she screams my name. But that’s a fantasy that’ll never see daylight. I need to bury it deep. I’m just the hired muscle, and I can’t screw this up if I want to get my dream job.
