Page 64 of Carnal Risk

Garrett grunted as he exploded inside her. In the intensity of their encounter it hit her instantly; they hadn’t used a condom.

“Garrett…Garrett.” She froze and he kissed her protest away.

“Selby…aw fuck…we didn’t. Shit, we should have talked about this.”

“I’m on the pill. I’m clean,” she panted. Selby wasn’t sure what else to say. In the heat of the moment, she’d never felt closer to Garrett.

“We’re good. It’s good,” he told her. “We should have talked about this. But I don’t regret a second.”

Garrett didn’t attempt to remove himself from her as his lips touched her neck. The soft spray of his peppered kisses caused her to break out in gooseflesh. In his arms, she wished that she could stay like that forever. Safe. Loved. But it was all an illusion, she knew.

“We need to talk about what happened,” she began.

“No, no more talking. Tomorrow. Tonight I just want to make love to you.”

Make love. Selby’s mind warred between confessing and embracing the love he offered. Breathing out the worry that sat on her tongue like a bitter pill, she caved to the magic surrounding her. Tomorrow would come soon enough. One more night, and she’d leave.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Garrett took a final glance at Selby as she lay in his bed. No one had rocked his world like she had. He recalled the last time he thought he’d been in love; he’d been in his twenties. Ironically when he’d found his girlfriend cheating, he hadn’t cared. With his life replete with adventure and plans, her infidelity had been nothing more than a speedbump.

Endless dates and events had consumed his days over the past ten years, and he’d never once considered that it hadn’t been enough. But Lars’ words had played in his mind. You’re falling hard for Selby. He’d tried to tell himself it was nothing, that they were just getting to know each other, but it was a lie; everything had changed.

Slammed by Evan and Cormac’s deaths, he’d spiraled into grief. As he’d mourned, Selby had come to him, his beautiful angel, comforting him within her wings. He could hardly believe he’d made love to her without protection. Captivated with letting her dominate him, he hadn’t given a thought to a condom. Selby was the only person he’d ever granted control to, embracing the way she’d turned the tables on him.

Having a child wasn’t something he’d ever considered. But in the split second he’d come inside her, he’d imagined her pregnant. He wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad that the image of her with his baby didn’t bother him. If he were honest, he’d admit to the soul-piercing awareness, that maybe there was something more to life than making money or jumping out of planes.

Regardless of his deepening feelings for the woman in his bed, the reality of the day had set in. Both Evan and Cormac had been murdered. He’d have to wake Selby soon so she could resume her work. Of all the projects they currently had in the works, there were at least a half dozen that Evan had direct supervision over, ones that he was certain someone would be willing to kill to obtain.

As he made his way into the dining room, he spied the bag that Lars had brought over from Selby’s house. He wrapped his hand around the handles of the tote bag and lifted it. He reasoned he might as well take her things into the bedroom. Soon Dean would arrive, so they could strategize how best to proceed. He’d called Laura, his chef and housekeeper, to return to his home to straighten up and begin cooking meals. His short lived stint as a cook had been amusing, but he didn’t have the energy to deal with making meals. His priority was identifying the exact venture that all the victims had touched. There had to be a common denominator that tied the murders together.

Lars called his name, startling him. He’d forgotten that he’d asked him to stay the night while he’d been at the hospital. He set the bag down and the contents spilled onto the floor.

“Shit.”

“You okay?” Lars asked. “Need help?”

“No, I got it.” Garrett began collecting and folding the clothes, placing them into the tote. He lifted a shirt, revealing the spilled contents of the plastic baggie that had contained her jewelry. Small baubles and rings clanged onto the hardwood floor as he shook out the fabric.

“I can’t believe Cormac’s gone.” Lars scrubbed his hand over his head.

“As much as I hate to do this, I’ve gotta tell Dean what Selby found. Today, I need to review all the projects that Evan, Cormac and Selby have worked on. Some of it’s going to overlap, but I have to try and figure out what the killer is after.”

“Whatever it is, it’s not like you can just hand it over.”

“Yeah, but if I know what it is, then I can better figure out the who. If they want it bad enough, we’ll trap them.” Garrett knelt down, slowly gathering the shiny metal pieces into the bag. He fingered a dove-shaped crystal pin and noticed that it appeared cracked. “Shit.”

“What is it?”

“I think I broke one of Selby’s things. I’ll send it out to get fixed.” Garrett placed the rest of the jewelry into the pouch and palmed the metal bird in his fist. “Can you make some coffee? I’ll be right back.”

Instead of bringing her things to the bedroom, he set them in the hallway and walked to his office. Remembering that he had the number of his favorite jeweler on a card in his desk, he sat down onto his black leather chair and opened the drawer. As he did so, the crystal wiggled in his fingers, drawing his attention. Although he’d initially thought it broken, the gold metal had come loose. He gave it a small tug, and a thumb drive protruded outward.

“What the?” Garrett held it to the sun, and wondered why Selby would have a data storage device that transformed into fine jewelry. Although pretty, it seemed impractical, especially for a no-nonsense person like her.

Recalling the day he’d found her in Evan’s office, he racked his brain, and couldn’t remember her wearing a brooch. It still didn’t make sense what she’d been doing there in the first place, but at the time, she’d convinced him that she was looking for Evan’s laptop. The more his thoughts swirled in doubt, the more his stomach clenched with the realization that Selby might have had an involvement with the murders.

She certainly possessed the intellectual capability to steal data. She’d already demonstrated her par none hacking skills, tunneling a path into Emerson. He shoved the suspicion to the back of his mind, but his instincts warned him to look at the disc. Don’t do it. It’s probably nothing more than family pictures, he told himself. He couldn’t believe, after everything they’d been through, that she’d betray him. Snooping through her personal files demonstrated a complete lack of faith in her, but given the murders and the compromised laptop, he was obsessed with discovering what was on the drive.