Convincing Alex Read Free

it, Bess was sure. And since Jade was her creation, Bess was determined to do right by her.
    He opened the wallet, skimmed through the bills. She was carrying around what would be for him more than two weeks’ pay. “Right.”
    â€œCan you do that?” she demanded, more curious than annoyed. “Go through my personal property?”
    â€œHoney, right now you are my personal property.” There were pictures in the wallet, as well. Snapshots of people, some with her, some without her. And the lady was a card-carrying member of dozens of groups, including Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Federation, Amnesty International and the Writers’ Guild. The last brought him back to the tape recorder. When he picked up the little toy, he noted that it was running. “Let’s have it, Bess.”
    God, he was cute. The thought passed through her head as she smiled at him. “Have what?”
    â€œWhat were you doing hanging around with Rosalie and the rest of the girls?”
    â€œMy job.” When his eyes narrowed that way, Bess thought, he was downright irresistible. Impatient, a little mean, with a flash of recklessness just barely under control.
    Fabulous.
    â€œReally.” All honesty and cheap perfume, she leaned forward. “You see, it all has to do with Jade, and how she’s having this problem with a dual personality. By day, she’s a dedicated lawyer—a real straight arrow, you know—but by night she hits the streets. She’s blocking what happened between her and Brock, and coupled with a childhood memory that’s begun to resurface, the strain’s been too much for her. She’s on a path of self-destruction.”
    The frown in his eyes turned them nearly black. “Who the hell is Jade?”
    â€œJade Sullivan Carstairs. Don’t you watch daytime TV?”
    His head was beginning to buzz. “No.”
    â€œYou don’t know what you’re missing. You’d probably really enjoy the Jade-Storm-Brock story line. Storm’s a cop, you see, and he’s falling in love with Jade. Her emotional problems, and the hold Brock has on her, complicate things. Then there was a miscarriage, and the kidnapping. Naturally, Storm has problems of his own.”
    â€œNaturally. What’s your point?”
    â€œOh, sorry. I get offtrack. I write for ‘Secret Sins’ daytime drama.”
    â€œYou’re a soap-opera writer?”
    â€œYeah.” Unlike many in the trade, she wasn’t bothered by that particular label. “And I like to get the feel of the situations I put my characters into. Since Jade is a special pet of mine, I—”
    â€œAre you out of your mind?” Alex barked the question as he leaned over into her face. “Do you have any idea what you were doing?”
    She blinked, at once innocent and amused. “Research?”
    He swore again, and Bess found she liked the way he raked impatient fingers through his thick black hair. “Lady, just how far were you intending to take your research?”
    â€œHow—? Oh.” Her eyes brightened with laughter. “Well no, not quite that far.”
    â€œWhat the hell would you have done if I hadn’t been a cop?”
    â€œI’d have thought of something.” She continued to smile. He had a fascinating face—golden skin, dark eyes, wonderful bones. And that mouth, so beautifully sculpted, even if it did tend to scowl. “It’s my job to think of things. And when I spotted you, I thought you looked safe. What I mean is, you didn’t strike me as the kind of man who’d be interested in…” What was a delicate way of putting it? she wondered. “Paying for pleasure.”
    He was so angry he wanted to yank her up and toss her over his lap. The idea of administering a few good whacks to that cute little butt was tremendously appealing. “And if you’d guessed wrong?”
    â€œI didn’t,”