Guilty Passion Read Free Page A

the noise wash over him, and tried not to think. A woman came in and sat at a table not far from him, looking about her with a coolly speculative air. He felt her gaze light on him, assessing his crisp dark hair that he hadn’t had cut in a while, the deep blue eyes under the stark line of his brows, the jut of a straight nose and stubborn chin. Her interested eyes slid over his broad shoulders and taut torso to the long legs stretched out before him, then returned to his face. She smiled.
    It was an invitation, and for just a moment he was tempted. She was blonde, more than pretty, and made up discreetly rather than obviously. She looked as though she might have some intelligence, and the prospect of a pleasant hour or two of forgetfulness was definitely an attractive one.
    She slipped off the jacket she wore, and shook back her hair, a dangling earring catching the light. It stirred a memory, and Ethan shut off his mind, placed his empty glass on the counter and got up, striding past her without a glance. He had been putting it off, keeping it at bay, for long enough, he told himself as he pressed the button for the elevator. Now was his time for grief.

Chapter Two
    After a sleepless night, Ethan breakfasted early and went for a walk. Sometimes the noise and bustle of cities stimulated and even refreshed him, but today he found himself longing for the tranquility and slower pace of life on the island where he had made his home for several years. Even in the tourist season, when thousands of visitors spent their days lazing on palm-fringed beaches and their nights dancing to disco music or “authentic” island bands using electric guitars, Sheerwind, several hundred miles off the east coast of Australia, to the northwest of New Zealand, was still close to being a subtropical paradise. It had most of the amenities of civilized life, with few of the drawbacks. There was even a daily air service to Brisbane and Sydney.
    Usually when he visited the mainland, he would nose around computer shops and software outlets to see what was new in the business, and take home magazines and books on the subject. But today he headed for the oasis of Hyde Park. Maybe later he would feel like picking up the threads.
    Even as he walked under the green trees, with the rumble of traffic a little abated by distance, he knew that again he was putting off something that had to be done, and was annoyed with himself for his procrastination. It wasn’t like him to dither around. He had always faced up to whatever life dealt him. Before he returned home he had to see Celeste again and find out just what had happened to his stepbrother. He owed Alec that much.
    He decided against phoning first, although it might have been more considerate. He wasn’t sure just how much consideration his brother’s widow deserved. And he had a sneaking though admittedly unsubstantiated suspicion that she might make some excuse to avoid him. He didn’t want to take that chance.
    So he gave her until ten o’clock, then pressed the bell outside the flat.
    It was several minutes before she came to the door, tying the belt of a white satin robe as she wordlessly let him in. She flung back a long hank of hair that hung across her shoulder. The gesture reminded him of the girl in the hotel bar, and he felt a renewed surge of the anger that he thought he had exorcised last night.
    He said, “Did I get you out of bed?” He meant to sound merely polite, but was unable to keep an edge of sarcasm from intruding.
    Her flush was noticeable because she still had that pale, washed-out look that had shocked him yesterday. She turned away from him. “Aunt Ellie insisted on giving me a sleeping pill. I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded tired.
    Stiffly, he said, “I should have phoned first.”
    â€œIt’s all right. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll have a shower and get dressed. Or. . . are you in a hurry?”
    â€œNo