Under His Cover-nook Read Free Page B

to her side and collapsed on the bed. He reared up, pressed a kiss to her cheek, then, lay his head atop her breast and fell asleep.   
    Early the next morning as he slept, she slipped out of the bed and fumbled around in the dark for her clothes. Never in her life had she experienced anything like being with Rhys. From the moment she met him, she knew it would be that way. The connection between them palpable from the time their gazes collided. Had she ever been more sated and complete? Or so alone? On a quiet sob she leaned against the closed bathroom door.
    She’d agreed to this. He made it perfectly clear he couldn’t offer her anything more than one night. She straightened, stood in front of the mirror, and tucked her hair into a haphazard bun. Well, at least she had tonight. Nothing and no one could take that from her, and she’d treasure it always and continue to admire him from afar.
    Jade picked up her shoes, turned out the light and opened the door. After one long look at Rhys, allowing her gaze to travel the length of his body and back up again, she grabbed her purse and walked toward the door. But she stopped, her hand hovering over the knob. She went to the desk, took a pen and paper, scratched out a small note, then placed it beside his head on her now empty pillow. With her head held high, she stepped out and quietly shut the door.
     
     

 

Chapter Three
     
    October
    Jade opened the door to her office and was taken aback. “Just what the hell are you doing here?”
    The lady who sat in the lobby behind the receptionist desk replied, “I do work here, don’t I?”
    She smiled, adjusted the bag on her shoulder, and kicked the door closed. “Yes, but aren’t you supposed to be on your second honeymoon?”
    “Yeah, well. I needed to give you and Nicole the heads up about these cases before I leave on vacation. She just left, and I was waiting for you.”
    French Vanilla coffee, Karyn’s favorite, brewed in a coffee pot in the corner. Jade poured herself a cup. “I could have read through your notes.”
    “Well, you know me,” she said and smiled.
    She sniffed the contents before taking a sip. “Always the mother hen.” They walked into her office where she flicked on the light and tossed her coat and purse on the small sofa. She sat in the tan colored chair behind her desk and crossed her legs. “What’s up?”
    Karyn held the folder out for Jade to take. “Lieutenant Governor Rhys Cunningham.”
    Air froze in her chest and she cleared her throat. “What about him?”
    “You know he and Zechariah are really good friends.”
    “I should hope so. He was best man in your wedding.” Jade definitely couldn’t help but think back to her friend’s nuptials and picture his handsome face. Actually, handsome wasn’t quite the word to describe him. Fine. Good-looking. Irresistible. A sweet red ripe strawberry dipped in devastatingly rich chocolate. Mercy . And his body. Let’s not forget his body, the way it melded with hers, the ecstasy.
    “Well, he’s receiving death threats.”
    Jade sat up and put her coffee cup down. “Are you serious?”
    “Yes. And it’s our job to find out who it is and why. Well, yours actually.”
    Jade flipped the file open and began to read the background information sheet Karyn completed. Her heart thundered in her chest. “Why hasn’t he gone to the police?”
    “It’s an election year. He’s trying to keep it low profile for now. He doesn’t want to get law enforcement involved unless he really has to. Plus, he doesn’t want to give his competitors fuel for their campaign.”
    A newspaper clipping from the previous weekend with a picture of the lieutenant governor fell out of the folder and landed face up on her desk. In it he was dressed in a black tuxedo, almost identical to what he’d worn the night their worlds collided in passion, his face etched in a smile. And of course, he had an attractive, scantily clad debutante on his arm. An ugly red