“Good morning, everyone,” Noah’s deep, cheerful voice sounded from behind Cole as he entered the reception area, followed by a quick inhalation as he obviously caught sight of Melodie. “Holy sh—” he cut himself off. Cole turned to see his shocked outburst replaced with a wolfish grin. “Who in the heck is this impostor? Certainly not our sweet Mel!”
A pink blush swept across her cheeks, but something much more mischievous flickered in her eyes. “Maybe I’m her naughty twin.”
“Oh, I like that,” Noah said with a too-charming laugh that grated on Cole’s nerves. Noah circled around the desk, grabbed Melodie’s hand, spun her in a circle for a full inspection, then made a low, growling sound of approval and appreciation. “You look incredible. I think I need to modify ‘sweet stuff’ to ‘hot stuff.”’
She beamed up at him. “That would definitely go with my new image.”
“Hot stuff it is,” Noah confirmed, winking playfully at her.
An odd tension settled down the nape of Cole’s neck and he was loath to acknowledge its source. Noah had always been a shameless flirt when it came to all women, yet Cole didn’t care for the way his brother was eyeing Mel’s newly revealed attributes he, himself, had ogled earlier.
He clenched his jaw in frustration and issued a stern internal lecture. He’d never been a jealous man when it came to the opposite sex, and he didn’t intend to start now with a woman he had no business lusting over.
“I’m glad you came in early, Noah,” he said, drawing his brother’s gaze back to him. “Can I see you in my office for a few minutes?”
Noah let go of Melodie’s hand and nodded. “Sure.” He followed Cole down the short hall to his office, then dropped into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “What’s up?”
Taking his own seat, Cole rolled his shoulders to ease the taught muscles stretching across his back. “Do you have time this week to do some surveillance work?”
“Yeah, I can wing it. What do you need?”
“It’s for the Russell case. I’d like you to tail Jerry Thornton and see if he’s involved with another woman and uncover whatever you can regarding his credibility.” Withdrawing a piece of paper from his blotter, he pushed it across his desk toward Noah. “Here’s his home and work address and a photo, along with other pertinent info.”
Resting an ankle over the opposite knee, Noah gave the notes a cursory glance, then slanted Cole a furtive look. “Speaking of the Russell case, your sexy, sophisticated, intelligent candidate for the charity auction is standing in the other room.”
“Who? Melodie?” he asked, his tone infused with a plausible amount of incredulity—he hoped.
Noah smirked. “No, her naughty twin.”
“Forget it,” he told his brother firmly. “I refuse to cross that professional line with my own secretary.”
“In order to cross a professional line you need to be attracted to her,” Noah drawled, insinuating as much. “Come on, Cole, she’s perfect for what you need.”
Cole’s needs were making themselves known with a vengeance. Since the moment he’d laid eyes on Melodie’s newly revealed bottom and long legs, his body had been clamoring for a more physical kind of contact. A languid dose of desire had settled beneath his skin, a nagging ache he feared would get much worse if Melodie continued her beguiling performance.
“And it’s not as though you have to sleep with her,” Noah added wryly.
Oh, but he wanted to, Cole thought, no longer shocked by his sinful thoughts where Melodie was concerned. Too easily, he could envision her sprawled on his king-sized bed, his own aroused body covering hers as his fingers sank deep into her silky hair and his mouth tasted her lips, her neck, her breasts. Oh, yeah, he wanted, and there was no sense in blatantly tempting himself with what he couldn’t have.
“Look, I refuse to put Melodie in that kind of position.” Or himself for that matter. “If, for some reason, something on the case goes wrong, I don’t want to risk losing a damn good secretary.”
Noah looked as though he was struggling not to burst out laughing at Cole’s ridiculous excuse, but managed to keep his expression composed. “Whatever you say.” Standing, he pocketed the information Cole had given him on Jerry Thornton. “I’ll get right on the surveillance and let you know what I find out.”
Cole nodded succinctly, grateful that he was no longer under his brother’s scrutiny. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
Once Noah was gone, Cole deliberately buried himself in follow-up work on current cases to keep himself occupied and busy. Unfortunately, his secretary had more distracting matters in mind. Every time she walked into his office to deliver paperwork or discuss a case report with him, his gaze strayed unerringly to her swaying hips and shapely legs as she glided toward his desk in a slow, tantalizing stride. More times than he cared to admit, he caught himself staring at the soft roundness of her breasts beneath her blouse and had even witnessed a sensuous glow in her eyes when he dared to meet her gaze. Hell, even his ears perked up when she answered the phone, just so he could listen to her speak in that soft, husky tone of voice that matched her alluring packaging.
He was completely and totally aware of Melodie, in every way imaginable. Just as she’d intended, no doubt. And with every inviting smile she cast his way, coupled with a few accidental brushes of their bodies as they passed in the hallway, she added fuel to the fiery flame burning deep inside him.
By the end of the workday, he was tied up in knots, and so mentally and physically aroused he was ready to come out of his skin with a mere whisper of a touch.
The now familiar swishing sound that accompanied Mel’s approach down the hall to his office put his unruly hormones back on full alert. With effort, he tamped down his eager response, and by the time she’d entered the spacious room, he’d schooled his features to reflect casual interest.
It had been blessedly quiet for the past hour. At a quarter after six, the front-end phone was silent, and both Noah and Jo were gone for the evening—which left him all alone with Melodie. His muscles tensed at the realization. Normally that wouldn’t be a cause for concern, considering more often than not she worked late with him, but that was before she’d turned herself into an impudent minx.
“Can I run something by you, Cole?” she asked, her tone as serious as her expression.
Ahh, business he could handle. A piece of paper in her hand legitimized her request and made his shoulders relax again. “Sure. What is it?”
“A letter.” Instead of taking one of the chairs in front of his desk, she came around to where he sat and settled herself on a cleared spot of polished mahogany to his left. “One I’d like to read to you, if that’s okay.”
She crossed one slender, stocking-clad leg over the other—in the same prim and proper way she’d done a hundred times before while taking notes for him on a case. Except she’d never sat on his desk in such a brazen manner, and she’d never worn a skirt so short it ought to be deemed illegal for all the wicked, decadent thoughts it inspired.
He leaned back in his leather chair to put much-needed distance between them. “Is this for a case?”
She
