Page 16 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
He looked around his home again, this time with more attention. ‘It was a short-time thing.’
‘But she decorated with thoughts of living here.’
The look he gave her was one of surprise, but he shook it off. ‘Guest bedroom,’ he repeated.
Interesting. Genieve followed him with that same predatory walk, but the carpet was like clouds underneath her feet. She wasn’t a predator at heart. She was more of a kitten.
She glanced into darkened rooms as they passed. ‘Were you here when I called?’
They were in McLean, Virginia. It was right across the Potomac from DC and one of the higher-end real-estate markets in the region. The drive in the middle of the night hadn’t been bad, but commuting in the daytime would be a bear. Although she could see him blending in with commuters on the Metro. He’d pick up all kinds of information as he sat on the trains, quietly watching and analysing the other riders.
‘I was at my office.’
‘Burning the candle at both ends? You know what they say about all work and no play.’ She put her purse on the dresser beside the door. The guest bedroom was lovely, no doubt due to the dumped decorator. She didn’t like it so much any more. The place needed more colour, more flair.
‘I stay there sometimes during the week. Trouble always seems to pop up during the overnight hours.’
And she counted as trouble. Some of Genieve’s pleasure faded.
‘You sleep at your office?’
‘It has a sofa and a shower. That’s all I need.’ He put her suitcase on a chair on the far side of the room. ‘Will this do?’
She’d woken him tonight from an uncomfortable sleep on an office sofa. For some reason, that didn’t sit well with her. ‘It’s fine. Thank you.’
His hands settled on his hips. ‘The bathroom is across the hallway, and you saw the kitchen. Use whatever you need. We’ll figure out tomorrow what we’re going to do from here on in.’
Tomorrow. She’d been trying not to think about that. ‘What if that tape got out, Brody?’
She’d been locked in the bathroom; she didn’t know what had happened with those reporters and their damned camera. Could video be uploaded directly to the internet from those things?
With only a bedlamp on, Brody’s cheekbones seemed to sharpen in the shadows. ‘I’ll be working that angle tonight. Hopefully, you and Samuel kept them busy enough that they didn’t have time to send it out.’
He ran a hand through his hair. It was more rumpled than she’d ever seen it, but she liked it. She liked seeing the human cracks in his controlling façade. ‘Believe it or not, right now if we can’t get possession of that video card, it might actually be best for Morgan to have it.’
Genieve pressed her lips together. She doubted Nina would agree with that, and she certainly didn’t. How many times would the police watch it, claiming they were analysing the evidence? Would it be just Morgan? Police techs? Would there be a viewing party with popcorn and dimmed lights?
Brody stepped closer. Whatever was on her face, he read it this time. ‘I’m on it, Jenny.’
‘I know.’
She was caught off guard when he cupped her cheek. The touch was fleeting – there and then gone – but the warmth spread into her chest and made her lungs squeeze.
‘Let me know if you need anything,’ he said as he moved to the door. ‘I’ll be up.’
He left her alone, and she covered the spot where he’d touched her with her hand. She let out a shaky breath. Prickly and unsettled as their relationship was, she felt safe here. Protected. Yet she wasn’t fooling herself. The gossip was coming…the gossip about the senator and the redhead. She touched the tips of her hair.
She needed a shower.
She unzipped her bag, pulled out her toiletries and crossed the hallway. The bathroom was just as pristine as the rest of the place, with matching towels and tiny fish-shaped soaps in a bowl. She glowered at the fish. She was tempted to flush them down the toilet, but stopped when she realised that decorator girl hadn’t made the grade.
What kind of a woman did he go for?
Genieve sighed. She shouldn’t be looking to start any more rumours.
With a twist of the controls she started the shower to let it warm, and began stripping off her clothes: the dress that had been on the floor, the bra that had made Metro PD gawk, and, finally, the panties Brody had stashed in his pocket.
They suddenly felt intimate, moulding to her shape and clinging to her body. If she hadn’t asked for them back, what would he have done with them?
