Page 61 of Secrets & Desires
“I guess the apple fell far fromthattree.”
Nox nodded. “Very far. Sandor is one of the best men I’ve everknown.”
She smiled fondly and pulled him back against her, kissing the top of his head, running her hands down hischest.
“You likeeverybody.”
He laughed. “Yeah.” He lifted himself off her and, with much splashing, turned tofaceher.
“I like you best.” He pulled her to him, His hand gathered up the damp hair from her neck, the other slipped between her legs. She sighed at his touch as he buried his face in her neck. He pulled the plug out and as the water drained away, they wrapped themselves around each other, tangled limbs, making love until they were both exhausted, laughing, and sweating on the bathroomfloor.
Later,as Livia slept, Nox went over what she had said.Yeah, this was going to be complicated.Back in the day when his family had died, DNA profiling wasn’t such a big thing, but now, he wondered if it would help in any way. Could he have his family exhumed and their skeletons tested? What would it prove? God, this was so confusing, but he knew in his bones that something was wrong about the accepted storyline. It was only now he had found the courage to acknowledge that he believed his father didn’t kill his mother and brother. It just wasn’t the man he had grown up with. Not even a psychotic break was believable. Tynan Renaud wasn’t a man who got depressed—he worked the problem and found a fix.No.There was no way he would kill Gabriella… Nox’s mother was the love of Tynan’s life, just as Livia was Nox’s. For a horrible moment, he pictured himself shooting Livia in the stomach and watching her die a slow, agonizingdeath.
“God, stop,” he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes to scratch the image from his brain. Focus on the beginning. His father, mother, and brother had been shot dead. Who would have wanted to kill his family? Jesus, he knew why the police had questioned him for hours, he still remembered theincessantjabs.
Who did you hire to doit,Nox?
Did you want your inheritancethatmuch?
Why’d you did you do it,Noxxyboy?
It dawned on him then that even the police didn’t buy Tynan Renaud as a murderer. Why hadn’t they pursued that line of thinking even after they’d cleared Nox of allblame?
Someone must have asked them to drop it. A shock ran through him. God, yes. That must be it. Someone paid the police off. It wouldn’t be unheard of.Butwhy?
He could rule Sandor out then, to his relief. Sandor might be rich now because of his own hard work, but there was no way he would have been able to afford the payoff the cops would expect. Which left Roan, Amber, and Odelle. Odelle he ruled out immediately—the woman maybe an odd ball but she truly loved Nox and hisfamily.
He winced when he thought of Amber and Roan. They had the money, certainly, and the influence…but whywould…
God.Did Amber blame him for Ariel’s death and have his family killed because of it? He shook his head.No way.No way could Amber keep that secret for twenty years. But the thought kept naggingathim.
“Nox?”
Livia looked up sleepily from the bed and he went to her, lying down beside her. She stroked his face. “Areyouokay?”
“I am. Just thinking about what we’re abouttodo.”
Livia smiled, her cheek adorably crumpled from the pillow. “Sexytimes?”
Nox chuckled softly. “I actually meant our little sleuthing adventure, but I like yourthinking.”
He moved on top of her as she rolled onto her back and wrapped her legs around him. “We’re going to make everything okay again,” she said softly, “I promisewewill.”
And Noxbelievedher.
