“And your mother is wrong. Your hair is adorable.”
Her hair was a mess, and she was going to have to put it up in a wrap until she could get it fixed. “You are blind, Rene Darois.”
“I see you perfectly well, Sylvie Darois,” he replied and brushed his lips against hers before stepping back. He pulled his T-shirt over his head. “There’s a printer in my office downstairs, and I have the bid saved to my hard drive. I can change it here and it will still look the same at the office. Maybe I can get back out there.”
“I already have to go. I will be perfectly fine switching the bids. Armie will be with me.” Heaven save her from protective men. “If Charles jumps out to attack, Armie is honor bound to save me.”
Rene growled a little, but he hauled her up and into his arms. “You make fun of me at your peril.”
He tossed her on the bed, and she got the feeling her husband had a few things to do before he headed into the office. She knew she should argue with him. She should point out that Armie would be here soon, but he was gorgeous, and she could see every muscle on his chest. He toed out of his shoes and shoved those shorts down, and then she could see everything.
He’d been beautiful by candlelight. He was a work of art in the light of day.
Her mother’s cautions flew straight out of Sylvie’s head as Rene climbed onto his big bed.
“Isn’t this better?” He lowered his body to hers.
“Better than the cabin? Yes,” she replied.
“It’s better than anything,” he whispered before he kissed her.
The trouble was she was starting to agree with him.
chapter nine
Rene stared down at the reports in front of him, but he couldn’t truly think about anything but Sylvie.
Being with her—making her his wife in every sense of the word—had been more satisfying than he could have imagined. He’d had sex before. He’d had girlfriends and lovers, and not a one of them had tied him up in knots the way Sylvie did.
The logical part of him wanted to believe it was because he’d always known she fit him. Even when they were children, Sylvie had been a calming presence in his life. They had always liked each other, and as they’d grown up, they’d developed a chemistry that would serve them well as partners. Like his parents had been. Good partners.
Another part of him was starting to wonder if a partnership would be enough for him. Part of him was wondering if his belief that the idea of love was nothing more than a romantic notion that could get in the way of the good partnership was complete nonsense.
Was he falling in love with his wife?
Had he always been in love with her?
His phone rang and he glanced down at the number before sliding his finger across the screen to accept the call. This was why he’d wanted Jane away from her desk. Though he was taking this call on his personal cell, Jane often walked in on him without knocking, and this wasn’t a call he wanted overheard.
“Remy, thank you for calling me back.”
Remy Guidry’s voice came over the line with a deep chuckle. “Well, when you said you needed personal security services, I’ll admit I was intrigued. Is Quaid finally making good on his promise of revenge for our last poker tournament?”
“I need a private investigator.”
“Don’t you have connections to one?” Remy’s tone had lost its joking nature. “You have an in-house investigator, right?”
The only thing his in-house “investigator” did was work with HR to run security checks. He was also one of Rene’s second cousins. Rene didn’t trust him to handle what he needed now, but Remy was beyond reproach. “I can’t trust him with this. I can’t have gossip.”
Remy had spent years in the Navy SEALs, and when he’d gotten out, he’d worked for a security firm in Dallas that had a sterling reputation.
“All right. Tell me what you need. If I can do it, I’ll handle it for you,” Remy replied. “If I can’t, I’ll find someone who will.”
“It’s about Louis. I need you to do a deep dive on him.”
There was silence on the line for a moment before Remy came back. “I thought you were going to ask me about Charles.”
He had file after file on Charles. He knew his enemy. It was time to figure out who his friend was. “Louis is developing a relationship with my mother that makes me nervous.”
“Developing a relationship? I thought they were lifelong friends.”
“I’m worried it’s becoming a romantic relationship.” He hadn’t seen it at all until Sylvie had pointed it out, but it was obvious something was going on this morning. His mother had been holding Louis’s hand when Rene had walked in, and she’d moved slightly away as though she hadn’t wanted her son to see her so close.