In Deep (The Deep Duet 0.50)

She ate in the kitchen alone and washed up. But she waited an hour before she dared to venture into the rest of the condo. When they’d first arrived, he took her directly to the enormous guest bathroom, handed her a robe and towels, and pulled out shampoos and soaps for her.

Admittedly, she’d taken her sweet time in the shower. He had one of those multiple-head showers that pretty much massaged her whole aching body. On her ribs, that had hurt, but when she’d angled her body away from the main showerhead, everything else felt like heaven.

The kitchen opened up to a massive great room on the left. And on the right was a room with an arched entryway. She had noted the discreetly placed security cameras when they’d first arrived. This condo was all white and gray and steel. Very modern. Lacking warmth. Very much a bachelor pad. But the taste was impeccable if not cold.

Feet bare, padding across the kitchen floor, Diana walked toward the room on the right. On the walls, there were several pieces of art. If he was hiding something, these pieces would be the perfect cover for a safe.

But before she even had a chance to look behind the first one, she heard footsteps. Or maybe she imagined those? She went to touch the picture frame again, and then she saw the telltale shadow.

Whipping around, she swallowed a squeak. “Oh my God. You scared me.”

Rafe leaned against the entryway to the room. He wore nothing but pajama bottoms that hung low on his hips.

Holy hell.

The man was, in a word, ripped. She stared at his chest for a long moment before gathering her thoughts.

“Sorry, I got a glass of water and I was just trying to get the lay of my surroundings.” She nodded toward the painting. “Is that a Daniel Decker? It’s beautiful. It almost looks like an original.”

Rafe nodded slowly. “It is an original.”

Diana stared at him. He had a freaking original Daniel Decker painting? The British artist had come into fashion in the late eighties. It was said the royal family even had one of his pieces. There was no way someone normal owned a Daniel Decker. They went for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Oh shit. I didn’t mean to touch the frame. I assumed—”

His lips did that twisting half-smile thing again, and her skin flushed warm. Okay, him smiling at her was going to be a problem. She had to get a handle on her response to him. He wasn’t the first man to ever smile at her.

Yeah, but he’s the first one to look this good.

“It’s okay. I have motion sensor alarms set for the living room. I should have warned you. The moment you set foot in here, you set off one of them. You can get as close to the painting as you like.”

“Holy cow,” she muttered. “Motion sensors. Wow. Though, I guess with an original Daniel Decker, you probably should have motion sensors. You should probably get a whole like laser-beam situation going.”

And again with that smile. “Would you crawl under it like Catherine Zeta-Jones?”

For a full two seconds, she stared at him. Was he flirting? Because her body certainly thought he was flirting, the way she practically melted into a puddle of hormones. “While I do enjoy a pair of good yoga pants, I’m not quite so desperate to get a look at a Daniel Decker. If I’d known, I’d have peered in here through the dining room.”

“No big deal. The painting belonged to my parents.”

“Wow. Were your parents in the mob?”

His laugh was rich and deep, and it poured over her like warm brandy. “No. It’s actually a pretty cool story. My father won the painting in a card game. He and my mom died when I was sixteen. This and an Abigail Noir photo are the only things of value they left behind. My grandmother refused to sell them even when money was tight.”

“I’m so sorry. Here I am opening up old wounds.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Come on. I’ll take you back to bed.”

Why, oh why, did her synapses fry at the sound of that? No, you idiot, he doesn’t mean he’s taking you back to his bed.

She had to get a grip. Because as attractive as he was, it was never going to happen. And before this was all over, she was going to lie, cheat, and steal from him to get her answers.