“Yup.” He paral el parked, then cut the engine, before turning toward her. “What do you think?”
She didn’t want to be rude, but she just couldn’t imagine anyone living in such a rundown old warehouse. “I think it looks like it should be bul dozed.”
He winked and opened his door. “Exactly.” He exited the truck and jogged around to her side and swung open her door. Cool September air floated over her skin as Wade reached in and unhooked her seat belt, then careful y helped her to the ground before grabbing her purse for her.
She slung it over her shoulder, and then Wade took her hand, entwining their fingers as if they’d been doing it for years. Gracie tried not to be too obvious when she inhaled his woodsy, male scent. God, the man smel ed delicious. Like a sinful piece of chocolate. She never could resist the dark, creamy confection. She tried to tug her hand out of his, but he wasn’t getting the hint. “Wade,” she said his name as a warning.
“You have a problem with holding my hand, Gracie?”
Actual y, she liked feeling his hand, so strong and able, wrapped around hers. He made her feel safe. “Not real y, but . . .” She wasn’t sure what to say, how to explain her feelings. Last night he’d licked her to completion, twice. But she didn’t know where she stood with him in the bright light of day. Was last night enough for him? He hadn’t said anything about it al morning, and it was eating away at her self-confidence.
“I like touching you, Gracie. I like knowing you’re close,” he said, his voice soft and inviting, “so quit sounding so harassed and let me have my way, wil you?”
A little thril went through her. Okay, so, he wasn’t through with her. Good to know. She kept her hand where it was; arguing with him would get her nowhere anyhow. The man put new meaning to the term hardheaded.
After grabbing her laptop from the floor of the truck, Wade used his elbow to shut the door and made his way up the steps. A large, dark-haired man suddenly appeared at the front door of the warehouse. Large might be the wrong word. The man was huge! Every bit
as big as Wade, but somehow more . . . dangerous. Gracie tightened her hold on Wade, as if he were somehow her savior.
The stranger held the door for them to enter, his lips curving upward in a sexy grin. “Our little damsel in distress, I take it.”
Wade was silent as he took her into a large living area. She was so enthral ed by the sumptuous décor, so incongruent with the outside, she nearly lost track of the conversation. “Oh my, this is beautiful.”
The spacious living area held only the most necessary pieces of furniture. In fact, Gracie suspected the room wasn’t quite as large as it appeared. But the clever way it’d been decorated made it seem both roomy and cozy. High ceilings and white oak hardwood floors complemented the Asian-style, burgundy, L-shaped couch and matching round chairs. The steel appliances in the kitchen area added to the sleek modern style. She hadn’t figured on Wade’s being into interior design, and she especial y hadn’t expected the ugly warehouse could have such an exquisite interior. She was suddenly curious where the steel spiral staircase off to one side might lead. His bedroom? Don’t even go there, girl.
Wade led her to the plush sofa. She sat down and pul ed her purse into her lap. Both men remained standing. She felt on display with their gazes locked onto her so intently. Usual y she liked to blend into the background. It made her uncomfortable to be noticed by a man. For whatever reason, she didn’t real y mind being the object of Wade’s and Jonas’s attention.
“Gracie Baron, meet Jonas Phoenix. He’s a friend, as wel as the other half of Phoenix-Wade Investigations.”
Gracie looked up. Way up. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure the two men could hear it. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Phoenix.”
“It’s Jonas, and it’s definitely my pleasure. The circumstances are rather unfortunate, though.”
She crossed her legs at the ankles and adjusted her skirt, more to give herself something to do than anything else. “Jonas then.”
Jonas smiled as he moved to a long, oak bar that ran along one wal . “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you.” She watched the man help himself to a bottle of water and frowned. “Do you both live here?”
Jonas tossed a bottle to Wade before answering. “No, but our business is run out of the connecting building next door, so I tend to stop in a lot.”
Wade unscrewed the top of his water and took a long drink. “But you’l be sure to knock on the interior door from now on, right?”
“Of course.” Jonas winked at her. “I’m house-trained, I promise.”
She was intensely curious about the two men. Private investigators—it seemed so exciting. “How did you two meet?”
“Special Forces. We ran a few ops together. Been BFFs ever since.”
Wade rol ed his eyes. “Christ, don’t start, Jonas.”
Jonas chuckled and moved to sit on the couch next to her. Wade stayed standing, his watchful gaze making her acutely aware of her banged up face. She’d tried to cover the bruises with makeup, but there was only so much cosmetics could hide. Gracie had the insane urge to run to the bathroom and check her appearance. How annoying was that? She shouldn’t even care what Wade thought of her looks. Just because he’d pleasured her the night before, that didn’t mean they were a couple. He probably had no intention of even touching her again. She should be fine with that. Her life was too insane as it was. She didn’t need to add a relationship to the mix. Now, if only she could convince her body, maybe she could stop craving the man for like five minutes!
“Phoenix-Wade Investigations.” Gracie liked the name. The two men together made for a potent combination. She’d bet her last dol ar they had plenty of female clients, too. “What exactly do you guys do?”
Wade was the first to answer. “Domestic cases mostly. Electronic surveil ance.”
“So, like, cheating spouses?”