Jonas spoke up from beside her. “Mostly. From time to time we take on cases that involve a little more time and attention, though.”
“Like a crazy stalker?”
Jonas laid his arm on the back of the couch. There wasn’t anything blatantly sexual in the way he sat, but it seemed as if he were caging her in. She shifted a little, then grimaced when her rib cage protested the movement.
“We’ve had our share of strange cases,” he explained. “Yours isn’t the first. It wil , however, get our ful attention.”
She glanced up at Wade and noted his gaze on the arm Jonas had behind her back. She couldn’t read his expression, and that served to make her even more nervous. “And why is that?”
“Don’t you know, Gracie?” Jonas said, his voice dropping to a low murmur.
She shook her head, honestly confused, and a little turned on if she were being honest.
Wade moved closer and said, “Because you’re special.”
Gracie reached down and rubbed her cast. Her wrist was beginning to throb. She was a little bit grateful because the ache yanked her out of the sensual web Jonas and Wade so effortlessly weaved around her. She remembered the pain pil s in her purse, but nixed the idea of taking one because she hadn’t cal ed the doctor about the dosage. Besides, she had a feeling she’d need a clear head if she hoped to hold her own around the two powerful men whose entire focus was now centered on her. “Why me? What makes me so special?”
Wade sat on the other side of her and placed his hand on her thigh. She felt the heat clear through her skirt. “I’l answer that one later.” He looked at Jonas over her head. “Jonas, Gracie needs time to adjust.”
Jonas took one last drink of his water before standing and heading toward the bar. “I need to get back to work anyway. Those bil s won’t pay themselves. See you two in a little while.”
Gracie was genuinely confused now. “I thought we were going to go over the e-mails.”
Wade stroked her thigh. His smile told her he knew exactly the effect his touch had on her. “Later for that. First, we need to get a few things straight.” He paused and glanced across the room at Jonas. “Knock.”
“Right.” He tossed the bottle in the recycling bin and grinned back at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Gracie.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too. And thank you for helping Wade with my . . . problem. I real y appreciate it.”
“We’l get this guy. Don’t you worry.” He left through the interior door, putting Gracie alone with Wade. Silence fel over them. His caress on her thigh didn’t let up. The feel of him so close to her pussy sent her into orbit. She distracted herself by talking about her surroundings. “Your home is magnificent. I never would have expected you were into interior design.”
Wade cocked his head. “I’m not. My sister is the one with the creative touch. The warehouse took a lot of time and sweat, but she was very happy with the end result.”
“You have a sister?” Gracie was suddenly very alert. A chance to learn more about the man who made her body hum with pleasure was too good to pass up.
He nodded. “And a brother. Dean and Deanna are fraternal twins. Younger than me by two years.”
“What do they do for a living?”
“Dean runs his own construction company. Deanna is a registered nurse. She does interior design more as a hobby. Jonas has been trying to get her to do his apartment, but she keeps giving him the cold shoulder.”
“Why? Don’t they get along?”
He rubbed her thigh, a little higher this time. Gracie had to swal ow back the need to beg Wade to move beneath the heavy denim of her skirt.
“Like brother and sister. It’s more that Deanna likes to razz him. She can be a handful.” Suddenly he stood and held out his hand. “Come, I want to show you something.”
She squinted up at him, suspicious and a little sorry his hand was no longer teasing her to distraction. “That sounds like a line.”
He chuckled. “You’l see that too, I promise. For now I have something else to show you.”
She slid the strap of her purse over her shoulder, then hel
d out her good hand and let Wade tug her to her feet. He took her to the spiral staircase that she’d been curious about earlier. She hesitated, as if aware that when she took that first step she would be accepting more than just a look at his house. She would be accepting a part of Wade that not many people got to see. How she knew that was a mystery. Gracie looked over her shoulder. “What’s up there?”
He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose, his voice deep and smooth when he said, “I promise it’s not a pit of snakes. You’l like it.
Trust me, sweetheart.”