Read Online OnlyatTheCavern by Anna Alexander - Free Book Online Page B

shared was gone forever. Even if they remained friends, as she hoped, that
deep level of communication was a loss she grieved as strongly as a death of a
loved one.
    She reached for the packet of tissues in the glove box and
swiped at her eyes. No sense crashing her car because she couldn’t see the
road.
    Once she was safely ensconced in the comfort of her home,
she was going to bust open a bottle of wine and toast the end of a beautiful
friendship with the honor it deserved.

Chapter Four
     
    “Captain DeWinter.” A feminine voice made the skin across
the back of his neck tingle as if she had caressed him with the tip of her
fingernail. “What a pleasant surprise.”
    Fuck.
    He’d recognize that voice anywhere. Sexy, foreign, and far
too smug for his liking. Damn it. The swallow of Jack Daniels lodged in his
throat and for half a second played tag with the insides of his nostrils before
sliding back into his gullet.
    He had thought he was hidden deep enough within the bowels
of The Cavern to avoid detection. He should have known better.
    “Mrs. Kilsgaard,” he said, then turned to face the owner of
the club.
    Amaryllis Kilsgaard stood so close to him that if she took a
deep breath, her breasts would press into his chest. As was her fashion, she
was dressed for sin in a royal-blue halter dress that displayed a generous
amount of cleavage accentuated by a sapphire the size of a silver dollar resting
above the cleft of her breasts. Lucian was either a very stupid or very
confident man to allow her to roam about in such an erection-inducing outfit
all on her own.
    “I’m so happy to see you,” she squealed and threw her arms
around his neck for a hug.
    Happy was right, she practically vibrated with glee. Her
lavender eyes sparkled and she bounced on the balls of her feet as if she had
just received the best present in the world.
    A normal man might have been flattered by her enthusiasm,
but in his experience with Mrs. Kilsgaard the only reason she’d have for being
so excited to see him was she was up to something. She seemed to have a sixth
sense about people that was damned eerie, and usually it concerned him.
    She reached out with her hand to smooth an invisible wrinkle
from the lapel of his blazer. “Would it be fair to assume you are here in
search of what you need?”
    Yes. Maybe. Hell, he didn’t know anymore.
    The first time he had walked through The Cavern’s door was
when he had been on the trail of a vigilante crime fighter named the Claymore,
who at the time he had believed to be Lucian. He wasn’t, but before Marco left
without the information he had come for, Amaryllis had predicted that he would
return when he was in search of what he needed. Whatever it was she believed he
needed, he hadn’t a clue, but now here he was, skulking in the corners, nursing
a drink and mustering up the courage to face whatever was to be found up the
grand staircase and inside the playrooms. Specifically he was looking for Mistress
Jasmina.
    “I see I am correct,” he heard Amaryllis say and felt heat
sear his cheeks as he realized he’d been caught staring up at the second-floor
landing.
    “I’m not sure what you mean.” He took a sip of his drink.
“I’ve been ordered on a temporary vacation and thought I’d, uh, I’d stop in for
a…” He trailed off as she looked upon him with pity curling down her lips and a
shake of her head at his lame attempt at finding an excuse as to why he was
there. “I don’t know why I’m here.”
    She looped her arm around his elbow and hugged it against
her breast. “There, there, Captain. Allow me to help clear that stubborn,
male-addled induced fog cluttering your mind. I heard you were recently
injured.”
    “Where did you hear that?” Only those in the department knew
of the incident.
    “Oh, please.” She batted her lashes. “Between the Chameleon
and the Claymore, very little happens with the people I care about without me
knowing.”
    “Why should you care