Read Online Temptation Rising by A.C. Arthur - Free Book Online

her arms, sliding into the front seat without hesitation. Rome held the door to keep her from closing it on him. Leaning forward, he got close enough to touch his lips lightly to her ear.
    “I didn’t hear you say no, Kalina.”
    Her body tightened; the only movement was the rise and fall of her chest. She thought he was going to kiss her or at least try to. But he didn’t. He simply stayed right there, inhaling her scent, letting every nuance of her filter through him. She hadn’t said no and wasn’t saying it now. He doubted she could any more than he.
    Finally, she sighed. “Good night, Mr. Reynolds.”
    Rome pulled back, closed her door, and watched as she pulled off. “A very good night to you, too, Ms. Harper.”
    *   *   *
     
    “Where’d you find this?” Nick asked the minute Rome slipped into the backseat of the limousine.
    Tapping the glass, Rome gave the signal for Eli to drive. “The collar of my jacket.”
    “Tonight?”
    He nodded tightly, remembering the moment he’d slid his hands over the lapels and under the back collar. The device was small, intricate, designed to be missed upon inspection. For a minute he’d thought it was a pin left in by the cleaners until tiny hairs on the back of his neck had stood on end.
    “It’s tracking you. Why didn’t you destroy it?” Nick asked, still fingering the small diamond-like piece.
    “Because whoever’s bold enough to get close to my clothes wants to get close to me. I figure it only makes sense to oblige.” Rome might be calm in his approach, but when pushed he definitely pushed back. If somebody wanted to know where he was, he wasn’t going to make it hard to find him.
    “Let the games begin,” Nick added, pushing the left side of his jacket back just enough to reveal the gun he had holstered there.
    Rome rarely carried a weapon to functions like this, but Nick was always strapped. So there was no surprise seeing the gun and there was no doubt his friend would use it the minute he felt it was necessary. “We’re keeping a low profile tonight. Ralph Kensington needs this fund-raiser to go well.”
    “And I know how much you like Ralph Kensington.”
    Rome hated the man, hated the stench of his lies and duplicity like a kid hated visits to the dentist. Still, it helped to keep up pretenses. Besides, Jace Maybon—the Pacific Faction Leader—had picked up a Rogue scent when Kensington visited LA last year. They were positive Kensington wasn’t a shifter, but he’d obviously been in contact with one. Whether the well-known legislator knew that or not had yet to be proven. With that piece of information, Rome made a point to keep in close contact with the man who tonight would announce his run for the US Senate.
    “Kensington’s up to something. He knew Baines personally—they gave a dinner together earlier this year.”
    “You think he may know something about Baines’s murder?” Nick’s normally cultured tone was slipping, the wild edge to his voice revealing the animal within. It was a subtle change but one Rome knew well.
    Rome shook his head, his fingers tapping on the door handle. “I’m not going on what I think right now. I know that Baines and his daughter had their skulls crushed then were ripped to pieces by something the medical examiner could only describe as a vicious, sharp weapon. That’s not a normal murder technique. Jace picked up the Rogue scent on Kensington last summer. When I saw Kensington a few weeks ago, I picked it up as well.”
    Nick slammed a fist on the seat. “You should have said something then. We could have defused the situation sooner.”
    “I’m not killing Kensington. I want answers.”
    “If he’s in cahoots with Rogues he’s not likely to give you answers, Rome.”
    Rome’s head snapped toward Nick, sharp canines pricking his lower lip. “He won’t have a choice.”
    The Faction Leaders were scheduled to meet next weekend, the senator’s murder bringing all of them here. The