Read Online Wicked & Willing: Bad Girls by Leslie Kelly - Free Book Online

some immense flower-filled vases that stood as high as her chin.
    “Wonder if that’s where they stash the bodies,” she muttered.
    Mrs. Harris gave her a curious look over her shoulder, and Venus bit her lip.
    When Troy informed Mrs. Harris they wanted to step into Max’s office for a drink, the woman took them there, telling Venus she’d be back shortly to show her to her rooms.
    “Rooms?” Venus said when she and Troy were once again alone in an office that was bigger than the apartment she’d grown up in. She walked around it, trailing her fingertips across the spines of dozens of leather-bound books lining built-in mahogany shelves. The room was furnished with exquisitely detailed antique furniture; she was almost afraid to sit down.
    “There are some nice guest suites upstairs. I’m sure Max has left instructions for you to be given one of them.”
    “Do you think he told the servants…” She lowered her head and glanced away.
    He leaned a hip against a brown leather sofa, watching her, looking as comfortable in these surroundings as anyone born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Unlike Venus, in her too-skimpy, too-tight shorts and her suggestive shirt, who probably looked like she should have come in through the service entrance.
    “Told them what?” Troy asked. “Who you are? Or, who you might be?”
    She nodded, hoping he’d say no, that she wouldn’t have to act out this charade in front of a bunch of servants who might very well have known Mr. Longotti’s long-lost son. The last thing she needed was to be watched by every person in the place, her every move evaluated, her every word analyzed.
    “I doubt it’s common knowledge,” Troy said, making her hopes rise. “But I would imagine Mrs. Harris knows. She’s worked for Max for decades.”
    She sighed and glanced at the closed door through which the housekeeper had exited. “She was awfully nice. Do you think she knows…knew…Max’s son?”
    He nodded. “I would imagine.”
    “Great,” she muttered. “No wonder she was friendly.”
    “So,” he said, raising a questioning brow, “you’re trying to tell me you’re really not anxious to be greeted as the prodigal granddaughter?”
    She snorted and shot him a look telling him just how stupid he was even to have asked. He didn’t seem offended. Instead, he walked toward her, crossing the room in a few long strides. His hard body did lovely things for the well-tailored suit.
    Though she’d more often dated men who wore jeans and leather, there was something intoxicating about seeing a thoroughly male animal—with an occasional hint of wildness in his eyes—wrapped up in an elegant, sophisticated package like Troy’s conservative gray suit. It almost challenged a woman, as if luring her into stepping closer to a beautiful but caged tiger. Until the woman found out the cage door was open and the magnificent animal ready to spring.
    She’d tried to tell herself Troy Langtree was a stuffed shirt. But she couldn’t erase what had happened on the balcony when they first met. He’d been smooth, charming, intense. Sexy as pure sin. His kiss had completely seduced her. While safe in his arms, she’d wanted to make love with him more than she’d wanted to draw another breath.
    Just because he’d repressed that part of himself ever since finding out who she was didn’t mean it no longer existed. She saw it in his eyes, in the self-assured way he carried that long, lean body. For some wicked reason, it only made her more determined to find it again. Someday, when she had her confidence back.
    “Are you curious about him?” Troy asked. “Max’s son?”
    Crossing her arms tightly over her chest, Venus forced herself to take a deep breath. She sat on the arm of a high, wing-backed chair and feigned nonchalance. “I suppose. Wouldn’t anyone be?”
    Instead of answering, he gestured toward a massive wooden desk near one of the huge arched windows overlooking the side lawn. The