Page 4 of Loving a Billionaire

What was it about his compliments that made her feel like a girl experiencing her first school crush? Many men had tried to dish out compliments, and she usually tossed their comments aside, knowing they were just words without meaning.

“So, what’s your specialty?” he asked.

She inhaled sharply. What was he talking about?

“You know,” he continued, sitting in the chair across from her, “Ariki wouldn’t have fixed us up if he didn’t think we would have a good time tonight.”

She about choked on her own saliva. “A... good time?”

He laughed deeply. “Yes. Isn’t that why you’re here? To entertain me?”

Talia’s mind swirled with confusion. He couldn’t possibly meanthat. Yet, what else could he mean? Did he think she was a call girl or something? That would be the biggest insult of all.

Irritation flowed through her and she bit her lip. She couldn’t ruin her cover now. She hadn’t gotten any answers about the murder, so she had to keep pretending. Of course, now she needed to figure out some kind of specialty just to keep their conversation going so that she could learn more. “Well, I give a really good mind-blowing massage.”

He continued to grin at her in his devilish way. She was sure he’d charmed many women just by smiling at them. She liked the way the corners of his perfect mouth lifted, because it made her heart thud a little quicker. The feeling wasn’t totally uncomfortable. In fact, it was almost relaxing.

She didn’t consider herself pretty in any way, but she’d had the kind of toned body the guys in college liked – physical enough to take them on at anything. Growing up with three brothers kept her in shape, and she competed with them in most sports. However, she knew even in high school, that if a guy didn’t like her for her mind, he wasn’t worth it.

Mr. Reeder would be the type of man who went out with a woman just because her beauty matched his. Then again, Talia was sure he’d be able to get any woman he wanted. All he had to do was smile.

Trying to shake away the burning interest in this man that grew inside of her like Jack’s magic beans in his fairy-tale story, she decided it was time to take control of the situation. How else would she discover if he had anything to do with Kalama Kane’s murder?

She tilted back the goblet of brandy to her mouth, and pretended to drink again. After placing it back on the coaster, she rose from the chair and walked toward him. She motioned to the chair for him to sit.

He followed her direction and sat. Hesitantly, she placed her fingers on the muscular cords of his neck, just inside his bathrobe. Warm sensations shot through her, and she bit her lip from groaning aloud. Her fingers nearly melted against his smooth skin.This is going to be harder than I thought.

Come on, Russell, you’re a cop, so start acting like one!

Dropping his shoulders, he tilted his head forward. “Umm... your fingers are magical.”

Encouraged, she smiled and rubbed his neck gently, experiencing that feeling of control she’d always enjoyed while giving massages. The clean spicy, manly scent of his body shot strange signals to her brain, and her own tension began to unwind.

She needed to start drilling him for answers. “So, Austin. Can I call you Austin?”

“Yes. I like the way it sounds when you say it.”

He was such a flirt. “So, Austin, how long have you known Ariki?”

When she pushed her fingers a little harder into his neck muscles, a deep moan escaped his throat. Against her will, shivers of delight skipped across her skin as warmth spread through her middle.Stop this insanity, Russell. He’s just a normal man...who happens to be built like Adonis and is the most handsome man I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

“Ariki was the first man I hired to work for me when I had this hotel built, and we’ve stayed friends. Of course, he’s no longer in the hotel business.”

She needed to know more. “I wonder why he wanted to set us up.”

“Because Ariki knows I don’t have time for a real relationship.” Austin chuckled. “How pathetic is it that I don’t even have time to find my own dates?”

“Has he set you up with other women?”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, who was the last girl?”

“Kalama.” His voice was lower. “But since I’d known her from my past, we were just friends. It’s too bad what happened to her. It’s hard to believe someone I was friends with was brutally murdered.”

Talia’s spirits lifted. Finally, the topic she wanted to discuss. Was it a coincidence? She’d figure that out later. Right now, she’d ask him more questions.

“Yes, Kalama’s murder came as a complete shock to all of us. It makes me wonder why anyone would want to kill her.”