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“You could come here and give me a kiss to thank me,” Owen suggested and patted the bed next to him.
“Oh, I could?” She gave him a flirty smile but got up from her chair and went to the bed, where she sat on the edge, her hip bumping up against his. She leaned closer. “Thank you,” she whispered and kissed his lips, soft and slow. “And thank you for bringing me here.” She kissed him again because the place was spectacular.
They were in the penthouse suite of a recently renovated historic hotel. Owen had insisted that she deserved a treat after the past month of chasing down criminals and to celebrate the success of her article. She liked his idea of a reward. The hotel was pure luxury from the glamorous art nouveau style lobby to the expensive bottle of champagne, chilling in an ice bucket. Outside the window was a view of the beach, ocean, and twilight sky. She couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be.
Her second kiss shifted from playful to passionate, his tongue chasing into her mouth and tangling with hers. She gave a little sigh as she pressed her body against his. In a rapid move, he shifted them so she was underneath him and his leg was pressed between her thighs. She could get used to this.
“I like you sprawled out under me,” he murmured as his lips moved down her neck. His fingers were playing with her hair, and her body was coming alive in all the right places.
“I like this, too,” she said. Her hands were tugging his shirt free from his waistband. She’d just gotten her hands on the smooth, warm skin of his back when her phone rang.
“Ignore that,” he said as he nipped at her ear.
She was tempted to, but… “It’s Helen’s ringtone. I better answer it.”
“She’ll leave a message,” he said, not letting her up.
“Owen, please.” She lightly pushed on his chest.
He let out a frustrated sound but rolled off her. She jumped up and dashed across the room to her phone and took the call.
“Hello.” Her first word came out a little breathless.
“Am I calling at a bad time?” Helen asked.
“No, I was…just away from my phone. That’s all.” Across the room, Owen had rolled onto his stomach and was watching her, a smirk on his face. “Everything okay?”
“It’s great. I wanted to tell you that Dad got promoted to editor.” Helen was gushing with pride. “He’s taking Jude’s place, and my mother and I are thrilled. He won’t be actively on the crime beat anymore, which I hope means he’ll be safer and have more time for his grandbaby.”
“It’ll definitely be safer,” Sophie agreed. She didn’t mention that Micky would put in long hours as editor. “Congratulations to him.” She was happy for her mentor. He deserved the promotion.
“After what felt like forever of our lives being screwed up, everything is getting better,” Helen kept talking and Sophie didn’t have the heart to cut her friend off. “Ethan said that Mason is singing like a bird about Wilson and his crime, but since Mason’s just out of a coma, I don’t know if the authorities will consider his testimony reliable. Still, it’s got to be worth something.”
“It had one definite bonus. Mason being able to talk at all made Wilson disappear.” The museum director had run for it. He hadn’t been to work, his home was empty, and no one seemed to know where he was. He was in the wind, clearly afraid of what might happen to him. Sophie couldn’t help feeling a bit of schadenfreude at having him experience for a while what he’d forced Sophie and her friends to deal with when they’d gone into hiding. “That’s something to be grateful for.”
“So true, and I’m finally home,” Helen said. “It feels good. Ethan’s still a little nervous about being at the apartment, but with Wilson out of the picture, he’s deemed it safe enough. Poor Julia, though. I wish she could come out of hiding.”
“Me, too. Maybe with Sean’s assistance, she’ll breathe a little easier,” Sophie said. Julia didn’t feel comfortable coming back out into the open with Wilson on the loose. With Helen and Sophie, Wilson’s goal had been to stop them before they could expose what he’d done. Now that the truth was out, he didn’t really have anything to gain by going after them. But he still had reason to target Julia given that she’d taken his children away from him. Until Wilson was caught, they’d decided it was safest for her to stay hidden. She’d have protection though, now, or at least the option of having it. Ethan had managed to track down his buddy, Sean, who’d agreed to safeguard Julia and the kids. All she had to do was take the step to call him. Sophie hoped she’d do that soon.
“What do you think Sam98’s connection to all this is?” Helen asked, clearly settling in for a long chat. Sophie shot a look of apology to Owen. “Yeah, he doctored the time stamp on that footage from the museum, but there must be more to it than that if Quinn was so interested in it. I just can’t figure it out. That’s the big loose end for me after reading your fabulous article.”
“I don’t know either, but it’s where I’m going to focus my energy next. Quinn wanted that flash drive pretty badly. Not sure why. There’s nothing really incriminating on it about her, but she may have wanted it for another reason. I just don’t know what yet.” Sophie hadn’t been able to sort out the significance of the doctored video. She was starting to think it was more about who Sam98 was than the video itself. She was going to have to do some serious digging because there might be a story in exposing him. That could reveal all sorts of interesting, criminal activity. Newsworthy stuff.
She was thinking about that when Owen rose from the bed in an agile move and came toward her, his expression predatory. Her heart rate shot up in a good way. “Helen, I’ve got to go. Talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up before Helen could respond, letting the phone drop out of her hand as Owen reached her.
His arms went around her as he pulled her tight against him, allowing her to feel his arousal through his trousers.
“Come to bed with me,” he growled as he rubbed against her. “We’ll open the champagne and—”
Her phone rang again. Damn. It was still right next to her hand, so she looked at the screen. “It’s Luna. I really should answer, but I promise to be quick. Three minutes.” He peered down at her, raising one eyebrow. “I promise. Then, I’ll shut it off.”
“Two minutes,” he said, and it was clear he meant it.
“Hi, Luna. I’m sorry, I can’t talk for long, I’m kind of busy—”
“Sophie,” Luna almost squealed. “I had to call and thank you. Since your article was published, I’ve had so many inquiries about my retreat. People are totally fascinated with the story about you and Owen hiding out here while you investigated.”
“It was the perfect place for us to be.” She smiled at Owen, who could hear the conversation. Being at Luna’s retreat had brought them together. Sophie would always have a soft spot for the place where they’d fallen in love.
