Stormy Vows - Iris Johansen [88]
His crooked eyebrow arched quizzically. “What?” he asked warily.
“Put on some clothes!” she said, the annoying color rising in her cheeks again.
He chuckled. “Oh, yes, you do have a hang-up about that. I'd forgotten. Well, as I can't leave my prisoner alone, you'll have to come with me.” He strolled lazily out of the bathroom and, going to a built-in paneled closet, he slid back the door and took out a pair of dark trousers and pulled them on easily. He shrugged into a cream sport shirt and thrust his feet into a pair of Gucci loafers.
He turned and raised an eyebrow at Jane. “Satisfied?”
She nodded shyly, not meeting his eyes.
“You should be,” he said teasingly. “My ass is no longer bare, and I assure you that I haven't been interested in kinky perversions for a number of years. That was quite unfair.”
Then, as the color once more flooded her face, his expression became serious. “Go over there and sit down,” he ordered quietly, gesturing to an easy chair covered in charcoal velvet that was situated just a few feet from the graffiti-covered wall. “I have a few questions that I want answered.”
“Shouldn't we wait for the police?” she asked despondently, sinking obediently into the chair.
“I think you owe me an explanation,” he said. “After all, it's my wall you ruined.”
Dismayed, Jane's eyes swiftly flew to the paneling. “Is it really ruined?” she asked. “Isn't there anything we can do to save it? It's such a lovely wood.”
Jake Dominic gave an exasperated sigh. “No, you've done too good a job on it. The paneling will have to be replaced.”
“Who was the other one?” Jane asked suddenly, her golden eyes wide and inquiring.
“I beg your pardon?” Dominic said blankly as he sat down on a corner of the bed, facing her.
“You said that I was the second persistent woman tonight. Who was the other one?”
“It would hardly be gallant of me to reveal names,” Dominic said dryly. “Let's just say that when I arrived on the Sea Breeze this evening, I had an unpleasant surprise in the form of a lady whose ego was a good deal keener than her intelligence.” His lips twisted cynically. “She evidently thought that seduction could fan the dead embers back to life.”
Denise Patterson, the gorgeous blond talk-show hostess, Jane guessed shrewdly. Dominic had evidently grown bored with her and broken off their affair last night. For a moment she felt a fleeting sympathy for the woman who'd thought she could hold Jake Dominic after he had tired of her. According to the gossip columns, Dominic's affairs were becoming even more ephemeral of late, and seldom lasted more than two weeks. Looking into that cynical, restless face, she could well believe it. When a man had seen everything, done everything, and had only to reach out to receive anything he desired, it was no wonder that he had become jaded.
That mocking devil's face was now frowning impatiently. “I'm not here to satisfy your curiosity. I believe that I was about to ask you a few very pointed questions. What's your name, redhead?”
“Jane Smith,” she answered absently, thinking how the un-buttoned shirt stretched over the virile chest made him look more sensually naked than when he was totally nude.
Dominic's mouth twisted. “Not very original.”
Her eyes flew to his face. “No, it's true,” she protested. “Why would I lie? You'd find out anyway.”
He shrugged. “Now the important question. Why me?”
“Your new film,” Jane said simply. “It's got a pronuclear slant.”
Dominic shook his head in disgust. “For God's sake, it's a blasted suspense thriller,” he said harshly. “It's not a message film.”
Her eyes met his in crystalline honesty. “It was the publicity angle,” she said quietly. “We figured an incident with you would hit the front page.”
“It might at that.” He grimaced. “And who, may I ask, are ‘we’?”
Jane's eyes widened in alarm. “No one,” she said quickly. “This is all my idea; no one else was involved.”
“It will probably go easier on you if you tell the police who else was responsible,” he suggested coolly.
Jane shook her head