Trust Me on This - Jennifer Crusie [34]
“Room service hot fudge sundaes.” Alec moved past her to the phone. “We didn’t get dessert.”
Dennie watched him dial room service and then went back in the bathroom to scrub his shirt and think, leaving the door open so she could hear if he called anybody else. She listened to him order the sundaes, and then she soaped the stains on his shirt and let her mind run on with the idea she’d had in the elevator, the idea that had made her decide that bringing Alec back to the room was a good idea.
Alec was not stupid but he was acting stupid.
Victoria Prentice was not stupid but she was acting dumber than Alec.
They were both fascinated with this Bondman creature who was clearly selling land they weren’t going to be able to develop.
Therefore they were up to something. At the moment, Dennie didn’t care if it was legal or illegal; all she cared about was that it was a story. And she’d been on the inside of it and blown it by shooting off her big mouth.
The only way she could get back in was by pumping Alec and his aunt. And by talking to Bondman.
She rinsed the shirt again and then wrung it out. The stains were fainter but still there. Alec would have to send it to the cleaners.
But first he’d have to talk with her.
She came out of the bedroom just as the room service arrived, and smiled at Alec while he signed for the desserts.
“This was a great idea,” she told him and took one of the sundaes. She sat on the edge of the bed and dipped her spoon into the whipped cream and licked it off, watching him flinch. That was another good thing about Alec: He was easy to turn on. Maybe she should seduce him for the information.
Alec picked up his ice cream and ignored her, stretching out on the bed to watch the old TV movie he’d turned on while she’d been in the bathroom. He looked long and lanky, and his chest was broad and lightly furred in the lamplight, and he was infinitely desirable. She felt the room grow warmer and shifted a little on the bed.
Maybe she shouldn’t seduce him. She should probably stick with things she could control. She licked hot fudge from her spoon, and Alec watched her again and clenched his teeth. Good. He was still distracted. She swung her legs up on the bed and stretched out. “You’re awfully quiet,” she told him around her hot fudge. “How’s your nose?”
“It hurts,” he said, looking pathetic, probably hoping for sympathy.
“Good. Think twice before you annoy me again.”
“You’re a bully.” He scooped up some fudge and ice cream from his own sundae.
She watched him wince again as he ate. Maybe that wasn’t from lust. Maybe it was from his almost-broken nose. “I am sorry if it really still hurts.”
“How sorry are you?” He leered and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Not that sorry.”
He laughed. “I like you, Dennie Banks. You’re my kind of woman.”
“Me and every other woman you meet,” she sniffed, but she felt a little sizzle go up her spine, just the same. Back to work, Banks. “Speaking of people you’ve met, where did you find Bondman?”
“My aunt found him,” Alec said, his eyes back on the screen. “Actually, the guy she’s dating found him, and then the relationship spread.”
“Do you really believe what he says?” Dennie asked, trying to keep the scorn out of her voice.
“Do I think Washington is corrupt? Hell, yes.” Alec gestured at the screen. “They don’t make them like this anymore.”
Dennie squinted at the TV. A guy in a white lab coat was talking to three other guys in suits, and they were all frowning with concern. “That’s because they made ten million of them back then. Monster picture, right?”
“Do not trash an entire genre,” Alec said. “Monster movies have a long and honorable history.” A close-up of the guy in the lab coat showed him still looking disturbed. Evidently he had only one facial expression. “Of course, this probably isn’t one of the better examples,” Alec said finally. “But still …”
Dennie put her half-finished sundae on the bedside table between them and leaned forward to see the screen better. “Is that Peter Cushing?”
“Very good,” Alec said, and swapped