Free SeductiveIntent by Angela Claire

out. She’s never
failed me before.”
    “Make sure that she doesn’t.”
    She didn’t even have to say the “or else” out loud. Arthur
heard it, loud and clear, anyway.
    By the time Vinita had slithered away and he brought the
bottle upstairs, the M twin was nowhere to be found. Good excuse to go looking
around, then. He didn’t have to do anything as crass as feel around walls or
search behind pieces of furniture. He was good enough to just cast a practiced
eye around as, bottle in hand, the perfect prop, he went looking. For the M
twin of course and for what he was really looking for in the process.
    He was in a little room he believed the Beckett family
referred to as the green room, although predictably there was no green to be
found, when he heard a voice behind him without actually hearing anyone enter.
    “Hi there.”
    “My, you’re getting good,” he noted softly, turning around.
    “Or you’re getting careless.”
    “Maybe both, but at least they’re happening at the same time
and your ascent can help cancel out my decline.”
    “That’ll be the day.”
    Sophia had her shoes in one hand, presumably aiding in her
effort at stealth, but it looked natural enough to just register as a beautiful
girl tired of her high heels and tipsy enough to take matters into her own
hands. He took care to close the door behind her anyway.
    “Did you find anything?”
    “No. I still don’t understand why we can’t just come back at
night and do a proper search, though.”
    “I told you. We don’t have time to wait for the house to
empty out after all this. Family will be around for a few days as things go
back to normal. We’re on a tight time frame.”
    “Not that you told me why, of course,” she commented
sulkily.
    “No, but we’re going to have to go back to our original
plan.”
    “Before you got whatever mysterious instructions you got.”
    “Yes.” Sophia didn’t know about Vinita. God willing, she
never would.
    “I thought you said we didn’t have enough time for the
original plan. Jesus, you’re on a seesaw these days, Arthur.”
    “Since it wasn’t in Beckett’s apartment and doesn’t seem to
be here, we can’t just go searching every piece of real estate the Becketts
own. That could take us months. Hence we’re back to square one and the original
plan. You cozy up to him and see what you can get out of him—on an expedited
basis of course. No time for subtlety.”
    “Well, whatever. Fine. He’s interested.”
    “Big surprise,” Arthur muttered.
    “And he’s not exactly into subtle, as you well know.”
    “Good. But we need more than interested at this point. I
want him all over you and telling you what we need to know.”
    She slipped her shoes back on, a purchase that had cost them
a small fortune. But appearances were a reality, as they both knew. If Sophia
was going to fit into this crowd, she had to look as if she could, which meant
no scrimping on the outfit. Too bad the fact that it was an outdoor wedding
meant they couldn’t return the shoes later. Oh well, at least maybe they could
return the dress.
    “He’s asked me to their house in the Caymans.”
    “Bingo. The perfect venue for cozying up.” Although that
meant a Caribbean wardrobe, which didn’t come cheap either. “So what are you
doing here? Get out going and start packing what you can. I’ll pick up some
additional things on my way home.” By now, of course, he knew Sophia’s size
perfectly.
    “Home.” The roll of her eyes said it all, but he didn’t
invite a comment anyway.
    Apropos of absolutely nothing, she asked, “So, are we
related or what?”
    She’d never asked it outright like that.
    “Why would you bring that up now?”
    “No reason particularly. Maybe it’s all this happy family
Beckett stuff going on around us. Maybe I just want to know if I have any
family and I’ve had enough champagne to ask.”
    “Not too much champagne, I hope.”
    “Don’t worry. Are we?