Free Sex, Lies and Midnight by Tawny Weber Page B

the most beautiful woman in the world.
    Her heart melted. Once a daddy’s girl, always a daddy’s girl, she couldn’t stop the tremulous smile from curving her lips at the sight of him.
    She took a single step forward, almost unconsciously. Then stopped like she’d been hit in the face by a brick wall.
    “Hey, there, Maya,” Lilah said as she sidled around Tobias, then like a disease, curled herself into his side. “I wasn’t sure you’d show.”

5
    SIMON OBSERVED THE DRAMA play out. It was like watching an award-winning performance. One he’d missed the first act of, though. So now he was trying to fill in the blanks.
    Not that it was difficult. The redheaded Amazon and her daughter were new to him, but their parts in this drama were pretty easy to figure out. Innocent distractions, with very little clue what kind of person Tobias was.
    His eyes shifted to Maya’s brother. About his own age, a few inches taller and a whole lot more menacing. The resemblance between Caleb and Maya was striking. Black hair and gold eyes, with those same intense cheekbones. Simon had researched Caleb Black before this weekend, and came up against a blank wall. The man existed, but his record was suspiciously whitewashed. Simon wasn’t willing to tip his hand to Hunter by pulling any official strings. He’d figured he could rely on his own instincts. Instincts that were telling him that Maya’s brother was nobody to mess with.
    And then there was the family patriarch playing his role to the hilt. Simon had spent years studying Tobias Black’s files. He’d seen plenty of photos, even video footage of the man. So he’d thought he was prepared. But there was a charisma about him that was surprising. Like his children, he was tall, with rich black hair that flowed back from a commanding face. His gaze was shrewd, his smile a warm invitation to open your heart, soul and wallet for his perusal.
    Simon had to hand it to him, the man pulled off the air of a guy completely at ease, despite the fact that everyone in the room was glaring at him. Except the gal plastered against his side. She looked like the cat who’d gulped down a fish tank.
    She was probably the one he should thank for his attendance at this little party. Clearly, there was some sort of competition between the two women.
    It must be a girl thing. Despite her sultry air, Maya was pretty modest. The brunette, though, seemed a little more out there. Her clothes were tight, her hair was big and her smile flashed bright white as she wrapped herself around a man old enough to be her daddy.
    Maybe he was biased, but Simon figured there was no contest in the looks department. But Lilah seemed nice enough.
    “I’m so excited to see you again, Maya,” she gushed, her words bubbling with sweetness. Heavily lined eyes swept the room, her smile bright and happy. “It’s been, oh, just forever. And you brought a friend. Isn’t that sweet. I’ll tell you the truth, I’ve spent plenty of time worrying about you over the years. I mean, you have had some really bad luck at love, haven’t you, Maya?”
    Everyone in the room cringed, but the brunette kept rambling on about first loves and Maya’s high-school boyfriend.
    “Larry was this total jerk,” Lilah told Simon. “The whole time he was dating Maya, he was seeing me, too. Behind each other’s backs. Can you believe that?”
    There seemed to be plenty more to that story if the looks on everyone’s faces were anything to go by. Maya looked like she was going to scream. Caleb’s teeth were set in a grimace and Tobias looked like he knew a bomb was about to explode, but wasn’t sure how to diffuse it.
    “Why don’t we all take a seat,” Cassiopeia interrupted, her tone soothingly hypnotic, like she was trying to calm a group of rabid animals, all of whom might attack at any second.
    “Drinks?” Pandora, Caleb’s fiancée, offered with a friendly smile that poured an aura of calm over the tense room. “And perhaps