Free Bittersweet Darkness by Nina Croft Page B

said. “I want to head home.” It had been a long day.
    “I’ll give you a lift.”
    She opened her mouth to say no, then snapped it closed again. It occurred to her that if she needed a contact in CR International Ash was as good as Ryan. And while Ryan was her friend, she didn’t owe Ash anything. She’d be much happier using him as an entry to Christian Roth’s company than her old partner. Plus, sitting in Ash’s comfortable car sounded a much better option than a busy commuter train right now.
    “You don’t know where I am.”
    “So where are you?”
    Without giving herself more time to think, she gave him her location.
    “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
    And he was. Five minutes later a black SUV pulled up beside her. Ash leaned across, opened her door, and she climbed in.
    She’d forgotten how big he was. Huge in the confined space of the vehicle. “So?” she asked, nerves making her snappish.
    “So?” A lazy smile curved his lips and her stomach flipped. What the hell was the matter with her?
    “What do you want, Ash?”
    “Would you believe the pleasure of your company?”
    No, the truth was, she wouldn’t. Ash was gorgeous and she was sure the bad-boy looks attracted women in their droves. She could imagine him, with a blond Barbie doll type on each arm, and she was hardly trophy girlfriend material. She was okay, but had never considered herself sexy.
    “I did ask Ryan’s permission to date you,” he murmured breaking into her thoughts.
    Her mouth dropped open. “He’s not my goddamn father.”
    “He told me ‘good luck.’ But that he wasn’t picking up the pieces when you’d ripped me to shreds.”
    “But you’re still here.”
    He turned in his seat and studied her, his gaze sliding over her face, down her body, and back to her face. It was like being touched and she shivered.
    “I like a challenge,” he murmured. “But right now, you look tired. I’ll take you home.”
    As he pulled out into the traffic, she fastened the seat belt.
    “So, how was work?” he asked.
    She glanced at him sharply. “I have a new job.”
    “I know.”
    “You do?”
    “I called your old office—Ryan gave me the number. They told me you no longer worked there but wouldn’t tell me anything else. So why the move?”
    She shrugged. “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
    “I presume it’s the organization that approached you yesterday.”
    “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
    It occurred to her that he might be using her for information just as much as she intended to use him. But he merely grinned at her answer.
    “I love it when you go all secretive on me.”
    She ignored the comment, sat back, and closed her eyes. The headache still nagged at the back of her brain and she couldn’t help but worry; she’d been trying to forget the whole thing and hated the reminder that there was something bad going on in her head.
    The drive took about forty-five minutes. To her surprise, Ash didn’t speak again and by the time he pulled up outside her apartment, she was feeling better. It was that spooky place messing with her mind. And the change; new jobs were always stressful. Tomorrow would be better. She was going to go over the file on Rosamund Fairfax and try and work out where she fitted in.
    Maybe Ash would be able to tell her. She turned to him as he switched off the engine. “You want to come in for a drink?”
    Instead of answering, he reached over the back of his seat and picked up a bottle of wine. “I come prepared.”
    She wasn’t sure she liked that. Or maybe she liked it too much. She gave him a quick peek and sighed. Six foot five of alpha male all wrapped up in black leather.
    For a moment, her mind flashed back to that morning when Pete had suggested they date. The thought hadn’t made her go all hot and fluttery like this. Ash was a source of information. That was the important thing. That’s what she had to focus on. She’d never considered using her body to get