Free Our Little Secret by Starr Ambrose Page A

sister of one of his dad’s bimbos. He knew their type well. Typically, the senator’s female “friends” were short on morals and long on ambition, neither of which appealed to him. He’d give up women entirely before he’d mess with the sexually aggressive game-playing nymphets he’d met in Washington. Even if Meg Sutherland hadn’t made off with his mother’s jewelry—yet—he was sure she had some nefarious motive for marrying a man thirty-three years her senior. At the least, she was probably obsessed with powerand prestige, hoping to move up to an even more politically influential lover. If Lauren was anything like her sister, her unknown fiancé had his condolences.

    But there was the little matter of the chemistry between them. Drew had enough experience with women to know that physical attraction went beyond the superficial tits and ass consideration. After the initial “wow, what a babe” reaction, there was something more. An unexplained tingle when they touched, or a pleasant flash of heat in his groin when a particular woman smiled into his eyes. He’d felt it before, but not like this. With Lauren, the tingle had almost been a visible jolt of electricity arcing between them, and the flash was a hot rush of sexual desire that aroused thoughts of crushing her to his chest and kissing her breathless. He knew she felt it too. She hid it well, but he saw her green eyes widen and her breath catch when he touched her. The sexual tension was intriguing as hell. It was too bad he couldn’t do anything about it.

    The object of his fantasies was standing on the opposite side of the kitchen island, watching his preparations. He took a second look at her. Not green eyes—gray. Strange. He could have sworn they were green.

    “Help yourself,” he told her, applying mustard to a second slice of bread. “I’m not much of a cook, but I found enough to make sandwiches. I was hoping for something hot, but Gerald is Dad’s secretary, not his cook, as he informed me just before he left. So this is it.”

    “Gerald’s gone?”

    The timid question made him glance up, and it happened again. As soon as his gaze met those luminouseyes he could feel the electricity spark between them. This time it came with a predatory impulse that told him how simple it would be to turn those little shocks into a bolt of lightning that could set them both on fire. Tempting, but not wise.

    He kept his voice nonchalant. “It’s late, Lauren. He’ll be back in the morning. Have something to eat.”

    “I’m too worried to eat.”

    “Suit yourself.” He wasn’t about to feel guilty for having an appetite.

    She frowned as he piled more meat on his sandwich. “Isn’t there anything else we can do?”

    He flicked a quick glance at her, his mouth twitching with amusement at the thought of what else they could do. But she was talking about her sister, so he answered seriously. “You can help me look through my dad’s office for some clue to what he’s been involved in lately,” he told her. “
After
I eat.”

    She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. He waited for another fingernail to get nibbled off, but she began twisting a lock of hair instead. He smiled and took a leisurely bite of his sandwich.

    The kitchen phone rang midway through chewing his first bite. After three rings Lauren said, “Aren’t you going to get that?”

    He shook his head. “I don’t live here. It’s not for me. Let the machine get it.”

    She didn’t seem happy with his answer. Probably the responsible, compulsive type who felt she had to respond to every request and jump at every summons. She fidgeted while the machine played its recorded message. Drew waited for the caller to hang up or leave some boring “call me when you can” request.What he heard next stopped his mouth in mid-bite.

    “Drew? Are you there? Pick up if you are.”

    Drew lowered his sandwich.
His father
.

    A female voice cut in as if someone had grabbed