Free The Naked Truth by Natasha Rostova Page B

kind of woman Logan wants. It just matters that we find her.’
    ‘Well, it’s just that he’s so furious about this.’ Adam kicked at a pebble on the street, suddenly wondering what Callie and Logan did in bed. Or didn’t do. ‘What’s so great about her that he wants her back so badly?’
    Sam chuckled. ‘It probably has less to do with her and more to do with him and his ego.’
    ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘People don’t betray Logan Waterford, kid. That’s the bottom line.’
    ‘Cinnamon or chocolate?’
    ‘Chocolate, please.’ Callie watched the young woman behind the counter sprinkle chocolate powder on her cappuccino. She accepted the cup with thanks and turned to find her date for the evening.
    The coffee house on River Street was filled with people drawn in by the cosy, living-room atmosphere of worn, overstuffed chairs and couches. Eldrich had commandeered a small couch in the corner. Callie smiled at him as she sat down, balancing her cup and saucer on her lap. He looked quite unique this evening in a black, velvet coat and leather trousers, surrounded by a light haze of clove cigarette smoke. A large, silver cross dangled from his neck.
    ‘Thanks, Eldrich. I enjoyed the movie.’
    ‘No problem. Nosferatu is one of the greatest films ever made.’
    ‘So, what do you do during the day?’ Callie asked.
    Eldrich sucked on his herbal cigarette and blew out a stream of smoke. ‘I don’t go out during the day much, but I’m a DJ most evenings for this Goth club just off of St Julian. It’s called the Snake Pit. You should come sometime.’
    ‘Maybe I will.’ Callie sipped her coffee and considered her next words carefully. ‘However, I think I should tell you something.’
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘Well, this isn’t good news,’ Callie admitted. ‘I’m married. Separated, but married.’ She glanced at him quickly, relived to see that he looked surprised, but not angry.
    ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Well, that’s cool.’
    Callie raised her eyebrows. ‘It is?’
    ‘Yeah. I don’t want some dude attacking me with a knife but, philosophically, the idea of you being married doesn’t bother me. Marriage is lame, anyway. Human beings aren’t meant to be monogamous.’
    ‘They aren’t?’
    ‘Hell, no. Look at how few other animal species mate for life. Humans are supposed to experience different people. It’s called polyamory.’
    Callie looked at him for a moment. A sudden recollection of her fantasy blow job flashed in her mind, causing a heated flush to rise to her cheeks.
    ‘Well, I’m glad to know that,’ she murmured.
    Eldrich eyed her with a rather sly look. ‘Why else would you have left your husband? You know that you were just sick of him.’
    Callie’s flush deepened. ‘Well, that’s partly true,’ she admitted.
    ‘And your sex life?’
    Callie figured that she should have been shocked by the question but, oddly enough, she wasn’t. Must have something to do with the sequel to her fantasy, which was currently screening in her mind. ‘That was . . . less than exciting.’
    Eldrich sat there looking at her through his mascara-coated eyelashes until Callie shifted uncomfortably.
    ‘What?’ she muttered. ‘Lots of people have less than exciting sex lives.’
    ‘But not all of them want to do something about it.’ Eldrich dragged on his cigarette again and continued watching her.
    ‘Who said I wanted to do something about it?’
    ‘You did.’
    ‘Now you’re a mind-reader?’
    ‘No, I’m just perceptive.’
    Callie shook her head at him. She was beginning to feel light-headed from the effects of smoke and the turn of this conversation. Eldrich leant forward and took her hand in his pale one, sliding his fingers over hers.
    ‘Remember, Callie,’ he murmured, ‘your Tarot reading said you had to question who was in control.’
    Callie swallowed hard. ‘I don’t have to question that. I know who’s in control.’
    Her voice sounded unconvincing even to herself.