Free The Virgin Mistress by Linda Turner

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    With no effort whatsoever, Austin could see the shy smile Rebecca had given him when she’d offered to helphim the first night he was in town. She’d looked so sweet and innocent, and he had no business even thinking of bothering her again. Not after he’d had so much fun with her yesterday. She made him forget the past, what it was like to lose someone he loved, and that was a lesson he didn’t dare let himself forget. He’d given his heart to one woman and lost her. He wouldn’t risk that kind of heartache again with Rebecca or anyone else.
    That decision made, he should have driven to the Silver Slipper and tried to track down Chester on his own, in spite of the old lady’s words of caution. It would have been the wise thing to do. Instead, he found himself heading for Rebecca’s, and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing he could do about it. His rental car had developed a mind of its own.
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    He was the last person Rebecca expected to find on her doorstep—and the only person, she realized, she really wanted to see after the horrendous run-in she’d had with Richard Foster at work.
    Flashing a happy smile at him, she pulled the door wider. “Hi! This is a nice surprise. C’mon in.”
    â€œI should have called—”
    â€œDon’t be ridiculous. I was just about to have some cookies and a glass of milk. There’s plenty for both of us.” And not waiting to see if he followed, she turned and headed for the kitchen. “How’d the investigation go today?” she asked over her shoulder. “Find out anything interesting?”
    He hesitated at the front door, and for a moment, she thought he was going to make an excuse to leave, but he obviously thought better of it and stepped across the threshold. “Actually, I’ve run into a dead end unless I cantrack down a guy who bought marijuana for his grandmother.”
    Her lips twitching, she couldn’t help but smile at his disgusted tone. “Well, that certainly sounds intriguing. What does that have to do with the shooting? Or did I miss something?”
    â€œI’ve been trying to interview the band members at Joe’s birthday party. I’ve talked to all of them but one. And he lives with his grandmother and buys marijuana for her.” Giving her a short rundown of what he’d discovered, he added, “I don’t know if he thinks he’s on the most-wanted list, or he really is just hanging out on Fifth Street to sit in with the band, but if I go in there and start asking for him, the jackass’ll probably run.”
    â€œI could go with you,” she offered. “I might recognize him.”
    Even as she made the suggestion, Rebecca couldn’t believe the words came out of her mouth. Fifth Street was lined with clubs and bars, not to mention an occasional tattoo parlor, and when she was a child, her mother had frequented the establishments there. She’d always hated it, and as an adult, she’d always avoided the place because it reminded her too much of her mother and her own unhappy childhood.
    She readily admitted to herself that she didn’t want to go there, didn’t want to go anywhere near those memories, but there was just something about Austin that inspired trust. She knew she could go anywhere with him and he would get her there and back safely.
    But while she had no doubts about going to Fifth Street or anywhere else with him, she’d apparently shocked him with her suggestion. “Oh, no,” he said with an immediate frown. “I couldn’t ask you to go into that neighborhood, especially after dark.”
    Rebecca had to smile at that. “You didn’t ask, Austin. I volunteered.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œNo buts,” she cut in. “I want to do this—for you and Joe. Let me.”
    Put that way, there was no way he could deny her, especially when she