Free Undercover Heat by Tami Lund Page B

the two women, right at that moment. Kyra’s hair was still down around her shoulders, and all she’d managed to do was finger comb it as she rushed down the stairs to answer Whitney’s summons. What little makeup she’d had on had been worn off by their lovemaking and the impromptu nap afterward. She’d thrown on a T-shirt and a pair of khaki pants. Her toenails, painted a pale peach color, were chipped and in need of a new pedicure.
    Whitney, on the other hand, was cool and suave. She had an aura of sexuality Kyra could never hope to obtain. While their neighbor talked about her grand financial plans, Kyra sat there smarting over Keith Oshard, the man she’d thought she loved and then subsequently lost to Whitney Bianca, who had been Whitney White back then.
    “You were sleeping with her?” Kyra’s voice had been incredulous, shocked, mortified.
    Keith had shrugged and waved his hand in a general fashion, indicating the glossy photograph of Whitney that she was holding in her hand at the time. “Shit, Kyra, what did you expect? The woman is hot as hell. Do you see those tits? And she’s pushy too. No way could I resist when she started hitting on me.”
    “If you were in love with me, you should have been able to resist,” Kyra shot back.
    Keith had been nonplussed. “She’s
hot
, Kyra,” he’d repeated. “I mean, come on. You don’t even compare.”
    That had been back when she wore lots of makeup and dressed more suggestively and had been actually trying to capture the man’s attention.
    “I’m going to go make something to eat,” she said now. “You can keep explaining everything to Quinn.” She needed to get away from Whitney, put some space between them. The memories, now that she’d crossed that same line with Quinn, were too raw. She had a sudden fear he would fall into the same trap that Keith had.
    It’s all pretend, Kyra. You split half a bottle of Jack Daniels with the man and you fell into bed together. It means nothing. When this case is over, you’ll go your separate ways, if not before
.
    She shouldn’t care whether or not he would fall for Whitney’s charms, but she did.
    Quinn slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap. She squirmed uncomfortably, while Whitney watched the exchange with unabashed interest.
    “You’re the financial expert in the family, remember?” Quinn reminded her. She slumped back against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her waist and seemed content to hold her like that. Whitney paused, gave them a considering look, and then continued extolling the virtues of her financial empire.
    “Listen, Whitney, I think we’re good,” Quinn interrupted. “We trust you. You’re our neighbor, right? You won’t steer us wrong. We’ll let you invest our money. Let’s set up a time when we can come into your office and make everything official.”
    Whitney blinked owlishly, clearly taken aback by his abrupt attitude. “I don’t actually have an office,” she said. “I can bring everything to you.”
    “Excellent.” He pushed Kyra to the side and climbed to his feet, striding over to the door and giving Whitney an expectant look. “Tomorrow, then? Say six or six thirty?”
    Whitney gathered her supplies and moved toward the door. “Sure. That sounds lovely. I’ll see you then.” She gave them both a quizzical look, but Quinn slammed the door in her face.
    “What was that—” Kyra did not get to finish the sentence because Quinn was suddenly on her, rolling underneath her and pulling her down on top of him.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Getting you back into my lap,” he said matter-of-factly. Then he groaned and lifted his hips. “Yeah, right there.” He sighed, closed his eyes, and let his hands roam over her body.
    Kyra grabbed his hands and pushed them back against the couch cushions. “Quinn, you all but pushed her out the door. We could have closed the deal tonight. All we needed was to hand her a check, and then