Free Silk Confessions by Joanne Rock Page A

with a bona fide fortune to oversee and connections around the globe.
    And he was…trying to make the city safer, one crook at a time. Or at least he had been until he’d been forced to face facts that Steve was dead three months ago. He’d been in denial for a long time that his partner had really died, and once his body was found, Wes had been re thinking his job. But whether he decided to remain with the NYPD or move into something with a little less potential for shifting loyalties and career burnout, Wes knew he would never be the kind of man a socialite-turned-corporate-executive needed.
    He wasn’t sure if he was backing away now for himself or because he sensed she had her own agenda for putting up barriers between them. Either way, he needed to regroup before they made a move that could hurt them both.
    “I think it’s only fair to forewarn you of the consequences. Think what you want about me or Mating Game, but I’d never purposely mislead anyone.”
    “Understood. And I appreciate the heads-up.” He gathered a few papers he’d printed from the computer, hoping if he got some distance from her, he could make a decision without her almond scent fogging his brain.
    Besides, he’d been serious about loyalty and honesty. They were a hell of a lot more important to him than creativity or access to millions of dollars. “I’ll keep it in mind next time I get the urge to rip off my clothes around you.”
    Retrieving his shirt and the coat that he’d tossed over the chair, Wes jammed his arms through the holes andbacked toward the door. They were from different worlds, damn it. Walking away from her shouldn’t be so tough.
    After exchanging quick goodbyes, he was out of her apartment and back on the street.

CHAPTER SIX
    C OULD THE MAN have sprinted off any faster?
    Tempest decided even a hopeless optimist would have to agree that Wes couldn’t wait to make tracks out of her apartment. He’d vanished as soon as she mentioned the possibility of media involvement, a surefire libido killer to most men.
    Had she chased him away on purpose? Or had he been grateful for the excuse to reclaim a few more boundaries? She didn’t know anymore, couldn’t tell what had happened with her heart thumping like a pottery wheel overloaded with an uneven lump of clay. Why hadn’t she paid better attention to what happened between them?
    Whistling to Eloise, she gave the dog free run of the apartment again as she mindlessly clicked through some of the screens on the MatingGame site. If today had been a scene on her soap opera, she would have been damn certain Wes would return the following week to confuse her with more moral-melting kisses.
    But this was real life, and she wasn’t so sure he’d be back at all.
    As regret stole over her, she found herself staring at a new, blank application form for MatingGame’s Blind Date service. Who had opened that file? Tapping her finger idly on the mouse, she stared at the questions and found herself mentally penning her answers.
    What are your turn-ons? Ignoring the Playboy centerfold feel of the short interview section, Tempest started typing the first response that popped into her head. “Men who don’t care what I do for a living. Men who are comfortable in their own skin. Men who know what they want and aren’t afraid to go after it.”
    In your face, Wes Shaw.
    If he couldn’t be the kind of man she needed—and really, what business did she have dating the cop investigating MatingGame?—maybe she should go out and find someone else. Spending time in Wes’s arms had made her realize how long it had been since she’d indulged in slow, deep, hot kisses.
    So what if she couldn’t imagine anyone else’s kisses tasting so good, or firing her up half as much as the ones she’d experienced this afternoon? Maybe just this once she’d take her dating fate into her own hands by meeting someone outside her small circle of friends and business associates. Someone completely