A Calculated Seduction(42)
“I want you to fax all the information over in the morning. Everything you have and I want all the information you have on Dulcy and her little computer nerd. And I mean everything.”
Ethan knew Dulcy wouldn’t be so devious, but he knew she was protecting someone. He had to find a way to protect her and still make sure they caught the culprit. He had to make sure that nothing bad happened to her. He knew deep in his soul, the women had a good heart. Anderson had to be using her and that alone was enough for Ethan to want to kill him.
A few minutes later, he settled in bed next to Dulcy. Her soft body cuddled with his. Within moments, he was asleep.
* * * *
The next time Dulcy awoke, sunlight poured into the room.
She didn’t have to look next to her, she knew Ethan had already left the bed. The sound of the shower reached her and just for a second or two, she thought about joining him. The idea of slipping her hands over his slick body sent a delicious thrill through her.
Then sanity returned. Dulcy Menendez did not take showers with men. Even men she loved.
She hugged the knowledge to her breast. She loved Ethan more than she had ever loved any other man. Never before had she felt frightened and elated at the same time.
Deciding she needed some kind of jolt, other than the love jolt, she got out of bed. She grabbed a chambray shirt draped over an easy chair next to the window. Other than the bed, the chair and his nightstand, there wasn’t much else in the room. No pictures and he still had unpacked boxes in one corner.
She shrugged into his shirt and went in search of the kitchen. There was a room to the left of this one with nothing in it. The room on the right was filled to the rafters with office equipment. She turned away but the sound of a humming machine caught her attention. Thinking it to be for MacMillan Boots, she padded in the direction of the sound. It was his fax machine.
A report of some sort, something about a few accounts at the company, then something about Pete Anderson. The report puzzled her. It detailed Pete’s fight with his father over his lifestyle. The next page that spun out of the machine turned her blood to ice.
Her name was at the top and it detailed her personal and professional relationships. At the bottom of the second page, there was a personal note from someone at MacMillan Securities.
Dulcinea Menendez’s computer was the one used last night. Proceed with caution. They used a lot of tricks to throw us off, so she may be on to us.
Pain ebbed through her, shattering everything she believed about the man she loved. He had used her for some purpose. She had no idea what, but he’d slept with her to investigate her.
“Dulcy,” he called from the bedroom. She didn’t answer, she couldn’t.
Footsteps sounded down the hall and stopped at the door. She turned around, and there stood Ethan. His hair was darker than usual because of his shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. His lips quirked into his sexy little half-smile. And it hurt. Even as she felt her pulse race at the sight of him, she could feel the pain of his betrayal.
His smile slipped at the sight of her. Something dropped on the paper. It was a tear. It was then she realized she was crying.
Concern wrinkled his brow and he frowned. “Dulcy?”
“When were you going to tell me about the investigation, Ethan?”
Chapter Twelve
For just a half a second, hope surged through her chest because Ethan looked confused. But within that moment, when she thought she might have a chance at happiness, when all her hopes this was the man for her, the look of surprise in his eyes twisted into a mix of suspicion and guilt.
She swallowed past the pain.
“You want to tell me what this is all about?” she asked, the papers trembling in her hand.
Anger surged through her as he stood, unwilling to defend or explain himself. She looked at the report and studied the information he’d had someone gather about her. Someone who probably knew he’d slept with her. Her upcoming inheritance was reported down to the penny.
Pain whirled inside her chest. He was just like Jason. “So, now I understand everything. I wondered why a man like you would be interested in me.”
“What do you mean, a man like me?” he asked, his voice lethally soft.
“Oh, a man with everything. Money, looks. Men like you date women like my sisters, but then again, my sisters don’t have money like I do.” She blinked back the tears. She wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction of crying anymore. “What a joke it must have been for you to romance poor mousy little Dulcy. Many men tried, hell, you met one tonight. But I thought you were different.”