Caress Part Two (Arcadia) Read Online Free Page A

good.
Shall we eat?”
    Apparently, Miss Whittaker wasn’t given to post-game analysis.
That should have suited me fine but strangely, I wanted more from her. Some
acknowledgement at least of what we had experienced together.
    In the absence of that, I said, “Let me know if you’re not
warm enough.”
    The wind coming off the river was stronger this high up.
While I knew that she was perfectly capable of getting a sweater or whatever
for herself, I felt a need to take care of her. Whether she wanted me to or
not.
    We took our seats and I opened the containers. I’d gone a
little overboard ordering but I didn’t know what her favorites might be. I
needed to learn that and not just when it came to Thai food.
    I’d had the foresight to snag a bottle of Pouilly Fuissé
from the fridge. I even managed to fill two glasses without spilling a drop.
Hurrah for me.
    Emma took a bite of the green curry. Her eyes crinkled up as
she gave a little moan of pleasure. “Oh, this is so good.”
    My cock stood to attention. Eat up, sweetheart. The sooner
you’re done, the sooner we can—
    “I’m glad you like it,” I said, doing my damnedest to stay
in control. It might be a losing battle but I wasn’t about to concede that, at
least not yet.
    We ate in silence for a few minutes as I discovered the
pleasure of just watching Emma. Unlike some other women I’d known, she didn’t
pretend not to have an appetite. On the contrary, she tucked into the food with
gratifying enthusiasm. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about her wasting away
if I decided to keep her tied to my bed, spread-eagle and wet, filled with my
cock.
    I pushed the dark, carnal thoughts suddenly swirling through
my mind away as best I could and tried for a little polite conversation.
    “How did you and Caroline hit it off?”
    My younger sister could be annoying, if only because she didn’t
take ‘no’ for an answer, but there wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for her.
Except stand back while she dragged Emma into the Prentice murder case.
    Never mind that almost sixty years had passed since the
senator met his mysterious end in an alley not far from the Arcadia. The
Prentice family was still out there, still powerful, and if my guess was right,
still interested in whoever had killed their golden boy. Caroline was smart and
tenacious. If she actually dug something up--
    I definitely didn’t want that kind of attention coming down
on either my sister or Emma.
    “She’s great,” Emma said with genuine enthusiasm. She
hesitated, then added, “I’m a little rusty when it comes to friendships but I’d
really like to get together with her again.”
    The cautious look that she shot me brought me up short. Did
she think I’d object? Granted, I’d been a little curt with Caroline when I
found her standing out in front of the building with Emma in tow and realized
what they’d been up to. And then in the elevator, just the two of us, I had all
I could do to focus on not jumping her right then and there.
    But the thought that I’d want to keep her as alone and
isolated as I knew she had been horrified me.
    Quickly, I said, “Caro’s terrific. I’m not surprised that
the two of you hit it off. Why don’t you give her a call and go out for coffee?
You can’t work 24/7 and you shouldn’t be stuck here in the apartment anyway.”
    Her grateful smile went straight to my groin. At the same
time, it occurred to me that there was no reason why I couldn’t take her out. Walks
in the park, dinner somewhere nice, a movie. Hell, I’d even go clubbing if she
wanted to.
    Of course, once we started appearing together in public,
word would get out. I had no problem with that but Emma might. She’d been badly
burned by the media. I’d have to convince her that the only real way to deal
with bullies was to face them down. And that she could trust me to protect her.
    In the meantime, I refilled her wine glass but added only a
little more to my own. If there was