Solace in Scandal by Kimberly Dean Read Free Book Online

house.
    But the road was in the other direction.
    She peeked around the corner. He was still heading away from her. Unlike her, he was a true pacer. She watched the way he stalked down the little path, his broad shoulders narrowing to a taut waist and even nicer butt. Her tongue ran over her lips.
    Oh, damn. He was wearing the jeans again.
    She ducked back into hiding when he pivoted. For a brief moment, she saw a muscled chest and bulging biceps. Yet she’d also seen the mussed hair and the shadows underneath his eyes. Something had him worked up.
    She heard a curious tapping noise. When she risked another peek, she found that he’d stopped at the table. For the first time, she became aware of the patio furniture that had been set up in the centre square. It was white wicker with deep green cushions. What caught her attention, though, was the computer sitting on the table.
    She frowned. What was he doing? Reading news articles about himself? Getting caught up on The Wolfe Pack’s bottom line? Emailing cohorts who still agreed to associate with him?
    She watched as he typed then pulled back to reference something. It looked like a grade-school notebook. For a moment, the red colour threw her. Even though he was dressed so casually, she would have expected his notebook to be leather-bound with a Mont Blanc pen within reach.
    He followed along in the notebook, tracing a line, before looking back at his laptop. That, at the other end of the spectrum, was top grade. His fingers flew as he typed, but then he stood upright. Lacing his hands behind his neck, he stared at the screen. Finally, he swore and turned. His foot lashed out at an outdoor ottoman, and it went clattering along the flat stone patio before abruptly coming to a stop.
    Elena jumped at the violence of the movement, but more so at the anger that lay underneath. It was gritty and fierce, palpable from where she stood. Almost immediately, though, it was tamped. With iron-like mettle, the man before her reined it all in. The anger sank back below the surface – or, more likely, was shoved. Standing with his fingers still wrapped together behind his neck, he let out another curse and looked towards the sky. The word was low and breathy, but it was enough to make her realise she needed to be moving along.
    She headed into the garden maze, intending to take a path further away from the house.
    ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’
    She looked around quickly. Was there someone else around that she hadn’t seen?
    He sighed. ‘Stay away from the front gate, Elena.’
    That brought her straight upright. Her breath caught when she found him staring straight at her. His grey eyes were piercing and all too knowing.
    How had he sensed her? More so, how had he figured out her plans? ‘I … I just thought I’d see if the reporters are still out there.’
    ‘Trust me. They’re dug in like ticks.’ His attention returned to his computer screen. ‘Ready to draw blood.’
    Apparently they were talking now. Or were they?
    He planted a foot on the chair in front of him and braced his forearm across his knee as he leaned forward. The position emphasised the long muscles in his back. Whatever he was working on had his attention more than she did.
    Although he’d somehow spotted her when she’d made little to no noise.
    She edged backwards. ‘I’ll stay hidden in the treeline.’
    ‘Did you watch TMZ last night? They were trying out a thermal camera.’ He tapped a few more keys on the keyboard. ‘They managed to spot one of the rabbits that run around the place.’
    His gaze was on her again in that second. ‘
My
rabbit.’
    She froze under his stare.
    ‘There’s no telling how rabid they’ll get if they spot a person.’ That grey gaze slowly trailed down her body. ‘Especially if it’s female.’
    There it was again, the crackling in the air. Self-consciousness overcame Elena as she stood before him – or was that just awareness? Awareness of her body,