The Consequence by Karin Tabke Read Free Book Online

an anonymous source tipped you off, make the arrests, bada bing bada boom, end of case.”
    “This is too incriminating not to use but I won’t take a chance of any of this being traced back to you. Now that I know the extent of Evan’s involvement, I’ll need a subpoena, which is going to take a few tricks and some smooth talking. I want this case to go to court and the only way we can use any of this information is if we obtain it legitimately.”
    Katy stiffened. “I wasn’t aware that you were that involved in this.”
    Simon’s eyes narrowed. “I became involved when you became involved.”
    Katy smiled feeling that little nag of trepidation disappear. “That first time I bumped into you, Simon, I knew I wanted something with you. I never imagined it would involve you standing in my kitchen helping me prove I’m not a thief.”
    Simon gathered her in his arms. “The first time I bumped into you I wasn’t thinking of the future, I was thinking of the expression that would be on your face when I sunk into you for the first time.”
    Her heart thumped as she recalled that moment he took her from behind and she watched him in the mirror. “I relive that moment daily.”
    It was Simon’s turn to stiffen. “You still think about him?” he asked, an edge to his voice.
    Katy looked up. “About Evan?”
    He nodded curtly.
    “The only thing I think about is how much I can’t wait to see him go to jail.”
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    “I know it’s not what you meant, but seriously, Simon, asking me if I think of Evan in any other context than wanting to see him pay is like me asking you if you think of Amanda or Veronica or all of the other hundreds of women you’ve slept with.”
    His dark brows shot up to his hairline. “Hundreds?”
    She nodded and poked him in the chest. “Thousands then.”
    “Neither,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.
    “How many then? Roughly.”
    He smiled and shook his head. “That’s like asking me to pour gasoline on a fire.”
    “I want to know how many women you’ve slept with.”
    “Kat, c’mon.”
    “Ballpark.”
    He exhaled loudly. “I’m not the man whore you think I am. I don’t just fuck to fuck. Okay, I take that back, I have in the past, but I pick my partners with care. I can count on one hand the women I’ve picked up in bars.”
    Her cheeks warmed. “I picked
you
up in a bar.”
    “And I have never been so glad to be picked up.”
    “Have you ever, um, done it with more than one woman?”
    His full lips quirked. She rolled her eyes and tried to get out of his arms, but they tightened around her. “Don’t ask the question, Cinderella if you can’t handle the answer.”
    She stopped squirming. “Did you like it?”
    His eyes twinkled. “What do you think?”
    “That you liked it.
A lot
.”
    He kissed her nose. “It was
a lot
of work.”
    “Yeah, but someone had to do it.”
    “Kitty Kat, why are you so interested in my past?”
    She shrugged. “Because it’s part of who you are.”
    “So what does my past say about me?”
    “That you like women, like to fuck, like the chase, like the adrenaline rush and you like variety and no moss grows under your bed.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “Not for you, but from my perspective it makes one a little gun shy. It should be a foregone conclusion that there will be a woman behind me and one after her and so on.”
    “But what you have failed to realize is that I never felt for any of those women what I feel for you.”
    “Does that mean you trust me?”
    He nodded. “Completely.”
    “Then why haven’t you told me how your brother died and why you hold yourself responsible?”

 
     
     
     
    aty regretted the words the instant they left her mouth. The light faded from Simon’s eyes and his big body sagged. “Because I relive it every time I talk about it.”
    Katy shook her head and swiped back the sudden rush of tears. His pain was palpable. She had caused it by pushing.