Unexpected. Lori Foster

and had to admit she looked classy. And definitely moneyed. Her pale blond hair, styled to skim her shoulders with each move of her head, had professional streaks. Her simple tan dress was tailored but still managed to emphasize her boobs and backside to draw masculine attention.

      Narrowing her eyes in disgust, Ray leaned one shoulder against the wall, crossed her ankles, and folded her arms over her breasts. With a discreet “Ahem” she finally and quite suddenly drew their attention.

      Eli pulled free of the woman’s hold and his gaze zeroed in on Ray like a beacon.

      The woman was speechless for several seconds before she gasped. “Eli, who is this person?”

      Eli’s attention never moved from Ray. But it did move all over her, slowly, thoroughly, from the top of her rumpled head to the tips of her bare toes. Ray could feel that look scorching her, touching on her like a heated breath. Strangely, though she wasn’t cold, goose bumps rose on her exposed skin and she became suddenly, severely aware of just how little she wore.

      The undershirt concealed every part of her body that proclaimed her a woman, but still, it clung to her, the neck scooped low, the armholes wide so that the tops and sides of her breasts were visible. It molded over her upper thighs, stopping just short of revealing her panties. Used to being in predicaments where modesty had no place, Ray was surprised to feel her cheeks heating in concordance with Eli’s rapt observation.

      Of course, he noticed. The flare of heat in his eyes told her so. His slight, nearly imperceptible smile told her so. His carefully drawn in breath told her so.

      To regain her equilibrium, Ray said to him, “Who am I, Eli? It’s up to you.” Without knowing who the other woman was or what she knew of Eli’s intentions, it seemed safest to leave the story up to him.

      As if he’d only just then remembered the other woman, Eli turned his attention back to her with a frown. “I told you I’d be busy for a while, Jane. You shouldn’t be here.”

      Jane’s gaze skipped between the two of them and it didn’t take a mind reader to know she’d drawn some hasty and incorrect conclusions. But to Ray’s surprise, she didn’t get angry at the suspicious presence of another woman.

      She pouted.

      Her bottom lip stuck out and she stroked Eli’s arm while pressing her breasts against him. “I missed you, Eli. You wouldn’t tell me where you were going or why, or how long you’d be away. Of course, now I understand.” She emphasized that with a pointed glance at Ray.

      Ray wanted to puke over the nauseating display. “Here we go with the assumptions again.”

      Eli gave Ray a quelling frown before peeling the woman off his arm. “I didn’t tell you, Jane, because it doesn’t concern you.”

      “Of course it does.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, but Ray could still hear her—just as Jane intended. “You were forced to resort to . . . her type, because I’ve denied you.”

      Ray scoffed. “My type?” How ridiculous. She wasn’t a woman a man would go to for that sort of thing. The very idea of it made her laugh.

      Judging by his glare, Eli didn’t share her humor.

      “But Eli, you can send her away now.” Jane’s smile trembled, shy and so sickeningly sweet, Ray’s teeth started to ache. “I came to tell you I’m ready. I simply hadn’t realized how . . . desperate you had gotten.”

      Jane was a small woman, and it seemed to Ray that Eli had to look down a great distance just to frown at her. Not that it had any visible effect on good old Jane. She clung like a limpet, cooing and puckering and turning Ray’s stomach with the overblown display of affection.

      If I ever coo at a man, Ray thought privately, I hope someone shoots me.

      She should probably leave and give them their privacy, but she wouldn’t. She was responsible for Eli until the mission ended successfully, and he did need his sleep. Both those reasons were plausible enough to suit Ray, so she didn’t budge from her position on the wall.

      And then Jane slipped her little hand into Eli’s open shirt, stroking him, toying with him, and Ray got a brief glimpse of his chest. It looked warm and hard, sprinkled with curling dark hair.

      Fascinated, Ray took in the play with the same attention she’d give a peep show, but the show only lasted a moment before Eli forcibly set Jane a respectable distance from the undeniable lure of his body.

      His shirt, however, remained open, and Ray continued to admire his obvious strength and fitness. She hadn’t expected that from a man of wealth and leisure. She’d expected him to be soft. She’d expected him to be unappealing.

      Assumptions. She shook her head, knowing herself to be as guilty as most.

      “Jane,” Eli warned as she tried to snuggle closer again. “Ray isn’t here for that and you owe her an apology for suggesting such a thing.”

      “Really?”

      Jane seemed pleased that Ray wouldn’t be occupying Eli’s bed after all. How she’d come to such an asinine conclusion in the first place left Ray boggled. If the woman had clear vision, she had to have noticed Ray wasn’t exactly a femme fatale. She could kick Eli’s ass, but no way could she seduce him.

      “Then why is she here, Eli, in your home, dressed—or rather, undressed—like that?”

      Ray saw the muscles in his jaw flex. “She’s here because I hired her to do a job. And she’s dressed like that because she was in bed, as I should be, and we woke her.”

      Jane wouldn’t be that easily appeased. Her eyes slanted toward Ray with raw suspicion. “What job?”

      Growling in frustration, Eli briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked toward Ray. She grinned, enjoying his predicament.

      Giving up, he explained, “Ray is a guide to help me get my brother back.”

      Ray took offense at being termed a mere guide, but held her tongue. Jane obviously wasn’t about to believe such a thing anyway.

      “What kind of guide runs around half naked? And why is she spending the night here?”

      Eli lost his patience. “That’s enough, Jane. It’s time for you to leave.”

      Throwing herself against him, Jane gave Eli no option but to catch her. Over the top of her head, he glowered at Ray.

      Now how was this supposed to be her fault?

      Surely he didn’t expect her to offer some magical solution. The workings of the average female mind had always been a mystery to her. Eli likely understood women better than she ever would.

      Jane started crying, which didn’t surprise Ray in the least. The woman had the appearance of a professional watering pot—her hair was pale, her complexion was pale, and she cried without smudging her makeup even a little. Very professional.

      Eli struggled to free himself without actually hurting the woman. Jane’s narrow shoulders squared and her tears miraculously disappeared. “I’m going with you.”

      Eli groaned, stuck one hand in his hair, and knotted his fingers. He looked ready to detonate.

      Ray decided to take pity on him. “No, you’re not. Eli will just have to make do without your company for a few days, because there’s no way I’m going to be responsible for the both of you.”

      Jane stood frozen in appalled disbelief. “Eli would be responsible for me, not you!”

      “If you want Eli home in one piece, he’ll have to be responsible for himself and no one else.” Ray pushed away from the wall and strode forward until she towered over Jane. With a wide-eyed look of worry, Jane scuttled closer to Eli’s side as if for protection. It was hard not to laugh, but Ray had excellent control. She summoned her meanest expression. “You’d only distract him.”

      Jane sputtered.