Perfect Partners Read Online Free PDF Page B

was more to her reaction than just shock.
    Intending to lead her to the couch, he placed one hand on the small of her back. This time, she stiffened at his touch and pivoted around to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing in my apartment?”
    “For a supposedly smart woman, you aren’t too bright. You live in the city of Boston and fall asleep on the floor with your door wide open. Anyone could come in. Anyone could see you lying on your back, in that outfit, ready for heaven knows what…”
    A deep flush crept up her neck and stained her cheeks. “Well, don’t be subtle about expressing yourself.” She turned her back to him and picked up an old gray sweatshirt pulling it over her upper body, effectively hiding her sexy shape from his view. “Excuse me for a minute,” she said and disappeared into another room.
    As his gaze swept the expanse of the small living area, he noticed his surroundings for the first time. Crystal animals and fragile ornaments accented an otherwise sleek decor comprised mostly of leather and glass. Hardly a place for a child. At least he’d left Alix at home with Mrs. Baxter. He’d hate to think of the damage a little girl could do in such an environment.
    Griff picked up a crystal rabbit and fingered its smooth contours. Miss Russell obviously loved fine things. He thought of his mother, of the expensive pieces she’d bring home after a romp with one of her many men. “A woman wants more out of life,” she’d told him on the afternoon Griff had watched her pack. “And your daddy can’t give it to me. But I’ll find it, just you wait.”
    She’d looked around before closing her tattered suitcase, her eyes focusing on the chipped coffee table in the center of the room. And Griff, like the twelve-year-old child he’d been, had thought she’d take the picture of himself and Jared… that she’d be back. Instead, her hand grasped a perfume bottle, one of the many objects she’d used to flaunt her affairs before his father. Griff had been wrong on both counts. And Chelsie, it seemed, was similar to his mother and ex-fiancée, sharing their love of possessions and probably valuing them above people.
    This visit had been a mistake. She couldn’t help Alix. He wanted to turn and run before she returned. He nearly did, until his eyes focused on the bookshelf in the corner. Mixed in with the expensive trinkets were a set of books worn by use and age. A gap between two of the volumes indicated one was missing. He thought of Alix and the death-grip she kept on the damned yellow story book. There it was again—Chelsie Russell and her contradictions.
    She cleared her throat. With a sound that was half sigh, half groan, he faced her. She had decided to change into baggy sweats that matched the oversized sweatshirt. Unfortunately, instead of sexy, she now looked soft and cuddly. Neither helped Griff’s frame of mind.
    “The rabbit’s my favorite,” she said.
    He frowned and replaced the animal.
    “Getting back to your point.” She gestured towards the door. “As it happens, I live in a high-security building. And the door was unlocked, not open.”
    “Like a burglar or rapist would have recognized the difference,” he said. “And it must have opened while you slept.”
    “Oh.” She looked down, apparently duly chastised.
    At least he’d made his point about her safety.
    Suddenly, she glanced up, her dark eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Just how did you get up here without the doorman calling first?”
    “I latched onto a large party headed for another floor since you didn’t answer my phone calls, apparently because you were asleep and your phone is on vibrate.”
    She turned her head in the direction where her cell laid on the small end table. “Good thinking.”
    “And if I could do that, so could anyone.”
    “Point taken. I’ll be more careful in the future, though I was expecting company.”
    Male or female? None of your damned business . This evening was not