When they'd both come back to their senses, Cyndi had suggested they go through her father's papers. At first, he'd been reluctant to read them, but Cyndi had insisted. She was curled up next to him, perusing one of the leather-bound journals, a small pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She'd been almost hesitant to put them on. He thought they made her look adorable.

Her brow furrowed as she flipped back several pages and then forward again. “This can't be right."

"What can't be right?"

She took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and put them back on. “If I'm reading this right, then my father and his lawyers were involved in some questionable activities regarding land acquisitions."

"Let me see that.” He leaned closer and Cyndi pointed out some of the notations.

"My father actually falsified bank records to foreclose on this property, and it's not the first time he's done it. He's noted that Mr. Harris provided legal documents necessary for him to do so. That's fraud."

Shamus whistled under his breath. “The cops need to be informed of this."

Cyndi licked her lips and shifted on the mattress. “Can we trust them?"

Her tentativeness told him that she didn't want to offend him, nor did she truly trust his brother. He couldn't blame her, as Patrick hadn't exactly put his best foot forward with her. “You can trust Patrick. He may not like you, but you can be damn sure that he'll get to the bottom of this mess."

"Okay. But I want to make several copies of this first. I want one in the safe and one with my lawyer, just in case the evidence goes missing at some point.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “It's not necessarily Patrick I'm worried about. I know my father and if it was possible, he had a contact somewhere in the sheriff's department. There's no mention of anyone, but I don't want to take chances."

"Good enough. We'll take care of that in the morning. What else is in those journals?"

It took them several more hours to finish scouring the leather-bound books. They found out that a former mayor had a gambling problem and owed money to Cyndi's father. Another town official had a penchant for prostitutes. It seemed that Cyndi's father was privy to most of the secrets in town.

Shamus wanted these incriminating journals out of the house immediately. “Who else knows these are here?"

"No one. Just you and me. Oh, and your brother. I told him what I'd found in the safe the night of the shooting."

"But he just thinks they're personal papers?"

Cyndi nodded. “Yes."

"Okay, we have to assume the people involved don't realize that your father kept a private journal."

"Why do we assume that?"

Shamus pried the journal from Cyndi's cold fingers and laid it on the bedside table. “Because someone would have tried to recover it by now, if they'd known about it. The house was empty for several weeks before you got here. Even before that, there was only a small staff here. Lots of opportunity for them to try."

She pushed back a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear. “I see what you mean. All the paperwork in the files looks perfectly legal. If I hadn't found these journals, I'd never have questioned them.” Her fingers tightened around the covers. “Oh, Shamus. What kind of man does what my father did? He cheated some people and blackmailed others, not for money, but for favors."

He plucked her glasses off and tossed them aside before drawing her into his arms. She felt cold, so he rubbed his hand over her arm, trying to warm her. “I don't know, sweetheart. But you aren't anything like him."

"Are you sure?"

The uncertainty in her voice tore at him. “I'm sure. No matter what anyone else might think, I know better."

She buried her face against his chest. “Thank you for that. You have no idea what it means to me."

He wanted to comfort her, but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. She was uncovering nasty secrets about her family, and she hadn't had a good family history to begin with. Her life with her father had been a nightmare, and now when it should have been finally over, it seemed as if it was just beginning.

"I'm sorry,” he murmured as he continued to stroke her arm. “Sorry you have to go through all this."

His body was responding to her nearness. He could smell the flowery scent of her soap. He recognized it from what he'd found in the shower stall earlier. Her skin was soft and she was only wearing a short nightgown made of some silky material. It brushed against his chest every time she moved, making him tense as he swallowed a groan of desire. He wanted her again.

His shaft stirred, pressing against her hip. He tried to ignore it, but it was getting harder to do it with each passing second. He had a warm, sexy woman in his arms, her musky scent mingling with the fragrance of her soap to create an aphrodisiac that stirred his senses. He wanted her. Wanted to lay her on her back, mount her, and rock them both into oblivion.

But he wouldn't.

Right now, Cyndi needed comfort and he wanted to give that to her more than he wanted to fulfill a physical need. It might kill him, but he was determined.

"Shamus?"

Her husky tone sent a shiver down his spine and his erection pulsed. “What?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she pulled away from his embrace and came up on her knees beside him. Her blue eyes were huge as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her gown, drawing it over her head.

Shamus swallowed hard and reached for her, but she moved just beyond his grasp.

"Let me."

He leaned back against the pillows. Whatever she wanted was hers.

Chapter Eighteen

A shiver skated down Cyndi's spine at the heat in Shamus’ eyes. Being naked in front of him stoked her desire higher. She might be almost a decade his senior, but it no longer mattered. Not when he looked at her like that. One thing she never doubted was the fact that he wanted her. But it went further than that. He truly believed in her and genuinely liked her. That, more than anything, is what attracted her to him.

Her nipples tightened as he tucked his hands beneath his head and sprawled back against the pillows. The muscles in his arms bulged, his stomach rippled. A slow trickle of cream slid from her sex, a reminder of just how much she wanted this man.

A slow, sexy grin crossed his face. His hair was loose, falling about his shoulders like a mahogany curtain. She wanted to run her fingers through it. Later, she wanted to feel those silky strands against her breasts, her stomach, and her thighs.

She licked her lips, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Her skin felt tight and she ached between her thighs. She wanted, no—needed, the heat that flared between them whenever they touched.

Cyndi wanted to forget. To put out of her mind everything they'd just uncovered. She'd had always suspected her father's methods had been less than legal on occasions, but she'd never imagined the depths he'd sunk to in order to get what he wanted. She felt tainted, stained by virtue of being a member of the same family.

She didn't realize she'd wrapped her arms around herself until Shamus's quiet voice penetrated her misery. “Cyndi. Why don't we just get some rest? It's late and we have to be up in a couple of hours.” His eyes were mostly gray, dark with concern. For her.

Slowly, she released her arms, letting them fall back by her sides. This was an opportunity she wasn't about to miss. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? Cyndi still couldn't quite bring herself to believe that their relationship would last, but she no longer cared. No matter how much time they had, she wanted to make the most of it.

A man like Shamus entered a woman's life once, if she were lucky. Not only was he gorgeous to look at, but he was also honorable and kind, and his loyalty was unshakable.

Cyndi loved him. There was no need to deny the truth any longer. Something about Shamus made every part of her body and soul yearn to be closer. He was easy to spend time with, and they worked side by side as if they'd been doing it for years instead of days. If she might only have him for a short while, she wanted to make the most of it.

Scooting closer, she straddled one of his heavy thighs. The coarse hair tickled the inside of her smooth legs, reminding her of the intrinsic differences between the male and female of the species. And Shamus was quite the specimen. Large and heavily muscled, he was the quintessential male.

Placing her palms on his thighs, she stroked upward. His cock was already swollen and ready, but she ignored it for the moment. First, she wanted to touch his magnificent chest.

Her palms heated as she touched him. Muscles rippled beneath his flesh as she learned every angle and plane of his torso. A soft rumbling sound came from low in his chest, almost like the purr of a large cat. Cyndi kneaded the heavy muscles, enjoying the hard, rough feel of him.

She jerked as a hand cupped her breast, but then moaned and pushed it harder into his hand. The tight nipple stabbed the center of his palm.

Lowering her head, she flicked her tongue over his flat nipple. The brown disk puckered and Shamus groaned, his long legs shifting restlessly. She could feel his erection prodding her belly as she leaned over him. Her stomach felt damp from the liquid seeping from the tip.

Kissing her way to the other side, she did the same thing to his other nipple. She loved the way the thin line of crisp hair bisecting his chest tickled her nose. His hand tightened on her breast, and she nipped at his chest lightly. He gave her breast one final squeeze, and let his hand drop back down to the mattress.