Ahh, Mona, the chatty albeit friendly woman from The Last Word who enjoyed prying information from her customers. "I'll have to thank her for the business." Though he'd always thought of Liz in terms of pure, unadulterated pleasure. The kind that made him wake up sweating in the dark of night, his muscles rigid and his cock granite-hard from erotic images of Liz beneath him, her body soft and inviting and just as tight as his own fist stroking his erection.

Before his libido reacted to the nightly, obsessive dreams that plagued him, he leaned his backside against his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Adams?"

"Actually, it's Ms. Adams," she clarified.

He glanced at the ring she was absently twisting around her finger. Since she'd come to him and was in his territory, he figured he had every right to ask frank, personal questions. "So, you're not married?"

She shook her head, causing her silky, shoulder-length blond hair to brush along her jawline. "No, I'm single."

She didn't give an explanation for the band she wore that indicated otherwise, but he'd just learned all he needed to know to give him the incentive to pursue her on a more intimate level. With less than two feet of space separating them, there was no denying the awareness between them, and their attraction was something he had no qualms about using to get what he wanted.

And what he desired was her.

But first, he was curious to know her reasons for seeking him out. He inclined his head and prompted, "And you're here because…?"

She inhaled a deep breath, causing her breasts to rise and fall in a very beguiling way. "I'd like to inquire about your services."

Her tone was very businesslike, but he couldn't stop the slow, shameless grin her double-edged words evoked. "By all means, have a seat and let's discuss what services of mine you're interested in," he drawled, and indicated one of the tweed chairs behind her while he rounded his desk to his own leather seat.

Her cheeks flushed a becoming shade of pink at his subtle innuendo as she settled herself in the chair facing his desk and crossed one leg over the other. "Since you're a private investigator, I'm hoping you can help me out. My cousin, Valerie Clark, is missing."

Her statement took him momentarily off guard. While he'd been surprised that she'd shown up at his agency without an appointment, the last thing he'd expected was her soliciting his help on a professional level. Years of training, first as a beat cop, then as a PI, told him she was being completely straightforward and serious with her request, and the distress he detected in the depths of her eyes was real.

Interest of a different kind took hold, and he set aside the file he'd been reviewing and reached for his pen and pad of paper, his mind already in an investigative mode. "Why don't you tell me what you know about your cousin's disappearance, from the beginning, and we'll go from there."

He jotted down notes as she proceeded to brief him on Valerie Clark's situation, from her involvement in The Ultimate Fantasy, a phone sex business, to the new boyfriend Valerie had started seeing recently, who'd been a client. With thought-provoking questions, he drew more information from Liz and discovered her concern that The Ultimate Fantasy offered more "behind the scenes" services, which were an extension of the phone sex business, and her belief that her cousin was involved in those extracurricular activities with the man she'd been seeing on the side.

Leaning back in his chair, he rolled his pen between his fingers as his gaze took in her hopeful expression-hope that he'd agree to help find her missing cousin. "Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if The Ultimate Fantasy did offer their clients more than basic lip service. These places are notorious for inviting certain clients who spend a lot of money on phone sex to private parties that offer drugs and stimulants, prostitution, and other sexual services. Sex is a big moneymaker, and a place like The Ultimate Fantasy has the employees and clients to capitalize on such a lucrative side business."

She nodded in agreement, obviously having come to the same conclusion on her own. "As much as I hate the thought of Valerie being involved in such a shady organization-and believe me, I discouraged her as much as possible about taking on the job-I know she's attended those work parties with other coworkers and with this guy she recently started seeing."

"Do you know this man's name?" he asked.

"Rob. Valerie never mentioned a last name." Seemingly feeling restless, she stood and paced to the windows overlooking the building's parking lot from two stories up. "Valerie and I live together. Over the past month, there have been times when she's been gone a day or two with Rob, but she's never been away longer than a weekend," she said, her voice tinged with what sounded to him like a heavy weight of guilt. "Since I haven't heard from her and it's already three days into the week, I can't help but worry that she's gotten herself in over her head with this guy she's seeing. And the only link I have to her right now is through The Ultimate Fantasy."

As his gaze lingered on her profile, he listened as she went on to explain her conversation with the police, and heard the frustration in her tone when she told him that they refused to do anything more than file a missing-persons report until they had something more substantial to investigate. As a former police officer, he was familiar with the department drill. He also knew how important it was to start a trace on a missing person ASAP, when there was still a warm trail to follow and before potential leads dried up.

He needed something substantial to give him a solid lead. Something more tangible to trace.

Steve thought about the scenario Liz had laid out for him, his gut instinct agreeing with her suspicion that her cousin's disappearance was somehow connected to her date and The Ultimate Fantasy party she'd attended. Which made his normal, straightforward investigative procedures a bit more difficult to follow. Because in a case like this, he needed inside connections to pursue eyewitness accounts of Valerie actually being at the party, when she'd left, and whether any of those people knew who her date was, or even his last name. At this point, any small kernel of information would help him to trace Valerie.

He wished the proceedings could be as simple as flashing his badge to an employee or office manager and asking questions about Valerie and The Ultimate Fantasy parties, but he was certain any mention of an investigation on his end wouldn't go over well with the owners. He'd probably immediately get tossed out on his ass with a warning not to return.

He wasn't looking to bust anyone, but he needed to unearth related and helpful facts, which meant going undercover to dig up details on Valerie Clark's whereabouts.

"If you decide you want me to take on the case, I'll need to find a way to get an invitation to attend one of the fantasy parties, which might take a little time since I'll have to establish a calling pattern with one of the operators and work my way in from there."

She turned around quickly, her green eyes bright with enthusiasm. "Maybe I can help you with that."

He frowned, unable to guess what she was getting at. "How so?"

She cast a glance at the watch on her wrist, then back at him. "I have an interview at The Ultimate Fantasy in about an hour for part-time evening work as a phone operator. My cousin told me it was pretty easy to get hired on, and I thought if I could get inside the company, I could ask around about Valerie and find out where she was last seen, and with whom."

He raised a dark brow at her daring. "That was-"

"Stupid?" she interjected before he could finish, her spine straightening defensively.

A slow burn of arousal ignited in his blood. God, even that determined spark and fire of hers turned him on, because he knew she'd be just as zealous and hot in his bed. "I was thinking more along the lines of gutsy."

"Oh." She relaxed and offered him a contrite smile he found too damned sexy. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He meant the compliment. Not many women would have the nerve and fortitude to embroil themselves in the business world of sex and sin, all for the sake of finding a cousin. It made him wonder if Liz would be willing to indulge in fantasies and erotic games for the pure pleasure of it. With him, of course.

Having established that she was single, he intended to find out.

But for the moment, he tapped his pen against his notepad and considered her willingness to help find her cousin. While he didn't usually allow his clients to get directly involved in the cases he chose to investigate, he couldn't deny that having Liz working the inside track of The Ultimate Fantasy would give him easier and faster entry to the private parties they held. Which in turn would, hopefully, provide the access and information to Valerie's whereabouts they needed, especially with Liz, an employee of the business, on his arm. And since he had a strong hunch she'd pursue the phone sex business with or without his agreement, he figured she'd be better off with him on her side, making sure she remained safe.

"I'll take the case," he said, knowing he was offering his services for more reasons than just to find her cousin.

Being with Liz added a huge incentive as well, but Steve had a sixteen-year-old daughter of his own, and Steffie was never far from his mind when he came across cases that involved young girls or women in perilous situations. The "What if it were Steffie?" question always seemed to prey on his conscience and prompted him to accept the case in hopes of securing a happy ending for all and peace of mind for himself. Based on what Liz had told him about Valerie's personality, his gut told him she wasn't in mortal danger, but he'd never play Russian roulette with another person's life.