Page 116 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

Why did he torture himself like this?

An Excerpt from

THE LAWS OF SEDUCTION

A French Kiss Novel

by Gwen Jones

In the final fun and sexy French Kiss novel, sparks fly as sassy lawyer Charlotte Andreko and Rex Renaud, the COO of Mercier Shipping, race to clear his name after he’s arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.

Center City District Police Headquarters

Philadelphia, PA

Monday, September 29

11:35 PM

In her fifteen years as an attorney, Charlotte had never let anyone throw her off her game, and she wasn’t about to let it happen now.

So why was she shaking in her Louboutins?

“Put your briefcase and purse on the belt, keys in the tray, and step through,” the officer said, waving her into the metal detector.

She complied, cold washing through her as the gate behind her clanged shut. She glanced over her shoulder, thinking how much better she liked it when her interpretation of “bar” remained figurative.

“Name . . . ?” asked the other cop at the desk.

“Charlotte Andreko.”

He ran down the list, checking her off, then held out his hand, waggling it. “Photo ID and attorney card.”

She grabbed her purse from the other side of the metal detector and dug into it, producing both. After the officer examined them, he sat back with a smirk. “So you’re here for that Frenchie dude, huh? What’s he—some kinda big deal?”

She eyed him coolly, hefting her briefcase from the belt. “They’re all just clients to me.”

“That so?” He dropped his gaze, fingering her IDs. “How come he don’t have to sit in a cell? Why’d he get a private room?”

Why are you scoping my legs, you big douche? “It’s your jail. Why’d you give him one?”

He cocked a brow. “You’re pretty sassy, ain’t you?”

“And you’re wasting my time,” she said, swiping back her IDs. God, it’s times like these I really hate men. “Are you going to let me through or what?”

He didn’t answer. He just leered at her with that simpering grin as he handed her a visitor’s badge, reaching back to open the next gate.

“Thank you.” She clipped it on, following the other cop to one more door at the other side of the vestibule.

“It’s late,” the officer said, pressing a code into a keypad, “so we can’t give you much time.”

“I won’t need much.” After all, how long could it take to say no fucking way?

“Then just ring the buzzer by the door when you’re ready to leave.” When he opened the door and she stepped in, her breath immediately caught at the sight of the man behind it. She clutched her briefcase so tightly she could feel the blood rushing from her fingers.

“Bonsoir, Mademoiselle Andreko,” Rex Renaud said.

Even with his large body cramped behind a metal table, the Mercier Shipping COO had never looked more imposing—and, in spite of his circumstances, never more elegant. The last time they’d met had been in Boston, negotiating the separation terms of his company’s lone female captain, Dani Lloyd, who had recently become Marcel Mercier’s wife. With his cashmere Kiton bespoke now replaced by Gucci black tie, he struck an odd contrast in that concrete room, yet still exuded a coiled and barely contained strength. He folded his arms across his chest as his black eyes fixed on hers, Charlotte getting the distinct impression he more or less regarded her as cornered prey.

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