Page 8 of Seductive Secrets

Ruppert was the “king” of the herd, despite also being the smallest. He was incredibly protective of all of the horses in James’ pastures.

Angela couldn’t stifle her laughter at his disgruntled tone. “You used to have a very prestigious stable, didn’t you?”

He grunted as the doors to the elevator opened up again. “Iusedto. Now…” he sighed heavily.

They walked through the lobby towards the glass doors leading back outside. “Surely, you can’t complain about a bunch of cats and a couple of chinchillas?”

They stepped out into the spring sunshine and she pulled her coat off to better enjoy the warmth.

“Acoupleof chinchillas?” he spat with apparent disgust. “Do you know how many babies one chinchilla can give birth to?”

She laughed, once again covering her mouth with her hand. He didn’t look happy at all, but…he was just too cute! He was a big, brawny, powerful man with crazy wealth at his disposal. But he was complaining about chinchillas!

“No idea,” she finally replied.

“Four chinchillas! And they don’t have just one litter a year. Nope! The female is pregnant again already! The vet informed me two weeks ago.” He yanked the passenger side door open for her as he continued ranting, “So, not only do I have the original four chinchillas, but also the six baby chinchillas are scampering around my stables. I breed world-class champions, Angela. And those thoroughbreds aretiptoeing around, trying to avoid stepping on chickens, cats, and chinchillas! They areeverywhere!”

Angela couldn’t hold back her laughter. She actually doubled over, clutching her stomach as she wheezed.

“Laugh it up!” he growled. “But don’t be surprised if you get an unexpected delivery and it wiggles.”

That only made her laugh harder, as tears ran down her cheeks.

James rolled his eyes, chuckling himself. He couldn’t believe how nice it was to hear her laugh. When they’d first met on the street, she’d glared at him, refused to use his first name, and had tried to do this investigation alone. Now she was wiping tears from her sparkling eyes, relaxed and laughing with him.

Damn, she was beautiful!

“Oh my! Thank you,” she sighed. “I haven’t laughed that hard in years!”

“Happy to be the comic relief in your life, my dear.”

She chuckled again, as she ducked into his car. Closing the door, he wondered how he could get her into a skirt so he could properly admire her legs. She always wore slacks.

Of course, he hadn’t known her very long. He’d first met her last October for only a few days and then today. She’d worn jeans and a baggy sweater last October. Today, she’d donned a pair of black slacks with a white, silk blouse. She should have looked like a bumblebee with that yellow coat. Instead, she looked sophisticated and fashionable.

He suddenly realized that she wasn’t wearing stilettoes, which would have made that outfit look…he wasn’t sure what theword for it. She wore a pair of pumps, but the heels were wider, almost square. He wondered about that as he started his car.

“Where is this laboratory?” she asked after he’d pulled into traffic.

He was heading for the highway, she noticed, most likely Interstate Ninety-Five. That was one road she avoided like the plague whenever she traveled to the East Coast! That highway started in Maine and continued all the way down to Florida. It was the main route for the East Coast of the United States, which meant thateveryoneused it. In some areas, the ninety-five corridor traffic would come to a complete halt. There were accidents, of course, that stopped traffic. And because people drove so fast, the accidents could be deadly. But mostly, it was just congestion, especially in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. Those frustrating, non-sensical delays went even further south, all the way to Fredericksburg, Virginia. A five hour trip to the beach could end up being seven or even eight hours because of the traffic.

“It’s outside of Baltimore, but still in Maryland, so not far from here.”

“And you’re taking ninety-five?” she asked, her voice showing her lack of confidence in his decision making capabilities.

He grinned at her. “I like to live dangerously.”

She sighed and settled into the soft leather seat. “I need a book,” she grumbled.

He laughed, but continued on, heading south. Thankfully, there was only one minor hiccup on the highway. As usual, there didn’t seem to be a reason for the delay. Traffic was going above the speed limit one moment, then everyone slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. Five minutes later,the traffic sped up again. No accident. No major entrance where thousands of new vehicles were entering the highway. Just…crazy traffic.

A half hour later, they pulled into the parking lot of a non-descript three story building. There wasn’t even a name on the building.

“Is this it?” she asked, releasing her seatbelt as she looked around.

“This is it,” he assured her.

Angela grabbed her purse and followed him inside. She shouldn’t have doubted him. Inside the building, the reception area looked like it was from the future. Lots of modern lines and technical looking pictures on the wall.

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