Page 31 of The Woman on the Jury

Halle

The knock at the door had my heart shooting up into my throat as I stood almost naked in the bathroom, trying to finger-comb my wet hair since I hadn’t brought a brush.

I had theDo Not Disturbsign on the door.

No one should have been knocking.

I hadn’t given the locks a second thought after I’d secured them when I’d first entered the room, but I was suddenly terrified that they could be compromised.

I grabbed the robe off the back of the door—scratchy and a helluva lot less luxurious than you’d expect from a hotel robe, but at least it smelled clean—and threw it on, tying the belt.

“Open the door, Halle,” a voice called.

Calm.

Smooth.

Darkly sexy.

Could something bedarklysexy?

Well, I guess it could.

Because his voice totally was.

How was he… here, though?

I hadn’t told him where I was staying, let alone which room I was staying in.

I suddenly understood perfectly why many mafia juries were sequestered. Because men like this, with pockets as deep as his, could get to anyone they wanted to.

“Halle,” Cosimo called again, making me jump.

“Coming,” I called, padding through the minuscule bedroom, wondering how the hell he was even going to fit in there with me.

I slid the locks, then reached to pull the door open.

And there he was.

In another of his expensive-looking all-black suits. At eight in the morning. I didn’t exactly miss that watch of his either. It wasn’t antique, but I was getting decent at estimating something’s worth just by looking at it.

Five grand?

Eight?

Somewhere in that range.

My entire wardrobe didn’t even equal that.

“How did—“ I started to ask, peeking out just the small opening I’d created.

Which, apparently, was unacceptable to Cosimo. His hand shot out, pushing the door fully open.

I felt naked under his gaze as it moved over me. From the top of my head to the tip of my toes, then back upward. He lingered a bit at my thighs, since this robe was of the short variety, as well as the V between my breasts where the material wasn’t staying together like it was supposed to before he found my face again.

“Why the fuck are you staying in this shithole?” he asked, surprising me enough to take a step back and allow him in as he moved forward.

Great.

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