Eclipse of the Heart - By Carly Carson Page 0,41

like to pay for sex." Before he knew what she intended, she pulled the tie at the bottom of her blouse and flipped open the two sides of the shirt. "Perhaps I could tempt you."

"Sorry." He averted his eyes from her amazing tits. Why in hell had he gotten rid of Blankenship? Who knew what this woman would do next? More importantly, how could he get rid of her? He really wasn't interested in insulting her, but he sure as hell didn't want to see her try to wriggle out of those pants. "You're not my type," he muttered.

"We have far more in common than you think, Logan." She leaned over his desk, her breasts swaying. "I, too, had a sister."

Logan jerked in his seat, though his mind was frozen in shock. How dare she?

"Oh, yes," she added. "I know all about you, Logan Winter. I know exactly why you keep everyone at an arm's length distance. Everyone knows your strengths. But only I know your pain." She leaned her hip against his desk. "And your weakness."

He shoved back his chair. "You know nothing," he said, his voice deep with agony. "Whatever you think you know is wrong. Whatever you're planning is not going to happen. Your office is being cleaned out right now. I suggest you go salvage your personal belongings."

Phoebe straightened up. Her face contorted in a snarl. "You're being hasty, Logan, and I promise you, you'll regret it." She grabbed the ends of her shirt and twisted them together. "This—" She shoved her hand into her purse—"is the only personal belonging I care about."

She slapped a dog-eared photo down on his desk. "I've been carrying this around for just this moment." Her long, manicured fingernail tapped the picture. "Here's my sister. Set your uber-hot guard dog on that, Logan."

She turned toward the door but then looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah, I've fucked him, too. You're the only holdout, Logan." She smiled. "So far."

Before she'd made it past Rosie's desk, Logan had Blankenship on the phone. "Find out about her sister," he told Noah. He didn't need to go into details with Noah, which is one reason why the man was so useful. Logan didn't know what he'd do with the information Noah discovered. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was understanding how and why Phoebe had become so twisted, so that he'd have facts to use against her if necessary.

When Blankenship reported back around dinnertime, Logan was surprised. Phoebe and her sister had been hit by a drunk driver when Phoebe was twenty-one and her sister was only twelve. Phoebe had survived, basically without a scratch. Her sister had died. Yeah, there was a lot of potential for guilt there, deserved or otherwise. Phoebe had been driving.

Logan clicked off the report Noah had sent him. He couldn't turn off the words so easily.

Two accidents.

Two deaths.

Phoebe was right about one thing. They did have something in common.

But he had a more pressing personal problem to deal with. He picked up his phone and contacted Amanda.

***

Logan threw a photo clipped from the newspaper onto his desk.

Amanda's eyes widened as she saw the image of her and Josh standing next to the O'Briens at the American Lung Association benefit.

She glanced at Logan. Why was he showing her this?

"Had an exhausting weekend?" Logan opened the inquisition with a snarl.

Amanda gaped at him. Her weekend had been somewhat depressing, truth be told. She and Josh had attended the gala, which had been fun enough. But she'd let Josh kiss her when he took her home, and there had been no spark. She hadn't invited him in, and he hadn't mentioned another date.

Deep in her heart, she feared she was comparing Josh to Logan, and Josh couldn't measure up. No man could. She didn't doubt Josh could sense her coolness, although it was certainly possible that he didn't feel any spark either, because there simply wasn't any chemistry between them.

But she still had a need for a boyfriend. Soon.

"My weekend was fine," she said to Logan.

"I didn't realize you were dating one of your colleagues," Logan snapped.

"I—I"— She stopped her stammering and tried to swallow. Her mouth was so dry. "Is that against company policy?"

"It could hardly be, since I am pursuing you."

Pursuing her? The words echoed, even as a burst of delight exploded within her like a mini-firecracker. She shouldn't be pleased at his words. She knew perfectly well, if he was pursuing her, his only intention was to