The Bite of Silence читать онлайн

t looking. “Leave the shade alone.”Ooh, four words in a row. I was on a roll. “It’ll keep me from bothering you.” I reached for the shade with my other hand.He swept it out of the air with two fingers-of his same hand. Both my wrists were caught, one snared in forefinger and thumb, the other between palm and two fingers. Damn, the man had big hands.Made me kinda shivery. “You’re on business? I thought you helped Julian Emerson manage those two teeny townhouses in Meiers Corners. What business would you have in New York? Unless you’re a lawyer too?”“No.” He released me and went back to his netbook.If our conversation were a ball, he’d not only dropped it, he’d punched a hole in it and squashed it flat. Luckily I had conversation for both of us. “I’m going to see my cousin. I did him a big favor and he invited me to visit him in return.” I waited for a response or an “uh-huh” or even a dark glare.Futile, of course. Fine. Conversation enough for both of us would have to be literal. I pitched my voice low. “What favor, Twyla?” Resetting to me I answered, “I’m glad you asked, Nikos. As executive admin for the mayor of Meiers Corners, I’m a bit of a bureaucratic whiz, and I cut some red tape for him with an international company.” I dropped back to Nikos’s deep growl. “Uh-huh. Tell me more.”A corner of his mouth twitched. The man-or a bit more-had burnt umber lips etched with the accuracy of a cursive italic nib. I wanted to kiss them in the worst way.“Don’t,” he said again.“I wasn’t going to make a snarky comment.”“I know.” His lids closed slowly. “Don’t look at me like that.”Ooh, six words. And he’d caught my heated interest. Maybe that even meant he was interested in return. I was making progress.A shrill soprano drilled th