Page 91 of Family Affair

He framed her face in his hands. “I want you to stay safe.”

She should tell him not to touch her. She should tell him to take the high road. He was not the man she needed.

But by God he was the man she wanted.

“You could’ve warnedmeabout the video,” she couldn't keep the accusation from her tone.

He swore softly. “I didn’t know.”

“You were so tense when I walked into that office, I could tell from the start something was wrong.”

“I knew Willis would try something, anything to draw me out. I hoped you weren’t going to be involved. I never gave them your name, I swear. The bastard found you out because of the damn tape.”

She believed him, God save her gullible little soul.

“I’m sorry, Coco. For all the trouble. I won’t bother you again.” Once more, he was telling her goodbye. “Stay clear of my brothers. They are not to be trusted.”

“Even Ross?”

He made a choking sound. “Especially Ross.”

“Well…”

“Fuck.”

“About Ross.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

Taking a deep breath, Coco quickly told him about her drive-around with Ross, and about the Pollock drawing.

When she finished, he didn’t say anything for a while. He simply continued to hold her face in his hands, so close that their breaths mingled, smelling identically of plum jam.

“Why?” he asked. Such a simple question.

“I feel like the Pollock drawing belongs to your family. Like it was wrong of it to reappear somehow, to start anew what should be long finished. The drawing belongs to Frank.” She looked at him earnestly. “I wish I could give it back to him.”

His eyes were pools of emotional darkness. “Frank is dead,” he whispered against her lips.

“I know,” she whispered back. “I wanted to give it to you, but I didn’t think I’d see you again. So I told Ross. I hope I didn’t make a mistake.”

“I’m not a superstitious man, Coco, but I’m afraid this drawing is cursed. It destroys lives. Men died because of it. The reporter who had it died, then Frank. Now Ward.” His voice gave and he had to draw in a breath. “I thought it had been destroyed years ago, but suddenly it came back from the dead, and now you’ve been pulled into its orbit. It frightens me.”

“No, don’t think that. It’s just an object, a beautiful one, but still. I’m not afraid of a piece of art.” She smiled and gripped his wrists. “I’m sure Ross will get it and destroy it for real.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Cade leaned closer and their lips touched. Not quite a kiss, just a contact, and it felt electrifying. “I’m like this drawing, bad for you. I have no right to touch you.” His lips brushed hers when he spoke, teasing, and tantalizing, and generating heat in other parts of her body. “But I have no self control.”

“Cade,” she whispered so she could feel their lips move against each other. “I’m not afraid of you, just like I’m not afraid of the drawing. They are hounding you for some reason, that creepy Willis and Smirnoff… You don’t deserve it.”

His hands tightened around her face. “I didn’t kill him, I swear.”

“I know. I believe you. Why don’t they?”

He took a shuddering breath and took a small step back, letting go of her. “They are pressed to crack the case, and I am the only one they can even remotely connect to Williamson through the missing Pollock.”

She felt bereft without their physical connection. “Will you be alright?”

He laughed with an empty, hollow sound. “You know that you’re the first person to ask me that question in years? Thanks, Coco. For that alone, I owe you. And yes, I’ll be alright.”