Mighty Quinns Ian

SHE CAUGHT HIS gaze from across the room. Declan Quinn glanced over his shoulder at the beautiful blonde in the slinky blue dress. She gave him a seductive smile, an unspoken invitation to approach, and Dec let his gaze drift lazily from her face to her tanned and lithe body. Her dress, cut low in the front, left her arms and shoulders tantalizingly bare. Though the length fell slightly below her knee, a deep slit offered a view of a well-toned thigh. From the moment she'd entered the party, they'd been caught in this silent dance, two strangers...interested...attracted. Declan was never one to shy away from any interest from the opposite sex. But tonight, it could be no more than a casual attraction. Besides, it was obvious what she was looking for. From the huge diamond on her finger and the old man on her arm, she'd settle for a quick roll in the hay with a man half her husband's age. Dec had a strict policy of never mixing business with pleasure, no matter how stunningly attractive and warmly willing that pleasure might be. He was here in Newport to do a job, to provide security for Edward and Eva Winslow's annual garden party. Screwing one of their guests in the hall closet just wasn't considered professional behavior. Dec's cell phone buzzed in the pocket of his linen trousers and he snatched it out, turning away from the doe-eyed beauty. "Declan Quinn," he murmured as he stepped off the terrace and into the house. "Hi, Dec, it's Sally Hughes over at Bonnett Harbor P.D. Your brother asked that I call you." "Is everything all right?" Dec asked, an uneasy feeling rushing over him. His older brother, Ian, was the police chief in their hometown of Bonnett Harbor, a small village across the waters of Narragansett Bay from Newport. "Are my folks all right?" "Sure, sure," she said. "I'm calling about Eden Ross. She's been spotted over at the Sandpiper Motel. As far as we can tell, she called in a report of a car theft in progress in order to slip away from some tabloid press. We sent Delaney and Wilson over there and they're holding the reporters. I figured if you'd like to talk to them, I'll have them brought to the station." "Where's Eden Ross?" Dec asked. "She and the guy she was with slipped away sometime after our officers arrived." "Let me talk to Ian," Dec said. "I'm afraid he's busy. He's got a couple of agents from the FBI here on some art forgery case." Dec cursed softly. Just yesterday he'd had Ian in his office in Providence along with an art expert. Somehow, his brother had gotten mixed up with Hector Arantes, a known art forger, and Hector's beautiful daughter, Marisol. The case had obviously taken a turn now that the FBI was involved and Ian would have no time to help Declan track down Eden Ross. "Call your guys and tell them I'll meet them at the Sandpiper," he said. "I'll be there in ten minutes." He snapped the phone shut and turned for the door, then felt a hand on his arm. "You're not leaving, are you?" The blonde slowly circled him, placing herself between him and the door. She leaned into him, her hips pressing against his suggestively. Dec forced a smile. "Business calls," he said. "There are more important things than business," she said, her fingers sliding down his arm to touch his hand. Dec chuckled. If he wanted her, he could have her, probably right underneath her husband's nose. They could find an empty bedroom, lock the door behind them, and go at it for ten or fifteen minutes. Or they could make plans to meet later that evening, maybe at a discreet motel across the bay. Hell, there had been a time in his life when he would have welcomed sex without strings. But not now, and definitely not tonight. "As much as I would like to indulge," he said, "I'm afraid I can't. First of all, I'm chasing a runaway party girl around New England and if I don't find her, her father is going to cancel the million-dollar retainHoffmann, Kate is the author of 'Mighty Quinns Ian', published 2006 under ISBN 9780373792955 and ISBN 0373792956.