Seeker of Shadows by Nancy Gideon

ladies out,” he offered, draping his beefy arms about their shoulders to steer them toward the steps.
    Even knowing they couldn’t see her, Susanna took a cautious step back from the window.
    She could hear them right outside the door. The buxom one blurted, “I forgot my keys,” and darted back down to the servers’ galley. That’s when her blonde counterpart made her move.
    “The night’s still young, boss. I’ve a case of cold ones in the fridge and clean sheets on the bed just in case I get lucky. Wanna see if some of that luck will rub off?”
    “I thought your roommate was back on days? Wouldn’t want to wake her up.”
    “Oh, trust me. She wouldn’t mind at all. Three’s a partaay.”
    A playful chuckle. “I’m too old for that shit, Jen.”
    “What? Since when? Last weekend? I didn’t hear you complaining then.”
    “Good night, Jennifer.”
    A loud, juicy-sounding kiss. “If you change your mind . . .”
    A tolerant chuckle this time. “Be careful out there.”
    “Where’s the fun in that? Night, Amber.”
    “Night, Jen.”
    The outside door opened and closed.
    After a long silence, she heard Amber ask, “You okay?”
    “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “I don’t know. Looks like you got a case of the blues. That why you turned down the case of cold ones?”
    Jacques laughed. “That’s not what Jen had a case of, darlin’.”
    An amused chuckle was followed by Amber’s own more subtle overture. “Why don’t you stop over on your way home and I’ll fix you up a bowl of gumbo, and if you feel like talking, I’ll listen.”
    “Thanks, but I’m not much in the talking mood.”
    “You can just sit and not say anything. That’d be fine, too.”
    “I’m fine with my own company tonight. Another time.”
    “You need someone to take care of you, Jacques.”
    “You volunteering to be my mama, chere ? Git on outta here so I can lock up.”
    A laugh followed by a contented sigh. “A girl could do worse, you know.”
    “And a hell of a lot better. G’night. Give your little bebe a kiss for me.”
    “So you can break her heart, too? See you tomorrow night. Don’t stay too late.”
    “Yes, Mama.”
    Susanna was quick to turn her back to the door but she could still see his reflection in the glass. He filled the door frame, head lowered, broad shoulders slumped, then moved by a tremendous breath. He looked up, studying her for a long minute, features in shadow.
    Did he hate so much that she was there?
    When she turned to regard him, his blatant masculinity hit her like an El train. In Chicago, he’d been a sanitized version of this hulking, primal male. He’d added mass to his upper body, showcasing that new dimension with his sleeves rolled up and his white shirtonly partially buttoned to display a gleaming acre of muscle. There was a different attitude, as well: tough, cocky, a bit reckless, yet still with that cautious caginess. She envied the females who’d felt free to put their hands on him, hoping that pang wasn’t evident when she said, “You have a very attentive staff.”
    “They’re nice girls. We all take care of each other here. Something I don’t expect you to understand. Your kind frowns on the baser needs like companionship or affection.”
    Oh, she understood just fine, aching for a little of either from him at that moment. But of course she’d made that impossible. No use crying about it now. Her words came out purposefully tart. “I’m almost set up here. You don’t need to stay any longer. Your gumbo is getting cold.”
    He chuckled and stepped into the room. “If you were an ordinary female, I’d say I heard a bite of bitchiness in that remark. But you don’t stoop to spite, do you?”
    Her heart clenched in a sad little spasm at his hard summation. “No. Of course not.”
    Instead of leaving, Jacques crossed over to one of the couches, dropping onto it with a groan, pushing his long legs out in front of him and arms overhead in a leisurely,