The Angels' Share by Maya Hess Page A

information that skittled my mind almost as much as his lips. ‘I know everything about the man. I could tell you his innermost thoughts, his desires, his intentions. I can tell you his favourite food, what car he drives, where he went to school and who his friends are. I could even tell you what aftershave he uses.’
    Dominic wasn’t at all affronted by my withdrawal. In fact, my reluctance to return his kiss seemed to fuel him more. For the third time in less than an hour, he gripped my wrist, pulling me back onto the bed.
    ‘You know him that well?’ I asked nervously, allowing Dominic to lay me down on the pillows again.
    ‘Better than you can imagine.’ The gardener’s lips nipped at mine but didn’t deliver the forceful kiss I had expected. My heart jammed against my ribs and a voice screamed in my head to run back to the beach cottage. A mild waft of whisky coupled with the tang of rain and bonfires drifted from his body, instantly annihilating my senses. Looming above me, Dominic coaxed me with his mouth, nuzzling, biting and nipping at my face and neck until he thought I was ready to hear his offer. I was too busy coping with his teasings to initially absorb what he said.
    ‘If you take your clothes off, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Ethan Kinrade.’ His mouth stopped work and his eyes narrowed, assessing my reaction.
    I was stunned. Dominic had verbally clouted me on the side of the head. Everything I had travelled so far to learn was being offered to me in a convenient package and all I had to do was strip and give Creg-ny-Varn’s gardener a glimpse of what lay beneath my drenched layers. Momentarily, I was keen to shed my uncomfortable clothes but the idea of prostituting myself to gain the upper hand over Ethan Kinrade was not something I had anticipated in my mission. I was prepared to stoop pretty low: to rummage through waste bins, to intercept mail, to eavesdrop telephone conversations, to peer through windows. But to offer my body, to lay myself vulnerable in the heart of the enemy’s domain for a virtual stranger – even if he was paying in a currency that would wipe out the need to delve further – was a tough deal to make.
    ‘Well?’ Dominic brushed a finger under my chin as if he had known me for years.
    Absurdly, I thought of my lost diary and how I could fill many pages with the day’s events. I mentally skimmed over the reams I had already written about ridiculous and unlikely fantasies, many touching on situations uncannily similar to the one I was currently in. Attractive strangers forced themselves upon me; faceless and nameless men whom I would never encounter again stole an hour of my life to cram me with a lifetime of sexual memories. And here it was. On a plate.
    ‘Well?’ I protested. ‘Well, I think you’re a shameful man without morals or a scrap of decency and if your employer knew what you were up to behind his back, he’d sack you for sure.’ It helped my conscience to put up a little struggle, made it seem not quite as painful as I unfastened my jacket.
    ‘I think Mr Kinrade would understand.’ Dominic watched intently as I stood beside the bed and allowed my wet coat to fall to the floor. ‘In my situation, I’m sure he’d do the same.’ His undeniably attractive smile broadened his face and it was then that I noticed the intent in his eyes. Before, there had been duty stored in the deep suede of his pupils, possibly a matter-of-fact dullness when he escorted me to the brick shed. Now, in a place where he should feel uneasy, another man’s domain, his eyes drooled and spread over me as if he was unwrapping a chocolate bar. Quite simply, the man was filled with lust.
    I stood in my sweatshirt and jeans. ‘Everything?’ I asked. I didn’t like it that it felt as easy as being at the doctor’s for a medical check. A part of my mind had shut down temporarily, or was it that a new part, a yet unused section of my personality, was