Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) (10 page)

"Working on his dissertation. Why?" She
hugged her arms across her chest, pushing her breasts against the
fabric of her sweater.

Dillon allowed himself one look, then glanced
away. His palms itched to feel her, touch her, caress her until she
moaned with pleasure. "I thought no one was allowed back here
except employees. Especially now."

"You're right," Claire said.

"You bet I am. Don't let it happen
again."

"I won't. Not because you don't like it, but
because
I
don't like it. I'm in charge of this cafe, not
you."

Dillon ran his fingers through his hair and
paced the length of the small room, keeping his distance from the
beautiful woman standing by the desk. "All I care about is this
investigation. I can't have anything or anyone interfering with it,
you understand?" Claire was definitely interfering with the
investigation, because he was thinking about her way too much.

"I understand perfectly." She picked up a
paper clip and toyed with it. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work
to do." But she didn't move. Just stared at the paper clip, turning
it over and over between her fingers.

Dillon wondered if she really understood.
Understood that she was driving him bonkers? He stopped pacing, but
kept a safe distance from her.

She shifted her attention from the paper clip
to him. "Are you any closer to finding the hacker?" she said in
that soft voice of hers.

Dillon wanted to smooth the frown from
between those dark brows. He wanted to smooth his hands down the
entire length of her body. He gripped the back of a chair,
anchoring himself. This need, this hunger for Claire was spiraling
out of control. "I have a few suspects," he said.

"Besides Richard?"

"Yes, damn it. But I'm still watching him."
Like he was watching Claire, but for entirely different
reasons.

"You've been here almost a month," she said.
"Don't you have any clues?"

"The hacker is devious," Dillon said. "It
took a good part of a year to track him to your cafe."

"I thought you said he wasn't dangerous."

"Devious doesn't mean dangerous."

"But he could be dangerous?" The furrows of
the frown deepened. Claire tugged her bottom lip between her teeth.
Dillon felt an answering tug of desire straight to the groin.

"I seriously doubt it," he said. "We're
closing in. A few more weeks and we'll have him."

"I hate this," Claire said. "I hate feeling
like everything has to be put on hold. I hate that one of my
customers is committing a crime."

The anguish in her voice caught Dillon in the
gut. "I know, babe. We'll get him." Something about Claire called
to him on different levels. He didn't want to analyze it. He just
wanted to keep it simple. Sex didn't have to be complicated.
Shouldn't be complicated. Had never been complicated before.

He advanced toward her.

Her brown eyes widened. "What are you
doing?"

"What do you think?" Another step closer.

"I think you should get back to work and find
that hacker."

"All in good time." Two more steps and he was
standing close enough to get a whiff of her perfume. He inhaled
deeply. Oh yeah, nothing complicated about it at all. He wanted
Claire. Pure and simple.

"You're crowding my space,
Mr.
Andrews
."

"You weren't complaining the other night." He
looked at her lips, then directly into her eyes.

"You don't play fair, do you?" she said.

"I'm not playing." He hooked a hand behind
her neck and rubbed his thumb over the silky skin. "I told you I
take my work seriously."

"Your work." She almost sounded
disappointed.

"I take you seriously, too," he said. "Very
seriously."

"You do?"

"Oh, yeah. Have you thought about what I said
in the truck on Sunday?"

Claire glanced at his mouth, then away. She
licked her bottom lip. "Yes." It came out in a whisper.

Dillon tightened his grip. "When you look at
me like that, I want to make love to you. Right here, right
now."

Her breath hitched and she leaned toward him.
Anticipation roared in his blood. Dillon dragged her close and her
head fell back. Her tongue shot out to moisten her lip again. He
moistened it for her, skimming over it with his own tongue before
delving inside.

Claire moaned deep in her throat, opening
wide to receive his kiss. He obliged and plunged in deeper. Never
had a woman felt so good and tasted so sweet and hot.

He tangled his fingers in her hair, clasping
her head, holding her close. Her hands crept up his shoulders; her
fingers bit into his flesh.

Dillon pulled back. "You and me. We're going
to get naked."

Claire's eyes glazed over with passion.
"Yes."

Dillon teased the corners of her mouth. "But
not here and not now."

"No." She rose on tiptoe and captured his
lips. Dillon's body hardened to bursting point. It was the first
time Claire had instigated a kiss between them and he intended to
enjoy every delicious minute. Sliding his hand downward, he cupped
her breast. Even through the thick layers of clothing, he felt her
nipple bead. He swallowed another of her sexy moans, pulling her
body flush against him, wanting desperately to be inside her.

Yeah, Claire was driving him bonkers. He
wanted to see her without all the clothes. Feel her against him,
bare skin to bare skin. Soon. He promised himself it would be
soon.

****

Claire froze at the sound of a brisk rap on
her office door. Dillon broke contact, cutting off the kiss and
dropped his hands from her body. She smoothed her hair back in
place. They stared at each other. His eyes smoldered with passion.
Blood hammered inside her head. The sound of Dillon's ragged
breath, as well as her own, filled the room.

Claire desperately wanted to tell the person
knocking on the door to go away. Even though she knew she was
playing with fire, she craved more of Dillon's kisses. They were
wonderful. Addictive. Dangerous.

She walked unsteadily around to the other
side of the desk and cleared her throat. "Come in."

Natalie breezed in, a wicked glint in her
eyes. "Hey, Claire. Have you arranged everything for next Tuesday
night?" She looked at Dillon standing in the middle of the room,
then eyed Claire's position behind the desk.

"Tuesday night?" Claire asked. Natalie was up
to something. Dread crowded out the lingering heat of desire.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "You know. The
Chamber of Commerce Banquet?"

Claire straightened a stack of papers on her
desk. Something, anything to still the trembling in her hands. "I
don't think this is the time or place to talk about--"

"Sure it is. Have you found a date yet?"

"No, I haven't.
Natalie
--"

"A date?" Dillon looked at Claire.

Natalie turned wide innocent eyes on him.
"Hey, big guy. What are you doing next Tuesday night?" She smiled
the smile Claire knew only too well.

Dillon snared Claire with another intense
look. "Working, but I can probably get out of it."

"I'm sure you can," Natalie said with a
wink.

Claire hurried to the front of her desk and
grabbed her friend's arm. "Nat, can I speak with you outside?
Now
?"

"Just a minute, Claire. I'm trying to help
out here."

"I don't need this kind of help," she hissed.
Ever since she'd moved to Austin, Natalie had been trying to fix
her up with someone.

"What time does this banquet take place?"
Dillon asked.

Claire frowned at him. "It doesn't matter.
You don't have to--"

"Oh, but I think I do." The intensity of his
gaze deepened, making his hazel eyes flash fire. Claire felt her
knees weaken. She clutched the edge of the desk for support.

Natalie beamed. "Great. Everything's settled
then. It's semi-formal, big guy. Try to find something besides
jeans and a t-shirt to wear, will you? And you can pick her up at
seven."

"You can't want to go," Claire said to
Dillon. "You'll be bored to death."

"With you? Not a chance." He turned to
Natalie and chucked her under the chin. "Thanks, doll."

"No problem," Natalie said with a smile.

Claire wanted to wipe the satisfied smirk off
her friend's face. Natalie was a dear, but sometimes she could be a
tad bit pushy.

Dillon nodded to Claire. "We'll continue this
later."

His eyes held promises she wasn't sure she
wanted him to keep. Oh, her body didn't have a problem with it. But
her mind told her she was heading for grief.

Claire straightened her spine. "Maybe we
will. Maybe we won't."

Dillon smiled a slow sexy smile that melted
away all of her determination. "No maybe about it." He was gone on
the words.

Natalie snatched a manila folder off Claire's
desk and fanned herself. "That man actually sizzles when he looks
at you. You are one lucky duck."

Claire grabbed the folder. "Just what did you
think you were doing? I'm mad at you, Nat."

"You'll get over it. Especially if you relax
and let Mr. Macho focus all that heat on you. Damn, he's a
cutie."

"Get out, Nat."

"Aw, Claire. I was just trying to help."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my personal
life alone."

Natalie placed one hand over her heart and
raised the other. "I promise never to do it again." She grinned and
crossed her fingers.

"Nat, please?"

"Oh, all right," she said with a pout.

"Good. Now, get out. I have work to do and so
do you."

"Yes ma'am." With a mock salute, Natalie
left.

Claire shook her head and smiled. It was
impossible to stay angry with her friend. Walking around her desk,
she sank down in her chair and fanned herself with the folder.

Natalie was right. Dillon was hot. And he was
slowly burning away her defenses one by one. Claire hoped and
prayed she had the strength to survive the meltdown.

****

On Thursday, Claire left the cafe early. A
few errands to run, then she was going home to crash for the
evening. It had been a stressful week so far, to say the least.

Across the parking lot, Dillon leaned against
her car, his arms folded. She couldn't stop the flip-flop in her
tummy at the sight of him. Faded jeans hugged his hips. He had his
shirt sleeves scrunched up above his elbows, revealing the dark
hair on his arms. She swallowed hard. Was his chest smooth and
slick or laced with similar dark hair? Her nipples tightened at the
thought. Smooth or hairy, it didn't matter. Her hormones were
screaming again.

As she got closer, Claire saw that he was
frowning.

"Is something wrong?" She fished around in
her purse for keys and tried to dispel the bad case of jitters
roiling inside her.

Dillon pushed away from the car door. "We
need to talk."

"Now's not a good time. I'm in a hurry." She
needed to get away from Dillon, before she did something stupid,
like beg him to kiss her again.

"This won't take long."

Claire found her keys. "All right. I'm all
yours . . .
ears
. . ." She felt her cheeks heat up.

Dillon's mouth curved in a smile. "What an
interesting slip of the tongue. You've been thinking about us,
haven't you?"

Claire wanted to bite said tongue. "I told
you I'm in a hurry. I don't have time for this."

"Right." Dillon shoved his hands in his
pockets. If Claire didn't know better, she'd think he was nervous
about something. "I can't go to the banquet with you next Tuesday
night."

What was that empty feeling in the pit of her
stomach? Relief? Disappointment?

She took a deep breath. "Thought better of
it, did you?"

"Actually, I was looking forward to seeing
you all dolled up. But I can't make it. I'm leaving for Dallas in
an hour. Something's come up that needs my immediate
attention."

"Does it have to do with the hacker?" Claire
wanted to see Dillon all dolled up, too. In a suit and tie, he'd
probably be even harder to resist. Maybe it was better this
way.

"No, a different case altogether. I don't
know if I'll be back in time. It might only take a couple of days,
but could be as long as a week."

"A week?"

"Will you miss me?" He stepped closer,
dragged his hands from his pockets and gripped her upper arms.
"I'll miss you, Claire. I had plans for after the banquet. Just you
and me."

He was turning her to mush again. "What kind
of plans?" Her voice came out in a gasp, caused by Dillon nudging
the insides of her breasts with his thumbs. In five seconds flat,
she was aching and trembling with need.

He pulled her against his chest. "Naked
plans. God, I want you naked. You're driving me nuts."

Claire fought for breath. She fought for
sanity, too. It was broad daylight and they were standing in the
parking lot for crying out loud.

She pushed out of his embrace and found her
breath and her voice. "Those were lofty plans. Were you so certain
you'd be able to carry them through?"

He shook his head. "Not certain, babe. Just
hopeful." He smiled that slow, sexy smile of his. The one that
curled her toes.

She cleared her throat. "Well, have a good
trip. Did you tell Natalie you'd be gone?"

"Yeah. I told her I had a family emergency.
My dad . . . I kept it vague."

Claire stabbed the key in the lock on the
door. She felt Dillon clasp her elbow, turning her to face him
again. The imprint of his fingers burned through her sweater.

"Keep an eye on things around here, okay?" he
said. "My partner will be close by--"

"In the cafe?"

"Sometimes. Mostly in the surveillance van
down the street."

"How will I know who your partner is? Why
haven't you introduced me to him?"