Alex (In the Company of Snipers) (26 page)

“I really do have to go to work. I’ve been gone two months and a couple days.”

“But they were good days,” she smiled shyly.

“Oh, yes.”

Still, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was a different woman this morning, a very beautiful woman in love and love made her glow. He smirked. All the sex wasn’t so bad for her either. She never looked so gorgeous sitting there in her bathrobe without a shadow of makeup on. Alex recalled the day when he had first seen her glow, the day he was shot. Now he was sure it wasn’t delirium. There was a definite light within this woman.

She smiled sweetly from her perch. “How about T-bones and baked potatoes for dinner?”

“Works for me. I’ll let you know when I’ll be home.” He picked up his suit jacket from the back of the kitchen chair, grabbed his cup and headed toward the door. Like a fool in love, he glanced back. Big mistake.

She still sat on the counter, her feet crossed at the ankles, her hands braced beside her while the morning sun poured though the window behind her. Once again the rest of the world fell away. Somehow his kitchen had turned into a shrine with this lovely woman he adored. His heart lurched. Other body parts noticed her, too. He wanted her. Again. Still.

“Bye.” She smiled and gave him a small good-bye wave. “Love you.”

There was no leaving now. With a rush he was back, his face buried against her chest. “What are you doing to me, woman? I have to get to work.”

“Then go.” She clutched his head and giggled delightedly. “I’m not stopping you.”

“But I can’t. I’m under some kind of spell or something.” With his blood on fire, he parted her bathrobe to taste her neck and her shoulders and—

“Then poof.” She pushed him away. “I release you. Go forth and get thyself to work.”

He grabbed her hands and met her eyes, every fiber of his being on fire from the sparks he saw there. Her beautiful smile was an overflowing pitcher this morning, and all that love poured over him, bathing him in sweetness and healing the likes he had never known. It was as if a dam had broken, the door at last unlocked, and the magical power of this woman released. Somehow the
damn
in him was broken, too, and he had become the lucky recipient of her love. He shuddered to think what she had made before, but knew it was never love.

“What the hell.” He pulled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She giggled all the way back to their bedroom as he walked with one hand patting her backside. “I can always go to work.

Seventeen

Alex

“G’morning, Boss.” Mother beamed with that tell-me-all-about-it glitter in her eye. “My, my, don’t you look chipper?”

As usual, Alex ignored his nosey technician. Murphy and Roy looked up from Murphy’s office as he passed by.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up for work,” Murphy exclaimed.

Alex kept on walking. “You two got work to do?”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Heck, we were beginning to wonder if you remembered you worked here. It’s been nice and quiet the last couple of months. We were getting used to that.”

“I need to know where we stand on the latest Army contract as well as the new Department of Justice offer.” Alex looked around at the empty desks. “Where is everyone?”

“If you’d come to work once in awhile, son, you’d know weapon proficiency is this morning. Everyone’s at the range. Ember’s with them.” Murphy was still smiling. “You’ll like these new kids. They’re sharp.”

“Good. Tell me when they’re back.”

Zack nodded to Alex from his desk, his phone to his ear and already engrossed in the business of the day. Alex didn’t slow down until he reached his office. After closing his door, he contacted a local furniture store. It was time. Tonight when he bedded his beautiful lady, it wouldn’t be on an old, out of style, scroungy mattress and old linens. The thought of her in his bed made him smile. She belonged there.

He followed that phone order with a call to a high-end lingerie store. It had been a long time since he had shopped for nightgowns, but Kelsey would look beautiful in gift-wrap. That’s all lingerie was in his mind, gift-wrap to be undone and tossed to the floor. Even that picture made him smile. Playtime. Making love with Kelsey was fun.

Her innocence enamored him. Out of respect to her, he had removed his family picture from his dresser bedroom, but Kelsey had caught him in the act. She never missed a beat, but asked if he had any other pictures she could frame. Even Abby’s childish artwork now had a place of honor on his mantle, alongside a picture of Jackie and Tommy. He saw the truth in her eyes. She wasn’t replacing Sara. No. In her way, Kelsey was joining Sara in loving him.

He kept whistling as he settled into a busy morning of briefings and contract negotiations with Murphy and Roy. It was noon when Mother rapped on his door. “Hey, Boss. You have a visitor.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow at Mother’s interruption. By the gleam in her blue eyes and the way she enunciated visitor, she looked more like the cat that ate the canary than his admin assistant. Without waiting for his answer, she opened the door wider and ushered Kelsey in. Automatically, Alex jumped to his feet, along with Murphy and Roy. He was at her side before Mother could wipe the smirky smile off her face.

Kelsey looked intimidated as she peeked around the room. She was dressed in nothing fancy, just her old faded jeans and a simple pale blue sweater. “I brought your cell phone,” she said timidly.

Alex checked his suit pocket in surprise. He grinned. That proved he was head over heels in love. He had never even missed it. “How’d you get here?”

“I walked. It’s not too far.”

He pulled her against him. For a minute he deliberated taking the rest of the day off, but then common sense kicked in. He turned to his senior agents, well aware they had just witnessed a side of him they hadn’t seen before.

“Kelsey Durrant. These gentlemen are my Senior Agents Murphy Finnegan and Roy Hudson. They run the show when I’m gone. Gentlemen, this is Kelsey Durrant, my houseguest.” Alex smirked at his understated description of the woman he loved. So what was she, he wondered, girlfriend, lover, all of the above?
Wife
came to mind.

“Well, hello. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, little girl.” Murphy took her hand in both of his. “The last time we talked, you kids were in a pretty bad way.”

She nodded. “Oh, you’re Mr. Finnegan. Thank you for answering the phone that day. We really needed your help.”

“Well, you call us anytime.” He leaned in toward her with a conspiratorial whisper. “We might not answer the phone for him, but we’ll definitely answer when you call. So how do you like the east coast?”

“It’s beautiful,” Kelsey replied. “The trees are gorgeous.”

“You’re right. Fall is extra pretty this year. Moira and I will have to invite you and Alex over for dinner while you’re in town.”

“I’d love that.” She shot a shy smile to Alex.

At that comment, Roy took over, his teeth bright against his dark skin. He bowed and kissed the back of her hand like a true southern gentleman. “It is very nice to meet you, Miss Kelsey. My goodness, you’re as pretty as a Georgia peach. Where’s this young man been hiding you?”

“Lift your feet.” Murphy chuckled. “He’s pouring it on thick.”

“Like maple syrup on my Mama’s homemade biscuits.” Roy beamed with another flirtatious grin. “I’m just trying to make our lady friend here feel welcome. Besides, if you remember, this woman knows how to bake.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, the chocolate chip cookies. Did you like them?”

Murphy harrumphed. “You didn’t see any leftovers come back home, did you?”

“That was very considerate, young lady,” Roy continued, a wicked gleam in his soft brown eyes. “Took us a while to figure out who brought ‘em though. I think that was one for the history books, wasn’t it, Murphy?”

“Knock it off,” Alex growled, but he couldn’t help noticing how relaxed she was with the friendly banter. She looked Murphy and Roy in the eye with confidence. Somehow, she had crossed a bridge and left part of her old self behind. She had blossomed right in front of his eyes.

Just then Zack sauntered into the office, a big grin on his face as well. “It’s about time I get to meet you, Miss Kelsey. Man, the boss was fit to be tied when our operation got extended. I’ve never heard so many colorful ways of cursing in my life and I’ve been in the military. I’ve heard a few.”

Kelsey offered her hand, but he brushed it aside and gave her a big hug that caught Alex by surprise as much as it did her. She looked so fragile in his big weight lifter’s arms as he lifted her off her feet and hugged her tight.

“I’ve been dying to meet you,” he said with a husky voice and his eyes closed. “You must be a very special lady to have won my boss’s heart like you’ve done.”

Alex scowled at Zack’s very astute observation. What was it about this woman? Everyone seemed affected by her, and all she had done was show up.

He rescued her the minute her feet touched the floor. “This smart ass is Zack Lennox. He was with me in country the last two months.”

Her eyes lit up in recognition. “You’re the agent who’s such a good shot.”

Murphy and Roy chuckled at her kind remark, but Zack sputtered.

“I don’t know about that.” He nodded toward Alex. “He’s the record holder. The rest of us are just wanna-bees. Ask him.”

Alex deflected that comment as he nodded toward Mother. Until now she had stood waiting her turn to be introduced and still grinning like a Cheshire cat. “And this is Sasha Kennedy, the IT guru around here. We call her Mother because she’s nosey.”

Kelsey gasped at his mean introduction, but Mother did exactly what Alex was afraid she would do. She latched onto Kelsey’s hand and pulled her away, her head bent into Kelsey’s like she was about to share some of her motherly wisdom. “Now, don’t you mind him. I never do. It’s real nice to meet the woman who can put this man in his place.”

Kelsey looked just as surprised at Mother’s remark as she had been at Alex’s introduction.

“Hey, listen. Why don’t we plan a girl’s night out or something? Ember’s not here right now, but she would love to meet you. That will give us girls a chance to talk and get to know each other without the guys hanging around. Oh, the stories I could tell you.”

Kelsey glanced over her shoulder at Alex. “That would be nice.”

“How long are you staying in town?” Mother’s bright eyes swept over Kelsey’s plain clothes like a hawk as she steered her closer to the door.

“Mother.” Alex interrupted his nosey techie. “Kelsey has plans today.”

“Well, I just thought it would be nice to—”

“Another day,” he said firmly.

Kelsey rescued the awkward moment. “It’s nice to meet you. I am busy today, but I’d love to have lunch with you and Ember sometime.”

Mother beamed, and Alex was once again surprised. Kelsey handled the situation much better than he had. Mother returned to her desk, Murphy muttered something about
that woman
, and Alex was enamored all over again.

Kelsey looked up at him expectantly and whispered, “I have plans?”

“There’s someone else I’d like you to meet since you’re here.” He looked down into her pretty face, knowing full well his team still watched. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“It was nice to meet all of you,” Kelsey said politely as Alex steered her to the elevator.

When the doors closed behind them, he hit the stop button. With his blood once again on fire, he pushed her against the wall, his mouth on hers and tasting what he hungered for. She arched against him, and that single reflexive movement kick-started every part of his body. His foolish male mind worked all the scenarios of what might be feasible in an elevator before logic re-engaged.
Not here. No sex in the elevator. I’m CEO, damn it.
He ended the kiss with a ragged sigh before he lost all control.

“Don’t elevators have cameras?” Kelsey asked, her hands still roaming under his suit jacket and around his waist.

“My building.” He blew out a ragged breath. “My elevator. No cameras.”

“Well, in that case.” Her fingers both went straight to his belt buckle.

“No.” He caught her hands. “Not here. Not now.”

“No?” She blinked up at him so wonderfully innocent and wickedly playful.

“If we keep this up, I’m going to need more time off.”

Her eyes didn’t break their connection. “I didn’t know I had this kind of power,” she said as she smoothed a hand over his chest, still studying him intently.

“Yeah, well,” he growled. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me right now, do you?”

“Me?” She shook her head, her gaze still pulling him in, and he was a lost lug bolt drawn relentlessly toward an industrial-strength magnet. His blood coursed, no, it drained from his brain to parts below. If she kept those brown eyes fastened on him the way they were, he was a goner. She would be half-naked in no time at all, and elevator sex with Kelsey would be damn good.

No. No. No.
He hit the send button before he changed his mind.

“Well, okay then.” She snuggled inside his jacket and under his arm. “I’m glad I got to meet your friends. I get the feeling Mother annoys you.”