Carnevale and Subterfuge (8 page)

After one long all-day sex-a-thon—only pausing to shower, eat, and sleep—they had decided that she should spend her last day viewing the city. When she’d said it sounded more like a date, he thrown out, “So what if it is?”

He then proceeded to pull her out the door to show her all of his favorite spots. The café was a pit stop for brunch where he had a quick meeting with a friend, and then after that they would visit some museums and gardens. That night he was supposed to drop her off at her hotel. Ana looked down at the clothes he had given her. They weren’t her biometric uniform but they would do. Simple pants, boots and a low cut top, all in black. They were comfortable and, unsurprisingly, her size. He had somehow managed to get his hands on her GPS wrist Com unit, despite Captain Drogan saying that security at the hotel had it along with her other things.

She wished he’d gotten her other belongings as well. A flush of heat burned her face when she remembered Drogan’s call. The
Hades’ Helmet
had tracked her down via her secondary GPS chip on the back of her neck and hacked into Dodger’s Com Station to have that little chat with her about the disappearing act she’d pulled at the hotel.

Ana had left out details, including how Dodger had kidnapped her to fulfill her fantasy. No one on the crew knew about her reason for going to Zero Branco and she wanted to keep it that way. Now the question was how to say good-bye to her Dodger.

She wished she knew real his name. Dodger was a cute nickname but it only went so far. He knew her name, but all she knew about him was that he was a con artist. Not much to go on.

Normally she liked to know more about her lovers, but this was supposed to have been a fantasy weekend, not form-a-connection-with-a-stranger weekend. She blew out a breath and looked around. One more day in this amazing place was all she had. The scent of coffee and incense perfumed the air in an odd mix that both soothed and energized. Ana couldn’t wait to see this world through his eyes. She was pretty sure they’d miss all the tourist traps and go straight to the gems.

As the people passed by the café, Ana sipped her coffee. Something inside her unwound. She felt more relaxed than she’d ever known. On the ship, there was always tension until she went to bed at night. Once she got up it started all over again. Here, right now, she could breathe and be herself with someone who seemed to care and who actually saw her. She just wished there weren’t so many things standing in the way. Captain Drogan would have little humor if he found out she’d willingly spent her weekend with a known criminal.

What would it be like to be with him always? To actually form a relationship with him? She pushed those thoughts away. The fact that she trusted him didn’t mean anything. Besides, all they had was attraction. That was it. Could one build a relationship with just that? She didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Ana finished off her coffee and waved over the waiter. After paying the bill she sat, unable to decide what to do. Dodger was still talking to that man. Part of her wanted to just go, to just leave this place and disappear into the crowd. The more time she spent with him, the harder it would be to forget him when it came time to leave. She did want to get the tour of the places the locals hung at, but not if that meant tearing up when they parted come nightfall. That’s exactly what she knew would happen.

After a bit of wavering, she made her decision and scribbled out a quick lie on the napkin about having been called back to the ship early. She thanked him for the wonderful time. Then Anarrae flagged down the waiter and asked that the napkin be given to Dodger five minutes after she left. She stood up and slipped into the crowd hoping, praying, that he wouldn’t come after her.

When ten minutes passed and she didn’t hear him calling after her, relief swept through her, but on the heels of that feeling an ache took residence in her chest and she wasn’t sure why. She told herself that it was only a weekend, nothing more.

Ana spent the whole day wandering the streets, buying souvenirs to send to her family back home and a few trinkets for herself. When dusk arrived and the fireworks died away she found herself at the hotel, sitting on the same bed he had taken her from, and thinking about what she was leaving behind. Her Dodger had charmed her, made her laugh, seduced her and made her feel alive. He’d given her memories that would last a lifetime and keep her warm on lonely nights. A smiled curled her lips. She had no regrets at all. Her fantasy weekend couldn’t have turned out any better.

She yawned as she climbed under the sheets and fell asleep with images of a masked, green-eyed man haunting her dreams.

* * *

Diego slipped into the hotel suite, a sad smile on his lips. He had seen her leave the café but hadn’t gone after her, knowing he needed to let her go and yet wishing it didn’t have to hurt so damn much. Somewhere along the line he had grown attached to Anarrae and he didn’t know what to do about it. There was no way they would work. She worked for the very people who wanted to capture him.

Diego was tired of the con. As fun as it was, Ana had showed him a new aspect of life, one where he didn’t have to keep running and hiding; he could just be. Diego could picture nights curled up by her side while she read, moments when they just held each other, or hours when they did nothing but make love. He wanted that; he wanted it all.

With a sigh, he removed his mask and made his way to the bedroom area. His breath caught in his throat when saw her face—soft, peaceful, relaxed. She was an angel and he was not worthy to possess her. For one last time, he wanted to steal a kiss and then disappear. When she saw him next, he would be part of the ambassador’s entourage, nothing more.

He placed the mask on the side of the bed and leaned down. With great gentleness he brushed his lips against hers, ignoring the soft brush of heat that rose up. His body tightened and need poured through him.

Diego pulled back and tried to stifle the desire that had taken hold of him. His cock pressed against his pants, making him uncomfortable.

“I saw you leave,
tesoro.
I watched you go and yet I knew that it must be this way. I don’t want to let you go,
amore mio
. I really don’t. You have formed a space in my life that I’m not sure what to do with. A guy like me doesn’t deserve to have a woman as good and sweet as you. That much I know. I’m not a murderer or anything, nothing so violent, but in my line of work one makes a lot of enemies. If one of them were to capture you, I don’t know what I would do. So for now we must part as Anarrae and Dodger. For now.”

He smiled and brushed back a few strands of hair from her face.

“Goddess, I’m going to miss being with you. We started something, you and I, and one day, if we ever get the chance, I want to see where it goes. So you’d better be ready. I don’t care if you think you’ve found someone or if he makes you happy. I’m your man and you are mine, always. Understand?” Diego placed another small kiss on her lips and stood up. “
Arrivederci, per ora, amore mio.
”

She let out a soft sigh. That small sound tugged on his heartstrings. It took great effort for him to leave. When he stepped out the door, he found his brother leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

“Done?” Roberto asked.

“For now, yes.” Diego walked past his brother, who fell in step beside him.

“What do you mean, for now?”

“I mean there are no guarantees that I’m going to stay away from her while onboard the ship. There’s no way in hell I’m letting another man take what’s mine.”

“Die—” his brother started.

“Don’t start. I finally found a woman I can be myself with. I’m not letting her go entirely. I understand the ambassador’s life is at stake, and we’ve been charged to protect him. I do remember that. On the other hand, if my path crosses with Ana’s, then I won’t push away the hand of fate.”

“This is a bad idea, Diego. You could get hurt.”

“So?”

“I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

“Pain is part of life, my brother.” They arrived at the bank of elevators and stepped into the empty cab. “Besides, when she’s worth it, then what’s a little heartache and blue balls now and again?”

He began to laugh and so did Roberto.

They made their way back to Diego’s apartment to prepare for what they had to do. The first thing he had to do was change his appearance. He headed for the bathroom, stripped out of his shirt, and stood in front of the mirror. With his mind, he accessed the nanites running through his blood. His thick, wavy hair flowed past his shoulder and turned to a burnished gold color with pale-blond highlights. His scars disappeared, and his eyes became a rich sapphire blue. The small machines couldn’t change his bone structure but anything superficial could be altered.

Reluctantly, he took the black barbells out of his nipples. Just in case he did lose control around Anarrae and they ended up in bed together, he didn’t want to risk her recognizing his piercings or tattoos. Taking out the barbells was easy; altering his massive tattoos was not. It took great effort and concentration to change the tribal markings on his arm and the right side of his body. The artwork morphed, flexing, curling, changing, until they became a large sun on his arm and swirling, coiling spirals and stars over his chest and down his ribs.

His skin burned in the aftermath and a dull ache throbbed its way up his side and down his arm. Diego blew out a breath. He looked so different. In the past, he’d had to change his appearance but not by much. As he gazed at himself, his reflection disturbed him. Even though she had never seen his face, he couldn’t help but wonder if in this new guise she would still recognize him. It was ridiculous and yet the thought wouldn’t go away.

Doubts began to cloud his mind. Should he pursue Anarrae or not? He wandered out of the bathroom to find his brother sitting on the small couch in the living room area.

“Nice look.”

Diego nodded. “It’ll do. So the plan is I present myself as the ambassador and be his decoy until we reach Veritas 10. Once there he takes over and I get a billion credits for my trouble. Nice deal. I suppose I can retire with that.”

“You could retire now. You’ve got enough money,” Roberto pointed out.

“True but some habits are hard to break.”

“Is that what the con was? A habit?”

Diego struggled with the idea and then nodded slowly. “Yes. Things had become tedious. Anarrae showed me that. I want more, even if I can’t have her.”

Roberto raised an eyebrow. “Why not with her? You two can start over. You’ve changed your appearance. Why not your name and everything else?”

“What am I supposed to do? Enter the military and become an officer? Even if I did, chances are we wouldn’t be assigned to the same ship. And besides, it takes years to train in the core. I don’t have that kind of time. She could find someone else and move on.” Diego let his vulnerability show through. His confidence was ebbing and he was treading deep water. Never in his life had he ever found himself not knowing what to do.

“Maybe she won’t,” Roberto said.

Diego shook his head and opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by his brother. “You obviously care for this woman. You can’t just walk away from her. You have to fight for her.”

“I’m a criminal.” That title haunted him and he knew that no matter what he did his past would always follow him.

“So? People can change. The ambassador assured us that your record will also be wiped clean after this job. You’ll be an upstanding, wealthy citizen. Why can’t you use that to your advantage? Besides, you know where the bodies are buried with some of the ton. You could use that,” Roberto suggested.

“I’ll consider it.”

“In other words, you’ll move on, just like always.” Roberto sighed. “I have a few things I need to deal with before we go. I’ll meet you at the docking pad. Before I go, I should say this: you are a good man, Diego, regardless of what you’ve had to do in this life. Don’t forget that.”

Diego choked up with emotion. He didn’t know what to say, so all he did was nod and embrace his brother. That small comment had meant much to him. The years between them had not been kind. Diego had always felt that if he had been someone else, done something else, Roberto would have respected him and they’d be closer. He vowed not to waste this opportunity to get closer to his brother. As for Anarrae, he doubted he’d be able to do what Roberto suggested. Despite being given a clean slate at the end of this job, nothing would change. Questions swirled in his head as he lay in bed.

In the morning he found his brother at the docking pad ready to board. Roberto looked calm, cool, and collected. Diego tried to do the same. When the transport ship arrived, he took his seat. Just as he buckled in, he saw Anarrae step into the hold wearing her ship uniform, every curve on display. His calm, cool persona slipped as heat spread through his body. Hunger rose up, demanding he take her somewhere private, strip her out of her uniform and make love to her until she screamed and every man on the small vessel knew who she belonged to. Instead, with clenched fists, he ignored the throbbing of his cock and tried to control himself.

She took a seat directly across from him and strapped in, looking nervous. Her gaze darted this way and that—everywhere but out the small porthole next to her head. She licked her lips and closed her eyes.

Diego wanted to go to her, take her hand, and reassure her everything would be all right. Instead, he found himself calling out to her. “You OK?”

Ana opened her eyes and blinked a few times before her gaze focused on him. Fear quivered in her dark brown depths. She swallowed hard. “Fine. I’m fine.”

A fine sheen of sweat formed on her brow and upper lip, glimmering in the soft light of the seating area. She blew out a breath. Not caring what Roberto would do to him later, Diego unbuckled his belt and took a seat next to her. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

“It’s OK. Just hold my hand and focus on me,” he said.

She looked up at him and the fear seemed to melt away. Her shoulders dropped and her body relaxed. She even leaned into him. He gave her a small smile.