Carried Away (2010) (3 page)

he agreed to help her, she would tell him. Have to. And god, wont that be a relief! No big deal, weve known about those for decades, he said with the shrug of a shoulder. Evidently. But you know any photographer takes hundreds more shots than they need, just to ensure getting the best of the lot. Anyway, I reviewed my thumbnails after 21 Cerise DeLand I got back to Washington. I wonder if they saw me take shots, tracked me and attacked Maria instead. He pondered that for a moment. Why would they expect that she or you would carry pictures to dinner? To assume theyre stupid is too much to hope for! I agree, she offered in a small voice. So then, he began, examining her face with the precision of an expert analyst of human nature, why am I here? She licked her lips. I recommended you back in January to Nasar when they offered me the contract for the museum work. I knew even then I needed to see you again, hope you might talk to me, forgive me for how Id left you. I hoped you would accept because I knew you, your staff and your technology were the best in the business. But now that I suspect what really happened to Maria, I am even happier that youre here. And youre afraid? He asked in such a way that she knew he was stunned that she could feel fear. I am. Very. I seem to see thugs everywhere I look. I tell myself Im crazy, that this cant be, that its ridiculous to think that anyone could do such a horrible thing like attacking Maria. She shook her head. But Im becoming paranoid. I suspect everyone. Now, even Nasar and Jamal. I hate it. I was never like this! Grant ran his hand up into the curls above her ears, cradled the back of her head and pulled her into his embrace. Her face to his strong throat, she wrapped her arms around his body and hugged him for all her might. He stroked her spine, planted his lips on top of her head and said, So does this mean youre happy you decided to switch from taking pictures of battles to museum pieces? One reason. Yes, Im becoming a wuss. A wise wuss. She let her head fall back so that she could view his face. God, he killed her with the sculpted symmetry of his features. The golden tan. The wide, black, winged brows. The 22 Carried Away contrast of the dazzling eyes. The sharp cheekbones. The wide, stern mouth. How long its been since youve held me and looked at me like you do now. Like you want to eat me up. She got to her feet. Drifted away from him. Shed told herself when she decided to recommend him for this job that she wouldnt fall into bed with him. Even though she craved him like the earth needed the sun. It was not fair to him, given what she had to do. Now that shed seen him, embraced him, she warned herself once more not to even think about starting a physical relationship with him again. Not because she didnt want him. But because she still hadnt told him everything about herself. What she did. Why she did it. Hell. She smoothed her hands down her linen skirt and headed toward the door. I should go. He stopped her with the velvet bass voice shed heard in her dreams for three lonely years. After what youve just told me, I dont approve of you in a separate room. She curled her shoulders. Closed her eyes. How she wanted to move in, sleep with him, make love to him. I didnt think you would. I cant just walk back into our life and fall into bed with you like some broad with no brains and no remorse. But I signed that contract, so its my job to keep you safe. Because I cant put a bodyguard into place for you on such short notice, I am your security. Hence, you sleep here. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She was exhausted from worry and the trans-Atlantic flight. Seeing Grant again had sapped her energy more than she anticipated. She was getting too old to be running around the world doing one job she loved and a second that shed come to hate. Dont push on this, Grant. He strode to his door. You are not checking in. No one needs to know you are here. Ill get the adjoining room and your luggage. We leave for Dubai tomorrow morning. I have my jet. You will fly with me. I have a ticket. 23 Cerise DeLand On a commercial airliner? he asked like she must have rocks in her head. Im in first class. He huffed. First class is no defense against C4 and crazy men. Youre right. Shed known it, but a cover was a cover. She nodded, grateful, but felt herself sliding down a steep slope that led straight into his arms and his bed. She rubbed her arms and turned to look out his window into an uncertain future. Have a nap, he ordered, his guttural voice a sweet rasp against her skin. Well have dinner together. Ill make the arrangements. She didnt turn, didnt want him to see her face, her joy, her frustration at her inability to control her desire for him. Eight? Eight. Ciao. Ciao, bella. 24 Carried Away Chapter Three At eight twenty, he took her hand and led her onto the private launch hed ordered to take them across the lagoon to the restaurant. Glancing around the piazza, he saw no one near them. No one tracking them. Good. Hed chosen a five-star restaurant that had good food, its own marine stop and a clear view of the walks and the blue sea around Venice. His feeling of security meant he could concentrate on the elegance of her fingers as she slung her purse strap over her shoulder and clasped his hand. Hed always liked her fingertips on him. By eight forty, they claimed the reservation hed made just before they lost it. Hed always scolded her about being late. She was late for every event in her life. But as Coco preceded him to their table on the veranda overlooking the lagoon, he watched the way she walked in the black high heels, which obviously meant she had increased her wardrobe selections. To impress me? He barely had time to consider that when he admired how her black cocktail dress moved with the sway of her hips. Hed always appreciated the way they filled his hands. Over vodka tonics, he kept the conversation polite, irrelevant to the challenges before them. Plenty of time for those discussions. Right now, he preferred to admire the way the silk slipped over her breasts. And the way her nipples tipped up at him, pebbling beneath the fabric as his gaze fell to them, time after time. She knew they reached out to him. He could tell by the way she squeezed them together with her upper arms and glanced away more frequently as the pinot grigio arrived to accompany the appetizers. He had planned this examination of her charms back at the hotel. Not just to fill himself up with the sight of her again, but to unnerve her. He grinned, proud as hell he was succeeding. 25 Cerise DeLand Tell me how your mother is? he asked over the Prosciutto crudo. Hed met the lovely widow, of whom Coco was the younger spitting image, three years ago in Washington when he and Coco were inseparable for four wild months. Shes very well, Coco responded, beaming about the parent who was a noted scholar of medieval Byzantine history. Recovering well from the loss of my dad. Cocos father had died four months before Coco and he had met. Coco had still been in mourning because her father had died with his reputation in tatters and her love for her dad had colored their affair with red-hot need. She refuses to resign from the faculty. Still at Georgetown then? He lifted the white wine to his lips, licking the bottom one as he took in the beauty of her face. With rapt attention, she opened her mouth to watch his as he drank. Then she shook herself and fastened her attention on her sliced delicacy from Parma. My mother is working on a new book when she is not haunting her office on campus. The subject this time is what? He was being pleasant, of course. What else could he do? Coco wasnt going to jump into his arms. After all, she had left him. So if his payback was hell for her, he figured she deserved a little of it. Hed certainly suffered for three long years like an addict failing the AA program. He had to know if she had suffered. And why she had. The fall of Constantinople, 1204 and the first Crusades. She sat back as the waiter removed her plate. Grazie, she murmured to the man and to Grant, explained, The fight for the conquest of Jerusalem. King Richard of England and the rise of the Islamic empire. He glanced out over the lagoon and grinned. Not at the view of the moon reflecting in the water, but at the fact that she was now shifting in her chair regularly. Needing him. Getting wet for him. He would bet last years income on it. Your mother is a delight. I can hear her laughter. Like yours. Untamed. The primi piatti came. He had the spinach linguine. 26 Carried Away She stared at her plate of risotto, then smiled at him. This is the first time in months Ive felt like eating. His cock tingled with the leap of faith that she wanted to eat because she was with him again. Enjoying herself. Looks like you need it. He gestured with his glass, enjoying himself more than he hadyes, hed admit itsince hed been with her in D.C. Youve lost weight. Why, babe, have you worked yourself to the point where you have dark shadows beneath those gorgeous purple eyes? And are your breasts smaller, too? At my age, most women want to lose a few pounds. Thirty-three? he inquired, knowing he even recalled her birthday, for gods sake. Such an old lady, he teased her and swirled his pasta. Damn, he was enjoying the way she surveyed him like a woman who hadnt dined on a man in years. Im decrepit, she joked, but took in the breadth of his shoulders, his shirt and tie, the Italian suit hed ordered handmade the last time hed been to Milan on business. You on the other hand, look fabulous. Still working out like a bodybuilder, I see. Good for business to look fit. People trust men with big beefy muscles, huh? she ribbed him, putting her lips around the fork and pulling off a bit of risotto. He could imagine her mouth around his cock. Tight. Wet. Warm. He put a finger to his shirt collar. He was getting hot. And hard. They do, he affirmed, thinking he sounded like the village idiot. Builds confidence. She grinned and tucked in for another forkful of her dish. Does the shaved head do that, too? I would assume so. He was happy to concentrate on twirling his pasta and not look at her. Now that she was relaxing, she had him on the spot, enchanted with her, damn his eyes. Ive seen an increase in the number of clientele. So I must be presentable. Why did you shave your hair? she asked in a dulcet tone that punched him in the solar plexus. 27 Cerise DeLand She cared about his hair? Christ, he was going to jump her. Vanity, he admitted. She fell back in her chair, chuckling. Her breasts jiggled. Up and down. Up and down. Thats a characteristic I never thought you had! The wistful nature of the topic drifted to a more serious note. If youd stuck around long enough... No, he was not going to show her his anger here. Hed already done that this afternoon. Tonight was about finding out where they were going, not where theyd been. Yeah, well, I can be just like any other guy. She leaned forward. Put her fork down. Let her gaze roam over his forehead and ears, his cheekbones and nose, his lips, his chin, to come back and admire his eyes. I dont think so, she whispered. It took him a second or more to get past the lump in his throat. I was getting gray. From the way she adored his features, one by one, all over again, she didnt care. Where? He hooted. At my temples. Ah. Satisfied, she leaned back again. Thank god. If shed continued to ask him precisely where else he was gray, he would have had to rip off that lovely black silk in front of all these very ritzy people and take her right here on the linen tablecloth. Then hed show her where else he was gray. She traced a line through her risotto with her fork. Im different, too. She lifted her face and met his gaze. I want to change what I do for a living. Why? he asked and knew the question was delivered in a dark inquisitive tone that went beyond the banter theyd indulged in. I cant take the pressure. Not anymore. Too many people I piss off. Too much flying. Too many issues. She looked around the room, tears beading on her lashes. Especially since Maria. 28 Carried Away He reached across the table and took her hand. The zing of electricity he felt between them humbled him, destroyed his desire to keep up the small talk. Im glad you got me involved. She sniffed. Blinked and put a thin smile on her face. I know youre angry. You have every right to be. But I He stopped her putting up his other hand. Im here. Im good with this. Until I see what you have in mind for how deep we go this time. Can you do this? Be with me? And not... Make love to you? Probably not. Not what? He was going to make her admit the attraction that was like positive to negative. Like lightning to heat. Not hate me? Jesus! he seethed. Other diners turned to stare at them. I never hated you. Something cracked inside her body then. He felt her go lax. Saw the sun shine through the storm clouds she seemed to be carrying around with her today. Im glad. Grateful. Eat your dinner, babe. He lifted his chin, indicating she put her attention on her dinner. Ill be grateful if you keep yourself healthy. And Ill be happy to keep you safe. They got through the rest of their dinner with increasing ease. She shared stories about her last few projects in Egypt and Jordan. Shed done photo spreads for two travel magazines on Israel and Palestine many times before and loved being able to work in an area she knew so well. He told her what little he could about his contracts in Afghanistan, Japan and Mexico. He brought her up to date on friends of his whom she had met when they were single men. Both Cord and Tate Ryder are married, now. I recently helped Tate and his wife clear her of some problems she had with Witness Protection and the FBI. You cant talk about it? Coco asked. I shouldnt. 29 Cerise DeLand I understand, she said. Some things we must not know about each other, she offered and from the look on her face, she regretted the statement. She jerked away and cast her gaze to the moonlit sky. Ever been to Dubai? Often. Once in 1990 when I was a green Marine. It was the time of Desert Storm and I was Military Police, attached to our Embassy. Not much to do in an Arab country for American boys. I sat on my duff reading the one hundred great books. Lets see. While you were on your duff, I was in junior high. Driving little boys wild. No way! I had braces and long gangly legs. I like your teeth. Dentist did a good job. Love the legs, too, he was certain his expression added. I want to put them around my neck and discover again all the juiciness between them. Signore? The waiter cleared his throat. Will that be all for you this evening? Pulled from his desire for her, Grant looked up at the man. Si, grazie. They were out on the walkway in minutes. A breeze came off the Mediterranean and Coco rubbed her arms. As they strode to the launch station, he