Dare Me (10 page)

He inhaled deeply and pasted on his dourest face.  “That, my
dear Macy, remains to be seen.”

* * *

Macy paced her room, which didn’t do much to curb her
anxiety since three steps in either direction got her from wall to wall. 
Nearly a half hour had passed with no official word from Abe or the agents in
Russia.  Had her software failed to reconstruct the code correctly?  Had they
missed a mirror somewhere in the house that contained a crucial combination? 
Fear and doubts swam in her brain, propelled by the most puzzling turn of the
day.

Dante’s sudden coolness.

She slammed onto the bed, her hands shaking.  She’d given him
what he wanted.  They’d made love in the early morning hour and had talked
about the past.  Now that he’d tasted her again and unburdened his soul, was he
done?

Now that she knew the truth, she accepted her own
culpability in the destruction of their relationship.  She hadn’t trusted him
to take care of her.  She hadn’t trusted that he loved her too much to stab her
in the back for the sake of his own career.  She hadn’t given him a chance to
explain.  Instead, she’d abandoned him.

She hadn’t believed in their love then, but she did now. 
And she wasn’t about to allow misconceptions to ruin their chance to be
together again.  She jumped off the bed, ready to track him down and find out
what the hell was going on when he appeared in the doorway, his face clean-shaven
and his signature scent teasing her from a distance.

She straightened her shoulders, ready to fight for what she
wanted.

Dante.

“What’s the news?” she asked, her gaze darting to the paper
he held loosely in his hand.

“The code worked,” he answered simply, his smile so small,
an icy stream of dread coiled through her veins.  “The system is disabled and
the terrorists can’t launch any missiles.  They’re attempting to escape.  The
Russians have three in custody and our government has four in Afghanistan. 
They were a large cell, but we’ve got the leaders.”

Strangely, he didn’t hand her whatever missive he was
holding.  A communiqué from Abe?  Her orders?  A commendation from the
President?  Or maybe, the note had nothing whatsoever to do with her.

From the intense look in his eyes, she doubted that
scenario.

“What’s wrong?”

Dante shrugged.  “It’s over.  You found the code and saved
the world.  Now, you can go back to France and never see me again.”

She stepped back, remembering only after she stumbled that
the bed was right behind her.  “No, Dante, I can’t.”  With a deep breath, she
strode forward, searching his eyes for some clue that would tell her what his
assumption was really all about.  “You don’t really think I can leave again, do
you, after all that’s happened between us?”

He folded his arms over his chest.  “Three days ago, you
said you could sleep with me and leave without giving me a second thought.”

“Three days ago, I didn’t know how much you’d changed or how
wrong I was about what happened in the past.”

His eyes widened, the gray finally lighting with a glimmer
of something she’d best describe as hope.  “You forgive me?”

She pressed her lips together.  “I was as much to blame as
you.  I should have trusted you.  I shouldn’t have put my career aspirations
ahead of what we had together.  The truth was, Dante, I wanted to join T-45
long before Russell screwed me over.  When I thought you’d betrayed me, I
jumped at the chance to leave.  I never wanted to choose between you and my
career.”

“So you let the circumstances choose for you.”

She nodded.  “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

Macy dropped onto the bed, sighing as emotions swamped her. 
Nine years had passed, but so little had changed.  She wanted Dante, but she
wanted her job, too—and there was no way she could have both.  She’d just begun
to shake her head in disbelief at the cruelty of love and fate when he finally
handed her the paper he’d been holding.

She sat up, scanned the page, and then sought his gaze to
make sure she could believe what she read.  “This is your resignation from the
Arm.”

He closed the door behind him, then dropped to his knees in
front of her.  “Yes, it is.”

She couldn’t catch her breath.  Her vision shook, along with
her hands.

“I don’t understand.  You’re the head of the agency, Dante.”

His grin was crooked and brimmed with a singularly suave
charm that would make her insides flutter until the day she died.

“And I’ve had a good, long run,” he said.  “Nearly a decade
on top.  It’s a fine achievement.”

She crunched the letter between her quivering hands.  “You
can’t give up what you’ve worked so hard for.”

Warmth from his silver eyes nearly melted her into a puddle
on the quilt.  “I’m not giving up, I’m finally taking the reward I deserve.  I
love you, Macy.  I should have fought harder for you.  I should have told you
the truth instead of trying to rescue you.  I’ve learned my lesson.  Besides, I’ve
had my glory days.  The spy business hasn’t held any appeal for me for a long
time now.”

In as few words as he could, Dante told Macy about how he’d
nearly died during a covert operation in Syria.  She held her breath as he confessed
how the one thought that had kept him alive on the operating table and had
bolstered his determination during his recovery was the possibility of having her
in his life again.

“It took a world crisis to give me the chance to win you
back.”

She swallowed the tears burning down the back of her
throat.  “You never did anything halfway.”

“No, I don’t.  I still won’t.  I will love you forever with
that same determination, Macy.  I promise you.”

From his pocket, Dante pulled out a ring.  Emerald cut and
glimmering with bright white facets, the beauty of it stole her breath.

“I considered hiding this somewhere on my person to see if
you could find it,” he said, sliding the gold band over her left ring finger, “but
I suspected you were tired of looking for things you should have found a long
time ago.”

His mouth quirked into a grin, his gaze expectant and—for
the first time that she’d ever witnessed—uncertain.  She wanted to speak, but
there were so many words jumbling in her brain, she couldn’t pick which ones to
say.

“Dante, I—”

“I bought this for you nine years ago.  In a way, I’m
grateful that I never had the chance to ask you to marry me.  Neither one of us
was ready.  Now, we know how much we mean to each other, how much we can
accomplish together.  Please, Macy Rush, would you do me the honor of becoming
my wife?”

She opened her mouth, certain she could pull one word out of
her repertoire, but a knock on the door broke the moment.

“What?” Dante snapped.

“Communiqué from headquarters, sir. “

“Shove it under the door.”

Dante took Macy’s ringed hand in his, kissed her palm, then
retrieved the note.  He scanned it with a scowl, but by the time he reached the
end, he was chuckling.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s from your boss, or I should say, your former boss.”

Macy grabbed the paper and read.  Her jaw dropped.  When her
gaze met with Dante’s, the twinkle in his eye made her suspect he’d had
something to do with this turn of events.  “Did you do this?”

“Make Abercrombie Marshall retire?  No, love, even I’m not
that powerful.  Besides, he’s not really retiring.  Read the note on the
bottom.”

In his woefully bad handwriting, Abe had jotted a personal
note to Macy, informing her that he’d just been appointed as the new head of
the Arm.  He was finally returning to the outfit that had drummed him out on account
of his skin color—and now, he was in charge.

“Bully for him,” Macy said.  “He’ll do wonderful things with
your legacy, Dante.”

Dante shook his head and shrugged, as if he was pleased, but
truly didn’t give a damn.  “Now, back to the proposal on the table.”

Macy allowed the paper to drift to the floor and slid her
arms around Dante’s neck.  “Yes.”

Dante’s eyes widened.  “That’s it?  Yes?  What’s the catch?”

She grinned, remembering how she’d questioned him similarly
just a few days ago.  “Catch?  Well, there is the fact that I love you, too. 
And I’m not a patient woman, with time for long engagements.  But if you want
something more…”

He snaked his hands around her waist and tugged her so that
their bodies aligned perfectly.  “May I make a suggestion?”

She nuzzled his neck with her nose, inhaling that spicy
tobacco scent she’d crave forever, even if he was with her every single day. 
“Feel free.”

“I was thinking that your flat in Paris is much too small
for two people.”

The warmth of his skin acted like a magnet to her lips.  She
hummed her agreement as she bathed his neck in slow, erotic kisses.

“So I thought I could fill my spare time looking for an old
house to renovate.  You know how I love old houses,” he said.

She pulled back and eyed him with naughty suspicion.  “I
don’t suppose you’ll want a similar deal to the one we had here, do you? 
Something like I can’t spend time in a room until we’ve made love there?”

With a chuckle, he buried his nose in her hair and dropped
gentle kisses on her face.  “Works for me.  We could try out multiple rooms in
multiple houses, until we find just the right spot.  You game?”

Macy laughed, secure in Dante’s embrace and certain for the
first time that they had a real shot at a future together.  “With you, Dante,
I’m game for anything.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Thank you so much for purchasing,
Dare Me
, a
novella of sexy suspense.  I wrote this story originally for NAL/Penguin and it
was fun to get to know Macy and Dante and see just how far they’d go to save
the world…and their true love.  Though this story skewed toward the “sexy” side
of the equation, I also have some shoot-‘em-up, car-chase, double-crossing
stories available in my Dirty series and spooky, exotic, sensual adventures
with my Phantoms.  I hope you will check them out!

Since word of mouth is so critical to readers and authors
alike, I would really appreciate it if you’d pop back to Amazon and leave an
honest review of this story.  It just takes a minute or two, but your opinion
is priceless!

REVIEW
DARE ME

(Sexy Suspense)

Sex, lies and
lethal weapons…

Praise for
Dirty Little Secrets
…

“Stephanie Who?
Readers looking for a genuine and credible bad-ass kick-butt heroine may want
to check this book out.”

Mrs. Giggles

“Readers who
love a great kickass heroine, propulsive action and plenty of steam shouldn't
miss Dirty Little Secrets.”

Leigh Thomas

All About Romance

“Get out the ice
and set your fans on high! Julie Leto's Dirty Little Secrets will set you on
fire the minute you pick up this steamy, high-speed book of love, action, and
adventure.”

Anne Lum

Writer's Unlimited

OVERVIEW:

— A disgraced bounty hunter pursues her sexy ex

— The secret agent on the run catapults her into
his treacherous underworld

— Is her super-sexy lover her ticket out of a
mundane world—or is he setting her up to crash and burn?

Buy
Dirty Little Secrets
with your e-ink Kindle

Buy
Dirty Little Secrets
with your Kindle Fire or Kindle App

(Sexy Suspense)

Staying alive isn't easy when
people with guns tell
Dirty Little Lies
…

Praise for
Dirty Little Lies…

“A must read for anyone enjoying a little
female butt-kicking with a little flare.”