Deadly Deception (SCVC Taskforce) (13 page)

He surged into her, but broke their kiss. “What do you want, Ronni? Really want? Tell me.”

“You.” Her breath came in gasps. “With less clothes on.”

He laughed and her body vibrated inside and out. “What about Rule One?”

“Screw it. I want to forget, Thomas. All the…shit. Make me forget.”

He nuzzled her ear, licked the lobe. “And what happens in the morning? When you have to work with me?”

Damn him. Always analyzing. Always thinking.

He knows me too well.
She wouldn’t be able to look him the eye. She’d have to request a new partner. She’d have to make an excuse to Dupé and skip town. The FBI behavioral science unit was filled with people who understood cults and her brother. One of them could handle the case.

Ronni tipped her head back, rested it on the wall.
No
. She wasn’t running away. She liked Dupé, knew her career would be wide open after working for him. She wanted this assignment and maybe another.

And Adam was her responsibility. Hers and hers alone.

She’d spent her entire life standing up for others. Saving those who couldn’t save themselves. She’d lived through pain and rejection before, and while she went on grieving silently for all the people she’d loved and lost, she wasn’t bailing on this assignment. Or Thomas.

But old habits were hard to break. “I…I don’t know.”

He nipped at her bottom lip, removed the gun from her hand, and set it on the bookcase next to them. “Trust me. I won’t let you down.”

Trust had to be earned. So far, he’d scored some serious points in that column, but those would be wiped away if she slept with him. A relationship with him would test her mental and emotional stamina in a way nothing else had.

Bring it on
.

Dropping her hand to the front of his sweatpants, she gave him a squeeze. God, he was huge. “Just make me forget, Thomas. For a few minutes, help me live in this moment.”

Chapter Fourteen

Thomas issued a tight sigh, grabbed Ronni by the wrist, and removed her hand from his crotch.

What is wrong with me?

He wanted to hang his head and pound a fist into the wall, but when she tried to go after him again, he pinned her wrist there instead. “It’s all or nothing, Punto. I know you’re scared and you’re hurting, but I don’t dole out fucks as substitutes for facing reality.”

She released her legs, stared at him for a moment in shock. Then she slapped him with her free hand.

The hit barely moved his head. Stung all the same. He rubbed his cheek, released her wrist, and stepped back. “Making you forget whatever’s eating you for an hour or so won’t solve our issues. I can’t kill your demons.”

She sucked in air, shoved him backward. “Go to hell. I don’t need you to kill my demons, and this was your idea!”

True fact. But he wanted more than a pity fuck. More than being used to help her forget her fears. Removing his gun from his waistband, he headed for his bedroom. “I’ll put some fresh sheets on the bed for you.”

Of course, she followed him, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. “Don’t bother. I’m leaving.”

He kept his back to her and rummaged in the hall closet for clean linens. “Running away?”

“I don’t run away from anything.”

Gotcha
. He faced her. “Then don’t run away from me.”

Her hands balled into fists. There was enough steam coming out of her ears, he thought she might actually stomp the floor. Her lips were swollen, her shirt askew from his advances. Hair sticking out in all directions. “Give me a reason not to.”

Low blow. He could handle it. “I just did.”

She thumbed at the living room. “That? A make-out session against the wall?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve had better.”

Was she purposely being dense or was she goading him? “I doubt that, but what I was referring to was the fact that, although I’ve wanted to screw your brains out since Des Moines, I don’t want to fuck up our partnership now that you’re here.”

“Oh.” She looked away, dropped her arms. Paced down the hallway, grabbed her gun, and paced back to him. Stopped. Seemed to make up her mind about something. “Look, I know you’re trying, and I appreciate it. That back there was unprofessional and not like me at all. I’m a hot mess right now and not many seasoned agents would willingly partner with me in my current situation. So…”

She examined her gun, blew out a breath. “Thank you.”

“For the kiss or the reality check?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you teasing?”

“No, my sweet potato. Sun’s not up yet.”

“We agreed no teasing, joking, etc., for twenty-four hours.”

He grinned, headed to his bedroom. “Stop trying to change the subject and admit that kiss knocked your socks off.”

She padded in behind him. “You don’t have to change the sheets. I’m too wired to sleep now.”

That made two of them. “It’s not even five a.m. What do you suggest?”

“Show me your movie collection?”

Good sign. She was trying now, too. “You sure?”

“Got anything funny?”

“Every John Hughes movie ever made.”

“Those are tragedies, not comedies.” She saw his look of mock horror, and added, “Kidding. John Hughes it is.”

A couple hours later, Molly Ringwald was pretty in pink and Ronni was fast asleep, her head on his shoulder. He listened to her steady, even breathing. Wondered if she’d have another nightmare. He’d be right beside her if she did.

Gently, he rubbed one of her hair ringlets between his finger and thumb. She was beautiful, smart, funny when she wanted to be, and determined. All the qualities he liked in a woman. And damn, if she wasn’t fire on a stick. His groin tightened just thinking about their earlier escapade.

But she was a ball buster. He should have fucked her and gotten it out of his system. Gotten it out of
both
of their systems. But he knew if it had gone farther, their working relationship, already tenuous, would have been destroyed.

And he would have still wanted more.

Next to him, she sighed and curled into him. She was warm and soft in the right places, giving his imagination plenty of fodder.
Definitely going to be a challenge
. The type he hadn’t had in a good, long while.

He valued her as a partner in the field as well as a friend. No blowing that. Working with her forced him out of his rut, out of the undercover world of gunrunning and drug smugglers. This cult thing was new—if they ever got inside—and he needed a change of pace.

The taskforce was his life and vice work kept him on his toes, but burnout was a real possibility. This assignment with Ronni was just what he needed. A fresh operation with a new partner.

Her arm snaked around his waist and her head shifted down to his pecs. His pulse tripped over itself.
Why didn’t I take her when I had the chance?

Maybe he
was
a Boy Scout, just like Ronni accused. Nothing wrong with a little challenge as long as he didn’t take his eye off the prize. The job, this mission, had to come first, which meant he had to rein in his dick and quit getting off track with her. He didn’t mind the challenge she presented as long as it didn’t screw things up. Screw
her
up.

What he did mind was the fact he wanted it more than she did. He wasn’t a picket-fence kind of guy, but a one-and-done wasn’t going to be enough. Relationships weren’t his thing, and yet he couldn’t treat Ronni like a hook-up. She wanted to use him for sex, and while his body gave a “hell, yeah” cry to that, his mind rejected it. She was the first woman to make him want to slow down and take his time. Peel back the layers and enjoy each revelation.

He had the feeling there were a lot of layers to Ronni. But what if she never wanted anything more?

Carefully, he caressed her head. She sighed contentedly, snuggling closer. One of her bare feet hooked around his calf.

God. Damn. How was he supposed to keep a lid on his dick when she was all over him?

Pinning his eyes on the TV screen, he tried to concentrate on the movie. Realized the credits were rolling. Then Ronni crooked her knee and slid it into his lap, squeezing his waist with her arm like he was a big teddy bear.

His cock jumped under her thigh. A low growl issued from between his clenched teeth.

Ronni murmured something, blinked, and stretched. As she came awake, realization dawned, and she sat up fast, nearly falling off the couch in her haste. Her arms windmilled and he grabbed her by the waist before she toppled over. Off balance and still hung over from her nap, she flopped on top of him, her face landing right in front of his.

Those big eyes engulfed him. Her cheeks were flushed from sleep and her lips were too hard to resist. He kissed her. Not hard, not soft, just right, lingering over those full lips and teasing her to respond.

Respond she did, softly at first. Shyly. She righted herself and slid on top of his lap.

“Ronni,” he warned.

“Sshhh.” She touched a finger to his lips. “It’s just a kiss.”

The kissing resumed, only to be interrupted by the buzzing of Ronni’s phone on the coffee table. He tried to get to her to ignore it, but by the sixth ring, she reluctantly broke the kiss, leaned back and grabbed it.

“Could be him.” Thomas didn’t need clarification. “Hello?”

Her brows scrunched together for half a second, then her eyes went wide as they snapped up to Thomas’s.
What
, he mouthed.

Adam
, she mouthed back and tapped the speaker button. Thomas recognized the man’s voice from the YouTube videos he’d watched. “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Adam,” her voice reflected her surprise. She recovered, shifting around on Thomas’s lap, and goddamn, if he didn’t almost explode right there. “Yes, yes, I’ve been looking all over for you. It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to come home.”

Home? Thomas frowned.

She smiled at the phone, causing her voice to sound lighter. Happier. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“And I you. Your timing is perfect. Come to the farm today at noon. Preparations are being made for my anointing this week. I’d like you to bear witness when the time comes.”

She paused, then rushed to answer. “Of course. It will be an honor. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Adam disconnected without saying goodbye. Ronni stared at the screen, lost in thought. When she raised her gaze to Thomas’s, a slight grin played on her lips. “I’ve been summoned.”

Gone was the sleepy, sexy woman from a minute ago, and in her place, the confident FBI agent.

“Anointed?” Thomas asked. “Do I want to know?”

“No.” Ronni slid off of his lap and went for her shoes. “Better get dressed, Mann. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Chapter Fifteen

12:01 p.m.

The farm was a little oasis in the middle of the desert. Where Mount Royal had been open and barren with scant resources, Heaven’s Gate was a tiny slice of Eden. Rows of organic vegetables stretched to the west, a small orchard on the east. Goats mingled at the edges of the pasture with milk cows. Chickens clucked around Ronni’s feet as she left the rental car in the drive and walked to the porch of the main house.

Several barns ringed the south side. A couple of men worked on an old tractor that appeared to have broken down near a fence. Behind the house, a field of lavender was in bloom, the plants’ delicate scent drifting on the breeze as women in gardening clothes harvested the flowers.

“ʻOn a dark desert highway…ʼ” Thomas, walking next to her, kept singing snippets of
Hotel California
under his breath. He hummed the next words, shooing chickens out of the way.

“Stop it,” she whispered.

“What?” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “This place is creepy.”

Not to her. Not to the other people living and working there. “It’s charming and quaint.”

He laid a hand on her forehead. “You feeling okay?”

She slapped his hand away. Refused to acknowledge the fact she liked his touch. “Knock it off.”

The front door opened. “Roanna!” It was Melanie. She wore an apron and clapped her hands together. “Adam told me you were coming.”

Beside her, Thomas said under his breath, “Tiffany-twisted…”

At least he didn’t sing this time.

Long lost friends. That’s what Melanie acted like. Ronni took the stairs, offered her hand. “Nice to be invited back. The place is amazing.”

Melanie disregarded her hand and embraced her in a giant hug. “Adam’s told me all about you.”

Ronni stiffened. How much could he know? “I’m dying to see him. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes, well.” Melanie stepped back, glanced over her shoulder. “Won’t you come in?”

The house was more Victorian than farmhouse. Cavernous inside, with the highest ceilings Ronni had ever seen. The clicking of Melanie’s heels on the wood floors echoed up and up and up as she led them through a foyer.