High Stakes Seduction (13 page)

“Why would you want to do that?”

“I taught you to surf, you can teach me to golf.”

“I can do that without having to play a scramble with my ex-girlfriend and her helmet-haired fiancé.”

“It’s for charity.”

“What’s the real reason?” he probed.

“I dunno.” Eva shrugged. “Why do you think she asked?”

“You think she’s trying to win me back?”

“You don’t have to smirk about it. I’m no more jealous of Kirsten than you are of Keith.”

She had a point, but he couldn’t tell her the real reason he was so concerned about Barksdale. “He came after you on a Jet Ski.”

“He’s hardly a white knight on a shining stead.”

“No unresolved feelings?” He didn’t want to hear it if there was, but he pushed. Because of his job.

“Keith means nothing to me. He was a passing thing.”

“Kirsten doesn’t mean anything to me, either.”

“Of course she does. You were engaged to her. Honestly, I’m not jealous. I just want to see you in your milieu. So far, we’ve been on my turf. Yoga studio, the beach.”

“I thought you said we weren’t dating. That we were just friends.”

She stopped at a traffic light and turned her head to stare him straight in the eyes. “I think we both know that’s impossible.”

Oh, shit. She was right. And this couldn’t be happening at a worse time. But a part of him—the reckless, impulsive part that he hadn’t even known existed until he’d been assigned to watch over her—wanted to gather his smart little Eva in his arms right here and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe.

But then his sense of honor took over. How could he have a sexual relationship with a target? It went against all protocol. It could even get him thrown out of the Navy. He was walking on a razor’s edge. One wrong move and he’d get cut.

Or worse, cut Eva.

He had to back off. Keep his desire in check. At least until the assignment was over.

And then after that?

Which raised another question. Once she found out that he’d been sent to spy on her, would she ever speak to him? The idea of her not ever speaking to him again shouldn’t have him feeling so wretched. He’d only known her a week, but there it was. He couldn’t change it.

When they arrived back at their apartment complex, he hopped out and grabbed hold of her surfboard, determined to carry it upstairs for her.

She sank her hands on her hips. “I’m not helpless, you know.”

“Never said you were.” He moved past her, caught a whiff of sweet scent and had to fight off his instincts again. God, how he wanted to kiss her.

He stopped when he got to her door. She came up behind him, keys in hand. She’d taken off her wet suit at the beach and wore only her bikini top and shorts. The blue butterfly tattoo was highly visible in the sunlight. He ached to press his lips to that butterfly, taste the salty tang of her skin.

“So,” she said.

“So,” he echoed.

“See you tomorrow evening?”

He nodded.

She gave him one last smile—how had he lived before he’d seen her smile?—and closed the door.

Leaving Adam to make his way back to his apartment, his heart staggering around in his chest like a Mardi Gras drunk. If Commander Higgins had him hooked up to a polygraph machine and asked him about his feelings for Eva, there’s no way he could lie and get away with it. She stirred his blood, burned his brain, drove him crazy in a way no woman ever had. And crazy was not a healthy state of mind for a naval intelligence officer.

Once inside his apartment, he made the call to Commander Higgins and told him about what had happened in the ocean.

“So Barksdale is definitely still in San Diego.” Higgins sounded relieved. “Good work, Mancuso. This lets me know my theory is correct. St. George is the key. This was the development we needed. I’m calling the judge to see if he’ll give us permission to tap her phone lines now. Did you find out what Barksdale said to her?”

“She didn’t want to talk about it and I couldn’t insist without looking suspicious.”

“You’re a smart guy, Adam. Find a way to get her to open up to you.”

“About that, sir. I’m not sure I’m the man for this job. I’m afraid I’m losing my objectivity when it comes to Eva…er…the target.”

“You’ve already made inroads with this woman. She trusts you.”

Yeah and I’m going to hurt her just like Barksdale did and that’ll crush her.
“You could just bring her in for questioning again.”

“Let’s save that as an option of last resort in the off chance that she is involved. We can’t afford to tip our hand. You can do this, Lieutenant. It’s why I selected you for this detail. You’ve always been able to separate your heart from your head.”

He had. Until now. Until Eva.

“Find out what Barksdale discussed with your target. And that’s an order, sailor.”

They’d arranged to meet the other couple at the country club, and the minute Kirsten had seen Eva in her pair of cutoff blue jeans and a tank top, she’d grabbed her by the hand and whisked her into the shop.

“We’ll get you properly attired,” she’d said, and flashed her Mastercard. “My treat.”

“I can’t let you pay for this,” Eva protested.

“Sure you can. You can’t go on the course dressed like you’re going to wash a car.”

“Why not? It’ll be dark out soon. No one will be able to see me.”

“Shady Palms is one of the most exclusive country clubs in Southern California. This charity is a big deal. Local television stations cover this event.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Eva said, feeling embarrassed. “I can pay for my own clothes.”

Kirsten looked at her. “You’re a what? Size eight?”

“Six.”

“
Real
-ly? You look like an eight.”

“Six,” Eva said through clenched teeth.

“Here. Try these.” Kirsten had jammed a handful of golfing outfits in her arms and sent her into the dressing room.

Now she was standing here in a short little pink-and-white skirt and polo shirt with a matching visor, golfing shoes with cleats and pink sports socks with fuzzy pompoms, looking all the world like Lovey Howell from
Gilligan’s Island.

“Do you think the cleats are really necessary?” she asked Kirsten. “I mean most likely this is the only time I’ll be playing golf.”

“If you’re with Adam, you’ll be playing a lot of golf,” Kirsten said. “That is if you want to spend any time with him at all. There are only two things he cares about and that’s his work and golf.”

“He’s taking my yoga class and he came surfing with me,” Eva pointed out.

“That was just to get you in bed. You know how men are.”

It was probably just Kirsten being petty, but the comment hit Eva like a rock. She didn’t belong with the country club set. She was the daughter of a hairdresser from Cut and Shoot, Texas. A woman who’d learned early on that if you put a big smile on your face no one would guess how lonely you were inside. Not only that, but if you kept your attachments loosely tied, it wouldn’t hurt so much when the threads broke.

Now here she was being stuffed into a Stepford Wife costume. This role of well-heeled hottie didn’t fit. It never would. And if that’s what Adam wanted, well then…

No, this was dumb. Spending money on an outfit she would never, ever wear again, or even worse, letting Adam’s ex-fiancée buy it for her. If Zoey was here she’d probably tell her to let Kirsten fork over the cash, but she wasn’t as brash as Zoey. Besides, Eva had too much pride for that.

She looked at the price tag dangling from the sleeve and almost choked. The shirt alone cost more than she made in a day.

“You better get used to spending that kind of money if you’re going to be dating Senator Orin Mancuso’s son.”

“What?”

“Adam’s dad is a senator. You didn’t know?”

Eva shook her head. “Maryland State.”

“I had no idea.”

“I’m not surprised he hasn’t told you. He doesn’t like flaunting his family money.”

Eva’s knees went weak. She had no business entertaining romantic thoughts about a senator’s son. None at all. “He’s wealthy?”

“Not Donald Trump wealthy, but yes, the Mancusos are quite well-off.”

Eva gulped. If he had megabucks, why was Adam slumming in her modest apartment complex? “You know, maybe it’s better if I don’t play in this scramble with you guys.”

The gleam in Kirsten’s eyes told her that’s exactly what she’d been angling for all along. Eva wondered why the woman had invited her to the scramble. Had it been too much to hope that she’d just wanted to be nice?

There you go again, trusting people when you shouldn’t.

Now she could see the other woman’s ulterior motive. Kirsten wanted to show Eva up as an unsophisticated surfer girl not worthy of a Mancuso. Was she trying to get Adam back? Was that really what was going on here? What about her new fiancé, Malibu boy…er…Teddy.

“You know what?” Eva said. “Screw the cost. I’ll take the outfit.”

Kirsten’s eyes widened. “Sure, sure. Teddy, could you take Eva with you to get our carts?”

Teddy scowled as if he didn’t much like the idea, but he held his arm out to Eva.

Eva, who looked amazing in a short pink skirt, tossed a glance at him over her shoulder. Adam smiled reassuringly at her. “This won’t take a minute.”

He dragged Kirsten off to one side as carts loaded with golfers headed for the greens. Many were already on the lighted course whacking around glowing green golf balls.

“Look,” he said. “There’s something I have to tell you about Eva.”

“You’re crazy about her,” Kirsten said flatly.

Adam was startled. “What? No.”

“It’s written all over you.”

Unwilling to deal with that comment, he shoved it aside. “Did you tell her anything about me?”

“I told her you were rich.”

Adam shifted nervously. “How did she react?”

“She looked panicked. She’s out of her league with you and she knows it.”

That pissed him off. “Eva can hold her own with anyone.”

“What would your parents think of her? A tattoo on her shoulder? How tacky.”

He wanted to give Kirsten’s arm a good shake and tell her to stop judging Eva, but he held his temper. “Did you tell her I was with the ONI?”

“You haven’t told her that yet?”

“I can’t. She’s my target.”

Kirsten’s eyes widened. “She’s an assignment?”

Adam blew out his breath and plastered a palm to the nape of his neck. “Yeah.”

“Ah, that explains a lot. For a minute there I wasn’t getting the connection. Why you’d be dating someone like her.”

“Don’t you dare denigrate Eva. She’s a wonderful person. Kind and generous and funny and—”

“You have fallen for her.” Kirsten clicked her tongue. “You are so screwed. When she finds out you’ve been spying on her, lying to her. And what’s your C.O. going to say?”

Adam shoved his palm over his head. “Yeah, I know.”

“It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“You two…” Kirsten wrinkled her nose. “I don’t see it. Not long term, anyway.”

“Why not?” he challenged.

“Besides the fact you’re investigating her?”

He wasn’t really investigating Eva, more like protecting her, but he didn’t bother enlightening Kirsten to the difference. “Yeah.”

“You’re so opposite. Night and day.”

“Opposites attract.”

“Up to a point. Maybe. But it will only last if your values are similar. Are your values similar?”

Hell if he knew.

Kirsten must have read his doubt on his face. “You haven’t even talked about the important things, have you?”

“Not in so many words.”

She shook her head. “You haven’t changed in that respect. You never were much of a talker. Lord knows I tried to get you to tell me what was going on in that thick skull of yours.”

“I’m talking now.”

“About another woman. You never wanted to talk about us.”

“You say Eva and I are too dissimilar to make it—”

“You two are like a peanut butter and sausage sandwich. Nothing goes together.”

“Well, you and I were too much alike. Peanut butter and jelly gets damned boring.”

“Now you’re just being mean.” Her tone turned frosty.

“You were bored with me, too.” He jerked his head in Teddy’s direction. “Is he more than just a plaything?”

“We’re engaged.”

“Because you have similar values.”

“Yes. We both want the same things from life. Do you and yoga girl? Oh, wait. I forgot. You haven’t talked. I’m sure you’ve been spending too much time surfing and sexing it up for that.”

“Why yes,” Adam said, knowing he sounded malicious but not caring at this point. He wasn’t going to let Kirsten malign Eva. “She sure knows how to sex me up.”

“You’re saying I didn’t?”

He shrugged.

Kirsten’s eyes flashed fire.

“Okay,” he apologized. “That wasn’t fair. What we had was nice—”

“Yes, just nice and for the record, Teddy is excellent in bed.”

“Good for you.”

“Honey,” Teddy called out. “It’s our tee time.”

“Good luck,” Kirsten muttered to Adam. “You’re going to need it.”

“Please don’t say anything to Eva about what I do.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave that shocking little surprise to you.”