Taste Me Deadly (Sensory Ops) (14 page)

No mixed messages there. “Liam?”

“Mmm?”

“How did you know where I was?”

“I planted a tracker in your car.”

“Oh?”

“And in your phone.”

“I see.”

“And I bugged you.”

“What? How?” She lurched up, but he pulled her back. When she’d again settled against him he traced a finger along the back of her neck.

“Kieralyn’s husband created a listening device that can be stuck to your skin and looks like a hair.”

“How long have you been listening to me?”

“Only after you checked in at the motel.”

“I see. And when did you bug me?”

“While you were sleeping that first night after you’d almost left.” His fingers moved along her neck and over her shoulder. The post-orgasm excitement that had settled began to rise again, rush through her blood.

“Why? I had agreed to stay.” Not that she had, but she hadn’t snuck out.

“I was scared.” Liam rubbed his face against the top of her head. His heart pounded hard and erratic beneath her ear. “I was scared you’d change your mind. I wanted to know I could find you.”

“That’s why you let me go, because you’d know where I was.”

“No. I let you go because you wanted freedom and trusted me to give it to you. The bugs just made watching you walk a little less painful.”

She chuckled. “Like I could hurt you.”

In a blur, Liam rolled Grey to her back and towered over her. His gaze bored into her. Unblinking. Hard.

She swallowed.

“You scare me, Grey, because I’m afraid I’ll mess up when it matters most because of worrying about you. You have an eerie power over me and yes, when you ran from me at the house, each step away was a bullet to my heart.”

“I had no idea.”

“I didn’t want you to. I still don’t.”

“Then why did you?” She tugged at his shirt. He’d been so hard and rigid after the incident. The kiss being the one exception.

“I don’t want to lie to you, but I really don’t want to be left behind wondering if you’re safe. Especially since we know Jessup has people coming for you.”

Grey nodded. She still wasn’t ready to think about being Liam’s wife or how unsuited she was for his world, but she couldn’t deny him.

“I won’t run again. I have no doubt I’ll freak out on you again, and I still think I’m bringing unnecessary danger to your door, but I promise not to leave again until we’re certain it’s safe.”

“You could be stuck with me for a while.”

“I know.”

“You may meet more of my family.”

“I’ll be nice.” She knew that wasn’t what he meant, but the other was something else she couldn’t think about.

“I’m not lying about who you are.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to tack ‘my wife’ to every introduction.”

“No, but I happen to like the sound of it.”

“Liam.” The man was a wall of stubborn. And then he did something disarming like smile with a gleam in his gaze that rattled her resolve.

He smiled with that gleam and inclined his head like he was acknowledging a point. “But—” he lifted her left hand and pressed a kiss to the diamond ring he’d given her in Vegas, “—if you promise to stay and let us help you until you and I both agree you’re safe I will promise not to introduce you as my wife.”

His lips over her finger, over the ring she’d been unwilling to remove, were reminders of the night she’d agreed to marry him. He’d kissed her the same way after slipping the ring on the first time. “I feel like you’ve left room for a loophole in there.”

He smiled. “Do we have a deal?”

“On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Take me home. I may be easygoing but I’m not a girl who sleeps nude under the stars.”

“On one hand that’s sad to hear.”

“But on the other?” She might have just rediscovered the fun Liam she’d met in Vegas.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing you nude on my bed.” With a grin he grabbed his backpack, wrapped her in a blanket and carried her toward the car.

“My clothes!”

“We’ll get them later.”

“They’re the only ones I have left.” Everything she had had been left in her car and motel room.

“Fine.” He set her on her feet and hurried to gather her things. Even if she did have something else to wear she would’ve wanted her things picked up. Otherwise she’d be embarrassed by the idea of Ava’s fiancé gathering her underwear.

Liam returned with her clothes and the towels and blankets he’d borrowed. “Better?”

“Yes,” she replied sweetly. “Thank you.”

“Sure thing.” He walked toward the building’s back entrance. “Though I’d rather be carrying you.”

“You’re a complex man, Liam Burgess.”

He coded into the back door and headed to the locker room. “I prefer my naked wife in my arms instead of her clothes. Nothing complex there.”

“Liam, you promised.”

“I promised not to introduce you to everyone as my wife. I never promised to pretend you weren’t.”

“I knew there were loopholes.”

“Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll learn to work them in your favor. Now…” He tossed her shirt and capris over his shoulder, tucked her bra and panties in his pocket and opened his empty arms. “Shall we go?”

“I am perfectly capable of walking.” She angled her shoulders away from him as she passed.

He swept her off her feet, curled her close and headed to the front of the building. The feel of his arms and body supporting her were almost hypnotic enough to banish her free will.

“I really can walk.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way.” He paused long enough to code out of the front door. “But putting aside how sexy your walk is, I’ve seen enough of it for the next little while.”

He wasn’t letting her off the hook easily, which she probably deserved. It made her wonder if she had hurt him. Did he really care that much? If he did, why? How long could it really last?

“I made a promise.”

“More than one.”

“Are you going to forgive me for leaving?”

“There’s nothing to forgive, though it’s going to take some time to forget.”

“I don’t think we ever forget. At least not the big stuff.”

He set her on her feet beside the car. Framing her face with his hands he leaned in close. Her breath caught at the raw sincerity in his gaze.

“Greycen Craig Burgess, you should consider yourself big stuff.
Nothing
you say or do will be easily forgotten.”

She swallowed and hoped nothing else would be said. Anything more would minimize his admission. Ready or not, she was falling and no amount of fairy dust would save her.

Chapter Twelve

Grey hid at the top of the stairs and listened as Liam answered the door. A woman’s cheery laugh reached her clearly.

“It never matters what you’ve changed, Liam, a part of me always feels dirty when I come in here.” The woman talked fast and sounded as chipper as her laugh. “At least until I see the sun. I love the light all the new windows let in.”

“The place changes with the people in it. And you were never dirty.”

“Maybe. Speaking of people, when is Lana coming over?”

“Anytime.”

“Would it be okay if I invited Lori over?” The woman laughed again. “She’s curious to see what changes you’ve made.”

“If Grey’s fine with it you know I am.”

“Thanks, Liam. So when do I get to meet the mysterious Grey? Where is she?”

“She’ll be down soon. It was a long night. Is that…?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you go to the kitchen and make sure the coffee’s ready.” His tone shifted to humor. “She’s more talkative after a few cups.”

“You cooking too? I haven’t eaten yet.”

“We’ll see.”

His voice sounded closer. A few quick moments later he stepped onto the top landing and looked at her with that humored smile of his that made him so sexy. “Grey.”

“Who’s here?”

“A friend.” He lifted a suitcase. “She brought you some clothes.”

It wasn’t any suitcase. It was a Louis Vuitton. Grey backed away. Hand-me-downs were bad, but when they came from a case like that… They wouldn’t be her kind of clothes.

He cocked his head and lifted the case a little. “You can’t want to wear those clothes again today.”

“It’s better than whatever is in there.”

He set the case at her feet. “When you’re finished making snap judgments like a clichéd snob you might find something in here that’s to your liking.”

Saying nothing else, he turned and walked downstairs. His departing chastisement shamed her into carrying the bag into the bedroom to see what had been brought over.

The suitcase held a few options. Conservative class, like what she’d worn to the hospital, and edgy with a gothic flair, like what she’d have worn as Opal. Beneath those was a third option. Dramatic comfort.

She’d missed Opal’s clothes so much that while it was smarter to choose the style of Grey, she struggled with the desire to revisit her old self.

Ten minutes later, dressed in the third option of jeans made of the softest denim she’d ever felt and a tie-dye T-shirt with rips strategically placed over a shoulder and the left ribcage, and a blingy skull, she headed back toward the stairs. An apology, something she seemed to be giving more than she liked, formed in her mind. Whoever was downstairs, she’d gone to some trouble for Grey’s benefit.

The doorbell rang, loud and majestic, as she descended the last step. She looked from the door to the hall that led to the kitchen, uncomfortable answering the door.

“That will be Lana.” The woman’s voice reached her. “I’ll get it.”

Footsteps, lightly muffled, preceded the woman. She moved fast. Grey looked for a place to hide, but didn’t find one in time. A blonde, exquisite from head to toe in casual glamour, came into view.

Grey gasped.

The blonde looked up and smiled. “Hi.”

Grey could only nod.

Recognition would have been instant even without the vibrant red streak in the front of her wavy hair. Kami Evans. After a guest spot on an award-winning television show, the public had responded so favorably Kami Evans had become a regular. The show had never been better than it was with her. Grey waited all week for Friday night to watch the show, and now, Kami Evans was in front of her. And she’d brought a bag of clothes for Grey.

A sweet smile lifted her lips as she turned and opened the door. “Lana. Come in.”

The woman Kami called Lana set two bags inside the door. They embraced and then Kami pulled back, pointed to the bags. “Thank you for bringing those.”

“Anything for Aidan and Liam.”

Grey tried to connect the pieces of information she’d been given since returning. She didn’t know how Kami Evans fit into Liam’s world; she wouldn’t have missed that. Lana was marrying Aidan and was the FBI director’s daughter, but she seemed familiar beyond that.

“No big stories to chase down?”

Lana glanced up to Grey and smiled as she answered Kami. “None that can’t wait a day. Or more.”

Lana Quinn. Top award-winning reporter in Miami. Grey always read Lana’s articles first. Sometimes she even kept them. Before her, in what could only be described as a mansion, a home Liam wanted her to think of as her own, stood two of Miami’s most important women.

Lana grabbed the two bags she’d brought in and looked at Grey again. “You must be Grey. I’m Aidan’s fiancée, Lana Quinn.”

“Hi.” Grey’s voice cracked, forcing her to clear her throat.

“And I’m Kami Evans.”

Grey lifted a hand in a slight wave. “I know who you are.” God. It was like being slammed back to high school where she wasn’t sure why the popular kids were talking to her.

Kami smiled and took one of the bags from Lana. “Then join us. We’ll kick Liam out of the house and do what women do best.”

“Talk about men.” Lana laughed and shook her bag. “And play with chocolate.”

Grey found herself sinking deeper and deeper into a world she needed to escape. Then it hit her. She was Alice and this was Liam’s wonderland.

At least it came with chocolate.

A little later, a Disney movie played on the big screen in the living room and the kitchen smelled of chocolate confections, some prettier than others depending on who’d done them.

Lori Mullins, owner of a local wedding planning business, had joined them. Lana and Kami had given a tour of the home, especially showing off the changes Liam had made to the lab that was now called a safe room. Liam had said Grey was safe. She actually felt it.

With the tour over and the gossip in swing, Lori sat on an island barstool with a sketchpad, working on a wedding dress. Swearing she couldn’t boil water without burning it, she designated herself as the taste tester.