Undercover Obsession (2 page)

As always, days before Charles’s scheduled
visit found her so excited she could barely sleep or concentrate on
her school work, and this time her anticipation and excitement was
even higher because she was certain her surprise was going to be
returning to the states with him and finally being able to be a
part of his life on a regular basis. He was a kind, doting
guardian, generous to a fault when it came to money and seeing she
had everything she needed. When he visited her he gave of himself
one hundred percent, spent every moment of those monthly visits
with her, taking her out, traveling with her throughout Europe in
his private plane and lavishing her with his love and attention.
She was always so glad to see him, so grateful for whatever time he
would give her, she didn’t even resent the hard eyed, hard edged
body guard employee who always accompanied him. She knew he was a
rich man and probably had enemies who coveted his wealth and
position, but other than that she knew nothing of what he did to
earn his wealth. Whenever she asked, he would reply evasively that
he ran a multifaceted company whose financial risks required his
undivided attention.

But Piper wanted more from the man who had
raised her than those few weekends. She wanted the one thing he had
always withheld from both her and her mother, to be a family. Now
that she was an adult and able to make her own decisions, she was
going to insist on more from him than a monthly visit and a monthly
deposit into her account.

Four Years Later

Piper checked the time again and saw that
only five minutes had passed since the last time she had glanced at
the clock. She couldn’t help it, she thought as she looked out the
front window of her apartment hoping to see Charles pull up. The
past three months, he had to cancel his monthly trips to Geneva to
see her, his disappointment evident even over the phone. His excuse
of being unable to get away, however, fell flat and did nothing but
raise her suspicions even more about what he had been keeping from
her all these years. If there was one thing that had given her
comfort since he had exiled her overseas it was that he seemed to
need and enjoy their monthly weekends together as much as she
did.

When Charles Sandoval had arrived for her
high school graduation four years ago and doused her hopes of
returning to the states, she had thought nothing he could have done
would hurt her more. Until he had started cancelling his trips to
see her. When no amount of pleading had changed his mind about
allowing Piper to attend college in the states, she had resorted to
threats, stating she was an adult and could and would go where she
pleased now. She would never forget how his face had paled and his
dark eyes clouded with anger and worry when she had defied him for
the first time. But her disappointment had been so acute, her pain
at his denial so sharp, she had no trouble sticking to her threat,
not even when he announced he had secured entrance into Geneva’s
Art Institute for her.

Getting a degree in Fashion Design and Sewing
had been a goal of hers since childhood and attending such a
prestigious institute would have been a dream come true if it
hadn’t come at the expense of returning to her homeland and being
closer to the man she had always considered her father. When
dangling that carrot in front of her hadn’t made her back down, he
threatened to cut her off, and from the cold look that had taken
over his usual loving, doting countenance, she knew he meant it.
The threat had been delivered with absolute resolve, but the
desperation in his tone and on his face when he added she wouldn’t
see him again couldn’t be missed, and it was that desperation, not
the financial threat that had gotten through to her. While having
no income, no job prospects and nowhere to go would scare any
eighteen year old, not seeing or hearing from Charles again scared
her more, and if there was one thing he had always made sure she
knew about him for sure was how much he cared about her. For him to
say he’d cut all ties with her told her there had to be a good
reason he wanted to keep her here in Switzerland, keep her life
separate from his for yet another extended period of time.

So they had gone on the past four years as
they had the ten years prior and she had been somewhat content if
not happy, until he started missing their monthly visits. In their
last phone conversation, he had promised he’d be here if he could,
told her how proud he was of her and there wasn’t anywhere else
he’d rather be. The complications with his business that he said
were making travel difficult lately and keeping him from seeing her
were slowly getting resolved.

He should be here any time, Piper thought as
she looked at the time again, her anticipation rising with each
minute that passed. Of course, she was honest enough to admit to
herself that a good portion of her heightened anxiety was due to
the added anticipation of seeing Brody again, her guardian’s new
bodyguard. It had been almost a year since Brody had replaced Karl
in accompanying Charles on his visitations. Karl had always made
her uncomfortable, his cold eyes looking through her as if she
meant nothing, his looks dismissive but his attention to their
surroundings whenever they went somewhere alert and, at times
menacing. Brody on the other hand, looked at her out of warm grey
eyes, his smile friendly and his attitude much more genial, the
occasional wink he gave her when Charles wasn’t looking warming her
more than her adoptive dad’s hearty embrace.

That genial attitude, however, didn’t mean he
wasn’t just as diligent in his job at staying by Charles’s side
and, apparently, making sure there were no threats to either him or
her. Piper had suspected years ago that whatever Charles’s business
was, it involved potential threats to him, and possibly her. A
quick on-line search had only revealed that Charles Sandoval owned
one of the largest, most profitable casino/resorts in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. When Charles had first introduced Brody to her
all those months ago as his assistant, she had simply raised her
brow at him, the only indication she gave both men that she was old
enough and smart enough to know he was much more than an assistant.
Gambling, even legal gambling, she was sure came with risks.

“I’m a careful man with my wealth, Piper, and
you are my greatest treasure,” Charles had said and then dropped
the subject.

Long used to his evasiveness, Piper had let
the matter of Brody’s employment drop, more interested in indulging
in secret fantasies about her dad’s new bodyguard. Almost a foot
taller than her, with a thickly muscled body she thought could only
be found in the imaginations of romance authors, Piper’s own
imagination worked overtime in conjuring fantasies about getting
naked with him, fantasies she knew didn’t stand a snowball’s chance
in hell of ever being played out.

Being set up in her own apartment near the
Art Institute’s campus, Piper had enjoyed the freedom of college
life, and that had included indulging in a long term affair during
her sophomore and junior years. Ted had been a year older than her,
ten inches taller and thirty pounds lighter. They were two peas in
a pod, both of them geeks in their own ways, both of them felt they
lacked the physical appeal most young people were drawn to and both
of them were virgins. They met at the library one evening, became
friends then lovers and she had enjoyed their fumbling attempts at
sex as much as she had enjoyed his friendship. While they
eventually learned to please each other physically, there was
nothing earth shattering about their nights together, and after Ted
graduated last year and took a job in France, Piper found she
missed his friendship more than she did the sex.

Glancing out the window again, Piper saw a
familiar sleek sedan pull into the parking lot, park in front of
her building and then watched as Brody unfolded his tall,
mouthwatering frame from the driver’s seat. Just seeing him from
her third story window was enough to have her pussy swelling and
dampening with arousal, her breasts aching for attention as she
imagined those lips suckling her sensitive tips, fantasized about
how that body would feel thrusting inside of hers. Without a doubt
she knew sex with a man like Brody wouldn’t be anything like what
she had enjoyed but never craved with Ted.

Piper’s erotic daydreaming came to an abrupt
halt when Brody headed inside her building alone instead of opening
the back door of the car for her father. When she opened her door
to his soft knock, it wasn’t fantasies of how his dark goatee
emphasized his sensual mouth, or how those lips would feel against
hers in a deep, tongue probing kiss or moving slowly down her body
that dominated her thoughts. Instead, she felt her expectations as
well as her heart plummet at the look of compassion in those grey
eyes.

Tightening her trembling lips, she demanded,
“What excuse did he give this time?”

Brody Pearce did not want to be here and the
main reason wasn’t because he was away from his undercover position
as Charles Sandoval’s right hand man. It wasn’t his first
undercover assignment, and, at just over eighteen months into it,
it wasn’t his longest, but ever since he had met Sandoval’s ward
nine months ago, it had become his most trying and challenging.
Piper Winters was a sweet kid with bright, starry green eyes that
revealed her every thought and emotion, eyes that were blinded by
rose colored glasses when it came to the man she so obviously
adored. After getting so close to Sandoval this past year and
accompanying him six times to Geneva to visit his ward, he had no
doubt about his love for Piper or hers for him. Unfortunately, that
love was based on lies and deceit and if his mission is successful,
those glasses are going to come flying off and shatter her
delusions soon. And she would blame him as much as Charles when
that happened.

It had been easy to befriend her at first.
She had such an endearing mix of naïve youthfulness and slowly
awakening sensuality. While he wouldn’t call her short, plump
figure sexy, his cock had no trouble rising to thoughts of sinking
between those cushy, round thighs and riding that soft body hard
for several hours. Those shy looks of attraction, curiosity and
longing she thought he didn’t notice were all his libido needed, it
seemed, to get riled up. Those glances, however, always seemed to
be shoved aside quickly and replaced with a look of resignation and
a sigh of acceptance, as if she knew any type of sexual
relationship between the two of them wasn’t going to happen.
Unfortunately, she was right, but not for the reason she
thought.

Bracing his forearm on the door frame, Brody
looked down at her pretty face and watched those bright eyes dim
with his reply. “I’m sorry, darlin’. He tried, he really did, but
there are circumstances beyond his control that are keeping him
close to home right now.”

A home she had never been invited to, a home
she obviously wasn’t welcome in, Piper thought sourly as she felt
her need and determination to move on with her life without him
gather strength with this latest defection. “So why are you here?
He usually gives me his regrets over the phone.” She knew she
sounded like a cold hearted bitch, but she couldn’t seem to dredge
up enough regret to care. He was, after all, only doing her
father’s bidding, what he paid him for.

“I insisted on coming,” Brody lied to her
without compunction. He didn’t know where the need to shelter her
for as long as possible came from, but he refused to watch her
delusions shatter any sooner than they had to. “And Charles was
grateful. He didn’t want you to graduate without having anyone
there for you. He’s really proud of his little girl.” At least that
part was true, Brody thought. Whenever they were alone, Charles
spoke freely of Piper and her accomplishments with so much
admiration and devotion it almost made him regret the part he and
his partner, Ian, were playing in using him and his alleged money
laundering connection with Antony Pasquino to bring down the East
coast drug and gun trafficker.

“Just not proud enough to be here. No.” She
stopped his denial with a lift of her hand. “Actions speak louder
than words. Whatever his reasons or excuses, I don’t want to hear
them. I appreciate you coming all this way, but..”

“But nothing. I’m staying until Sunday, so
you’re stuck with a friend for the next day and a half. I’m here,
Piper, and I want to be here.”

Piper could see nothing but honesty on his
face and if she was honest, she really was glad he was here. At
least she’d have someone clapping for her as she accepted her
diplomas tomorrow, even if he was paid to be here. And Brody
encouraged friendship and inspired lustful thoughts. If someone had
to be foisted on her for the weekend, she couldn’t think of anyone
she would rather have than him. Of course, having him around for
the weekend without Charles here to distract her from fantasizing
about getting naked with him was going to be difficult, especially
since she wasn’t dumb enough to believe he would welcome an
invitation to her bed. But she was so tired of being alone. She had
missed Brody and Charles’s visits these past three months and the
comfort she always drew from seeing the only person she considered
family again.

“I’ll go get a room and pick you up early
tomorrow. We’ll get brunch somewhere before your commencement.”

“I’m going to order a pizza. Do you want to
join me?” she blurted out impulsively. She didn’t want to spend
another Friday night alone, especially now that she knew she wasn’t
going to be seeing Charles again.

Brody was relieved at the invitation for more
reasons than not wanting to spend the evening alone thinking about
sad green eyes and a soft, enticing body that was completely off
limits. Charles’s recent decision to go legit not only threw a very
heavy wrench in their investigation, but had him veering on the
side of caution when it came to severing ties with Pasquino.
Piper’s guardian was smart enough to know you didn’t simply walk
away from doing business for a man as ruthless as Pasquino, which
was why he was keeping a low profile lately and staying stateside.
Thus far, there had been no indication that Pasquino knew about
Piper. Sandoval had taken great pains to keep her existence a well
buried secret, but when Karl got himself knifed in a bar fight, he
apparently took the opportunity of losing one of only two men in
his employ he thought knew of the illegal dealings his casino
fronted for to begin turning over a new leaf. Brody and Ian had
both secured security positions in the casino and earned his trust
the six months prior to Karl’s death, Brody being the lucky one to
have gotten the newly vacant position. Unfortunately, he had
maneuvered into the exact spot he needed to gather the information
they were seeking on Pasquino just in time for Sandoval’s change of
heart. After having come this far, however, it was agreed upon by
him, Ian and their superiors that they wait it out for the time
being.