Barely Undercover (23 page)

“The usual way of getting to know someone is to take them on a date and talk, like over dinner and drinks, or hiking up a mountain, going for a walk, sitting on the beach or even white-water rafting. You don’t break into the person’s office while they are
working
and start rifling through their stuff.”

“You want to go on a date?” He came around her desk and stood beside her, legs spread, arms folded. Her chair was low enough to position her mouth right at the bulge in his jeans. An image of James in the same position in the field popped into her head. Except she had been naked, on her knees, her lips wrapped around his…

Lana turned bright red. “Ah…no. I wasn’t asking… I mean…we seem to have moved past the dating stage.”

His intense gaze bore into her. Hunger gleamed in his eyes. “We had dates before,” he said softly.

Lana cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “That was…um…in the past. What we had then was different.”

But was it? They’d had a few dates at the beginning of their relationship, but work pressures meant they rarely saw each other until late evening and inevitably they would wind up in bed. She’d learned more about James in the last few weeks than she had in their six months together. Now they laughed more, joked more and spent more time together. She was falling faster, deeper for him than she had before. She hoped it didn’t mean she would crash harder too.

A muscle ticked under his eye and she wondered if she’d hit a nerve. “What do we have now?” There was an edge to his voice—sharp, hungry.

She lifted one of her shoulders in a shrug. “Well, we do seem to talk and hang out more, but mostly, I guess, it’s just…sex. No strings. No attachments. No one gets hurt.” She managed to work past the sudden lump in her throat.

James’s gaze sharpened. “Just sex?”

She drew in a ragged breath. Damn her runaway tongue. “Sure. I’m okay with that. At first I thought I couldn’t handle it. But I didn’t have any emotional breakdowns. And, I thought, you know, if you didn’t want more than that, once I was done with Angel, I wouldn’t be hanging around Hades, so that would be it.”

“You’re done with Angel as of today. That mean you’re done with me?”

She slammed her pen on her desk, frustrated at her inability to articulate her thoughts and irritated as hell he still thought she would drop the case. “As you saw, I am not done with Angel.”

“You’re done, babe. I should have shut you down long ago. Angel and Rex are an accident waiting to happen and I don’t want you in the middle. Move on.”

Teeth clenched, Lana pushed herself out of her chair and stood toe to toe with James. If she didn’t take a stand, he would walk all over her. But if she did, he might walk away. She didn’t want to lose him, but she didn’t want to lose her self-respect. If they were going to work, they had to find a middle ground.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, “I like that you’re protective and possessive. Frankly, it turns me on. A lot. My panties right now…totally soaked. And when you go all badass because you’re worried about me, it turns me on even more.”

His body stilled and he stared at her, riveted, save for his rasping breaths.

Well, at least now she had his attention.

“But this is my case. My client. My business. There is no ‘move on’. There is no ‘shut you down’. There is no ‘you’re done’. I’ll do the best damn job I can for her, same as I do for other clients, and…you…will not…interfere.” She punctuated her last four words with pokes to James’s chest—old-lady style.

James caught her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles. The gentle, tender gesture took the wind out of her sails and stole the breath from her lungs.

“Stop that,” she whispered, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

“No one has ever riled me up the way you do,” he growled. “You are headstrong, stubborn, wild, relentlessly determined and too smart for your own damn good. You’re hard on my patience. Hard on my mind. Hard on my heart. But you’re so damn soft inside. You see to the heart of people. Accept them for who they are. You light up a room the minute you walk in the door. And you are so beautiful, so fucking sexy I can’t get you out of my mind.”

She looked up into eyes as dark as the stormy sea and breathed out a confused “oh.”

James chuckled. “I’m saying I’m sorry, babe. I’m saying you’re right. I won’t interfere with your work, but I also won’t sit around if I think you’re in a dangerous situation. Something happens that makes me worry for your safety, I’m pulling you out. Kicking and screaming if I have to.”

Her heart swelled and her lips curled into a smile. An apology and a concession. Maybe they could work after all. “I’m okay with that...I think.”

“Good. Now pack up. We’re going on a date.” He spun her around and slapped her ass. “Get your stuff.”

Lana glared over her shoulder. “Despite all your sweet words, I’m not really feeling the love for your bossy, controlling, ass-slapping self. I think you’ve been with those bikers too long. Or maybe you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to. I don’t like being ordered around.”

His eyes flashed with sensual fire. “Yes you do.”

She turned to face him, the beat of desire pulsing through her veins. “No I don’t.”

His hand curled around her neck and he slanted his mouth over hers. She instantly opened for him and their tongues met in a deep, wet thrust. He fisted her hair, holding her in place, taking complete control of her mouth. Passion and arousal blazed between them. A whimper escaped her lips.

“You do,” he whispered, his breath hot and moist against her ear.

She melted against him. “Maybe…sometimes…in the bedroom.”

“And in the office.” With one sweep of his arm, he cleared her desk, scattering files, papers, pens and coffee cups to the floor. Then he cupped her ass and lifted her, laying her full out across the cool wood surface. Good thing she’d ordered the larger size desk.

“Is this just sex?”

He licked his lips as he studied her body, a predator ready to feast.

“Definitely not.” He shoved her T-shirt and bra over her breasts, baring her for his viewing pleasure. Lana shivered as the cool air brushed over her skin.

“What if someone comes in?”

“I’ll kill them.” His deadpan delivery made her laugh, but the speed with which he stripped off her clothes took her breath away.

“So romantic,” she murmured. “I’ve always wanted to hear a man say ‘I’ll kill anyone who interrupts me while I’m fucking you on your desk’.”

“Well then, it’s your lucky day.” He leaned down and drew her nipple into his mouth. Lana gasped and arched toward him.

“It certainly is.”

“So this is your idea of a date?”

Lana picked up her DSLR and attached the 300-to-500 mm lens, perfect for the dim light at Jericho Beach.

James grunted. “I thought you’d appreciate the opportunity to get the pictures you need for your case in a romantic location.” He waved his arm expansively toward the windshield. “Moonlit night. Mountain and ocean views. Sand and surf. Warm summer breeze. Crisp ocean air. Rusted-out, fucking dangerous bucket of bolts…”

She chose to ignore his insulting her Jetta. “If Rex hadn’t replaced you with Bones at the last minute on this deal, you wouldn’t even have thought about taking me to the beach. We’d probably still be in my office.”

“Or you’d be getting yourself into trouble.”

She slid a hand over the bulge in his jeans and squeezed gently. “This kind of trouble?”

“You keep that up and you’ll never get your pictures,” he growled.

Lana leaned over and tongued his ear. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

He cupped her hand, lifting it off his groin and placing it between her legs. “I love it when you touch yourself.” He shifted her hand to the side and flipped up the bottom of her dress. Then he held her hand as he pressed it over the curve of her sex, gentle rubbing the palm over her clit and angling the fingers along her folds.

“I also like it when you wear dresses,” he whispered in her ear. “Easier access.” He slid their hands up and down, increasing the pressure with each stroke. “Next time lose the panties.”

Lana gasped and her body tightened. “You’re insatiable. How many times did we have sex in my office? Three? Four? Now we’re on a surveillance date, for God’s sake. We should be eating donuts, talking about the right lens for moonlight and discussing whether we’ll have to leave the vehicle to get a good shot.”

James chuckled. “I’ve been on more stakeouts than I can count. This is a far better way to pass the time.” He pushed her panties aside and stroked their forefingers along her labia. Lana arched in the seat and rocked her hips toward the two fingers sliding over her pussy, eliciting such delicious sensations.
 

“You want a donut right now, babe?” His voice was low, husky, dripping with sensual promise.

“No,” she breathed.

“You want to talk lenses?”

“No.”

“You want to leave the vehicle?”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Yes.”

James froze. “Yes?”

She pointed out the window. “Rex. On the beach. Deal going down. I think it’s too dark, even with this lens.”

Withdrawing his hand, James eased himself lower in the seat. “We can’t risk being seen. You’ll have to do the best you can.”

Sex still throbbing, Lana grabbed her camera and snapped pictures of Rex standing near a log, talking to a man with a cell phone. He handed Rex a briefcase.

“Do you know what’s in the briefcase?”

Silence.

“James?”

He’d stilled, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. “It’s Bones. He’s driving the white van behind us and he has someone with him. Stay low.”

They shrank down in their seats as the van pulled up at the far end of the parking lot. Bones and his passenger walked to the back and unlocked the doors, just as Rex and his companion joined them. Everyone looked inside the van and a discussion ensued.

“I want to see what’s in the van. Back in a moment.” Lana opened the car door and slid out of the vehicle, then darted over to the snack shack and hid behind the corner.

“No. Fuck. Get back here.” James’s voice faded as she raced over to a large tree and plastered herself against the trunk. No cover behind the van. She would have to hide between the cars. She eased herself into the shadows and dived behind a giant black Hummer, lifted high enough she could easily fit underneath. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, she wiggled her way between the tires. Perfect. She adjusted the lens and began to shoot.

“What about the weapons?” the mystery man said.

“You’ll get them,” Rex snapped. “Our upgrades haven’t arrived yet so I’m not ready to part with the old ones yet.”

As they argued about whether Rex should keep all the money the man had given him, the van door swung open wider. Lana held her breath and pressed the shutter release.

Hands clasped around Lana’s ankles, sending her heart into overdrive. She tried to kick the nasty hands away, but her body was already sliding backwards under the Hummer. Frantically she held her camera in the direction of the van and continued to shoot. When she was clear of the vehicle she flipped onto her back and glared up at a furious James.

“You totally ruined it,” she growled in whisper. “I was going to get a shot of what was in the van.”

“You were about to get killed. Did you think Rex came here alone? He’s got twenty brothers patrolling the beach and his contact will have his own men around.”

“I would’ve been fine. I was concealed. This is one of the occasions where you’ve gone too far with the whole protectiveness thing.”

His eyes narrowed. “This is one of the occasions where I remove you from a dangerous situation.” He reached for her hand and pulled her up. “I would advise against kicking and screaming unless you want to attract attention.”

“Hey, you two. Over by the Hummer. What are you doing?”

Lana’s head jerked in the direction of the voice. Two men raced toward them. Her heart took off down the speedway. “Okay then. You win. Remove me. Remove me.”

James grabbed her hand and dragged her across the road and into the forest. They followed a bike trail through the bush at top speed. Branches cracked and leaves tore as their pursuers ran through the forest behind them.

“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God,” she panted as she tried to keep up with James’s long strides. The light faded as they ran deeper into the undergrowth. Finally, James’s steps slowed. He pulled her down to the forest floor behind a dense thicket of bushes, and threw leaves over the shiny surface of her camera.

Lana lowered her head and breathed in the scent of fresh earth and decay. Her heart thundered in her chest. Feet thudded down the path and the beam of a flashlight swept over their hiding spot. Lana held her breath until she thought she might burst. Finally the steps faded away and she let go a sob.

“Shhhhh.” James stroked his hand down her back. “We’ll have to stay here for a bit. They’ll be waiting on the road, hoping to flush us out, and it’s too dark to navigate the rest of the trail without a light.”

“Well, it certainly hasn’t been a boring date,” Lana mumbled. “Sex in the office. A stakeout. A little nookie in the car. Illicit activities in a parking lot. And pursuit by armed bikers and drug or arms dealers. You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”