Cyber Seduction: Across A Crowded Room (IATO Series Book 3) (5 page)

She put the cell phone on speaker and pressed through the phone commands as the messages played. She punched the keypad, listening to each one, taking notes, saving some, discarding others. One of the messages was from Andrea. “Hey, babe, when should I pick you up Saturday? Call and leave the flight number, time, and airline on the machine. I’ll be there. Can’t wait to see you and hear all about Monte Carlo.”

The rest of the messages were mixed. In amongst the rest of the personal messages were two left within the last few days, one from Rosa and one from Cade.

Cade’s caught Emily’s interest. Jason said he would use him as a contact. Could this be the message he’d promise? She’d save that for last. If she listened now, she’d be distracted through the rest.

The last two messages were from Mosel. Not bad. Had she expected more? He must be working on his self-control. The first one brought back the fear, the doubts, the guilt. One, that she could fool him, and two, that she was actually fooling him. She kept getting mixed signals from him.

Mosel’s deeply accented voice reached out of the dark. “I hope Kate is well and you arrived home without incident. Please call and let me know you are safe.” He spoke with authority and not without a certain element of suspicion. The voice that could inspire hot lust now wrought a shiver of fear from her.

In the next message from Mosel, he said, “I’m beginning to worry. You should have called by now. I checked the hospital in Boston, and I was relieved to hear Kate is improving. Now I’m concerned about you.” Mosel’s deep baritone demanded answers to his concerns.

His second message had come in less than an hour ago. Another chill ran through her at his tone, she didn’t know why. Was he really concerned, or was it something else? As soon as she got through the rest of the messages and gathered some courage, she’d call him back.

There was also the issue of coming up with a reason for where she’d been all this time. The damn debriefing took longer than she expected. If this part of the plan had been agency sanctioned, they’d have allowed her to call Mosel when she arrived. But since this scheme was about finding her father’s killer, Jason didn’t want to share all the particulars, especially since he suspected a leak in the agency.

More than twenty-four hours had elapsed since she’d landed. Could she claim to have slept through more than an entire day? Possibly. After all, it was the truth. She could play up the exhausted, concerned sister, collapsed and fatigued. All plausible.

In any case, his would be the first call she returned after she got herself together.

Emily walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of California’s finest Cabernet and a large wineglass. She opened the bottle, sniffed the cork, watched the rich, dark liquid flow as she slowly poured, and inhaled the bouquet deeply. She forced herself to enjoy the moment. Stepping into her living room, she plopped down on her overstuffed couch, sprawling in front of the fireplace.

Ah, it felt good to be back with her own things. The tension smoothed as her surroundings comforted her. She swirled the dark burgundy fluid in the bowl of the goblet, watching it flow down the sides as she thought about the phone call she had to return to Mosel. Her mind thought more clearly now that her muscles relaxed.

Jason’s setup had worked. Mosel’s reaction to the situation back in Monte Carlo was right on target. He dangled from their hook.

She dialed his number. Her insides fluttered when he answered. She tried to sound like she had been sleeping. As tired as she was, it wasn’t hard.

“Ah, I’m relieved to hear from you.” He sounded it, too. Why would he worry?

“My arrangements for my trip to the US are made. Maybe you can join me while I’m in town?” It was both a question and a demand.

“Of course, I hoped we could see each other again when you visited. I’ll be in Maryland for a while. As soon as Kate can travel, we’re going there to stay and spend time with family. And I’ll feel better when I get Kate settled. She’ll stay at the family farm while she recuperates.”

She and Mosel discussed meeting again. So, the stage was set. Her stomach fluttered.

“How are you doing?” The question was direct. She knew what he meant. She paused to think about what happened to put herself in character for her answer. Back in Monte Carlo, when she pretended to be lost, devastated after Jason dumped her publicly for the blonde bimbo, Mosel was right there picking up the pieces.

The sexy woman had made it clear, repeatedly, that she had the hots for him. Leaving him with her was one of the hardest things Emily had done on this assignment. Her renewed relationship with Jason was too tenuous, still. Their feelings for each other were still up in the air without Emily having to deal with a determined other woman. Knowing Jacqueline had it bad for Jason and wasn’t afraid to pursue it didn’t fill Emily with warm, fuzzy feelings. In fact, it made her nauseous every time she thought about the hotel scene. But she swore she wasn’t going to think about that anymore.

“I’m sitting here drinking a glass of wine, contemplating all that, just now,” she answered honestly. “I really haven’t had time to think about myself. That’s probably a good thing.”

His deep voice soothed, “You should take this time to reflect. Take care of yourself. Let me take care of you. I can see to your needs.”

Oh, she bet he could. A flush went through her. Mosel would be more than pleased to play the role of knight in shining armor for her, rescuing the damsel in distress, and all that. But Emily hated her part in this role. This weak, needy woman role was the old her. Returning there didn’t sit well with her.

Mosel would enjoy the superior role, the power and the control he would have over her since she was theoretically unhinged. Keeping in character and staying out of Mosel’s bed, now that she’d delivered herself into his hands, would create a predicament for her.

How to answer? Flirt. “I’ll just bet you could.”

He laughed. “I see you’re feeling better. I’m relieved.”

“By the time you get here, I’ll have put Monte Carlo as far behind me as it is.”

According to Jason’s plans, Emily needed to discover Mosel’s DC contacts by ostensibly building a relationship with him. By seeing him, spending time with him, and staying in close proximity, they believed she would encounter many of his friends and acquaintances, just as she had back in Monte Carlo. Only Jason suspected the men he would meet with here were involved with her father’s murder.

Mosel’s voice dropped an octave, deepening to a sexy pitch. “I’m glad to hear it. I have some wonderful plans to complete what we started on the yacht, before we were so rudely interrupted.”

Oh, great
, she thought.
I’m sure you do.

Emily had to walk a tightrope. “I–I, eh.”

“You’re stammering. Are you blushing? I love the way your skin heats up when you blush. I can feel it in the air.”

“Yes, yes, I am blushing. You’re miles away and you’re still seducing me.” She wanted to remain indifferent to his advances.

“Have you never heard of telephone sex?”

She laughed at his audacity. “Of course, but I’ve never tried it.”

“Would you consider trying it? I could definitely use a release, and you?” He pushed her, tempting her.

“Unless we’re heading into a phone sex conversation, we better stop.” She giggled nervously. “This conversation is almost over. Call me when you get in. Will you need a lift from the airport?”

“No, but thank you. I have a few business associates meeting me. I’ll call as soon as I’m free.”

If she could get agents to the airport, they might be able to transmit photos of those contacts to Harrison for Jason to disseminate.

“Call me with your flight information. I would like to arrange my schedule, free up my time while you’re here.”

So far, Jason hadn’t been able to detect much background information about Mosel apart from what was already known. The Middle Eastern contact he met with in Monte Carlo was the same man Emily saw with Kincaid during the ball.

Surprisingly little detailed information existed on Mosel, other than the obvious public stuff in the agency’s portfolio and the suspected relationships he maintained with arms brokers. Personal information on Mosel was sorely lacking. They hoped the social contacts would lead to information confirming a relationship between Mosel and the DC bomber.

“Yes, I will. I want you open and free for me when I come.” He was doing it again, using his seductive tone. The double entendre didn’t get past Emily, either. It was far more blatant, bordering on crude, but it had the intended effect.

Her pitch responded to the arousal he drew from her. Seductively she responded, “Did I ever properly thank you for all you’ve done for me?” She let that sink in. “If not, I’d like to have the opportunity to express my appreciation while you’re here.”

“Oh,
ma chérie
, I am at your disposal. Appreciate away. But I owe you my life. There is nothing to thank me for.”

She giggled. He laughed. “I’ll see you next week. I can’t wait for your proper ‘thank you.’”

She had a headache when she hung up. All this emotional intrigue was tying her in knots.

An envelope she didn’t recognize dropped out of her small overnight bag as she rummaged through it, finding her bottle of aspirin. She opened the envelope, picking out a pack of pictures from inside. They were pictures of her and her time aboard Mosel’s yacht, others at his estate outside the city. A note dropped to the floor from between the photos.

She unfolded it curiously. “Give us a chance. Open your mind. Can you open your heart? Not everything is as it seems.”

A strange knot formed in her throat. The note was unsigned but she knew it was from him, Mosel. She glanced back through the pictures, surprised to see for the first time the deep expression of affection so obviously etched across his face when he looked at her.

How had she missed that? All that playboy stuff misdirected her.

Reflecting on the last few months, she was suddenly even more uncomfortable than before about deceiving him. There was something wrong here. Although Jason and Harrison believed Mosel was involved chin deep with her father’s assassination, Emily’s feelings weren’t as certain. There was something about him that made her question his involvement.

If she went through with the plan, what would happen to him? The arms dealer could be arrested, or worse yet, he could be killed. The terrorists weren’t known for their tolerance of mistakes.

Her emotions regarding Mosel were mixed up with fear, anxiety, and, strangely, even affection. How was she going to deal with him in the coming weeks? How was she going to deal with her feelings? As an agent, she wasn’t expected to prostitute herself. She wasn’t prepared to succumb physically for just any case, but this was about her father. If need be, would she respond to Mosel’s physical advances in order to find her father’s killer?

And what about Jason? He set this up, but did he intend it to get so out of hand? Her renewed feelings for him were making this more difficult, even though they hadn’t made any commitments to each other. No matter the situation, even if she did find the mark attractive, her mind and her body were fighting the thoughts of a sexual encounter with anyone other than Jason.

And that was the dilemma now. She did find Mosel attractive. Emily still didn’t know how she could find a man who was probably tied to her father’s death attractive. And it disgusted her to think she could feel what she did when it was just about the sex. She chastised herself every time she wondered about the possibility of finding herself naked, lying skin to skin beneath Mosel’s exquisite body. Something just didn’t seem right about that when her feelings for him were so confused. It would be better if she didn’t care at all about him. It would be easier to disassociate herself from the physical act then.

It wasn’t the same with Jason. With him, they connected emotionally and the sex was part of a larger sentiment. She was bound to him. If it weren’t for her deep feelings for Jason, she would have found a way into Mosel’s bed already, and that thought bewildered her.

She never found anything about the assignment to play him repugnant, nothing in the least. Until recently. And now her reasons weren’t about her, Jason, or her father. The new issue mystified her. She liked Mosel for more than his charm and good looks. She was growing fond of him, strange as it seemed, as a friend. How was that possible? And there was another thing to consider. She was beginning to believe that he really cared for her, too.

Emily took a long sip of her wine, rolling it around her tongue before swallowing, leaning back, and closing her eyes. She was reluctant. What was it about seducing his heart, a man reported to have none, that made her ashamed?

She tossed the packet of pictures on the coffee table.

He had been generous and giving with her and others when no one was aware. She knew his charitable nature was supposed to be part of his persona, a cover for his illegal associations. But it went deeper. If he was as reported, cold and calculating, why did he protect her from Jason? It didn’t all feel like an act to get into her pants. How could she explain his actions with Kate? Could there be more to him than he let on? Despite information to the contrary, Emily was beginning to trust Mosel implicitly with her life. But the consequences of a physical relationship with him scared her to death.