Bree had spent the day going stir-crazy.
She’d been half-joking when she’d told Luke she would have to buy some new clothes that were appropriate for the “company” parties, but the truth was, she hadn’t packed all that much. She would have to buy a few things, but since she didn’t know when her ID and phone would be delivered, she’d been afraid to leave the apartment.
She’d spent a half hour doing calisthenics, eaten breakfast, spent another half hour doing yoga, showered, and had another cup of coffee. When she’d checked the clock, it wasn’t even ten yet.
The world just wasn’t fair. It was bad enough that so much of respectable society was still biased when it came to whether a man or a woman was best suited to a job but criminal society feeling the same way? That really sucked. Just once she’d love to go undercover in a criminal organization run and staffed by women rather than having to be an attractive accessory adding credence to a male’s cover.
Then again, if a criminal organization were run by women, it was unlikely anyone in law enforcement would be able to infiltrate it. Women were just smarter.
Okay, okay,she thought as she paced from one end of the living room to the other. Now I’m the one being sexist.She flopped down on the couch and let out a frustrated sigh as her thoughts moved to her partner. He was a sexist pig, she decided, but he was kind of cute. Okay, he was more than cute—he was hot as hell. But he had his nerve suggesting she might sabotage their assignment just to please Paul. Who did Luke Savage think he was anyway? Oh, yeah, the sun. That must be it since he seemed to think the world revolved around him, and his enemies would do anything and recruit anyone to help them get even.
What the heck had happened between Paul and Luke that caused such enmity? It had to be serious for it to survive from their teen years till now. When two people who’d been enemies in their youth met in adulthood, what usually happened was good-natured ribbing and laughter over their childish squabbles. Not in this case. When Paul had seen Luke at the steakhouse, he’d reacted like he’d seen the devil, and Luke had acted like one, purposely flirting with her to taunt Paul. Whatever had happened between them had to have been bad for both of them to have carried it this long.
Ah, well,she thought. If Savage and I are stuck here long enough, maybe I can worm it out of him.As she thought about it, she realized she’d probably never worm it out of Paul, primarily because she didn’t expect to be “stuck” with Paul long enough to do the worming. The cowardly part of her hoped that while she was here playing house with his nemesis he’d move on to someone better suited to his ambitions. That way he’d have to break up with her when she got back. She was a good actress and would be more than happy to play the role of a hurt but understanding jilted lover.
Can’t count on that, though,she thought, not with my conniving father pushing us together.She knew Paul viewed Jack Wynter as his patron and mentor. She suspected Paul would have set his sights on her whether he loved or even liked her. Her father had pushed them together and that would be enough for Paul.
Jeez,she thought, jumping up from the couch. I’m sitting here thinking about my “boy” problems like the kind of female idiot Luke Savage seems to think I am. Time to get her mind on more important things. Like sweating. She dropped to the floor and began doing pushups.
An hour later, after pushups, abdominal curls, squats, and anything else she could think of, Bree’s legs and arms were trembling with weakness, and it was only a little before noon. Drenched in sweat, she scribbled “In shower, knock loud” on a piece of paper from a notepad she’d packed and wedged it under a corner of the metal apartment number in the center of the door. It would have been nice if the DEA could have given an approximate time for the delivery of the ID and phone. They were as inconsiderate as a cable repairman.
She showered quickly while keeping an ear out for a knock on the door. The sooner she got her ID and phone, the better. She couldn’t leave till they were delivered, and she couldn’t even surf the ‘net or read an ebook without a phone. She wished she’d at least packed a couple of magazines or a paperback—anything to pass the time. But how could she have imagined she would need reading material while working undercover in a drug organization?
She towel-dried her hair to get the excess water off it, then wrapped another towel around her body and ran her fingers through her wet hair. She hadn’t thought to bring clean clothes in the bathroom with her, which showed just how preoccupied she’d been with feeling sorry for herself. Snap out of it, she scolded herself mentally. Think of it as a stakeout. Those are boring, too, but you’ve survived them before.
Bree opened the bathroom door and stepped out, intending to head for the bedroom to get dressed, when she heard a noise at the door. Someone was out there, but they weren’t knocking. They seemed to be scratching at the door, which made no sense—unless what she was hearing was someone trying to pick the lock.
She started for the door, intending to throw it open. Sure, she was only wearing a towel, but since it was likely a guy trying to get in, that might be a good thing. A blonde in a towel was bound to distract a heterosexual male for at least a few seconds, and a few seconds was all she’d need.
She was halfway to the door when it suddenly opened, and she found herself face-to-face with her new partner. If she’d had any doubts that he was heterosexual, they were quickly doused, since based on the look on his face, he was going to be distracted for more than a few seconds. His eyes went wide in surprise, but the look in them quickly changed as his gaze moved slowly over her body, pausing at the top of her towel where it wrapped around her breasts and again at the bottom of the towel that barely grazed the top of her thighs. He absentmindedly closed the door behind him and started to move toward her.
The warmth that flooded through her surprised her because it wasn’t caused by embarrassment at being caught half-naked. The cause was the look in Luke Savage’s eyes. He wanted her, and for a moment, she seriously considered giving him what he wanted because she wanted it, too. Then the moment passed and her good sense returned from whatever vacation it had been on.
“You’re home early, honey,” she said, her tone mocking, “and I don’t even have your lunch ready. Did you get fired?”
It was as if she’d slapped him. He stopped moving toward her, his eyes clear of the lust that had filled them, and he turned back to the door and checked to see if it was locked. She was pretty sure he knew it had locked behind him. He just needed the time to compose himself.
“Sorry. I saw your note. I should have let you know I was here.”
Until he mentioned it, she hadn’t noticed that he was holding the note in his right hand. That explained the scratching sound she’d heard. He must have had some trouble getting the note out from under the apartment number.
“Not your fault,” she said, turning toward the bedroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
She stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She still felt tingly and warm—especially in certain areas of her anatomy—and she knew it had nothing to do with the warm shower she’d just taken. I gotta get it together, she thought. She and Agent Savage could be living together for a long time. This was only the second day, and already sex had reared its ugly head. Mother Nature could really be a bitch sometime. She could care less if you thought a guy was an asshole. If he looked good, that was enough for her to set you on fire.
She’d been half-joking when she’d told Luke she would have to buy some new clothes that were appropriate for the “company” parties, but the truth was, she hadn’t packed all that much. She would have to buy a few things, but since she didn’t know when her ID and phone would be delivered, she’d been afraid to leave the apartment.
She’d spent a half hour doing calisthenics, eaten breakfast, spent another half hour doing yoga, showered, and had another cup of coffee. When she’d checked the clock, it wasn’t even ten yet.
The world just wasn’t fair. It was bad enough that so much of respectable society was still biased when it came to whether a man or a woman was best suited to a job but criminal society feeling the same way? That really sucked. Just once she’d love to go undercover in a criminal organization run and staffed by women rather than having to be an attractive accessory adding credence to a male’s cover.
Then again, if a criminal organization were run by women, it was unlikely anyone in law enforcement would be able to infiltrate it. Women were just smarter.
Okay, okay,she thought as she paced from one end of the living room to the other. Now I’m the one being sexist.She flopped down on the couch and let out a frustrated sigh as her thoughts moved to her partner. He was a sexist pig, she decided, but he was kind of cute. Okay, he was more than cute—he was hot as hell. But he had his nerve suggesting she might sabotage their assignment just to please Paul. Who did Luke Savage think he was anyway? Oh, yeah, the sun. That must be it since he seemed to think the world revolved around him, and his enemies would do anything and recruit anyone to help them get even.
What the heck had happened between Paul and Luke that caused such enmity? It had to be serious for it to survive from their teen years till now. When two people who’d been enemies in their youth met in adulthood, what usually happened was good-natured ribbing and laughter over their childish squabbles. Not in this case. When Paul had seen Luke at the steakhouse, he’d reacted like he’d seen the devil, and Luke had acted like one, purposely flirting with her to taunt Paul. Whatever had happened between them had to have been bad for both of them to have carried it this long.
Ah, well,she thought. If Savage and I are stuck here long enough, maybe I can worm it out of him.As she thought about it, she realized she’d probably never worm it out of Paul, primarily because she didn’t expect to be “stuck” with Paul long enough to do the worming. The cowardly part of her hoped that while she was here playing house with his nemesis he’d move on to someone better suited to his ambitions. That way he’d have to break up with her when she got back. She was a good actress and would be more than happy to play the role of a hurt but understanding jilted lover.
Can’t count on that, though,she thought, not with my conniving father pushing us together.She knew Paul viewed Jack Wynter as his patron and mentor. She suspected Paul would have set his sights on her whether he loved or even liked her. Her father had pushed them together and that would be enough for Paul.
Jeez,she thought, jumping up from the couch. I’m sitting here thinking about my “boy” problems like the kind of female idiot Luke Savage seems to think I am. Time to get her mind on more important things. Like sweating. She dropped to the floor and began doing pushups.
An hour later, after pushups, abdominal curls, squats, and anything else she could think of, Bree’s legs and arms were trembling with weakness, and it was only a little before noon. Drenched in sweat, she scribbled “In shower, knock loud” on a piece of paper from a notepad she’d packed and wedged it under a corner of the metal apartment number in the center of the door. It would have been nice if the DEA could have given an approximate time for the delivery of the ID and phone. They were as inconsiderate as a cable repairman.
She showered quickly while keeping an ear out for a knock on the door. The sooner she got her ID and phone, the better. She couldn’t leave till they were delivered, and she couldn’t even surf the ‘net or read an ebook without a phone. She wished she’d at least packed a couple of magazines or a paperback—anything to pass the time. But how could she have imagined she would need reading material while working undercover in a drug organization?
She towel-dried her hair to get the excess water off it, then wrapped another towel around her body and ran her fingers through her wet hair. She hadn’t thought to bring clean clothes in the bathroom with her, which showed just how preoccupied she’d been with feeling sorry for herself. Snap out of it, she scolded herself mentally. Think of it as a stakeout. Those are boring, too, but you’ve survived them before.
Bree opened the bathroom door and stepped out, intending to head for the bedroom to get dressed, when she heard a noise at the door. Someone was out there, but they weren’t knocking. They seemed to be scratching at the door, which made no sense—unless what she was hearing was someone trying to pick the lock.
She started for the door, intending to throw it open. Sure, she was only wearing a towel, but since it was likely a guy trying to get in, that might be a good thing. A blonde in a towel was bound to distract a heterosexual male for at least a few seconds, and a few seconds was all she’d need.
She was halfway to the door when it suddenly opened, and she found herself face-to-face with her new partner. If she’d had any doubts that he was heterosexual, they were quickly doused, since based on the look on his face, he was going to be distracted for more than a few seconds. His eyes went wide in surprise, but the look in them quickly changed as his gaze moved slowly over her body, pausing at the top of her towel where it wrapped around her breasts and again at the bottom of the towel that barely grazed the top of her thighs. He absentmindedly closed the door behind him and started to move toward her.
The warmth that flooded through her surprised her because it wasn’t caused by embarrassment at being caught half-naked. The cause was the look in Luke Savage’s eyes. He wanted her, and for a moment, she seriously considered giving him what he wanted because she wanted it, too. Then the moment passed and her good sense returned from whatever vacation it had been on.
“You’re home early, honey,” she said, her tone mocking, “and I don’t even have your lunch ready. Did you get fired?”
It was as if she’d slapped him. He stopped moving toward her, his eyes clear of the lust that had filled them, and he turned back to the door and checked to see if it was locked. She was pretty sure he knew it had locked behind him. He just needed the time to compose himself.
“Sorry. I saw your note. I should have let you know I was here.”
Until he mentioned it, she hadn’t noticed that he was holding the note in his right hand. That explained the scratching sound she’d heard. He must have had some trouble getting the note out from under the apartment number.
“Not your fault,” she said, turning toward the bedroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
She stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She still felt tingly and warm—especially in certain areas of her anatomy—and she knew it had nothing to do with the warm shower she’d just taken. I gotta get it together, she thought. She and Agent Savage could be living together for a long time. This was only the second day, and already sex had reared its ugly head. Mother Nature could really be a bitch sometime. She could care less if you thought a guy was an asshole. If he looked good, that was enough for her to set you on fire.
