Blindsided (27 page)

“You’re being ridiculous.” No, the person being ridiculous was her, trying to deny the attraction between them. And why? Why did she keep pushing him away? The government—and just about anyone who watched the evening news—now knew about her. The need for secrecy was past. Was there really any reason why they couldn’t explore this attraction between them?
 

You’re going to come out of this with a shattered heart.
There it was, logic reinserting itself back into reality. Beauty and the Beast, happily ever after—they only happened in fairytales. His career would always put him at odds with her desire to live a somewhat normal life and she wouldn’t ask him to give it up. Assuming he’d ever even entertain the idea. Pheromones and a sense of honor did not mean he felt for her in the way she might wish he would.

“Am I?” he asked.

She nodded emphatically, though she wished she couldn’t hear the thrum of desire in his voice. It was doing things to the lower half of her belly that just weren’t right. Those things made her question whether she was being obtuse or just plain paranoid. He obviously felt
something
for her, honor may have insisted he help free her but the way he’d risked his career in the cell to offer her comfort?

“Then why is your heart racing? I can see it fluttering, right here…” his fingers traced the crux between her neck and collar bone.

Her chin jerked up. “Adrenaline. I almost fell in the water, remember?”

“Ah.” He sounded suspiciously pleased. “And that’s why a moment ago you licked your lips in anticipation of me kissing you.”

“I did not!”

“You did.” His hand drifted over her shoulder to the back of her neck, loosely holding her to him.

“I did n—” And then she didn’t have a chance to say anymore. His mouth had descended, his lips doing things to hers that she didn’t think possible. The hand that had slid behind her neck curled into her hair as the other dropped down, melding to the full curves of her hips, threatening to drift lower.

Oh, my!
 
Hand cupping her ass, he lifted her against him. Her feet left the sidewalk—actually parted from the ground—and she found the pivot of her weight at the base of her pelvis, pressing against something that seemed impossibly large, impossibly hard, and overly eager to follow the example of his mouth and hands in the exploration of her body. Was this the path to paradise or purgatory? She didn’t care. She was all too eager to be explored.

He drew back, all too soon. His chest heaving against hers as they both gulped for breath.

“God, Aria. That was…” he swallowed, lowering her feet back down onto the ground. No, No, No! She didn’t want to be let go. His fingers slipped into hers, and he gave her a tug. “Come on. Let’s get somewhere a little more private to finish this discussion.”

And then she remembered why, the one reason they couldn’t explore this inexplicable pull that seemed to want to bind them together: Byron. He was still out there, watching. And she had no doubt what he’d do about this latest turn of events.

“Teigan, stop.” She tried to jerk away. “I can’t go anywhere with you. You might get hurt.”

“What’s the matter? Have a rule against dating men you can beat up?” He gave her hand a tug, pulling her back against him. They both knew she could get away, but not without causing a scene.
 

“Not by me, you idiot,” she hissed. “Didn’t you get a copy of the interview Whitesman conducted with me yesterday?”

Mentioning his boss must have been akin to tossing a bucket of ice water on him. He abruptly dropped her hand, letting her pull away. “You told Whitesman a lot yesterday.”

“Then you know that men who are seen with me have a tendency to die.”

He was quiet. She wondered if he was thinking about the three separate men she suspected Byron had killed in the last five years. The first man, a doctor, she’d dated for almost three months, and when he’d died she’d tried to convince herself the events surrounding his death was simply unfortunate. How could Byron plan a fatal accident on the sky-way? But after her second boyfriend was killed, this time by a home burglar, she’d stopped seeing anyone. The last man she hadn’t even dated, not really, they’d gone out on a
business
dinner. Her client hadn’t understood it was strictly business and tried to put the moves on her more than once. He’d never made it home.

Whitesman had been very cynical during the interview, until she’d given him the details, then told him to get a warrant and check the data on her home computer. For two of the three, her facial recognition program had picked Bryon out in the near vicinity just minutes before the men’s deaths. Three hours later Whitesman was back and fully convinced. Did Teigan doubt her now? Did he think she was merely being paranoid?

“And you think they were killed because of Byron’s obsession with being the best,” he said, more of a statement than a question.
 

She couldn’t detect any doubt in his tone, but she found herself standing up straighter, regardless. “Yes.”

“I’m not quite sure I follow.”

“If I was to meet someone and, uh, you know…” she waved her hand toward her middle.

“Have sex?” he asked, sounding amused by her embarrassment.

“Get pregnant,” she huffed feeling the heat staining her cheeks as she rushed on to explain. “If I had a child, he or she would be hitting their prime at about the time Byron would be losing his edge and—”

“Be a threat to Byron.” Teigan finished, then whistled. “Your brother is one crazy mother-f-er.”

She felt the corners of her lips threatened to twitch up. Trust Teigan to try to lighten the mood. “You could say that.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t gone after you directly,” he said, turning serious again.

She shrugged. “Given my handicap, I’m not exactly a threat to him. And besides, who would he show off to?”

“And who would he torment?” He sounded thoughtful, as if she’d just given him a large meaty bone to gnaw on.
 

“That too,” she agreed.
 

“So, hypothetically speaking, what do you think Byron is going to do now that you and Garret are a public item?”

That finally had the desired effect of cooling her libido, all remaining heat flowed out of her body, leaving her freezing from the core out. “Me and Garret?”

“Yeah. That kiss a moment ago. What if a reporter caught that on camera? Think that might make Byron mad enough to make his move on Garret?”

An icy trail of fear ran down her spine. “He’d come after you, not Garret!”

“Me, Garret. Same thing.”

She shook her head, not understanding what he meant. Then she remembered, Teigan looked alarmingly similar to his half-brother, enough to have fooled Willis.
 

“You’ve set yourself up as bait?” Her voice rose with her increasing alarm. His silence was answer enough. “Jesus, you’re an idiot.”
 

She twisted out of his grasp and started back up the path, baton on and clicking. He caught up and linked his arm with hers. She ignored the thrill of excitement that rushed through her system simply at his touch. She didn’t want him anywhere near her right now. How in the world did he expect to pull this sort of deception off? Did he have any idea how dangerous this game was?

“You honestly think he’s bought into this charade?” she asked, fear and fury warring to make her voice sound shrewish. She cringed inwardly but didn’t bother to tone it back. “You think he’d mistake you for Garret?”

“You did,” he reminded her.

“I’m blind,” she snapped back. “Often naive and overly trusting.”

He pulled her to a stop, grabbing her shoulders and turning her toward him. “Blind, trusting, not naive.”

“And you’re still an idiot!” she hissed. “Even if you do fool him, Bryon will make mince-meat out of you.”

“Garret’s watching my back.”

Oh great, and that was supposed to make her feel better? Byron may have liked to take out his targets in an up close and personal manner, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t use a long distance weapon. And if, God forbid, he’d caught scent of the duplicity, she was willing to bet Byron would see no mark to his honor by eliminating the decoy by another means than snapping his neck. She imagined if she mentioned this to Teigan he would shrug it off. Part of his job description was danger, and she thought he’d be willing to take the risk to save his brother’s life. “And while Garret is watching your back, who’s watching his?”

“We have a team of V-10 on this mission. And now, with your program, we have an edge. We’re ready. Now we just need the bastard to make his move.”
 

“And you’re hoping that if he thinks we’re, I mean Garret and I, are an item, that he’ll be that much more reckless in his approach.”

“That’s the hope,” he said after a moment of hesitation.

Aria frowned. He had a point. Byron would go crazy thinking she was sleeping with a V-10. And a crazy man rarely thought through all the possibilities. There was a good chance Teigan was right; Byron would be so fixated on killing Garret and punishing her in the process, that he’d rush the job and miss the vital fact that it was a trap.

This could be my best chance to be free of my brother.
Thinking about the possibility made her antsy. She started back up the path, Teigan falling into step beside her. He wasn’t touching her at all now, giving her distance while she thought things over. The space allowed her mind to grasp onto another thought: That kiss…he’d been laying down another bit of bait for the trap. Part of the job.

Damn. Damn. Damn. Her progress faltered, her left hand came up, clasping in a fist over the imaginary knife sticking out of her gut.
This shouldn’t hurt so freaking much
. She closed her eyes, refusing to admit that they were stinging. Hot sunny day, and the wind had just picked up, bringing with it the strong chemical scent of chlorine. That was all. She evened out her steps once more, concentrating on the click, click, click of her baton to make sure she didn’t get too close to the edge of the path again.

“You really love him, don’t you? You’d do this even if it wasn’t your job.”
 

“Yeah. I guess I do.” He sounded a bit bewildered by the fact. “Funny, I didn’t even know Garret existed until a week ago.”

She smiled wistfully, wondering what it was like to have a brother that loved you so much he was willing to risk anything and anyone to keep you safe. She tried valiantly to ignore the twist of envy accompanying that admiration. It should be enough Teigan came for her when she’d been captured. It didn’t seem to help the tightness in her chest any though.

Teigan took a deep breath, his hand patting out a pattern against his leg. He was obviously thinking about something and whatever it was had him agitated. It wasn’t just his fidgety actions that told her, but the eclectic mix of hormones which said he was both angered, annoyed, and afraid.

“What’s wrong?”

He grabbed her shoulders, halting her and turning her back to face him. “I can’t do this.”

Her hands lifted to grasp his arms, feeling the tension in the muscles there. “Do what?”

“Lie to you, manipulate you. Whitesman put me up to this, saying he’d keep that damn chip off if you agreed to be part of the bait. After your interrogation he decided that if we, that is, you and Garret, are seen together, Byron would be agitated and much more likely to make a wrong move.”

She nodded her head. He was only confirming what she already suspected. It didn’t hurt so much now. Maybe because he was finally being honest? “He’s right. Byron will be furious.”

“Right or not, it doesn’t matter. If Byron’s as obsessed with this thirty shit as you think he is, he will come after Garret. Your presence is not required.”

“But it might help.” She felt him tensing, as if readying for the fight. Inexplicably, her heart pitter pattered beneath her breast. Teigan was trying to protect her, too. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t care, would he? Reaching out, she laid her hand on his chest, feeling the texture of straining muscle under his shirt. “It will help.”

“Aria, I’m not going to make you do this.”

Make her? This was her chance to stop Byron. She’d be helping save Garret and possibly protecting Teigan, too. And that was what was really driving her determination. Teigan. Attraction aside, he was a good man and deserved her help. It wasn’t in her to sit on the sidelines, wringing her hands while someone else took care of her problems.

Decision made, her hands slid up his arms, over his shoulders. Rising up on her tip toes she leaned forward, drawing closer to him.
 

“Make me? Does this seem like you’re making me?” she whispered when she was close enough to feel the hot breath from his lips. Then using her arms around his neck to draw his mouth closer, proceeded to seal the deal.

Chapter Eighteen

August 6
^th
2104: 1743 EST

This is a test to determine my measure as a gentleman or cave-man.
Teigan fought to keep his hands steady as he worked on anchoring the transmitter to the cup of Aria’s bra. Not just any bra, a normal bra he could have hidden the bug on a shoulder strap or baring that, used a clip in her hair. Tonight she was all decked out, her hair twisted up in an incredibly complex crown of curls and pearls that he didn’t dare touch for fear of ruining the hours’ worth of work some staff member had put into curling and taming the thick mass.