His Captivating Confidante (Secret Sentinels) (10 page)

She found him on the couch. He was pure deliciousness in the flesh, smelling of the citrus-scented soap from her guest bathroom. His hair was still damp from his shower.

He was watching one of her favorite vampire flicks, and he patted the seat next to him. “Come and join me,” he invited.

She knew she shouldn’t—knew she should make up some excuse as to why she couldn’t linger, and then just head upstairs to bed. But his smile beckoned, drawing her in like a magnet.

Settling in beside him, she grabbed a plush throw from the arm of the sofa for them to bundle under. Lounging in front of the television together, chilling companionably, was something they’d done a thousand times before. After that exchange on the beach, though, the activity took on a whole new vibe. The air between them was charged with awareness—an awareness that annihilated any hope she may have had of shaking off her crush on him.

Anxious to diffuse the tension, she attempted to inject a little lightheartedness. “I seem to recall I had to drag you kicking and screaming to see this movie when we were kids. I see your tastes have matured,” she teased.

“Or possibly regressed,” he bantered back with a wink.

Deciding it would be safest to turn her attention to the movie rather than to the proximity of his tantalizing mouth, she did her best to concentrate on the action unfolding on the television screen. Unfortunately, she couldn’t help thinking how much the sexy lead vampire resembled Frank. Midway through the movie he drew her closer to him, and she didn’t protest. Leaning against his solid chest, with his warmth surrounding her, it wasn’t long before her eyes grew heavy.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

She awoke the next morning not to the blaring of her alarm clock, but to the unfamiliar rasp of stubble against her face. She’d fallen asleep in Frank’s arms sometime during the night and used him as her own personal pillow.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Frank smiled, reaching a hand out to brush an errant lock of hair back from her forehead.

It was something he’d done at least a hundred times before, but the gesture had never seemed so intimate.

“Good morning,” she returned, wondering how on earth he could look so sinfully perfect when she was certain—without even looking in a mirror—that she must look like something the cat had dragged in. “You should have woken me up after the movie was over. You couldn’t have been too comfortable sleeping with me crushing you.”

“You don’t weigh enough to crush me, and you were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t have the heart to disturb you. I was fine. I’ve slept in far worse spots. By the way, I phoned the marina last night while you were taking a bath. The boat will be set to go when we arrive. I think we should amend our plan to split up this morning, in light of last night’s close call.”

That worked for her. The last thing she wanted was for him to go back to his penthouse alone, when the chances were good someone might be waiting for him. “Great. You can join Lauren and I for breakfast.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your girl-bonding time. I’ll just say hello to Lauren and then I’ll grab a table nearby and catch up on some reading over breakfast.”

When they arrived at the restaurant, Lauren was already seated on the outdoor patio. She waved when she spotted them approaching and rose from her chair to greet them with enthusiastic hugs.

“You brought Frank along!” Lauren said with a grin. “How wonderful!”

“Actually, I’m just acting as her chauffeur today,” he smiled. “I don’t want to intrude on your breakfast.”

“Are you kidding?” Lauren rebutted. “You could never intrude. We’d love it if you’d join us.”

Stephanie nodded. “That’s what I told him, but he’s determined to be antisocial this morning.”

“It’s not that at all,” Frank negated good-naturedly. “I have a few case briefs I want to review, and I know you ladies must have a lot to catch up on. This is your time. Tell Rafe I said hello, Lauren. When this mess with Mendacci is resolved, we’ll have to get together for a few matches of tennis.”

“That would be fun. You can bring Stephanie, too, and we’ll play girls against guys. Be prepared to be soundly defeated, though,” she said, winking.

“Not if Rafe and I can help it,” he retorted with a broad grin. “I’ll leave you to enjoy your breakfast, now, ladies.”

Stephanie shot her friend a fond smile as they took their seats at the table. Lauren had been the victim of a horrific hit-and-run accident the night of the ambush, but she’d bounced back quickly from her injuries. She looked amazing, and was practically sparkling with an ethereal, newlywed glow.

“I don’t need to ask you how things are with you and Rafe. You’re positively radiant.”

“Things are fabulous! Rafe is taking me on a honeymoon. A real one this time, not a mock one,” she grinned.

Stephanie had known Lauren’s marriage to the Greek billionaire she’d been assigned to guard was a convenient arrangement, but she’d hoped the couple would see how right they were for each other in the process. She was delighted they’d decided to make their union a permanent one.

“How wonderful! Where is he taking you?”

“We’re going back to Greece, where we first met. I feel guilty leaving in the midst of all this, but Liz insisted the best thing we can do right now is to get off the grid for a bit.”

“Liz is right. Getting away for a while is a great idea. Until we nab Mendacci and put an end to his reign of terror, Rafe will be safer away from the eye of the storm.”

“Still, I can’t help but feel guilty that I’m not doing my part to help reel that vindictive monster in.”

“You
are
doing your part—you’re protecting Rafe from Mendacci’s twisted efforts to use him as a pawn and preventing Mendacci from succeeding in extracting those classified plans he’s pressing Philip Dimitriou for. You’ve earned this time, so go enjoy your husband. If you find yourself at a loss for things to do, you could always work on changing my status to godmother,” she said with a grin.

“Whoa!” Lauren laughed. “I’m not ready for that step just yet. Rafe and I definitely want children, but we both agree that when we do decide to have a baby I’m going to leave the field. I know other women combine parenting with their covert operative duties, but I don’t want to miss a second of the motherhood experience. Plus, I want to be around when we nab Mendacci. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later. But enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Has Frank come to his senses at long last?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you showed up with him this morning. I was hoping that means he’s finally realized what he’s been missing out on by confining your relationship to ‘just friends’ status.”

“No such luck,” Stephanie sighed. “He’s with me this morning because we’re leaving after breakfast to go on an assignment together.”

“I can’t believe he still hasn’t woken up to what’s right in front of his nose. You two are perfect for each other. On the plus side, though, you get to work with a sexy partner. That’s one amazing specimen of manhood.”

“Lauren!”

“What? I’m married, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the scenery. I can tell by the gleam in your eyes that you like what you see, too.”

“Maybe,” she conceded. “But Frank doesn’t think of me as anything more than a friend, so whether I’m into him or not is a moot point.”

“We’ve already established that you’re into him. You told me yourself you’ve never gotten over that crush you had on him back in high school. It seems to me this joint assignment might be a prime opportunity for you to let him know how you feel. Mix a little business with pleasure,” Lauren winked conspiratorially. “You could take matters into your own hands and make the first move.”

“Been there. Done that. I made a fool of myself in the process. Last night, I thought Frank was going to kiss me, but rather than waiting to see how things were going to play out I got a bit too enthusiastic and kissed him first. Turns out he’d never planned on making a move in the first place.”

“Just because he hasn’t made a move yet doesn’t mean he isn’t into you. Frank is one of the good guys. No doubt he’d rather cut off his own arm than disrespect the boundaries of your friendship. But I bet he’s
thought
about taking your relationship to the next level.”

Stephanie shook her head. “He doesn’t see me that way, and I’m not about to blast our friendship to smithereens by holding onto a silly fantasy. It’s time I shake it off and let it go. Besides, I’ll be lucky if he still counts me as one of his friends after this mission—there’s a second piece to it he doesn’t know about.”

“Uh oh. That sounds problematic. What’s going on?”

“Liz thinks Frank’s in danger. She’s asked me to let him accompany me so
I
can look out for
him
. It’s so ironic. He thinks he’s coming along to cover my back, when in reality he’s tagging along so I can watch his.”

“I know from experience that’s a dangerous line to tread. That kind of deception almost cost me the love of my life. Are you sure you want to walk that tightrope?”

“What other option do I have? I can’t put Frank’s life at risk by taking a pass on the assignment Liz has tasked me with. A remote island is the perfect place for Frank to be right now—at least it’ll give Liz the opportunity to get a handle on who’s behind the threat against him.”

“You don’t have to do this. Liz would understand if you told her you have personal feelings for Frank.”

“She knows I care about him. She asked me before she hired Frank if I thought our friendship would be a problem, and I told her it wouldn’t impact my ability to do my job. I meant it, but I’m finding remaining dispassionate when it comes to Frank is a bit more challenging than I thought it would be.”

“So do you have a plan?”

“I’ll dig around for info concerning Mendacci’s possible whereabouts while I’m setting up Damon’s library. Damon’s island is private, so it will be easier to make sure Frank stays out of trouble there.”

It was simple, really. She’d keep an eye on Frank and report back to Liz if his personal agenda placed either his safety or their principal mission in jeopardy.

He didn’t need to know that
her assignment included watching over him.

After breakfast, Stephanie and Frank said good-bye to Lauren and headed to the marina. It was the perfect day for a cruise. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and the ocean was a serene mirror of blue.

“There she is,” Frank told her, nodding toward a sleek silver speedboat docked in one of the berths. “Ready to board?”

“Sure,” she readily agreed, taking the hand he offered and allowing him to help her onto the craft. “It’s sweltering today. I’m glad I decided to wear a swimsuit under my sundress. Would you mind if I catch a little sun while we travel to the estate?”

“Be my guest. Don’t forget to strap on your life jacket, though. There’s sunscreen in the console. I’ll give you a hand with the hard-to-reach places once we’re underway.”

He spent the next few minutes concentrating on easing the boat out of the tight confines of its berth. Once they were out in open water, he set the cruise control and turned his attention back to Stephanie.

She’d taken off her sundress and was bending down to grab her life jacket. He almost swallowed his tongue.
Holy mother of all things sacred.
No doubt about it, his kitten had truly blossomed into a knockout.

The last time he’d seen her in a swimsuit, she’d been a scrawny teen with more angles than curves. There were plenty of curves in evidence now. The bikini she’d worn under her dress consisted of two miniscule scraps of turquoise fabric. It highlighted her breasts and her tight, toned butt.

The burn of the sun beating down on him was like a blast of Arctic air compared to the too-hot-to handle sensual heat wave he found himself engulfed in courtesy of the scanty bikini. The garment should be illegal. In it, his kitten took “sizzle” to a whole new level.

Pulling his aviator glasses down from their perch on his head, he slipped them over his eyes to conceal the hunger he didn’t want her to see burning there. His offer to help her apply sunscreen would have to wait until he got his raging arousal in check.

Dragging his attention back to the route ahead, he took the boat off autopilot and resumed control of the craft. It was time to work off some steam with a different kind of adrenaline rush.

He pushed the throttle lever forward, sending the vessel flying over the water. Stephanie’s delighted laughter carried over the speedboat’s rhythmic slapping against the waves.

“Fun?” he queried, grinning at her enthusiastic response.

She’d been standing near the center of the craft. Now she sashayed toward him, coming to stand by his side at the helm.

“This is amazing!” she enthused as blasts of salty spray showered over them.

The impromptu shower made her skin shimmer in the sun. Powerless to tear his gaze away from the stunning sight she made standing at the bow of his boat, he watched the water droplets trace a path down the full curves exposed by the low cut of her bikini top, following their trail as they trickled down to where the diamond stud in her belly button winked up at him.

The spray had dampened her swimsuit top, making the pert tips of her nipples evident. His fingers itched to undo the thin ties holding her top together. The strain she was putting on his willpower as he imagined the fabric falling away from those amazing breasts was nothing short of criminal.

But he knew simply looking wouldn’t be nearly enough. He ached to touch those enticing curves, to taste them, to drive her to the pinnacle of pleasure as he explored her body to his heart’s content.

Thoughts like that were even more felonious than what she was doing to his libido. Desperate for a distraction from his illicit imaginings, he grabbed for the first diversion that came to him like a drowning man lunged for a life preserver. Anything to draw his attention away from those all-too-alluring curves.

“Would you like to take the wheel?” he invited.

Her eyes rounded in excitement. “You’d let me do that? Really?”

“Of course.”