“I guess you have a pretty good handle on your life, hmm?” she said, still sidestepping, though now poking her toes into his business. “You and your dad made up, you’re free to come and go as you please. Or, you know, stay if you wanted.”
Hey, now. Sidestepping was one thing. Poking into his life? Totally not cool. This was about her problems. Not his.
He leaned forward to tell her just that.
“We didn’t make up,” he heard himself saying, instead.
“But you went to the party?”
“Yeah.”
“And didn’t you hang out at his shop earlier?”
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. Had she seen him while he was watching the drug deal go down? Was this a setup?
“He stopped by for lunch and mentioned what a great visit the two of you had,” she continued, now watching her fingers poke through the scarf’s fringe instead of meeting his eyes. “He was sweet. Teased me a little about the two of us, and said he liked me.”
A hint of color warming her cheeks, she finally glanced up and gave Caleb a tiny smile. The kind that made him think of shy little girls sitting on Santa’s lap, feeling like the most special princess in the world for those two minutes.
“He does like you,” Caleb said absently, trying to figure out what Tobias was doing. That the old man was up to something was a no-brainer. But why did it involve Pandora? An inkling, a tiny germ of a hint, started poking at the back of Caleb’s brain. He couldn’t see it clearly yet, but the same instincts that had saved him from multiple bullets told him it was there.
“He’s a good guy,” she said quietly. Then she wrinkled her nose and asked, “Am I not supposed to say that? I mean, if you guys didn’t make up, you probably don’t want to hear someone singing his praises, huh?”
“No,” Caleb realized. “I don’t mind. I mean, he’s easy to like.”
“He really is,” she agreed, reaching over to brush her hand over his. He turned his fingers to capture hers, making her smile. “So is my mother. If you can get past her larger-than-life perfection.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked, using a method straight out of Witness Grilling 101. Ask open-ended questions that kept the other person guessing as to what you wanted to hear. They were more likely to go with an unscripted gut response.
“Not totally bad. I mean, she’s fun and always makes people laugh. She’s got flare and talent and, well, she’s just so exuberant and alive. She walks in a room and everyone automatically gravitates to her.”
“So why are you so unhappy with her?”
She sighed, staring blankly across the room as she considered that question. He noticed that there was now an actual hole in the knitted scarf from her digging at the yarn.
“Because of all those same reasons.” Her smile was a little shaky. “I mean, that’s a lot to live up to, you know? She’s larger than life. People all around the world know who she is. Then they look at me with this puzzled stare, like they are trying to figure out where she went wrong.”
Caleb gave a shake of his head.
“What?” she asked.
“You just described me and my dad.”
Her laugh was more a puff of air than amusement. She shook her head. “What are we supposed to do about it?”
He threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know. I mean, they do a great job of being who they are.”
“I think you do a great job of being who you are, too. So why is not being like them a problem? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being measured by my mother.”
Thin ice. Caleb hesitated before going with his gut. “But I think the only one measuring you by that is, well, you.”
There went the sweet look off her face. She pulled back, her eyes narrowed and her lips tight. She looked as if she was seriously considering smacking him with that scarf.
“Me?” she asked in a tone so arch it was worthy of a queen.
“I guess I have an outsider’s perspective,” he mused. “I see a town that likes you, one that’s actually a little defensive of you, if all the warnings I got not to hurt you are anything to go by. I see an intriguing, attractive woman trying her hand at something new and succeeding. A woman who loves cats, cooks like a dream and always has a smile and a warm word for people. Maybe you’re not flamboyant and wild, like your mother. But you’re just as interesting, and even more beautiful.”
Her smile was bright enough to light the room. Caleb shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wanting to duck out until she stopped beaming at him. This gallant thing was more Gabriel’s style than his. But he hadn’t been able to stand seeing that dejected look on her face.
“So, I didn’t bring any treats,” Pandora said out of the blue, nibbling on her lip in a way that made him want to beg for a taste.
“Treats?”
“Yeah. Cookies or chocolate sauce or, well, you know. Aphrodisiacs.” She shrugged again, knotting together the frayed pieces of yarn to repair her scarf. “I really didn’t intend to come over. I was upset when I left the store and instead of walking home, my feet brought me here. To room seventeen.”
Her words ended in a wistful tone he didn’t understand. What he did understand was the look in her eyes. Sexy and appreciative. Warm and sweet. God, she was incredible.
Unable to resist, Caleb leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. She tasted so freaking good. His tongue traced the full pillow of her lower lip, then he nipped lightly.
Her gasp was followed by a low moan of approval. She skimmed the tips of her fingers over his jaw, whisper-soft and so gentle. It was all he could do not to grab her by the waist and carry her over to the bed.
Caleb pulled away and jumped to his feet. Pacing, he shoved one hand through his hair.
What was he doing? She was the prime suspect in an FBI drug case. He should at least settle a few questions before he settled himself between her thighs.
“I can go,” she said quietly, her hand dropping away from the buttons of her silk top.
It killed him to see that hurt on her face. To hear the self-protective distance in her tone.
It really all came down to faith.
He’d told Hunter he was sure his old man was innocent. But a part of him, the part that knew that there was a potential criminal in everyone, had wondered.
But Pandora? At the moment, all evidence pointed toward her. With what he’d seen, what he knew and what he’d heard, he’d have felt solid making an arrest.
But his instincts said otherwise. They said she was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman. Sweet and hot and adventurous. And, dammit, innocent.
So while he might be suffering from plenty of burnout and his instincts were raw nerves at this point, he had to listen to them. Because without that, he was nothing.
He’d just have to prove the evidence wrong.
PANDORA WOKE THE NEXT morning with a feeling of absolute contentment. Eyes still closed, she stretched on the lavender-scented sheets and gave a deep sigh of satisfaction.
Yum. What a delicious night.
Shifting to the pillow next to her, she smiled and slowly opened her eyes. Caleb stared back at her, his gold eyes intense and, if she read him right, concerned. Why?
“Hi,” she murmured, shifting back a little to get a better look at him. Stiff shoulders, jaw tight. He seemed distant, as if a part of him wasn’t even here in bed with her.
Pandora shivered a little, then ran her tongue over her lower lip. What was going on?
But before she could ask, someone knocked on the door.
“Company?” she asked quietly, suddenly realizing she was naked except for the soft rays of morning light. She grabbed the sheet and quilt and pulled them higher.
“Probably Mrs. Mac with another delivery. Or muffins. She thinks I’m going to starve if I don’t start each day with a half-dozen blueberry crumbles.”
He sounded normal. But he still looked…fake.
“Hang on,” he said, shifting out of bed and pulling on jeans, commando-style. He zipped them, but didn’t bother with the snap.
Pandora’s mouth watered. God, he was gorgeous. Sleek, tanned skin. That wolf tattoo crawling down his shoulder to growl from the gorgeous muscles of his upper arms. She wanted to nibble her way down the small of his back, then bite him. Right there on the butt.
Grinning to herself, she shifted to a more comfy position. Starting the day with muffins and, hopefully, morning sex was a definite positive in her books.
“I could—”
“No,” he said, shaking his head as he reached for the doorknob. “Wait there. I’ll get rid of her. We need to talk.”
She wasn’t sure how scooting off to the bathroom for a very necessary morning function, to say nothing of hiding from whoever was on the other side of the door, would stand in the way of talking. But he sounded so weird that she didn’t argue.
She watched Caleb peer through the door’s peephole. He instantly pulled back and whispered something that sounded like a curse. Shoulders so tense his back looked like something in one of those men’s muscle magazines, she heard him suck in a breath, then release it before opening the door.
He only opened it a few inches, though. With his body shielding her view, she could only surmise that it wasn’t Mrs. Mac with muffins.
“Yeah?”
Her brows drew together at Caleb’s impatient tone. Then she heard a man’s voice. Deep, melodious and compelling.
“Party time,” the voice said.
“You have the invitations already?”
Invitations? Party?
“All but the party planner. I’m counting on you for that.”
Her frown deepened as she listened to the conversation. What the hell were they talking about?
“Let me in. We have to talk.”
“Later.”
“Now. Time’s become an issue.”
Caleb glanced over his shoulder at Pandora. The look in his eyes made her shiver just a little, it was so calculating. She felt bad for the guy on the other side of the door, since she was sure he was the reason for it.
“The hall?”
“Unsecure.”
“You’re a pain in the ass. You know that, right?” But Caleb stepped back and let the door swing open. “The balcony. Not a word.”
Pandora gulped as the second man stepped through the door. Too stunned to be embarrassed, she just stared.
Holy cow.
Pure masculine intensity. He wasn’t pretty, his face was too strong for that. But still, the sculpted features, long-lashed blue eyes and full lips did make quite a picture. His black hair swept off his forehead, longer in front and short in back. He stopped just inside the door when he saw her. Those vivid eyes cut over to Caleb and he arched a brow. Pandora tried to read his body language, but he was a blank. She didn’t see even a hint of surprise on his part. Like walking into his friend’s hotel room and finding a naked woman in bed was the norm.
The man gave Pandora a slight nod, his eyes doing a quick scan of the room, then he stepped over and opened the sliding door to the balcony.
“This might be a while,” Caleb said, grabbing his sweatshirt off the footboard before following his friend to the balcony door.
“It’s okay. I have to get to the store anyway,” she told him with a warm smile. “I’ll see you later, right?”
He gave her a long, intense look that made her stomach swoop into her toes. Then he nodded and stepped through, closing the curtain along with the door.
It wasn’t until both men were on the other side of the glass with the door firmly closed that she realized Caleb hadn’t introduced his friend.
Not that it mattered. She had her man.
And she missed him already.
Grinning at her own goofiness, Pandora tugged the sheet loose from the mattress to wrap it securely around her body, then slid from the bed. She padded over to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony and peered around the curtain.
Yep. Gorgeous and sexy. Both of them.
Giggling a little to herself, she did a mangled skip-step hindered by the sheet on her way to the bathroom.
Time to start her day. She had a feeling it was going to be an excellent one.
“TACKY, BLACK.”
Caleb shrugged, tugging the gray fleece over his head in a useless attempt to ward off the morning chill. California or not, winter mornings were damn cold here in the mountains.
“What broke?” he prompted. He wanted the reason for Hunter’s unexpected, and untimely, arrival. He did not want to discuss Pandora, his rotten choices, or what a jerk he was.
“I tugged a few more strings. Ran some numbers, looked at a few different accounts.”
As if his toes weren’t freezing, Caleb patiently waited.
“I know who the ringleader is,” Hunter declared.
Caleb crossed his arms over his chest and arched one brow.
Hunter gave him a long look. Then, his fingers stuffed in the pockets of a very warm-looking overcoat, he nodded.
“You already know.”
Even though it wasn’t a question, Caleb answered anyway. “I’m pretty sure I do. Did you run the records I asked?”