Tamed by Love (Agent Lovers Series Book 2) (26 page)

Gray sat up in bed suddenly. No. That couldn't be! Eddie was the shortened form of Edward. Why hadn’t he thought of that earlier! While he was asleep, his thoughts had circled around the name that seemed so familiar to him. Now he knew why. But that couldn’t be! Townsend?

Gray jumped out of bed and slipped quickly into jeans and a T-shirt.

“Gray?” whispered Liz, raising her head and looking at him sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

“Keep sleeping. Something just occurred to me.” Gray leaned down and kissed her gently on the tip of her nose. “Keep sleeping, sweetheart.” Then he left the bedroom.

Surprised, Liz stared at the closed door and snuggled deeper into the pillows to recover a little more from their love making marathon.

***

Gray ran down the stairs, grabbed the telephone and quickly dialed Chris’s cell phone as he headed for the office. With the receiver jammed between his ear and shoulder, he reached for the documents that lay strewn across the desk. They probably wouldn’t need them anymore, when the mole had been unmasked.

“Answer the phone, Chris!” he said quietly and suddenly his ears pricked up. A soft ringing could be heard outside of the office. He certainly wouldn’t have forgotten his cellphone in the house? Apparently so. With a curse, he called Jeff and again hesitated when he heard a soft ringing—this time a different tune.

That was one coincidence too many. He hurried to the office door and stood across from Jeff and Chris. Grinning they asked him simultaneously, “What’s up?”

“Hey! Why aren’t you answering your phones?”

“What for? We’re here. That would be pretty absurd to talk on the phone,” Jeff said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Gray waved off his objection.

“Don’t tell me there’s still trouble between you and Liz. We even gave you extra time.”

“Everything’s great between us. But that’s not what this is about! I know who Eddie is!”

“Who?” Terence asked.

“Townsend!”

“Not on your life!” Jeff said. “Why the hell would he have done that? And why only six of the files? He could have made more money if he had sold all of them. I don’t believe it!”

“Then how do you explain why we haven’t made any progress for months? The interns and their families all have a clean slate even after several reviews. Plus, we checked everyone who had contact of any kind with an agent. Whether they knew about their job or not. Every single one! And not just once, but dozens of times! Absolutely nothing, not the slightest trace. And that’s practically impossible since there are always traces, even when they might be very small. It’s Townsend!” Gray crossed his arms over his chest.

“I just can’t believe that!” Jeff was still not convinced, and likewise crossed his arms over his chest, stared at his brother and then looked at Chris, who sided with Gray.

“If you look at this logically, it can only be as Gray says, Jeff. I don’t like the thought either that Townsend, of all people, is the weak link, but we have to check it out before we shoot down the idea. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but in any case, we have to trace it.”

“What does that mean?
Maybe it’s just a coincidence?”
Gray snapped at Chris. “This is no accident! Edward Townsend had something to do with this whether we like it or not.”

“Calm down, boys. No reason to jump down each other’s throats.” Terence tried to diffuse the tense situation. “Let’s go out on the patio, drink some coffee and think about how we’re going to proceed, okay? And if one of you gets loud again, I’ll knock your thick skulls together until they smoke. Understood?”

Still talking heatedly, they left the office, went toward the kitchen and crossed the enormous entry hall. Jeff and Terence stopped suddenly, stared with gaping mouths up the stairs and, engrossed in their conversation, Gray and Chris walked right into them. They looked up to see what had distracted the other men.

Gray’s breath caught the first moment he saw Liz. She stood on the landing, draped in a thin, light-blue bathrobe. Even though it went to her knees, it showed more than it hid. The light coming through the window made it appear translucent, and they could clearly see her silhouette and every part of her body under the thin material.

“What’s going on? Why are you fighting down there?” she asked, still sleepy, sweeping her hair out of her face. The fact that her naked breasts moved slightly under the material, wasn’t hidden from Gray. Or his companions.

Gray awoke from his stupor, squeezed between Jeff and Terence and sprinted, two steps at a time, up the stairs. Then he grabbed her arm, pushed Liz out of the men’s field of vision without a word and down the hallway to their bedroom.

“I don’t mind if she greets me in that getup! “Jeff said.

“No objections here, either,” Terence agreed. “A really nice view.”

“Stop you two, otherwise I’ll have to call an ambulance when Gray’s finished with you,” said Chris, even though he couldn’t suppress a grin.

“Don’t act like you weren’t looking!” Jeff said. “And you’re married too.”

“I looked but not with drool running down my chin like you two.”

“You only drool when it comes to Jennifer. A miracle your wife isn’t bow-legged!” Jeff teased. He was immediately slapped in the back of his head. Jennifer had come out of the kitchen having followed the conversation.

“That’s envy talking, Jeff. If you weren’t so loyal to your brother, you would have put the moves on Liz by now. And you know it. I saw how you looked at her the first time you saw her. That wasn’t just an admiring glance a man gives a beautiful woman. So quit giving Chris grief, otherwise I’ll tell Gray you want to get it on with his wife!” she said with a cunning smile, wrapping her arms around Chris’s waist.

“But I didn’t put the moves on Liz. That’s all that matters.” Insulted, he stomped off into the yard and mumbled something about nosy women who had to stick their noses into everything.

“And why didn’t you ever tell me you knew about that?” Chris asked looking down at Jennifer who was snuggled close to him.

“What for?” Jennifer shrugged. “Gray loves Liz and Liz loves Gray. There isn’t any room for anyone else. So why worry about things that will take care of themselves?”

“Take care of themselves? You know better than anyone else how fiercely she struggled against Gray and his feelings for her. What would have happened if she wouldn’t have admitted her feelings to herself and to him?”

“But she did.”

“What if she hadn’t?”

“Then I would have lent a hand. I’ve known for a long time how it was with her. She just refused to believe it. It just needed a little time.”

“As long as we’re on the subject, when did you finally realize you loved me? After all, you’ve been pretty quiet on this whole subject until now.”

Terence raised his hands and walked away. “It would be better if I weren’t part of this conversation.” Quickly he disappeared into the yard to join Jeff.

“Well?”

“Well, what?” she asked.

“When did you realize?” he pressed, suppressing a smile.

“I can’t remember anymore. It just happened.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t I believe you, Jenny?”

“Maybe because you’re paranoid?” she said and stiffened when he embraced her and lifted her up. Chris kissed her and laughed at Jennifer’s wriggling. “Put me down!”

“Not until you tell me what I want to know.”

“Then brace yourself to carry me around like this forever. Keep in mind that I’m gaining a little weight.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. Well? Will you just tell me?”

“What if I won’t?”

“There are other ways to tease this information out of you.” His eyes lit up when he got an idea. With determined steps, he went upstairs with his wriggling load to their room and closed the door behind them with his foot. Then he let Jennifer slide down his body, but kept his arms tightly around her. “This is your last chance to tell me; otherwise I’ll use a cruel method of torture on you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, raised her brows and looked at him scornfully. As if he would use torture on her.

“Okay then. You asked for it!” Chris pushed her backward onto the bed and wasn’t surprised when she shifted out of his arms. Jennifer tried to escape to the bathroom, but he cut off her path by taking a shortcut over the bed. He blocked the door with his body. “Not there! Running away won’t work. Just answer my question.”

“But I don’t want to.” She spun around and tried to go out through the bedroom door, but Chris grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up. A minute later Chris sank down onto the soft bed with her. Quickly he slid on top of her, held her wrists with one hand above her head, straddled her hips, careful not to hurt her rounded belly, and stroked Jennifer’s cheek with his fingertips. When she tried to bite him, he jerked his hand back and shook his head. “You want to fight, hm? Since I’ve been challenged, I get to choose the weapon.” With a broad grin, he held his hand in front of her face and wiggled his fingers. “These will be perfectly adequate.”

First she hesitated and then her face took on an expression of disbelief. He wouldn’t! Yes, he would.

His hand had barely reached its goal when she began to laugh. Since she had been pregnant, her whole body was hypersensitive. The slightest touch produced a fierce shudder through her body. In the long run, it wasn’t funny.

She reared up shrieking under Chris who knew exactly where to tickle her to drive her crazy.

“Stop!” Jennifer laughed and moved her body back and forth to escape his hand.

“Then confess! Answer my question and I’ll stop immediately.”

At first she shook her head, but after a while she cried out, “Okay! I’ll tell you! But stop already!” Jennifer gasped for breath and got the hiccups and glared at Chris.

“Well? When did you realize you loved me?”

“A couple of weeks … hic … before the ball,” she said and looked at his chest so she wouldn’t have to look at his face. Desperately she tried to suppress her hiccups.

Chris hadn’t counted on that. He assumed she wouldn’t admit to her feelings until after she realized she was pregnant, or maybe shortly before that. At the time, Chris had already been trying desperately to win her heart. She had already given it to him without his knowledge. Her behavior then had been a desperate attempt to cope with her feelings, exactly the same behavior as Liz had displayed toward Gray.

“Did you wait so long to tell me because you realized there wasn’t a way out for you anymore? Because you were pregnant?” There wasn’t any reproach in his voice, only curiosity. He wanted to understand her, nothing more.

She looked at him with wide eyes. The hiccups were suddenly gone. “Partly. I was afraid you would use it against me.” Trembling, Jennifer took a breath. She confided that she hadn’t trusted him enough. But the expression in Chris’s eyes didn’t change, didn’t dull. She recognized understanding and love in his gaze, not reproach or disappointment. “Do you think I didn’t notice how reluctantly you watched when I got ready for an assignment? And I understood that I would give up my job out of love for you. But I didn’t want to leave Liz in the lurch because we were still a team. I felt torn between my feelings for you and for what I considered my duty. When I finally realized I was pregnant, there was only one way left for me and it lead me to you. So I could finally pour out my feelings to you.” She paused and took another shaky breath before she continued. “I’m sorry, Chris. I’m sorry I left you in the dark for so long and didn’t trust you.” Chris shook his head with a chuckle and the tears flooded Jennifer’s eyes. She began to cry uncontrollably.

Chris embraced her and kissed the tears on her cheeks. “You love me. And that’s all that matters.” Then he rolled over with her so she was lying on his chest and he stroked her back. “I love you, Jenny,” he whispered and kissed her on the top of her head.

Chris smiled when he heard her first sniffle and then she started to hiccup again. In Jennifer’s case, it was obviously true, that, like many pregnant women, she was quickly prone to emotional outbursts. And he liked that he was the one who could console her, was allowed to console her.

He wouldn’t hold it against her that she hadn’t admitted her love for him earlier. Secretly he agreed with her. If he had known earlier of her affection for him, he would have convinced her to give up her job for his sake. And, in hindsight, that probably wouldn’t have been the best solution. Doubt might have always eaten away at her as to whether or not she had made the right decision. And that could have also led to problems in their relationship.

The current situation was already much better. Nature had made the choice for her, even if he had clearly done his part. Reluctantly he thought back to the time when he had lain awake for hours at night, watching her and brooding over how he could bind her more tightly to him. They were married. Yeah, sure. But what would she do when she learned he had duped her by bluffing and forced her into marriage? He was terrified about it the whole time. It was obvious he had to nudge her into falling in love with him. And voilà … problem solved. Jennifer wouldn’t be angry, well maybe just a little, when it came out. And he didn’t have to worry about being left by his wife, seething with rage. Yes, the way it happened, was good. So why dwell on the past?

Chris looked down at Jennifer. Her breathing was even and she was sleeping soundly. Carefully he disentangled himself from her, sat up and put the pillow under her head. Then he stood up, pulled the thin blanket over her body and left the room after kissing her forehead.

***

Terence sat at the table with Jeff who stared, brooding, which wasn’t his usual style. Terence decided to psych Jeff up a little. “She won’t tell him and you know that. Jennifer just wanted to mess with you because you provoked Chris.”

“Yeah. I know.” Rattled, Jeff fidgeted in his chair. “But what if Gray finds out anyway? It isn’t like we’ve had a super relationship for years. We only settled our differences a couple months ago. He would have skinned me alive if he thought I wanted to challenge him for Liz.”