Covert Affairs

by Rhonda Laurel

  “Yeah. We did, then you left me.”

  “Do you really want to know?” He pulled her closer.

  “I want to know what was so important that you left me like I didn’t matter to you.”

  Trevor took a deep breath and tried to calm his mind. What he was about to do was insane, but it had to be done. Lifting the veil to Theresa about his life in the shadows would be a crucial turning point from which there would be no turning back.

  “I just ask that you keep an open mind,” he said.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He led Theresa over to the couch, then went over to the fancy clock radio, placed his cell phone on the docking station, and put on some music. As an occupational hazard, he’d done a sweep of his room this morning for listening devices, and he’d hacked into the security feeds for the ship so he could see when someone opened his cabin door. It never hurt to take extra precautions. He wanted the music to help cover his voice. He was about to break protocol big time.

  He took a seat next to her and took her hand in his. “I was recruited in college by a government agency to be an operative. My job is to track down people harboring nefarious intentions with the purpose of stopping events that would have global consequences.”

  “You’re a…spy?”

  “Yes.” He exhaled. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

  She looked at him for a moment. “That’s not good enough. You could have stayed. Hell, maybe you’d have lied to me, but we would have been together. I’ve seen spy movies. Spies lead double lives all the time.”

  “I thought I could have a double life too, but then something happened that made me realize it wasn’t safe for anyone I loved.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I made a mistake early on in my career. I wasn’t careful and I left a trail that led them to you. It nearly broke my heart when I almost lost you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Remember when you were run off the road and suffered a concussion? It wasn’t an accident. Someone was trying to send me a message by trying to kill you.”

  “No, the police said it was a reckless driver who had road rage.”

  “There were three cars involved in the accident, but they never found the two other drivers, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I was pretty green back then and naïve. I thought I could keep in contact with you and my family. I was meticulous about contacting everyone on burner phones and untraceable e-mail addresses, but I got sloppy. I was on an undercover op to take down a vindictive son of bitch who found out my real identity. He sent someone to kill you.” He ran a hand over his face. “The person who’d tracked you down was in the car that hit your bumper and fish tailed you. I was behind him in the third car and advanced when the passenger he was driving with stuck a gun out of the window with the intent to shoot you. I got him first.” He closed his eyes for a moment. He still had nightmares about that day.

  “But there were no bodies found. I woke up in the ambulance.”

  “The agency intervened pretty quickly. The local police had no choice but to go with the story that you were the innocent victim of a road rage incident because it had been sent down from my agency to wrap it up.”

  “I don’t believe this.”

  “I pulled you out and waited until the ambulance arrived. After that day, I knew I’d rather die than see any harm come to you. So I embraced my persona of the globe-trotting photojournalist and never looked back. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, but I learned from my mistakes.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’re the person who’s been sending me those travel packages?”

  “You are and have always been my greatest weakness. I couldn’t be in your life, but I couldn’t stay away either. I created Fantasy Locales Travel. You’re a travel agent. If anyone was watching to see if I was in contact with you, they wouldn’t think twice about some travel company located in Spain sending you promotional items.”

  “Why Spain?”

  “I have a villa there that no one knows about, not even my employers. I spend my downtime there. The few times I’ve had downtime in my career.”

  She rubbed her temples. “This is so much to digest.”

  “I know.” He could hear the hesitation in her voice, and her body language had become rigid. “I’m taking a hell of a chance telling you this, but I feel it’s time you knew.”

  “You were hurt on a mission, that’s how you got injured.”

  “I was grazed by a bullet. I was lucky it didn’t penetrate and hit any major organs.” He shrugged. “I was careful that day, but sometimes these things are unavoidable. After that, I just wanted to come home. By the time I got to my grandmother’s house, I was so exhausted, I just sacked out. I didn’t expect that someone could come back before I woke up and—”

  “There’s no place like your grandma’s house. You’ve told me before when we were kids. Charisma and Trina say the same thing to this day.”

  “It’s true. Being there is my safe haven, it always has been. I guess old habits die hard.”

  “Does anyone in your family know?”

  “Charles and Derek.”

  “It must be so hard to be away from your family…”

  “It’s been difficult, but I’d like to believe my personal life suffered in the name of making the world a better place.”

  “It was you who Regina was talking about? The guy who stopped that couple from being robbed.” She stood. “That’s why you came to bus out of breath.”

  “Yes.” He stood too. “I saw those idiots scoping them out when we were in the marketplace. The tourists, well, they were so distracted by each other, young love and all, they hadn’t noticed they were being followed for at least thirty minutes.”

  “You could have been hurt.”

  “I neutralized the threat, and they scurried away.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I—”

  Trevor braced himself as Theresa jumped into his arms and kissed him.

  He broke the kiss. “Reese. Wait. I have so much more to tell you.”

  “Save it for later.” She kissed that spot behind his ear that drove him crazy. “Right now I think it’s hot that you saved that couple from being a crime statistic on their vacation.”

  He wanted to give in to the desire raging through his body. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman, but it felt it’d been an eternity since he’d been with the woman he loved. He needed to start with a clean slate and unfortunately that meant he had to confess about the things that he’d done in the past.

  “I want to be with you too.” He took her hands into his. “Trust me, you have no idea. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

  “OK.” She furrowed her eyebrows.

  “I did some investigating on Larry.”

  “Lawrence.” She corrected him.

  “Turns out he’s not newly divorced or separated. He’s still living with his wife and kids.”

  “Married with kids? I’m going to knock his lights out.”

  “There’s more.” He swallowed hard. “When I found out, I was going to send him an anonymous e-mail telling him to knock it off or face the consequences. But I visited you at your office and you’d put it together that something was off about him and dispensed of him on your own. Yes. I know it was wrong of me to interfere, but I got a bad feeling from that guy right away.”

  “Well, turns out your gut feeling was warranted. He thought he could talk me into having revenge sex with him to show you for horning in on our date. Like I’d fall for that bullshit. I forgive you.” She leaned in to kiss him.

  “Does this mean you’re not mad at me?”

  “No.” She caressed his cheek. “I’m furious as hell at you for butting in, but I’m also touched that you care.”

  “I’ll take it.” He kissed her hard.

  Trevor found the zipper on the side of her backless jumper, while Th
eresa unraveled his bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt. It was all he could do to contain himself when she stepped back and the jumpsuit slid to the floor. She looked spectacular, standing there in a pair of black panties, but with this intricate design of her outfit she’d opted to go braless. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, but time had given her supple, sensuous curves and full breasts only a woman could have. He immediately took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on one while rubbing his thumb over the other. When she groaned, a shiver went down his spine.

  He unfastened his belt, pulled down his pants and boxers, then kicked off his shoes and placed her on the bed in one deft movement, catching her by surprise. He removed her heels and threw them on the floor, then proceeded to kiss her all over.

  He parted her legs and placed feather light kisses on her thighs. He thrust two fingers into her and massaged her clit, priming her to receive him. She groaned in satisfaction as he picked up the pace. He gently suckled her clit, probing inside her, mimicking what he was going to do to her when he finished with his fingers.

  He paused long enough to get a condom and sheath himself quickly then positioned himself between her legs. He stopped and hovered over her, just wanting to look at her for a while. She’d been haunting his dreams for years, and now it was a reality again. It was almost surreal to him, and he didn’t want it to end.

  He sank into her and the electric connection between them heightened as she grabbed his ass. He had been waiting so long for this perfect moment. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her, but he was going to cherish every single moment forever…

  CHAPTER NINE

  Theresa groaned at the warmth of the sun hitting her shoulder as it filtered into the cabin. She hadn’t taken one step out of bed, and it already promised to be a fantastic day, but she didn’t need the bright wake-up call. Right now she was nestled in bed with Trevor, and after the amazing night they’d had, she was too physically spent to move.

  There had been a lot of revelations last night. Trevor was a spy. She could hardly believe what he was saying, but deep down she knew it was true. It totally explained his behavior over the years. Dropping out of sight for years at a time, sporadic visits, and his nomad existence. And more importantly, he’d stayed away to keep her out of danger. The car accident she’d been involved in seemed like amazing bad luck at the time. She was thankful that she’d made it out with just a few scratches and a mild concussion. She felt like someone was with her, like a guardian angel or something. It was Trevor she thought she’d felt cradling her before she passed out. She’d thought she’d imagined it.

  She turned to see Trevor’s peaceful face and couldn’t resist caressing his cheek. He’d taken a leap of faith and shared something with her that she was certain he shouldn’t have. He trusted her to keep his secret.

  There was still so much she wanted to know, but it would have to wait. Breakfast in bed sounded awesome, but she still had a job to do. Some of her seniors would be up and ready to eat and take their morning walks. She needed to know her charges’ plans for the day. But she was looking forward to round two with him tonight.

  The alarm on her cell phone, which was in her purse, began to sound. When she scooted to get out of the bed, Trevor pulled her tighter.

  “Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere,” he said, eyes still closed. “I propose we stay in this bed all day long.”

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea, but we will do no such thing.” She giggled. “I have a group to guide, and my first appearance is at breakfast. The early birders are going to be in the dining room at six.”

  “Stay for a little while longer.” He kissed her and pulled the bed linen over their heads. “The group can handle getting around for one day without you.”

  “I’d love to stay here too.” She angled her neck so he could kiss it. “I like to know the general direction they’ll be heading in and make sure everyone takes their morning meds. I need to get down the hall to avoid a walk of shame past your grandmother’s cabin. Remember, hers is next to mine.”

  “Fifteen more minutes.” He took her nipple into his mouth.

  “Nope.”

  “I promise it will be the best fifteen minutes of your life.” He waggled his eyebrows, rolled her on her back, and covered her body with his.

  For once she wasn’t dreaming. She wouldn’t wake up in a few moments sad that his loving touch and soft kisses were a fantasy-induced longing for him. And she wanted more than fifteen minutes. Maybe the seniors wouldn’t notice if she were an hour late for breakfast.

  * * *

  Trevor hummed a tune as he strolled down the corridor to his grandmother’s cabin. He felt great after his night with Reese, and he looked forward to spending time with her today. But first thing’s first. He wanted to spend time with the other woman in his life. Grandma Reed had more than proven to him that she didn’t need a chaperone and she’d forgiven him for popping up. He was her favorite grandchild after all.

  He knocked on the door twice. The door opened, and she greeted him with open arms.

  “Good morning, Grandma.” He kissed her on the cheek. “You ready for our breakfast date?”

  “Yes.” She fastened on her fanny pack. “I have a full day planned with the girls. We’re going to do that lip-syncing thing, then we’ll have drinks on the deck. I hope they have some Marvin Gaye in their rotation.”

  “Sounds like a busy day. You sure about the drinking?”

  “Maybe I’ll get a massage at the spa too.” She picked up her sunhat from the table.

  “Did you pencil in any time with your favorite grandson?”

  “No, I figured you’d be busy with Theresa. You two looked really cozy last night. I assume you made some progress?”

  “You could say that. I had a wonderful time last night.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I was going to ask her to spend the day with me.”

  “Good.” She ushered him out in the hall and closed the cabin door. “You don’t need your grandma ruining your good time, and I don’t need my worrisome, well-meaning grandson watching me like a hawk.”

  “If something happens to you, there will be a line of Reeds waiting to kick my butt when we return to the Baltimore port.”

  They made their way to the main deck and into the huge dining room. Theresa was sitting at the table with most of the seniors, looking even more beautiful than she had just a few hours ago. She was right. The seniors were up at the crack of dawn, ready to get on with the day. The seat next to her was empty, so he helped Grandma Reed into her seat next to her friend Pearl and went over to take the empty seat next to Theresa. A waiter came over and quickly took their orders.

  “Good morning, Reese.” He kissed her on the lips and sat down.

  Her eyes widened. “Good morning, Trevor.”

  Everyone at the table stopped eating their meals.

  “Oh, cut it out,” Grandma Reed said. “You people act like you’ve never seen anyone kiss before.”

  “I knew that pretty boy grandson of yours was trouble,” Mr. Stewart said. “It’s been a couple of days, and he’s already the ship’s Casanova. He’s too fast for someone nice like Theresa.”

  “Stewart, you watch how you talk about my grand baby,” Grandma Reed fired back.

  Mrs. Hick’s eyes sparkled. “Are you kissing all the ladies at the table?”

  “Keep your lips off my grandson, Martha.” Grandma Reed gave her friend a stern look.

  “You spoil that boy,” Mr. Stewart grumbled.

  “Everyone.” Theresa tapped her glass. “We were having such a good time. Let’s not start the day with a disagreement. Trevor’s not trying to pounce on me; we’ve been old friends for a long time.”

  Trevor was surprised at how quickly the seniors went on about their business. Grandma Reed was staring daggers at Mr. Stewart. Mrs. Hicks was still looking at him as if she were thinking about getting a kiss from him. When he turned back to Theresa, she was answering a question someon
e had about the spa.

  When she finished answering the question, she turned to him. “You sure know how to throw a stick of dynamite into a crowd. Your impromptu kiss almost sparked a revolution.”

  “It was definitely worth dying for.” He leaned in. “I was thinking that once you’ve finished tagging the seniors for migratory purposes, we could go back to my cabin.”

  “Watch it. One of those people is your Grandma.” She giggled and sipped her orange juice.

  The waiter placed a plate of waffles and bacon in front of him. He got the syrup and poured. “I know where my Grandma is going to be, and despite my every instinct to follow her around the ship again, I am going to respect her wishes.”

  “You were following her?”

  “For a little while. She’s kind of predictable, so I don’t need to keep an eye on her at all times.”

  “That’s so sweet and kind of creepy,” she mused. “And to answer your question, the idea of going back for another intense fifteen minute workout gives me chills, but I have to say no.”

  “No?” His stomach flip-flopped. Had she changed her mind about them since she’d left him early in the morning?

  She bit her lip. “You promised we’d talk some more, and I’d like that. If we spend all our time playing tonsil hockey, I won’t get any more answers. And to be honest, I still have this nagging feeling you’ll bolt in the middle of the night again. Only this time I’ll know why, and it will worry me sick.”

  He deserved that. She needed reassurance, and he could give her that.

  “OK. How about a walk around the ship? We can talk about anything you like.”

  “I like.” She kissed him.

  * * *

  Theresa listened as Trevor rattled on about his years away from home. He didn’t go into detail, but he told her enough that she got the gist of what he’d been doing for his country. She found most of what he said to be pedestrian, nothing like the things she saw in spy thrillers. He’d been on surveillance teams for years until one day he was thrust into playing an active role in operations with cover identities. It was no surprise someone recruited him.