A Little Harmless Lie

by Melissa Schroeder

  “I thought I could go.”

  He glanced at his sister, surprised. “What?”

  “I mean, she doesn’t know me, right? I checked out the club, and they allow you to pay a one-night fee to explore. I could do that, find out what name she’s using. She’ll be easier to track that way.”

  Conner sat back in his chair as Zeke shook his head. “You can’t let her do it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, she’s not trained.”

  She huffed out an irritated sigh. “First, I am trained. You guys use me all the time when you need someone to go in and check things out.”

  “That’s here. Not at some BDSM club.”

  “Zeke’s right. I want to make sure this is done right.” He looked from one to the other. “You guys will go together.”

  “What.”

  They both yelled it together.

  “Zeke, you just finished up with the Markinson case. So why don’t you just go along, make sure Maura stays out of trouble.” He turned toward his sister. “You’re the best observer I know. You can watch with Zeke there to make sure nothing goes wrong. Make the arrangements.”

  Neither of them said anything for a moment, but he knew they understood they had no choice. He couldn’t go. Marjorie would freak out and run. This way they would get out of his hair and find out everything he needed. And they both knew when he had made a final decision.

  “I’m flying first class,” Maura tossed over her shoulder as she stomped out of the room. “And I am not sharing a room with him.”

  She slammed the door and Zeke sighed. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend. Or I might find a way to lose your sister over the Pacific.”

  He glanced up at his friend. “I trust you to protect her. I know Maura can be a pain, but you know she’s good. You wouldn’t have closed the Markinson’s case without her. Just try to keep the beatings to a minimum.”

  Zeke sighed. “I’ll try, but it won’t be easy.”

  Once Zeke left him alone, Conner stood and walked to his windows. The buzz of the Miami rush hour was just getting started as he looked down at the stop-and-go traffic. He couldn’t believe they’d found her.

  Ten years. Because of his obsession, of his stupidity, he had lost her and his career. He knew she wasn’t dead, had actually gotten a few leads on her, but the trail had died and the FBI had been happy to sweep the whole fuckup under the rug, along with his career. He probably could have salvaged it, if it had not been for his insistence that they look more closely from within the bureau. He knew it had been an inside job.

  With a sigh, he turned back to his desk. No use thinking about what he should have done. He would fix his mistakes, give Marjorie back her life, and then get back to his.

  He just hoped they were the only ones who noticed her in that ad. If not, there was a good chance her brother or father would kill her.

  Chapter Five

  You never know what each day will bring. It was the only thing that came to mind when she stepped over the threshold of Dupree’s on Micah’s arm. She had learned it early enough in life that was for sure. It was one reason she never planned, never even thought about the future, other than the next name she needed to use. She noticed a few people look in their direction, but she knew it wasn’t her they were looking at. It was the man now causing her whole body to simmer.

  She didn’t blame them. Micah was a man who commanded attention. Most women at least turned their heads to watch him walk by. Being so tall, with the waterfall of black hair down his back and his lean, sculpted body, it was easy to understand the female infatuation with him.

  Someone other than May was working tonight, and she led them to the back table, one of the prized places to eat in Dupree’s. Of course, since Micah was good friends with Chris, the owner, she knew it had all been arranged. Not that she was complaining. It had been so long since she’d been on a real date, she was happy just for the experience. He waited for her to slide into the round booth, then he followed, scooting close enough for her to feel his heat, but without touching her. She glanced at him and he gave her a knowing smile.

  After the hostess took their drink orders, they were left alone.

  “So, what’s your favorite here?” he asked.

  She stared at him for a moment longer. “I like the Kahlua Pig Pizza.”

  He smiled but didn’t look up. As the silence stretched, she looked around the restaurant. It wasn’t that busy tonight, but they always had customers at Dupree’s. It was gaining a reputation as one of the best places to eat in Honolulu, for price and quality of food. As she returned her attention to the man in front of her, she frowned. He still had said nothing, and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  He glanced at her and then back down at the menu. “No. Just deciding what to eat.”

  More silence. It was definitely making her self-conscious. “It’s just that you’re acting like you don’t care if I’m here with you.”

  He looked at her now, his gaze capturing hers and his nostrils flaring. This was not the nice guy who had picked her up.

  “If I spend too much time looking at you in that outfit, I’m going to throw you on the nearest table and fuck you.”

  Every word was bit out as if he was barely controlling himself. The waiter arrived with their drink order as she tried to catch her breath. When he asked what they wanted, they both ordered the pizza. When they were finally alone, she glanced down at her clothes, then back up at Micah who was spending a lot of time on his iced tea.

  “What do you mean dressed like that?”

  He gave her a glance out of the side of his eyes. “You really don’t know?”

  She shook her head. She knew she looked good. In her life before, she’d had the ability to shop at the finest stores and had been taught at her mother’s knee just what to wear and when. But she didn’t think she looked particularly sexy.

  He sighed and then faced her, sliding his arm behind her. “I’m used to you in your work outfit. This is different. Your uniform pants aren’t as snug. And while most women would look boring in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, you make it…sexy.”

  She opened her mouth, but he shook his head.

  “I should have never said anything and I wouldn’t have if I had thought you knew what the hell you did to me.”

  She felt a bubble of laughter threaten to spill out. She cleared her throat. His eyes narrowed.

  “Oh, you definitely deserve a spanking for that insubordination.”

  His words flashed out, and they should have irritated her. Instead, the slow steady beat of arousal thrummed through her blood. She licked her lips.

  “Ah, I have a feeling you would like spanking.” His voice was low, intimate, seductive.

  Her nipples tightened as his tone deepened. His anticipation of something so naughty, so forbidden, had arousal flaring in her tummy. The idea that both of them were aroused turned her on even more.

  “But it will have to wait. You aren’t ready, and well, Chris would be pissed if I gave a public display in his restaurant.”

  He leaned back against the booth and, odd as it felt, she laughed. He smiled in reaction.

  “Yeah, I have a feeling Chris might not like that.”

  “And I’m assuming since you didn’t even look at the menu, that you come here often.”

  “Yeah. I like the variety of food. Plus, it is one of my favorite places for the pig pizza. You just can’t find anything like that back where I’m from.”

  “Oh? I guess that’s the mainland. I’ve been here so many years I forget that they don’t have those things there. Until I have to go back for a visit.”

  “You have family back on the mainland?”

  He shook his head. “No family. You?”

  She sighed. “Nope. Well, I do, but we aren’t speaking. Haven’t for years.”

  He nodded and didn’t push. She could feel he wanted to, and that should scare h
er. Anytime a guy tried to find out her background beyond what she wanted him to know, she broke it off. Men could easily be bought off.

  With Micah, she wanted him to want to know more. She was pretty sure he did, but there was a part of her that thought he still thought of this as some kind of game. And just what the hell was she thinking? Wanting a man was simple. That she had dealt with. This was different. Especially when she yearned to tell him everything.

  The rest of dinner went without incident, both of them being surprised by how much they had in common. Both had been on their own a very long time and both had a thing for Striker Force One, a computer game. As they strolled down the sidewalk at Waikiki, she breathed in the warm fresh night, and Micah.

  “I would have never guessed that you liked to play games like that.”

  She shrugged and was brought aware of the fact they were holding hands. It was odd to be walking along the beach, like a normal person on a regular date. Especially knowing the things he wanted to do to her. The things she wanted him to do to her.

  “What is going on in that quick mind of yours?”

  She looked up, surprised at his description.

  “What?” he asked.

  “It’s just odd. My family never thought I was that bright. Well, except my brother.” Even thinking of Mark made her sad. The reports of his death came about two years after she’d started running.

  “What happened to him?”

  “How do you know something happened to him?”

  He stopped and looked down at her. “You’re estranged from your family, but I have a feeling this brother and you were closer? There was something in your voice.”

  She nodded, thinking of Mark. “We were twins. He died a couple of years after I left home.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She glanced up at him and noticed for the first time ever someone was offering her real sympathy.

  “Thank you.”

  “And your father has to be an idiot not to see how smart you are.”

  She smiled and started walking again, tugging him along. “Yeah, well, I’m dyslexic, but I didn’t know it at the time. It took some work to finally understand why I didn’t see words right.”

  “Still say he was stupid. You’re pretty clever.”

  She smiled at him. “And now why would you say that?”

  “One, you know how to manage well, and you know just when someone has had too much to drink.”

  “That’s not smarts. That’s just years of working in bars, most of them not near as nice as Rough ’n Ready.”

  “Two, you add things in your head.”

  Again, he’d surprised her. “How do you know that?”

  “I watch my employees. I noticed right away that you could add up a large and complicated order without using the register.”

  She smiled. “Anything else?”

  “Well, you have somehow convinced me to walk in public along the beach so that I can’t touch you.”

  She shivered at the dark intent in his tone. It slid over her skin, sank into her blood.

  “You’re holding my hand.” She lifted their joined hands. “Besides, I thought you wanted to do this.”

  He stopped and pulled her closer. There was no mistaking the erection pressed against her stomach. The simmering lust she had been fighting all night exploded, sending a rush of heat dancing through her blood.

  “I think I established pretty early on what I wanted. But I can be patient.”

  She shook her head even as her body yearned for him. “Micah, I am not going to do this with you.”

  “Not tonight, but maybe we can have a little fun.”

  The way his voice moved over the word fun had her body humming with need. “Why don’t we head back to your place? If you don’t want me touching you, you can kick me out.”

  She sighed. She wanted to tell him to go to hell and take his cocky attitude with him. But instead, she nodded and hoped to God she had the control to kick him out of her house when things went too far.

  Micah smiled as he followed Dee into her house. The night had been part heaven and part hell for him. Being near her had his entire body yearning to strip her naked, take her, claim her. He could just imagine how it would feel to slip into that tight snug passage, feel her pussy pull on his cock.

  He counted backwards from ten. He had been doing that a lot tonight. He wasn’t sure he would even get to touch her, let alone be allowed the privilege of sinking between her thighs. From what he knew of her, could gauge from her reactions, he would not be in her bed tonight. He pushed aside the disappointment. It would happen soon.

  It was a small house. She’d been living in Waikiki in an apartment, but he remembered she’d moved here a couple months ago. It wasn’t huge, more like a cottage. He noted there were no family pictures, but there were lots of pictures of the ocean, taken by herself and professional. A picture of a Wyland whale filled the wall behind her couch. There were precious few things that would tell him much about her.

  “I like your place.”

  She looked at him as she dropped her keys on the small dining table. “Yeah?”

  He didn’t miss the skepticism in her voice and he smiled.

  “Yeah. It suits you. Clean lines, uncluttered, straight-up sexy without being tacky.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “Really. That’s a mouthful of words for such a little space.”

  God, he loved that sassy mouth of hers. He couldn’t wait until she used it on him. “As I said, it fits you.”

  She looked away then, but not before he saw the flash of hunger in her eyes. To keep from touching her, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. He got the idea that while she had been dated, there hadn’t been a man who tried to romance her. At least no one recently. Keisha had made it very clear that Dee rarely dated, and she had yet to get serious. Of course, he knew that, especially after what she’d blurted out the other night.

  “Would you like something to drink? I don’t keep alcohol, but I do have some sodas and homemade lemonade.”

  He chuckled and watched as she shivered at the sound. God, keeping his hands off, or at least keeping his needs at bay, would be hard. He wanted her so damn much, and if there was a woman in need of a good, long hard fucking it was Dee Sumner. But he knew she was skittish.

  “A bartender who doesn’t keep alcohol at home. I’ll take a glass of water.”

  She looked back over her shoulder and made a face. “By the time I was twenty-one, I was working in bars. And some of them make dives look good. There were a few with chicken wire to protect the band. Drinking alcohol had lost its thrill by then.”

  She handed him his glass of water and then poured one for herself.

  “I’ve got a nice lanai if you’d like to go sit outside.”

  What he’d liked to do was toss her over his shoulder and take her to her bedroom. But that wouldn’t be possible, and the back porch was probably the safest place at the moment. He nodded and followed her out. As he stepped out, the simplicity of it matched the interior. She had a small table, enough for two people, cheery red cushions on the black wire chairs. He waited for her to shut the door and settle in a chair before taking his.

  She took a deep breath. “God, I love nighttime here. The air is so sweet.”

  He licked his lips and then caught himself. He was starting to act like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. “You said you worked in bars by the time you were twenty-one. I take it you lied about your age.”

  She laughed and glanced at him. “Most of those places paid under the table.”

  He studied her for a second. “Yeah? How old were you when you started working at them?”

  She rolled her shoulders and he hid his smile behind his glass. That was definitely one of her tells. When a customer was irritating her, Dee tended to do that with her shoulders. It was nice to know that he was getting to her.

  “Eighteen.”

  She glanced at him again when he said nothing,
just sipped his water.

  “What, you have nothing to say against that?”

  He shrugged. “What am I going to say about that?”

  She relaxed against the chair. “People always seem to have an opinion about it, like I should have done something else.”

  “I can’t talk. I was working the tables with a fake ID in Vegas when I was sixteen.”

  Her eyes widened at that. “Sixteen? I could have never gotten away with that. Especially in Vegas.”

  “Vegas isn’t any different than anywhere else. Just have to know the right people.”

  She paused and then looked at him. “Yeah, I guess, but with my stature, most people questioned my age up until a couple years ago.”

  “That’s not something that I had to worry about. Not at my height.”

  “You were this tall at sixteen?”

  He nodded. “I was over six feet by fourteen.”

  Her eyes widened. “Wow.”

  “So, you worked dives. How did you end up here?”

  It was her turn to shrug. “I just needed a change of place.”

  The vague answer irritated him. Granted, he had talked to the man she had worked for in Seattle and he had told Micah how much he’d hated to let her go. So apparently there hadn’t been a problem with the work situation. He wanted to press, more than was good for him. The woman intrigued him on so many levels, but he had learned too many questions would have her closing up.

  He let the silence stretch as they enjoyed the Hawaiian night. It was hard, because he wanted her. Her spicy scent mingled with the Hawaiian air. Every fiber of his being was telling him to take her, to pull her up out of that chair and lay her across the table, strip her naked—

  “Micah?”

  “What?” He bit out the word, his fantasy dissolving as he looked at the woman who had been the featured star of every one of his fevered dreams for the past six months.

  “Did you say something?”

  He pulled in a deep breath and shoved his hand through his hair. “No.”

  She lapsed into silence. Great way to seduce her, Ross. It didn’t escape his notice that he’d always been the one in control of the seduction, the way he liked it, and he was damned good at it. With Dee, he felt like a bumbling seventeen-year-old.