by MINK
I peek one eye open to see big green eyes staring at me. I reach out and give the cat a nice long pet.
“I’m naked,” I whisper to him. This is not how this was supposed to go. I turn my head to see Gaines sleeping soundly behind me.
Ever so slowly, I slip from the bed. I tiptoe into his closet to find another shirt. I spot some boxers, too. I pull them on and roll them at the waist so they’ll stay put. The shirt falls to my knees already, but I’ll feel better leaving the house if I have ‘pants’ on.
“Crap!” I throw my hand over my mouth. Double crap. I will probably get busted, but I have to find my dress. There is no way that I can leave here without it. Not if I want to eat for the next few months anyway.
I sneak out of the closet. Gaines’s arm is flung out, currently resting where I’d been lying. It almost seems as though he’s searching for me. I pick up my pace, opening the door but not closing it all the way for fear the sound will wake him.
I’ve got to get this dress back and regroup. I need a new plan that doesn’t include seduction. My box isn't even here, if what he said earlier was true. I reach up and touch my necklace.
I make it down the stairs without Gaines noticing I’ve given him the slip.
“Sneaking out?” I jump, somehow managing not to scream. Mrs. Pettyford is standing there with my dress hanging over her arm and my heels in her other hand. She softly smiles at me as she takes in my outfit.
“You scared the crap out of me.”
“And you didn't answer my question.”
“I have somewhere to be.” It’s not a lie. I need to be back at that store returning this dress and getting my money back.
“Of course you do.” She lowers her voice. “It’s good to make a man chase you. It’s half the fun.”
An interesting woman, one I’m sure knows all of Gaines’s secrets. I walk over to her.
She hands me the dress. “And you can count on him chasing you.”
I don't know why her words excite me.
“You’ll just have to try my pancakes the next time you’re here.”
“That sounds wonderful.” It really does. Too bad I’ll never be back here. I’ve got to return the dress and start my search all over again. I’m not even sure where to begin. I’m lost. A feeling of sadness threatens to creep in, but I push it down. I may not have gotten my box tonight, but I’d gotten a piece of Gaines. One that I know I won’t soon forget.
“The driver is out front. He’ll take you anywhere you like.” I don’t know what comes over me, but I wrap my arms around Mrs. Pettyford. She hugs me tight. “Thank you,” I whisper in her ear. “For everything.”
“Go, sweet girl. You’ll need a head start if you think you’ll be able to hide from Gaines.”
“I’m not hiding.” I’m running. For now at least. I need a new plan. Gaines might not have my box, but he might know who does. I grab my necklace, making a silent promise to my grandma that I’ll do whatever it takes to get it back. Even if it means getting my heart broken.
12
Gaines
She’s gone.
I sit straight up in bed, my hands going cold, my ears hot.
She’s. Gone.
I jump to my feet and pound down the stairs.
Mrs. Pettyford peeks out of the kitchen and laughs. “Forget something?”
“What? Where is she?” I hustle to the kitchen, hoping to find her eating some more of Mrs. Pettyford’s cookies, but she’s not here.
“Gone already.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” I spin, hoping that maybe she’s fooling me and Pansy is still here.
“I wanted to give her a head start.” She shrugs and pours some batter into the waffle iron.
When she glances down, I realize what she meant by ‘forget something?’” I try to cover myself with one hand, but there’s simply no way one of my thick hands can even come close to caging the beast.
She snorts a laugh and closes the iron, the sweet smell of waffles already coating the air. “Get dressed. Then we can talk about your game plan.”
“I don’t need a game plan. I’m going to go get her.” I back out of the kitchen.
“She isn’t one of your artifacts, Clevenger. You need to work on some finesse.”
She’s using my real name. That’s usually a bad sign, like when your mother uses your entire name all in one angry breath. “Finesse? She fell into my arms. I’m pretty sure I can hold my own.”
Her gaze goes south again. “Doesn’t seem like it. At least not one-handed.”
“Ugh!” I back into the hall and let the kitchen door slam before heading upstairs. By the time I’m in the shower, I’m smiling. By the time I towel off and return to the kitchen, I’m whistling.
“Better mood?” She plates the waffles for me.
“Sorry about earlier. I was just surprised.”
Her gray eyebrows jump with amusement. “You aren’t the only one.”
“You’ve seen it before.” I sit down and dig in.
“Sure, but the last time you were twelve and had a snake bite on your hip that almost killed you.”
“Ancient history.” I wave my fork at that story.
“Back when Mr. Pettyford was still here and you were just a too-tall boy in too-short jeans.” She sits across from me. “Things seemed so much easier then.”
“They weren’t.”
“Well, you seemed to listen to me more. Now you just run off seeking treasures.” She smiles. “At least you finally found one worth chasing.”
“Pansy.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That girl is not a Pansy.”
“Fake name.” I nod. “Has to be. Last name, too. She said it was Box.” I stop talking because the waffles are particularly decadent this morning, though nothing can beat the taste of my mystery woman. I’d like to go to bed with it on my tongue and have it for breakfast every morning. Pure pleasure.
“You think she’s an operative? Representative of a black market dealer or foreign government?” Mrs. Pettyford is back to business, but there’s still a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“No. She’s not a player. Though I doubt we met by pure accident.”
“I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.”
“Neither do I.” I finish and stand. “Thanks for the waffles.”
“You going to get her?” She pulls my plate away.
“Definitely.”
“Good. Don’t come back without her. I’m making my coq au vin tonight. But remember, finesse.”
I kiss her on the cheek. “Finesse. I got it.”
I head out the door, a fire under me as I drop into my Maserati. This woman is everything I want, the one treasure I’ve been after my whole life. But who is she really? And why is she after me?
Pulling out my phone, I search through the tabloid pictures from the event. When I find one of her, I zoom in on the key necklace at her throat.
With a smile, I send it off to Carter, then gun down my driveway and roll into the city. My thoughts are consumed with my mystery woman the entire time, and every moment that ticks by without her is like an itch I can’t scratch.
I park in front of my building on 6th, toss the keys to the doorman, then stride through the front doors. Some of the finest antiquities dealers are located on the first floor. I bypass them all and enter the back hall, then turn into my command center.
Carter’s already searching for information on the key, his body leaning forward as he combs through photos of similar items, reports of missing jeweled keys--anything that could give us a lead.
“Morning.” I sit on the desk beside him. But I don’t see him, not really. All I see is the perfect brunette with the slightly crooked smile, the amazing curves, and the most delicious taste I’ve ever sampled.
“Hey.” Carter snaps his fingers.
“What?”
“I was talking for about 30 seconds before I realized you weren’t listening to a single word I said.” He leans bac
k and crosses his tattooed arms over his chest. “What the fuck is going on in your gray matter?”
“You figure out the key?”
“Not yet. You sent it to me all of half an hour ago.”
“You located the scroll of Shen Zueyeh in fifteen minutes when I put you on it, and that was lost for seven centuries.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and then you took it before the Chinese blew it up to build more apartments, and then you gave it to the Dalai Lama when we could’ve made bank by selling it.”
“That’s not what we’re here for.”
He throws his hands up. We’ve only had this argument a hundred times. But I keep him paid well enough that he takes the loss each go around.
“The necklace?” I tap my fingers on my bicep.
“Looks to be early twentieth century.” He turns back to his screen and zooms in. “The jewels are nice, but nothing too special except for this emerald right here.” He points to the large gem at the top of the key.
“And?”
“And I need to do more research.” He huffs.
“Fine.” I want to strangle him. Instead, I turn to leave. “Call me as soon as you find anything. Got it?”
“Will do.” He waves without looking as I stride back to my car.
I sit and grit my teeth, trying to decide which way to go. I can retrace my steps back to the venue to look for clues or I could call on some other favors. Closing my eyes, I picture her, my woman, the way she moved, the way she looked in that dress. My eyes pop open.
I dial Mrs. Pettyford.
She picks up on the first ring.
“Did the dress have any tags in it?”
She chuckles. “Took you long enough.”
“Where!” I start my engine.
“The department store over on Fourteenth Street--the one with the big silver statue out front.”
“You could’ve mentioned it over breakfast.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” She hangs up mid-laugh as I maneuver through morning traffic.
When I get to the store, I park in a no-parking zone and jump out. I’m about to dash to the front doors when I hear the sweetest sound in the world.
“Gaines?”
I turn and find my treasure, her hair bright and soft in the sun, her lips in a surprised pout, last night’s dress draped on her arm. Before she has a chance to escape, I stride up to her, take her in my arms, lift her off the ground, and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her.
13
Pandora
How does he keep doing this to me? His lips must have some special power. I sigh into his mouth and let him kiss me.
I kiss him back of course, because he can’t beat me at this seduction game. One thing is for sure. He seems to be really good at tracking things down. How did he find me so quickly? He doesn’t even know my real name.
“You ran.” He pulls his mouth from mine.
We’re both breathless.
“I didn't run.” I hadn't. I haven't run since high school gym class.
Once again my fingers are digging into his shirt. Yeah, this is totally not running. “I’m busy. A girl has things to do. We can’t all sleep in like you.”
His lips twitch into a smile. “You missed Mrs. Pettyford’s waffles.”
My stomach growls loudly, making him laugh. Me, not so much. My face heats with embarrassment. I can’t believe my stomach just did that. I try to wiggle away from him. It’s then I realize my feet are not on the ground.
“I’ll take you to breakfast.” He slowly puts me back down but doesn’t release me from his hold. The dress is squished between us.
“I have to--” I need to think of a lie. Why would I be taking the dress back? “See about getting my dress fixed.”
“Mrs. Pettyford didn’t get the stain out? I find that hard to believe.” He starts to take it from my hand to inspect it. I pull it back, not wanting him to see there’s nothing wrong with the dress.
I need to get away from him for now. I have to get this dress back before I wind up having to pay for it and subsequently eating Cup of Soup for the next year of my life. Plus, he’s too close. He has me off kilter.
“No, the stain is out but you broke the zipper last night.”
His hold doesn’t loosen on the dress. “Let me go inside and pay for whatever needs to be fixed. I insist.”
I know he knows I’m not telling the truth by the way his lips twitch again. But I’m not a quitter, and I’ve started down this path and I’m going to stay on it. Yet, it feels as though I’m only digging myself in deeper.
“I can meet you wherever you want to have breakfast.” I give it one last try.
“And risk you running again?”
“I’ll show up. I always come for food.”
“You do come rather sweetly.” His hand goes to my back to usher me into the store. It takes me a minute to get what he said.
“You have a dirty mouth.”
“I remember you liking my mouth.”
My own mouth falls open, and I stop walking to look up and gape at him. I close it because he’s right. His mouth is quite wonderful.
“You have freckles.” He swipes his thumb across the top of my cheek. “I didn't see them last night.”
“Makeup.”
Gaines isn’t turning out anything like I thought he was going to be. He’s sweet. That was the last thing I thought he’d be. I was sure he’d be ruthless and cold. Nope. Just the opposite. He’s even got a cat and a sweet old lady that lives with him.
“Pandora. I was wondering if you were coming back this morning.” I turn to look at my fairy godmother, Deborah, from yesterday. Her gaze darts between Gaines and me and finally settles on him.
“Yes. I wanted to bring this to you.” I step away from Gaines and hand her the dress.
She takes it. “Okay, wait here.” She scurries off.
“Pandora?” Gaines asks, lifting an eyebrow at me.
Double crap. I should’ve known I was never going to pull this off.
I cough into my hand. “Yeah, she thinks that’s my name and I went with it and now I can’t correct her. Don’t rat me out.” I level him with a hard stare that does nothing.
He keeps on smiling at me as Deborah returns.
“Okay, I’ve gotten it all taken care of.”
I can tell Deborah wants to ask questions. Her eyes keep going to Gaines. Could she know who he is? Everyone at the event last night did. For a man that never goes anywhere, he’s rather popular.
“When can we pick the dress back up? I want to pay for it,” Gaines offers.
“No, I got it.” I rush to say.
I give Deborah a look begging her not to blow my cover. I’m not even sure what my cover is at this point. All I’ve got so far is that I must come from some kind of money to have been at the event last night. To be able to afford the dress and everything that came with it. Though my current attire of yoga pants and an oversized sweater don’t really live up to that.
“Well, you know. I think we should return the dress. You already wore it once.” She looks at Gaines. “You should buy her a new one.”
“That’s a great idea. I was the one who broke the zipper.” He smirks.
I smack his chest. “Ouch. What are you, made of stone?” I pull my hand back.
“Careful, love.” He snatches my wrist and brings it to his mouth to kiss it.
My skin tingles where his lips press. Yes, he has some voodoo weird magic with that mouth of his. Probably got it in a lost tomb in Egypt or something.
He keeps his grip on me. “Show me where we can try on some dresses that would suit my treasure.”
Deborah’s face turns into a giant smile. She’s going to make a killing off him. I should come up with a reason why we have to go. I am hungry. Then again, she did help me. The commission could make her month.
“Right this way.” We follow her over to a giant fitting room with oversized chairs.
Gaines makes himself right a
t home. This place is bigger than my studio apartment over the laundromat.
“Can we order food? My Pandora is hungry.” I warm at not only hearing him call me by my real name but that he remembers I’m hungry.
“We sure can. I’ll get that taken care of and start bringing some dresses in.”
“Not just dresses.” Gaines leans back in the chair stretching out. “I feel terrible about what I've done to her beautiful gown from last night. Bring anything you think she’ll like.”
Deborah is giddy with excitement as she hurries off to do Gaines’s bidding. I’m almost afraid of how many things she’s going to bring for me to look at.
Gaines’s eyes travel down my body. I swear I can feel them on me as they start to travel back up, then land on my necklace.
“Do you always wear that?”
I wrap my hand around the key. I try to keep it tucked inside my sweater or shirt most of the time, but it has a knack of always finding its way back out.
“It’s mine.”
“I didn't say it wasn’t.”
“And you don’t take things that don’t belong to you.” I remind him of his own words.
“Generally, no.”
“What if someone had something that belonged to me. Would you help me get it?”
“I think I’d do anything for you, Pandora.”
“Really?” I try not to let myself be too hopeful.
“For the right price.”
Great. I don’t have money. Still, curiosity has me asking the next question. “How much?”
“You, Pandora. I want you.”
I shake my head even though I want him, too. This attraction I have for him is crazy. “I can’t.” I lick my lips. I’d already let things go too far last night.
“Why? I know you can feel this.” He stands and moves toward me.
“I’m sorry. But I belong to another.”
He comes to a dead stop, his countenance turning to stone and his eyes suddenly stormy. “Who?” His whole body is tense. I can tell he’s trying to keep his cool.
