Tangled Hearts: A Menage Collection

by Various

  “We’ve been lucky.” He wasn’t just talking about the weather.

  A few minutes later they were on the bridge that crossed the Conwy estuary and led into the fortress town.

  Lily commented on how pretty it was.

  “Let’s do this, and quickly,” he said, as he parked the Land Rover in a car park nestled between the ancient castle and the centre of the small town. It wasn’t a big place, but he was pretty sure there was a shop that sold women’s stuff of the underwear type. When he switched off the engine, he looked at her. She was hesitant to get out of the vehicle, but wide-eyed, looking around the scenery. “Come on, put the scarf on.”

  She did as instructed, wrapping the length of fabric around her hair and neck, letting the loose corners dangle down the back of her coat. Satisfied, he walked around to her side of the vehicle and opened the door, watching as she climbed out and gazed up at the castle, entranced. He’d grown up here and it was a familiar landscape, but her enthusiasm for it made him look anew. That’s what she was doing to him, breaking him out of familiar patterns. It would be easy to forget the job for a while, with her around. He took her arm and led her quickly away from the car park and across the street towards the shops. They had to get what she needed and get back to the house, sharpish.

  They walked quickly through the main thoroughfare. Lily walked quietly and quickly alongside him, her hand inside his.

  “Gillian?” A voice queried behind them.

  Seth stopped dead, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He had a bad feeling about this. Gillian was his mother’s name. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Annie Conroy, an old friend of his mother’s. She was staring at the back of Lily’s head with a confused expression. Surely to god she couldn’t have recognized his mother’s scarf on another woman? A baseball cap and shades was all he needed to go shop for food, but apparently the scarf was a mistake.

  Mrs. Conroy peered his way, and her eyes lit. “Seth, is that you?”

  This was bad news, really bad. Lily had paused and turned around. Mrs. Conroy frowned, and looked from one of them to the other.

  Damage limitation was the only option. Seth rolled into action. “Mrs. Conroy, how lovely to see you.” He forced a smile—hopefully a winning one.

  The woman’s expression melted into a smile. Good sign.

  “Seth, it is you. I wondered.” She examined Lily again. “Is this your young lady?”

  My what? Could this get any more difficult?

  Lily gave the older woman a tentative smile, before looking at him expectantly. This sort of complication was just what he had been trying to avoid. He couldn’t find a single thing to say. Lily put out her hand to the other woman. “I’m Lily Howard, its lovely to meet someone who knows Seth. He’s just been showing me his old haunts.”

  Fuck it. She’d used her real name. This woman was nothing but a damn liability. He wanted to lock her up and throw away the key. Should have briefed her, should have been ready. Seth forced a smile, it took a huge effort. “We were just passing through the area and I decided I’d show her the place I grew up.”

  Mrs. Conroy beamed when Lily put out her hand and rattled a long introduction. “It’s a pleasure my dear. I’ve known Seth since he was born and he attended my Sunday school classes as a wee lad in shorts. It’s good to see him with a companion. You must be very special; it’s the first time he’s brought a young lady home. What a shame his parents aren’t at home to meet you.”

  “It is indeed,” Lily responded.

  This amused her, for Christ’s sake. Seth gritted his teeth. He knew he had to let this run a moment longer or Mrs. Conroy’s suspicion might bring her up to the house. He was eager to move on and get this outing done with before anyone else who knew him popped up to complicate matters. Her voice droned on, and he disengaged as he scanned the street, reassuring himself but there was no way Lavonne would find them here. They were as undercover as they could get, but it was second nature for him to expect the worse and be ready for it.

  “You know, Seth’s mother has a scarf just like that. I know because I gave it to her for her birthday, three years ago. “

  Bad luck choice, Seth reflected, glaring at the scarf. Nothing got past this woman. She should work for the police. His sense of unease quickly magnified, making his patience evaporate and his temper turn sour. Images of Adrian alone at the house, while they played social butterflies, assailed him. The pavements were getting busier too, as it closed on lunchtime. All of it seemed to mock him and the idiot choices he’d made. He should have come up here alone and just bought her something himself, fuck the embarrassment factor.

  Mrs. Conroy scrutinized them both again. “You are bound to get on with Seth’s mum, having such similar taste in accessories.”

  Great, just great. How the hell do I get out of this?

  A moment later the two women were chuckling together and he peered at them. Whatever Lily had said to the other woman, had done the trick. Mrs. Conroy blinked at him like a contented cat. “Your mother is very proud of you and what you do, Seth. I doubt she tells you enough, but…I just thought I’d mention it. Her only regret is that you don’t have time for a proper family life. I’m sure she’ll be delighted when she meets Lily.” She winked conspiratorially, as if she’d approved Lily and would put in a good word for her.

  Surreal. Seth wasn’t sure how to handle this; it was way beyond his experience. And his temper was getting worse by the moment.

  Lily seemed to notice and pulled into action before he did, shaking Mrs. Conroy’s hand. “We’d better make a move. It’s been lovely meeting you. I could listen to your lovely Welsh accent all day. Seth’s isn’t so strong, what with living in London, although I still hear it in there. It’s a beautiful accent.” She looked at him with sparkling eyes.

  Did she really think that? Seth didn’t have long to consider it because he found himself ensconced in a brief perfumed hug from Mrs. Conroy. He tried to clear his fogged brain. Think, dammit.

  “I look forward to next time, Seth.”

  “Unit next time, you never saw us this time, right?”

  His old teacher stared up at him; her eyes shrewd and assessing. Then she nodded, and was gone, disappearing into the nearby library.

  Chaos management. His job shouldn’t be about chaos management. It should be about rigorous procedures that were strictly adhered to. As they walked away he faced up to the fact that bringing Lily out was a mistake, another one. His judgment was shot to hell. He’d left a high profile witness unguarded and unsupervised, for what? A matter of life or death? No. Women’s underwear. Jesus Christ.

  He knew he was walking down the road too fast for Lily and that she was struggling to keep up, but he couldn’t help himself. He kept one hand on her arm, determined to get this over with. Get back to the witness. No more risks.

  “Seth, you’re not annoyed are you? I had to let her think I was your girlfriend. If I hadn’t, she’d have kept quizzing you.”

  Unbelievable. He ground to a halt turned to face her and grasped her by the upper arms. Looking into her eyes, he could see that she really thought that’s what was annoying him. Everything about this was dangerous, and the bottom line was she was far too attractive to him and that was why he was functioning so badly. “You told her your name, for fuck’s sake!”

  Lily looked as if she had slapped him. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t think—”

  “No, you didn’t,” he interrupted.

  “Well I’m sorry, this is all new to me and…” She frowned. “Back up a minute, what the hell difference does it make if she knows my name anyway? It’s Adrian who is the important one.”

  Seth groaned aloud with frustration. “She’s a wily sort, and she knows me. Bringing a woman like you home is never going to happen, that’s what will raise her suspicions that you’re a witness.”

  The color was draining from her face. “Look, I know you would rather I wasn’t here, and I’ve made mistakes, but there is
no need to be so rude about it.”

  Seth cursed aloud. “I didn’t mean I don’t want you here, you’re…” He struggled to find the appropriate words, and then struggled to come to terms with the words that popped into his head. “You’re a great girl, Lily.”

  He loosened his grip on her shoulders. She looked upset and that frustrated him even more. “My parents accept my job takes over my life. Annie Conroy is very close to my mother. She knows what I do for a living. We shouldn’t even be out in public, and now there’s a danger that she’ll start passing her suspicion on in hushed whispers and soon everyone in the town will know your name. If your name is announced on TV, the connection will be made. All of this puts Adrian in danger because there is a connection between the two of you, and he doesn’t need that kind of attention.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry. It was a mistake, all right!” Her lips tightened for a moment and she looked sorry she’d spoken. “Oh, crap! I keep saying and doing the wrong thing today,” she blurted, shaking her head.

  That rueful, annoyed face didn’t look right on her. He wanted it gone. What the hell was wrong with him? He shouldn’t even be thinking about stuff like that, it was way beyond his role here. A bit of emotional support, yes, but this sot of…caring, was above the call of duty. Too bad, he wanted to make her happy. Then he noticed that people were staring at them from across the street as they walked by. Shit. This was a small town, and gossip spread like wildfire. So much for keeping a low profile and not drawing attention, they were arguing in the middle of the street.

  “Jesus Christ, you’re making my job more difficult than it has ever been, and that is no small thing, believe me.” He couldn’t help glaring at her. “You need to understand that I would lay down my life for Adrian, and it’s my job. I’ve left him up there at the house alone and I’m here with you, breaking cover to buy you fancy underwear because you’re such a bloody pain in the arse.”

  Lily straightened up. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out of his grasp.

  At least she didn’t look hurt anymore, which was a bloody relief.

  Swiveling his head, he tried to get his bearings. They were two doors from the women’s underwear shop. “Come on, let’s get you this bloody underwear and get out of here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lily had learned more about Seth in the past thee hours than she had in the whole of the past three days, and yet she felt further away from him than ever. Sometimes, when he’d made love to her, it felt as if he was pouring his soul into her, and now—a chasm. Back at the house there was such a vibrant connection between them. It wasn’t just the sex, not just the things they had done with Adrian, but beyond that, like he really cared. Other times, like today, she couldn’t say or do the right thing. What was it about him? And—more to the point—why did she keep the ballsing it up with him?

  “Good morning.” The shop assistant stepped out from behind the glass display cabinet that doubled as a counter top. “Is there something specific I can help you with today?”

  “Thank you, we’re just browsing.” Lily ventured deeper into the shop, but her attention was still with Seth, her mind running with all the things that had been said. She was just a nuisance to him, and it shouldn’t hurt, but it did.

  He was walking alongside her but looking beyond, through the window, his brow drawn down, and a horribly serious expression on his face. Was he still annoyed about his mother’s friend? She’d never seen him so obviously flummoxed, and she felt bad. She’d gone along with it partly for fun, to see what he said, and that was wrong, he’d made that well and truly obvious. It had been a bit of a laugh, and now she regretted it.

  As she walked through the shop, she noticed that there wasn’t a practical piece of underwear to be seen. This was a full-on exotic lingerie shop, and as her gaze ran over the displays of satin, lace, and frippery of all kinds, her fingers itched to make the items hers.

  Then she caught sight of a price tag, and gulped. The last thing she needed was to run up a big credit card bill, but then she glanced his way. She’d never had two men wanting to see her in her new undies before, and probably never would again. Wasn’t that a good enough excuse to labor the credit card somewhat?

  That’s when she noticed he’d glanced back from the window and he was staring at the underwear as well, his eyebrows slightly lifted, his head titled back as if he’d suddenly found himself in a situation that he couldn’t comprehend. The look on his face was too funny, and she had to bite her lip, the tension in her dissipating a tad. Perhaps she could ease him away from his bad mood with some of the sexy underwear? It wouldn’t be easy, but Lily was willing to try anything, to hell with the expense.

  Scanning the nearby table, she lifted a handful of lace and held it up. “What about this, do you like it?” She shimmied the flimsy one-piece in front of her chest, and then waggled her finger through the open crotch.

  Glazed eyed, he stared at the lace teddy, and then shook his head slowly, sighing deeply like a man coming to terms with his burden. “I knew you were trouble the moment I saw you, and you just seem to keep hammering that fact home.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  “Of course I do, especially on you. Buy whatever you want.” Peering at her, looking perplexed, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry I shouted. I’m just trying to do my job.”

  She lowered her hand to the table, underwear included, dreams of show time forgotten for a moment. Yes, she had lost focus; she’d shoved the dark side out of her mind and let the good stuff fill it. There was a killer out there, and Adrian—who she cared about deeply—was his target.

  “I have that item in your size.” The assistant’s voice came from somewhere behind her.

  Lily nearly shook her head, regretting that she had even dragged Seth there. “Thank you,” she said quickly and flipped through a rail of garments with unseeing eyes.

  It wasn’t that she had forgotten Adrian’s circumstances—how could she forget the sounds of that gunshot and the drama that had followed. She’d just got wrapped up in the situation between the three of them, the dynamic, and she’d happily let the rest take a back seat. Adrian was trying to do the right thing by standing up in a court, no matter how dangerous. She stared over at Seth’s back, aching for him to be beside her again, his hand holding hers. I’m wrapped up in him, too.

  She took a deep, unsteady breath, bracing herself to be hurt, badly. If today had proved anything it was that she was clueless, and the fun they’d shared was precious and sweet and hotter than hell, but it was also tenuous and transitory and she had to face up to that fact.

  He turned away from the window and looked across at her, powerful shoulders broadening even before her eyes. His eyebrows were drawn down. She readied herself to leave, feeling ready to walk out that door and keep walking all the way back to London and her own life, no matter how dull. “Let’s go.”

  Seth walked back to her, stopping her in her tracks, his arm around her waist.

  Her heart beat wildly. She was ready to push his hand away, but couldn’t. Forcing herself to meet his gaze, she found contrition there in his expression.

  “Buy that…thing,” he said, gesturing at the lace teddy she’d previously had in her hand. Snatching up a couple of pairs of exotic knickers from the table display, he shoved them into her hand. “Those too, just hurry up about it.”

  Her eyes stung with the threat of tears and she blinked them away, refusing to give in to it. His expression was still tense, and he didn’t make contact with her, but it was enough. She nodded, relieved. At least she knew he wanted her to wear them, he wanted to see her in them. Silly though she knew it was, her body warmed through again, gladly.

  Seth groped in his pocket, pulled out his wallet and slid her a wad of notes.

  “It’s okay,” she said, “I can pay.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’ll pay.”

  There was an emphatic tone to his voice, and the comment came out much louder tha
n he meant, she was sure of it. “But…I can afford it.”

  “For god’s sake, Lily,” he declared, loudly, “it’s my fault you don’t have any decent underwear!”

  The assistant dropped the display she was working on and stared over at them before she bent to retrieve it.

  Lily looked at him, and now she was the one who was lifting her eyebrows. What with the prim Mrs. Conroy and her remarks about Sunday school teaching, and then this, they were causing quite a stir in Conwy. “That’s very chivalrous of you, Seth, but I have my credit card.”

  Seth grasped her hand, holding her in against him, and then whispered close against her ear. “You must use cash, sweetheart. Cards can be tracked. If you use your card now that can pinpoint your location for someone who knows how to work the system.”

  Someone like another cop, a cop who was working for the man who Adrian was testifying against. When his message hit home, she felt as if they were finally coming to an understanding of each other. This was hard for her, but it was for him too. “Right, of course. Sorry, I didn’t think.”

  He nodded his head at her. “Be safe, okay.” He pushed the cash into her hand. “And hurry, please.” With that, his attention was once more on the street outside.

  He was constantly worried about Adrian, and about her, too. Lily took a deep breath, and then smiled over at the assistant who was watching them. She tried to look normal—whatever normal might be. Given her current, unexpected circumstances she’d lost touch with normal. Laden with feminine guilt, she clutched the underwear that he’d liked and took her stash to the cash register.

  “You’ve made some lovely choices,” the assistant commented as she began to scan the price tags.

  Lily nodded.

  “We have matching accessories for this item.” It was the black lace one-piece. The assistant reached onto the shelf behind her and lifted lace topped stockings.

  “You have to have the full set.” It was Seth, and he was back at her side.

  Lily nodded, and the two items were added to the bag.