His arm touching her arm.
His leg touching hers.
Riley suddenly wished he’d brought a pair of sensible pj’s with him instead of the thin, snug, navy boxers. If his instincts were right about this scenario, extra layers of fabric would come in handy.
So would a long, cold shower.
Maybe a dozen of them.
“Fletcher probably wouldn’t be suspicious if we bypassed the sex tonight,” Tessa said. It sounded as if she were trying to convince herself more than him. “After all, you did the thing in his clinic. Plus, there was the shower incident. Or, at least, Fletcher thinks there was a shower incident. We could probably maintain cover with a fake good-night kiss and some snuggling.”
Riley had come to the same conclusion, but a fake kiss and snuggling still required some fairly close contact to make it believable.
Bracing himself, or rather trying to, he rolled to his side. So they were facing each other. And he planted his right hand on her pillow.
“This,” Riley said, “will look like a kiss on a thermal scan.”
He hoped.
He leaned in, until his mouth hovered over hers. Just several inches away. It was still plenty close enough for him to smell her toothpaste. Spearmint. He’d never considered that arousing, but for some reason, it was tonight.
Riley angled his head to one side, lingered a bit, then he changed the angle. Not drastically. Just enough to replicate a couple moving in rhythm to a kiss.
Following his lead, she did the same. In the milky light, he saw Tessa smile. A moment later a somewhat muffled chuckle joggled her chest. An unwelcome joggle since it sent her breasts brushing against his chest.
But for some reason, that brushing didn’t hold his attention for quite as long as he’d thought it would. It took Riley a moment to realize why her unusual response captivated him. It was the first time he’d ever seen her really smile.
Man, it was a winner.
She had dimples and, combined with the soft spattering of freckles over her nose, she looked carefree and innocent. Unfortunately her full, sensuous mouth wasn’t congruent with that innocent image. That was no schoolgirl’s mouth. Her mouth was made for long, hot, slow French kisses. Kisses that would last for hours. Kisses that Riley’s body volunteered him to deliver.
It was obvious his body still had some really stupid ideas.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, hoping it would get his mind off her mouth.
It didn’t, of course
With her so close, nothing could do that.
Her smiled widened. “I had an incredibly bad image of what it would take for us to simulate having sex.”
Oh, yeah.
He’d had some of those images, as well. But they weren’t exactly a laughing matter—especially since during the next two and a half days they’d almost certainly have to delve into that simulation a time or two.
Still, Riley couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll bet no one ever warned you about things like this when you first became an agent.”
She shook her head, the movement nearly brushing the tip of her nose against his. Hardly a kiss.
But he felt his body react.
Riley could hear his heartbeat start to pound in his ears. And for some insane reason, the cadence of his heartbeat began to sound like a pagan drum.
Urging him on.
Urging him to do something they’d both certainly regret.
“This is a first for me,” Tessa answered, still smiling. “Usually I’m stuck in some surveillance van—alone.”
He watched the words form on her mouth. Saw her smile widen, causing her dimples to flash again. And all he could think about was tasting that smile.
Tasting her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. The smile faded. Just like that, it was gone, and Riley felt the loss as if someone had stripped away all the warmth in the room. “That must have made you think about Colette.”
No.
His thoughts hadn’t been of Colette.
But of Tessa.
And that was a huge problem.
Because thoughts like that could be fatal. He wasn’t about to risk Tessa’s life because he couldn’t keep focused on the mission.
The light mood evaporated as quickly as it had come, and Riley moved away from her, dropping back onto the mattress so they were side by side. It was far safer than staring into her crisp blue eyes and pondering the nuances of her mouth and her smile.
“I know this can’t be easy for you,” she said. “It has to bring back the memories.”
Riley hesitated a moment until he was sure he had control of his voice. “It probably brings them back for you, too.”
“Yes.”
Different images replaced the carnal thoughts. Not new images, though. The same ones of Colette that had tormented him for two years. “It’s amazing how one person can effect so many lives.”
Tessa made a sound of agreement. “That’s why it’s so important to prove Fletcher killed her.”
It was important for a lot of reasons. “And when that happens, your father’s record will be spotless again and he’ll no doubt get that promotion to department chief. You’ll probably get your promotion, too.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Riley turned his head to look at her and saw the semiscowl that his remark had put on her face. Even though it wasn’t an especially attractive expression, he preferred it to the smile.
It was safer.
A lot safer.
“All I’m saying is that closing out this case will benefit everyone,” he clarified.
Especially him.
It couldn’t bring back Colette. It wouldn’t bring back the love or the life they’d planned together. But maybe if he managed to get justice for her, he’d be able to live with what had happened.
Maybe.
Because what he’d been doing for the past two years didn’t really constitute living.
“I know you think I’m doing all of this for my father,” he heard her say. “But you’re wrong.”
Riley had a pang of guilt and was sorry he’d tossed that remark at her. “You don’t have to defend your relationship with your father.”
“I’m not defending it. It’s just…well, it’s just I know people in SIU talk. And I hear what they say behind my back. He’s a tough man. Always has been. But he raised me on his own after my mom left us when I was barely eight. It wasn’t easy for him to take care of me. Not with the hours he was putting in at work. He could have pawned me off on some relative, but he didn’t. He made sacrifices in his career, and if it weren’t for all that time he spent with me, he would have made chief by now.”
And whether Tessa realized it or not, she was defending him. She was also giving Riley a glimpse of what made her tick.
Guilt.
A whole boatload of it.
An emotion he totally understood.
“You’re a good agent,” Riley assured her. “You don’t need to prove anything. Not to your father. Not to others. Not even to me.”
She didn’t respond. Not so much as a huff or a sound to indicate she was thinking about that. And the silence closed in around them.
“I guess you could say I joined the agency because of my father,” Riley said to fill that silent void. And maybe there was another reason. After all, Tessa had shared an important piece of herself with him. Of course, that didn’t mean he had to reciprocate, but Riley found himself doing it, anyway.
“My father’s career army,” he continued. “He’s retired now, but he was once in special ops—Delta Force. The man has two Purple Hearts. Two. And he refuses to even acknowledge them because he says they’re just reminders that he didn’t duck fast enough.”
Tessa made a sound of amusement. “So why didn’t you join the army?”
“Because of that whole living-in-his-shadow thing. I wanted a different benchmark to gauge what I accomplished in life.” And somehow they were right back
to that driving force—guilt. Because his own benchmark hadn’t done a thing to stop him from failing.
“What did your parents think of Colette?” she asked.
Maybe because she sensed what he was feeling. No surprise there. He wasn’t good at hiding the pain from Colette’s death. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be good at that.
“My folks never met her.” Yet another of the regrets in his life. “Colette and I had been seeing each other only about four months when we decided to get married. I kept meaning to drive down to Richmond with her so she could meet them. But it didn’t happen. You know the drill—work got in the way.”
“But they would have loved her,” Tessa concluded.
“Yeah. My mom especially.” He hoped he hadn’t thoroughly depressed Tessa with that comment. He sure as heck was depressing himself. “How about you? Ever brought a guy home to meet your dad?”
“Once.” She paused and idly snuggled closer. She also, idly, brushed her leg against his. That touch, that reminder that she was a woman, didn’t cure his depression, but it fired his fantasies all over again. “It was nearly ten years ago. The guy was in law school and I was a sophomore in college. I was barely nineteen and thought I was in love.”
“But you weren’t?”
She shook her head, creating yet another interesting touch scenario where her cheek swished against his. Riley felt his groin tighten. “It was lust,” she insisted.
Riley read between the lines, once he got past an initial kick of jealousy. Sheez. Where had that come from? “And this law-school jerk broke your heart?”
Another nod. Another swish. “I guess I didn’t duck fast enough.”
Yeah.
He understood that, too.
Everything was suddenly so quiet. Too quiet. The sound of the phone ringing shot through the room. Not the secure phone in the bathroom, either, but the one next to the bed. Riley checked the clock. Just past midnight.
Hardly the time for a social call.
Since that meant something had probably gone wrong, Riley got out of bed and pressed the speaker button on the phone.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Fletcher greeted.
Even though Riley had already anticipated that it would be the doctor, hearing his voice sent his adrenaline level through the roof.
“We were in bed,” Riley informed him. “It’s late.”
“Yes, it is. But I trust it’s not too late for us to get started.”
Okay. That didn’t help the adrenaline. Obviously it had the same effect on Tessa. She threw back the covers and joined Riley on his side of the bed so they were both staring at the phone.
“What do you mean?” Riley asked Fletcher.
“Within the next two minutes, a limo should be pulling up in front of the estate. The driver is Beatrice. Since you’ve already met her, I trust you won’t consider her a stranger. I mean, I know your concerns about security.”
And those concerns had quadrupled with this particular call. “What’s this all about, Doc?”
“Beatrice will drive you and your wife to a clinic where I’ll be doing the initial procedure.”
Hell.
“Now?” Tessa questioned.
“Now,” Fletcher quickly assured her.
Oh, man. The timing sucked. The mission director probably didn’t have all the surveillance measures in place. Not this soon. But Riley hoped that the SIU had anticipated that Fletcher would do the unpredictable and that Tessa and he would at least need some backup.
“Why so soon?” Riley demanded, trying to keep his tone civil. Not easy to do considering their best-laid plans were starting to crumble.
While he waited for Fletcher to respond, Riley motioned for Tessa to go into the bathroom. She’d need to use the phone in there to call headquarters to alert them about the apparent change in plans. She also needed to warn Agent Ingram, who was probably asleep in one of the rooms downstairs.
Tessa obviously understood what had to be done and she hurried into the other room and closed the door so that the doctor wouldn’t be able to hear her conversation. Of course, it might still tip off Fletcher if he was in the process of a thermal scan, but there wasn’t much Riley could do about that now. Hopefully, it would seem as if Tessa were merely listening in on the other phone.
“I have my own security concerns,” Fletcher answered. “And I prefer to keep things a little unpredictable.”
This was like déjà vu. Fletcher had done the unpredictable the day Colette died.
“Can’t this wait until morning?” Riley snatched up his jeans and T-shirt and slipped them on.
“The timing isn’t negotiable,” Fletcher answered. “You see, I reevaluated the ovulation information that your wife gave to my medical staff, and I realized I’d seriously miscalculated. We have to move up the procedure if we want to assure success. And you do want this to succeed, don’t you?”
Riley silently cursed. This wasn’t part of some reevaluation but was no doubt Fletcher’s plan all along so he’d have the element of surprise.
And it had worked.
Heaven help them, it had worked.
“Ah, I understand Beatrice is at the estate now,” the doctor continued. Riley glanced out the window and confirmed that. A black limo had just pulled to a stop right in front of the door. “Take nothing with you to the clinic. Nothing. And that includes phones and pagers. Everything you need will be provided.”
“I’m not prepared with the monies we discussed this afternoon, given that you had said it would be three days,” Riley said, hoping to change Fletcher’s plans.
“Understandable. You can make payment arrangements tomorrow via telephone from the clinic. I’m sure it can all be taken care of before the final medical procedure takes place.”
Riley knew there was no argument he could make that would delay this. With Fletcher’s penchant for secrecy and security, failure to leave now would almost certainly close down the mission.
Tessa came out of the bathroom and since they couldn’t really talk, he tried to read her expression.
Not exactly optimistic.
“Can you stall him?” she mouthed.
Riley shook his head.
“You have to leave now,” Fletcher said, as if he knew they were hesitating. And he probably did. “I’m afraid I must insist. In fact, Beatrice is making her way to your door.”
It was decision time and Riley knew there was only one choice Tessa and he could make.
They had to go.
“Put on your shoes,” he instructed Tessa.
Riley did the same. When she sat next to him on the bed, she opened her hand so that he could see the watch. It was a nifty piece of equipment that she’d snagged from the equipment bag in the bathroom. A transmitter and receiver that could disrupt signals and even in some cases act as a homing device. He slipped it onto his wrist.
Tessa pointed to her own wrist to show Riley that she, too, was wearing a transmitter. It might come in handy if his failed, but it wouldn’t do a thing to keep them alive. And since they couldn’t risk carrying in a weapon, it meant they had to rely on their training and instincts.
Riley prayed that was enough. And while he was at it, he prayed that he was doing the right thing.
“Your wait is almost over,” Fletcher continued, his voice both calculating and cheerful at the same time. “I’m preparing for the insemination now. In less than an hour, you two will be well on your way to having the perfect baby.”
Oh, hell.
An hour.
Much too soon.
But that didn’t matter. There was nothing they could do about it.
Riley clicked off the phone, took Tessa by the hand and started for the door.
Chapter Six
The clinic was sterile.
That was Tessa’s first reaction to the facility where Beatrice had driven them. Odd, since it was supposed to be a haven for conception. Her opinion of the place didn’t change, either, when Dr. Fletcher took Rile
y and her into the examination room.
Sterile, also.
Bare, milk-white walls. Cold, chalky tiles on the floor. Odorless. And with the exception of Fletcher, Beatrice and them, the building was seemingly deserted. Tessa neither saw nor heard anyone, even though she was certain that Fletcher’s security goons were nearby.
The doctor wasted no time with the procedure. In less than five minutes after they arrived, he had her changed into a hospital-style dressing gown. And only seconds after that, she was on the examination table while he performed the insemination.
During the whole ordeal, Riley stayed with her, his hand clutching hers, their gazes fastened to each other. It would no doubt appear intimate and loving to an observer.
It wasn’t.
By keeping his attention focused solely on her, he was actually giving her the only measure of privacy that she could have in this situation.
Tessa divided her attention between making sure Fletcher didn’t do anything unexpected—she’d had enough surprises already—and concentrating on figuring out where the heck they were.
Riley was no doubt doing the same.
The windows had been blackened in the limo, and their watches had stopped transmitting. Even though Tessa had been unable to see where Beatrice was taking them, she’d kept careful count of the turns. The trip had taken less than a hour. Of course, it probably wasn’t the most direct route, and the woman had no doubt been instructed to make sure she wasn’t being followed.
And she very well might not have been.
That call Tessa had made to headquarters right before they’d left the estate had sent her father scrambling to assemble a surveillance team. Agent Chris Ingram would have followed the limo, of course. But he might not have been able to tail Beatrice for long.
So, there was only about a fifty-fifty chance that anyone in SIU knew their exact location. And even if they did, they might not be able to intercede if trouble started.
Tessa couldn’t help but be concerned about that.
Because this had the potential of becoming a worst-case scenario.
Still, she had to concentrate on the parts of the mission that had succeeded. They were inside the clinic. All was seemingly going well. And with luck, the ops would proceed as planned.
Mommy Under Cover Page 6
