by Desiree Holt
Four men lounged on the butter-soft leather sofa or in one of the comfortable armchairs. Drinks had been served and the preliminaries dispensed with. Now they sat there, each waiting for one of the others to break the silence. At last a tall, muscular man with a swarthy complexion and hair just a little too long set his drink on the table beside his chair and leaned forward. His eyes were fixed on the blond man directly across from him, on the couch.
“So, Gringo, do you have the information? Is everything in place?”
The blond hated the derogatory nickname but as a code to hide his real identity he supposed it worked as well as any other. And eliminated the risk of anyone overhearing him being called by his real name. Two or three more weeks at the most and he’d be rid of these people anyway. All debts cancelled. Money in an offshore account. And the lifestyle he’d mortgaged his soul to get.
He swallowed the last of his drink, looked at all three men and reached for his briefcase. “I have everything right here. Their complete itinerary.”
He extracted three sheets of paper and handed one to each of the men, who studied it carefully.
“And this is confirmed?” the swarthy man asked. “If there are any slip-ups…”
“This is set in stone,” Gringo said. “And there won’t be any slip-ups. I promise you. I triple-checked myself.”
“I’m sure you know it’s to your advantage to have everything go smoothly,” one of the other men said.
“You don’t have to remind me.”
The swarthy man rose, an indication the meeting was at an end. “We will contact you as soon as everything is in place. You have the secure telephone we provided you with?”
Gringo nodded. “And the laptop is secure. We’re hacker proof. Not to worry. The transactions will be completely secret.”
“It’s my business to worry. Otherwise I’d have no business.” He stopped directly in front of Gringo. “We cannot afford to have one thing go wrong here. You understand that.”
“Hey!” Gringo rose from his seat and stood even with the other man. “I have more to lose here than you do. I’ve got everything covered.”
“See that you do.” He gestured to the other two men. “Time to leave.”
Gringo opened the door and lowered the stairs, watching as the men descended and headed to their plane. Checking his watch, he saw that his pilot would return in ten minutes. He’d explained to the man that he was having a very private business meeting that needed to be away from the office and out of sight of anyone’s eyes. This was not an extraordinary occurrence so it raised no flags with the pilot. He simply got into the car Gringo had arranged to have waiting and took himself off to the closest town to eat. He’d done it before and Gringo knew it would happen again.
The important thing was not to do anything to make anyone suspicious. Anyone at all.
Walking to the bar built into the wall, he poured himself another drink and knocked back a good inch of the liquid. He’d be damn glad when this was over and he could draw a full breath again.
* * * * *
Mike D’Antoni leaned back in his desk chair and propped his booted feet on an open desk drawer. The late afternoon sun blazing in through the floor-to-ceiling window bathed everything in a golden light. Things were quiet for the moment. Rick Latrobe was still on his honeymoon and Troy Arsenault was winding up a mission. The other two partners were at their primary homes in San Antonio, Texas. Julia, their prize-winning assistant, was gone for the day, leaving the Phoenix Agency offices all but empty.
Mike liked the arrangement they had. Very few office staff. Teams either out on missions or at home for down time, awaiting the next call. With the training programs off-site and debriefings held in the hangar at their airfield, the high-octane security agency was able to keep a deliberately low profile.
Currently he was on a conference call with the agency’s CEO, Dan Romeo, and one of the other partners, Mark Halloran, who lived in San Antonio. They were discussing the what if’s of a new client in the San Antonio area.
“I know we don’t usually pull a full frontal attack like this,” Dan was saying, “but this company is huge. They have offices all over the world. I think it would be prudent for them to meet the person who can handle transport at a moment’s notice.”
“I agree,” Mark said. “The only company more diversified and more spread out than Canyon Global Technologies is Wright International.”
“Next on my list to contact, by the way,” Dan interjected. “So what do you say, flyboy? Everything’s under control, for the moment anyway. Come on out. Either one of us can put you up.”
Mike chuckled. “Thanks for the hospitality but if it’s all the same to you, I’ll get my usual suite at the Vistana.”
Dan’s laugh was even louder. “I forgot. D’Antoni the ladies’ man. Well, the bar at that hotel is fertile ground.”
Even though the other men couldn’t see him, Mike clapped a hand over his heart. “You wound me, you old married men. I’m a respectable businessman.”
“Monkey business,” Mark put in. “Okay, the hotel it is. When will you be here?”
“Wheels up in time to get me there by noon, your time. Can you arrange for one of the company cars to be waiting for me?”
“I’ll do it,” Dan assured him. “Call when you get in. I’ll be in my office here in the house.”
Mike disconnected the call and sat up, reaching for his briefcase behind his chair. It was interesting, he thought, how two of his partners had found themselves living part-time in the same city in Texas. Mark’s wife, Faith, a San Antonio native, had contacted the agency when Mark’s Delta Force mission was blown and he was kidnapped by terrorists. Using their skills and the telepathic communications between Mark and Faith, Phoenix affected a successful rescue. Mark had resigned his commission shortly afterward and joined the agency. Faith was a best-selling author and their living arrangements were more flexible, so she often accompanied Mark when he had to be in their condo in Baltimore.
Dan’s wife, Mia, had moved to San Antonio when her grandmother left her a beautiful old home. A medium, she “saw” events before they happened. They’d met when she helped thwart an attempted theft at Carpenter Techtronics, owned by a close friend of Dan’s, and solve two murders. She’d restructured her job as art historian for a museum and sometimes took consultations but her living arrangements weren’t quite as flexible as Faith’s, so Dan made the city his home base. Sometimes Mia traveled to Baltimore with him, sometimes not.
Mike knew, however, they’d both be there for some time as soon as Rick and Kelly Latrobe returned from their honeymoon and the three women went into proactive mode to get the agency’s Psi department up and running. Sometimes the perennial bachelor wondered if he’d ever settle down and, if he did, if the woman he chose would also have a special psychic gift.
Oh well, time to worry about that later. He had things to do and places to go if he planned to be ready to leave in the morning.
Chapter Two
Kat insisted on driving Mari to the airport, to the private terminal where the Wright International aircraft were kept. A sleek-looking Gulfstream G-5 stood on the tarmac waiting for its passengers to board while the pilot did his preflight check and took care of other last-minute business. Eli and Sydney Wright and their teenage daughter, Lissa, were already inside the small terminal building and greeted Mari warmly.
Kat had seen pictures of them and always commented on what an extremely good-looking family they were—the tall, muscular man with the wavy black hair and a dimple in his chin, the slim redhead looking up at him with affection and a younger female version with the same lustrous hair and slender build. She bet they looked good in magazine shots and newspaper publicity.
“I’m so glad you’re coming with us.” Sydney enveloped Mari in a quick hug. “I told the slave driver we need some girl time while we’re there.”
“Mom’s right,” Lissa added. “And where you guys go, so do I.”
Kat hung back a little, pleased to see how the Wrights treated Mari as a person, not just an employee. It was obvious they considered her almost a part of the family. At forty-two Eli was a self-made billionaire who conducted business in every corner of the world. It would be so easy for him to be arrogant and superficial, for Sydney to be a bitch and for Lissa to be a spoiled brat. But as Mari had told her many times, the man was well-grounded in good values and worked to keep his family the same way.
Now Mari reached out an arm and pulled Kat into the circle.
“I don’t think you’ve met my sister, Katherine. Kat, these are the Wrights. The best boss and the best family in the world.”
Eli’s handshake was strong and warm, Sydney and Lissa hugging her in what was obviously a natural gesture for them.
“It’s nice meeting you,” she smiled at them. “Mari can’t stop raving about either her job or the Wright family. It’s nice to see her in such a good position.”
“Your sister’s a real treasure,” Eli said. “This trip is a semi-reward for all her hard work.” He studied Kat. “Mari hasn’t said much about what you do. Are you in an office situation too?”
“Oh,” Mari broke in, “Kat is—”
“A consultant.” Kat cut her off smoothly. “I consult on various special projects.”
“Oh?” Eli raised an eyebrow. “What type? I’m always looking for consultants.”
“Maybe we can talk next time I’m in town,” she said smoothly. “Isn’t that your pilot beckoning to you?”
He glanced out the window. “Sure is. Well, nice meeting you, Katherine. Ladies? Our chariot awaits.”
Kat followed them outside, waiting while they boarded the plane and watching the smooth taxi and takeoff. Even though she knew they couldn’t see her any longer, she continued to wave until the plane was just a speck in the sky.
“Well,” a deep male voice said behind her. “This is probably the last place I expected to run into you.”
Kat turned and came face-to-face with Mike D’Antoni, her stomach doing a flip-flop at the sight of the tall, dark aviator with the bedroom eyes. For a long moment, shock paralyzed her.
At first Mike thought he was seeing things. Surely there were dozens of petite, blondes with sun-streaked hair in the world. Who also had the same habit of tilting their head to one side. It couldn’t be her, right here in the private hangar section of the airport. What would she be doing here anyway? He stared through the glass of the door, his brain bouncing in his head.
Then she turned around and every nerve and muscle in his body froze.
If anything, Katherine Culhane was sexier, more appealing, than the last time he’d seen her two years ago. Of course the last time he’d seen her she’d been a raging maniac, throwing everything she could get her hands on at him and screaming curse words that would make a sailor blush. The fact that she’d been absolutely right to react the way she did hadn’t made the episode any easier to take.
Back then the Phoenix Agency had been just the four of them—Dan Romeo whose idea it was, Troy Arsenault, Rick Latrobe and himself. They hadn’t even had an office, just a phone number with an answering machine. They flew low under the radar, taking missions that no one else would touch and excelling at it. Phoenix was a high-risk international security company, for all intents and purposes. They didn’t advertise. They had no website. Contracts were by referral only.
Then Rick’s little brother Joey had been shot in a blown mission assignment, Joey’s team leader Mark Halloran had been captured by a terrorist group and Faith Wilding, now wed to Mark, was at her wits’ end trying to find someone to rescue him.
The rescue mission was exactly the kind of thing Phoenix was originally created for—an assignment that politics blocked government agencies from attempting. He’d been with Kat the night he’d gotten the call to plan the mission. He’d been unable to give her an explanation, just…left. After the harrowing rescue in Peru something else had come up, then something else again.
He’d made one stupid attempt to see her, giving no thought to what her reaction might be, and didn’t realize until she’d shut the door on him what a mess he’d made of things. How important she really was to him.
Now, two years later, Phoenix had offices, a woman who juggled everything without a drop of sweat, an international reputation and more contracts than they could handle.
But three of the partners were also now married, a signal that as they’d expanded the agency and taken on more agents, each of them could find a way to have a private life. Maybe it was time for him to think of the same thing. The thought didn’t scare him the way it used to. His problem would be convincing the woman he was sure was the one that he was different, that he could be trusted.
He still got the same punch to the gut when he looked at Kat. The breeze lifted the strands of hair, fanning them around her face. He knew the green of her short sleeve sweater would match exactly the color of her eyes and when she smiled—if she smiled—her entire face would light up. Black slacks clung to rounded hips that his hands still itched to touch, the memory of her silken skin still imprinted on his brain.
For a moment he was tempted to walk through the other door, climb into the SUV waiting for him and forget he’d even see her. Not a day had passed since the last time he’d seen her that he hadn’t wished he could take everything back. That he’d made the time to see her between assignments, explain to her as best he could. Dan and Mark had both managed to handle it and now so had Rick. But he’d been scared of commitment. He’d run from what she represented—giving up his footloose life for one woman—so he’d done what he had to. Stayed away from her.
And cursed himself every day for what he’d thrown away.
He’d probably be smart to get the hell away from her now but his feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they carried him to the runway-side door and his hands automatically pushed it open. And then he was talking to her, the last thing he’d ever expected to do again.
From her reaction, she hadn’t planned on it either. Her face paled under its Florida tan, her eyes widened and although her mouth moved, no words came out.
“Yeah,” he managed. “Shocked me too. How are you, Kat?”
She swallowed twice and finally managed a response. “I’m fine.” Her voice, though trembling slightly, could have chipped ice. “I trust you’re the same?”
“Taking a plane somewhere?”
“Just seeing off my sister, her boss and his family.”
“Oh.”
Silence.
“She lives here in San Antonio and works for Eli Wright.”
That was interesting. “CEO of Wright International?”
Kat nodded. “Executive secretary. He’s taking her with his family on a combined business-vacation trip to Hawaii.”
“Very nice. So…you were visiting her?”
“Yes. So what are you doing here?”
“Business meeting with two of my partners. I just got in.”
More silence. Then they both spoke at the same time.
“Listen, Kat—”
“Mike, I’m not—”
He smiled. “Ladies first.”
“No, you go ahead.” Now her eyes were flashing. She’d gotten her equilibrium back, hidden behind an invisible wall. “I’d really be interested in what you have to say.”
He studied her carefully, seeing the same fiery woman who nearly set him ablaze in bed. A woman he’d treated very, very badly. A woman he still wanted more than his next breath.
* * * * *
Two years earlier
The food was delicious but enduring the meal was pure agony. Watching Kat put each bite of food into her mouth, chew it slowly and lick those sensuous lips drove him out of his mind. When her small pink tongue caught stray crumbs on the fork he thought his cock would burst from his slacks. He’d never met another woman who could turn a meal into a sexual experience.
All through dinner he kept picturing her naked, he
r round breasts with their dusky-rose nipples just begging for his hands to hold them, his mouth to suck them. The image of her spread out on the bed, legs wide, her pussy glistening and tempting him made his cock harden enough that he was glad the tablecloth concealed his crotch. It seemed no matter how often or how many times they made love he couldn’t get enough of her.
Now the fantasy had become a reality again and he was forcing himself to exercise control so the show wasn’t over in five minutes. They’d gotten naked five minutes after reaching Kat’s place but now Mike was forcing himself to slow down, to give her as much pleasure as he could.
He kissed the side of her neck, the hollow at her throat, licked the tender spot behind her ear. He inhaled her taste, pulling it deep inside him. Jasmine and the hint of summer. His tongue traced the outline of her mouth, the seam, touched the corners before traveling the delicate line of her jaw. Then back to her lips, urging her to open for him.
He pressed the length of her body against his as his tongue plundered her mouth, sweeping everywhere, tasting her delicious flesh. While he ate at her mouth his hands stroked her body, loving the silken feel of her skin, the dips and swells as he touched her everywhere. When one hand reached to cup a breast, his thumb rasping a taut nipple, she moaned into his mouth and pushed herself harder against him.
God, she was so fucking responsive. If it was possible he would have stayed in bed like this with her forever.
He took his time with her, kneading each breast, finally leaving her mouth so he could put his lips to her nipples, sucking and pulling them one at a time until her tiny series of moans became one long one. His balls ached and his cock was demanding attention but he pushed away the demands of his own body to satisfy Kat’s. That was always a priority for him.
When her nipples were hard and swollen he moved his lips down her body, licking the valley between her breasts, his hands holding her hips as the tip of his tongue traced the indentation of her navel. He urged her thighs wider apart with his shoulders and, spreading her labia with his thumbs, took a long, slow lick of her wet slit.
