by Black, Regan
She repeated the motion, and then took him deep in her mouth. Boss or not, Adam seized control before he embarrassed himself.
He reached for her, drawing her on top of him. Soon her sultry laughter became soft moans of pleasure when he drove up, fast and deep, into the intense heat of her wet body.
He changed the angle, bringing her breasts close so he could suckle her nipples and tease her as she set the pace. He didn't need his thermal vision to know where she was hottest, his other, natural senses informed him completely.
"A work of art," he murmured again, gazing up at her. He might only see a warped rainbow in the thermal spectrum, but he was learning to appreciate every highlight and hollow of her with his normal eyesight. From her pale hair, to the dusky color of her nipples to the dark color of her nail polish.
Her back arched and her rhythm faltered as her climax struck hard. Gripping her hips, he thrust once, and twice more, letting the release wash over him.
She leaned close to kiss him and he gathered her into his arms, savoring the feel of her warm body draped across his chest.
* * *
Selena woke, feeling immensely satisfied, and thinking that had been the best sex dream of her life. But the heavy arm at her waist and the firm body at her back brought her back to reality with a delicious shock.
If there was any doubt, the lingering scent of sex in the air was confirmation enough. Amazing, perfect, but definitely not a dream.
Had she ever done anything so stupid in her life? She started to move, to roll over or escape or something. She hadn't made up her mind when his arm locked her in place.
"Do me one favor," he said, his voice rough.
She thought of what she'd done last night and couldn't decide if she should be turned on or embarrassed.
"What's that?"
"I can be out of your life as soon as we deal with Galloway. Until then, please pretend you don't regret what we did last night."
There were several ways to pick apart that statement and she fought the urge to start with 'can be'. She wasn't sure she wanted him out of her life, foolish as that sounded even inside her head.
But Galloway still had what mattered most: Renata. If he hadn't already started retaliating it was only because he thought she had, or knew how to get, the watch.
"What do you propose? For Galloway," she clarified quickly, afraid he'd misinterpret her poor choice of words.
"I propose you go about business as usual today," he said quietly against her nape. "Let him come to you. I'll be ready with a special present for him."
"But it's Christmas Eve."
"True. The last shopping day in the biggest retail season."
"What if he already did something to –"
Adam's arms came around her, chasing away the chill of her fear. He pressed a soft kiss to his ear. "He's been preoccupied with me all night, wondering how and where I fit in to the situation."
"Why did he call you Carter?"
"That's how he knew me."
"Is Adam Maxwell who you really are?"
"Yes." He shifted, kissing her shoulder and stroking his hot palm over her hip. "You know the real me. Go on and clean up. Your uncle will wonder if you're late for coffee today."
She glanced over her shoulder at the handsome man sprawled across the bed. "It should bother me that you know my routine."
"But it doesn't?"
She shook her head. "No. I feel better knowing you were watching me when Galloway put that creepy guy on my tail." She hesitated to tell him the rest and sound like a foolish girl with her head full of romantic holiday nonsense.
"Go on," he prompted. "Say it. As long as it isn't a regret."
His guarded expression made her want to give him all kinds of assurances that were inappropriate at this stage of their acquaintance. But premature or not, she felt every last one of them.
"It's not a regret." However long they had, she wouldn't regret a minute of her time in Adam's arms. She took a deep breath and blurted it all out. "Part of me has been crushing on you since I realized you were feeding the homeless nearby."
"You noticed?"
She nodded. His amazement was nearly comical.
"I thought I'd been pretty subtle about it." He propped himself up on an elbow. "They were helping me keep tabs on you and your assistant."
"Really?"
"Ah ha." He smiled and her heart melted. "My operation wasn't entirely transparent after all."
But she was starting to piece together which facets of his personality were real and which were affectations necessary to his work.
Wrapping herself in the sheet, she stood. "Torry will notice if I show up in the same thing I wore yesterday. I'll raid Brevo's closet for us while you shower."
His eyebrows wiggled, making her laugh. "Make it quick or we'll really be behind schedule."
Christmas Eve 2:17 p.m.
Every time the bell above her door chimed, Selena jumped. When would Galloway make his move? So far, everyone he'd threatened remained safe and ignorant of the danger, but the watch felt like a lead brick in her pocket.
As a redhead walked in and took a look around, Selena recognized the purse the other woman was holding. It matched the one Selena had used last night.
"Happy Holidays. May I help you?"
"Miss Vaccaro?"
Selena nodded, her throat clogged with tension. This was the season for joy, not espionage, but Galloway's violent promises were blotting out the Christmas carols she'd programmed into the showroom's sound system. Was this woman working with him too?
"I'm Amelia." She slid the purse from her shoulder and handed it over. "I'm told this is yours."
"Are you with the police?"
The woman chuckled. "No. I'm told it was found in a dumpster, but it belongs to you."
Selena glanced inside the bag. Everything appeared to be there, even the watches. "Yes, it's mine. Thank you. Can I offer you a reward?"
"I believe that's been handled as well."
"Okay." Selena had to assume Adam was behind this and didn't want to alert Galloway that he was watching.
"You have an eye for displays." Amelia examined some handmade jewelry by a brand new designer. "And talent."
"Thanks. It's a different approach in this area, but it's catching on."
Amelia fingered one of the hand-painted silk ties. "I should go, but this is too perfect. How much?"
Selena made the sale and took the cash. Only noticing the business card tucked between the bills after the woman had left.
She stared at the phone number printed carefully above the brief message: call if you or Adam need any further assistance.
Further assistance?
Selena folded the card and tucked it into her bra. It was the safest place she could think of in light of both the recent and pending events.
Where the hell was Galloway? For the next hour, she paced by the window, adjusting the display of ties, and taking a peek at Adam's food cart. It was there, but he wasn't. A man she'd never seen was handling customers instead.
She refused to panic, they'd discussed this possibility earlier. When Galloway moved in, so would Adam. Her mind skittered down fractured paths of 'what if', worried that something might happen to him, when this was ultimately her problem.
Except he'd sworn it wasn't. He'd insisted that she'd been caught in the middle of a long-standing vendetta. It didn't feel that way when those bleak images of her cousin blindfolded and restrained danced through her mind.
Regardless, she felt marginally better that neither of them would have to handle Galloway and the exchange alone.
The door between the showroom and the back office swung open, and Galloway strolled in, shoving a man wearing a dark hood in front of him.
Selena's heart stuttered in her chest. This wasn't a development she and Adam had discussed.
"Who? What the –"
Galloway removed the hood, revealing Brevo. Her cousin's nose looked out of place, blood oozed
from his lip and a cut on his cheek, and one eye was swollen shut.
She swore at Galloway in her native Italian, cursing him with every fiber of her being and every creative oath she'd learned from her elders.
"Silence!" He shouted. "You had ample warning and yet you did not deliver as promised." Brevo winced as Galloway shoved a pistol under his chin. "Game over. Miss Vaccaro, I don't know what that bastard told you when he seduced you, but it's a pack of lies. That watch, or rather the information it contains, belongs to me."
Incensed by Galloway's insult to Adam and his attack on her family, she was tempted to toss aside the plan. Her palms were slick with nervous sweat and her eyes darted back and forth between both men.
Where was Renata? Had Adam found where she was being held? She wanted to ask, needed to ask, but as Galloway had pointed out yesterday, Renata's schedule was fluid. Thinking she was in Madrid, no one here or in Italy would miss her until she didn't make the expected calls to the family on Christmas Day.
If Brevo didn't know Renata was in danger, his reaction to the news could ruin Adam's well-orchestrated exchange. She wanted to scream, felt it rising in her throat. Stifling it, she offered up a silent prayer for Renata. It was the season for miracles.
"You are the liar," she snapped, gathering herself at last. "Let him go! My cousin has done nothing to you!"
She could tell by the glint in his eyes that Galloway knew which cousin she referred to.
"When you hand over the watch."
"No. Family first." She held up the watch so Galloway could see it clearly. She wanted to be perfectly clear he would not get away with this stunt. "You are insane. No watch is worth all this trouble."
"Give it to your cousin," he said with a sneer. "No sudden moves."
She held it out to Brevo, who in turn handed it over his shoulder to Galloway.
"Now let him go."
"I could." Galloway's sick smile was absolutely feral. "One watch, one man. You choose." He pushed Brevo roughly to the side as the stone-faced man who'd followed her and fought with them last night emerged from her backroom with Adam at gunpoint.
"No," she whispered against a throat gone dry with terror. This was not the plan. How would any of them escape now?
"Make a choice or they both die in a tragic murder-suicide scene. Depression is a serious problem during the holidays, isn't it Carter? Oh, wait, that's not your name right now."
"You have what you want, Galloway," Adam said. His voice was tight against the gun barrel pressed against his ribs. "Crawl back under a rock and be happy."
"Do I?" Galloway glanced at the link on the watch were the micro-SD card was stored. "Why should I trust you?"
"What have you got to lose? I already know you're a backstabbing asshole." Adam rolled his eyes, refusing to look her direction.
She took that as a bad sign. The plan, she reminded herself. "So go on. Confirm it's what you wanted so bad," she offered. "There's the computer."
Galloway scoffed at her, then looked at Adam. "She's smarter than you."
He was definitely a greedy bastard, but he wasn't a complete idiot, evidenced by his bringing Brevo as insurance. She hoped that meant Renata had escaped.
"If he moves, shoot him," Galloway said to the man holding Adam.
Selena tried to breathe, but it was a challenge. Her heart was breaking. This one moment could wreck more than the upcoming holiday for her family. Brevo injured, his sister missing – when her family heard, they would be incensed. "Well," she pushed, just wanting this over before anything else could go wrong. "Satisfied?"
Galloway leered at her. "Are you offering something else?"
"Careful," Adam warned him. "Don't cross that line, Galloway."
"Oh, I see. Treason's okay, but I'm not allowed to take my fair shot with your lady?" Galloway laughed. "Maybe you have changed."
The computer chimed and Selena hoped that part of their plan had worked properly. Adam had arranged for someone he worked with to monitor her system off-site. Supposedly the same someone was looking for Renata. She could hope they'd rescued her already.
Momentarily distracted and clearly pleased by the information displayed on the monitor, Galloway missed her signal for Brevo to duck.
Her cousin groaned and slumped to the floor, in what she hoped was a fake faint. Adam knocked the gun from the other man's hand even as Galloway fired at her.
But Adam had warned her of the man's tactics and his weaknesses, claiming he hadn't changed. She'd been ready for the attack and neatly avoided it by throwing herself low and to Galloway's left.
From her hiding place under the countertop, she felt the floor and half wall at her back shake as Brevo and Galloway battled. She heard a display case at the other end of the counter shatter and bodies and boots slammed against the floor.
Finally Adam gave the all-clear and she rolled to her feet, relief flooding her system when Adam smiled. He dusted his palms against his jeans. "Sorry about the mess."
She ran to him and wrapped her arms tight about him as men in dark uniforms rushed in from the backroom. Adam certainly had some kind of connections.
"Brevo?"
"He's fine," Adam said, smoothing a hand over her hair. "A medic is checking him out. You did well. Both of you."
"I didn't expect –"
The bell above her door chimed, cutting her off. She turned to see a well-dressed man in an expensive gray suit with a bright red holiday tie walk in. She was about to beg the new customer to come back after the holidays, but he spoke first.
"We appreciate your assistance, Miss Vaccaro." He looked past her to Adam. "Mr. Maxwell."
Adam gave a curt nod, but didn't say a word. Questions flitted through her mind, Renata's status at the top of the list, and she hoped someone would tell her something before she lost her mind with worry.
"You'll be compensated for damages to the showroom," Gray Suit said.
Well, that was nice, but it wasn't the most important thing. "Thank you." She squeezed Adam's hand. "What about Renata?" she whispered, not wanting Brevo to overhear her.
"That issue is not forgotten," Gray Suit replied as if she'd asked him the question. "It will be resolved promptly."
She hoped for everyone's sake 'promptly' meant before tomorrow's big family dinner. Renata might not be missed yet, if Christmas came and went without word from her, the family would be in an uproar. Vaccaro's had traditions that were not ignored without consequence.
"And Galloway?" She glanced around, disappointed that she'd missed him being taken into custody.
"He isn't our problem anymore," Adam said.
She followed his gaze, relieved to spy a team putting handcuffs on Galloway and the man who'd held Adam at gunpoint. She looked back to Adam. "You're sure you aren't hurt?"
"Not a scratch. You?" He slid his arm possessively around her waist.
She shook her head. "You were right, he did exactly as you said."
Adam's smile was full of pride, in her. It was a heady sensation.
"Brevo?"
"They say I'll live," her cousin grumbled, leaning onto the support of the counter. "But I'm sure I look like one of my bouncers."
She walked closer, pretending to study the butterfly closure over the wound above his eye. She pointed, but didn't dare touch his nose. "The girls will go wild," she promised.
He gave her a lopsided grin and a weak thumbs-up.
"I suppose this concludes our business." Gray Suit looked around her shop. "What will you do with yourself?" he asked Adam.
Selena waited, wondering the same thing. Adam's boots crunched on broken glass as he crossed the room to her, pulling her close to his side. She leaned into the embrace.
"I'll think of something to keep busy," he said.
"I see. Your assistance here will be noted appropriately."
"Meaning my name will be cleared as well as my record?"
"With a little time, yes. If that is what you want."
She stared up at
Adam, understanding the significance of this moment. He could reclaim the name of the person he'd been, the identity Galloway destroyed.
"Actually, I think I'll stick with who I am now."
"Understood." The man in the suit dipped his chin to Selena. "Happy Holidays Miss Vaccaro, Mr. Maxwell." Then he turned and left through the front door, the bell ringing in his wake.
"What just happened?" she asked.
"I believe Christmas came early for all of us," he said.
"Except Galloway."
Adam shrugged. "He got what he wanted. Not our fault his celebration was cut short."
"Speaking of celebrations," Brevo said, pushing back from the counter. "We'd best get cleaned up. Uncle Torry will put coal in our stockings if we miss Mass."
She hurried around the counter to kiss Brevo. "We'll be there," she promised as he walked away.
"You know, you can join us," she said quietly to Adam when they were alone.
"That's not an invitation you'll regret?"
She shook her head, not quite meeting his gaze. Why could she do what was necessary when a gun was pointed at her, but she lost her courage now that they were safe?
He tipped her chin up to receive his kiss. "It would be an honor to join you."
Chapter Nine
Christmas Day 6:25p.m.
The room, filled to bursting with chattering people of all ages, fell silent. Selena's uncle stepped forward, looking Adam up and down, his bushy eyebrows drawn tight in an assessing scowl. Then his gaze shifted to Selena and something silent and full of meaning passed between them.
Adam hoped it was something positive. Only his years in the field kept him from breaking out in a cold sweat. It felt as if everyone was holding their collective breath, waiting for Torry's decision.
There were really only two logical outcomes: they'd let him stay or they'd make him leave. Without Selena. But Adam couldn't make an accurate assessment because his hopes were riding on the option he preferred. The one, crystal clear outcome in his very muddled life.
