Was she laughing at him or with him? He honestly couldn’t tell, and he felt his own smile fade. Damn, what was it about this particular girl that he found so intimidating? With any other woman, he’d assume the joke was shared, and he’d feel glad that he was making her smile. But this one…
There was attraction in her eyes, all right. Genuine animal attraction. He saw it there every time she glanced in his direction. But there was also wariness. Maybe even fear. She didn’t want to be attracted to him.
She probably didn’t think he was good enough for her.
Damn it, he was a Navy SEAL. There was nobody better. If she wanted to ignore the fire that was ready to ignite between them, then so be it. Her loss.
He would find plenty of women to distract him during this way-too-simple operation, and—
With a hiss of silk, she crossed her long legs. Joe had to look away.
Her loss. It was her loss. Except every cell in his body was screaming that the loss was his.
Okay. So he’d seduce her. He’d ply her with wine—no, make that expensive champagne—and he’d wait until the heat he saw in her eyes started to burn out of control. It would be that easy. And then…Oh, baby. It didn’t take much to imagine his hands in her soft red hair, then sweeping up underneath the delicate silk of her blouse, finding the soft, sweet fullness of her breasts. He could picture one of those sexy legs wrapped around one of his legs, as she pressed herself tightly against him, her fingers reaching for the buckle of his belt as he plundered her beautiful mouth with his tongue and…
Sure, it might be that easy.
But then again, it might not.
He had no reason on earth to believe that a woman like this one would want anything to do with him. From the way she dressed and acted, Joe was willing to bet big bucks that she wouldn’t want any kind of permanent thing with a guy like him.
Veronica St. John—“Sinjin,” she pronounced it with that richer-than-God accent—could probably trace her bloodline back to Henry the Eighth. And Joe, he didn’t even know who the hell his father was. And wouldn’t that just make dicey dinner conversation. “Catalanotto…Italian name, isn’t it? Where exactly is your father from, Lieutenant?”
“Well, gee, I don’t know, Ronnie.” He wondered if anyone had ever called her Ronnie, probably not. “Mom says he was some sailor in port for a day or two. Catalanotto is her name. And where she came from is anyone’s guess. So is it really any wonder Mom drank as much as she did?”
Yeah, that would go over real well.
But he wasn’t talking about marriage here. He wasn’t talking about much more than quenching that sharp thirst he felt whenever he looked into Veronica St. John’s eyes. He was talking about one night, maybe two or three or four, depending on how long this operation lasted. He was talking short-term fling, hot affair—not a lot of conversation required.
It was true, he didn’t have a lot of experience with debutantes, but hell, her money and power were only on the surface. Peel the outer trappings away, and Veronica St. John was a woman. And Joe knew women. He knew what they liked, how to catch their eye, how to make them smile.
Usually women came to him. It had been a long while since he’d actively pursued one.
This could be fun.
“We trained to learn how to drop instantly into rapid-eye-movement sleep,” Joe said, evenly meeting the crystal blueness of Veronica’s eyes. “It comes in handy in a combat situation, or a covert op where there may be only brief stretches of time safe enough to catch some rest. It’s kept more than one SEAL alive on more than one occasion.”
“What else do SEALs learn how to do?” Veronica asked.
Oh, baby, what you don’t know…
“You name it, honey,” Joe said, “we can do it.”
“My name,” she declared in her cool English accent, sitting back in her chair and gazing at him steadily, “is Veronica St. John. Not honey. Not babe. Veronica. St. John. Please refrain from using terms of endearment. I don’t care for them.”
She was trying to look as chilly as her words sounded, but Joe saw heat when he looked into her eyes. She was trying to hide it, but it was back there. He knew, with a sudden odd certainty, that when they made love, it was going to be a near religious experience. Not if they made love, When. It was going to happen.
“It’s a habit that’s gonna be hard to break,” he said.
Veronica stood, briefcase in hand. “I’m sure you have a number of habits that will be a challenge to break,” she said. “So I suggest we not keep the tailor waiting a minute longer. We have plenty of work to do before we can get some sleep.”
But Joe didn’t move. “So what am I supposed to call you?” he asked. “Ronnie?”
Veronica looked up to find a glint of mischief in his dark eyes. He knew perfectly well that calling her “Ronnie” would not suit. He was smiling, and she was struck by the even whiteness of his teeth. He may have chipped one at one time, but the others were straight and well taken care of.
“I think Ms. St. John will do quite well, thank you,” she said. “That is how the prince addresses me.”
“I see,” Joe murmured, clearly amused.
“Shall we?” she prompted.
“Oh, yes, please,” Joe said overenthusiastically, then tried to look disappointed. “Oh…you mean shall we leave? I thought you meant…” But he was only pretending that he misunderstood. He couldn’t keep a smile from slipping out.
Veronica shook her head in exasperation. “Two days, Lieutenant,” she said. “We have two days to create a miracle, and you’re wasting time with sophomoric humor.”
Joe stood, stretching his arms above his head. His feet and legs were bare underneath his robe. So was the rest of him, but Veronica was determined not to think about that.
“I thought you were going to call me ‘Your Highness.’”
“Two days, Your Highness,” Veronica repeated.
“Two days is a breeze, Ronnie,” he said. “And I’ve decided if I’m the prince I can call you whatever I want, and I want to call you Ronnie.”
“No, you most certainly will not!”
“Why the hell not? I’m the prince,” Joe said. “It’s your choice—Ronnie or Honey. I don’t care.”
“My Lord, you’re almost as incorrigible as Tedric,” Veronica sputtered.
“’My Lord,’” Joe mused. “Yeah, you can call me that. Although I prefer ‘Your All-Powerful Mightiness.’ Hey, while I’m making royal decrees, why don’t you go ahead and give the serfs a day off.”
He was laughing at her. He was teasing her, and enjoying watching her squirm.
“You know, this is going to be a vacation for me, Ron,” he added. “Two days of prep is a cakewalk.”
Veronica laughed in disbelief. How dare he…? “Two days,” she said. “You’re going to have to completely relearn how to walk and talk and stand and sit and eat. Not to mention memorizing all the names and faces of the aides and ambassadors and government officials that the prince is acquainted with. And don’t forget all the rules and protocols you’ll have to learn, all of the Ustanzian customs and traditions…”
Joe spread his hands and shrugged. “How hard could it be? Give me a videotape of Tedric and half an hour, and you’ll think I’m the same guy,” he said. “I’ve gone on far tougher missions with way less prep time. Two days—forty-eight hours—is a luxury, sweetheart.”
How could he think that? Veronica was so stressed out by the rapidly approaching deadline she could barely breathe.
“Less than forty-eight hours,” she told him sharply. “You have to sleep some of that time.”
“Sleep?” Joe smiled. “I just did.”
Chapter Five
“And never, ever open the door yourself,” Veronica said. “Always wait for someone—a servant—to do it for you.”
Joe gazed at her across the top of his mug as he sat on the other side of the conference table in Tedric’s royal suite. “Never?” he said. He took a sip of
coffee, still watching her, his dark eyes mysterious, unreadable. “Old Ted never opens the door for anyone?”
“If he were with a king or a queen, he might open the door,” Veronica said, glancing down at her notes. And away from those eyes. “But I doubt you’ll be running into any such personages on this tour.”
“What does Ted do when he’s all alone?” Joe started to put his mug down on the richly polished oak tabletop, but stopped as if he were afraid to mar the wood. He pulled one of Veronica’s file folders closer and set his mug down on top of the stiff manila. “Just stand there until a servant comes along to open the door? That could be a real drag if he’s in a rush to use the head.” He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, elbow on the table, as he continued to gaze at her.
“Your Highness, an Ustanzian prince never rests his elbows on the top of a table,” Veronica said with forced patience.
Joe smiled and didn’t move. He just watched her with half-closed bedroom eyes that exuded sexuality. They’d been working together all night, and not once had he let her forget that she was a woman and he was a man. “I’m not a Ustanzian prince,” he said. “Yet.”
Veronica folded her hands neatly on top of her notes. “And it’s not called a ‘head,’” she said. “Not john, not toilet, not bathroom. It’s a water closet. W.C. We went through this already, remember, Your Highness?”
“How about I call it the Little Prince’s Room?” Joe asked.
Veronica laughed despite her growing sense of doom. Or maybe because of it. What was she going to do about Joe Catalanotto’s thick New Jersey accent? And what was she going to do about the fact that this man didn’t, for even one single second, take anything they were doing seriously?
And to further frustrate her, she was ready to drop from exhaustion, while he looked ready to run laps.
“My mother’s name is Maria. She was an Italian countess before she met my father. My father is King Derrick the Fourth, his father was Derrick the Third,” Joe recited. “I was born in the capital city on January 7, 1961…You know, this would be a whole lot easier on both of us if you would just hand me your file on this guy, and give me a videotape so I can see firsthand the way he walks and stands and…”
“Excuse me, Lieutenant.” A FInCOM agent by the name of West stood politely to one side.
Joe looked up, an instant Naval Officer. He sat straighter and even looked as if he was paying attention. Now, why couldn’t Veronica get him to take her that seriously?
“At Admiral Forrest’s request, Mr. Laughton requires your consultation, sir, in planning the scheduling of the tour, and the strategy for your protection,” West continued. “That is, if you wish to have any input.”
Joe stood. “Damn straight I do,” he said. “Your security stinks. Fortunately those terrorists took the night off, or I’d already be dead.”
West stiffened. “The security we’ve provided has been top level—”
“What I’m saying is your so-called top-level security isn’t good enough, pal,” Joe countered. He looked back at Veronica. “What do you say you go take a nap, Ronnie, and we meet back at…” He glanced at his watch. “How’s eleven-hundred hours? Just over two hours.”
But Veronica stood, shaking her head. She wanted desperately to sleep, but unless she attended this meeting, the visit to Saint Mary’s would be removed from the tour schedule. She spoke directly to the FInCOM agent. “I’d like to have some input in this meeting, too, Mr. West,” she said coolly. “I’m sure Mr. Laughton—or Admiral Forrest—won’t mind if I sit in.”
Joe shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Princes don’t shrug, Your Highness,” Veronica reminded him as they followed West out into the corridor and toward the conference room.
Joe rolled his eyes.
“And princes don’t roll their eyes,” she said.
“Sheesh,” he muttered.
“They don’t swear, either, Your Highness,” Veronica told him. “Not even those thinly veiled words you Americans use in place of the truly nasty ones.”
“So you’re not an American,” Joe said, walking backward so he could look at her. “Mac Forrest must’ve been mistaken. He told me, despite your fancy accent, that you were.”
Joe had talked about her with Admiral Forrest. Veronica felt a warm flash of pleasure that she instantly tried to squelch. So what if Joe had talked with the admiral about her. She’d talked to the admiral about Joe, simply to get some perspective on whom she’d be dealing with, who she’d be working closely with for the next few weeks.
“Oh, I’m American,” Veronica said. “I even say a full variety of those aforementioned nasty words upon occasion.”
Joe laughed. He had a nice laugh, rich and full. It made her want to smile. “That I won’t believe until I hear it.”
“Well, you won’t hear it, Your Highness. It wouldn’t be polite or proper.”
Her shoe caught in the thick carpeting, and she stumbled slightly. Joe caught and held her arm, stopping to make sure she had her balance.
Veronica looked really beat. She looked ready to fall on her face—which she just about did. Joe could feel the warmth of her arm, even through the sleeve of her jacket and blouse. He didn’t want to let her go, so he didn’t. They stood there in the hotel corridor, and FInCOM Agent West waited impatiently nearby.
Joe was playing with fire. He knew that he was playing with fire. But, hell. He was a demolitions expert. He was used to handling materials that could blow sky-high at any time.
Veronica looked down at his hand still on her arm, then lifted enormous blue eyes to his.
“I’m quite all right, Your Highness,” she said in that Julie Andrews accent.
“You’re tired as hell,” he countered bluntly. “Go get some sleep.”
“Believe it or not, I do have some information of importance to add to this scheduling meeting,” she said hotly, the crystal of her eyes turning suddenly to blue flame. “I’d truly appreciate it if you’d unhand me so we could continue on our way, Your Highness.”
“Wait,” Joe said. “Don’t tell me. A prince never offers a helping hand, is that it? A prince lets a lady fall on her face, right?”
“A prince doesn’t take advantage of a lady’s misfortune,” Veronica said tightly. “You helped me—thank you. Now let me go. Please. Your Excellency.”
Joe laughed. This time it was a low, dangerous sound. His hand tightened on her arm and he drew her even closer to him, so that their noses almost touched, so that Veronica could feel his body heat through the thin cotton shirt and dark slacks the tailor had left him with after the early-morning fitting.
“Babe, if you think this is taking advantage, you’ve never been taken advantage of.” He lowered his voice and dropped his head down so he was speaking directly into her ear. “If you want, I’ll demonstrate the differences. With pleasure.”
She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck as he waited for her to react. He was expecting her to run, screaming, away from him. He was expecting her to be outraged, upset, angry, offended.
But all she could think about was how utterly delicious he smelled.
What would he say, what would he do if she moved her head a fraction of an inch to the right and pressed her cheek against the roughness of his chin. What would he do if she lifted her head to whisper into his ear, “Oh, yes”?
It wouldn’t be the response he was expecting, that was certain.
But the truth was, this wasn’t about sex, it was about power. Veronica had played hardball with the big boys long enough to know that.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested—he’d made that more than clear in the way he’d looked at her all night long. But Veronica was willing to bet that right now Joe was bluffing. And while she wasn’t going to call his bluff, she was going to let him know that merely because he was bigger and stronger than she, that didn’t mean he’d automatically win.
So she lifted her head and, keeping her voice cool, almost chilly
, said, “One would think that a Navy SEAL might be aware of the dangers of standing too long in a public corridor, considering someone out there wants Tedric—whom, by the way, you look quite a bit like these days—dead.”
Joe laughed.
Not exactly the response she was expecting after her verbal attack. Another man might have been annoyed that his bluff hadn’t worked. Another man might have pouted or glowered. Joe laughed.
“I don’t know, Ron,” he said, letting her go. His dark eyes were genuinely amused, but there was something else there, too. Could it possibly be respect? “You sound so…proper, but I don’t think you really are, are you? I think it’s all an act. I think you go home from work, and you take off the Margaret Thatcher costume, and let down your hair and put on some little black sequined number with stiletto heels, and you go out and mambo in some Latin nightclub until dawn.”
Veronica crossed her arms. “You forgot my gigolo,” she said crisply. “I go pick up my current gigolo and then we mambo till dawn.”
“Let me know when there’s an opening, honey,” Joe said. “I’d love to apply for the job.”
All humor had gone from his eyes. He was dead serious. Veronica turned away, afraid he’d see just from looking at her how appealing she found the thought of dancing with him until dawn, their bodies clasped together, moving to the pulsing beat of Latin drums.
“We’d best not keep Mr. Laughton waiting,” she said.
“Your Excellency.”
“Damn,” Joe said. “Margaret Thatcher’s back.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Veronica murmured as they went into the secret-service agents’ suite. “But she never left.”
“Saint Mary’s, right here in Washington,” Veronica said from her seat next to Joe at the big conference table. “Someone keeps taking Saint Mary’s off the schedule.”
“It’s unnecessary,” Kevin Laughton said in his flat, almost-bored-sounding Midwestern accent.
“I disagree.” Veronica spoke softly but firmly.
“Look, Ronnie,” Senator McKinley said, and Veronica briefly shut her eyes. Lord, but Joe Catalanotto had all of them calling her Ronnie now. “Maybe you don’t understand this, dear, but Saint Mary’s doesn’t do us any good. The building is too small, too well protected, and too difficult for the assassins to penetrate. Besides, it’s not a public event. The assassins are going to want news coverage. They’re going to want to make sure millions of people are watching when they kill the prince. Besides, there’s no clear targeting area going into and out of the structure. It’s a waste of our time.”
Alpha Squad Page 6
