by Honor James
He looked at her and blinked. “Of course I’m not getting sick woman, I ate too much food.” He frowned at her as he reached across the table for her hand. “Come here,” he said, tugging on her fingers. Once she was in his lap, he hugged her close. “I’m fine, Hope. Just feeling a bit like an overstuffed turkey on Thanksgiving is all.”
“Okay. I was just really very worried about you,” she whispered to him. “I just have never seen you like this, sweets. I never want you to be hurt or sick. I think that I would be a hot mess if you were to actually be hurt or sick so please promise me that you will remain hale and hearty?”
“Well then, we’re in trouble come allergy season,” he muttered. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, David rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I’m fine, I promise. Come on, let’s go and get dressed and head out. We’ll alert the team that we’re letting in housekeeping to do the room and get fresh towels.”
“I have seen you during allergy season. Yes, you are a little puffy around the eyes and you sneeze at the slightest of breezes, but it’s nothing horrible, right?” She did, however, move. “But I will trust you. If you say that you are okay, then I am leaving it at that. Just let me know when and if I should worry.”
Nodding, he stood and made a face, eyes wide, before he hustled her toward the bedroom. “Trust me, you don’t want to be out there,” he said at her questioning look. “Did I mention I may have overeaten slightly?” He grinned and it turned slightly evil as he snickered.
Hope began to laugh. She couldn’t help herself. “Dear God.” She was snickering and said, “Well thank you for at least getting me out of there before the smelly cloud of your farts wafted into here.” There were a number of things they would need to get used to, but she was more than happy to get to know them.
Laughing, he hugged her close to him and kissed her nose. “I would never have left you out there to fend for yourself. That would have been cruel, especially since we’re getting along so well. Now, had we not been getting along well and you pestered me like you did on that one job, the Rome one, I’d have left you out there with that noxious mess.”
“I didn’t pester you on the Rome job,” she teased with a grin. Okay so she had pestered him, more than a little. So she had continued to give him trouble, but it was because he had been playing wifey with one of the new recruits that seriously had a thing for David. She hadn’t lasted long because she couldn’t separate want from work.
“You did, too, pester me, the entire job,” he said. He was slowly backing her toward the bed when he suddenly stopped. She could pretty much see the wheels turning in his head as his eyes narrowed on her. “Hope, darling, is there something you need to tell me about the Rome job?” Uh-oh.
“I was pestering you.” The backs of her knees hit the bed but she looked up at him and smiled. “I was pestering you because of the girl that you played husband to. She really, really had a thing for you. I mean, like whoa. She transferred out of our unit because you wouldn’t do anything with her, if you know what I mean.”
“Hmm,” his eyes narrowed even more. “And I suppose you had nothing at all to do with her decision to move out of the unit? You didn’t perhaps tell her I wasn’t into women, did you?” he asked, his tone holding a warning of just what dangerous ground she was now on.
“Actually, I didn’t say a word. She was the one who assumed that you weren’t into women. She figured that she was so utterly and totally beautiful and for you to turn her down…” She shrugged. “But no, no I didn’t do one single thing,” she admitted.
He didn’t look like he believed her and just stared into her eyes for a long, long time. “All right, I’ll let you have that one. Besides, she was way too full of herself. She would have created too much friction in the team if she’d stayed and it would have been a wreck. Plus, I only ever noticed you.”
“Ditto, babe.” Hope stroked her finger down his cheek. “I am happy that you only notice me. I’m very happy that you like me for me, because I adore you for you. And you are right. She would have created far too much friction. She wanted to play the other men against you, but it never worked.”
“’Course not.” He snorted and shook his head. “I’m not an idiot, Hope. I saw what she was doing right from the start. But I had to also let her dig her own grave in the event I needed an excuse to kick her off the team. Thankfully.” He smiled and wiggled his brows. “She did all the work for me.”
“Yeah. She was a nutcase. Last I heard, she had been booted out of the Agency and went to work for DC Vice. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but there you go. Who cares? She’s out of here and out of our lives forever, so that’s a fabulous thing, right?”
“Very.” He nodded. Tipping his head, he lifted a hand and brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You are a beautiful woman, Hope Bradshaw. I have no idea how I got as lucky as I did but I’m going to be ever grateful for this time to get to know you better.” Pressing a kiss to her lips, he smiled and drew back slowly.
“Just keep that in mind when we are fighting for some reason. I’m sure that we will argue sometimes.” Which she was positive they would. They were both too alike not to argue at times. It was nice though, even with their alikeness they had differences, which were good.
“Yeah, but I’m always right, so why would we fight?” he asked with a huge grin. Laughing, he dashed across the room out of her reach and put a chair between them. Then, because he was that big of a goof, he gave her a little cross-eyed sticking-out-of-the-tongue action.
Hope began to laugh so hard that she snorted, literally. “Oh god, you are killing me. Enough. I give.” She moved from the table to the living room area of their suite. “Come on. You obviously are feeling better so let’s go shopping, shall we, husband?”
“You planning on wearing something more than that damn fine little nightie and your robe?” he called after her. When she padded back into the bedroom, he was grinning even wider. “Not that I’m complaining, wife, but I think this city doesn’t need that sort of distraction on the streets. Whatever will the Brits say when they see you in that outfit? And god, can you imagine the accidents from all the rubberneckers trying to get just one more glimpse?”
Coming out dressed in one of the high-end outfits, she smoothed her hair back with a comb and then hair barrette and nodded. “Okay, I’m ready. I just need to step into my shoes and grab my purse and I’m ready.” The diamond comb that she slipped into her hair was real, and had been a surprise to find in the jewelry box.
He was doing up some very high-end shoes before he straightened up. “You look lovely,” he said with a smile. Picking up a jacket, he slipped into it and then tugged his cuffs down. Buttoning the jacket, he walked toward her. He wasn’t wearing a tie again—not a huge surprise, David hated the things and everyone knew that. Hell, he’d put the last one he’d been forced to wear into the office shredder after he’d torn it off.
Smiling up at him Hope nodded, “And you look rather dashing yourself.” She patted his chest and nodded. “Now, let’s go out and have a look at our surroundings. Spend some money, ensure we flaunt our wealth and make sure that if anyone is watching us, they see what we want them to. After the room has been cleaned, our guys can sweep it and then we can either have dinner in or out since I am going to request that we at least have lunch out. Later.”
“I’m thinking we should dine in. It’s our last night here where we can talk freely. After tomorrow, we’ll have to assume that anything and everything we say is being recorded. Especially given the fact we’re going in under the guise of potential buyers.” Lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers lightly and squeezed.
“Good point. At least we are using our real first names, so that’s a score.” Otherwise, making love with him might prove to be interesting if she called out David instead of whatever other name he might use. “We will also need to learn how to be quiet when making love. Well, I need to learn how to be quiet when making love with you.” She knew who the loud o
ne was, and it wasn’t him.
Grinning, he shrugged. “I wasn’t going to mention that. But it might be a plan to figure something out, just in case. We don’t want to be giving anyone ideas about what we’re up to. Course, we could do that while just sitting reading the paper. As long as there are no cameras.”
“Good point. Whatever we do, we need to ensure that no one is the wiser until we are sure that we want them to know what is happening with us. Until we are sure that we are ready for everyone to know it’s just us, right?” She didn’t want to hide their relationship, but she didn’t want to have it outed before they were both ready, namely him.
“No one will be the wiser until we’re ready,” he said softly. “We’re in this together, Hope. All the decisions for our relationship will be agreed on between the two of us. We are the ones that need to be comfortable with ourselves and this new change before anyone else is a worry. Whenever you want to share, I’ll be right there with you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a nod. “We will get through this together. That’s the good thing about all of this. It’s you and me working together. We have always been a good team, now we will be even more. Now we will be a great team and partnership.” Or something like that.
He shot her a look and shook his head. “Woman, sometimes I think you just make shit up.” Grinning, he pulled open the door and let her out of the suite ahead of him. As they went to the elevator, David placed a call on his cell. “We’re going out. No, the car isn’t necessary right now. But we may need you in about four hours. Depends on what the wife buys that we will need to haul back to our suite. Good,” he hung up and nodded to her. The CIA team was alert for their approximate schedule of return to the room.
“And sometimes I do just make shit up to see if you are listening to me or not. It’s one of those fun things that I do to see if I can get your blood pressure rising. What’s funnier, it usually works. Sad but very true. I don’t know why that makes me so giggly, but there it is.”
“Well, it’s not amusing,” he said, backing her into the corner of the elevator when it arrived. “I can think of many other things you could do to keep you from becoming bored, wife. A great number of them, actually, so, the next time you feel the urge, just let me know and I’ll give you something to do instead.”
“As long as it doesn’t have anything to do with cleaning. You know how I hate to clean.” She had always hated to clean and they all teased her about it but she didn’t care. She worked damn hard and therefore she didn’t have to clean. That’s why there were maid services. Period.
“We’ll get a maid for that sort of thing, cleaning our house that is, people need jobs and I’m sure we’ll find someone suitable. But no, not to which I was referring, my sweet, darling wife.” The elevator came to a halt with a soft ding. “Our time is up, unfortunately, at this moment, so I suppose you will just have to wait to find out what I may or may not have in mind for you.”
Oh, she was certain he could come up with some amazing things for her to do in order to keep her occupied and she enjoyed that idea, a great deal. Slipping her arm into his, she allowed him to lead her regally out of the elevator and walked at his side. Her dark hair gleaming under the lights, the silky strands captured the light and the diamond comb that held her hair back glistened right along with her hair. She smiled up at him, affection clear to any that looked, and allowed him to lead her out of the hotel and in for some shopping.
Chapter Seven
A week later found them in Germany, acting the parts of a rich couple shopping and enjoying the theatre. They went out for dinner to a different restaurant every night and had, only once, seen Will and Doug. Not together and not for very long, but long enough to know both men were ensconced in their own roles.
Unfortunately, the ones they wanted to contact them hadn’t. Everyone else looking to know the rich Americans had, but not the group they wanted to reach out to them. They had to be subtle about their dealings, and very careful. They needed to drop enough clues to make those in the underworld of crime and blood diamonds aware of them, but not so much they screamed “Feds!”
No bites. Not a single one.
Back in their suite that evening, after another lovely evening out, David was pacing the living room space. He seemed tense, on edge, a little snappish even. Usually a sign that something was about to break. Whether they’d get contacted or he’d have a meltdown was still anyone’s guess. But since they couldn’t outright speak about the case in anything but the most covert and generally benign manner, it was tough to figure out where his head was at.
Hope took a drink to David, nothing but water and ice, but still, it would be a drink. “How about you come and have a shower or bath with me, David?” With the water, they could talk, in low tones of course, but they would be able to talk and that meant something, at least to her. “I would love to have you washing my back again.” She didn’t know why they weren’t getting the ones reaching out to them that they needed, either. It was frustrating beyond belief!
Taking the glass, he drank down the liquid that, if someone was watching, they would assume was vodka. Setting the glass aside he pulled her closer to him and nodded. “A shower sounds good,” he said softly. Dropping a kiss on her lips, he let her lead the way to the bedroom and the en-suite bathroom.
Once in the bathroom Hope turned on the water in the shower and then moved back to him. She stood there before him and stripped out of her clothes, her eyes never leaving his. “Naked David.” She whispered with a smile. “Come on darling, you know you want to get naked with me.” And talk. They had to freaking figure out what the hell was happening and why no one had contacted them as of yet.
Nodding, he stripped down and set his clothing on the vanity with hers. Following her into the shower, he shut the door and stepped in closer to her. Sliding his arms around her, he pulled her in tight to his body and held her to him, his cheek pressing to her hair. Slowly, so very slowly, she could feel the tension slipping from his body under the hard pound of the water.
She whispered against his ear, very softly, “I don’t understand why we have had no contact yet. Something feels off.” Her hands moved over him, she simply held onto him. “Or is it just me? It feels like there is something else going down and I don’t know what. Thoughts? Options?”
“Something is off, but my gut says to stay put a little longer,” he murmured, keeping his voice just as soft as hers. “I don’t know why this is taking so long, especially since we haven’t had any alerts come in on them moving out of the country. If it’s as big as everyone thinks, they could just be going along a little more cautiously than normal. And we all know just how paranoid these assholes are, love.”
“This is very true.” She rubbed her cheek to his and pulled back to look up at him. “I love you, David.” She didn’t whisper. It would be bad for all of their conversation to be silent in the shower, they both knew that. “How about you get my back and let me get yours?” But against his ear, she whispered. “Agreed. Two more days and then bug out.” Hopefully something happened in that two days.
Nodding, he kissed her. “Two days,” he whispered softly. “Turn around, darling, and let me at it,” he said in his regular tone. Laughing softly, he smacked her ass. “Or did you want at my back first? Because I’m always willing to go second when it comes to you, sweetheart.”
“Oh I think I definitely should get first dibs at your back and then you can work on mine.” She looked at him and grinned. “Especially since I know that your front and my back will need cleaning all over again before we are through.” And that was what was so great about it. Grabbing the soap and cloth she said, “Come on, darling, turn around for me. Let me see just how clean I can get you.”
Shaking his head at her, he gave her his back. “Don’t scrub too hard. Not all of that is dirt and grime, my sweet. But if you feel the urge to give me a little massage under my left shoulder blade, I will not argue even a little. I’m pretty sure I’ve
got a tension knot going on there.”
“Well then, who am I to deny my husband anything?” she asked with a smile and leaned into him. Her lips brushed over his shoulder and then she began to massage, rub and clean him. The massage was one that he definitely needed because he truly did have a large tension knot on his back. “There, feeling all better now?” she asked finally.
“Oh, definitely,” he said on a low moan. “God, woman, you have truly talented hands there. We should really try this with oil sometime. And I’d even be willing to get my hands greasy for you too, just so you know it’s not all about me.”
“Oh I would very, very much like that. We would need for someone on the staff to change the bedding, of course, but it’s doable. I would really love to get some oils that heat when applied to the skin. I think you would benefit from something like that, darling. You carry far too much stress on your shoulders.”
“Just the one actually,” he said, turning to face her. It was the shoulder he’d been shot through. The shot that had nearly ended his life. Tugging her close, David put his mouth to her ear. “It’s fine, it just gets sore and then I tense up,” he said softly. “You are doing wonders for all my tension though, you and your fine self know just how to relax your man,” he added in his normal tone again.
“I’m glad that I’m helping you. You certainly help me a great deal. You are my rock.” Her hands moved down over his shoulders and to his hands. “Now, I really think that you should wash me. What do you think, husband?”
“I think you should turn around and shake that fine ass of yours a little to motivate me.” Grinning, he wiggled his brows at her and laughed when she did just as he’d asked. “God, you are too precious, Hope. But you know, I think you need to expand on that comment of yours. About me being your rock?” he said when she shot him a look.
