Hitting The Mark

by Jill Monroe

Eric switched channels on his walkie-talkie. “Where is Danni?” he asked the staff in the casino’s security control room. Was Danni where she could observe her father?

  “I don’t see her,” the man on duty said. The eye in the sky cameras throughout the casino would have picked her up if she’d been on the floor. She wasn’t scheduled to work right now, but it was his job to know where she was at all times.

  He didn’t panic. Eric never panicked. A cool head and simple logic made him a natural to work undercover. His gut instinct kept him from making mistakes. And now something didn’t feel right.

  Eric nearly sprinted to the elevator. He had to see, reassure himself that Danni was there in the suite, rather than doing some potentially criminal act on behalf of her father.

  But the room was empty. And his suspicions were piqued. He called her apartment, only got her answering machine. He left a message, shooting for concerned boyfriend rather than apprehensive undercover lawman.

  DANNI UNLOCKED her apartment, and musty air hit her. She hadn’t been home in a couple of days, preferring to stay with Eric in his suite. Idiot.

  Now it felt good to be in familiar surroundings. She could trust her old-fashioned couch. Her faith wouldn’t be misplaced in the futon she’d bought new at the supercenter. And she had absolute confidence in the two mismatched chairs in the kitchen.

  She didn’t reside in a lavish space in a beautiful hotel. Though her cheap apartment with the drooping blinds and faded carpet was at least no Eric-created illusion. Rubbing her temples, Danni flattened her back against the wall.

  She’d gotten a headache from grinding her back teeth in anger. Danni welcomed the anger. It was a lot easier to deal with than the pain, and the thought of Eric’s sexy eyes and promising smile. And lying mouth. Jerk. May he’d get poked by the pin of his badge and his tetanus wouldn’t be up-to-date.

  First things first. She had to warn her dad the feds were on to him. Maybe the threat of another brush with the law would scare him straight. Although if his promises to his own daughter and several years in prison hadn’t done the trick, she wasn’t sure this would.

  The message light on her machine was blinking twice. Her heartbeat quickened, because she knew one of the messages had to be from Eric. She’d turned off her cell phone. Did the agent need to contact his prey? She pressed the message button.

  “I didn’t see you on the floor during my rounds. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” That deep voice of his didn’t match her new Eric Reynolds image.

  “Yeah, as if you care,” she said. Danni closed her eyes and bit on her bottom lip as the hurt of hearing Eric’s insincere, deceitful, two-faced…

  Danni took a deep breath. She was dancing too close to the hysteria line again. She bit her lip hard, and for one moment she let the hurt she’d held tight really flow through her. Eric. He had a job to do, she could understand that on some level. Why’d he have to do it like that? Why’d he have to make her love him? Why’d he make her crave things she knew she had no business yearning for in the first place.

  He dangled the one thing she hungered for above everything else. Love. Respectful, mutual, passionate love. It was a need she hadn’t even realized she had until Eric awoke it in her. He was clearly very good at his job. He’d studied her well.

  Come to think of it, Eric’s whole message was annoying. He never just asked something along the lines of, “Would you like to have dinner with me?” It was always “Let’s do this” or “Come with me to this” as if her agreement was implied. Although it had been.

  Ugh. No more take-charge, alpha-type men for her in the future. Losers from now on all the way. There was something a girl could trust about a man she had low expectations of.

  Danni had been so excited about Eric at first. So determined to change her dating habits. How much better off would she have been if she’d stuck to her old habits?

  A lot. She deleted his message with a jab from her finger.

  The next message was from her dad. “Danni-bear, don’t worry about that thing we talked about earlier.” Danni sighed in relief. “I’ve worked things out on my own. I’m meeting with your boyfriend tonight.”

  Danni sucked in a breath in panic. Eric moved fast. Had she left a trace that she’d been snooping? Had her hasty exit with no explanation tipped him off? She broke out in a sweat and her hands grew shaky again.

  Grab and go. That was the Flynn plan of action whenever a con went bust. She picked up the receiver and dialed her father’s number at the halfway house. He needed to go, and forget the grabbing.

  No answer. Danni grunted in frustration.

  She must tip off her father before Eric got to him. Somehow she must distract the lying jerk long enough, restrain him somehow…

  Tie him up.

  Her eyes widened. Of course. It was perfect and he wouldn’t suspect a thing. Despite the utter anger she felt toward him, her body still reacted as she remembered how he’d let her tie him up and do whatever she wanted to with him, and how he enjoyed it.

  He’d trusted her then.

  No, it was just more tactic he’d used to get her to trust him.

  Wait a minute. The man had rocked her world. Why shouldn’t he do it one more time? The lower-than-pond-scum liar owed her at least an amazing farewell orgasm before she told him goodbye. And if a few of his law enforcement buddies happened to stumble into his suite and find him naked and tied up…

  A smile broke across her face. Oh, yeah, she’d leave him like that in the room for anyone to find. Or she could phone in a tip to some hotline. She almost laughed out loud at the image of news cameras bursting into his room trying to catch a crime in progress for the evening news. The feds could add that little detail to their case study.

  In a rush now, Danni grabbed her duffel bag and began stuffing it with rope and duct tape. She tossed in a few silky scarves to throw him off the scent. It was time to execute a seduction of her own this time. The Danni Flynn version of the romance con on Eric Reynolds.

  Her plan was simple. Draw him away from the floor, up to his room. She’d put him on the send for a change. Do him, then do the deed. He wouldn’t be forgetting the convincer she planned to give him for a long time.

  ERIC GRIPPED Danni by the hips, his cock already to a painful point. How many times had she been in his arms in this elevator? And here they were again on the way to his suite, when he’d had every intention of slowing things down between them.

  He was crazy. He was crazy. He was crazy. But then Danni made him crazy. A simple assignment. A simple case of laying out the bait, and Eric would have the means to get the money and the crook all at the same time. His career would skyrocket.

  So why did he feel guilty? He rubbed his jaw in frustration.

  The guilt came about the time he fell in love with Danni. Eric could pinpoint the precise moment when it happened. When he began to think of Danni as a woman he wanted to be connected to, rather than as an asset to his case. When she snuggled against his chest as they sat beneath the stars and she told him of the little girl she’d once been. The little girl who’d stand next to a mother in a store, pretending for a moment that she was hers.

  Foolishly, he’d thought her father might not take the bait. That Daniel really had turned a new leaf. That the investigation could take another turn, and he could take another turn in his relationship with Danni, too.

  Then her father made his move. Didn’t the bastard know what he’d done to his own daughter? Danni Flynn craved a life of normal things.

  Before he’d met Danni, fell in love with her, he’d looked forward to catching her father. Now Eric faced Daniel’s next move with dread. How did you tell the woman you’ve been sleeping with that you’d started the whole thing to slam her father back into jail?

  “Danni,” he began. He should do it now, despite the white-hot desire she stirred in him.

  Her eyes turned to slits. She was absolutely beautiful. He could spend all day in bed looking at this blond goddes
s. She placed her finger against his lips. “Shut up and kiss me,” she told him. Then she moved her finger and replaced it with her mouth.

  Her honey taste was addictive. Nothing smelled better than her hair, and all he could think of was burying himself in her.

  There was a determination about her tonight. Almost ruthless. This was new from her. It excited him. But then everything Danni did excited him.

  It hurt like hell to break apart from her as the ding of the elevator sounded. His breath came in pants.

  He should try again to tell her. He really should.

  Then her eyes found his. “I want you right now,” she said in a tone that made his cock throb.

  He’d tell her after.

  How many times had he rushed her to his room? That first time they hadn’t even gotten their clothes off. Almost didn’t the second. She was passion and temptation, and tonight she was intriguing aggression.

  He fished for his keycard. “I hated finding this bed empty today,” he said after he opened the door.

  “Don’t talk,” she said as she tugged his shirt from the waistband of his pants.

  Eric couldn’t get enough of this woman, hauling her against him. His fingers made quick work of the buttons of her blouse, only to groan when he saw the sexy black bra she wore.

  “You’re so naughty. It turns me on so much.”

  Danni pulled away from him, walking backwards to the bed as she lowered the straps of her bra. There was a gleam in her eye that made him think of stroking every inch of her breasts. “Then come get me,” she said, her voice carnal, filled with wicked promise.

  He glanced toward the clock. He was to meet with her father in less than two hours to set the final plan in action. Eric was to play the classic dupe to her father’s consummate con artist.

  Yet, he still felt nagging guilt.

  If her father took the bait, then that was that. Daniel Flynn was a grown man who could always walk away. Whatever her old man decided, it had nothing to do with them. Eric wouldn’t let it. He’d comfort her. He’d hold her. He’d…love her.

  Yes, he’d love her. He loved her.

  She’d be hurt when she learned of his involvement. There was no getting around that, but he had the rest of his life to make it up to her. And he’d hire her father a good lawyer. Something he’d never thought he’d do.

  Eric turned his head to face her. Drink in her beautiful body. This wasn’t about Daniel Flynn. This heat. This passion was about them. Nothing else.

  Right now he wanted her out of that bra, those sexy low-ride panties and up on the bed. He stalked toward her, his fingers already circling her back for the clasp. With a quick snap, it fell to the floor and her luscious breasts were for his eyes only.

  She sucked in a breath when his tongue found her nipple, growing tighter within his mouth. He loved hearing her gasp and moan. Loved the feeling of her body shivering at his touch. She was perfect.

  Eric ran his hands down her waist. He lifted her into his arms and onto the bed. Followed her down to the mattress.

  Danni seemed tense tonight, preoccupied. Her gaze wouldn’t quite meet his, and she’d flinched slightly when he first returned her caresses. He had been taking her away from her studies. He knew what to do to make her relax.

  He kissed a path down her rib cage and over the sweet softness of her belly. Her muscles dipped and contracted under the touch of his tongue. Her silky black panties barely covered anything, and served only to tease and tempt him further. He nipped at the edge with his teeth, drawing them down her hips until she lay naked before him. Eric gently gripped her knees, pushing them apart with his shoulders.

  He found her wet and he couldn’t wait to drive her crazy, feel her hips arch against his lips.

  Danni cried out as he tasted her. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. He loved giving her pleasure. Wanted to keep giving her more.

  Danni’s grip on his back tightened as she tried to pull him upwards. “I don’t…it’s too much…”

  Her words trailed off, but he knew what she needed. It took a lot for this woman to trust. Right now before him, she was too open, too exposed. She wanted sex to be a game, a power play. He could work within those confines. Hell, he loved working in those confines. Soon, she’d trust him fully.

  He lifted from her body, and Danni towed him upward until he braced himself above her body. She closed her eyes rather than meet his gaze, but her beautiful face was a study in concentration.

  Hooking her leg around his hips, she tugged him toward her, sending his erection into direct contact with her slick heat. He paused for a moment, getting the condom in place. Then he thrust inside her, closing his eyes with how good she felt surrounding him.

  She met his thrusts, running her fingers along his hips. Making him drive harder, deeper when her hands teased his skin.

  “Danni, you’re so incredible,” he breathed into her ear. He’d never come across a woman as strong and determined as she was. His fingers found her nipple and he gently stroked her. He’d never get enough of stroking this woman. And hearing her sigh in response.

  She tensed below him, and he stilled. “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “Everything’s…wonderful,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.

  But he knew something wasn’t quite right. Although they were new lovers, he’d already memorized every spot to caress that made her gasp. He longed to have her moan as she came apart in his arms.

  “You feel so good, Danni,” he told her, his voice sounding ragged.

  She sighed and made a moan deep in her throat. Now that was more like it. He stroked inside her harder now, wanting to send her over the edge. Suddenly she gripped his strong shoulders and pushed him away, their bodies stayed joined.

  “I have a game I want to play,” she said, her voice a sexy temptation.

  “You and your games.”

  “I want to tie you up and then do naughty things to your body.”

  Now? She wanted to stop and play a game now? “Next time,” he promised.

  She shook her head and smiled. Pure provocative invitation. He’d probably agree to anything right now.

  “No, it will be more fun this way. Our bodies will ache for completion, but we won’t let them have it until we turn up the heat even more. It will be almost tantric.”

  Eric made a noise deep in his throat at the torturous image she’d planted in his head. “I can never say no to you.” He wrapped her in his arms, breathing deep of her flowery feminine scent.

  But his woman wanted to play a game. Reluctantly he rolled so she straddled him. She cried out above him as this new position drove him deeper into her, and he groaned.

  “I’m all yours,” he said, biting back his frustration.

  “You just bet you will be.”

  “What?” he asked, opening his eyes to a great view of her breasts.

  Danni shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. I have the rope in my bag,” she told him.

  His gaze moved upward and he met her eyes. A glint glowed there, and her hair was a wild mane. His woman was a hellcat. He was so damn lucky. “You came prepared.”

  That mysterious smile of hers only made him want her more.

  Eric groaned again as she pulled away from his erection. He couldn’t take his eyes off her amazing body as she took way too long to reach her bag. He needed her in bed. Now.

  She tossed her bag on the bedside table, then returned to him in a slow stride that made her hips sway. Everything about her at this moment was about the seduction, and his response was primal.

  Bringing out a rope, Danni became all business. And that rope was all business. Thick with large knots. A small trickle of unease ran down his back. This was definitely not the tie from before. “You’re serious. I expected a scarf or something.”

  She winked then reached over and drew out the kind of fluffy scarves he’d anticipated. “The scarf I’ll put against your skin. That way you won’t get chafed. Wouldn’t want you showing up to
work with burn marks. Trust me,” she said.

  At this point, she could probably convince him burn marks wouldn’t be so bad. Eric lifted his hand.

  Danni pressed a kiss on the skin of his wrist, sending a shock down his arm. The scarf slid into place. Using the rope, she secured his arm to the bedpost. Every nerve ending ached as she secured his other arm and both legs. Every graze of her skin against his, every accidental touch ratcheted up his need for her.

  Danni’s expression grew guarded as she stroked the hair away from his face. She trailed her finger along his strong cheekbone and jaw, before she got to his lips. Eric sucked in a breath as she leisurely traced a path over his chest and abs.

  Danni bent over, and traced his bottom lip with her tongue. She tasted like wine and sexy woman. She tasted like his.

  Danni kissed him hard. He also tasted something sad and…bitter on her lips. She touched him as if she were trying to commit the feel of him to her memory. When only the sounds of their ragged breathing filled the bedroom of his suite, she scrambled off the bed.

  He lifted his head, seeing her sexy backside as she searched for something on the floor “What are you doing?” he asked.

  Danni’s head shot up, her expression concerned. All traces of desire gone. He watched her grab her jeans. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m getting dressed.”

  “What?” He managed to sit up higher, watch her slip into her bra.

  “I’m leaving.”

  “What the hell…? Danni, this isn’t funny.” Eric tugged hard at his bonds.

  She finally met his gaze. No trace of the trust or the love he’d spotted in her eyes yesterday. Just hurt and anger. And cold calculation.

  “I’m not meaning it to be a joke.”

  Eric began to strain against the rope, pulling with his arms. Something was very, very wrong here.

  “I wasn’t lying about being a Scout,” she said. “I really do know how to make good knots. Don’t worry, despite the Do Not Disturb sign I placed on the knob, I’ll call room service to come get you. After a few hours. That should give you plenty of time to reflect on your crimes.”