Cassie had to admit that despite her own indifference toward the man, any woman would be proud to have a husband like Dalton. He never failed to thank Tasha for their meals, helped her carry anything heavy and was always quick with a joke when tension mounted within the group.
That proved it. She was crazy. Dangerous thinking. Very dangerous. Downright stupid.
As soon as Dalton stood, so did she. It was early yet, not totally dark, and she had no idea what he had in mind. She hoped to get him to go for a walk in the garden while they discussed their next step. If they went directly to the bedroom, there wouldn’t be any talking…
“Don’t forget that we all need to get up an hour earlier tomorrow morning,” Mary Jane said, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of chairs moving and people murmuring.
“Why?” Harvey grimaced.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” She gave them that wide bright smile that got on Cassie’s nerves. “Tomorrow we’re going on a little excursion.”
She hadn’t mentioned any sort of outing before now. They all looked at each other and then expectantly at her.
“We’re going on a nature walk to learn about the birds and the bees.”
“DAMMIT, I wish I knew if Bask has left already.” Dalton stood at their bedroom window, staring outside through the part in the drapes. “I can only see part of the driveway from here, but it doesn’t matter since he could have left anytime in the last hour.”
Cassie had just come out of the bathroom after changing into her nightshirt. The radio was on for interference, but he’d spoken too loudly. She moved closer and whispered, “I could go ask Mary Jane. Tell her I had a couple of questions for him.”
“Or I could go to the kitchen for something…” Dalton let the drapes fall into place and turned around. “…and see if his car is still—” His voice trailing off, he stared at her.
“What?” She had decided against wearing a bra or shorts under her nightshirt. But he wouldn’t know the difference, would he? And for goodness sakes, he’d already…
He noisily cleared his throat and turned back to the window. “I think I’ll go see if his car is still in the carport.”
“Dalton…”
“Yeah?” He wouldn’t turn around.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, my foot,” Cassie insisted, feeling dejected. He obviously already regretted this afternoon. He’d kept his distance from her and had done nothing but talk business ever since they got to the room. God, she wanted to sink into the floor. “You look disgusted with me, or something.
“Disgust is not what I’m feeling, trust me.”
“Would you please look at me?”
Slowly he turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
He shoved a hand through his hair, looking uneasy. “You haven’t finished telling me about your conversation with Bask today.”
She moved closer still so she could lower her voice. “There’s really nothing more. He clearly didn’t want me in his office. Our conversation was short. I said I wanted out of the marriage. He said I should keep trying. The subject of money was skirted, but he got a fax and pretty much chased me out of his office.”
“That’s it?”
“I told you I didn’t have anything really.” It hurt that his tone was suddenly all business, as if this afternoon hadn’t happened.
His gaze ran down her body, lingering on her thighs.
She crossed her arms in a protective gesture. “I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”
He muttered a curse, and all at once he grabbed her arms and pulled her to him before she could react. He kissed her hard and deep and, when she sagged against him, his hands traveled down her back and under the hem of her shirt.
When he discovered she wore thong panties, he groaned and cupped her cheeks, pulling her hard against him. He was already aroused, growing harder by the second and she had trouble catching her breath.
“Dalton,” she finally was able to whisper. “Maybe we shouldn’t—”
He kissed her silent, his large hands squeezing her as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Tempted to pull off her nightshirt, she wound her hands around his neck instead.
To her disappointment, he retreated, but only, she quickly realized so that he could slide his hands up the front of her body. He reached her breasts and palmed them, his sharp intake of breath turning her on as much as his urgent touch.
Her nipples responded instantly and he pinched the hardening nubs lightly between his thumbs and fingers.
She worked her hands under his shirt, running her palms over the swell of his pectoral muscles, experiencing the hardening of his nipples.
“Cassie, honey, take your shirt off.” He’d barely got out the words as he kissed and nibbled the corners of her mouth, her jaw, the soft skin behind her ear. “I want to see you.”
She grew so wet she wanted to forget that she had second thoughts. And instead, lie beside him, feel the length of him slide deep inside of her.
“Dalton, I don’t— Oh. God.” She arched her head back when he kneaded her breasts in a maddeningly sensual way that made her want to push him backward onto the bed and have her way with him. Screw being an adult.
Except this was not only an important case, but her first, and she didn’t want to let Jennifer down.
He lowered his head and through the nightshirt, he suckled one of her nipples. She strained against him, wishing the damn fabric were out of the way.
Damn, damn, damn.
“Dalton.” She kissed his forehead, trying to take some of the sting out of what she was about to say. “We need to talk.”
He moved his mouth to her other breast and she closed her eyes. His hands remained under her shirt, kneading and touching and chipping away at her resolve.
“Dalton, did you hear me?”
He drew back, and she let out a breath mixed with relief and disappointment, but then he lifted her night-shirt and stared at her breasts. He kissed the crown of one, and then the other before letting her shirt fall back in place.
“I heard you,” he said, raising his glassy gaze to hers.
“Having second thoughts?”
“No. Maybe. I’m just trying to be a professional here.”
With a lightning-quick move, he had her against him, his tongue in her mouth and she melted into him. He broke contact almost as quickly and she stumbled without his support. “You mean like that?” He grinned.
She hadn’t uttered a single protest. She’d dived right in. Embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.
“Don’t worry about it, honey. We’ve both got some thinking to do.” He touched her cheek. “Besides, I have to go out for a while.”
“Where?”
“Check out a hunch.”
“Are you going to clue me in?”
“Later. I promise.”
She didn’t believe him. “You’re leaving because of me, aren’t you?”
“No.” He gave his head an adamant shake. “That’s why I wanted to know if Bask had left. I wanted to leave to make a phone call, ask one of my buddies at the bureau to check something for me.”
“Oh.” She rubbed her arms. He looked earnest enough, but she still didn’t like that he’d be gone. “I’ll do some reading while you’re gone. If Mary Jane asks for you I’ll tell her we had a fight and you left to cool off.”
His expression fell briefly, probably remembering how he’d taken off after their morning session. “Good plan. I shouldn’t be long.”
His gaze fell to her bare legs and his chest heaved. Abruptly he turned to leave.
“Dalton, wait.” She went to him and got close enough to feel his heat, the warmth of his breath. She wanted desperately to kiss him again, but she wouldn’t. “We’ve been talking too loudly. They’ve heard everything.”
Guilt flickered in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “About the bugging…there isn’t any. It start
ed as a joke and then when I realized we had to get cozy every time we wanted to talk and—ah, shit. I lied.”
Cassie smiled. “I know.”
DALTON HADN’T BROUGHT his cell phone. He’d wanted nothing on him or in the car that might give him away. He drove to the convenience store he’d used earlier in town, where he’d bought a calling card and then used their payphone. He didn’t like that it faced the street but he’d made sure Bask had left the house some time ago, and at least there wasn’t much traffic.
He punched his old partner’s cell phone number and waited for his friend to pick up.
“Hello.”
“Frank, it’s me.”
“Hey, you back in Chicago?”
“Nope, still in Texas.”
“So why are you calling so damn late?”
Dalton shook his head. It was only nine-thirty, but anything after nine was late to Frank.
“I know, but this is business. I have a couple of names I want you to check out for me.”
“You working undercover?”
Dalton hesitated. Once again he hadn’t followed procedure and informed his boss of his actions. Frank was a good guy. He wouldn’t say anything, but Dalton didn’t want to put him in the middle.
“Sort of.”
“You’re not working on the Bask case anymore?”
“That’s what this is about.”
Frank paused. “But you didn’t tell the brass you went undercover and now you want me to get your info for you.”
“I didn’t say that.”
Frank chuckled. “If you’re worried about my pension, you should have thought about it before you roped me into helping you with that armored car heist arrest.”
Dalton winced. “They knew you had nothing to do with the surprise raid. I told them you thought I’d gotten clearance from the bureau.”
“Bullshit, Styles. They knew you weren’t smart enough to have put that raid together by yourself.”
Dalton sighed. “Frank, you gotta quit trying to cover for me. You’re too damned close to retirement to muck it up.”
“That’s what Marie says. She told me I can’t go out and play with you anymore.” The older man laughed. “Hey, Marie, hand me that paper and pencil.”
“Tell her I said hey.”
“Hell, no, I don’t want her to know it’s you.”
Dalton smiled. There was a lot of truth in that sentiment. He’d known Frank’s wife for almost ten years. He liked her a lot and he knew she liked him, inviting him over for most holidays, but she didn’t want him getting her husband in trouble anymore. Who could blame her?
“Okay, shoot.”
“Two names. One is Simone Harding, about five-seven, auburn hair, green eyes, and I’d guess mid-thirties. She has a slight French accent but either it’s phony or she’s lived in the States a long time. She could have aliases, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Hold on. I don’t know shorthand.”
Dalton looked around as he waited for Frank to tell him to continue. Simone was probably just who she seemed to be…a pathetic lush looking for attention. But Cassie was right, she and Grant had no reason to be at the encounter. And this was supposed to be their second time? If they were really married, he hadn’t met a couple less interested in trying to make their relationship work. It just didn’t make sense.
That wasn’t the only oddity that triggered his interest. There was a connection between Mary Jane and Simone he couldn’t identify, as if Mary Jane had something over the other woman.
“Hey, you fall asleep, or what?”
Dalton switched the receiver to his other ear. “I take it you’re ready.”
“Shoot.”
Dalton smiled when he heard Marie in the background telling him to stop using that word. They’d been married thirty-two years and seemed genuinely happy. He envied them. “Next is Grant Harding, dark hair, brown eyes, close to six feet, pushing forty.”
“Married to Simone?”
“So they say.”
“Ah. I’ll find out. He’s not French I take it.”
“Nope.”
“Any idea where he might be from?”
“Come on, Frank, if I knew that I would’ve given you the information. I haven’t gone that soft working this friggin’ fluff case.”
His friend grunted. “You got shafted. No question about it. Higgins shouldn’t have stuck you with the Bask case. Political, that’s all it is. I’m glad I’m getting out next year.”
“So is Marie.”
“Yeah, she says hi, by the way. She figured out it was you.”
Dalton checked his watch. “Sorry I don’t have more for you to go on, but cross what I gave you with our lineup of grifters. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“First thing in the morning. I’m surprised you don’t sound too put out with this assignment.”
His first thought was of Cassie, knowing she was the reason. “I’m just trying to wrap it up and get Higgins off my back.”
“Ah, hell, boy, don’t tell me you’re starting to grow up.” Frank’s uproarious laughter annoyed the hell out of Dalton.
“Could be. Scary thought, huh? Anyway, buddy, thanks, but I gotta get back.”
“Call me tomorrow afternoon and I should have something for you.”
“Thanks. Now, go kiss Marie for me.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He severed the connection.
Dalton hung up and got in the Jag but he didn’t start it right away. He rested his head back and thought about Cassie. How could he feel as if he’d known her for a lifetime when they’d met less than a week ago?
Maybe because she didn’t play games like some women did. She was out there with her opinions and observations, and she was comfortable with her body in a way he found totally sexy.
He remembered their parting words and smiled. Okay, so they had both engaged in a little game playing. He wondered when she’d figured out their room wasn’t bugged. She was smart and had good instincts. She probably realized it wouldn’t have been cost or time effective for Bask to have had the rooms bugged. He learned all he needed to know about each couple through the group and private sessions.
Besides, Bask’s typical M.O. meant that he never stayed in one place long. Generally less than a year, long enough to woo some unsuspecting woman and then take off with the goods. Two of the couples had been through this encounter week twice. Obviously he had his sights on one of the wives, assuming Simone wasn’t involved with the scam. If so, that left Zelda.
Kathy was a poor target. It was obvious she wanted too much to please Tom. It was also obvious she loved the guy.
Cassie still remained a good candidate. The thought irked him. Just thinking of her alone with Bask made Dalton want to punch the guy in his pretty boy face.
He started the Jag, even angrier with himself for allowing that kind of emotion in. He couldn’t afford to think of Cassie as anything but a partner. Like he’d think of Frank.
Yeah, right. He was in so much damn trouble, he better wrap up this case quickly. In the meantime, he’d sleep on the floor.
11
“MORNIN’,” CASSIE MUMBLED as she rolled onto her back and stretched her arms over her head.
Dalton smiled. She wasn’t really awake yet. He’d turned off the alarm two minutes before it was supposed to ring, but she must have heard him moving around.
He pulled the sheet up to her shoulders just in case her nightshirt had ridden up during the night. Bad enough he’d let himself climb into bed beside her two hours ago, he didn’t need to test his mettle any more.
Her eyes drifted open and then closed again, and she made a soft whimpering sound that put his mind on a totally different and dangerous track. He slid out of bed.
At the sudden movement, she opened her eyes again, and then raised herself on her elbows. “What time is it?”
“Seven. You still look tired. Didn’t you sleep well?” He’d worn a pair of sweats to sleep in, and now he pulled on a T-shirt.
She blinked a couple of times and her sleepiness started to clear. So did her memory of last night, judging by the accusation entering her yes. “I waited up for you until after midnight.”
“Yeah, well, I had trouble finding a payphone that worked.”
Not only did she look at him with disbelief written across her face, but also she looked disappointed.
“Okay, that’s a lie.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I drove around for a couple of hours.”
She arched her brows and waited expectantly.
What? She wanted more of an explanation? Shit. “I’m a coward, okay? I didn’t trust myself to come back here too soon.”
“Why?”
It was his turn to stare in disbelief.
“Why do you think?”
“I asked first.”
“So it’s okay for you to have second thoughts but not me?” He smiled to take the sting out of his words when her expression fell. “Or do you just want to hear how beautiful and tempting you are?”
She sank down, pulled the covers over her face, and muttered a muffled, “I do not. I know what I look like in the morning, and it ain’t pretty.”
“You are so wrong.” He tugged at the sheets, but she wouldn’t let go. “You have to come out some time.”
“No, I don’t. I’m playing hooky today. I’m going to tell Mary Jane I’m sick and need to stay in bed, and then I’m going to sleep for five blessed more hours.”
“Right, as if you’re not the least bit curious about this birds and bees excursion.”
She pulled down the sheets. “What do you think that’s about?”
“I have no idea.”
“Those people are nuts. It’s probably just another way to get us away from the house.”
Dalton smiled at the way her hair tangled only on one side and tended to stick up. She had a couple of black smudges under her eyes but they were only noticeable because her skin was so smooth and flawless. “Or a way to cause friction between the couples.”
“I don’t get it. How can anyone believe that what we’ve done could help get a marriage back on track? I mean, the open discussions are good, but even they aren’t facilitated correctly.” She shook her head. “These aren’t stupid people. Most of them are educated and affluent enough to be savvy.”
Hands On Page 12
