But maybe that was the idea. He wanted her to remain wary.
She supposed she should have felt relieved that she was in Daniel’s sights and under his protection. But she’d rather have been the invisible nobody she’d felt like before they met.
“That’s good,” she returned brightly, ready to say good-night to him. “Thanks for checking it out.”
“Wait where you are,” he said. “I’ve just parked and I’m coming to walk you up to your apartment. You’re in your assigned parking space?”
Don’t bother, she wanted to say to him. Yet what if there really was someone after her? Someone who knew where she lived, who hadn’t followed her home, because he had driven ahead to wait for her.
She despised this direction of her thoughts. But she realized she couldn’t be too careful.
“That’s right.” She also hated how raspy she sounded. “Come ahead. We can laugh about your overcautiousness over some wine, if you’d like.”
But would she like it—having him in her apartment after such an emotional time?
Well, he wouldn’t stay long. She could make sure of that.
She could pretend to try to seduce him. That would scare him off.
“Fine.” There was a hint of an echo and, startled, she looked out the window on her side of the car.
There he was, looking in. Unnerved, she nearly jumped.
What if there really had been someone following her—and he had crept up on her that way?
Okay, she would allow Daniel to walk her to her place and make sure it was safe, and then she would rescind her offer of a glass of wine.
He was frightening her, and she didn’t like it.
* * *
Daniel was on full alert as he walked briskly beside Beth to the front door of her apartment building, holding her close, one arm around her. She was on his left side just in case he had to grab his gun from his pocket with his right hand.
Yes, he had come armed. He always kept a semiautomatic pistol in his car, and he’d grabbed it before hustling over here to be with Beth.
He could have been mistaken about that SUV following her, but he doubted it. He’d been working for the government in law enforcement positions too long to doubt his instincts.
And on this assignment, he’d latched on to the feeling that there was no such thing as being too cautious.
The atmosphere at Corcoris just didn’t feel right, even after today, when he’d felt as if he had made a little bit of progress—both in finding something to hold against the company and its executives and in coming up with a plan to work better with Beth for now.
Work better with her? Yes. And keep her safe without letting himself get so seduced, so involved, that he’d let anything happen to her.
Like Edie.
“Excuse me,” Beth said formally, and pulled her arm away. She dug inside her purse for her key.
That gave him an opportunity to look around, to their side, around the high oleander bushes that grew near the building’s door. Behind them, toward the dimly lit and currently traffic-free street.
Where his car was parked now.
There weren’t a lot of spaces left, and he’d checked the curb for a block either way before joining Beth. None of the parked vehicles was a silver SUV with the license plate number he had memorized.
That didn’t mean the driver wasn’t around here somewhere, although Daniel hoped he wasn’t. Daniel preferred not having a confrontation while he was here undercover.
He would do everything he had to, though, to protect Beth and himself, even give away his good geek cover and take on a physical fight. And he was damned good at fighting when necessary.
But what he really wanted was simply to collect the necessary evidence against Corcoris, then get out of there. Get them both out of there.
Beth pushed a code onto the keys of the building’s security system and then opened the door. He followed her inside, then closed the door and made sure it was locked.
“Thanks,” she said. “It was nice of you to make sure everything was okay, but I’m home now. Or at least my home for the moment.” Her smile toward him was both brave and bittersweet.
It made him want to take her into his arms, but he wouldn’t do that. Even so, he wasn’t through with her this evening.
“Let me make sure your apartment’s okay, too, and then I’ll leave,” he told her.
She looked ready to protest.
“Yes, I know your building has good locks and a security system and all that,” he said, “but you might as well not argue and let me check. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Her smile looked frustrated, but that was all right. He followed her up the stairs to the second floor and waited while she again carefully unlocked the door.
“Let me go first.” He slipped by before she had a chance to argue with him.
Holding his firearm out and swinging it from one target point to another, he looked around the tiny unit. It would be hard for anyone to hide here, but he checked everywhere, including even the bathroom and between the narrowly spaced kitchen counters.
“Looks fine,” he said. He hesitated. “Would you like me to come by in the morning and make sure you aren’t followed to work?” Maybe that was overkill, but he knew what he had seen, and he was worried for her.
“No. I’ll be fine.” She smiled up at him, her violet eyes luminous and sparkling and seeming to dare him to contradict her.
“I’m sure you will,” he said huskily, wishing he meant it. Damn, but her stubbornness seemed to make him want to protect her even more.
Her acting so brave and ornery shouldn’t turn him on, but it did.
Hell, he wanted to tease her. Make her feel even a fraction of the sexual need that, now that the danger seemed past, had begun flexing through him.
“I don’t suppose you’d want to give me a good-night kiss to send me on my way.” He made it a statement but caught the sudden heated awareness that seemed to pass across the smooth contours of her beautiful face.
Did she intend for her full lips to edge out in a pout like that? Intentional or not, she was challenging him.
He had an unrestrainable urge to kiss her.
And so he lowered his mouth to hers, even as he bent to take her into his arms.
* * *
Okay. Maybe she had wordlessly agreed that he could kiss her by not responding to his dare.
But she knew what she was doing—didn’t she? Sure, she was attracted to this man. She admitted it—to herself, at least.
That was all, though. She was not looking for any relationship any more than he was, didn’t want to seem as if she were paying him back for his help, his protectiveness, his working with her instead of trying to send her away, whatever.
Yet another kiss? Sure.
It didn’t mean anything.
She threw herself into it, adoring the feel of his heated mouth on hers, even as he pulled her closer yet.
She also adored how hard his body felt against her. Again.
Oh, yes, his touch along her back and side made her feel so aware of her sexual needs all over again. Needs she’d thought she had tucked inside once more, to be awakened someday only when she intentionally decided it was the right time and the right man.
This was definitely the wrong time and the wrong man, and yet she heard her soft moan as she again pressed herself against him.
His voice was husky as he murmured against her lips, “You’d better throw me out right now, Beth. Otherwise, I’m going to touch you all over. All over.” As if in illustration, one of his hands went from her side upward and forward and gently grasped her breast, teasing her nipple with his thumb.
“Time for you to leave, Daniel.” She attempted to sound firm, to pull back, but instead she gas
ped as that hand traveled down the front of her body, stopping at her aching hidden feminine hot spot below. He grasped her there, outside her jeans, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to yank them off, let him touch her skin to skin.
Had all those threats, those descriptions of someone following her, been a ploy to get her back in bed with him?
But if so, why not just try to seduce her at his apartment?
“Okay, I’ll leave,” he finally said, but he hadn’t removed either his mouth or his hands from her.
“Good.” But she had slid her hands down his back and now gripped his buttocks, pulling him more tightly against her so she held not even the tiniest doubt that he was as turned on as she. Not with that hard erection pushing against her so erotically and insistently. She wanted, even more than pulling off her own clothes, to undress him and touch him there. Stroke him.
And more.
Bad idea, she told herself, even as she felt him unbutton her shirt and pull it off. Then he reached down for the closures of her jeans.
“No,” she said firmly. She was breathing hard, definitely eager for more but finally coming to her senses. Wasn’t she?
She took a step back before he could completely undo her jeans. Looked at him and saw the enticing bulge in his pants that she had felt moments before.
She wanted him.
But all they were was collaborators in a plan to save lives—including, perhaps, their own.
This kind of attraction, this need, was foolish.
Yet did it really matter in the scheme of things if they took advantage of this additional time to bond, to make love, to relieve a little of the pressure they’d been under?
No, it didn’t matter. And in fact, didn’t it make sense to be allies in as many ways as possible?
“Come here, Daniel,” she said, grasping his jeans at the waist.
And then she steered him, ignoring his sexy, smug and oh-so-magnetic smile, toward her couch.
“Okay, you’re the big strong man,” she told him, cocking her head slightly as she attempted to mirror his hot and inviting smile. “You can pull this to convert my sofa into a bed.”
He obliged immediately.
That was when his phone rang.
Chapter 13
Daniel froze. He had just lowered the base of the pullout bed to the floor and glanced at the neatly tucked-in floral blanket on top of it. Much better for making love than the narrow surface of the couch. And the last time had been great even so.
But now the continuous ringtone of his phone grated at his ears, jabbing at the anticipation that had hardened his body.
Hell. He might as well answer. The sensual mood that had enthralled them was already toast.
He glanced toward Beth. She regarded him expectantly. Of course she figured he would answer. Was that a hint of regret shadowing those gorgeous violet eyes?
He yanked his phone from his pocket and looked at the caller ID number.
It was one of the CIU internal staff, the guy he had contacted before to run the license plate of the SUV that had followed Beth.
This was a call he should have expected, particularly since he’d made it clear that the information sought could be critical to helping his search for evidence—and, perhaps, to saving the life of one of the people whose identity the ID Division had helped to bury.
He should have turned off the damned phone.
On the other hand, if the information was critical, he’d have kicked himself for not grabbing it immediately. He pushed the button to answer. “Hi, Greg. Whatcha got?” He slowly lowered himself onto the nearest surface of the pullout bed, realizing he’d be a lot better off if he had more than one free hand to reposition his now-shrinking erection, not to mention his messed-up clothes. He’d take care of both later.
“I found the info on that plate,” was the response. “I’ll text it to you, too, but figured you’d want to hear.”
“So who’s the SOB who owns that SUV?” Daniel tried to keep his tone and words light to ease the fear that suddenly appeared on Beth’s face. He reached out his free arm and gestured for her to join him on the bed. Just to sit.
“It’s registered to a guy in Malibu, name of John Waterson. He reported the thing stolen yesterday morning.”
Daniel made himself continue to breathe evenly to avoid scaring Beth even more. But the fact the vehicle was stolen vindicated him.
The driver had at minimum been a thief. Had he stolen it to try to obscure his identity when he used the SUV for something heinous?
Like following and harming someone in his sights...Beth?
Did the thief work at Corcoris Pharmaceuticals or otherwise for Preston in some other capacity? He doubted it was Preston himself, but he’d reserve judgment till he learned the ID of the culprit for sure.
Hell, someone needed to find the stolen vehicle and check it for prints. Not to mention arrest the thief before he could do any further harm.
“I wondered about that,” Daniel responded. “And I’ll look forward to your texting the info. Has the vehicle been located?” He felt Beth stir beside him and glanced her way. Stolen, he mouthed.
Her eyes widened. She might not have believed him before about the vehicle following her. She might not now, either. The fact it was stolen didn’t mean the driver had any interest in her. But it certainly gave more credibility to his concerns, and she clearly got that.
He spoke with Greg a little longer. No, the SUV had not yet been located but its information had been added to the various official lists of stolen vehicles. Yes, as a member of a federal task force with interest in that particular SUV, he would be notified if and when the thing showed up.
“Thanks, Greg,” Daniel finally said, and hung up. He turned to face Beth, who still sat beside him, unmoving. The torrid, sensuous expression that she’d worn before when he’d pulled out the bed had been replaced by what appeared to be a studied blankness. No emotion at all radiated from it.
Which made him want to take her into his arms anyway to comfort her.
Instead, he said, “I gather you got the gist of all that.”
She nodded. “Then you were right about my being followed.”
“Could be.” He didn’t need to rub it in, especially when there was, in fact, a little bit of doubt.
“And it’s still missing?”
He nodded.
“So what do we do now?” She turned slightly as if assessing where they were—on her bed.
“We do as we’d already planned.” At the sudden shock and negativity in her expression, he laughed. “Not that. But even though we shouldn’t have gone so far anyway, too bad we were stopped by something like this.” He paused, waiting for her to invite him to start again. He wanted to. But he also knew how much of a mistake it would be, especially now.
“You’re right,” she said. “Let’s forget about that. But tell me more about that SUV.”
Was she forgetting about how they had started to have sex again—how hot they’d been? How attracted?
Somehow, considering the sad expression on her lovely face, he doubted it. But he wouldn’t press it. “What I meant,” he continued, “was that I’ll double-check your premises, then go home. Tomorrow we report for work as usual at Corcoris, continue our respective searches there for evidence and report to one another as needed. A couple of changes, though.”
“What?” Her voice was throaty, as if she had tried to swallow her fear. He forbore from taking her back into his arms. Her body had withdrawn from him, and he suspected her mind had, too.
“I’ll be checking on you often,” he said, “and you won’t take any chances. Not that you’re likely to see that particular vehicle again, but watch for cars following you, be careful when exiting your own car to be sure there are plenty of people around w
hen you’re not home and keep alert around here for anything—anything—that strikes you as off. If something does, you just drive off and call me. Got that?”
She nodded. “Yes. And Daniel?”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
* * *
When Daniel left ten minutes later, Beth followed his instructions and made sure the door locked behind him. As if she wouldn’t have done that without being told.
Then she went into her kitchen and poured herself a glass of red wine—a little something to try to take the edge off her emotions.
Now that she was alone, she felt as if she had been stabbed and emptied of everything inside her.
She hadn’t believed Daniel had been joking about that SUV following her, but she had assumed he was a trained federal agent just being overly cautious, partly as a result of his prior experience.
Or he was a man who wanted to find a way to get some close-up time in again with a woman he’d had sex with before.
It turned out he might have been both.
When he left, she didn’t convert her bed back into a sofa—even though looking at it that way, she couldn’t help thinking about what might have been: steamy, memorable sex yet again that night with a man who was incredibly hot.
Instead, she sat on it against the backrest and sipped wine as she watched the TV across the room. Her legs were stretched out, one crossed over the other.
This was fine, she told herself. She was fine.
But who had followed her...and why?
Damn! She couldn’t obsess about this. She was here for a reason.
She got up, retrieved her laptop computer and began making notes on what she intended to do—particularly after the planning session she’d had with Daniel.
* * *
Daniel did not sleep well. He kept chiding himself for not insisting on staying with Beth.
Not for sex, despite how his body ached when he even considered resuming the activity they’d started.
Covert Attraction Page 14
