by Cat Johnson
“Glad to hear she’s on the mend. Please give her my regards.” The senator’s eyes dropped to take in the exposed cleavage of a passing woman and Lia smothered a scowl. Instead, she pasted on her campaign-picture smile.
“I will be sure to do that, Senator.”
Lia supposed she shouldn’t blame her mother for seeing a way to escape the political society’s merry-go-round and taking it. It had most likely been both her father and his career that had given her mother the ulcer in the first place. Lia only wished her father hadn’t dumped the full responsibility of publicly supporting him on her shoulders so happily.
She knew exactly why her father had readily jumped on the opportunity to have her be his new social partner, and the reason was standing before her now, holding his martini and looking down women’s dresses. Her father made no secret of his desire to see Lia married off to the senator’s self-absorbed son. An alliance of two of the greatest southern political families, he’d called it. The entire concept made her feel ill.
At least the senator’s son, John Dickson III wasn’t here with his father tonight. He was as pompous as his name made him sound, and Lia had no interest whatsoever in the man. Lia wanted to be swept off her feet, fall head over heels in love and marry someone who would give her the happy ever after she’d always dreamed of. That, however, didn’t seem to matter to her father at all. He wanted her married not for love, not for compatibility, not because of overwhelming sexual chemistry, but for politics.
She’d seen what her father and mother’s alliance was like. They’d had separate bedrooms for as long as she could remember. She was pretty sure they’d only had sex once and that was the night she was conceived. However, the all-powerful families of the Monroes and the Carringtons had been united with their marriage, so everyone pretended they were happy. Even Lia.
She stifled the urge to sigh and glanced around the room, actually seeing it for the first time since her arrival. All these parties were alike. She’d long ago stopped observing them, except maybe to see what horrendous fashions reared their ugly heads on some of the women who dared stray from the campaign party circuit uniform of the basic black dress. Lia had an entire closet of black dresses, because heaven forbid you wore the same one twice.
Her gaze swept the room and landed on not one, not two, but half a dozen really buff male members of the waitstaff. Where in the world did the caterer get these guys? Had Chippendales gone out of business and all the dancers needed to start waiting tables?
Watching one huge guy trying to balance a tray in one hand while handing the mayor and his wife a cocktail napkin, Lia had to bite the inside of her lip to stop from laughing. The server was concentrating so hard, the tip of his tongue stuck out between his lips as he frowned.
Lia glanced around some more and saw a cutie behind the bar smiling at the wife of one of the most powerful businessmen in town. The object of his flirtation was absolutely eating up all the attention. She leaned over the bar, giving the bartender a clear view of her exposed cleavage, which he was shamelessly taking advantage of.
She took closer inventory of the staff. They all displayed varying levels of gorgeousness, incompetence and hilarity. Her eyes landed on the sixth member and Lia realized she was not the only one doing some observing. He was staring right at her, watching her as she watched all of them.
Boldly, she raised a brow and met his stare head-on. Mirroring her, he raised a brow back and treated her to a crooked smile. Then his expression changed. He seemed to stand a little straighter. He broke his gaze from hers and was gone from the room before she could fully appreciate the rear view of his tight black pants pulling across tight butt cheeks.
That was a shame. He’d been a welcome distraction. Lia snagged another lambchop from a passing waiter whose arm muscles strained the seams of his jacket. As she bit into the tasty flesh and chewed, she considered how she’d like to nibble on the tall, dark and handsome waiter. Hopefully he’d return soon.
Chapter Two
Jimmy was making some good progress with the hot redhead when Matt’s voice came across the comm unit. “Code Orange.”
The commander’s gaze immediately landed on Jimmy. He was the only man there not burdened by a serving tray, except for Jack, who couldn’t leave the bar. Jimmy nodded to the commander. The hot chick would have to wait. He had a job to do and he couldn’t do it in the middle of a cocktail party where he was supposed to be nothing more than a waiter.
He slipped into the hallway where he could respond to Matt unobserved. “What’s the Code Orange, Matt?”
“I ran the guest list through the computer and got a hit. One of the names matches an alias used by a terrorist on our watch list.”
It looked like the shit might be about to hit the fan. Jimmy felt his adrenaline begin to pump at the thought of some action. “Give me the name. I’ll find him.”
Matt did as requested and Jimmy headed immediately to the entrance where the guests were being cleared through security. The guard there pointed Jimmy in the direction of the guy who’d checked into the party under that name.
Jimmy nearly laughed when he saw him. He ducked around a corner to talk to Matt. “Uh, Matt. Unless your terrorist is a little old gray-haired man of about eighty who uses a walker, the name is just a coincidence.”
Matt’s laugh came through the earpiece. “Roger that.”
“Anyone else?”
“Negative. The rest of the list looks good.”
After reporting his findings, Jimmy went back inside to resume his post, but he knew the magical moment with Red had been broken. That thought had him scowling as he made his way down the hallway toward the ballroom, until he smacked right into the redhead of his dreams coming out of the ladies’ room.
Reflex had him reaching out with both hands to steady the incredibly sexy woman as she teetered on her high heels. “Sorry, darlin’.”
Her brows shot up to her hairline and an amused smirk appeared. He realized he probably shouldn’t be calling the guests darlin’, but what could he do? He’d been calling females not related to him that since puberty. It just slipped out.
Red didn’t seem too upset about it though. As Jimmy reluctantly released his hold on her, she raised her hands and ran them up and down his lapels. “You’re forgiven. What’s your name?”
He breathed deeply the rich scent of her. Expensive-smelling perfume with an undertone of lamb.
“James.” Entranced by her clear blue gaze, he somehow managed to supply his given name for her. Though even his mother didn’t call him James unless she was mad, it seemed to fit better in this situation than Jimmy so he went with it.
The vision of sex on heels before him reached into her envelope-sized purse—was everything rich people owned and ate tiny?—and took out a pen and scrap of paper. On it she scribbled something and then handed it to him. “Nice to meet you, James.”
The pleasure was all his, especially when she winked and sashayed away and he got to drool over the rear view.
When she’d turned the corner—without looking back, he noted—Jimmy finally had the presence of mind to look down at what she’d written on the paper she’d given him. Seven digits and a name. Lia. She’d given him her phone number and he hadn’t even asked. That was one hell of a woman. One he definitely would be happy to get to know better.
Jimmy suppressed the whoop of excitement threatening to bubble out of him, but since he was alone in the hall he figured he could ask the question uppermost in his mind out loud. “Hey, Matt. When is this gig scheduled to be over?”
Whenever it was, it wouldn’t be soon enough for him.
A few hours later, Jimmy walked out of the back door alongside Jack and Trey. In what would have looked like a coordinated effort to an outside observer, all three tugged at their collars simultaneously as they struggled to rip off their bow ties. Jimmy couldn’t get his off fast enough for his liking.
“That was a waste of time,” Trey grumbled.
Jimmy wouldn’t exactly say that the fact no terrorists had blown up the place made it a waste of time, but it was frustrating to go to all the effort for a false alarm. Nothing more exciting than Matt’s early scare about the old dude with the suspicious name had happened all night, unless you counted the phone number Jimmy had gotten from Lia. Now that was something to get excited about. He patted his breast pocket and assured himself the number was still safely tucked away. His fingers itched to grab for his phone and dial it right then and there. Instead, he controlled the impulse until he could get somewhere alone.
“Well, at least you didn’t drop your tray, Trey.” Jack grinned, obviously proud of his cleverness.
Jimmy frowned. “Hey, that was going to be my joke.”
“Late again, big brother.” Jack slapped him on the back. “So, what do you guys say we hit the bar after checking in at headquarters? We can get a cold one and I can see how my hot bartender is doing.”
Free from the tie now, Trey undid the top two buttons of his shirt. “Sure. As long as we can change out of these monkey suits first.”
Jimmy thought again of the precious piece of paper tucked away in his pocket. It was already getting late. He had to either call now or not at all if he had any hope of meeting up with her tonight. And he really, really hoped… “You two go ahead. I’m, uh, a little tired.”
Jack shot him a look. “Tired? From walking around a party picking up dirty napkins all night? Come on. We’ll just go for a bit.”
“It wasn’t just playing waiter. We had to keep on alert in case anything did go down.” That much was true, even though Jack was correct. Jimmy wasn’t tired from the party. He was tired of being celibate and had every hope Lia would help him out in that area.
“Which it didn’t,” Jack reminded him.
He struggled to come up with an excuse not to go to the bar so he could see Lia, if she wanted to see him. “Yeah, but I’d have to stop by the bank and get some cash first.”
“Yeah, and? So what? That’ll take like a minute.” Jack stared at him, waiting for a response.
“But then I’d need to get gas too.” Jack was still frowning at him doubtfully, so Jimmy added, “Maybe I’ll meet y’all there later.”
Jack shook his head. “Whatever.”
Trey stopped next to his truck. “See you guys back at the base.”
They had each taken their own vehicles, thinking it would appear less suspicious arriving individually as waiters would, instead of piling out of an unmarked black van as a group the way the team usually traveled.
“Yeah, see ya.” Ignoring his brother’s displeasure with him, Jimmy thankfully shut himself in his vehicle.
Grateful once again he had his own transportation, he sat in the driver’s seat and waited for Jack to close the driver’s door of his own car, then he punched Lia’s number into his cell phone.
“Hello?” Her sexy voice sent a shiver right down from his ears to his toes and everywhere in between.
“Hey, darlin’. It’s Ji…uh, James.”
“Hello there, James. Where are you?”
“In my car outside the party. We just got off.” Oh yeah. Judging by the sexy purr of her voice, he had a feeling he was about to get off all right.
“Meet me at the Hilton in ten minutes. Ask for the private elevator that leads to the presidential suite. I’ll leave your name at the desk so they’ll let you up.” Jimmy heard a click and then she was gone.
Holy crap. He didn’t know what to be amazed at more. The fact he was going to get lucky with the hottest woman he’d ever laid eyes on, or the invitation to the presidential suite at the Hilton. Meanwhile, there was no way he could drive back to base, check in and then get to the hotel in ten minutes, and Jimmy had a feeling Lia was not the kind of woman who responded well to being kept waiting.
The mission had been uneventful. Maybe no one would notice if he didn’t check in tonight. His decision made, he drove directly to the Hilton so fast it was a miracle he didn’t get pulled over for speeding. He stopped only long enough to grab a box of condoms and breath mints at the twenty-four-hour convenience store across the street from the hotel.
Jimmy remembered to unstrap his leg holster and secure his weapon in the glove compartment. He even remembered to lock his parked car, but that was about the only time his mind strayed from thinking about what was about to happen up in that suite.
Inside the massive marble lobby, he gave his name to the man standing behind the front desk, thinking there was a good chance he’d be thrown out on his ass. Lo and behold, he wasn’t. Instead, he was ushered by another uniform-clad employee into a brass and mahogany-lined elevator car with only two buttons inside. They read Lobby and Presidential Suite.
As the valet, or whatever he was called, rode up the many floors to the top with him, Jimmy finally allowed himself to stop thinking this whole thing must be some kind of a joke. That was something he knew for sure when the elevator doors opened onto the eerily quiet, private hallway on the top floor of the building.
The hotel employee held the door open with one arm and dismissed him with a nod. “Have a good night, sir.”
“Thanks.” He stepped out onto a marble floor. With a swish, the doors swept shut behind him and he was alone facing a single, massive white door.
Jimmy ignored the erratic pounding of his heart and raised his hand to knock. When the door swung wide a moment later, Lia stood before him wearing nothing but a black strapless bra, lacy thong underwear and mile-high heels.
He didn’t question the state of her attire. Her intentions were clear enough, so he simply walked in and blindly slammed the door shut behind him. Never a man to beat around the bush, Jimmy grabbed her head with one hand and her waist with the other and sank his tongue deep into her warm, welcoming mouth. He explored down the silky warm flesh to land on her ass cheek and discovered she felt as good as she looked.
Lia let him enjoy both her mouth and body for long enough to make his hard-on start to throb as it pressed against the zipper of his pants. Then she pulled away. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
A woman who answered the door half-naked shouldn’t talk about how fast he was moving.
“Darlin’, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” He ran his hands one more time over her firm curves with a groan.
Enough with the standing. Time to get horizontal. He glanced around the large space. It was decorated like a living room with a sofa and a huge flat-screen television that he might enjoy at another time when he didn’t have a raging hard-on and a willing woman beneath his hands. His gaze swept quickly over the kitchenette and dining area and landed on a partially closed door. Bingo.
She let out a small squeak as he scooped her up and headed for the adjoining room where he hoped to find a bed. A really large one if he was lucky. What he had in mind was going to take more than a little bit of time and a whole lot of space. When he pushed the door open wider with one foot and saw the king-sized mattress with the bedding already turned down for the night, it looked as if he was blessed enough to get what he wanted.
He dropped her on the bed and began tearing off what remained of his uniform. He’d long since ditched the jacket back in the car, so all he had left was the button-down shirt and pants.
She watched each piece of clothing fall to the floor, including his underwear, and then stared at his naked body. “Nice.”
Jimmy didn’t miss the gleam in Lia’s eye as she said that. Damn right, it was nice. He worked hard enough to get this body. About time he put it to use for something other than practice maneuvers and fighting bad guys.
“Glad you approve, darlin’.” He pulled her panties down with both hands and spread her legs. He ignored her surprised intake of breath and settled himself eyelevel with her creamy thighs and a whole lot more. She was totally bald down there except for a tiny neat triangle of red curls. The rest was smooth and hair-free. It was different and really hot.
He must have been staring for quite a while, b
ecause she finally reached down and grabbed his head in both hands, raising his face so he could see hers.
“What’s the matter, handsome? Don’t your waitress girlfriends believe in Brazilian bikini waxes?”
So that’s what it was called. He’d have to remember that. But hot as she was, and as incredible as her Brazilian bikini wax looked, he didn’t need any more of her smart-ass waiter comments. He was betting she was a talker, and he wanted quiet so he could fully enjoy himself.
There was one sure-fire way to make sure she stopped talking. Jimmy spun himself around so quickly she let out a small squeak. He straddled her face and pressed his cock to her lips. Since she opened her mouth and took him in without hesitation, he figured he hadn’t offended her delicate, rich-girl sensibilities too badly. Damn, did her mouth feel good wrapped around him.
He lowered his head and began to enjoy a taste of her for himself. He slid his tongue between the folds of her smooth skin—boy, did he like this Brazilian thing—and he worked her over. Gently at first, then rougher.
Just as Lia’s hips began to rise from the bed in response to his efforts, a loud, angry voice sounded inside Jimmy’s head.
Startled, he jumped.
“James Gordon, answer me! Where the hell are you?” the voice repeated when Jimmy didn’t respond.
Visions of his mama’s unhappy face as she used his full name while reprimanding him for something as a child threatened to deflate his very happy erection, but this angry voice wasn’t his mama’s. It was the commander’s, and he had obviously turned on Jimmy’s two-way communications device.
“Mmm, James. Don’t stop.” With what had to be the worst timing ever, Lia chose that moment, while they were being monitored, to let Jimmy know how unhappy she was he’d stopped what he’d been doing.
There was a silence during which Jimmy vainly hoped communications had been lost.
“Who is that and what the fuck are you doing, Gordon?”
