“I was surprised to see you, as well,” he lied, hoping she believed him. She squinted her eyes together in disbelief before tilting her head to the side with a soft sigh. Then she looked up at him and smiled that smile he was becoming all too familiar with. “What is this a sign of?” Shawn asked, although he had a pretty good idea.
Cydney moistened her lips with her tongue before dragging his head closer to her mouth. He expected her to whisper something seductive or naughty in his ear. Instead, she gave his earlobe a quick lick before moving to his neck. He was pretty sure he had done this move on her a couple times already, but she was reversing the roles. Her sensual fragrance was mingling with her natural scent of arousal, further enticing his senses. The erotic aroma smelled like a combination of seductive slices of citrusy fruits and sweet wildflower honey. He couldn’t help but uncross his arms and pull her closer to him. His hands ventured to her bottom and he palmed her cheeks as her mouth went to work on his neck. Her kisses were soft, light and wet. Her body was hot in his hands, proof that she was just as aroused as he was.
She stopped kissing his neck and gazed into his eyes. Her hands moved from their grip of his head and made their way to his chest, lingering on his dress shirt. “Another sign that our affair that should have been for one night only may not be so brief after all,” she finally answered, lightly biting her bottom lip. She leaned closer to his face again, her breath fanning his lips. She didn’t kiss him, though. Instead, she kept her face close to his and placed his right hand over her heart. The fast beats only stimulated him more and he was sure she could feel him jumping in his pants on full alert. But she didn’t budge. And when she blinked, she did so slow and inviting.
“I’m going to head back to the party now,” she said, gently pushing up from his chest while dropping her hands to her side. He didn’t let her go right away as his left hand still palmed one of her back cheeks. Seconds later, Shawn let her escape his grasp. They stood there for one more moment, neither saying anything but letting their body language speak for itself. Then Cydney turned and exited the conference room door, briefly looking toward the dark corner Shawn was still standing in.
An hour later Shawn got to his hotel room and quickly discarded his tie and suit jacket. Pulling his dress shirt out of his pants, he plopped down on the bed and dragged his long fingers across his face. He suddenly felt sorry for any male who underestimated the determination of an irresistible woman. Cydney was a siren, a seductress with the grace of a cat, fortitude of a lion and craft of a fox. Blended together, those qualities equaled temptation at its finest. They were leaving for Springfield in a couple days, so Shawn had to focus on his duties and not stray from his goal. Fortunately, the case was so personal to him, he wasn’t sure he even had a choice. Shawn knew all he had to do was remember that fateful day years ago and suddenly everything fell into perspective. It would take all of his willpower to treat Cydney like he treated the other Peter Vallant employees, but it was something he had to do. He would prevail in this case and finally close a chapter in his life whether his body agreed with him or not.
Chapter 5
“Ms. Rayne, here are the tablecloths you were looking for. And I also have the name tag you requested.”
“Thank you, Verona,” Cydney said to Mr. Vallant’s assistant as she took the tablecloths out of her hands and clipped the name tag to her shirt. The first day of the two-day golf tournament in Springfield, Illinois, was going just as planned. The Springfield supporters of the Rebuild Your Community initiative were really impressed by the classiness of the event. Although Cyd had been receiving plenty of praise from the Peter Vallant employees present, she owed a huge thanks to the golf club and community volunteers who had helped make the tournament possible.
Even with the hustle and bustle of supporters, volunteers and staff, Cyd couldn’t help but notice Shawn’s every move. He was standing right outside one of the large enclosed tents, so focused, intently observing the entire tournament. Yes, he was the CISO, but something about him seemed a lot more serious than he had been when they first met in Anguilla. Maybe it was because he was vacationing then, whereas now he was on duty. Ever since the night of the reception, he’d avoided her like the plague. Looks like playboy is playing hard to get. But why now? Why the sudden desire to give her the cold shoulder? She had to admit that she did enjoy playing a good game every now and then, but could he really ignore her after the moments they’d shared?
One of the volunteers suddenly tapped her on her shoulder, interrupting her scrutiny of Shawn. In addition to the tournament, the golf club had been kind enough to let them use the land usually designated for weddings for their activity. Cyd hastily put out a few more fires and turned her attention back to Shawn. But he had vacated the spot he’d been standing at moments before.
“Hello, Ms. Rayne,” greeted Jim Pearson just as Cyd was about to venture outside the tent.
“Hello, Mr. Pearson. How are you today?”
“I’m doing great. And please call me Jim.”
“Okay, Jim it is. You can call me Cydney if you’d like.”
“I’d like that very much,” Jim said, the look of flirtation marked in his eyes. “Might I add that you’ve done an excellent job with the tournament.”
Cyd could tell he was interested in her. He’d sought her out several times during the kick-off reception. She could admit that he was really attractive. His blond hair and blue eyes were enough to make any woman swoon, but he just didn’t do it for her. He didn’t give her the butterflies that Shawn gave her. But since Shawn was ignoring her and Jim wasn’t, she had no problem entertaining Jim’s flirtation.
“Why, thank you, Jim. This tournament is just the start of many events to come for the appreciation tour.”
He was watching her lips as she spoke and Cyd wished she felt even a little stimulation from the look, but she felt nothing.
“Cydney, I was hoping that you could go out to dinner with me tonight. I heard about this great seafood restaurant in the area. Would you be interested?”
Her first thought was that he didn’t say her full first name as sexily as Shawn did. Her second thought was that she was going to turn him down gently and let him know she wasn’t interested. But before she could say any of that, Shawn walked back into the tent and leaned on the edge of a table a few feet away from them. He didn’t look too happy with her, or maybe he wasn’t happy with the situation. Regardless, his presence changed the direction Cyd was originally going with her conversation with Jim.
“That sounds great, Jim! How about we meet in the lobby of the hotel ’round 6:30 p.m.?”
Jim’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Sounds like a plan,” he said, gently reaching out to touch her cheek. Cyd didn’t like the gesture and on reflex, she sidestepped away from his touch. Unfortunately, it seemed to amuse him more than turn him off. When she glanced over at Shawn, his jaw was tight as if he was clenching his teeth. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and was glaring at her with obvious disapproval. Serves him right for ignoring me.
Turning her attention back to Jim, she gave him a polite smile before she told him that she had to check with the caterer before she continued setting up a few tables for lunch. When she walked out of the tent, she breathed in the fresh air and smiled to herself. “Doesn’t feel too good to be ignored now, does it, Mr. Miles?” she whispered to herself. “Ahh,” Cyd said with a gasp when she felt a hand tighten on her arm before she was pulled behind the main golf club building away from the crowd.
“That’s what you think I’m doing?” Shawn said as soon as they were alone. “Ignoring you?”
“What’s with the tight tree grip, Tarzan?” Cyd said sarcastically as she yanked her arm out of his hold. “Don’t you know it isn’t nice to sneak up on people when they aren’t paying attention?”
Shawn crossed his arms over his chest again. Didn’t the man
know how sexy he looked when he did that?
“Don’t you know it isn’t nice to gossip about people behind their backs?”
“I wasn’t gossiping about you behind your back,” Cyd said, taking a step back from his imperial stance. “Gossiping would imply that I was talking about you to someone else. Quite the contrary, Shawn, I was talking to myself.” How dare he pull her behind the building like she was a child being scolded? “What are you really upset about? The fact that you overheard something you weren’t supposed to hear or the fact that I was flirting with Jim Pearson?”
His jaw twitched at the mention of Jim’s name. Cyd definitely wasn’t romantically interested in Jim, but Shawn didn’t have to know that. After he’d ignored her for the past few days, a little payback wouldn’t hurt.
Shawn shuffled from one foot to the other, his eyes burning a hole through her. “Why don’t you stop this whole...thing that you’re doing,” Cyd said, flaring her arms around his stance, referring to the way he was trying to intimidate her. She mimicked his posture by crossing her arms over her chest, as well.
“Is there something else you wanted with me?” The gleam in his eyes proved that he’d caught her double meaning and he let out a slight laugh.
“Woman, you are unbelievable,” he said aloud, giving her another laugh. “I want a lot of things from you.” He took another step closer to her and uncrossed his arms, placing one hand in his pocket while the other tilted the bottom of her chin toward his face and stayed there. “I have a job to do, just like you do. You can flirt with whomever you want to, but when you’re finished entertaining Mr. All-American Boy, I’m sure you’ll be seeking me out.”
Cocky, cocky, cocky... Why the hell did he have to make cocky look so damn sexy! Cyd uncrossed her arms, lightly smacked his hand away from her chin and placed her hands on her hips. Evidently, Shawn was used to playing this hot-and-cold game with women. But she hadn’t forgotten all the things he’d said to her at the wedding. He could pretend like he was unfazed, but they both knew better.
“Who do you think you’re kidding? Quit acting like you aren’t jealous of Jim. I saw you staring at him like you were ready to come over and pounce him to the ground.” She adjusted her blouse and bra, knowing he would look at her breasts bounce into place after the adjustment. Just as she hoped, he took the bait. “I’m going out with Jim tonight, and who knows, he may just be the type of man I’ve been looking for.”
Shawn let out a hearty laugh. “I doubt it.” She didn’t miss the flash of jealousy cross his face. As he turned and walked back to the crowd of attendees, Cyd rounded the corner and admired his powerful walk as he retreated back to the standing position he’d had earlier. He looked too good in his casual black slacks and blue polo. Cyd sighed to herself as she thought about her date with Jim. She’d pick fighting with Shawn over flirting with Jim any day.
* * *
When Cyd and Jim arrived at the restaurant, Cyd was already dying to get back to the hotel. She couldn’t stand a man who only talked about himself and his accomplishments and didn’t give anyone else an opportunity to get a word into the conversation. Within the first two minutes of their being in the cab, she was bored out of her mind. Then they arrived to the restaurant and had a ten-minute wait, which usually wouldn’t have bothered her. But since she had to sit there and listen to Jim talk about the time he thought he wanted to be a restaurant owner, those ten minutes felt like an hour. Now she had ordered her favorite seafood dish and was at this beautiful restaurant forcing herself to be entertained and failing miserably. Not that Jim even noticed her boredom. He was too busy talking about his days growing up in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Are you enjoying your dinner?” Jim asked. Cyd looked down at her plate that was almost completely full. He was making her lose her appetite.
“Ah, yes. I’m enjoying my dinner,” she lied as she took a sip of the red wine she’d ordered when they first arrived to their table.
“Great,” Jim said as he flipped his head to get a piece of fallen blond hair out of his face. Even that move annoyed her because he flashed his pearly whites after every hair flip. When his cell phone rang and he excused himself, Cyd welcomed the alone time.
She was finally able to finish her meal in his absence. After the waiter cleared their plates and placed the check on the table, Cyd looked around since Jim still hadn’t returned. She spotted him through the window, standing outside in what looked to be a heated conversation with someone on the phone. Although she’d known him for less than a week, she hadn’t seen him get aggravated or angry, but he was definitely angry now. She stood and walked to the window to try to wave him inside so they could pay for the bill and leave. When he finally noticed her, he held up his hand in an extremely rude fashion and started pacing back and forth.
Cyd was growing more annoyed by the second so the quicker she paid the bill, the better. After she settled the check, she walked outside, a little apprehensive to approach Jim. She decided to walk slower when she neared him so he wouldn’t hear her heels click on the surface.
“I understand,” she heard him yell to the person on the other end of the phone. “I’ve done everything you asked. Now I need you to listen to what I’m saying. I have a bad feeling about this and I think we should hold off until after the appreciation tour.”
Cyd tried her best to tie together the bits and pieces she heard him say, but it wasn’t making any sense. His pacing had quickened and he was continuously brushing his fingers through his hair. When she took another step closer to him, her heel clicked to the ground louder than she intended. Instantly, Jim lifted his head to her as he placed his hand over his cell phone receiver.
“Do you need anything?” he asked abruptly as if they hadn’t originally been out on a date.
“Um, no,” Cyd replied uncertainly. “I was just letting you know we can head back to the hotel.”
“Please take a cab without me,” Jim said very briskly and straightforwardly as he turned his back to her and continued his conversation, lowering his voice this time.
The nerve of that a-hole, Cyd thought to herself as she got into a cab that was waiting in front of the restaurant. That man clearly has issues.
Chapter 6
“Shawn, we need to see you in room C3,” stated the voice on the other end of his earpiece.
“On my way,” Shawn replied into his two-way radio microphone connected to the collar of his polo. Last night he’d followed Cyd and Jim to the restaurant and had been up later than he’d planned. Shawn had been surveying Jim Pearson since he’d begun his undercover work for the Peter Vallant Company, but besides a few fuming phone calls, he hadn’t been able to catch anything else. Each time, Jim’s call had been received from an untraceable number and the caller had hung up after a few seconds. But last night, Jim had stayed on the phone a little longer than expected. He was hoping Micah had been able to find something. Micah Madden, younger brother of his friend Malik Madden, had recently quit his job with Little Rock, Arkansas, P.D. after realizing the system was way more corrupt than he’d originally thought. Shawn had instantly told him about his goal to start his own company and Micah had jumped on the idea to help him.
When he reached C3, he swiped his key card to enter the room. “What did you find out?” Shawn asked Micah as he entered and shut the door. He grabbed a nearby chair and plopped down at the desk that contained several laptops and various security devices.
“We traced that call to an abandoned warehouse thirty miles from here, right by the lake. I sent four members of the team to the location, but they didn’t find anything. Whoever was there was long gone by the time we arrived.”
“Do we know who the phone belongs to?”
“It’s a disposable phone, but we’re trying to run it through a number of databases now. My guess is that the phone was discarded into the lake.”
�
�Did they find any prints?”
“No prints. This person was smart and did a good job covering their tracks. Luckily, they couldn’t hide their tire tracks. Take a look at this,” Micah said as he turned the computer so that Shawn could get a better look.
Shawn got closer to the screen and analyzed the tracks from the photo and video footage. They were too small to be a truck or a car. “So our mystery man rides a sports bike.”
“Exactly,” Micah said, snapping his fingers together. “Now all we need to do is figure out the make and model of the motorcycle. Could be a Ducati or a Kawasaki.”
“Naw, the dirt lines from this baby are too smooth and precise for a Ducati or Kawasaki,” Shawn replied as he pointed to the lines on the screen. “Looks like a BMW. Probably the K1600 series, but I’m not sure.”
“How do you know?”
“Take a look at the tire indentation,” Shawn said, actually touching the screen this time. “From the way the bike leans, it appears to have a narrower six-cylinder engine, like the BMW K1600 series. I did a lot of research when I was deciding on my motorcycle so I’m pretty familiar with sports bikes.”
Shawn stood from his seat and leisurely placed both arms on the desk. “Have you found anything in the vans yet?”
“Not yet,” Micah answered. “So far, Jim Pearson hasn’t been anywhere near the vans since we started the investigation. No one from inside or outside the company has, with the exception of those who have clearance. And we’ve investigated all the drivers and employees who regularly use the vans, but they’re all clean.”
“Okay,” Shawn replied as his forehead creased in thought. “Continue to monitor the vans. I need a few members of the team to head to Carbondale, Illinois, next week before the Peter Vallant Company arrives. The hotel has already been prepped so we have clearance to tap into their security cameras.”
If Only for Tonight Page 5
