“What do you like watching me do?” she inquired as she began to massage her breasts. The rise that she was getting from Shawn was motivating her to take her charade as far as he would let her. He hadn’t answered her question, but it didn’t matter. It was clear she had his undivided attention. She briefly turned to look at the poolroom entrance to make sure no one was entering.
“Don’t worry. I locked the door,” Shawn said, reading her thoughts.
“How did you get the key?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a playful smile. She didn’t really care how he got the key; she was just glad that the door was locked. She also didn’t care that he had obviously planned to seduce her. Little did he know she had planned to seduce him first.
She continued her exploration of her breasts, massaging her nipples and throwing her head back in pleasure. The only way she could enjoy touching herself was if she imagined Shawn’s hands caressing her instead of her own. So that was what she did. She imagined him caressing her...kissing her...licking her. Slowly, she rolled her tongue over her lips, softly moaning as she did. She brought her head back down and looked at Shawn. She hadn’t seen when he’d removed his swimming trunks, but they were definitely discarded now and were lying by her swimsuit top. She stopped massaging her breasts and untied her bikini bottoms, throwing them by the rest of the wet clothes. Crossing one arm over her breasts, she took her free hand and allowed her fingers to glide up and down the side of her body, teasing him as he watched in anticipation and followed her hands to see where they would land. She reached out to flick a nipple at the same time she cupped her center, fully preparing to please herself and force him to watch. She didn’t get very far because within seconds, Shawn had grabbed both of her arms, pulling her into his hold and onto his lap in the whirlpool.
“You are so naughty,” he said right before his lips landed roughly on hers, his tongue enclosing over hers in his pursuit to make her pay for what she’d made him watch.
“I wasn’t finished yet,” she said in between his hungry kisses.
“You’re finished,” he stated in a fiery voice that confirmed he was done playing games. She’d successfully pushed him over the edge and didn’t have any shame about it. He reached over to his trunks and pulled out a condom, his lips still plastered on hers. She lifted off his lap so that he could put on the condom and was in awe of how he continued to kiss all over her body and put on protection at the same time.
Seconds later, she climbed back on his lap and eased him inside her, clenching her vaginal muscles while he entered. The groan that escaped his mouth when he was completely embedded inside her was animallike. Gradually they began to move in a rhythm that was becoming all too familiar to them. Cyd rolled her head from side to side, overcome by the emotions shooting through her body as he cupped her butt cheeks and pumped inside her fervently. Thrust by thrust, he plunged inside, the tip of his manhood playing with the core of her essence every time he pulled out of her slender body.
“Cydney,” he voiced on the brink of his orgasm.
“Me, too,” she managed to say, her orgasm close to breaking free as a result of her body knowing his all too well. A few moments later, they both succumbed to their climaxes and experienced a feeling so powerful that the only thing they could do was hold on to each other tight and not let go.
* * *
What am I getting myself into? Shawn thought to himself for the umpteenth time as he walked down the hallway to the security room. He was in trouble. Big trouble. And it wasn’t the kind of trouble he could talk his way out of. It was the kind of trouble that crept up on him quicker than he realized before he had time to truly react. Shawn wasn’t even sure he could call it trouble. It was more like an obsession. He’d never been obsessed with anything in his life, not even solving the current case he was on that had ultimately changed his life. After years of thinking he was capable of solving any problem, he’d finally found a problem that he couldn’t solve...and her name was Cydney Rayne.
Sex with a woman as gorgeous and intelligent as Cydney wouldn’t normally be a problem for the average man. But Shawn wasn’t an average man. His life wasn’t an ordinary life and his past was far from normal. Therefore, Cydney Rayne was definitely a problem, and there was no doubt in Shawn’s mind that he was, in fact, in big trouble. After their encounter in the poolroom yesterday, he’d successfully dodged Cydney any chance he got. She wasn’t the type of woman to chase after a man, so one observation at his clear dismissal was enough motivation for her to ignore him, as well. But he hadn’t missed the daggers she’d shot his way the night prior when he’d seen her in the hotel lobby. It didn’t matter, though, because seeing her in another alluring dress had kept him up all night. She’d tiptoed into his mind, danced into his thoughts and hit him right where it hurt a man the most—his midsection.
“Shawn, Pearson has returned,” Micah said as soon as Shawn entered the room. Shawn followed the direction of Micah’s finger, which pointed to one of the mounted televisions streaming live security footage. The hotel had been extremely accommodating with his security team so they had been able to even place cameras outside of the hotel room Jim had been assigned to when he arrived.
“When did he get in?” Shawn asked, getting a little closer to the screen when Cydney’s face came into view.
“Early this morning,” Micah replied. “Nothing looked suspicious. Except...” His voice trailed off.
“Except what?” Shawn asked when Micah stopped talking midsentence. Micah shook his head and laughed, but still didn’t continue.
“Except what?” Shawn asked again, growing slightly annoyed.
“I thought this was interesting,” Micah finally answered as he reached for a remote and began rewinding the footage on the second television that was mounted on the wall. He slowed down the footage when he got to a part of the recording that showed Jim at Cydney’s hotel room door before retreating to the elevator. Even in backward slow motion, Shawn was aggravated that Jim had been at her door.
“Just so you know, he followed her to her room. That’s how he knew what floor she stayed on and her room number.”
“What!” Shawn said a little more anxious than expected. He’d assumed she led him to her room.
“I figured you’d be pretty pissed when you found out.”
Instead of responding to Micah, Shawn grabbed the remote from him and began rewinding to the part when Jim started to follow Cydney to her room. Shawn balled his fists as he witnessed Jim intently observing her as she walked. It was either ball his fists or throw a punch at the television screen. He continued to watch as Cydney slid her key to open her door while Jim stood at the end of the hallway behind a large plant.
“That bastard,” Shawn said aloud, not caring that he sounded like a jealous ex-boyfriend. Micah shook his head in pity. “Look, man, I don’t know what’s going on with you and Cydney Rayne, but I know that you need to get your head on straight. The FBI, DEA and P.D. are counting on you. Plus your company’s on the line. You have a great team and she’s a smart woman. Personally, I think she’s just flirting with Jim to make you jealous.”
Shawn cut his eyes at Micah. “Why do you think that?”
Micah laughed. “Um, I don’t know. Could it be the fact that you have the hots for her? Or is it the fact that you can’t seem to take your eyes off her anytime she’s around? Or maybe it’s the fact that you left me high and dry yesterday to sneak off and have sex with her in the poolroom?”
Shawn dropped his head back and dragged his hands over his face. “Crap. When did you know something was up?”
Micah looked at Shawn incredulously before he answered. “Are you serious, man? You know what, I’ll pretend like you didn’t just question my skills. You do a good job avoiding her so others may not know. But you don’t pay me the big bucks to miss the obvious. After we solve this case,
I think you’d better pick a location to headquarter our company and make me partner. You’re reckless without me.”
Micah slapped Shawn on the back as he finished reviewing the footage on the television. He laughed at his friend and soon-to-be partner because he was right. He was acting reckless, which was so out of character.
Before Shawn had even reached the poolroom yesterday, he’d known he was making a mistake. While he’d been reviewing the hotel’s security cameras, he’d seen her enter the poolroom to take a swim. For a while, she’d walked around the edge of the pool in her cover-up and flip-flops as if she were contemplating between the pool and the whirlpool. When she’d decided on the pool, he watched her drop her cover-up, revealing a sexy bikini he’d recognized from their time in Anguilla. Within minutes, Shawn had given Micah an excuse about needing to relieve some stress and was out the door.
He’d questioned his motives up until the minute he opened the poolroom door and laid eyes on her in the whirlpool looking extremely sexy and appetizing.
“Shawn,” Micah said, snapping a finger in front of his face. “Are you trying to figure out what Jim’s doing with your woman or are you gonna sit there and daydream about her?”
Shawn gave Micah a blank look before grabbing the remote from him to rewind the recent footage. “So Paul Jensen showed up, as well?” Shawn asked Micah when he saw Paul flash across the screen.
“Yes. It looks like most of the executive board has been sporadically arriving.”
“Interesting.... So they aren’t following the schedule that Mr. Vallant created,” Shawn stated rhetorically as he got closer to the screen and watched the way Paul and Jim glanced at each other. “Did they arrive at the same time?”
“Yes. About ten minutes apart.”
Shawn glanced over at Micah. “We need to make sure we keep our eyes on Paul Jensen, too.” Something was definitely going on between the two men.
Chapter 8
“Come on,” Cydney whispered to herself. “Match point. Time to take him down.” She straightened out her black tennis skirt before throwing the ball in the air and taking a swing. She wasn’t a huge fan of tennis, but she was determined to show Jim Pearson her skills, anyway. When he’d asked her out for a game of tennis yesterday, she’d instantly declined his invitation despite the indoor tennis court being on the grounds of their hotel. Shawn’s dismissal had really gotten to her. But upon remembering her investigation on Jim, she’d recanted her response and eagerly accepted his invitation. With the exception of a few chance meetings at the bar, they hadn’t gone out on another date. Despite declining his previous invitations, she’d followed him on several occasions and had concluded that Jim was indeed keeping a secret.
“Yah,” she yelled as she swatted the tennis ball. “Yah,” she bellowed again, returning the ball and hitting it harder than before. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead and her socks were slowly creeping deeper into her black-and-white shoes. She was, however, extremely competitive so she ignored her discomfort, determined to win the game.
“Yah!” She returned his ball with such force, Jim couldn’t react fast enough, resulting in match point. Her win!
“Yay,” she shouted as she placed her tennis racket under one arm while doing a fist pump in the air with the other arm. “Oh, yeah...oh, yeah,” she said as she did a little happy dance, oblivious to the observant glances from neighboring tennis players. She stopped cheering when she noticed Jim’s fixated stare.
“Okay, that was fun! Do you want to have lunch now?” Cydney asked. “I’ll buy,” she continued in a cute voice, swaying back and forth with a look of childlike innocence.
“Sure. Why not,” Jim responded as he twirled his tennis racket in his hand in obvious frustration. For a brief second, he looked as if he wanted to throw the tennis racket into the wall, but that look left as quickly as it had come.
“Come on,” she said as she made her way to him and linked her free arm through his. He reluctantly followed her down the hallway to a breakfast-and-lunch café. They were quickly seated and placed their order right away.
“So why weren’t you on the tour for the past few days?” Cyd watched as he raised one eyebrow, undoubtedly taken off guard by her question.
“I had business to attend to,” Jim responded drily as he played with his silverware on the table. He looked as if he didn’t want anything to do with her at the moment, so Cyd was forced to try another tactic. She leaned over the table and gently placed her hand over his, twirling her fingers in a circular motion.
“I missed you a little when you were gone,” she said, trying not to squirm as she voiced the words. She gave him a half smile, gently moistening her lips with her tongue. She had to remind herself not to go too far since Jim’s personality had proved to be unpredictable.
He matched her movement and leaned into the table, as well. “How much did you miss me?” he asked as he made a smacking noise with his mouth as his tongue brushed over his teeth. He probably thought he sounded sexy, but the sound was both annoying and unattractive.
Cyd removed her hand from his, pushed her chair back from the table and crossed one leg over the other. “Oh, I missed you a lot,” she continued with a laugh. “I realized that we never had a complete conversation. One of us always has to leave or work gets in the way.”
“Really?” Jim said, clasping his hands together on the table. “You enjoy talking to me?”
Cyd contemplated her next words carefully. “I think there is a lot I don’t know about you, Jim Pearson,” she said as she let her voice drop a little lower. “And I definitely think there’s more to you than what meets the eye.”
His eyes lit up as if she’d said exactly what he’d been thinking. “That’s so true,” Jim stated, bringing his chair closer to the table. “All my life people haven’t given me enough credit. I have a range of talents, but I hardly ever get credit for what I do!” His voice was rising as he talked.
Now we’re getting somewhere.
“I understand completely,” Cyd replied. “No one understands how talented you really are, Jim. Especially when it comes to handling business.”
“Exactly,” Jim exclaimed as he pointed at her as if she’d just pronounced a problem he’d been dealing with his entire life. “People underestimate me all the time. Especially when it comes to business. They need to realize that I’m an asset to this line of work and the sooner they realize that, the better it will be.”
Cyd wondered what type of business he was referring to, considering he was the senior vice president of business development and had a large role in the company. She would understand more if he were the low man on the totem pole, but senior VP? It didn’t make sense to her. He must be talking about another type of business. Hmm...his family’s business?
“I agree. The sooner they realize, the better. Don’t they understand that you could take over the business if you wanted to? Don’t they realize your potential?”
Jim threw his hands up in the air. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell them for years. They just don’t get it.” Cyd observed his demeanor as his eyes squinted together in contemplation. “They really don’t get it. After everything I’ve done and accomplished, disregarding the consequences, they still don’t get it. Especially the one person who should.”
“Exactly,” Cyd added. “You’re worth more than that.”
“Damn straight,” he said. “Especially when they are the reason I’m even in this line of work.”
Her gut was telling her that the line of work he was referring to was definitely illegal. Cyd wanted to ask him who that person was, but she didn’t want him to clam up if she pried too much. So instead she just sat quietly at the table and watched the range of emotions cross his face. Anger. Frustration. Revenge. And surprisingly, guilt.
She knew he was an intelligent man, but right no
w, he wasn’t acting like a senior VP of a top real estate firm. He continued to talk, staggering his words as he spoke, nothing really making much sense. He would say some words in a higher tone, then he would lower his voice. Cyd had never met anyone who made her feel this uncomfortable. He wasn’t directing any of his explicit words to her, but his behavior was unsettling nonetheless. She felt like she should stop their conversation, but instead she let him talk, unsure of what she would even say to him if she were able to get in a word. Luckily, their food arrived, causing him to stop his vocal rampage.
Jim looked down at his food, then back up at Cyd, coming out of his troubling trance. “This looks great,” he said, his disturbing behavior suddenly stalled. Instead, his face instantly calmed and his frown was replaced with an award-winning smile.
What the hell? What was it with this guy? Cyd briefly contemplated distancing herself from Jim. But Shawn was still ignoring her so she didn’t feel like she had much of a choice. She hated being bored, and at least focusing on Jim gave her a distraction. There was no doubt in her mind that Jim was a little dangerous, but he was an employee for the Peter Vallant Company so she didn’t think he was a danger to her. As they began eating, once again, Jim began talking about himself.
“Tell me a little about yourself,” Jim said, halfway through their meal. Was he seriously asking about her? He hadn’t shown any interest in her personal life since they met.
“There’s not much to tell,” she replied, trying to keep the conversation impersonal. “As you know, I’m a co-owner of Elite Events, Incorporated and business is definitely booming.”
“That’s great,” Jim said, taking a bite of his food. “What is your family like?” Wow, he’s two for two, Cyd thought as she forked her salad.
“We’re just a typical family,” Cyd replied, minimizing the successes and accomplishments of her family. The Burrstone family was known for their many accomplishments in business ownership, community advocacy and entertainment. Usually, Cyd boasted about her family because she was so proud of everyone, but in this case, she appreciated the fact that she could withhold information because she had her father’s last name—a name that had clout, but wasn’t as well-known as her mother’s family name of Burrstone. Besides, Jim didn’t strike her as the type to research her on the internet. She turned the conversation back to him. “My family probably isn’t as interesting as your family. I know people in the pharmaceutical business, but your family actually owns their business. What is your family like?”
If Only for Tonight Page 7
