To her credit, she didn’t make a sound, although he could feel her body trembling. Her hair tickled his chin as she turned her head to press her cheek into his shirt. Their position was forcing most of her weight onto his right leg, but he didn’t dare move. Ignoring the strain on his muscles, he concentrated on the conversation that was taking place less than a yard away.
Right place at the right time, Bergstrom had said. And damn, this was it. Hearing what had been said around the table next door would have been useful, but this? Larry Fitzpatrick and Ben Hasenstein in a private meeting. Xavier might actually smile.
Sam listened with growing satisfaction, memorizing every name and date as Fitzpatrick laid out in explicit detail how he wanted to expand his money-laundering venture over the next three years. Fitzpatrick explained the progress he had already made toward setting up a pipeline that crossed the border to Canada, where the banks had no limit on their cash transactions. From there the funds would be filtered through the books of offshore corporations and then returned to the country through the sale of shares in his various business holdings. The big difference would be the matter of the amount. He wanted a thirty percent increase in the investments made by his associates.
If this plan ever got off the ground, it was going to lead to an escalation of criminal activity from here to the East coast. But armed with this information, for once the police would be one step ahead. And when Fitzpatrick’s main source of income was cut off, the rest of his businesses would fall like dominoes. They were going to get him. Once Sam related what he’d heard—
A sudden tremor went through Audra’s body. She moved her head, rubbing her nose against Sam’s collar. Seconds later, she held her breath and stiffened, obviously trying to suppress a sneeze.
Moving as smoothly as he could, ready to stop at the first rustle of clothing, Sam lifted his hand to the back of her head and pushed her face into his chest. She shuddered, her arms tensing in her effort to keep herself still. Then her breath rushed out, her shoulders jerked and the top of her head cracked Sam hard in the chin.
He grimaced, his fingers threading into her hair. Luckily there was no break in the conversation on the other side of the drapes. They might have been able to put on a convincing excuse for that guard, but he doubted whether someone as shrewd as Fitzpatrick would buy the sex-crazed lovers bit.
As soon as the thought entered Sam’s head, the image sprang vividly to his mind. Despite their situation, he became conscious of the position of their entwined bodies. She jerked with another silent sneeze, and he felt the full curves of her breasts jiggle against him. Her feet slipped, and the warmth between her legs rubbed across the top of his thigh. He moved his hand back to her waist in an attempt to hold her steady. And somehow he managed not to groan when his fingers encountered bare skin where her blouse had pulled out of her pants.
With her arms raised and her palms flattened against the window frame for balance, she couldn’t move. She was stuck like this. Silent. Motionless. So if he slipped his hand under her blouse and ran his fingertips up the side of her breast, she’d have to stay motionless. He could touch her however he pleased. And if he tensed his leg and lifted his heel to rub his thigh back and forth...
The swiftness of his reaction stunned him. It probably had something to do with tension-produced adrenaline, but he could do nothing to stop the sudden, intense rush of blood to his groin. He clenched his jaw as he felt himself swell and harden against her hip.
She shuddered. Only this time Sam didn’t think it was from a sneeze. The way she was plastered against him, she couldn’t have missed the change in his body. Her breath was hot and rapid on the base of his throat, her chest rising and falling in short, tantalizing strokes. Frustration mixed with pleasure as he felt the unmistakable pressure of her stiffening nipples.
This was crazy. Worse than crazy, it was stupid and dangerous. Nothing but adrenaline, a reaction to tension. But he couldn’t move away. He had to stay as motionless as she did, so he couldn’t do anything about their bodies’ demands—
Damn, when had the conversation stopped? Sam strained to listen. There was the clink of glass on glass and the gurgle of liquid being poured. Fitzpatrick and Hasenstein briefly toasted their future venture, then walked across the room. There was the click of a light switch and the door to the corridor opened and closed.
Audra stirred and lifted her head but Sam tightened his grip on her in warning. They waited. Finally, after a full minute of silence, Sam turned his head to bring his mouth next to Audra’s ear. “I think they’re gone,” he breathed. “But we’ll wait another few minutes to be sure.”
She nodded...and the rim of her ear brushed his lips.
It was too much to resist. Parting his lips, he closed his teeth gently over her earlobe.
Her body quivered, her legs tensing around his thigh. Sam shifted his position gradually, sliding his hand down from her waist, lifting his other hand and splaying his fingers over her buttocks. Leaning more of his weight back against the window, he slowly drew her upward.
She sighed shakily. “Sam...”
“Shh,” he whispered, brushing his mouth along her jaw. “Don’t make a sound.”
One at a time, she pulled her palms from the window frame and slipped her arms around his neck. Although he couldn’t see more than a dim outline of her face in the starlight that filtered through the glass, he was certain he could feel her smile.
He traced her lips with the tip of his tongue, savoring the taste of her, letting the memories of the kisses they’d shared build the desire for more.
But there wouldn’t be any more. The wedding was over. He had the information he needed. Once they left here, there would be no reason for them to see each other again.
Well, hell. What did he have to lose? If this was going to be their last kiss, he’d make it one to remember.
Chapter 10
Audra tunneled her fingers into Sam’s hair and held on as the world tilted around her. He had never kissed her like this before. He wasn’t being gentle. He wasn’t being generous or playful or patient, either. No, this time he used his tongue and his teeth without any tender wooing, taking what he wanted as his lips crushed hers in total possession.
The darkness, the need for silence, the threat of being discovered...all those things heightened Audra’s perception to a pitch she’d never imagined was possible. Her pulse pounded, her skin tingled with sensitivity. She couldn’t see Sam’s face, but she felt him. Everywhere.
He tightened his hands on her bottom as he flexed his leg, rocking her forward on the hardened muscle of his thigh. The friction of their clothing against her flesh was delicious. Electrifying. Without changing their position, with no more than the subtlest of movements, he was making her crazy. Her breasts ached. Quick, damp heat pooled between her legs. He rocked her again.
She would have moaned, but she couldn’t make a sound. Maybe it was the risk involved in where they were and what they were doing that intensified this sense of urgency. Whatever the cause, the sudden strength of her response left no room for inhibitions. Melting against him shamelessly, she opened her mouth and met his tongue in a recklessness that matched his.
She could feel his breath on her cheek, hot and fast as he brought his hand forward. Spreading his fingers over her thigh, he pressed his thumb boldly, knowingly, to the apex of her legs.
No one had touched her like this before. She’d read about it, heard about it, but she’d never experienced these sensations herself. The awareness that had been simmering for the past week, since she’d felt his hands on her body, since she’d faced the desire she had for him, flared to passion. There was a tightening, a pressure unfolding deep inside, a restless need for something that was almost within her grasp...
“No!”
The voice was muffled. It wasn’t Sam’s. His mouth was still sealed to hers as he rubbed his thumb in a slow circle, making her tremble.
“You’re going too far, Fitzpatrick. I wo
n’t stand for it. You’re working for me, not the other way around.”
Someone was shouting in the corridor. Audra squeezed her thighs around Sam’s leg, trying to hold on to the wonderful, hazy feeling for just another minute, oh please, maybe another second and she might...
Sam lifted his head suddenly, his hand going still.
Heart pounding, Audra bit down on her lip to keep from crying out in protest. Every nerve was quivering, straining toward a goal that was inexorably receding. The wonderful, hazy feeling faded like fog on the wind.
There was a sudden thump against the far wall, as if someone had knocked over a chair in the next room. Reality finally intruded and her mind began to function. Oh, God. What was wrong with her? What had they done? What had they been thinking?
She pressed her face to the front of Sam’s shirt, waiting for the inevitable wave of embarrassment. But it didn’t come. No, not this time. As tawdry and mindless as this embrace might have been, as inappropriate as the timing was, she’d wanted it. She wasn’t ashamed—she’d already come to terms with the fact that she wanted Sam.
Moving his hands to her waist, he slowly eased her to her feet and straightened up. “We’ve got to get out of here,” he whispered. “Now.”
She leaned her forehead against his chest until her breathing steadied, then stepped back. The curtain swayed as she reached to push it aside, but Sam caught her arm to stop her.
“Not that way.” He jerked his head toward the window. “Let’s just hope the alarm system was turned off for the party,” he muttered under his breath as he reached for the lock.
“Tell your hired muscle to get out of my way.” The demand sounded as if the speaker were right outside the door. “I came here in good faith. You can’t—”
“Please, Mr. Falco. Let’s go back and discuss this calmly.”
Sam grasped the brass handle and gave it a yank. There was a grating creak as the seldom-used mechanism cranked the window open, but no alarm bells or sirens. He spared less than a second to peer outside, then stepped back and guided Audra in front of him. “After you,” he said.
It was a six-foot drop to the ground with only a bed of dahlias to cushion the fall. Audra didn’t dare hesitate. She jumped, then rolled to the side as Sam landed beside her. Keeping to the shadows, they made their way along the side of the house.
Music from the band on the front patio grew louder, sounding reassuringly ordinary. Audra followed Sam past a long, low garage to the courtyard outside the entrance that led to the kitchen. Her van was still parked where she’d left it behind Norm’s. With a sob of relief, she leaned against the side of the hood and stopped to catch her breath.
. As hard as it was to believe, not more than twenty minutes could have elapsed since she’d taken that coffee cart from Judy.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked.
She nodded. Her pulse was still racing with a mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration. Her emotions were a tangled mess. Would he always have this effect on her?
“You didn’t hurt yourself when you jumped?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said.
His hand settled lightly on her shoulder. “You did great back there, Audra.”
She snapped her gaze upward. Light from the lamps that lined the driveway illuminated one side of his face. Now that she could see him, he somehow looked more distant. “I did?”
“With those details I heard, we’ll be able to shut down Fitzpatrick’s operation for good. And I’ll make sure Xavier greases the wheels for your claim.”
She combed her hair back with her fingers. He was talking about what they heard, not what they did afterward. “What?”
“The fifty thousand.”
The reward money. The reason she’d done all this. Her ticket to independence from her family. “Great. Thanks.”
He pushed his hands into his pockets, turning his face away from the light. “I appreciate the cooperation you’ve given me, Audra. I know it wasn’t easy for you to play along with our engagement. I’ll break the news to your family myself if you want.”
The news. He meant the truth about their relationship. Oh, God. Everything was happening so fast. She knew it would end, but she hadn’t thought it would be over this quickly.
But what more was left? The wedding was over. He had the information he’d set out to get, and she was going to get her money....
That’s the whole point of what we’re doing.
She curled her fingers into her palms. No. There was more between them than this job. It might not have started out that way, but after tonight, they couldn’t deny it. She might be naive about some aspects of relationships between the sexes, but she knew what she felt.
She wanted more than the money. She wanted Sam.
“It might be best to wait until we’re off the property,” he said. “I could go over to your parents’ place first thing tomorrow right after I make my report to Xavier. Unless you want to tell them tonight.”
“No, I—”
“Fine. We’d better get back to the kitchen before they start asking where we went.”
“Sam, wait!” She caught his arm before he could step away.
His muscles bunched beneath his sleeve as he finally met her gaze. “What?”
Now that she had his full attention, she didn’t know what to say. This didn’t seem the right time or place for telling him how she felt. But once they drove through those iron gates in the catering van, this really would be over. If she didn’t do it now, would she ever get the chance again?
Would she ever have the nerve?
“Maybe we could...” She paused, trying to find the right words. I’m infatuated with you. I love the way you make me feel. I don’t want what’s going on between us to end. “You said we shouldn’t get involved as long as we’re working together.”
“That’s right. I was totally out of line when I touched you tonight. I’m lucky I didn’t get us killed.”
“It was...” Wild, crazy, wonderful. “It wasn’t the best timing, but now that this job is over, and we’re no longer working together—”
“There’s no reason to maintain my cover,” he finished.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see each other again.”
He pulled his arm from her grasp and rubbed his face with his hands, then raked his fingers through his hair with a short, violent motion. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Yes, I do. I don’t want a commitment, and neither do you. But there’s nothing stopping us from, well...”
“Finishing what we started?”
“Well, yes.”
He muttered an oath and paced the length of the van, then spun around and came back to stand in front of her. “It wouldn’t work.”
“Wouldn’t work?” she repeated. “I can’t believe you’d stand there and deny that you enjoyed...what we did.”
“I’m not denying I enjoyed it. Hell, I’ve enjoyed every one of our encounters. You probably felt for yourself how much. It’s a natural physical reaction when two people are rubbing against each other like we were. It would have happened to anyone.”
The embarrassment she should have felt five minutes ago slowly started to stir. “I know it’s a natural reaction.”
“We got caught up in the stimulation of the job. What you’re feeling is the adrenaline that’s still pumping through your system, that’s all. Once that wears off, you’ll see how pointless it would be to prolong our association.”
“Our association,” she said numbly.
“We’re from different worlds. You don’t know me.”
“But I do know you, Sam. It’s more than just a physical reaction. Over the past few weeks, we managed to get along pretty well. And the way you’ve been there for me and my family—”
“It was an act,” he said. His voice was as hard and distant as his expression. “Don’t fool yourself, Audra. I acted the way your fiancé would be expected to act. That’s all.”
It
was exactly what she’d told herself. Several times. And refused to believe. “You didn’t fake everything,” she murmured.
“Like I said, you don’t know me. I don’t belong with a woman like you,” he said. “I thought we got that straight right at the start.”
They had. But she was the one who wanted to change the rules. She looked away.
“Audra, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
He stepped back. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“Forget I brought it up.” She took a few deep breaths, then pushed away from the van and brushed past him.
“Audra.”
Along with the embarrassment came a belated flush of humiliation. Where was her pride? She was practically throwing herself at him and he wanted no part of her. Did she have to be hit over the head to figure it out? How much clearer could he be? “Please,” she said, squaring her shoulders in a last-ditch attempt at dignity. “I’ve made a fool of myself enough for tonight. Don’t make it worse with your pity.”
“I don’t pity you.”
She closed her eyes. Nothing but an act. Nothing but adrenaline. It would wear off. God, she was pathetic. “Just go away, Sam. Please. Leave me alo—”
Her words cut off on a startled gasp. Glass exploded behind her as the window of her van shattered. Something slammed into her side, forcing the air from her lungs. Stunned, she staggered backward and spun around.
Sam lunged forward, closing his arms around her as he tackled her to the ground.
Hot liquid ran over her ribs. Blood. She must be bleeding. What on earth had happened to the window to make it break like that?
He twisted his torso before they hit, taking their weight on his back. “Keep your head down,” he said, rolling her beneath him.
“What...” She tried to inhale. She couldn’t seem to get her breath. “What’s going on?”
Engaging Sam Page 16
