She turned around, and he slowly moved toward her.
“Why’d you bring me up here?” she asked, her voice quiet as she looked at him shyly. She was like a puzzle that he so wanted to piece together. How could a woman who sang with such emotion and power seem so timid and unsure of herself? Then again, the way she fought those guys off the other day proved that she was also a fighter.
Yep, definitely a puzzle.
“If you don’t want to be a part of my detail, I understand. I don’t blame you. Why would you want to protect someone who stole from you? Someone who ran off and didn’t look back?”
“You ran off because I told you to.” Angelo kept his voice as low as hers. “With us taking your case, you’ll be expected to do whatever we tell you to do.”
She leaned back and frowned, looking as if she was about to argue. Angelo didn’t give her a chance.
“Whatever we tell you to do is always for your own good. Everyone who’ll be assigned to you will put your safety first. You’re not going to like everything we’ll insist on, but—”
“So, does this mean you’re going to pretend to be my boyfriend?”
Angelo inched closer, close enough to see her take a hard swallow. “Under one condition.”
She worried her bottom lip, that shyness that he’d seen earlier returning. “What condition?”
He moved in even closer, close enough to feel her shudder. “I need to see if you can handle being close to me, because when I go undercover, I’m all in.” Without giving her a chance to speak, or even process what he was saying, he cupped her face between his hands and kissed her.
At first the kiss was sweet, gentle, and cautious, but when she moaned into his mouth, he couldn’t help but deepen the lip-lock. His tongue slid between her juicy lips and he explored the inner recesses of her enchanting mouth. Testing. Savoring. He’d only planned to get a little taste of her, see if there was any way to pull off this boyfriend/girlfriend idea, but he was getting more than expected. So much more.
His hands slid down the sides of her body, grazing over every dip and curve until they landed on her hips. When she whimpered and looped her arms around his neck, it spurred him on. He pulled her flush against him, loving the feel of her body against his.
Oh yeah. This was going to be one hell of an assignment. Angelo would make sure he kept her safe, and he planned to enjoy every minute of being her man.
*
Oh my.
Zenobia rocked against his hard body and her nipples pebbled against the lace of her bra. She was enjoying this test a little too much. His experienced lips didn’t let up and she felt the power of the kiss down to the soles of her feet. When was the last time she’d been kissed like this? Hell, she couldn’t remember a time, which was a shame. Now she knew what she’d been missing out on.
The heat from his large hands as they grazed over her curves warmed her from the inside out. How was it possible that a man she didn’t know could have this type of effect on her?
From the moment their gazes had connected after Angelo had saved her life, everything within her had responded. This connection between them wasn’t normal. Hell, the whole situation wasn’t normal. Yet, this test stirred something so potent within her. The kiss, the feel of his hands on her body, the desire blossoming inside of her were way more than she could’ve imagined.
His hands moved back up her body. Before she knew it, his fingers were in her hair, sending a whole new wave of desire pulsing through her veins. If a kiss had this type of effect on her, what would she do if his mouth made contact with other parts of her body?
Before she could fully embrace that thought, Angelo slowly ended the kiss and dropped his hands to his sides. He stared at her for a long minute before putting a little space between them.
Zenobia stared right back at him. The man was one of the most gorgeous human beings she’d ever seen. Add that to the air of danger that shadowed him, and she had a man who could easily make her forget her name. Especially after being kissed the way he’d just kissed her.
“Did I pass?” she asked with more sass than she felt, and discreetly blew out a calming breath as she tried to slow the pounding of her heart that was still beating double-time. Being so close to this man had fried every nerve in her body. And her girlie parts screamed for a sampling of what else he could do with that mouth and that talented tongue.
Oh, no. Don’t go there. This is just pretend.
They weren’t really dating, she reminded herself, and that was assuming he’d even go along with the crazy idea.
“Yeah. Yeah, you passed.” Angelo’s voice was thick and several octaves deeper than before. He studied her for what seemed like several long minutes, but were mere seconds. His gaze volleyed from her eyes to her mouth and back to her eyes again. He turned and moved a few feet away before he stabbed his fingers through his coal-black hair. Thick hair that she wanted to run her own fingers through.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only person effected by their tongue aerobics. Good. Why should she be the only person vying for more of what they’d just shared?
Question was: how much more would they share?
By the time Angelo escorted her back to the conference room, Zenobia felt like a new woman. The hell she’d endured twenty-four hours ago hadn’t left her mind, but suddenly she had a feeling that Atlanta’s Finest were going to take good care of her.
When they walked into the conference room, conversations stopped and everyone’s attention turned to them. Zenobia wasn’t sure what they saw, but it was as if they could tell what she and Angelo had done. But how?
“Okay, I’m in,” Angelo said, and pulled out the chair she had vacated, and waited for her to sit before reclaiming his seat.
Myles gaped at him. “Damn, man. What the hell? You couldn’t wait until after the meeting?”
Oh. My. God. Heat rose to her cheeks and Zenobia was pretty sure those around her could see her blush. Her skin wasn’t as fair as Angelo, but she knew her cheeks had tinted. All Angelo had done was kiss her. How could they possibly know?
Zenobia made the mistake and glanced at Egypt, then Hamilton. Yep. The gentle smile on Egypt’s face and their boss’s raised brows said it all.
Oh, this is just great.
“If we move forward with this charade, you won’t be able to tell anyone the truth,” Angelo said. “So, tell us, are you in?”
Was she in? Could she really pull this off?
“On one condition.”
Angelo drummed his fingers on the tabletop as he looked at her. “Which is?”
“I want my cousin and Sofia to know the truth about you and—”
“No,” he said without letting her finish.
She gritted her teeth and glared at him. “Why not? Those are the only two people in this world I trust.” Besides that, her cousin already knew Angelo existed. Kira would never believe that they were suddenly an item. And if he was going to be spending any time around her house, Sofia would know something was up. “Either they’re in on this or no deal.”
Angelo released a frustrated sigh that bordered on a growl. “Zenobia, it’s better if no one knows that we’re not really dating, especially since we don’t know who in your camp you can trust. Remember, we’re trying to ferret out whoever is trying to hurt you. We can’t rule out—”
“That’s non-negotiable, Angelo.” She held her head high, and leveled him with her most intimidating gaze. She’d agree to follow their lead on most things, but not this. “At least we have to let my cousin in on it. I trust Kira. She would never do anything to hurt me.”
Zenobia would just have to make sure her cousin didn’t tell anyone, not even her boyfriend. Elijah was a nice guy, but Zenobia agreed with Angelo; the idea might actually work, especially if only one or two people knew the deal.
“Sofia has been in Mexico for the past four weeks. So, we might not have to share the truth with her.”
The guys at the table looked at one another in wha
t appeared to be some silent communication before Angelo spoke.
“Fine. Tell your housekeeper that we’ve been dating for a few weeks.”
Angelo laid out the plan as if he’d been planning this for weeks instead of the past hour. He even referred to her as his woman.
Zenobia’s body heated all over again amazed he was already getting into his role. What was he thinking? Was he remembering how good they felt in each other’s arms? Or how perfectly their lips meshed together?
If he continued looking at her the way he was doing now, how in the world was she going to be his girlfriend without actually falling for him?
Her problems were just beginning. Having a boyfriend/bodyguard might keep her physically safe, but who would protect her heart?
Chapter Seven
With her hands wrapped around a hot steaming cup of tea, Zenobia leaned a hip against the large center island in her kitchen. She wasn’t sure what to do with herself as Angelo and some of the other security specialist searched her home. They were checking the house for listening devices.
When they first mentioned doing a sweep of the house, she’d thought they were kidding. There was no way someone could’ve planted a bug, cameras, or anything and she would not know it. At least she hoped. The thought of someone listening in on her conversations, no matter how vanilla they were, was unsettling at best. Even worse than that, if listening devices were found, her assumptions were correct. Someone close to her was plotting against her.
The home—including a guest house which she planned to turn into a studio—had been a gift to herself after she’d signed her first record deal. She glanced around the eat-in kitchen that overlooked the dining room and family room. She might not be much of a cook, but she’d wanted Sofia to have the kitchen of her dreams.
Zenobia sipped her tea thinking about how Sofia would be returning from her annual trip to Mexico next week. What would she think of all of this? Angelo still wasn’t feeling the idea of telling her, even though Zenobia had already informed Kira and swore her to secrecy.
Zenobia’s cell phone vibrated in her back pocket and she pulled it out. “Hello.”
“Darling, I’m so glad you answered,” Octavia said, her tone overzealous as usual. She was one of the most well-known entertainment managers in the business, representing singers as well as actors. Considering how dramatic she could be at times, it was a wonder she hadn’t been cast in a few movies herself.
“Hey, Octavia. How is Paris?”
“As lovely as ever, but I’m sitting on a plane waiting to head back to the States.”
“Oh? I thought you weren’t expected back for at least another week.”
“I did everything I needed to do here and had planned to spend a couple of days touring, but something came up. I’m heading back to Atlanta.”
A chill followed by goosebumps raced up Zenobia’s arms. She hated having to question everything someone close to her said or did. What if Octavia was the person behind the attempted kidnapping? Just the idea of that seemed ludicrous, but until they determined who was after her, she would stay vigilant and wouldn’t rule anyone out. Not even her manager.
As Octavia chatted to someone on the other end of the phone, Zenobia’s gaze went to the back stairs that led to the second floor. Supreme’s team was so quiet, it was easy to forget that she wasn’t home alone.
On the way to the house, Angelo had explained what would take place once they arrived. He had instructed her to act as normal as possible, and to do whatever she usually did. More importantly, she couldn’t say anything about having security, or anything that would allude to their relationship not being real. At least not until they made sure the house was free of any listening devices. Even after that was done, he suggested that going forward, there would be no mention of their fake relationship.
“Sorry about that, dear,” Octavia said. “I wanted to put in my dinner order. Gotta love first class service. So, did Brett call you?”
Her assistant had called the day before and again a couple of hours ago. Things had been a little hectic that Zenobia hadn’t taken the time to listen to the voicemail or return his call.
“You need to get back into the studio as soon as possible. I know you said you’re struggling with that last song, but time’s up. You need to get it done.”
Zenobia rubbed her forehead, knowing her manager was right. For some reason, the song wasn’t coming together. Which was why she’d gotten away for a little while, hoping to finally finish it. Instead, there was another song playing around in her head. She wrote her own music and had plenty of material started. However, the producer wanted her to finish the song they had agreed on, thinking it would be a great fit with the other songs on the album.
“Brett was also supposed to remind you about Tremaine Dempsi’s album release party coming up.”
Zenobia groaned internally. She hated celebrity parties. Too many people. Too much drinking. Too much everything.
“Before you try to come up with an excuse of why you can’t attend, you’re already on program to do one song. Also, let me remind you that you need this exposure, especially with new music dropping soon.”
Octavia started into her usual speech that Zenobia could probably recite by heart, but she remained quiet, letting her manager reiterate the importance of staying in the public’s eye. She claimed that everybody who’s anybody would be in attendance. Which also meant the paparazzi and fans would be out in full force.
“I’ll be there,” Zenobia said. At least she wouldn’t be there alone. She had already invited Kira—who hadn’t stopped talking about the event—and Elijah.
“I’ll be there, too, but we really should find you a date,” Octavia continued. “You walking in with some delicious arm candy would garner even more attention. I have a couple of men in…”
Angelo strolled into the kitchen, and that weird tingling sensation that gripped Zenobia’s body whenever he was near started up again. Why’d he have to look so sexy in the gray T-shirt and dark jeans that he had changed into? The shirt hugged his muscular chest and flat abs, and clung to his thick biceps, while the jeans made his impossible long legs look even longer.
His head was down as he looked at something on his cell phone. “I was thinking tonight we can have…” his voice trailed off when he realized she was on the phone.
Instead of turning around and walking out, like Zenobia expected him to, he shoved his phone into his pocket and moved to the refrigerator. Pulling out a pitcher of sweet tea, he set it on the counter. He seemed so comfortable in her space as he opened one of the top cabinets, and then another before finding the glasses.
“I saw the photo of you and Stephen.” Octavia’s comment snagged Zenobia’s attention. “You two looked awfully intimate in that picture. Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
“Actually, I was going to ask if you had anything to do with that photo being conveniently leaked,” Zenobia said, a little pissed that the picture was still trending on Twitter. It was hard keeping a low profile. She valued her privacy too much to have personal photos of her floating around.
Angelo had been just about to take a sip of his drink when his glass stopped only inches from his mouth. He watched her carefully.
“Darling, I know how much you hate the attention,” Octavia said. “Even though I had nothing to do with the photo, I would’ve leaked it had I known you and Stephen were back together.”
“Octavia, Stephen and I aren’t back together and we never will be.” Zenobia couldn’t hide the bite behind her words. She was tired of being linked to him, a constant reminder of her bad decision in getting involved with him in the first place.
Her manager’s noisy sigh barely registered since Zenobia’s attention was suddenly on Angelo. He had set the glass on the counter and slowly strolled toward her, a sensual gleam in his eyes that sent a shiver through her body.
“Oh well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Octavia said, but it was hard for Zenobia to think
straight with the way Angelo was watching her. “I guess that means we need to find you a date.”
“Wait. No…” Zenobia hurried to say. “I already have a date.”
She gasped when Angelo’s arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her flush against his hard body. He lowered his head and started nibbling on her neck, making her squirm.
“Angelo,” she said in a hushed tone that sounded breathier than intended, but she couldn’t help it. He’d made contact with that spot behind her ear, the ticklish spot that had her giggling as she tried wiggling out of his strong hold.
“Come on, baby. How much longer you gon’ be on the phone?” he asked, his deep voice loud enough for Octavia to hear. “Regresa a la cama.”
“Oh my.” Octavia gasped, as if knowing he’d said come back to bed. The excitement in her voice emitted through the phone line. “Who is that?”
Zenobia giggled again, unable to help herself as Angelo continued the sweet torture that he was inflicting with his lips and tongue.
“Zen?” Octavia called out.
“Yeah…um, I’m still here. Oh, and that was my date. You’ll meet him at the par—” Angelo took the phone from her hand and disconnected the call.
Zenobia stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “Really? You did not just hang up on my manager!”
The right corner of his lush mouth quirked into a roguish grin, and he gave a half-hearted shrug. “I didn’t like the idea of her trying to fix you up with anyone. Besides, if I wouldn’t have taken the phone, she probably would’ve kept talking, and I wanted you all to myself.”
Okaaay. “I can’t believe you distracted me by talking like that.”
“You looked so tempting, I couldn’t help myself.”
Damn, he was good. Clearly, he had done this pretend nonsense before, because for a moment there, she almost believed him. Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t been that turned on in so long, her mind and body wanted to believe him.
Her gaze followed him as he strolled back to the other side of the center island where he had left his drink. The way he gulped down the iced tea, one would think that it was his body that was on fire, not hers.
Betrayed (Atlanta's Finest Series Book 5) Page 6
