Devon didn’t want to ask the obvious question, but he had to know. “Did your dad come back?”
She shook her head. “He was already in the airport—couldn’t miss his flight.” She gave him a sad, defeated smile.
His eyes widened in horror. Sixteen? She’d barely escaped rape and survived a plunge off a cliff to her death. He understood that her dad had just lost his wife, yet how could he not put his child before his own pain? He couldn’t miss his flight and had never come back since? Devon wanted to tear that guy apart who’d tried to hurt her and then … okay, maybe he couldn’t tear her dad apart, but he definitely had some words for him.
“I was all right,” she said bravely. “I mean, after a while. They caught the guy, so that helped. I’ve worked with my pastor to learn to turn to prayer. My brothers, Grams, Cat, and Uncle Jay have always been here for me, along with the whole town. My brothers and Cruz taught me self-defense and awareness so I can keep myself safe.” She gave him a significant look.
He felt horrible. “I’m so sorry I said you were too innocent and grabbed you that night.”
“You didn’t know,” she said quietly.
“I still feel like a jerk. I’m sorry, Iris.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a half smile. “I truly have gotten past the attack and don’t feel afraid, as long as I’m here. But I don’t like to leave the valley. I feel like I can’t breathe and like everything’s closing in when I get to the top of the pass. Then I get tunnel vision, and sometimes I vomit.” She shuddered, then pulled from his hand and jogged away.
Devon caught up to her easily. He wanted to drag her to a stop and hug her, but he simply jogged by her side, praying for the right words. The birds twittered around them, and small animals scurried through the woods. He thought of nothing, no comfort, no inspiration. The only thing running through his mind was a selfish thought: Iris would never leave this valley with him. He’d have to earn his fifty million and come back for her. Would she wait? Would she think he was betraying and deserting her like her dad had done?
He saw her cabin approaching as they finished their run, and he finally steeled himself and put a hand on her arm. “Iris.”
She stopped running and turned to him, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “Sorry,” she said. “You at least have cool secrets. Mine are awful and depressing and—” She broke off as a sob strangled the words.
Devon didn’t care that they were sweaty from the run, and he hoped she didn’t care either. He opened his arms and prayed she’d take his offer. After her story, he wouldn’t dream of forcing her into his arms, and he still felt awful for grabbing her the other night, no matter that she’d forgiven him.
She gave another little cry and flung herself against his chest, and he cradled her close. She let out heavy sobs and clung to him as she cried. Devon hoped this was helping her. He was happy to hold her all day, but he also wanted to help her heal.
She pulled back after several minutes of intense crying. Her face was splotchy and her eyes were bright, and he thought she’d never looked more beautiful. She self-consciously rubbed at her cheeks and then pushed her long, blond hair over her shoulder. “Sorry,” she murmured.
“Sorry? You shouldn’t be sorry. That jerk who tried to hurt you should be sorry for existing. Your dad should be sorry for deserting you. I should be sorry for grabbing you the other night in the dark. You are the last person in the world that should be sorry.”
She stared up at him. “Oh, Devon.” And then she kissed him.
Her kiss was salty and desperate, and he loved it. He loved how she needed him. He worked hard to excel at his career. He knew he was one of the best in his field, but he was also an expert at not getting close to anyone. Being close to Iris felt more natural than breathing. She was meant to be in his arms.
She pulled back and said, “Thank you, Devon. I’ve never shared all those details with anyone except Pastor, and especially not broken down and cried so hard about it.”
“Even with Cat or Grams or your brothers?”
She shook her head. “They all know I have issues, but they’re embarrassingly kind about it, and when they bring it up, I change the subject and they don’t push me.” She smiled, but it was an embarrassed smile, not her usual radiant one. “Most people in the valley only know I almost went off a cliff the day my mom died and Dad left. They probably think I was simply trying to get his attention, and they’re all proud that I’m so well-adjusted and successful. How little they know.”
He smiled down at her. “You’re incredible and successful. Well-adjusted? Hmm.” He raised both palms.
She chuckled and swatted at him. He caught her hand, and she pressed in tight against him, and then they were kissing and the only thing in the world that could interrupt them was …
“Breakfast, you two monkeys! Stop the mack-daddying!” Grams yelled from the front porch.
They both laughed, not even embarrassed to be caught “mack-daddying,” and pulled apart. “Breakfast?” Iris asked.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Devon took her hand and led her toward the porch. He did lean down close and say, “We need to stick to Chris around everyone else, though.”
“Oh! Of course.” She squeezed his hand back.
They walked toward the porch, and Devon wished for a moment that he could forget who he really was. He’d never, ever failed a job, and no matter his lofty thoughts of putting Iris first, he knew he couldn’t walk away from this one, especially knowing the drugs Antonio would try to bring in, the damage he could inflict on this country Devon loved, and this little valley Devon wanted to spend time in as much as his home in Mill Valley.
He’d finish this job, and then he’d reevaluate. Yet he wasn’t sure he’d stay in the valley forever because of Iris’s issues. He didn’t want to try to fix her or anything, but he couldn’t imagine being tied to one spot for life. She smiled sweetly at him, and he thought he could imagine being bound to one woman. He’d take it one step at a time.
Chapter Eleven
Devon got back to his room before nine a.m., showered quickly, and sat with his laptop, looking over multiple computer screens and skimming back over the footage he’d missed monitoring this morning. Nothing exciting, unless you liked watching Italian men sleep off their drug-and-alcohol-induced semi-coma. Even Antonio must have indulged too much last night, as he snored for the cameras and scratched himself. Disgusting.
Finally, at noon, they stirred. Devon paid attention to their video feeds and the surveillance of the resort cameras. Iris now knew he was watching her, and throughout the day, she made him laugh several times as she stuck out her tongue, made heart shapes with her hands, and even wrote him a couple of notes and held them up to the camera in the hallway outside her office when it was deserted. One said, “I like kissing you.” Another said, “Hello, my handsome secret spy guy.”
She was far too cute, and he wished he could watch her all day, or even better, be with her all day. What would that be like, spending an entire day with Iris? He let his mind wander through delicious possibilities as he watched the stupid Italians. He ate lunch in his room and thought he should probably stay and watch the cameras through dinner too, though he wished he could be with Iris. The men seemed agitated and excitable tonight, arguing with each other, and the two bodyguards almost got into a fistfight. Devon felt his own nerves ramp up. Maybe something was finally going to happen. He could finish this job and focus on Iris. He could still get to his fifty million, but he could pick and choose what jobs and spend most of his time dating Iris in this beautiful valley. What good was self-employment and being his own man if he couldn’t choose his jobs and his hours, right?
There was a rap on the door and a call of, “Room service.” That voice sounded beautifully familiar. He usually waited until the resort staff left before he retrieved his tray of food, not wanting to risk someone glimpsing the screens he had set up for monitoring, but this time he rushed to the door, hoping that if it was
her, she wasn’t going to leave the food and walk away. He looked through the peephole and smiled as he saw Iris standing there. He tugged the door partially open and gazed out at absolute perfection: Iris in a flirty floral summer dress with her long curls trailing across her shoulders and her face lit up in a big grin.
She held up a large tray. “Fancy some company for dinner, Mr. Wilson?”
He grinned and took the tray, brushing her fingers with his and setting off butterflies in his stomach. Butterflies. It really was happening to him. He’d always thought all that romance stuff was for fanciful teenagers, women like his overly imaginative sisters, or created by hippies smoking too much weed, but Iris honestly made him giddy. “I would love some, but …” He realized she’d see exactly who he was monitoring. Not only did he not want to make her nervous; there were some rules he wasn’t going to bend. He couldn’t risk the knowledge endangering her or compromising his job. “Can you wait one moment, please?”
She nodded and gave him an exaggerated wink. “Wouldn’t want to spy on anything.”
He chuckled, glad that she could joke, but he wasn’t sure she understood how serious his job was and how filthy these men were. He gently shut the door. Hurrying to the table, he set the tray down, then glanced at the monitors. The men were sitting around eating, the bodyguards playing on their phones while Antonio worked on his computer. Devon doubted he’d miss anything and felt only a slight sting of guilt as he shut off all the monitors and closed his computer. He’d get a notification on his phone if they left the penthouse, and he was still recording. He could go back over the footage later. It was well worth staying up late to eat dinner with Iris.
Rushing back to the door, he opened it wide now and stepped aside for her to come in. She walked in, glanced around, and set the food on the table. The door swung shut behind her. “Hmm,” she said. “Amazingly, you are pretty clean. Maybe you don’t need my toilet brush weapon?”
Devon laughed and stepped up close to her. So much had happened in the last six days since he’d first met this amazing woman. “No, but I do need my beautiful housekeeper to help me with something.”
“What’s that?” Her pulse was thrumming quickly in her neck as she looked so beguilingly up at him.
“Let me show you.” Devon raised his hand and trailed his fingertips over her smooth neck. She pulled in a sharp breath, and her pulse went faster. He bent low and tenderly kissed the pulse point and then worked his way up, loving the way her breathing quickened and her body melted into his. He reached her mouth but didn’t claim it yet, hovering there for a brief moment.
“What was it you wanted to show me?” she asked. She was teasing him, but he could see how he was affecting her.
“My toilets don’t reek,” he said. “But I’m humbling myself and begging you …”
“To clean your toilets?” She wrinkled her nose, but her aqua-blue eyes were full of him. She cared for him, maybe as much as he cared for her.
He shook his head. “Begging you to have mercy on my heart,” he said. It was cheesy, and he couldn’t have cared less.
She slid her hands around his upper back and said, “If you’ll do the same for me.”
“Deal,” he said, and he meant it. His lips came down on hers, working together in a beautiful pattern that he’d never tire of. The kiss sealed the deal. He had no clue what their future might look like, as he had no clue where he’d be next week, but he was gone over her. If she didn’t have mercy on his heart, he didn’t know how he’d survive.
As they pulled apart and caught their breath, he took her hand and walked her to the table. He pulled out her chair and uncovered the food—steak and veggies for him, and a large chicken salad for her. She bowed her head, and he followed suit, savoring her short but sweet prayer over the food and for protection for him, his family, her family, and everyone in the valley.
“Thank you for coming,” he said as they started into their meals. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Did you like my signs?”
He grinned. “I loved them. ‘I like kissing you’ and ‘Hello, my handsome secret spy guy.’”
“Ah, you missed the best one. I thought you’d seen it when you referenced the toilet brush weapon.”
He chewed the tender steak, drank some water, and asked, “What was it?”
“It said, ‘Don’t make me use my weapon; just kiss me all night long.’” She turned a pretty shade of pink and shoved a large bite of lettuce and tomato in.
Devon couldn’t think about food right now. He stared at her with his mouth slightly open. “All night long?”
She swallowed and shook her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. It seemed a lot cuter when I wrote it earlier rather than saying it now, with you looking at me like …”
He stood quickly, wrapped his hands around her waist, and lifted her into his arms. “It sounds plenty cute,” he said, struggling to breathe normally as he envisioned kissing her all night long.
“But you need to understand that I didn’t mean it like all night long, right? Just lots of kissing was what I meant.”
He gave her what his sisters liked to call his “smoldering look” and rubbed his hands along her lower back. “I understand what you intended, and it’s great with me. I like lots of kissing.”
“Me too.” She bit at her lip and then said, “Well, what are you waiting for?”
Devon chuckled. “What indeed?” Then he obliged her and kissed her again. After several wonderful minutes, he knew he should finish his dinner and get back to work, but somehow his motivation was lacking. All he wanted was Iris in his arms and someday soon “kissing all night long.” Tonight he’d content himself with kissing as long as she wanted. Who cared if his steak was cold or Antonio finally made a move? Iris was all that mattered.
Chapter Twelve
Iris paced the huge resort patio that overlooked the lake. Was Devon coming? He’d been so amazing at dinner. Her lips still tingled from his kisses. He wouldn’t be ditching her, right? Maybe something had happened with his work and he’d been shot and injured or killed by the people he was spying on. That was crazy, yet what did she know about what he did and how much danger he was in? He’d told her he’d protect her and everyone in the valley. That was a lot of protecting, and her fear for him ratcheted up.
She naturally went to her deep-seated trust issues, and she started fearing the worst in a different way. Devon was a super spy who traveled the world and had probably kissed women in every port like he’d teased with Grams about. He was probably bored of Iris. Why would he even consider dating someone who would trap him in this little valley? She couldn’t do that to him, cut off his jet pack and not let him save the world. Round and round her mind spun as her heels clacked on the patio.
One of the rear glass doors slid open, and she forgot all her worries and turned to greet Devon with an expectant smile. She loved that he walked her home every night, even back when she’d been suspicious and ticked at him.
A large man strode out, but it wasn’t Devon. She backed away, careful not to go too far and fall off the dock—unexpected trips into the lake were her and Devon’s thing—and she didn’t want to be alone in the dark with anyone but Devon.
Antonio Jasper grinned when he saw her. “Ah, bello Iris. How are you tonight?”
“I’m great.” She forced a smile, greeting him as she would any guest, though she felt apprehensive about being alone with him. No, she wasn’t alone. The patio was dimly lit, but there were still employees and even guests about in the main area of the lodge. He wouldn’t try anything. Devon hadn’t revealed who his quarry was, but Iris had gone over the guest list a few times. Antonio and the creepy guy who was staying alone in suite fifty-four were her top picks for somebody a spy should be watching. Not that Antonio had ever been anything but gracious to her, but what Italian millionaire goes on vacation to the Montana mountains without a woman? It seemed a little off. Maybe he wasn’t wealthy, though, just trying to
flaunt it and find a woman? Who knew?
“It’s been a good day,” she said quickly. “How about for you? Is there anything you need? Has your stay been good?” Her voice was a little shaky, probably revealing that she was uncomfortable around him.
He got a little too far into her space, and she backed up again, feeling her heel slip off the edge. Antonio’s arm shot out and pulled her back before she teetered off the dock.
“Thank you,” she managed, scurrying around him, breaking his hold on her, and backing toward the wall of glass and the brightly lit main area of the lodge. “The fall isn’t far, but that water is chilly.”
He smiled. “I can imagine. To answer your question, everything is fine. This is a beautiful resort, beautiful area.”
“I hope you’ve enjoyed the area. If you need mountain bikes, fishing equipment, a boat, climbing gear, whatever it is, our staff can accommodate.”
Again, he stepped too close. Iris held her ground. She wouldn’t let him push her around, and she wanted to convince him, and herself, that she was the confident hotel owner/manager she portrayed.
“Could you accommodate a moonlit walk with me?” he asked, his accent becoming more pronounced. What would’ve been charming to her a week ago now felt like nails on a chalkboard. She wasn’t walking alone with any man but Devon.
She gestured toward the moon. “The moon’s not really full enough to give much light.”
He smiled silkily. “Maybe you and I don’t need much light to … walk.”
Iris’s stomach filled with ice. She refused to be alone with him. Where was Devon? Devon. There was her excuse. “I apologize that I can’t go on a walk with you. I have a boyfriend, and he wouldn’t like it.”
Antonio’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? Yet you shared dinner with me three times.”
She stiffened but refused to let him bully her. “That was as the hotel’s hospitality manager, not as a date.”
The door behind her whooshed open. She looked over her shoulder and almost fell to the ground in relief. Devon strode out, looking tall, strong, and handsome in a white button-down shirt and gray slacks. The muscles revealed under his shirt and the determined look on his face told her he would protect her. If Antonio really was the threat.
Only Her Undercover Spy Page 8
