Bounty Hunters: 03 Stay Hungry (18 page)

"I got the impression something had happened. Marco was adamant about showing whatever it was to Mario, but he didn't want to leave me."

She got more comfortable sitting next to Jake. When she crossed one leg over the other, Jake moved his hand but then rested it on her knee again once she was situated. Angela kept talking, getting excited about her story. She didn't pay attention to him touching her, or she didn't mind.

"More than once I told Mario he could go tend to business and that I wouldn't mind. He insisted the night was for the two of us and his work could wait."

"Are you sure Marco said he wanted to show something to Mario?" Jake asked.

Angela continued staring at his hand on her knee. "I think so," she muttered, then looked up at him with a small smile. "Yes. I'm sure he said he needed to show Mario whatever it was immediately. It was one of the few things said in English, which is why I remember. When we were on the patio, the older man showed up. He didn't speak to Mario the way Marco did. I mean there wasn't the same level of respect. He spoke more as if they were equals. And at one point, Mario threatened to send him back to Italy if he didn't leave us alone. I'm pretty sure his house servants are his family. Marco and Mario have similar features."

Jake remembered the blond guy walking across the yard and entering the outbuilding. If he was related to Mario, it certainly wasn't by blood.

"The old man told Mario it couldn't wait."

"What couldn't wait?"

"Whatever it was they wanted him to know, and that they were insistent he come see." Angela met Jake's gaze, staring at him for a moment. "I kind of got the impression it was about me, the way the old man kept glaring at me. That or he blamed me for Mario not wanting to see whatever it was at that moment."

"And you don't have any idea what that was?"

Angela brushed a strand of hair away from her face as she shook her head. "I really need a crash course in Italian," she said, dropping her attention to Jake's bare chest and licking her lips. "The old man started yelling at Mario in his own language and he said something about me. Like I said, I wrote down what he said when I got to my room and the main word that stuck in my brain was the word
puttana
, which means slut."

Jake looked away from Angela. It dawned on him the sound from the TV had stopped and he stood, digging into his jeans pocket for some more bills. "So the old man didn't like the fact that you were there. You were distracting Mario from something they felt was important and needed his immediate attention."

"I think so. Or it was about me." She watched Jake feed the bills into the coin box. "If it was about me I guess I'm grateful Mario didn't find out what it was, because a few minutes later the old man was dead."

She'd uncrossed her legs when Jake turned to face her after selecting another movie to play. He caught her staring at his lower back or maybe his ass. She shot her gaze to his face the moment he looked at her, and again licked her lips. Jake swore she looked hungry, and could easily change the subject to them. He stood facing her for a moment, aware of his dick threatening to grow in his jeans.

It was her mind that turned him on as much as her body. He'd never cared before to learn anything about the women he saw before Angela. If the lady put out, that was all that mattered to Jake. The women he had seen in the past understood that and seldom asked him about his work, either. Angela was different. Mental, as well as physical, stimulation appealed to him more now than it had before. Damn, he'd been a shallow bastard.

"We need to interpret whatever it was the old man said to Mario."

"I was going to do that."

When Jake sat next to her she moved and pulled his shirt out from underneath her. "You should put this back on," she said, shoving it at him but not meeting his gaze.

"You don't mind sitting on the bench without it?" He tried not to sound too amused.

She sent him a scathing look and stood, dropping his shirt in his lap. "I'm going back to my room," she announced, turning to the locked door.

Jake didn't hurry to stop her but moved easily enough that he had her in his arms before she could unlock the door. "Why does it bother you sitting in here with me?" he whispered into her hair.

"You're half-naked and porn is playing in the background and you want to know why this bothers me?"

Jake chuckled and turned her around to face him. She wasn't amused and showed him as much when she smacked her fist against his chest. He put his hand over her fist, keeping it pressed against his chest. Her skin was soft and warm and he liked her touching him. Even more so, he was very aware of her breath quickening when he lowered his head to hers.

"I already know why it bothers you," he whispered, using his free hand to tilt her head back. She didn't try pulling her fist away from his chest but resisted when he pressed his fingers under her chin. "Angela," he whispered.

"Jake," she complained.

She wasn't telling him no. And he knew why. His fiery little detective wanted him possibly as much as he wanted her. It was the same fire the two of them had ignited a year ago in Tijuana, and it hadn't fizzled out during the time they'd been apart. Maybe a good portion of it was curiosity, but Jake swore he detected something else, something that went deeper than anything he'd felt for any other women he'd ever been with.

Jake cupped her chin with his hand, leaned her head back, and brushed his lips over hers. "You're not leaving yet," he said, his voice suddenly so husky with need he sounded raspy.

"I'm not fucking you in here," she informed him, her thick black lashes batting over her milky green eyes when she tried focusing on him.

He had the sense not to laugh or smile at her demand. "That's fine," he said, and pressed his lips against hers again.

She tasted so good. When he let go of her fist and pulled her against him, Angela didn't try pushing away. The sigh she released was music to his tormented brain. He pressed his tongue between her lips, and she opened for him, fully surrendering as her hands went up to his shoulders.

Jake ran his hands along the slender curve of her back, feeling drunk from the taste of her. He started a slow, seductive dance, moving his tongue around hers and enjoying the mixture of coffee and peppermint in her mouth. When he gripped her ass, pressing her against him as his dick stretched and throbbed, aching to be inside her, Angela gasped. He held her firmly as she arched against him. Her breasts were so full and round. Jake imagined ripping her top from her body and sucking each nipple until she came. The way she gasped and sighed as he feasted on her mouth, he knew the sounds of her coming for him would be enough to tear him apart.

Angela dragged her fingernails down his arms and moaned into his mouth. He started thinking he could make love to her here and she wouldn't fight him. But he'd honor her request, if it killed both of them.

Jake broke off the kiss and was rewarded with a view to die for. Angela's hair streamed down her back. Her nipples were hard as rocks and poked through her tank top. One strap had slipped off her bare shoulder and draped around her arm, giving him a better view of her cleavage. But it was her face, her thick lashes fluttering over her dazed expression and her flushed cheeks a beautiful rose shade, that caused something to tighten in his chest. For a moment he couldn't breathe. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on, let alone held in his arms.

"You're so damned beautiful."

Angela's gaze cleared and she stared up at him, almost wary.

He hadn't meant to say that out loud. Women knew they were beautiful. They used their ways and wiles to seduce men, to taunt and tease them. Telling them they were gorgeous allowed them to manipulate men, to take advantage of the need burning in a man and to use sex to control men.

Whatever had tightened inside him shattered when Angela smiled. She blinked and licked her lips and continued grinning. "Thank you," she whispered, sounding anything but her usual demanding self.

He let her move out of his arms and accepted his shirt he'd apparently dropped on the bench. "Here's what we're going to do," he said, needing to focus on business so he wouldn't melt in her arms and demand they continue where they left off a moment ago. "I want you to stay here."

"Stay here?" She frowned, apparently not liking that idea.

"Only for a minute," he assured her, pulling his shirt over his head. "I'm going to leave and make sure no one is looking for you. Stay in here until I call you. Once I know no one has stopped by the Drake searching for you, I'll call and let you know it's okay to return to your room."

"And if someone is looking for me?" She looked skeptical.

"Then I'll come back for you."

Chapter Nine

Angela locked the door after Jake left, clutching her purse and feeling reassured at the hardness of her gun. She pulled her phone out and stared at it. She had a signal. The small cubicle didn't allow enough room to do anything. Except what it was designed for. She stared at the TV screen built into the wall. A woman arched her back while on her hands and knees and licked her glossy red lips while a large man fucked her from behind. Angela imagined Jake taking her the same way and immediately her body reacted. The swelling between her legs grew so intense she sat, dropped her phone back in her purse, and pressed her knees together.

Angela no longer cared what had been done on this bench. She had worse problems than where her ass was sitting. This whole thing sucked. Jake was beyond any doubt the best-looking man she'd ever laid eyes on. If he had any idea how cruel it was of him when he yanked off his T-shirt then he was definitely a coldhearted man. She'd been forced to talk shop while staring at his perfectly sculpted body. And there was no way he didn't know how much sex appeal he possessed.

"Damn it," she sighed, dropping her head in her hands and dragging her fingers through her hair.

No one forced her to do anything. It had been all she could do to keep her hands to herself and not molest him. God! She wanted him so badly her pussy throbbed to the point of distraction. Not to mention they were so close sitting next to each other in this little sex room. Knowing what others had done on this bench, in this room, sure didn't help matters much. If she got her mind on the case for a minute, one glance at the TV set and she was right back to undressing him the rest of the way.

"Which is probably exactly what he wanted," she said out loud, blowing out an exasperated puff and standing. Granted, Jake did initiate the kiss. "Lord, what a kiss," she mumbled. Who would have known a man could make her damn near come just by kissing her?

Angela's phone rang and she almost jumped out of her skin. It took a minute to drag it out of her purse. She stared at the area code and phone number. Jake hadn't given her his number. She could only guess this was him. "Hello," she said.

"I confirmed Mandela's driver has been by for you with his limo." Jake was all business.

It was easier matching his tone, and frame of mind, on the phone. Angela didn't have to stare at his perfect body. "Tomas," she said. "How did you find that out?"

"I have my sources."

"And do you bribe the doorman, too?"

His silence answered her question and she smiled.

"Head on out of there. I have my eye on you. Mandela's limo isn't here now."

Angela opened the door and stared at the quiet bookstore. The windows facing the street were black and reflected her image as she moved through the store. She never would have guessed there were so many sub-genres of porn, and if she weren't so preoccupied with Mario seeking her out she might have taken time to browse.

Mario wasn't going to quit searching for her. The sooner she convinced him she hadn't seen anything, the better. If she played this out, laying low and making herself impossible to find, eventually Mario would put a mark out on her. In his eyes she'd witnessed a murder, making herself a liability. He wasn't going to leave her alone. There wasn't any walking away from this.

Angela nodded at the clerk behind the counter, who barely took time to look up and acknowledge her. "I think I should call Mario," she said once she was outside on the sidewalk. This late at night wasn't safe no matter what part of Chicago she was in. Her heart rate accelerated as she picked up her pace and headed around the corner to the Drake.

"Agreed," Jake said without hesitating, which was surprising. "Head to your room first. We're ironing out a game plan. You're treading in really deep water now."

"Where are you?" she asked, although she didn't want to glance around and appear nervous. When she came within sight of the glowing entrance to the Drake, with its high brick overpass, she eased her steps.

"Enjoying that hot little ass of yours sway back and forth," he growled in her ear.

Angela shot a furtive glance over her shoulder before she could stop herself. Jake's chuckle in her ear sent shivers down her spine. Her skin broke out in goose bumps, but she wasn't cold. Far from it. At the moment she was searing hot and growing annoyed.

"Fuck you," she grumbled, having half a mind to hang up on him.

"I plan on it." His deep baritone sealed his promise and made her knees weak.

Angela almost stumbled when she hurried across the circular drive of the Drake. And she did hang up on him. That would show him. Jake didn't believe her promise that they wouldn't have sex while working on this case any more than she did. She was practically panting and a warm sensation traveled over her when Albert opened the door for her. Jake was a son of a bitch.

Albert's warm smile made it impossible not to smile in return.

"Have a nice evening, Miss Angela?" he asked, his grin broadening.

If Jake had given the old man any indication where she'd been, she'd kick his muscular ass. "It was okay," she offered. "Any messages for me?"

"Quite a few actually, miss. You're quite the popular lady."

"Oh?" she asked, taking in the quiet lobby as she stepped through the door before facing Albert. "A lot of people were looking for me?"

"Two actually. Both just kept returning. You know, my dear, dragging on several gentlemen isn't always as entertaining as it appears."

Angela couldn't help grinning at Albert's concerned expression. He thought she was playing the field, with men calling for her. If only that were the truth instead of being so far from how things really were. She had to be careful how she responded, though, since her cover was to make everyone believe she was an unscrupulous spoiled rich girl who was content digging her nails into the bad boy Mario Mandela.

"You're a sweetheart to care about me," she said, batting her lashes at Albert and feeling like the floozy he probably saw her as. "But someone was looking for me other than Mario?" She frowned, shaking her head. "Do you know who?"

"You're right about Mr. Mandela. He sent his car by for you a couple times. But there was also a gentleman who is staying here at the hotel who asked about you."

"Real big guy?" She held her hand up in the air but knew she didn't come close to offering an accurate measurement of Jake.

"It's been my experience, miss, if I may offer a small amount of wisdom without offending?"

"Of course. What were you going to say?" Angela dropped her hand and stared into Albert's eyes.

"As I said, it's been my experience that gentlemen willing to pay for information on a lady are usually doing so because they wish to control and possess her."

Angela's jaw dropped and she snapped it shut but leaned closer to Albert, breathing in the faint smell of Old Spice, which made her think of her father. It was an odd sensation, since Albert certainly wasn't talking about her father when he mentioned two men. She knew exactly who Albert was talking about. She also knew why both men would want information on her. Or she hoped she did.

"Both of them paid you to keep an eye on me?" Now she whispered, too.

Albert chuckled. "I'm an old man and more of a fixture around here than an active employee. You flatter me suggesting I could keep up with a beauty as active as yourself."

"And you're a bad liar," she said, smiling but narrowing her gaze on him. "Don't try to make me think for a moment that you can't tell me everything that goes on around here."

She thought Albert blushed, but his wrinkled, hollowed cheeks were pasty enough it was hard to tell. He straightened, though, his expression growing serious.

"When two men are that determined to know a lady's whereabouts, it's because they feel a strong sort of possessiveness toward her. Now if you don't mind my saying, I see danger in one and a strong sense of possessiveness in the other. If you mix the two..."

"It would be one hell of a mess," she finished for him.

"Tread carefully, Miss Angela. Your men may not quite be as they appear."

A car pulled up into the circle, its headlights beaming on the two of them for a moment. Angela heart pounded viciously in her chest until she confirmed it wasn't Mario's limo.

"Duty calls," Albert said, patting her arm and grinning, appearing relaxed and completely in control.

Angela gathered inner strength and smiled easily at him. "Thank you," she said, slightly upset there wasn't time to learn more of his thoughts on Mario and Jake.

A few minutes later her hotel door closed silently behind her, automatically locking. She kicked off her shoes, leaving them at the desk and walked to her bed, climbing on to it and collapsing.

"It's about time you got here," Jake said as he appeared from around the corner by the bathroom.

Angela shot to a sitting position, managing to free her gun from her purse by her hand and aim it at him before she acknowledged who spoke to her.

Jake brought his hands out from his side slowly. "I didn't mean to startle you," he said, his gaze riveting on the gun.

"Crap, Jake." Angela was pissed and relieved all at once. She lowered the gun, her hands shaking when she dropped it on top of her purse. "You scared me to death. What are you doing here?" Her senses returned to her with her next breath. "How did you get in here?"

Jake gave her an impish grin when he pulled a card key out of his jeans pocket. "It was in your shorts pocket."

"What?" She didn't understand. "But I used my card to get in here."

"Apparently you had both cards on you." Jake shrugged and dropped the card key on the table by her surveillance equipment.

"Wait a minute. How were you watching my ass if you were in here?"

Jake moved in on her, reaching the edge of the bed and leaning over. He pressed his fists into the bedspread. Long, corded muscles bulged in his forearms. His shoulders flexed and chest muscles rippled under his T-shirt. "An ass as hot as yours doesn't leave the mind easily," he growled, lowering his gaze to her breasts.

God!
He was 100 percent flirt. She was staring at a purebred playboy and knew without giving it thought that she was desperately out of her league. Her life was all business. The men she had dated behaved in a civilized manner. Angela made the first move if she decided they were worth her time. Jake wasn't even bothering with the first move. The look on his face made it clear he was coming in for the kill.

Maybe in his world women fell at his feet, willing to do whatever he wanted. In her world, though, when she chose a man, he fell at her feet and begged to do whatever she wanted, Angela pulled her knees to her chest and scooted back on the bed. It might have been a king size, but with a man the size of Jake, there wasn't enough space to escape him. His eyes blazed like rare emeralds when he grabbed her ankles and pulled her back into his arms.

"Damn it," she cried out, and slapped her hands against his warm, steel chest.

"What did Albert say to you?" Jake braced her with one hand pressed against the middle of her back. His fingers crawled into her hair, tugging until she let her head fall back and stared into his smoldering gaze.

"Albert?" she asked, blinking until Jake returned his attention to her face. "Who is Albert?"

"You know who Albert is." Jake captured her mouth, demanding entrance and impaling her with his tongue.

Angela barely had time to capture her breath before he began making love to her mouth. His fingers moved up her spine, caressing and pressing into her flesh, which proved to be almost as erotic as the way he kissed her. As sturdy as he was in holding her against him, his other hand moved delicately down the side of her head. When he brushed his fingertips against her cheek, all the while instigating a dance with their tongues that ignited flames of passion deep inside her, it was all she could do to hold on.

Maybe they were in different leagues. But that didn't mean she lacked experience. Jake used his body as his weapon. He possessed skills most men didn't even know existed. Jake might be one of the best bounty hunters, with too much sex appeal for his own good, but his skills vanished when it came to women.

Not his sexual skills. Angela wouldn't argue they were off the charts. She was barely able to maintain control of her own mind as he created sensations inside her she wasn't sure she'd ever felt before. But he plotted, brainstormed, and analyzed a case before beginning his hunt. Jake wasn't brainstorming and analyzing her. He dove in, all aggression and demanding. Angela needed to tame this virile beast.

If she could manage it. Angela turned her head, fighting to catch her breath and make her brain work. Instead of breaking off the kiss, Jake made a rumbling sound in his throat as he ran kisses along the side of her face to her ear.

"Jake," she cried out, her entire body jerking as he raked his teeth down her earlobe. When he teased her inner ear with his tongue, the swelling between her legs exploded into a pool of moist heat.

"You don't have a clue how sexy you are," he whispered, his words torturing her as much as his tongue did.

"I think I have a clue," she mumbled, although she was lying. She should be focusing on taking the upper hand, not on learning how he reacted to her touch. Exploring his body wouldn't help her tame Jake, but it sure as hell caused the heat smoldering inside her to grow into a pressure ready to explode almost immediately.

"Are you going to tell me what Albert said to you?" Jake's voice was raspy and his breath hot against the curve just above her collarbone. With each kiss, each nibble and scrape of his teeth against her flesh, he moved closer to areas that swelled, screaming for his attention.

"I don't think I will," she admitted.

Her hands were under his shirt. There was an odd sense of power as her fingertips explored and his muscles twitched under her touch. Angela barely had time to catch her breath, let alone clear her vision, when Jake let go of her long enough to rip his shirt from his body. She didn't even register where he threw it when he grabbed her tank top and as easily pulled it over her head, tossing it wherever he sent his shirt.