Codename: Romeo (18 page)

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to experiment.” She pulled him to her, the tips of her manicured nails scoring his waist.

Her hands explored every inch of him. His mind exploded with need. Her touch burned him and her sinuous movements tortured him. If she continued, he would lose control. Time to turn the tables back, he decided.

He slipped his hand between her legs, caressing the velvety skin of her thigh. Her sharp intake of breath echoed in his ear. He placed a trail of kisses along her neck, down to her breast and closed his mouth over the rosy peak. She cried out his name.

“Now, we know that works,” he noted with pride. “Should we try something else?”

She nodded, seemingly afraid to speak.

His fingers tangled in the damp thatch of hair between her legs. He parted the folds of skin and used his palm to arouse her further. Hot and moist, her flesh clenched reflexively.

“Erik.” Her voice came out in a half sigh.

“What?”

She gazed up at him through her long lashes, and he saw an unconditional trust. He thought, with a stab of guilt, that this was wrong. Why did it feel so right?

“Do you need to ask?”

“No.” He covered her with his body, sliding his arms through hers and balancing the bulk of his weight on his elbows.

As he kissed her, he made a place for himself deep inside her. Locking his fingers on her shoulders, he began a gentle rocking motion. With a contented sigh, she wrapped her arms and legs around him. She moved in counterpoint to his slow rhythm, building to a faster pace. A startled gasp escaped from her throat. She dug her nails into the flesh of his back and climaxed in a violent shudder.

She tightened around him, and all control slipped away, sending him to the same inevitable, exhilarating release. He claimed her mouth one last time. Pure sweetness and warmth greeted him.

They remained entwined together until the spasms of pleasure faded away. Reluctant to lose the closeness, he rested on his side and cuddled her in his arms. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to regain a normal breath. A smile played on her lips and her wide expressive eyes shone with emotion.

He knew he should say something, but he couldn’t find the words. He traced his thumb along her jaw line. A sigh of contentment escaped from her lips. She arched her back and stretched her arms above her head. Victoria was easy to please and she would be hard to forget.

Victoria’s cell phone rang, disrupting the intimate moment. Worse, he knew exactly who was calling since DeMarco left two messages on Erik’s mobile in the half hour they’d been gone. Christ, he didn’t need his superior checking up on him daily. Did the chief possess radar that allowed him to call at the most inopportune times?

Tori grabbed her phone from the coffee table. “Hello, Steven.” She paused to listen. “Yes, he’s here. You ordered the man to stick to me like white on rice.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“No, he doesn’t sit in the bedroom while I’m sleeping, but I’m sure he would, if you issued a direct order.”

Again she paused to listen with a bored expression on her face. “That’s only logical, Steven … I do have a genius I.Q., so it would follow that if my brain is smart then my ass would be too….”

Erik nearly choked while swallowing his laughter. He would bet there wasn’t a man in the agency that would talk to the chief like that.

“Oh, that wasn’t what you meant? Yes, I am too literal. I guess that means you don’t want to talk to me anymore.” She stretched her arm out and handed him the phone.

Great. She’d put her brother in a foul mood, but she’d stood up for herself, so he would gladly deal with any crap the chief wanted to dish out. “How can I help you, sir?”

“Where were you?” DeMarco barked out.

“Buying a Christmas tree.”

“A what?”

“A Christmas tree,” Erik repeated. “It’s that thing you decorate in lights and colored balls.”

“I know what a frigging Christmas tree is. Why? Never mind. I haven’t got time for this crap. I know where my sister picked up her bad habits. Just bring her by the office tomorrow at ten. We’ve picked up Elaine McMillan, and we need Tori to identify her as the woman who gave her the flower.”

“Shouldn’t I bring her now?”

“No. The suspect appears willing to cooperate, but I want to keep her in jail for the night. That way, we let her know what she’s in for if she’s not straight with us.”

“Tomorrow at ten. I’ll have her there.” He stood to put the phone back in the charger and then went to the bathroom for his clothes.

Tori sprang to her feet and followed him. “Have me where, Erik?”

“At the Burlington office.”

“Why?”

“They’ve recovered the disc and the courier. They want you to identify her.”

Her spirits took a nosedive. “So the case is over?”

“Not quite.” He pulled on his jeans. “We’d still like to catch Becker. And the woman is willing to cooperate for immunity.”

Now she grinned broadly. “Oh, good.”

“Why are you so pleased?”

“Why aren’t you?” She yanked a t-shirt from his hand, pulling it over her head instead. “In a big hurry to get rid of me?”

He shook his head. “No, but you’re still in danger while Becker is on the loose.”

She wound her arms around his neck. “Well, until that time, I turn myself over to your very … capable … hands.” Her voice reverberated with a sexy, throaty timbre that shot straight through him.

As she wriggled against him, he felt his concentration slipping again. He wasn’t going to be capable of much if he didn’t get his hands off her body. Gripping her wrists, he pulled her arms to her sides. “We are going to get dressed and then we’re going to sit down and discuss this case.”

She gave him one of her sexy pouts. “Are you trying to kill the mood?”

“You bet your intellectual ass I am.”

Chapter Thirteen

After a wonderful night of sleeping on the sofa in Erik’s arms, she woke refreshed and ready to face the day. While Erik changed, she decided to check her email. She sat cross-legged on the piano bench that served as her computer chair and logged on. Albert Einstein smiled at her. She pushed at the floppy sleeve of the white shirt she appropriated from Erik’s suitcase and began to type. She wasn’t sure why, but he seemed to like seeing her in his clothes. It turned him on. And any time she could distract him, she could distract herself.

She signed into her account and looked at the list of senders. Apparently, the good news about her extension on the midterm papers had not spread to all her classes. Three of her more industrious students sent their papers two weeks early. She put them into her save box. She didn’t want to think about physics except when it pertained to gravity-defying experiments.

“Shouldn’t you get dressed? We have to be in Burlington in an hour.” Erik slid onto the bench next to her. “What are you doing?”

“Reading my mail.”

“Anything interesting?”

“Sure, if I ever need a discounted supply of Viagra, or if I’d like an enlargement on a part of the anatomy that I don’t have.”

They shared a laugh over the absurdity of SPAM mail.

“That’s why I don’t have one of these ridiculous machines,” Erik noted.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a permanent address either. She wouldn’t hear from him again after the case ended. With a deep, calming breath, she pushed that eventuality from her mind.

“Do you want breakfast?” As she started to rise, he clamped his hand over her bare thigh. His fingers drummed playfully against her skin. The pleasure spread through her.

“Finish what you’re doing.”

“You finish what you’re doing,” she returned. He turned his head from side to side. “You behave today.”

With an exaggerated sigh, she focused on the screen. She didn’t recognize the last email address. She was about to hit the delete key when the subject line caught her attention. MY DISC. Innocuous words, in most circumstances, but given her present situation, they caught her attention. She opened the mail.

NICE CHRISTMAS TREE. I HOPE YOU AND THE WATER BOY LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO APPRECIATE IT.

She read the message twice before it sank in. A gasp escaped over her parched throat.

Erik turned his attention to the screen. “Shit! Can you tell who sent this?” he asked.

Her heart pounded. The university website posted her email address, but few people knew Erik’s cover of working for the water company. And she told no one of her plans to buy a Christmas tree.

“I don’t know who the sender is. Anyone could have sent it. Anyone who saw us buying a tree yesterday. Unless my phone is bugged.”

“We covered that. Didn’t you notice that any calls pertaining to the case come on wireless phones?”

She didn’t notice much of anything. She hadn’t wanted to. “Which means he was following us.”

He draped a comforting arm around her shoulder. “You’re safe here.”

She felt protected in his embrace. “I know.” She snuggled closer, working her hand under his shirt.

He laced his fingers through hers. Although he kept his voice calm, his body language spoke volumes. He muscles flexed with tension. His eyes grew dark and narrow. “Okay, you won’t remain safe if you keep doing that. Go get dressed so we can get moving. We’ll take the laptop with us and see if anyone at the agency can trace the origin.”

Victoria backed down. Daniels took regular checks of the neighborhood. Erik made sure one of them occupied the house at all times. In a small town, strangers stuck out like neon signs. Yet despite precautions, Becker managed to keep tabs on them. Until the end of this case, she was going to behave and follow orders. She inhaled deeply, taking in his unique scent. Well, she was going to try.

* * * *

Later that morning, Victoria faced Elaine across a wooden table in a small interrogation room. She glanced at the two-way mirror to her left. Her brother stood on the other side, watching her, but he’d promised to leave the intercom off. Despite what the woman had done, she felt bad for Elaine. While Victoria understood bureau protocol, she felt they went overboard with the handcuffs on Elaine’s wrists. Did they think she would try to attack Victoria with dozens of their top agents in the building?

“Sorry about those,” Victoria said.

Elaine shrugged as if it was no big deal. “At least it got me away from that jerk, Eddie.”

“And into federal custody.”

“I deserve it.”

“I don’t believe that.” Elaine wasn’t alone in the scheme, yet she took full responsibility for her actions.

She smiled sadly. “Because you’re too trusting. That’s how we all ended up here today.”

Admittedly, Victoria’s naiveté made her an easy target, but she’d learned a lot since her return from Mexico. Some of the lessons cut deep, but no good change came without a fair amount of growing pains. “I’m not as trusting as I used to be.”

“Then why aren’t you screaming bloody murder right about now?”

“Why would I?”

“I set you up as a decoy.”

Victoria nodded in agreement. “Yes, you did. And you got caught. So, I might have been a good victim, but you weren’t a very good criminal.”

“You’ve got a point there. So, if you didn’t want to tell me off, why did you want to talk to me?”

“I wanted to thank you.”

Elaine laughed. “I knew you were different when I met you. But you’re strange.”

This time Victoria laughed. “I have had the best week of my life.”

“Yes, I saw him when I was in Wakeburn. Nice.”

“And I owe it all to you.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help.” She held her hands up. “But, I’d really rather not accept these bracelets he gave me as compensation for my matchmaking success.”

“The jewelry came from my brother.”

Elaine arched an eyebrow. “So the other one is your brother. Just my luck to choose a victim whose brother is in the NSB.”

Victoria recalled mentioning that fact in Mexico. Maybe Elaine subconsciously wanted to get caught.

“He’s very nice. I guess I blew any chance of a relationship. The good ones always seem to slip through my fingers.”

“I don’t know. He did give you jewelry after all. Although candy probably would have been more appropriate for a first date.”

“It would have been nice to have dinner and a movie, rather than an arrest and booking, before moving to the handcuffs.”

Victoria grinned. Steven hadn’t found himself a nice girl in forty-five years. Maybe a less-than-nice girl would make him happy. “Do you want me to talk to him? He’s a bit slow on the uptake.”

“He’s a man….”

“Enough said,” they finished in unison.

* * * *

Steven studied the women from behind the two-way mirror. They looked as if they were having a high school reunion. Where was Victoria’s genius brain today? That woman put her life in danger. She should scream down the joint, not trade laughs. No wonder he’d spent twenty years looking out for her. She didn’t have the sense to do it herself.

He rested his gaze on the suspect. There was a certain similarity in size and coloring between the two women. Elaine was the same age but more worldly than his sister. He’d been tailing her for several days now. Although he found her enticing, she’d put his sister’s life in danger. And any physical feeling she inspired, he credited to the adrenaline rush of fieldwork after so many years. He wasn’t attracted to the cool, calculating type.

Still, she didn’t possess the temperament of a hardcore criminal. He grunted. Extortion took nerves of steel. Extorting from an extortionist took a brass set of balls.

Sanders entered the observation room. “You wanted to see me?”

“Did they get anything off her computer?” Steven asked.

“They tracked the transmission to a cyber-café in Montpelier. Someone’s checking it out, but since it was sent yesterday, there’s not much chance he’d still be there.”

Steven might not work in the field any longer, but he wasn’t an idiot. And he resented some longhaired wise-ass making him feel like one. “What do you make of her?”

“Tori, or the other one?”