Deception (Carrington Hill Investigations Book 1) (5 page)

She realized that s
pending the night at her childhood home had been a mistake when she remembered Trip was supposed to pick her up from the FBI field office. She reached for her cell and offered her apologies. She didn’t want him coming over to pick her up. Heck, he’d end up bringing the media with him, and she couldn’t afford that, at least not yet. She planned to keep her identity and her home guarded away from prying eyes for as long as she could before the press put two and two together. That would eventually seal her fate and lead them to camping out on her lawn once the mission was over and the divorce made headlines. 

A splash of guilt ate at her consci
ence about her stupid worries when she should be more concerned with finding Catherine. She made one more call to Marco and asked him for any information he could dig up on Trip Hathaway’s property. Having an escape route to throw off reporters was a priority in helping to retain her sanity. She changed into one of her prettier dresses, did her hair, and even put on makeup for her wedding. She snickered at the thought. It wasn’t like any of this was real and lasting, but impressions must prevail. Marco had called her back and, in detail, described the layout and what the satellite feed and a quickly completed recon of the place had revealed. She now knew exactly how Trip Hathaway left the property without throngs of reporters following him. She’d tucked that tidbit of information into her memory bank to use in a jam. They met at the attorney’s office, signed the paperwork, and spoke their vows. A light peck on her lips sealed her fate. She was whisked out of the office as the new Mrs. Hathaway with one goal in mind—finding Catherine.

Trip poured them champagne in the back of the stretch limo and handed her a glass.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to toast our marriage.”

He
sent her a smile that had her pulse racing and leaned back into the leather seat. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Mrs. Hathaway.”

H
er stomach flipped at the foreign name. What the hell had she been thinking when she agreed to his plan? She’d thought it would be easy to take on the identity, but she was faced with reality now, making it difficult for her to breathe. The Adonis sitting next to her was hers for a limited time, and she didn’t know what the hell to do with him. She couldn’t stop the frown from forming on her lips.

He nodded
. “Sounds weird, huh?” He lifted his glass. “I was going to toast to a speedy investigation.” There was a trace of laughter in his voice.

“I’ll toast to that.” She
clinked her glass against his and sipped the champagne. The bubbles tickled her nose as she sipped the gold liquid from the gods and enjoyed the burst of fruity flavor. Even though she came from money, she didn’t sip the bubbly as often as people might think she did. No, she stayed away from liquor as much as possible except for the occasional beer on a bad day. She always liked to keep her wits about her and keep a clear mind, and it seemed she was going to need it.

“There
will be a reception tonight with family and close friends so you can meet most of the players. Get prepared; they’re going to drill you on where we met and why we both jumped into a marriage.”

She mulled that over in her mind, unable to reach a logical reason anyone would believe they were together.
“What’s our history? Have you thought about it?”

A smile lit his face. “
I met you in a bar.”

“Do you frequent
them often?” His answer had her realizing that she didn’t know him at all either. Her new husband didn’t strike her as the barfly type, but the same could be said of her being an heiress.

“Not really, you have anything better?”

She worried her bottom lip. She’d always had a completely plausible cover given to her. Not once had she needed to come up with her own. Trip reached over and slid the pad of his thumb against her lower lip. “You’re going to leave a mark.”

She lifted her hand and removed his
hand, which was now firmly planted on her cheek. “Sorry, bad habit.” It was official; he wasn’t allowed to touch her again. All rational thoughts flew out the minute he made contact. “Do you like to jog?”

“Yes.”

She glanced out the window at the passing buildings, looking for any distraction that would erase the image of his hard, sweaty body after a good run. It didn’t work. “We met at Verna Beach while we were both out for a jog. We immediately hit it off, and you proposed, unable to live without me.” She glanced back at him. “You’re impulsive, right?”

He studied her for a moment.
“I’m not sure they’re going to buy that, Lexi.”

Hell
, she was the one who was going to have to snap out her lust stupor for their story to be believed. Seriously, what sane woman gets married after just meeting a guy on the beach? They were going to think she was a bimbo for sure. She grinned at the thought, thinking that was exactly what she wanted them to think. “Sure they will….soul mate and all. You’ll just have some pretty convincing acting to do.”

He reached for her flute
, set it down next to his and slid closer to her. “Lexi, if we’re going to pull this off, I can’t have you flinching at my touch or my kiss.” He placed a palm on her cheek. “You’re going to have some pretty serious acting going on too. As newlyweds we’re not supposed to keep our hands off each other.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and she wetted them in sweet anticipation.

Lexi’s
lips tilted up in a grin. She slid over to Trip, bunched her skirt up her legs, moving it out of the way, and climbed on top of his lap, running her fingers through his silky strands. “Mr. Hathaway, you’ll find out that my acting skills are beyond reproach. How does this work for you?”

Sw
allowing the anxiety in her throat, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his; enjoying it more than she should. She convinced herself it was just a perk of their charade. No harm, no foul. And she knew the minute she’d made the wrong assumption. There was no hesitation on either part. His hands came up to caress her back as he kissed her back with his hot, hungry mouth. Her body instinctively leaned deeper into his embrace. Erotic images of them under tangled sheets floated in her mind. She hadn’t had to play the part of lover yet in her career and probably would never do it again, but something inside felt right about doing it with Trip. Love? Hell no, but lust… She could work with lust.

She needed to solve this case and fast before
lust turned into something more deadly like love; giving Trip an opportunity to not only break her heart but crush it into tiny pieces and stomp on whatever was left. She pulled back, breaking the sensual connection. “Does that scream happy newlyweds? Did I pass the test?”

He cleared his throat
while keeping a firm grip on her hips. “This might be harder than I thought.” His voice thickened. “It’s going to be easy to forget the real reason why you’re here.” He ran his hands up her back, caressing her through the sheer fabric of her dress. His brows dipped, and the intensity of his gaze sharpened. “It was quite convincing. Have you had to do this before for your job, Lexi?”

His words doused her rising hormones
. He might as well have just called her a slut and dumped cold water on her to cool her off. Was he asking her if she’d had sex or used her body to break a case? She’d never let herself get in that position before. She’d always found a way around having to use her body to bag the bad guys. She slid from his lap and back onto the leather seat.

“No.”
She clipped with a hit of annoyance.

It was clear he thought she was easy. Maybe her actions had indicated it, but she was in for the role of her life to find Catherine
. His words, however, still hurt a little deep down. It wasn’t like kissing the man had been a chore of any sorts. She’d enjoyed it more than she’d expected to, and it reminded her of what she’d put on hold for her career. “That was the first.”

He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I know you’re only doing this to find Catherine.” He paused. “I wasn’t judging you.”

Lexi let her gaze linger out the window on the passing trees. He had judged her whether he realized it or not, and maybe it did make her a bad person for her lack of morals in playing the part, but she held fast to the idea that Catherine’s life depended on it. Kissing and cozying up to Trip probably wouldn’t be the worst she’d do to complete this particular investigation. He placed an arm around her shoulders. “Do you forgive me, Lexi? I would never intentionally mean to hurt you.”

She leaned into the crook of his arm
, playing the part once more. His words were a reminder that she shouldn’t probably be here in the first place. No, her guard was up once more, right where it needed to be. Get in, get the job done, and get out like a thief in the night. There was no time to waste in getting the hell away from him. “It was a valid question, and considering I married you to get what I want, it’s not unfounded.”

She felt the muscle in his arm tense
around her shoulders. She had said them to prove her point, that she understood the situation she’d gotten herself into and hadn’t forgotten the reason she was there, no matter how soft his lips felt against hers. She patted him on the leg as the limo pulled up in front of the biggest mansion she’d ever seen. She leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. “It’s showtime, husband.” She climbed out of the limo and lifted her chin. Even though she’d never felt like she belonged at places like this, she was a master at making people believe she did. Bring on the criminals. She needed a place to relieve her frustrations; Cinderella was home and loaded for bear.

He
pulled her into his arms and leaned down to place a kiss in her hair. He whispered, “Last chance to back out.”

She glanced up at him and
, with a determined smile, placed her palm on his cheek. She pulled his head down to hers and whispered against his lips. “Never.”

“Welcome home, wife.”

She crushed her lips to his with renewed fever, giving back as good as she’d received, and gave him the hottest, steamiest kiss she had in her arsenal. She heard the door creak open and the footsteps on the porch. She hadn’t had to open her eyes to know that they were indeed being watched and judged in this moment.

He pulled her body flush to h
is. There was no hiding his interest; she felt the bulge behind his zipper harden between them. She leaned deeper into his arms and ran her hands through his hair. She would have climbed him like a pole to give the staff more to gossip about, but damn, he was tall, even with the three-inch heels she wore. He grinned during his kiss, evidently enjoying the role of husband.

****

Someone cleared their throat. “Uh, Trip, do you want to introduce me to your new
friend
?” Ethan’s voice drifted to his ears, but Trip was unwilling to let the vixen off the hook. The kiss was just an appetizer to what it would be like to take her to bed, and he was already planning the seduction in his head. He held up his hand, trailing kisses down her neck and appreciating the slight moan that left her lips. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I could get used to that every morning.”

A
pretty pink tint stained Lexi’s cheek as he turned them both to his brother standing on the porch with his arms crossed. “I would like to introduce you to my
wife
, Lexi.” He kissed her hair again. “Lexi, this is my younger brother and Vice President of Hathaway Enterprises, Ethan Hathaway.”

Trip had to hold back a chuckle as
a shocked expression overtook Ethan’s face. He guided Lexi up the steps. “Well, don’t be rude, Ethan.”

He shook his head and took
Lexi’s hand into his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “My apologies, Lexi...” He tilted his head and regarded his brother. “I didn’t realize Trip was even dating anyone seriously.” He returned his gaze to hers. “Uh…Welcome to the family?”

Trip’s chest puffed
out with pride. Had his marriage been real, she was exactly the type of woman that he’d be proud to bring home—strong, independent, and caring. “She’s friends with Ms. O’Donnell, and I’d like for you to keep that to yourself for now.”

A smile curved on Ethan’s lips as he threw his arm around her
shoulders and heralded her through the doors. “Any friend of Catherine’s has good taste and is welcome here.” He glanced over his shoulder and raised his brow. “Even if you did marry my brother.” He pulled her into another room and motioned for her to have a seat on the couch. “Can I get you a drink?” He moved to a nearby bar set up in the corner.

She folded
her hands in her lap. “No thank you.” She glanced from Trip to Ethan. “How did you come to meet Catherine?”

He took a seat across from her with a beer in his hand as Trip stood behind the couch and placed a palm on her shoulder.
Suspicious, she was already starting with the questions, but in this instance, she was barking up the wrong tree. Ethan crossed an ankle over his leg. “You first, dear sister. How did you come to meet Trip?”

Trip gave a disapproving look at his younger brother. He knew Ethan was worried about Catherine
, and he couldn’t really blame the guy. If the person he loved was missing, he’d be the same way. Trip cleared his throat. “It seems you and
my wife
have a lot in common.” He rounded the couch and held out his hand watching as she placed her fingers in his. “I’m going to go get Lexi settled in our room, and we’ll meet back in my office in thirty minutes, and she can tell you all about it.”