Sex, Lies and Midnight (11 page)

Simon had been in standoffs with vicious criminals that had less intensity than the stare off between father and daughter.

Cassiopeia, the intrepid hostess, interrupted the paternal moment with a deceptively comfortable laugh. “So, this is going to be a mystery relationship. Won’t it be fun to see what kind of tidbits we can get from you two this week?”

“Not so much a mystery as just private,” Maya dismissed, her smile softening for the older woman. “And definitely not why I came home. Really, this week is all about Pandora and Caleb. Nothing else could have brought me home, just like nothing could keep me away from celebrating my big brother’s happiness.”

She pointedly shifted her body, angling it away from her father, resting her gaze on the happy couple. “So Pandora, did you come with endless patience and a big whip or will you be putting them on your wedding registry?”

Probably thrilled to stave off a potentially ugly confrontation, Pandora launched into the romantic story of her courtship.

Despite himself, Simon was drawn in by the tale. From the fact that her fingers no longer crushed his and because she relaxed enough to give the occasional giggle, he figured Maya was, too.

“And then I found out Caleb was actually here undercover, to bust a drug ring,” she said, giving her fiancé an arch look. “A ring, I might add, that he thought I was a part of.”

“Nope,” Caleb interrupted, speaking for the first time since Pandora had started her history report. “Despite the intel, I always knew you were innocent. Or, I should say, not involved in a crime.”

“Undercover?” Simon asked before he realized the word was out of his mouth. Stunned, he froze. He’d never broken cover. Never blurted out any thought, any words, that weren’t sanctioned by the image he represented.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Then Maya shifted, her denim-clad leg sliding against his thigh in a way that made him desperately regret that they were in a roomful of suspects.

Aha. Maya was what was wrong with him.

“I guess it’s okay to share now that it’s over,” she said after a quick glance to her brother for confirmation. “Caleb just retired from the DEA. He’s temporarily taking over as Black Oak’s sheriff until elections are held and he officially wins the position.”

No wonder Simon had hit a blank wall when researching Maya’s brother. His gaze shifted to Tobias. How’d that sit with dear ole dad? It looked like Maya wasn’t the only Black kid to have father issues.

“Sounds exciting,” he said, slipping back into character by infusing his words with just a hint of awe. “You must have some great stories to tell.”

“What kind of stories do you have to tell?” Caleb asked with a chilly smile. “We still haven’t heard much about you. What do you do, Simon?”

Simon hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, considering his options. If Caleb had government connections, he might have Simon checked out. If it were him, he would. But many others had tried, and none yet had broken his cover.

So…

“I’m an investment broker. I have a degree in macroeconomics, business management and speak three languages.”

Only one of which was a lie.

Before Caleb could dive into his cross examination, there was a loud ring.

Tobias looked at the readout on his cell phone, pushed a button to silence it and slid the device back in his pocket. “I hate to miss out, but it seems there’s a problem at the motorcycle shop that needs my attention. Besides, I’m sure Maya would like a little time to relax with Caleb without having to split her attention between that and her anger toward me.”

“Oh, but I was hoping to spend time with Maya,” Lilah pouted. “Or I could just wait here, get to know her friend. You can pick me up later? Or Simon can give me a ride home.”

He debated for all of two seconds. Sure, the brunette would have info on Tobias and she was clearly the chatterbox type. But he could feel the angst emanating from Maya and figured she’d explode if he agreed.

“Nope, sorry. Maya and I were going to tour the town and see all her favorite hangouts after dinner,” Simon lied with a bland smile. Smart casework, he told himself. It had nothing to do with wanting to protect Maya’s feelings.

Still, he felt about ten feet tall when Maya sighed and gave his hand a warm squeeze.

“C’mon, Lilah,” Tobias urged. The concerned look on his face told Simon that he, too, was aware of how stressful this was for his daughter. “The shop is only five minutes away but I’ve got to drop you first, so we need to get going.”

Lilah didn’t leave quietly. She tossed out a few more flirty innuendos and snarky comments on her way out. Then, finally, with an air-kiss for Maya and barely a word to the other women, she wrapped herself around Tobias and swayed out the door with her hips swinging like a pendulum.

Apparently not needing any more comfort, Maya released her death grip on Simon’s hand and shifted so there was easily room for another person between them. Oh, she did it subtly enough, making a show of poking her brother in the shoulder and asking him how he liked being the law in town. But Simon got the message.

He’d served his purpose.

He tried to ignore how much he missed the warmth of her body against his.

“So, Simon, you’re an investor?” Cassiopeia asked him as she offered a tray of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears. She’d said they were special, so he took three. Tension made him hungry. “I’m surprised. I’d have guessed you did something dangerous or exciting. I’m sensing a lot of undercurrents and secrets in your aura.”

“Leave his aura alone, mother,” the sweet-faced Pandora chided. She gave Simon an amused look of apology. “She doesn’t mean to poke and pry. She just can’t help herself.”

“Nothing wrong with a little curiosity,” Simon said with a smile, biting into a tasty bit of asparagus. He watched Maya as she talked to her brother; words spilling out of her lush lips at about a mile a minute. Simon would love to be sitting closer, to hear what had her so animated and happy.

But the other women, obviously big on running interference for Caleb, kept his attention until Pandora announced it was dinnertime.

As he sat at the table with the secondary players, Simon analyzed the success of his evening. He’d made contact. His cover was holding and he was making inroads with the tight-knit Black clan. Not bad for his first night.

He glanced across the table at Maya. Animated and bubbly, she looked like she was having the time of her life. Until you looked closer.

He wished like hell that the pain in her eyes didn’t rip at his gut. When had she started meaning so much to him? And how was she going to look at him later, when he’d arrested her father? Because feuding or not, she was still Daddy’s little girl.

THIS WAS HARDER THAN she’d thought it would be. Maya stared out the passenger window as the glistening lights of the manor, bright and blurry through her tears, shone through the dark.

Until she’d faced her father, looked into the eyes of the man who’d raised her, trained her, taught her everything she considered worth knowing, she’d thought it would be simple. Breeze into town, celebrate her brother’s news while deciding if his fiancée was worthy of him. A maybe, dangle Simon in front of Lilah as a distraction, to lure her away from Tobias. Or better yet, “out” her for the tramp she was. Then, blithely ignore, for the most part, her father’s existence.

Instead, she’d come away wondering how Caleb and Pandora had discovered the secret to true love. Then, rather than throwing Simon in Lilah’s path, she’d glommed on to him like he was her own personal security blanket. And her father? She should have remembered that nobody, but nobody, ignored Tobias Black.

“Nice evening,” Simon said. “Thanks for bringing me.”

Blinking away the evidence of her little pity party, Maya shifted to look at Simon. She wasn’t about to admit it to anyone, but she couldn’t have gotten through tonight without him. He’d been a silent rock for her to hang on to, an amusing charmer distracting everyone when she’d needed a break.

And then there was that kiss.

“I’m glad you joined me,” she said honestly. Then, giving in to a need that had been nagging at her, pulling at her concentration and playing out behind the scenes the entire night, she reached over and trailed her fingers in a light, teasing caress over his denim-clad thigh.

She gave a low hum, wondering if the hardness under her fingers was tension, or if he just had some deliciously muscled thighs. The urge to find out was overwhelming, filling her with an edgy kind of desperation. To feel more. To lose herself in discovering just what Simon had going on under those jeans.

“Wasn’t Cassiopeia’s reading interesting?” she said, keeping her words low as she shifted one knee toward the console so she could face him. And, delightfully, to give herself better petting access. Now her fingers were drifting up, along the deliciously rounded muscles of his biceps. “You know the one she did for the two of us. What did she call it? The Lovers’ Outlook. Do you believe in that kind of thing? Intuition and such?”

He gave her a long look, like he was weighing her words and deciding exactly which direction he wanted to let the conversation head. That he thought he was in control here was clear.

Disabusing him of that mistaken belief was going to be a lot of fun.

“I was a little distracted by the cards she used,” he said with a light laugh. “Those were some very well-endowed naked people on those pieces of paper.”

“Measurement anxiety?” she teased, her fingers trailing down to his wrist and over the back of his hand where it lay on his thigh.

His easy smile slipped for just a second. Tension flashed through the car. Maya almost grinned, loving the power, the intensity of his reaction. If he was this easy to arouse with just a few words, a little challenge and a simple touch, what could happen later? When she really put some effort into it?

“No anxiety here, sweetheart. If you want, we can strip down and pose for that Lovers card. Bet we put those fancy sketches to shame.”

“You think?” Maya asked. Then she slid the fingers of the hand that wasn’t fondling Simon into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I think my camera has a timer. We can test the theory.”

“All we need is an oak tree that bears apples on one side,” he mused. He made a show of looking into the dark forest beyond the B&B, then arched a brow. “Maybe we go looking tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“I’d imagine it’s a little late to go tree searching,” he reminded her, glancing at his watch. “Probably a little late to be huddled up in the car, too. Don’t you think Dottie’s getting lonely?”

The hard shell around Maya’s emotions softened for the first time since she’d left home. Dottie always made her feel better. For the past four years, whenever she felt lonely or sad, she just cuddled up to the sweet black-and-white kitty. In a way, Dottie had become the unconditionally loving family Maya had missed when she’d left home.

And Simon was worried about her. How sweet was he? Maya sighed, her stress melting away.

Gone was her anxiety over how things would go seeing her dad again. The stress over facing the family and Lilah’s nastiness faded. The nagging worry over what her father was up to, and she knew damned well he was up to something, relaxed.

Leaving behind awareness. All of the intense, thigh-melting sexual awareness that she’d been holding at bay all night. From the kiss they’d shared on the sidewalk to the gentle warmth of his hand in hers.

Speaking of hands, her gaze landed on his as he gripped the steering wheel. Large, rugged and competent. She ran her tongue over her lower lip, wondering again how good he was with those hands.

It was all she could do not to lean across the console and nibble on his fingers. Luckily they reached the manor before passion overcame sanity.

“We’re here,” he said with a smile.

She gave him a quick nod, waiting until he got out of the car before moaning with frustration. What was she supposed to do? She wanted to jump him, but after making such a big deal over this being purely business between them, she couldn’t.

Could she?

Simon made it from the driver’s side to her door before Maya had finished tucking her scarf in and zipping up her jacket. By the time she’d grabbed her purse from the back, he had the door open and his hand extended.

“Such the gentleman,” Maya said, making sure her body slid against his when she exited. Sure, they had four or five layers between them, so the zings of passion that made her nipples rock hard and her panties a little damp were purely inspired by the hot attraction she had for him.