Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) (9 page)

"I'll see you tomorrow at work." He let
himself out. He had to get away before he broke his resolve. He
couldn't rush her. She wasn't ready. He didn't know if he was ready
either. His feelings for Claire were complicated. Just like the
woman.

Damn! When had sex ever been complicated?

Dillon drove back to the apartment. Brozek
was waiting at the door.

"You make a move on her yet?" His partner
leaned on the jamb with his arms folded across his chest.

"Shut up." Dillon walked past him into the
living room. He dropped the computer disks on the coffee table and
headed for the kitchen. "Start looking at those files I downloaded.
Is there any beer left?"

Brozek sank down on the sofa. "Should be
plenty. I stopped by the store this afternoon."

Dillon popped the top on his beer and sat at
his work station. "Where'd you go?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Brozek asked.
"You're not the only one entitled to time off, you know."

"Weren't you supposed to be studying the
surveillance video this afternoon?"

"That only took a couple of hours. I went
out. All work and no play--remember?"

Dillon scowled. "Did anything show up on the
video?"

"Nothing much. Except for the little French
guy."

"The chef?"

"Yeah, he's been in and out of all three
offices at different times during the week, when they were
unoccupied. I spotted him on a computer in the cafe early one
morning before hours. You need to keep an eye on him."

"Claire swears it isn't Pierre." Dillon
didn't think so either. The chef didn't fit the profile of a
hacker.

"How would she know?" Brozek asked.

"She wouldn't. Anything else?"

Brozek accessed the first disk and brought up
the files. "Yeah, how'd dinner go?"

"We're talking about work, not my social
life." Dillon reached for his beer.

"Man, you are no fun anymore. You need to
make your move and relieve the tension or you're going to explode.
And that will not be pretty, let me tell you."

Dillon's grip tightened on the can. The
thought of exploding inside Claire filled his mind and body. Damn,
she'd felt good in his arms. All soft and supple against him.

"Shove it, Brozek," he said, tossing back
half the beer.

His partner started humming an old Beatles
tune as he looked over the data. "I'll scan the files from the
chef's computer first. See what's going down."

"You do that. I want to take a look at the
video. Pierre's up to something and I intend to find out what it
is."

****

Claire stared at the columns on the
spreadsheet and sighed in exasperation. Three times she'd entered
the wrong numbers and three times deleted and started over. Enough
was enough. She saved the file. Other things required her attention
right now and she'd get back to the spreadsheet later.

Walking across the hall, Claire opened Nat's
door. Frank Winslowe was seated behind the computer with Natalie
nowhere in sight.

He looked at Claire and smiled, pushed his
glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued pecking on the
keyboard.

Claire stepped inside. "Hey, Frank. What are
you doing in here? Where's Nat?"

"Natalie has gone to get sandwiches and
drinks for our lunch. She's letting me work on her computer. The
cafe is noisy today and I'm at a particularly perplexing
configuration in my program. The noise was disturbing and Natalie
offered her office. I naturally accepted."

"Naturally. How's the dissertation coming
along?" She walked toward the desk. Frank closed one document and
opened another.

"It's laborious, to say the least." He looked
at his notes and checked the data on the screen.

Natalie waltzed into the office, bearing a
tray of food. "Sorry, I took so long--" She stopped when she
noticed Claire.

"Huh-oh. Busted." She set the tray on her
desk. "Why don't you join us, Claire? I brought enough to feed an
army."

"Nat, you know customers aren't allowed back
here."

"Frank isn't just a
customer
. He's
more than that." Nat smiled. "Come on, Claire. It's Frank. What can
it hurt?"

Frank stood. "I'll leave if my presence is
causing a problem."

Natalie rushed to his side. "No, you don't.
Sit. Work. I brought food." She handed him a plate, cup and napkin.
"Claire, how about you?"

Sighing, Claire sat down. "Just don't make a
habit of this, okay? We can't have customers or
friends
in
the office area. Especially right now."

A frisson of tension curled the hairs on the
back of Claire's neck. She turned toward the door. Dillon stood
there glaring at Frank. "What the hell is he doing in here?" he
demanded.

Before she could answer, Natalie marched over
and stabbed at Dillon's chest with one of her perfectly manicured
nails. "That's none of your business, now is it? Why don't you go
tinker with the computers? That's all you need to worry about, big
guy."

Dillon stared at Natalie. He shot a look at
Claire that told her he wasn't happy with the situation, then left
the office.

"Well, I swear," Natalie said. "He acts like
he owns the place, doesn't he?"

"Never mind him," Claire said, refusing to
let Dillon's presence ruffle her. She grabbed a sandwich from the
tray and glanced at Frank. He seemed oblivious to them. The man was
totally focused on his work. "I need to run something by you and
this is as good a time as any."

Natalie plopped down in the other chair.
"Okay, shoot."

"You know I've been wracking my brain trying
to come up with an idea to make our anniversary celebration
special?"

"Besides the big party?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, besides that."

"And?"

Claire set her sandwich down. "What do you
think about offering free coffee and food, plus free Internet time
besides the cake and punch?

"Great idea," Natalie said. "If we advertise,
it should bring in more customers. Good exposure."

"My thoughts exactly. And it would be good
for business in the long run."

Natalie picked up a sandwich from the tray.
"Still thinking about upgrading the computers?"

"Upgrade the computers?" Frank asked, looking
up from his work. "What's wrong with what you have now?"

Claire brushed crumbs from her fingers. "I
want e*Claire's to be up to date with the newest technology."

Natalie handed her a napkin. "How long will
it take to do the upgrades?"

"Two days, three max," Claire said. "I'll do
it myself. I'll order the software and chips early next week. I
want everything ready in time for the party."

Frank stood abruptly and stuffed his papers
in his brief case.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Natalie asked. "Where
are you going?" "I have class in twenty minutes. I'll see you
tonight." He kissed her awkwardly on the cheek and left.

Natalie rubbed her cheek. "Isn't he the
sweetest thing?"

"You like him a lot, don't you?" Claire
asked.

"Yes, I do. More than a lot."

"I'm glad, Nat." Claire smiled, took a bite
of sandwich, then frowned. "He left in a hurry though, didn't
he?"

"You know how absent-minded Frank is. It's a
miracle he remembers anything other than that dissertation of his.
That's all he thinks about."

"Really?" A horrible thought crossed Claire's
mind. "Have you ever read anything he's working on?"

Natalie shrugged. "Not really. It's mostly a
lot of programming. Something to do with calculating dates for
archeological artifacts, I think."

Claire shook the thought away. Frank couldn't
be the hacker. No way, no how. Frank wouldn't hurt a flea. Dillon's
suspicious nature was getting to her. She hated questioning
everyone's integrity.

Dillon was getting to her, too. Since Sunday,
he'd kept all contact to a minimum. Claire found she missed that
contact. Dinner had been nice. She had enjoyed spending the evening
with Dillon. The undercurrents catapulting between them had been
exhilarating. She hadn't felt so alive in years.

Natalie took Frank's place behind her desk
and picked up her sandwich. "About the upgrades."

"Hmm?" Claire munched on a carrot stick.
Dillon had consumed her with his kisses. Made her body hungry for
more.

"Why can't Mr. Macho do them? Isn't that what
you hired him for? Tech support?"

"I want to do it myself. If Dillon wants to
help--" Claire couldn't suppress the quiver of yearning deep down
inside.

"Oh my God!" Natalie set her sandwich down
and grinned.

"What?" Claire knew better than to trust that
smile on her friend's face.

"I've just thought what every computer geek's
love fantasy would be."

"What in the world are you talking
about?"

"You and Mr. Macho. Working side by side.
Upgrading the computers together. I can see it now."

"I am not a computer geek and neither is
Dillon."

Natalie shook her head. "Oh, come on, Claire.
You may not look like a geek, but your life revolves around
computers. Mr. Macho isn't your typical geek either, but I've seen
him on the computers and it's like he's one with them. A Zen kind
of thing."

"You're crazy. You've definitely gone off the
deep end this time." Liquid heat flashed inside Claire as the
scenario played in her mind--alone in the cafe, working close with
Dillon, installing the upgrades. Damn Natalie and her love
fantasies.

The other night, when Dillon had kissed her
and pulled away, she'd been trembling with need. Claire didn't want
to need anyone. But she was fast realizing something was missing in
her life, namely male companionship. She'd sworn off men after her
divorce. But five years was a long time.

Claire finished her sandwich and wiped her
mouth with the napkin. When she looked up, Natalie was staring at
her. "What is it?"

"He likes you."

Claire sighed. "I know." But did Dillon
actually like her? He wanted her, desired her. He'd made that
apparent from the start. But did he like her?

"And you like him," Natalie said.

"Yes." She did like him. Desired him, too.
Wanted him so much she ached with it.

"But you're afraid."

Claire nodded.

Natalie rested her chin on the palm of her
hand, her elbow perched on the desktop. "You don't believe in love
anymore. So if you can't fall in love, it stands to reason you
can't get hurt. Why are you denying yourself?"

"What if I'm wrong, Nat? Maybe deep down, I
know I'm wrong. And if I'm wrong, then there's the possibility of
getting hurt. I don't want to get hurt again."

"I know, sweetie. But you're existing in a
kind of limbo here. Life is passing you by. You need to get back on
the horse, Claire. Let Dillon help with the upgrades."

"What are you two talking about? What
upgrades?"

Claire swung around at the sound of Dillon's
deep voice. Shivers of heat rushed her body. She stood quickly and
faced him. "The ones we'll be installing in the next couple of
weeks."

Dillon stepped into the office. "And when
exactly were you going to tell me this?"

Claire met his narrowed gaze. "You were next
on my list."

His jaw tightened. Dillon snagged her elbow
and urged her out the door. "Excuse us," he said to Natalie over
his shoulder.

Claire tried to focus on his anger instead of
the scorching sensation of his touch. His other hand moved to the
small of her back and her knees almost buckled.

"I need to talk to you," he growled in her
ear. "In your office. Right now!"

She jerked away from him. "We don't have
anything to talk about."

"You're wrong. Now, move it!"

He stood before her, anger radiating from
him, emphasizing his power and masculinity. A ripple of fear curled
down her spine. Not that she was afraid Dillon would hurt her
physically. No, Claire feared the strength of the attraction
between them. It was much better to deal with his wrath than deal
with his passion. Much safer, too.

"I don't like the tone of your voice, Mr. Anderson." Claire marched
into her office.

"Well, that's too damn bad." Dillon slammed
the door and leaned against it. "You're determined to compromise
this operation, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" She stopped in front of
her desk and turned. "I've cooperated in every way possible."

"Right. You just called me Mr. Anderson.
Someone could have heard. You're constantly forgetting my alias."
He jammed his fists into his pockets and made himself stay where he
was.

"Only when you're badgering me," she
said.

"I don't badger you. You need to be more
careful."

"I'll try. I told you before; I'm not
accustomed to any of this. I'm trying to cooperate."

"Oh, really? All these plans for this
anniversary shindig. Is that cooperating? And what's this about
upgrading? Now's not a good time for an upgrade."

"I have a business to run. You expect me to
put everything on hold?" She raised her chin. Again.

"Yes, I do." Dillon was hard pressed not to
answer the unspoken challenge of that uplifted chin. He wanted to
kiss her into submission. He wanted her soft and willing in his
arms. In his bed. "I can't have you messing up all the work we've
carefully pieced together."

"How will upgrading the computers do
that?"

"The hacker feels comfortable in the cafe.
Everything needs to proceed normally. We don't want to spook
him."

"I didn't plan on doing the upgrades during
business hours. I don't want to disrupt any of my customers."

"Can't you put it off?"

"Why should I? I want to keep improving
e*Claire's. I want my customers to have the best of
everything."

"Speaking of customers, what was Winslowe
doing in Natalie's office?"