Before I could set my spoon down or escape from the table, I was in his lap
and his mouth was on mine. Heat and need edged out all my pesky future worries. Here, with him, there was comfort and something I thought I lost a long
time ago, a sense of home, of finally finding my place. Granted the last couple of
days were far from normal, but if nothing else, they taught me to treasure opportunities like this. Time to grow a pair and grab on.
When he finally drew back, both of us were breathing heavily. Those steel blue eyes took their time inching over my face. His thumb gently brushed my lower lip. “So, you ready to follow this ‘thing’ between us?” Under his gentle, teasing words, lay a thread of seriousness.
“Yeah.” I nipped his thumb. “You ready?”
“Semper Fidelis, baby.”
Always Faithful. I lopped my arms around his neck and dropped my forehead
to his. “Semper Fidelis.”
WHEN WOLF BLEW IN, he brought not one, but two extra bodies with him.
Introductions were quick and dirty. The deceptively slender male with dark hair
still in military regulation cut carrying a laptop was Rabbit, the team’s techie guru. With them was Jinx, the caramel-haired female with serious brown eyes.
Within minutes of their arrival, Rabbit’s laptop was up and ready.
“Bishop’s on his way in.” Wolf stood behind Rabbit’s chair. “Ricochet has eyes on Hobbes.”
“Do we have a confirmation on the meet, yet?” Kayden pulled up maps on
his laptop.
“Hobbes’s last meeting today is fifteen hundred at the NSpirit’s east valley location,” Rabbit answered, the South flowing through his words like thick honey. “According to the flight plan filed this morning, he’s flyin’ out of Scottsdale Air Park at eighteen hundred.”
Kayden frowned. “That leaves us a three-hour window.”
I leaned over his shoulder and considered the two pinpointed locations on his
screen. The nice thing about Phoenix was most of the streets were laid out in a
grid pattern. “A straight route with Monday rush hour would normally take forty
to forty-five minutes tops.”
“We’re monitoring his phone and email,” Rabbit drawled. “The most interestin’ thing so far is a text from a jeweler that his mistress’s necklace is ready for pick up, and his secretary’s reminder to pick up the Jimmy Choos his
wife ordered. Them women are gonna break that boy’s wallet.”
Jinx gave a delicate snort. “If his wife finds out about his sidepiece, he’ll need more than a pair of Jimmy Choos.”
“I don’t know, sugar, those fancy la-la types, they play by a whole ‘nother set
of rules. Maybe the missus is just fine with his little amusements.” Rabbit didn’t
look away from his screen. “‘Sides, some men need a little variety, predictable gets boring.”
“And God forbid, you get bored, huh, Rabbit?” Jinx’s question held a
dangerous sweetness.
Rabbit’s flying fingers stilled, and his eyes narrowed. Yep, there was no way
anyone could miss the dig in Jinx’s voice. “Sugar, I’d never mistake you for borin’.”
Okay, then. Trying to stay clear of the male-female tension singing between
the two as they indulged in a stare down, I kept my head down but caught Kayden’s wry gaze. He rolled his eyes and gave me a small grimace, cluing me
in that whatever was going on between the two must be par for the course. I shook my head and studied the maps on the screen.
“Here.” I pointed to Fashion Square, a large mall in Scottsdale. “Shoes,
jewelry, and a camera-free underground parking lot. Perfect spot for an
exchange.”
Wolf came over. “Best of both worlds, public and private. No one would
