by Misty Evans
They hit the final step then were on the dance floor before she could comment. Ryker whirled her into his arms and they began to dance, his graceful steps merging them into the swirling crowd.
It didn't take long before she was dizzy with laughter, feeling light and carefree for once. Young even.
Not young—my age. Her parents had died when she was only twenty-four, her life just beginning, but she’d aged overnight, having to take on custody of her sister, landing her position at the Agency shortly afterward. There’d been no time for parties, dancing, or flirting. Four years later, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had as much fun as she had today.
Ryker didn't seem worried about finding Karl, and as he spun her around the dance floor, she felt a little like Cinderella, her worries and frustrations melting away with the music and the feel of his muscular arms around her. Chloe was safe, Ryker had sworn to help her nail Hinch, and she was living part of the dream she’d always had to be an undercover operative. For a moment, she let herself pretend she had no worries, no responsibilities, nothing more than the music, her beautiful dress, and the man smiling at her with admiration.
The song was over too soon, Ryker giving her a slight bow, thanking her for the dance. Slightly out of breath, pulse racing, she gave him a demure smile in return, wanting to tell him how much it meant—this having fun. This was one more wonderful memory she now had about her first mission.
They found an empty table at the far end of the ballroom. Once Ryker had her seated, he took off for the buffet to get food. She scanned the masked people at the adjacent tables, as well as those entering the gala, while he looked for Karl on the other side of the dance floor.
Mia was certain their host was not present—not yet, anyway—so she nearly jumped out of her chair when he suddenly appeared behind her.
“JoAn, you look absolutely breathtaking.” He was dressed in a black tux, holding a glass of champagne with one hand and clutching a dark-haired woman's hand with the other. “Did Gaspard abandon you?”
“Oh, no,” she tried to keep her surprise out of her voice. “He’s at the buffet. I’m starving.” She motioned toward the dance floor and orchestra. “This party—it’s amazing. You really outdid yourself.”
Kaiser loved flattery and smiled. She doubted he’d raised one finger to put on this shindig, poor Enya no doubt pulling out her hair over it. “JoAn, I’d like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine.” He shifted his gaze to his date. “Josefina, this is the woman I was telling you about.”
Tall and strikingly beautiful, she wore a crystal embellished red dress with several layers of tulle under the skirt. The crystals caught the overhead chandelier’s light with every movement, making her entire body appear as though it were glittering. Was this one of Karl’s black-market business partners? The potential investor he'd hinted about for Ghost Gun?
Mia smiled and offered her hand. “Lovely to meet you, Josefina.”
The woman's makeup complemented her mocha skin, accentuating her full lips and dark eyes, all perfectly balanced in her face. She was model material and had an air about her suggesting nobility.
“My pleasure,” she responded. “I hear you are visiting us on the last leg of your honeymoon.”
Was that a slight Caribbean accent lacing her words? “It’s been the most amazing time of my life.” In some ways, it truly had been. While JoAn Rimer was spoiled and had been on her honeymoon vacation for months, Mia had only had a couple days to sample this type of lifestyle. A big part of her was thoroughly enjoying herself and hated to see it end. “Gaspard is good at making my dreams come true.”
“I’m glad you’re okay after what happened last night.” Her gaze flipped to Karl. “Karl told me about your ordeal.”
According to Enya, there had been no progress in identifying her attackers. Big surprise there. Ryker had spent an hour going over the guest list and security videos, and Parker was running all the people in the general vicinity at that time through the Shadow Force database. So far, no luck matching any of the biomarkers.
“It shook me up,” Mia admitted, “but I spent the day with my Prince Charming.” She sent her gaze to the buffet line, spotting Ryker. He had his eyes on her, even as he loaded up a plate. His gaze was intense, worried. She gave him a grin to let him know everything was fine. Better than, actually. “He has a way of making me feel safe and happy, no matter what’s going on.”
“Sounds like an amazing man. We should talk again later,” Josefina said, giving Karl a weighted look before returning her attention to Mia. “Enjoy your evening with your husband, but come and find me before you retire, oui? I have a proposition for you.”
Yes. This had to be the investor. Mia mentally did a fist pump. “Of course.”
Karl looked pleased. “Josie, I see some of our other special guests are here.” He motioned toward the table at the head of the ballroom where several men were seated, Enya hovering around them. “We best attend to them.”
Josefina disengaged from his hand and began walking toward the table. Karl leaned down and murmured next to Mia’s ear, his breath reeking of alcohol and conceit. “I think you'll love the surprise I have in store for you. I’d hoped to discuss it with you sooner, but perhaps tonight?”
She swallowed, a weird sensation settling in her gut. “A surprise?”
He trailed a finger across her shoulders. “Your husband is not the only one who knows how to make a woman’s dreams come true.”
Eww. She had to force yourself not to jerk away. “I look forward to it,” she lied.
He strutted off and passed Ryker returning from the buffet. Mia watched the two men exchange pleasantries. Ryker’s body language hadn’t relaxed since he’d spotted Karl and Josefina talking to her.
A minute later, Ryker made it to the table and sat, shoving the plate in front of her. “What was that all about?”
“Contact.” She grinned from ear to ear. “That woman—Josefina—may be our potential buyer.”
He held out his fist between them. “Good job.”
She bumped it with hers, then surveyed the plate filled with cucumber sandwiches, boozy fruit, honey-drizzled cheese slices, and miniature meringue mushrooms. “She asked me to find her later to talk.”
As she took a bite of sandwich, she felt him staring at her. “What?” she asked before snatching up one of the delicate dessert mushrooms.
“You’re good at this.”
There was a twinkle in his eye. Was he once more bemused by her or was it the lights? “You act like you're surprised.”
He snitched a slice of cheese from her plate. “Don’t get cocky. You still have a lot to learn.”
For all the compliments, it seemed like there was always a dig. “Maybe my next partner can teach me the fine intricacies of being a spy,” she dug back.
She knew she’d hit the bull's-eye when he growled again, so low she almost missed it due to the noise around them, and then stole all of her tiny mushrooms.
He looked at Mia and began stuffing them into his mouth. She couldn't help it, she laughed, and leaned over to kiss him, meringue and all.
* * *
Beyond the confines of the job
* * *
She’d kissed him.
Her lips were warm, soft, smiling against his.
A simple kiss.
Without provocation, without an audience.
Well, there was an audience, but none of the nearby guests seemed to care.
Her tongue licked at the meringue on his lips, sliding across them and he groaned, his hand going to her waist and pulling her close.
He took the kiss deeper, feeling his body skyrocket. Her lips responded, parting as she sighed into his mouth.
Heaven. This was heaven.
His emotions spiked along with his body, wanting her, all of her. His fingers tangled in her hair, his nose bumping against her mask. She didn’t seem to care, angling her head and teasing his tongue with hers.
She tasted like good booze and a touch of honey. A hand slid around his neck, her cool fingers tickling his skin. She pressed her breasts against his chest and gave his hair a little tug.
Goddammit. Was this all for show? Was she pretending again? Or had something happened between them?
Did he actually want something to happen?
She was incredible, sexy, smart, and knew all the ugly stuff about him. What woman in her right mind, especially one like Mia, would want a renegade on the run from the CIA and a black arms dealer? A man who’d stolen another man’s son and was unable to save the mother’s life?
She was caught up in the moment, the mission. He had to break this off…had to make sure he didn’t lead her on. Yes, he wanted more than anything in that moment to sweep her upstairs to their room and slowly peel that wicked dress off her, but a roll in the hay wouldn’t be enough.
Not for him, anyway.
He wasn’t just horny. In forty-eight hours, he’d fallen for her. Hook, line, and sinker.
A woman he hadn’t trusted two days ago.
Breaking the kiss—only a fool would do such a thing—he eased her back. Still sitting on the edge of her chair, but practically in his lap, she groaned. Her eyes crept open. “Ryker?”
His real name. Not his UC identity. No one could’ve heard her, not with the noise of the guests and orchestra, but he had. It sent splinters through his heart. Was it simply the lust he saw in her eyes that made her use it, or was it because she was kissing him, Ryker, not his undercover persona?
“Mia.” Her name came out soft and felt right on his lips.
She smiled through half-lidded eyes behind her mask. He brushed hair off her shoulder, searching the beautiful depths of those eyes with his. Leaning his forehead on hers, he gave her a smile. His hands ached to feel her, his lips tingled to kiss her more. Kiss her everywhere. “Want to get some air?”
She nodded, biting her bottom lip. He took her hand and started to stand when someone behind him cleared their throat.
“Mr. and Mrs. Manafort?” Enya stood with her tablet in hand, her face somber as always. “Mr. Kaiser requests you join him at his table.”
She was dressed in a tailored suit, not exactly gala material. Apparently, their audience had been watching. Ryker just hoped she hadn’t been eavesdropping.
The soft sexiness of Mia's face melted away and she glanced at Ryker, tense and something else. Disappointed? He knew the feeling. He took her hand and said to Enya, “We’d love to, but we were going to get a little air first.”
Enya gave him a bland look. “I believe Mr. Kaiser would like to speak to you immediately.”
Ryker and Mia both glanced across the ballroom to Kaiser’s table. It was the largest in the place, and he was holding court, a mix of men and women seated down the entire length. He was watching Ryker and Mia, and Ryker raised a hand and nodded.
Kaiser returned it, continuing a conversation with a man on his left. Was this about business? “We’ll be right there,” Ryker told Enya.
The assistant didn't acknowledge him before marching off into the crowd. Cheery sort, she was.
“That must be my summons to talk to Josefina,” Mia said, sliding closer to him and putting a hand on his chest. “I guess duty calls, huh?”
Meaning, she believed their kiss wasn’t business.
Hot damn.
“Doesn’t hurt to tease him a bit,” Ryker said, leading her toward the veranda. It was too damn loud in the ballroom to have the conversation burning in his mind. “Let’s take a trip outside.”
She made a sound as if to argue but gave in and let him guide her through the throngs of people, many drunk and getting louder by the minute. He blocked anyone who stumbled into their path and sometimes scowled at those already in it. The smart ones jumped out of their way as he drew her into the crisp night air. On the way, he turned off his comm so Parker couldn’t eavesdrop.
The summer heat had slipped away with the sun, a light breeze rolling in off the river in the distance. He drew Mia away from those milling about on the terraced areas toward a spot drenched in shadows and a safe distance from the other guests. Once they stopped, looking out over the city lights toward the river, she sighed and leaned into his side, watching the languid water roll by.
How to bring up the kiss? He tossed a few ideas around in his head…
“About what happened…”
“Inside, was that…?”
“We really shouldn’t mix up the mission with our feelings…”
Hell. He hated talking about feelings, and he was pretty sure every one of those sentence starters were “lame,” in Mia terms.
So instead of saying anything, he reached down, took hold of her chin to bring her face up, and stared into her eyes. Her face was in shadows but her gaze was steady on his. She touched her comm unit hidden in her ear, turning it off.
“About the kiss,” she started.
He didn’t let her finish. His lips found hers, cutting off the rest of what she was going to say, and he felt her instant response, the hitch of her breath. There was no one watching them in this moment, no part to act out. It was simply Ryker and Mia, not Gaspard and JoAn.
Her body melted into him, her lips parting and offering him everything he wanted—needed—in that moment. Catching her around the waist, he pulled her in hard, pressing her to him, his free hand going to the back of her neck.
Her own hands slipped inside his suit jacket, clutching his hips then rising up his back. Through his shirt, he felt the rake of her nails, drawing a hiss out of him.
She broke the kiss and licked her lips. “I thought you were pissed.”
Somehow he found his voice. “About what?”
“That I kissed you. I mean, not for show. Inside…that was for real.”
Confirmation. “Why would I be pissed about a beautiful, sexy as hell, intelligent woman kissing me?”
She bit her bottom lip, smiling around it. “Because…? Oh hell, I don’t know. The mission? The fact you didn’t trust me before we got here? Or maybe you consider me an amateur and have probably already written the kiss off as me getting carried away with my role as your wife?”
He chuckled. “All of that crossed my mind about a dozen times but I’m hoping instead that you’re completely infatuated with me and couldn’t resist my charms.”
Her turn to laugh. A knowing smile curved her lips. “Okay. Let’s go with that.”
“Seriously, Mia, this is all fun and games. A dangerous game, but still. Most of this”—he waved an arm—“is pretend. It seems real our attraction, but you may find as soon as the mission is over, you don’t feel the same about me. There’s so much we don’t know about each other. So much that we—at least I—can’t change about my situation.”
Like Jaeger. The words hung in the air between them.
She nodded and he felt like she was thinking about her sister too.
She ran a finger down his jaw. “From what I've seen, no relationship is perfect. You’re right, we barely know each other, but that makes it all the more enticing, doesn't it? I, for one, want to give it a try. I don't want to get a few months down the road and wonder what might’ve happened if we'd stayed together after the mission. I don't have a lot of fun and excitement in my life and this has been amazing, so even though I can't wait to get home and see my sister, there's a part of me that doesn't want this to end.”
“That’s normal. Look around you, the extravagance and elegance, the way so many of these people live. A foreign setting, beautiful clothes, expensive jewelry…and me, of course.” He gave her a roguish grin. “Who’d want to go back to normal when you can have all this?”
She playfully pinched him over the “me” comment. “It’s not the jewelry, the clothes, or this way of life.”
He cocked his head. “What is it?”
She leaned in toward him, putting her lips close to his again. “It’s you.”
Heat shot to his groin. God, this woman.
; Her eyes searched his face. “I was hoping you felt the same about me. I mean, it's okay if you don’t, but…maybe? Maybe you’d consider dating me?”
Dating? Damn. How was he going to rein in his desire to fuck her senseless and “date” her? Well, they were laying their cards on the table, so he might as well risk it all.
“I want you, Mia. Every beautiful inch. In every way you can imagine, many, many times over.” He brushed his lips across hers, the most exquisite of tastes to him now, and loved the way she hitched her breath again. “But I’ll be honest—I’m not in a position to offer you a nice life. Even if this mission goes as planned, I have a shit-ton of crap to work out. I’m not…boyfriend material.”
“Dating is a lame term,” she said, chuckling. “I couldn’t think of a better one. I want passionate, in-your-face romance and sex. Better?”
Hell yeah. “That I can do.” Man, could he. “I don’t know how long I can stick around though.”
He had to be honest, even though he hated it. No promising this woman—who deserved better—that he’d always be there for her. He couldn’t.
“I know.” She lightly teased a finger across his furrowed brow, easing it. “We’ll take it one day at a time and handle whatever comes up the best way we can, okay? We’re partners and we’re damn good at it, so I have no doubt we can figure it out.”
One day at a time. He could do that.
“All right, JoJo. You have a deal.” He kissed her again, long, slow, and deep, then he took her hand and led her back inside to schmooze the man he hated most in this world.
Chapter Ten
Decrypting the message
* * *
After two hours of hanging out with Karl and his guests, Mia’s cheeks hurt from fake smiling and she was dead on her feet. Her head throbbed, the loud music and constant smiling getting to her.
Josefina had questioned her endlessly about her life and family. She kept it conversational and friendly, but a part of Mia knew this was an interrogation, a test. For what, she wasn't exactly sure. When Mia tried to steer the conversation to her business dealings, Josefina seemed to have no interest. Frustrated, Mia realized Josefina was not an investor for Ghost Gun, and she wondered why Karl had been so pleased when she’d extended the invitation to join them.