“Any update on DNA or lab work or Robin Elgin’s cell phone data?”
“Frazer plans to go lean on the lab today until they give him answers.”
Dominic winced. He wouldn’t want Frazer hounding him, but damn, they needed results.
He realized it was really early and she probably wasn’t even at work yet. “I’ll call my cleaning company to come do clean up and get a glazier in there ASAP to board up until they can fit new glass. Call me if there’s any news and thanks for everything. I owe you.”
He hung up and tossed the cell behind him. There were so many things he should be doing. Returning all those missed calls. Talking to Sandy to check on Ben, talking to Gross about what the FBI had dug up at the cabin. Needling Lincoln Frazer about any other developments and checking in at CNU. Instead he ran his finger over Ava’s eyebrows, lingering on the scar on her forehead, then down her nose and across her petal-soft lips.
Down the graceful length of her neck, over her winged collarbones which he found unreasonably attractive. Her breasts were full and pert. Begging for a little attention which he willingly administered. Allowing the hunger to grow, fanning the flames, but carrying on with his exploration all the way down to her toes, which he kissed one at a time.
She watched him, eyes bright as glass. And when he finally started to make his way back up her body, she turned the tables on him before he could sample the tasty bits. She flipped him on his back.
He told himself he could take her if he had to, but from the firm grip she had on him and the fact she knew how to fight dirty, he wasn’t sure he was being honest. There were a lot of things Dominic was pretty sure he wasn’t being honest with himself about in regards to Ava Kanas and as her lips closed over him and he lost his mind for the third time that night, he was starting to wonder what would be so bad about having a proper relationship with this woman?
As long as his heart wasn’t involved, as long as he kept the most vital part of himself separate, so that if and when she left him, he wouldn’t be completely destroyed. Maybe, just maybe, they could make this work.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ava would rather go head-to-head with the Russian Bratva than dress up and mingle with the Washington elite.
They drove to the CNU office in Quantico so Dominic could finish the reports and paperwork arising from the prison siege.
She’d checked the documents to reassure herself there was no mention of her name, nor any reference to the Resident Agency where she usually worked. In deference to the Witness Protection Program the FBI had simply labeled her a “trainee negotiator.” Aside from the personnel at CNU and the few Hostage Rescue Team agents she’d talked to at the prison no one knew her identity. She’d spoken to her family and they’d supported her decision to save the warden from being raped by Gino Gerbachi. They’d also promised to take extra precautions, but the community was tight-knit, and they didn’t exactly list their addresses in the phone book. Anonymity was their friend. It had been from the moment the mob had murdered her father in cold blood.
Once she and Dominic left Quantico, they headed to DC for the party, getting caught in nightmare traffic, and arriving with not a lot of time to spare. Ava scrambled into the shower, washed and conditioned her hair, scrubbed herself clean and shaved with Dominic’s razor.
Then she blow-dried her hair and pulled on her panties, but there was no way she could wear a bra with the almost-backless, low-cut, lace and chiffon, lavender gown Mallory Rooney had dropped off.
Rooney also thought to bring shoes, jewelry, a purse that Ava could fit her Glock in and a few items of makeup.
Ava would have to remember to buy the woman flowers because she’d been dreading the idea of this party for many reasons but mostly this one. She didn’t know what was appropriate to wear in these situations and certainly couldn’t afford clothes like this. It demonstrated exactly how different she and Dominic were in regards to everything outside work—and if they ever had a real relationship, they wouldn’t be allowed to work together either.
Which left them with what? Sex?
She could not complain about the sex.
Maybe tonight would be a test for them both. Or simply a reminder that no matter how compatible they were in bed they had nothing else in common.
She shimmied into the dress and managed to pull up the zipper. It had a bit of a Grecian flavor to it, which she liked. She was a little unnerved by the fact her breasts were almost naked, the upper slope concealed only by a scrap of lace. She adjusted it slightly, but it didn’t make it any less revealing. At least her nipples were unavailable to the viewing public.
She twisted to look at the back in the mirror. The cut of the cloth draped to only a couple of inches above a ribbon tied at her waist. There was a damn train, which looked amazing but would be a bitch to walk in and not trip over.
Dominic knocked on the door. “Five minutes.”
She shot a glare at the door but knew he was no keener to go to the shindig than she was. Maybe less so. Family could be brutal.
She brushed her hair and piled it into the usual bun, making it tidier and tighter than usual, hoping the errant strands behaved for once. It was the best she could do under the circumstances.
She pulled out the makeup and applied eye shadow and some blush and dark eyeliner and mascara. The basics.
Thankfully the lipstick Rooney had supplied was a soft pink rather than a bright scarlet. It felt more like something Ava would actually wear herself.
Ava put on some sparkly earrings and hoped to god they were cubic zirconia rather than diamonds. She ignored the necklace even though it was pretty enough to distract from her boobs. The idea of losing it was too unsettling for Ava’s piece of mind. She couldn’t afford to replace it. If she flashed someone, she’d just have to live with it. If she lost Rooney’s necklace, she’d have to throw herself off the nearest parapet.
Dominic rapped on the door, and she swung it open just as he started to say something.
He blinked twice, and she watched him as he seemed to physically drag his eyes off that titillating edge of the lace.
“Now I really don’t want to go to this party.” His voice was low and gruff and sent a shiver of lust right through her.
All the oxygen in the room vanished, and she found herself taking fast, shallow breaths that never quite satisfied. She flashed back to being naked and writhing on that bed back in Pennsylvania. She squeezed her legs together and felt a tingle of pleasurable awareness.
Then his eyes met hers. “You look incredible.”
Slowly she smiled. “So do you.” God, she wanted to advance on him, rip that crisp, white shirt out of that sinfully sexy, black cummerbund and put her hand down his pants and around the erection growing in those expensive-looking trousers.
His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared. He took her hand and tugged her after him. “Later. Let’s get this over with first.”
She shivered at the promise in his voice. At the door of the apartment she picked up her silver purse which was large enough to fit her Glock, spare ammo, creds. She carefully slipped into Rooney’s heels.
She and Sheridan were now eye-to-eye, and she could see the hunger battling with duty as he watched her.
“Got your gun?” she asked with a suggestive grin.
He took her hand. “Yes, I’ve got my damn gun.” And then he shocked her by pressing her palm against his hardness and pinning her against the door. He wedged his solid thigh between her legs, and she discovered the value of a train as he drew her right knee up to his hip. His other hand rested on her lower back, pulling her toward him. His lips causing chaos in the pulse of her neck.
“I want to kiss every inch of you.”
And she totally wanted to be kissed.
The buzzer to his swank apartment rang and broke the spell, reminding them they had somewhere to be.
The guy had two homes. One had a pool and the other had a doorman. Thinking about it, there was probably a
pool around here somewhere too.
Ava did not belong here, but she wanted to be with him anyway, and she was beginning to think no matter how much she pretended this thing was about sex and the fact they were stuck together, her feelings went deeper than that. Much deeper.
He swore and pulled away. Pressed the intercom. “We’ll be right down.” He took her hand. “For tonight, you’re not my colleague or bodyguard, you’re my girlfriend. Security will be tight so we can relax a little.”
A longing so strong shot through Ava that she couldn’t hold his gaze. She knew this wasn’t for real. Sure, he’d said he wanted her there, but what else could he have said?
Attending the party was to appease his father, and her posing as his girlfriend kept Bureau business private. No one had caught on to the fact there was a serial killer hunting FBI agents yet. Nor did the media know Peter Galveston’s body had been removed from his grave probably by the local pastor. When they found out, the public was going to go ape-shit.
But maybe, for one more night, she and Dominic could forget everything and relax—which would be a damn sight easier if she wasn’t wearing three-inch heels and her boobs weren’t on show to the world.
Courage.
Dominic swept his hand forward so she went first. They headed to the elevator and she stood barely breathing as she watched him in the reflective surface. He looked like a movie star.
He slid on dark glasses as they left the elevator. The glasses hid the last vestiges of his black eyes, and she could imagine he really didn’t want to have to explain to everyone exactly how he’d got them.
Outside on the curb was a black Lexus identical to the one he’d crashed in last Wednesday night. He paused mid-stride and almost recoiled.
“What’s going on?” she asked, braced for danger.
“Apparently my father sent me a gift.”
He didn’t seem happy with the notion, and Ava understood. The last time he’d been inside that model of vehicle, he’d been in a terrible accident.
“Let’s grab a cab,” Ava suggested.
Dominic turned his head sharply, looking at her over the glasses as if surprised by her insight.
She tried not to be insulted. Van had always told her that her biggest asset was her intuition, followed by her gumption. His words. They reminded her of why she was really with Sheridan. Finding the truth behind Van’s death. Over the last few days that focus had blurred and shame reared up. After everything Van had done, he deserved better from her.
Dominic took her hand again and squeezed, towing her to the curb where he held up his arm for a passing taxi.
When a yellow cab stopped, he helped her inside and climbed in next to her. She hauled the layers of lace and chiffon into her lap feeling like the heroine in some historical romance. She just needed the cab to morph into a horse and carriage and Sheridan to morph into a Duke. Then they’d make out and possibly have full blown sex, and she’d be ruined and they’d have to get married.
She blinked her way back into the twenty-first century, a little shocked by the fact her imagination was now doling out daydreams where she and Sheridan got hitched.
The problem with grabbing a cab was the fact they couldn’t talk about the case in front of the driver. They settled back in silence as Dominic gave the guy an address. Ava wasn’t that familiar with DC so turned her attention to seeing the sights as they drove around.
Dominic picked up her hand, and she wondered if he was doing it to get into character or if he needed the comfort for what lay ahead. From the little he’d said he didn’t have the best relationship with his family. Hers were loud and boisterous and always interfering in her business, but she loved them.
When they started to pass embassies with the National Cathedral appearing on the hill above them, Ava began to get nervous.
“Anything I need to know about this event?”
“My family is dysfunctional and annoying, the exception being my little sister, Gwen.” He spoke quietly so the cabby couldn’t overhear. “She’s the baby of the family. Blames herself for the fact our mother killed herself even though she was only an infant when it happened.”
“Postpartum depression?” asked Ava.
Dominic nodded tersely. “No one ever mentions it, or Mom. It’s like we pretend she never existed.”
“I’m sorry. I know how much that sucks.” Ava was hit by an unexpected bolt of longing. “We don’t talk about my dad either. Can’t really. I miss him, but it’s like I made him up in my imagination.”
Dominic nodded and closed his eyes briefly as if letting the emotion touch him for that split second before moving on.
“This will be the fifth time my father has gotten married, and I’m supposed to be the best man for this one.” He looked out the window. “Usually he asks my brother Franklin, but I suspect he asked me so I didn’t find a way to wheedle out of the proceedings. We’ve been here so many times. It’s hard to pretend it’ll last.”
“Pessimist.” She bumped his arm with hers.
“Realist,” Dominic argued. “Between my father’s inability to marry the right woman and my brother’s need to destroy anything good in the world, my family isn’t exactly all hearts and flowers.”
“Brothers can be annoying.”
He held her gaze. “Franklin isn’t annoying. He’s an asshole.”
Her lips twitched. “Good to know.”
His fingers smoothed over her hand as if he were memorizing the length and curve of each bone and knuckle.
“What if people want to know where I’m from?” she asked, trying to distract herself from thinking about his hands on her body.
Dominic’s dark blue eyes took her in and seemed to note her raging nerves. “Tell them.”
“Which version?” she muttered beneath her breath.
Dominic leaned into her hair. “I forgot to tell you how amazing you are to have done what you did as a kid after watching your father murdered. And how you chased that gunman through the woods yesterday was brave as hell.”
His breath on her skin had her nipples hardening against the material of the dress.
“Tell them whichever history you want, but you don’t need to try to impress these people. You are hands down the most beautiful and seriously kickass agent I have ever…known.” His eyes twinkled as he put a certain carnal emphasis on the last word.
She huffed out a soft laugh and rolled her eyes at him. “And how many of those are there?”
He quieted as if carefully considering his answer, then ran a finger over her collarbone. “One. You.”
Ava’s gaze locked on his, and her mouth went dry.
Then they arrived and she had to laugh as they piled out of a yellow cab while everyone else was being handed out of limos. Then she looked across at the Georgian mansion with enough columns and white marble steps to rival the White House.
Holy shit.
She allowed her skirts to drop, hoping she didn’t stick a heel through this beautiful creation, or fall flat on her face.
Dominic took her hand and drew it through the crook of his elbow. “Hopefully we can do a quick in and out, and be home within an hour. Then I plan to lay you on my bed and unwrap you like the best Christmas present I’ve ever received.”
“In August?”
“Birthday present then.”
“When is your birthday?”
His grin was sharp. “January.”
“I’ll have to decide if I’m an early Christmas or late birthday present.” She ran her finger down his lapel. “And I’m having a few suit porn fantasies myself.”
“Suit porn?”
“And tux sex.”
Dominic appeared to choke on his bow tie.
Ava grinned. “I think you get the picture.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
With Ava at his side, some of the dread that usually overwhelmed Dominic at the thought of attending these gatherings dissipated into the ether.
She was funny, didn’t take h
erself or the people at this party too seriously. She was so beautiful she looked like future heartbreak. Which was exactly why he was not falling for her beyond the physical. They could enjoy themselves for a few weeks. Maybe even try this relationship business on for size for a little while. After that they’d go their separate ways.
He ignored the pang that thought caused. Like he’d told her the day after the car crash, he liked sex, and he got lonely sometimes. Didn’t mean he wanted anyone permanently in his space, getting in the way of the things he wanted to do, cramping his style.
What things? What style?
He pushed thoughts about his usually solitary existence out of his head. Enjoying the time they had together to the max was a no brainer, even for a knucklehead such as himself.
Galveston’s skeletal remains had been found in the makeshift grave behind the garage at the cottage. Well, a body matching the basic anthropological parameters had been found there. DNA and dental records would confirm it by the end of the day. What had surprised everyone was the presence of another skeleton. A child.
No one knew anything about a child. A forensic anthropologist was examining the bones to try to determine how long the kid had been there and possibly how he-or-she had died.
Was it a previously unknown victim? The offspring of a victim? The offspring of Galveston himself? Could the child have been the original owner of the teddy bear that was left on the marker of Galveston’s grave?
Where was the mother of this kid and how had the child died? That was the biggest question, right along with who’d buried them in that shallow grave at Galveston’s old cabin.
The lab was working 24-7 until they figured this out. Unfortunately, science could only go so fast.
It would be nice to rebury the serial murderer before the press even discovered his body had disappeared. The missing corpse had surely been designed to stir up the man’s memory and misdeeds. To instill fear in the population. A way to re-victimize the families of the missing and murdered women.
But the presence of the child… Dominic frowned. What did that mean?
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