by Joss Wood
He couldn’t, he shouldn’t. This was Leah, not a quick roll in the hay. She was someone he couldn’t bag, tag, and toss away.
Seth watched as the tip of her pink tongue peeked out from between her teeth. Her gaze bounced from his eyes to his mouth and back up again. If he didn’t step away right now, he would take her, right here, right on the floor.
It took everything he had to speak and not kiss her. “Next time, please, just trust me, okay?”
Leah nodded. “Okay. I promise to talk to you before I do anything stupid. I might still do it,” she said with refreshing honesty, “but I’ll talk to you about it first.”
Seth had to smile. Yeah, he liked her a lot. Far, far more than he should.
Chapter Seven
Forty five minutes later, Seth turned onto the oak-lined road and idly listened to Leah talking on her phone. From what he could gather, she had the sole mandate on a very exclusive property in Camps Bay and she needed Milo to show a prospective buyer the property.
“They are a bit concerned that the property won’t be big enough but the view will sell it. If they want to haggle over the price, let them. I’ve built in some wiggle room,” Leah said.
She was a savvy business woman; he supposed she’d had to be to build up such a successful business before turning thirty. Leah was wearing a thigh-length swing dress in black and yellow and gray, obviously expensive, designer shoes, and her bag and sunglasses were high-end couture. Yeah, she had money but, unlike his previous girlfriends, Leah paid her own way.
Not that she was his girlfriend; that was just a figure of speech. Stop looking at her legs, Halcott. Slowing down, he approached the wrought iron gates of the Khan’s property. A tall, gangly kid was walking along the sidewalk, he should be in school. The hair on the back of his head lifted.
He should be in school. Seth took a closer look at the face beneath the grey hoodie and gasped his surprise. Holy shit....Fayed?
No fucking way!
Seth watched, astonished as the teenager casually strode up to the intercom and placed his finger on the bell. He swung the car into the driveway and pushed the button to take his window down, his heart thundering in his chest. Fayed stood between the intercom and the car and it took all of Seth’s willpower not to toss him into the car and roar up the drive.
“Fayed Khan?”
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Leah’s head shoot up and he heard her gasp. He ignored her and didn’t take his eyes off the sulky looking teenager.
“Yeah. Who are you?”
“Seth Halcott. I’ve been looking for you.”
Fayed lifted his shoulders in an insouciant shrug. “Well, you found me. Now piss off and leave me alone.”
Fayed’s mother was keening with joy, his sister was looking shocked, and his father looked like Seth could push him over with a fingertip. Their missing son was back and none of them seemed sure how to act or what to do.
The only Khan member not caught up with the drama was the kid himself, he just looked bored. And utterly miserable to be home.
“Weird,” Leah said, nudging Seth, who stood next to her, watching the family reunion.
“Fayed’s reaction? Very weird indeed,” Seth replied in a tone just low enough for her to hear.
Fatima Khan lifted her head from Fayed’s shoulder, looked at him, and burst into tears again. Fayed rolled his eyes when his mother’s arms squeezed him again and Leah resisted the urge to smack the annoyance off his face.
The kid definitely needed to be put back into his box.
“Okay, let’s move this along,” Seth said, still speaking in her ear. “Can you help me out by taking the women back to the kitchen and settling them down?”
“Yeah sure,” Leah said, placing her hand on his arm. “What are you going to do?”
“Find out what the hell is going on here,” Seth muttered. “This never happens, kids never just, literally, walk back into their families lives, not like this.”
Leah’s hand moved down his arm and she linked her fingers in his, quickly squeezing. “You’ll get to the bottom of it, Seth.”
Seth’s thumb drifted across the ball of her hand as he looked at her. “Yeah, I will.” He pulled in a deep breath and let go of her hand. “Let’s do this.”
Leah nodded, walked over to Fayed’s mom and put a hand around her shoulder. “Mrs. Khan, come with me now. Let’s get you calmed down.”
Leah steered the teenager’s mother and sister out of the hall. Looking back, she saw Seth place his hand on the back of Fayed’s neck. “I think your son has some explaining to do, Mr. Khan.”
Leah couldn’t wait to hear the story he came up with.
Seth had been expecting a call from the new Pytheon agent but he hadn’t expected Jett to rock up on Leah’s doorstep ten minutes after they’d returned to the house that evening. It had been a long day; he’d spent most of it talking to Fayed, trying to get the sullen kid to open up. Nothing he did or said cracked his shell; he’d told Seth all he intended to and then retreated into surly silence.
Right now, all he wanted to do was sit on the veranda with a cold beer and think. Actually, that wasn’t what he most wanted to do but it was as good as he was going to get.
Seth opened the front door, gestured his newest agent into the hall and held out his hand and introduced himself.
“I thought I’d come by and meet you, get up to speed on the case.” Jett stated, shoving a hand into his scruffy, black hair. He pulled his sunglasses off his face and tapped them against the palm of his hand.
“Yeah, the case that’s been flipped on its head,” Seth said.
Seth watched as Leah walked into the hall from the kitchen, carrying two beer bottles. They’d intended to drink them on the verandah, together, trying to wind down after an intense day. Seth sighed and admitted it was maybe a good thing that Jett was here. He wouldn’t be tempted to relieve his stress in the time-honored, most fun way possible.
Seth quickly made introductions and narrowed his eyes when Leah left her hand in Jett’s a little too long. And maybe he was losing his mind if Leah’s hand in Jett’s annoyed him.
“Let’s talk on the veranda.” Seth suggested, wanting Jett to move along.
Jett’s bright blue gaze stayed on Leah and he slowly raised an eyebrow. Seth eventually caught on... Jett thought that they needed privacy to talk freely.
“Leah knows the situation. We can talk in front of her.”
Leah lifted a bottle and her eyebrow at Jett. “Want a beer?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Leah handed the bottles over. “I’ll get another for myself but, if you don’t mind, I’m going to skip the conversation. I’ve got some work to do and Seth and I have already discussed what happened today.”
“I won’t take long, Miss Hamilton,” Jet said and flashed a smile Seth knew could melt the elastic in lingerie at twenty paces.
Leah’s face softened and he thought he saw the flutter of her eyelashes. God! It was too early in their relationship for his newest agent to piss him off.
“Eyes front, soldier,” Seth muttered, in a tone so low that only Jett could hear.
Jett’s sardonic look—his agents weren’t big on kowtowing and he normally liked that—was followed by a knowing grin.
Legend or not, this guy was starting to annoy the shit out of Seth.
“Let’s go.” Seth ordered, whipping around and walking through the lounge towards the doors that led to the veranda. Jett followed him out and immediately went to the railing and rested his forearms on the top rail and looked out over the tiny fishing harbor. Brightly colored boats were heading out to sea and the water looked like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to wear green or blue today.
“Nice view. Pretty city,” Jett said.
It was but Seth didn’t want to hear Jett’s opinions on the scenery of the Western Cape.
“So, what did I miss today?” Jett asked.
Seth took a long sip of his beer and reste
d the cool bottle against his forehead. He took a seat on one of the outdoor chairs and gestured Jett to follow suit. When Jett sat down, Seth placed his bottle on the table separating them and placed his foot on his opposite knee.
“Weird day. Leah and I went to the Khan’s house. She was busy on a call, I was driving. And I see this kid walking down the road. I think he looks familiar and he comes closer and I think, hell, no way. It’s Fayed. He goes up to the gate and pushes the bell.”
Jett frowned, looking like he wasn’t sure he’d heard Seth right. “Fayed, the missing kid, walked up to the gate and pushed the bell?”
Seth nodded. “There he was, perfectly fine, acting like it was the most normal thing in the world to be missing for over a week and to return home like nothing had happened. I accompany the kid into the house and the family sees him and it’s mayhem.”
Jett raised his eyebrows and waited for Seth to continue.
“Leah takes charge of his mom and sister and I pull a very unhappy Fayed and his father into a study. As soon as I close the door, the father backhands the kid, his ring cuts his bottom lip.” Seth winced, remembering. He understood how emotion bubbled over but that was a hell of a homecoming for any kid.
“The kid starts screaming at the father in Arabic which I understand. It turns out that Fayed didn’t want to come back home, he said The Recruiter said that he wasn’t fit to fight. That he wasn’t dedicated enough, strong enough for jihad. The kid is big time pissed off.”
Jett frowned. “What? Hold on, that doesn’t make sense. The kid has hacking skills, he could be used, somewhere. And the only way kids normally return home is by ransom, escape, which is rare, or in a body bag. Extremist organizations aren’t known for being picky about their recruits.”
Exactly. Seth sat on the corner of the wooden table and looked past Jett to the horizon and the container ship that was the size of a matchbox.
“Can he identify where he’s been for the past few days?” Jett asked.
“He says not. He was collected in an SUV type car, dark blue or black—” Seth stood up and walked up to the railing.
“Did he meet The Recruiter?”
Seth frowned. “He said he did.”
Jett cocked his head, obviously picking up something in his tone. “Shouldn’t he have?”
“The Recruiter always keeps his distance from his targets. So, if the kid saw The Recruiter, then that’s a huge change in his MO.” Seth explained. “And the bigger question is, if that’s true, why? Why did he let this kid see him and why did he let him go?” Seth added. “And what game is he playing?”
Jett placed his designer sunglasses back onto his face and he looked like the big badass he was. “What do you want me to do?”
Seth thought for a moment. “Go back to the Khan house. Pump the kid for more information. Arrange for him to meet with a sketch artist, maybe we can get a composite drawing? Then—”
“I’ll try to work out where he was kept, how he contacted The Recruiter, if he saw anyone else. I know the drill.” Jett stated.
Seth speared his fingers into his hair. “Sorry, I don’t normally micromanage.”
“Good to know.”
Seth jammed his hands into the pockets of his cream shorts and rocked on his heels. “I’m missing something, I know it. Something is off...”
“Good enough for me,” Jett replied, standing up and stretching. “I’ll keep digging.”
Seth looked at him, bemused. “You strike me as the type who makes up his own mind, Smith-Jones, or is your take-me-at-my-word attitude your way of trying to impress me?”
“I’m not the type who plasters my tongue on my boss’s ass.”
Seth winced at his analogy.
“And I always make up my own mind. I just happen to agree with you,” Jett retorted, moving towards the doors leading to the lounge. “You have a rep for seeing patterns where there aren’t any, seeing a picture that no one else can. If your gut is screaming there’s something off with this situation then I’m going to listen.”
Seth hated to admit it but he was humbled and touched that this hard ass, well-respected soldier trusted him and trusted his instincts. Yeah, Smith-Jones was going to be hell on wheels to manage but he sensed this man was going to do some amazing things. What, he wasn’t sure, but he was looking forward to the fireworks.
“Check Fayed’s story. Find me something.” Seth barked out the order but he could tell Jett wasn’t even remotely intimidated.
“Can I bend the rules?” Jett asked.
Seth couldn’t help his small smile. “Don’t get caught.”
Oh yeah, fireworks.
Was she really eavesdropping if she stood in the hall of her own home and listened to the conversation in the guest room? Of course it was but she didn’t care. Listening to Seth issue orders and run through scenarios was as sexy as hell even if she didn’t know what he was talking about half the time. From the little she did understand, a missing student had been found in Beijing, an art museum was missing a lesser known French impressionistic painting and someone had been conned out of a rather nice cache of diamonds.
Leah walked down to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of juice, drank that, ate half a bowl of peanut butter ice cream, and when she returned a half hour later, Seth was still on his cell phone talking to someone called Stone. Leah looked through his half open door and saw Seth sitting at the desk in the corner, his bare back to her. His phone was tucked between his shoulder and neck and he was tapping the keyboard of his laptop.
“Tell Forsythe that I’ll rip his head off if he does anything that stupid again.” Seth said, his voice razor sharp. “No, don’t bother, I’ll call him now and rip him a new one. Idiot. He not only could’ve killed himself but blown a two-year op as well.”
Seth ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. She wished she had the right to walk into his room and place her hands on his shoulders and massage the tension out of his muscles, drop her head to kiss the sexy dip where his muscle met his shoulder, taste the dimples on either side of his hip.
She wanted him. Leah turned away. She wanted him with a ferocity that terrified her. Leah sighed as she walked into her room. This was about more than sex. It was about a connection, respect, a lot of liking. It was about sharing herself with a good man, someone mentally and physically strong. She wanted his heat and touch but she also wanted his intense focus, the concentration he gave to work, on her. Tonight, she needed him, she needed that.
Yes, there were reasons why they shouldn’t be together, good and valid reasons. They’d didn’t know each other well, this was all moving too fast—super fast!—he was her brother’s best friend, she was just out of an intense relationship....blah, blah, boring. When last was she brave enough to ask for what she wanted, courageous enough to express what she wanted?
She wasn’t a rule breaker, she worked hard, was loyal, she tried to be a good sister, daughter, friend. But when last did she give herself permission to take something for herself, when last did she think of her and only her? She couldn’t remember...
Tonight, she wanted to ditch the excuses, forget the complications, and live. Seize the moment.
There was a sexy, ripped man in her house who seemed to want her as much as she wanted him and, having survived a few shitty weeks, he would be her present to herself.
They’d deal with the consequences; they’d face the music, but not tonight.
Tonight they needed to step out of their lives, away from the madness, and live. And love. And feast. And Seth needed to escape as much as she did.
Not allowing herself time to think, knowing if she didn’t act now, she’d talk herself out of it. Leah walked out of her room and slipped through his half-open door. He’d stopped working and was in the shower.
Naked Seth in the shower. Yum.
The bathroom door was almost closed making it so much easier to sneak.
“For God sake, Leah,” Seth said and partially pulled back
the shower curtain to scowl at her before disappearing behind the red curtain again. “Can what you want wait until I’m done?”
So much for sneaking.
Shaking with nerves or adrenalin, Leah wasn’t sure which—what if he made her get dressed? What if he rejected her? Leah lifted her pajama vest over her head. When she dropped it to the floor, she looked up and Seth had the curtain pulled back and was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. Or that she had the most fantastic boobs ever.
“Shit, Leah,” he muttered before whipping the curtain closed again.
Leah hooked her thumbs into her pajama bottoms and shimmied them down her hips, leaving her completely nude. She wasn’t used to feeling so exposed. She and Heath had never been the most adventurous or even comfortable of lovers. Courage, Hamilton. She pulled the curtain back and allowed her eyes the sheer pleasure of travelling over his body. She’d seen his chest and six pack before so she skipped those and looked down to the thick hair at his groin and, more importantly, his rapidly expanding cock. It was thick and hard and it pulsed beneath her gaze and she wanted to wrap her hands around him, explore him, feel him pushing inside her, filling her.
When she reached his face, his strong mouth was twisted into a rueful smile and his eyes lightened to a special shade of green.
His thoughts couldn’t have been clearer if he’d tattooed them on her skin. Yeah, I think you’re pretty hot, too.
He was naked, she was naked and she was not leaving here until her curiosity was satisfied. And she was plenty curious.
“Guess we’re going to be doing this sooner rather than later,” Seth said, oblivious to the water pounding his head, his back.
His face was all fierce resolve. Impatient, determined, and relentless. Seth reached for her and placed his hands on her hips and easily lifted her into the tub and pulled her so they stood hip to hip and chest to chest.