by C J Matthew
“Ready. And all set up to be easily and quickly connected to the seller and his financial assets.”
“I apologize if I sound like I’m checking up on—”
“Any time,” Vic assured him. “When we get into situations none of us have dealt with before, double checking is always a solid idea.”
“Thanks for understanding,” Murdoch muttered.
What was he referring to? Annalisa narrowed her eyes.
“If everyone is ready,” Vic said, “let me send this.”
“Go,” he said.
“Send,” she added, right behind him.
Vic blew out a shaky breath. “Done.” Her voice sounded a tiny bit on edge. “Now let’s brainstorm some delaying tactics we can use on our bad guy. While we’re tracking him down.”
“You can always demand assurances,” Annalisa said, “Like a promise the data won’t be sold elsewhere.”
“Good,” Vic said.
“How much time,” Murdoch asked, “are you going to need to find him?”
Vic’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m guessing about ten to twelve hours. Maybe longer. But I think we should stall to gain ourselves days not hours.”
“No telling how long the reply from this first contact will take.” Murdoch stood, stretched, and looked at Annalisa. “More coffee?”
She glanced back and forth between Vic and Murdoch. “We’re staying up until we hear something—right?”
“That’s the plan,” Murdoch said. “Remember it could go right to the last minute. His deadline of midnight in Long Beach is three a.m. here.”
“Then fill my tumbler, please,” she said smiling. “I’m going to need the boost.”
“You’re already used to California time.”
“Coffee.”
Vic looked at them again. “Why don’t you two find a couple of comfortable chairs and cat nap? I can signal you on the satellite phone the minute the email arrives.”
In the library, the fire was dying. Only glowing embers remained on the grate. After Murdoch placed both his phones on the table beside the two coffees, he added logs and built up the fire. He turned to her, and hesitated, so she offered an encouraging smile and he joined her on the couch.
She slipped off her shoes and curled her bare feet under her.
Murdoch removed his shoes and extended his long legs, crossing his ankles. He spread his arm across the back of the couch.
“How about we go shopping tomorrow afternoon?” he offered.
“Into Boston?”
“Not that you don’t look stunning in that outfit, but you could definitely use replacement clothing. We can grab a late lunch or early dinner. We could even check on the headquarters.”
She smoothed the sleeve on the cashmere sweater. The fuzzy beauty easily cost more than a week of her salary. Right. Go shopping with the billionaire. All around embarrassing. Her most critical need was underwear. A jacket or coat would come in handy. But she seldom wore coats in California and she already had a lightweight rain jacket at home.
Murdoch scooted closer to her, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “I can see the wheels turning. Here’s the way I see it. You flew all the way across the country to warn us about a major threat to Muirdris. To start, I insist on reimbursing you for all your expenses, and that includes your airline ticket and rental car, as well as the smashed suitcase and ruined clothing as a result of being run down in my driveway.”
She moved closer to Murdoch, touched his arm. “That’s more than generous but until the—”
“Annalisa, no buts and no until’s. I’d rather not lend you my clothes so no more arguments. Tomorrow, as soon as we get the protocol seller on the hook, and catch up on sleep, we’ll do some clothes and grocery shopping.”
“That’s so generous and thoughtful.” Without thinking, her fingertip sketched little circles on his shirt sleeve. She looked into his eyes and was enchanted. Her breathing sped up and her heart was pounding.
He leaned closer, lowered his voice for emphasis. “You make it damned easy to be thoughtful. The more I’m with you, the more I find to admire.”
She knew from the heat spreading up her neck and across her face she was turning red. “Me, too. That is, I can’t get over how well you’re managing one crisis after another. If it weren’t for you handling everything, I’d be a basket case by now.”
She started to duck her chin, to avoid his intense gaze. His index finger tucked under her chin and he gently lifted her head. “Don’t hide your face. You’re beautiful.”
He dropped his glance to her lips and her mouth dried. He was going to kiss her. She inched closer until her knee met his thigh.
“If,” he whispered, “I start anything you don’t want, do anything you don’t want me to do, just say no.” His mouth hovered, almost touching hers. The heat from his breath caressed her lips. He smelled like the ocean and coffee. And something earthy she couldn’t identify. He didn’t move any closer.
She wanted this. Wanted to taste him. Feel his lips on hers. She ran her tongue along her parted lips. Still, he stayed frozen in place.
“Yes, please,” Annalisa whispered at last.
Murdoch captured her mouth with his.
Chapter 9
Murdoch
Murdoch struggled to keep his mouth gentle on Annalisa’s lips. He wanted to feel her pressed against him. His fingers itched to explore, to roam over every inch of her luscious body. To caress her hair, stroke her skin, excite her, pleasure her. Not yet. Limiting his hands, he only allowed them to rest on her shoulders.
Control became more difficult as his senses rapidly filled with her. Like the intoxicating aroma of his soap and his shampoo, sharpened and enhanced by the heat of her body.
Annalisa opened her soft plump lips slightly. Like she was yielding, inviting him in. And that was a temptation he couldn’t resist. He had to taste her. Murdoch ran his tongue along her bottom lip.
She moaned. The sound ignited him, sent molten desire exploding through his body. Closer. Lifting her hands, he guided her arms to circle around his neck and pulled her against him. Deeper. His mouth ravaged hers, his tongue questing into her mouth, teasing and tempting.
His dragon roared with joy, and this time Murdoch’s human side listened. And whole heartedly agreed. She is the one. Annalisa was his fated mate. He still wasn’t quite sure about all the ramifications of this discovery, but the fact of it was undeniable. His mate. They were destined to love each other, to be together through time. From this moment on, she became his primary goal. He would love, protect, and cherish Annalisa and their young.
Needing his mate closer still, Murdoch slid an arm under her legs and lifted her off the couch. Settling her on his lap, he hugged her. When she buried her face in his shoulder, he nuzzled her neck.
“Wait.” Her head came up so fast it almost clipped his chin.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let me up.” She slipped her hands down, pressed her palms against his chest. Her legs scrambled to get off his lap.
“I will, I swear,” he assured her and raised his hands as a sign of surrender. When she stopped squirming, he added, “Will you calm down and listen? For just a minute?”
Annalisa nodded and then angled her head to face him.
“After I’ve had my say,” he explained, “if you still want to move, I’ll help you up. But please let me say something first?” His mind raced. What could he say? What he needed was more time with her, a chance for Annalisa to get to know him, to fall in love with him.
He’d heard that very few humans believed in love at first sight. A higher number of them believed they had a soulmate, somewhere, but admitted they weren’t sure how that worked. Well, neither did he.
No dragon in the Muirdris clan had found a mate, yet. Female dragons were few and far between and the one overture Murphy had made to a fire-breathing clan about possible mates had met with a flat rejection. The fire dragon’s negative response had come after he lea
rned that all the Muirdris sea dragons were the products of a generation of breeding between endangered sea serpents and dragons. The result—he and Murdoch and all their cousins—viewed themselves as the best of both species.
The fire breathers had begged to differ.
“Okay,” Annalisa huffed. “What is it?”
“I didn’t mean to rush you, if it felt that way to you, I apologize. I think we both agree, we need to talk. About this scary, horrible day, as well as the unexpected attraction between us. While we talk, I’d like us to stay just where we are. Honestly, Annalisa, it’s been a hell of a day and having you close calms me.”
Annalisa gave her butt a little wiggle and pressed against his hard cock. “You call that calm?” She met his gaze and gave him a giant eye-roll.
“No, that’s definitely excitement and desire. You need to give credit for my body’s enthusiasm to your hot kisses.”
“So, no more kissing?”
“Not during our talk. Let’s call a moratorium?”
She punched his arm and Murdoch’s heart lifted. She couldn’t be too angry if she could still tease him.
“It’s a plan, then?” he asked. “We’ll put a hold on those hot lips of yours while we snuggle and discuss. Cuddling with you feels amazingly tranquil after such a stressful day. Don’t you agree?”
Her body relaxed. “Yes.” Curling into him, she rested her head against his chest and let out a long sigh.
He heaved his own sigh, one of relief. We’re not out of the kelp beds yet, he warned his dragon. Slow, we need to go slowly. The dragon snorted. Show her the Hoard.
This is not about riches, he started to explain and gave up.
“Even after such a frightening day,” Annalisa whispered, “I’m still determined to see this through.” Wrapping his arms loosely around her, he gently stroked her back.
“Especially,” she went on, “if there’s any more I can do to help you catch the conspirator. I have three weeks of sick leave saved up. Not as much personal leave.”
“After Vic makes contact,” he said, “let’s see if she changes her estimate on the time needed to locate our guy. Meanwhile, would you consider working your California job from here?”
“Here? Like in-your-house here?”
“Or at the downtown headquarters, if and when it’s safe to go there. I can contact the head of Human Relations, have you reassigned.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Working for you?”
Uh oh, he’d gone too far. “If you’ve been temporarily transferred here…uh, to Boston, that is, then you can choose any combination of reporting and working arrangements. Like you report to Vic, fulfill your California assignments in Boston or here at the house. And you and I will continue to work together on the locating the turncoat.”
The satellite phone beeped. He reached around Annalisa and answered it.
“Hey, Vic. Should we go back downstairs?”
“Don’t think that’s necessary. This is a pretty simple update and good news. I’ve made contact, we have a confirmation email. There was no need for me to try stalling our target at this point. He’s setting up a new off shore bank account and will have the wire transfer data for us in seventy-two hours. After payment, he’s promising to send an encoded copy of the protocols.”
“Three days?” he mused. “That should give you enough time to find the bastard.”
“Exactly my plan. Meanwhile, I’ll finish up our fictitious background and transfer lots of Muirdris money into an accessible bank account.” Did he note a hint of teasing in her voice? He and his dragon winced at the mention of using clan-hoard as bait. “I’ll keep you informed as I go,” Vic said. “You two be careful.”
“Thanks,” he said, then couldn’t help adding, “You be careful with my money.”
“Always,” Vic assured him. “What are your plans?
“After catching up on sleep, we’ll concentrate on our truck driver and the explosion at HQ. See if there are any connections. You can send a signal to my cell if you need to talk to us in the secure room.”
“Will do.”
After the call was disconnected, Murdoch stood, bringing Annalisa with him. When she was steady on her feet, he pocketed both phones. “May I walk you to your room?”
“Thanks.”
“Are we on for shopping tomorrow, or, I guess since it already is tomorrow, this afternoon?”
“I guess.”
“You need replacement clothes, a new phone. And after you’re set, we can check on the Muirdris headquarters building.”
They walked side by side down the hallway. She half-turned to him and said, “The way you talked to Vic it sounded like we’d be staying here today, researching and looking for connections online.”
“You’re going to run out of clothes real fast.” He pressed his lips closed, swallowing the suggestive remark that jumped into his mind about Annalisa forced to run around in the nude. Damn, as long as his feelings for her remained so one-sided, he needed to keep himself in check, keep his thoughts to himself. Coming on to her wouldn’t help his cause.
“I’m figuring,” he said, “we can do both. Find you enough outfits to last until the traitor is caught plus get an update on the Muirdris building. Then we can come back here for research.”
“And what if the bomb in Boston was connected to my truck crash here? Isn’t it dangerous for me to go back to the scene of the crime?”
“Maybe…” He though she was half-teasing, but his blood ran cold at the mental picture of his mate trapped under the rubble of the collapsed Muirdris offices. New plan. “How about we shop for clothes and a phone, then wait on visiting the building until the police and the bomb experts decide what’s going on with the explosion?”
“I think you making an appearance at Muirdris is an excellent idea,” she said.
Before she could expand on that thought, he vehemently shook his head. Standing in front of her closed bedroom door, she planted her feet, fisted her hands on her hips, and frowned at him.
“Stop shaking your head,” she grumbled, “and hear me out. It doesn’t matter if you’re Murphy or Murdoch, your employees need to see you. Hear you say it’ll be all right. They need to know you’re talking with the police and the engineers. Don’t you dare use me as an excuse not to go. I could stay nearby with Vic for an hour while you make an official appearance.”
“You mean leave you?” he asked, over his dragon’s furious screeches.
Her frown deepened. “Let me put it another way. If you’re so deeply worried about my safety that you refuse to leave me with Vic for sixty minutes? That level of concern leads me to believe you know more about the situation than you’ve shared. That things are a hell of a lot worse, and I’m in more immediate danger, than you’ve been letting on. What are you keeping from me?”
Chapter 10
Annalisa
As Annalisa had fallen asleep last night, she’d been dealing with an ugly combination of jetlag, whiplash, and inappropriate sexual attraction to her boss. And when she let her defenses down for more than an instant, fear stalked her, anxious to join the mix.
Annalisa woke at noon to discover that, thanks to the Tylenol she’d taken before sliding into bed and the hours of deep sleep, her two physical ailments had resolved. She propped two of the down pillows against the headboard and sat back to take stock. Her remaining issues? Fear and lust.
She could solve both concerns by flying home today. Get as far away from the truck driver and the bomber as possible. While putting serious distance between herself and Murdoch, the source of her sexual temptation.
Except, running away would mean she was a coward. It had taken courage to fly to Massachusetts, to sneak around the headquarters building, to drive to Murdoch’s mansion. She’d taken several brave steps to warn Muirdris. Now, she needed to stay, to help Vic and Murdoch figure out the identity of the conspirator. She needed to finish what she started, to see it through.
Was running away from Murdoch
also a sign of cowardice? She shook her head. Different deal. Avoiding Murdoch could be a matter of survival. No matter how tempting, an affair with the owner of Muirdris would end up taking more from her than she could afford to lose. It would land her on the front page of the tabloids, as well as in the unemployment line. She’d be disgraced and notorious. And she’d very likely lose her heart in the process.
There was a soft tap on the door. “Ms. Bartello?” a woman’s voice asked.
“I’m awake, come in.”
The door opened just wide enough to let in a short woman with curly white hair and sharp blue eyes. “I’m Bridget, the substitute housekeeper. Can I get you anything? Would you like breakfast in bed?”
“The breakfast part sounds wonderful, Bridget, but I’d rather not eat alone. Is Murdoch up?”
The housekeeper took two steps further into the room, stopped, and folded her hands at her waist. “He’s been up for nearly two hours, what with talking on the phone and messing about with that little computer. And then he went for a swim. Said he’d wait to eat with you.” She punctuated the end of her summary with a loud sniff. Disapproval of the master eating with the house guest?
Annalisa gave the housekeeper a smug smile. “When you see Murdoch, tell him I’ll join him for breakfast in half an hour.”
“All right.”
She bit her bottom lip. Unless she wanted to spend hours searching, she’d better get off her high horse and ask for directions to the food. “Is the dining room on this floor?”
“Yes,” Bridget said. “On the other side of the living room.”
“Thank you.” The minute the door closed behind Bridget, Annalisa threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed. She was pawing through a stack of folded jeans in the humungous closet when it hit her. A swim? In January?
The lack of personal clothing, her own hair products, and cosmetics cut her usual mirror-time in half. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, checked her Cecil watch, and hurried to find the dining room.
Murdoch waited just inside the door. Claiming one of her hands, he dropped a kiss on her cheek and took a step back. She considered complaining but his smile took her breath away. Dressed in a blue silk shirt and slacks, he looked like a stock photo model for “rich playboy at home.”