Her Enemy Protector (Tempt Me)

by Avery Flynn

  “Always.” He released her and slipped out of the shower to answer the call, drawing the thin silver chain connecting their wrists as tight as the vice around her heart.

  Falling for a guy like Lucas shouldn’t be easy, but it was and that was beyond dangerous. So she wrapped a thick towel around herself as he stood naked, water dripping off his body, and his glower became darker with every word coming from the person on the other end of the phone.

  For all of its shitty timing, the call couldn’t have happened at a better moment. Nothing like a clear reminder that this was a mission for both of them, definitely nothing more. The sooner they got the information Lucas was after, the sooner she could escape Fare Island and leave it all behind her for good.

  Chapter Ten

  An hour later, Lucas stopped outside the closed dining room door. The hand-binding shirt itched. The lack of a clear plan of action to gain access to Rolf’s phone gnawed at the back of his brain like a piranha with an axe to grind. And the woman next to him stole his breath every time he got a glimpse of her out of his peripheral vision. Clearly, this mission was going pear-shaped, and the more time he spent on Fare Island the worse it was going to get.

  Laugher filtered out from underneath the closed dining room door. Ruby tensed beside him.

  The news this afternoon meant the time for fun and games was over. Gregers Henriksen had been spotted in Spain for half a second before disappearing again. Elskov couldn’t wait patiently for him to appear again in hopes of trailing him to the exchange. The bastard was too clever for that. Getting the information from Rolf remained the best option, even as volatile as the situation may be. That meant pushing forward no matter how much he wanted to protect the woman beside him from the danger of being caught.

  Duty to Elskov came first. Always. Still, he took her soft, small hand into his rough one. “Got your game face on?”

  Tension pulled her pasted-on smile tight. “I always do.”

  “Not always.” The image of her coming apart in his arms flashed in his mind. “You seem to let it slip off in the shower.”

  She froze for half a heartbeat before pivoting to face him and walking her hot-pink-tipped fingers up his chest, leaving a line of sizzling want in her wake. “Are you flirting with me so I’ll relax?”

  “Yes.” Maybe then he would, too.

  Stretching up on her tiptoes, she brought her lips close to his ear. “You should try it sometime just for the fun of it.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Along with a thousand other things he wanted to try with her naked and spread out before him.

  “Here.” She brushed her lips across his jaw then reached up and ruffled his hair. “Now, it looks like you’ve been up to something besides brooding and pacing since you got that phone call.”

  Is that what he’d been doing? Probably. Everything after that phone call had yanked him away from her and the earth-shaking certainty that came with being sheathed inside her warmth. The Silver Knights had confirmed Jasper’s claims of being a double agent working for the United States government. An agent working as a liaison with the Spanish government had delivered the news about Gregers. So close. They’d been so damn close to getting the bastard, but, once again, he’d slipped right through their grasp. That couldn’t happen again. They had to stop the arms exchange. God knew how many innocent people Gregers would mow down in his quixotic quest to take down the queen and avenge his traitorous father. No matter how tempting Ruby was, Lucas had to keep focused on his only purpose: keeping Elskov safe.

  He smoothed his hair back into place. “You don’t have to protect me.”

  “Then who will?” Her jaw tightened and she blinked twice before jerking her chin down in a quick nod, all of the playfulness gone from her beautiful face. “Don’t worry, I know it’s not real, but we both have a mission here and it’ll get done faster if we work together. Clock’s ticking, remember?”

  As if he could forget. He’d never wanted time to speed up and slow down at the same time so much before, but he had to pick. So he did. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.

  “And there they are,” Ingrid exclaimed, rising from the table and walking toward them.

  Ruby tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and they strode in together. Jasper and Clausen sat on one side of the long rectangle table flanked by Antoine and his entourage. On the other side of the table sat Rolf, Joey, a man who must be the minister, and Ingrid’s empty chair. Formally dressed servants were busy going from one person to the next, pouring champagne into silver flutes.

  “Congratulations, you’ve made it through the hand-binding and judging by the looks of you, all went well.” Ingrid wiped her thumb against his jaw. “Lipstick,” she whispered with a grin. “Now without further ado.” She took a key out of her pocket and inserted it into the small lock holding the silver hand-binding chain around their wrists and then turned it. The chain fell away from their wrists. “Please take your seats at either end of the table and join us as we toast to your many happy years together.”

  Lucas rubbed the inside of his wrist. The chain hadn’t been heavy or constricting, but being without it felt…weird. Glancing over, he saw Ruby doing the same as she made her way to the opposite end of the table. Once they sat down, everyone else stood and raised their glasses.

  “To the happy couple,” Rolf said, his smile not reaching all the way up to his eyes.

  The champagne bubbles popped on Lucas’s tongue as he sipped, keeping an eye on everyone else as they took their seats again.

  “There is so much to do before the ceremony,” Ingrid said as soon as she’d sat down in the chair to Lucas’s left. “Take a good look at each other because you won’t be seeing much of your bride-to-be until the minister pronounces you man and wife, especially not with you being relocated to Jasper’s wing until then.

  The fork bit into his palm and he forced himself to loosen his grip. “You’re moving me?”

  “Don’t worry.” She patted his forearm. “It’s only for a few days, and then you’ll be with your Ruby every day for the rest of your life.”

  The idea of that was far more tempting than it should be to a man who’d pledged his life and his loyalty to his country, especially when the woman in question was the daughter of one of Europe’s most notorious crime bosses whom he just happened to have blackmailed into posing as his fiancée.

  …

  When the fifth straight pin jabbed her hip the next day, Ruby promised herself she’d never get married. No dress fittings. No seating arrangements. No bullshit. She bit down on her lip to stop from crying out when one of Antoine’s minions stabbed her again when pinning the muslin dress pattern to fit her curves.

  “Francine, you must be more careful,” Antoine snarled as he circled the raised platform and apprised the lines of his creation, all of the sparkle in his eyes from the night before as he delivered several toasts in Ruby’s and Lucas’s honor replaced with the bloodshot eyes of the viciously hungover.

  “I’m sorry,” Francine said, her apology as real as the dark circles under her blue eyes.

  The whole team had worked overnight to get the dress to this stage and would pull even more all-nighters in their efforts to create a one-of-a-kind dress Ruby hoped like hell she’d never actually put on. Guilt pinched her conscience.

  “It’s okay,” she said, giving Francine and the other members of Antoine’s team a tired smile. “The compressed timeline isn’t anyone’s friend.”

  Her mother came up behind her and looked over her shoulder at the reflection of them both in the mirror. They wore matching resigned expressions.

  “You look exhausted,” Ingrid said.

  “I didn’t sleep well.” Or at all. It was amazing how quickly she’d gotten used to having Lucas around constantly. She hadn’t seen him since last night at dinner. Now they were only a few hours away from another family dinner sure to be filled with wedding questions she’d have to deflect or lie about.

  After gro
wing up on Fare Island, she would have thought herself immune to the stress of deception. She was wrong.

  “It’s only for a few days and then you’ll have Luc by your side again.” Ingrid squeezed her shoulders and then took a step back so Francine could pin the last few spots. “I know these traditions can seem silly in today’s world, but it’s the little things that keep us together.”

  Together. What was that? After all this was over, she’d be as alone as she’d ever been with her brother still acting as a double agent for the Americans, her mother trapped on the island as always, and Lucas doing whatever it took to keep Elskov safe. And her? What kind of life was there for a mobster’s daughter after she left? She couldn’t imagine a job where the ability to lie, steal, and manipulate were sought after skills.

  …

  Back in her own soft, pink dress no worse for wear, at least physically, from the dress fitting, Ruby stopped by the French doors leading out to the garden. The riot of color in the wildflower garden stretched as far as she could see. It was so very different from the structured garden at Moad Manor. Her heart sped up the moment she spotted him. In his severe black suit, Lucas should look out of place, but he didn’t. He looked more at home out there surrounded by a sea of pink, blue, purple, red, and white. No matter where he was, Lucas always managed to make it his own without even trying. He’d certainly done so with her. He’d invaded her thoughts, breached her defenses, and made a place for himself.

  She was out the door and crossing the flagstone patio before she had even thought about it. “Are you planning to interrogate the daisies?”

  The dark brooding look disappeared as soon as he looked over at her and something clanked into place in her chest. No one ever looked at her like that—except for Lucas.

  “They’ve been uncooperative,” he said as he reached down and plucked off a bloom and tucked it in her hair, his fingers grazing the shell of her ear before trailing down the side of her throat.

  Her heart raced and her mouth went dry. It had only been twenty-four hours since he’d last touched her in the shower, but it felt like forever.

  Keep it together, Rubes. This is only a mission for him, and it may be your only way off this island. If Rolf finds out what you’ve been doing, you’re dead before the thought even finishes processing.

  It took almost every bit of self-control she had, but she managed not to reach out, not to respond, and not to react when the openness fled from his face, replaced by the stony reserve she recognized from when she’d arrived at Moad Manor. Her lungs grew tight, and she dug deep to keep her chin from trembling.

  “Have you had any luck while I’ve been a human pincushion?” There, that sounded almost completely normal, if he missed the slight shake in the last few syllables, which he wouldn’t. Lucas noticed everything.

  His gaze narrowed, but he kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back. “I’ve been following Rolf all morning. That’s why I’m out here. He’s in his office.” He jerked his chin toward the big bay window where Rolf stood with his back to the garden, oblivious to the spy in his midst. “I’ve yet to catch him alone, and the phone is always in his hand.”

  This whole thing would be so much easier if Rolf wasn’t such a paranoid asshole. Of course, crime bosses who weren’t didn’t tend to last long.

  “Is he with Joey?”

  “No.” Lucas shook his head and adjusted the daisy tucked behind her ear, but unlike before, his moves were efficient and cold, a cover, not an invitation—not that her body, desperate for his touch, recognized that. “Jasper and Clausen are trailing him. Last report stated he was on his way to the landing strip.”

  “So who is Rolf with?” She ducked away from his touch before she embarrassed herself and melted against him. Instead, she trailed her fingers across the hot-pink blooms while keeping the window in her peripheral vision.

  “The Sparrow.”

  Her head shot up before she could get her reactions under control. “That’s good.”

  Lucas grabbed her low on her waist and swung her around so her back was to the window and lowered his mouth so it was only a fraction of an inch away from her ear, no doubt for cover just in case her stepfather spotted them lingering in the garden outside his office. “How?”

  Adrenaline and desire had her strung out and feeling like the only thing anchoring her to the earth was Lucas’s hand on her hip. She inhaled a shaky breath and focused not on the vivid blue-green of his eyes but on the security and honesty he represented despite being the last man on earth she should trust.

  “He may not be Rolf’s second-in-command, but the Sparrow still knows everything that happens on Fare Island and a lot of what happens off of it.” Her words came out in a rush. “We need to get to his cabin.”

  This could be it.

  If the Sparrow still kept his paper notes tucked away under the false bottom of his desk drawer like he did when she was a kid, then they’d have all the information they needed to stop the arms deal and end this fake engagement. Slipping her hand into Lucas’s and leading him through the hedgerow maze leading to the Sparrow’s cabin should have been like taking the final exhilarating steps in a marathon. Instead, it felt like taking a running leap off one of the fjords and hoping like hell she wouldn’t break apart on the rocks below.

  …

  Lucas did a double take. The Sparrow’s cabin was located behind a green door secreted in the leafy wall of the hedgerow maze that opened to reveal a quiet courtyard with a small stone house in the middle. It looked so quiet and serene it set off every one of his warning sirens. Keeping one hand on the door handle and one wrapped around Ruby’s arm to stop her from rushing forward, he scanned the perimeter and found…nothing. Not a single closed-circuit camera, guard dog, or security system.

  Following Ruby inside the courtyard, he took a second look, trying to locate anything that either looked out of place or too perfect.

  “You won’t find it,” Ruby said, smirking.

  “What?”

  “The surveillance equipment.”

  He may work for the good guys, but he wasn’t one of them. Isn’t that what the Sparrow and Jasper had been trying to warn her about? They were right, and when it came to thinking like the bad guys, no one was better at it than he was. He’d find whatever security the Sparrow had no matter what Ruby thought.

  “Why’s that?” he asked.

  Her full lips turned that half smile into a full one that lit up her entire face. His girl loved giving him his comeuppance. “He doesn’t have any.”

  That couldn’t be right. He turned in a slow circle, taking in the high hedges, the manicured landscaping, and the stone cabin with its red door and cutesy flowerpots with bright yellow tulips. The whole place was bizarre, and he couldn’t spot a telltale glimmer of surveillance anywhere.

  “Why wouldn’t he have surveillance?”

  “Because he doesn’t keep anything here that he doesn’t care about anyone seeing.” She gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Unless you know exactly where to look, which I do. Come on.”

  The inside of the cabin was as pin neat as the outside. There was a living-kitchen-dining room area that housed a bistro table, small desk, twin recliners, and a small television. There was a backdoor in the kitchen, giving them a second way out if necessary. He peeked through a door into a sparse bedroom featuring a twin bed and not a damn thing else. The only other door in the place led to a tiny bathroom.

  Instead of stopping in front of the desk like he’d expected, Ruby walked over to the island dividing the kitchen area from the dining area. She moved the potted plant in the center of it to the counter and then ran her hand under the island’s overhang.

  “I thought any information would be in his desk.” He pointed toward the small desk with its orange cup of pens and stack of blank notepads.

  She jerked her chin at the desk. “That’s for show. This is the real thing.” She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth and rolled her gaze up toward the ceiling
in obvious concentration as her hands moved along the underside.

  It shouldn’t have turned him on, but there was so little about her that didn’t. He adjusted his stance to accommodate his thickening cock as he tried and failed to stop memories of watching those lips swallow him up and the sharp prick of her teeth as she nibbled along the column of his throat. All of that was bad enough, but the real killer was the look of triumph that lit her beautiful face up from the curve of her bottom lip to the glimmer in her gray eyes that made her seem brighter than the rainbow highlights in her hair.

  She beamed at him. “Got it.”

  There was a soft click, and the entire top of the island swung upward on silent hinges. Ruby did a little shimmy, hip-shaking dance move that sent all of the blood in his body rushing south.

  Smart. Sexy. Fun as hell. If he were any other man, he would be dragging her off to the nearest bed, or figuring out how to sweet-talk her into making the wedding a real one. But he wasn’t any other man, and there was no way the head of the Silver Knights could ever be with a crime boss’s daughter, even if he was falling for her, hard. And that could be as effective as a double tap between the eyes. He couldn’t afford to get distracted or have his loyalties divided, not if he was going to stop the exchange.

  Shoving everything except that realization into a cold, dark hole, he strode to the secret desk and ignored the smell of her perfume, the tease of being so close to her, and the urge to get her the hell off this island and somewhere safe. They shuffled through the three neat stacks of papers in silence. There were copies of shipping orders, dossiers on crime figures from across Northern Europe, and jotted down notes about deals. It was a fucking treasure trove of intel and not a damn thing about the deal with Henriksen.

  “I don’t like it.” The Sparrow’s voice came in through the cracked-open kitchen window.

  He froze with sheaf of paper in his hand, the manifest for a shipment of black market antiquities, for half a heartbeat before training took over. Each sheet went back into place exactly where it had been before as the voices got closer. Sparing enough time to glance over at Ruby, he had his mouth half open to tell her what to do when he realized she was already doing it. She wasn’t freaking out. She was putting everything back into position, quickly, and with the tight line of her lush mouth being the only giveaway that everything could blow up in their faces in about twenty seconds.