by Lori Foster
Judd’s mouth was tight and his eyes grew more narrow with each word she spoke. “You’ve been hanging out in the lower east side for three days...rather, nights?”
“Yes.”
His palm slapped the table and he leaned forward to loom over her again, caging her in her chair. Emily slid back in her seat, stunned by his fury. And he was furious, she had no doubt of that.
“Never again, you got that!” He was so close, his breath hit her face in hot gusts. “From this day on, you don’t even think about going anywhere, especially to the lower east side, without me. Ever. You got that?”
Emily bolted upright, forcing him to move away so they wouldn’t smack noses. “You don’t give me orders, Mr. Sanders!”
“Judd, dammit,” he said, now sounding merely disgruntled. “I told you to call me Judd.”
“I hired you, Judd, not the other way around.”
He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into her seat. His tone was lower, but no less firm. “I’m serious, Emily. You obviously don’t have the sense God gave a goose, and if you want my help on this, I insist you stay in one piece. That won’t happen if you go wandering around in areas where you shouldn’t be. It’s too dangerous. Hell, it’s a wonder you’ve survived as long as you have.”
Emily tried to calm herself, but he was so close, she couldn’t think straight. She recognized his real concern, something money couldn’t possibly buy. Satisfied that her instincts hadn’t failed her after all, she tried to reassure him. Her voice emerged as a whisper. “I have been careful, Judd. I promise. No one saw me take the pictures. But just in case, I took shots of inconsequential things, too. Like the children who were playing in the street, and the vagrant standing on the corner. If anyone saw me, they’d just think I was doing an exposé. They’d be flattered, not concerned.”
“You can’t know that.”
He, too, was easing back, as if suddenly aware of their positions. Slipping the camera off over her head, he said, “I’ll take this, in case there is anything important on the film.”
Emily started to object, even though she truly didn’t believe she had photographed anything relevant. Then she noticed where his gaze had wandered. Very briefly, his eyes lit on her mouth, then her throat. Emily could feel her pulse racing there.
Still frowning, but also looking a little confused, Judd laid the camera on the table, then caught the lapels of her coat and eased them wide. He just stood there, holding her coat open, looking at her. He didn’t move, but his look was so hot, and he was still so near she grew breathless.
She felt choked by the neck of her dress, a high-collared affair that buttoned up the front and was long enough to hang to midcalf. It was sprinkled with small, dainty blue flowers, a little outdated maybe, but she liked it. She’d long ago accepted she had no fashion sense, so she bought what pleased her, not what the designers dictated.
Judd lifted a finger, almost reluctantly, and touched the small blue bow that tied her collar at her throat. She could hear his breathing, could see his intense concentration as he watched the movement of his hand. With a slow, gentle tug, he released the bow, and the pad of his finger touched her warm skin.
Emily parted her lips to breathe. She wasn’t thinking about what he was doing or why. She was only feeling, the sensations overwhelming, swamping her senses. She surrendered to them—to Judd—without a whimper, good sense and caution lost in the need to be wanted, to share herself with another person.
Judd lifted his gaze to her face. He searched her expression for a timeless moment, his eyes hard and bright. Then abruptly, he moved away. He stalked to the door, his head down, his hands fisted on his hips.
He inhaled deeply, and Emily watched the play of muscles across his back. “I want your promise, Emily. I don’t want you to make a single move without me.”
Gruff and low, it took a second for his words to filter into her mind. They were so different from her own thoughts, so distant from the mood he’d created. She cleared her throat and tried to clear her mind. Judd still had his back to her, his arms now crossed over his chest. He sounded almost angry, and she didn’t understand him. Could he, who barely knew her, truly be so concerned for her well-being? “You’ll help me? You’re not just putting me off?”
“I’ll help. But we move when I say, and not before.”
She wished he’d look at her so she could see his face, but he didn’t. “Since I assume you know the best time to find information, I’ll wait.”
Finally, he turned to her. “This house is secure?”
“Very.”
He picked up the camera, then opened the door. “I’ve got to go. I have a few things to do yet. But I want you to promise me you’ll stay inside—no more investigating tonight.”
Nervously, Emily fingered the loose ties to her bow. She considered retying it, but decided against drawing any further attention to the silly thing. Judd glanced down at her fingers, and his expression hardened. “Promise me you’ll stay in your castle, princess. We can talk more in the morning.”
“Yes. I won’t go anywhere else tonight.” She tried to make her tone firm, but some of her fear came through in her next question. “How will I reach you tomorrow?”
Judd stood silently watching her a minute longer. “You got a pen and paper anywhere around here?”
Emily opened a drawer and pulled out a pad and pencil. Judd quickly scrawled several lines. “This is my number at the apartment, and this is the one at the bar. And just in case, here’s my address. Now, I mean it, Emily. Don’t make a move without me.”
She tried not to look too greedy when she snatched the paper out of his hand. “I promise.”
He hesitated another moment, then stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind him. Emily watched through the window as his truck drove away, wondering where he was going, but knowing she didn’t have the right to ask. Perhaps he had a lady friend waiting on him.
Of course he does, Emily, she told herself. A man like him probably has dozens of women. But they’re not ladies. He wouldn’t want a lady.
And for some reason, that thought sent a small, forbidden thrill curling through her insides.
* * *
Anger and frustration were not a good combination. Judd didn’t understand himself. Or more to the point, he didn’t understand his reaction to Emily.
He’d been a hairbreadth away from kissing her. Not a sweet little peck. No, he’d wanted his tongue in her mouth, his lips covering hers, feeling her urgency. He’d wanted, dammit, to devour her completely.
And she would have loved it, he could tell that much from her racing pulse and her soft, inviting eyes. She may play the proper little Miss Priss to perfection, but she had fire. Enough to burn him if he let her.
It wasn’t the time and she wasn’t the person for him to be getting ideas about. But he’d taunted her without mercy, wanting to conquer her, to show her he was male to her female. To prove...what? That he could and would protect her? That he’d solve her problems so she could smile more? He didn’t know.
He’d had women, of course, but none that meant anything beyond physical pleasure. None that he’d wanted to claim, to brand in the most primal, basic way. He didn’t know what it was, but Emily was simply different. And she affected him differently.
That dress of hers...so feminine, so deceiving. He’d always heard other men joke about having a lady in the parlor and a wanton in the bedroom. The dress had looked innocent enough, but her eyes...
He knew, even though he wasn’t happy knowing, that Emily fit the descriptive mix of lady and wanton to a tee. It was an explosive fantasy, the thought of having a woman who would unleash her passion for just one man, that no one would ever guess unless they were with her, covering her, inside her.
Beneath her dress, he could make out the faint, delicate curve of her breasts, her narrow rib cage. She was so slight of build, but so feminine. She had the finest skin he’d ever seen, warm and smooth and pale. And loyalty. She must
be damn loyal to this kid—whoever he was—to take such risks for him.
Judd’s thighs clenched and his heart raced. He hadn’t been able to resist touching her, and she hadn’t protested when he did.
She was too trusting for her own good. And he was too intuitive to be fooled by her prissy demeanor. Emily Cooper had more than her fair share of backbone, and that was almost as sexy as her eyes.
Stopping at a corner drugstore and leaving the truck at the curb, Judd got out to use the lighted pay phone. He never used the phone in his apartment to contact headquarters, in case there were prying ears. To his disgust, his hands shook as he fished a quarter out of his jeans pocket. He made the call, and then waited.
Lieutenant Howell picked up on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“Sanders here.”
“It’s about time. Where the hell have you been?”
Judd closed his eyes, not relishing the chore ahead of him. This wasn’t going to be easy. He took a deep breath, then told his boss, “We have a little problem.”
“I’m waiting.”
“I met a lady tonight.”
“Is that supposed to surprise me, Judd? Hell, you’re working as a male stripper. I imagine you meet a lot of broads every damn night.”
“Not a broad,” Judd said, the edge in his tone evident. “A lady. And she was actively looking for Donner, though she hasn’t put a name to him yet. Seems she knows a kid who had a faulty automatic blow up in his face, and she’s pegged Donner as the seller.”
There was a low whistle, then, “No kidding?”
“The kid’s alive, but from what I understand, he’s in pretty bad shape. His parents have taken him out of the country.” Then, in a drier tone, Judd added, “They’re upper-league.”
Judd expected the cursing, then the inevitable demand for details. The telling took all of three minutes, and during that time, Howell didn’t make a single sound. Judd tried to downplay his initial meeting with Emily and the fact she’d seen him perform, but there was no way to get around it completely. When Judd finished, he heard a rough rumble from Howell that could have been either a chuckle or a curse. “She could throw a wrench into the works.”
Judd chose his words very carefully. “Maybe not. I’ve been thinking about it, and it might actually strengthen my case. Being a stripper in such a sleazy joint makes me look pretty unethical. And I’ve made it known I’d do just about anything, including stripping, to make a fast buck.”
“But Donner hasn’t taken the bait yet.”
“He will.” Judd was certain of that. Donner always used available locals. That was how he worked. “It will happen. But maybe, with a classy woman hanging around to make me look all the more unscrupulous, Donner will buy in a little quicker.”
“You think he’ll figure the little lady is keeping you?”
“What else would he think? We’re hardly the perfect couple. As long as she’s informed and close enough for me to keep an eye on her, she’ll be safe. And Donner will definitely get curious. Besides, I don’t have much choice. She made it real plain she’d investigate on her own if I didn’t see fit to help her. It’s a sure bet she’d tip Donner off and send him running.”
Howell chuckled. “Sounds like you got everything nicely under control.”
No. He didn’t have his libido under control, or his protective male instincts that had him wanting to look after her despite his obligations to the job and his loyalty to Max. “I can handle things, I think. It would have been better not to have a civilian involved, but my options are limited now.”
“I could have her picked up for some trumped-up violation. That might buy you a little time to settle things without her around.”
The thought of Emily being humiliated that way, being harassed—by anyone other than himself, was unthinkable. “No. I’ll keep an eye on her. Besides, she’s so clean, she squeaks. I doubt you’d find anything. And I already tried scaring her off, but she’s sticking to her guns.”
“Determined, huh?”
Judd snorted. “I almost think she wants Donner as bad as I do. She was taking pictures. Can you imagine? I took the film. I don’t think there’s anything important on it, but I don’t want to take any chances. Not with this case.” And not with her. “So I’ll let her hang around a while, and use the situation to our advantage. In any case, she’ll probably be with me when I perform at the bar on Tuesday.”
“Keep me posted as soon as you know about the film. And in the meantime, watch your backside. Don’t go getting romantic ideas and blow this whole thing.”
“Fat chance.” He hoped he sounded convincing. “I just wanted you to know what was going on.”
“You need any backup on hand, just in case?”
“No.” Everything had gone better than he could have hoped. His performance was convincing, even superior to the other dancers’. But he didn’t intend to share all that over the phone. It was humiliating. “I don’t want to take a chance on blowing it now. I’m accepted. No one suspects me of being anything but a stripper.”
“Yeah, you fit the bill real good.”
Judd ignored that taunting comment. They’d checked the place over in minute detail before setting up the stakeout. Donner definitely used the room above the bar to make his deals and meet contacts. So it was imperative that Judd be on hand. Unfortunately, the bar was such a damn landmark, having been there for generations, the only transient positions available were the dancers’. The bartenders had been there for years and the bar’s ownership hadn’t changed hands except within the same family. If Judd wanted Donner he was stuck stripping. And he wanted Donner real bad.
“As I said, it’s a believable cover, but I hope like hell we can wrap it up soon. I don’t want to take any unnecessary chances.”
And he didn’t want Emily to get caught in the middle of his own personal war.
“Judd? Is there something you’re not telling me? Has something happened? Is it time?”
His instincts told him things would come to a head soon, but he kept that thought to himself. “Hell, it’s past time, but who knows? Something’s bound to break soon. Either a deal or my back. Those ladies can be real demanding when you’re peeling off your clothes.”
As he’d intended, his cryptic complaints lightened the mood. “You’re the perfect guy for the job. Just don’t start enjoying yourself and decide to leave us for bigger and better things.” Howell laughed, then cleared his throat. “Stay in touch, and for God’s sake, stay alert. Get the hell out if things go sour.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open.”
Judd felt a certain finality settle over him as he replaced the receiver. His superior hadn’t nixed his plans with Emily, and it was too late to call off the cover, regardless of his personal feelings. He’d be spending a lot of time in Emily’s company. And that filled him with both dread and sizzling anticipation.
* * *
He hadn’t slept a wink. The combination of worry and excitement from his vivid dreams of Emily worked to keep him tossing all night. But the knock on the apartment door sounded insistent, so he reluctantly forced himself out from under the sheet, then wrapped it around himself to cover his nudity.
“Just a damn minute!” On his way out of the room, he picked up his watch and saw it was only eight-thirty. Just dandy.
Carrying his pistol, he looked out the peephole, then cursed. He stuck the gun in a drawer, just before jerking the door open. He managed to startle Emily, who nearly dropped a large basket she was holding in both hands. “Are you one of those perverse people who rises with the sun?”
Emily didn’t look at his face. She was too busy staring at his body. Judd sighed in disgust. “I’m showing less now than I did last night, and you didn’t faint then, so please, pull it together, will ya?”
That moony-eyed look of hers was going to be the death of him. A man could take only so much.
And she was looking especially fetching this morning in some kind of light, spring dress. It was ju
st as concealing as the one she’d worn last night, but there was no tie at her throat, only a pearl brooch that looked as if it cost a small fortune. This dress nipped in at the waist, and showed how tiny she was. He could easily span her waist with his hands. His palms tingled at the thought.
“What the hell are you doing here, Emily? It’s still early.”
“I...actually, I thought we might have breakfast. You did say we would talk this morning.”
“Eager to get started, are you?” Turning away, Judd stared toward the kitchen, then back to Emily. “I wasn’t up yet. If you want coffee, you’ll have to make it.”
Emily seemed to shake herself. “Ah, no. Actually, I thought...you know, to thank you for everything you did for me last night...taking me home and all that, well...I cooked for you.”
She ended in a shrug, and Judd realized how embarrassed she was. Or maybe she thought he’d mock her again, ridicule her for her consideration.
He raked a hand through his hair, still holding the sheet with a fist. “What have you got in there?”
He indicated the basket with a toss of his head. Emily’s smile was fleeting, and very relieved. She glanced around the room, taking in the apartment’s minimal furnishings: a couch, a small table with two chairs, a few lamps, a stereo, but no television. His bedroom sat off to the right, where the open door allowed her to see a small night table and a rumpled bed. The kitchen was merely a room divided by a small, three-foot bar.
He liked the place, even though the neighborhood was rough and the tenants noisy. It wasn’t home, but then he’d never really had a home, at least not one of his own. He’d lived with Max Henley a while, and that had seemed as close as he’d ever get to having a family. But that was before Max died. Ever since, his life had been centered on nailing Donner. Where he lived was a trivial matter.