“And you’re the boss.” He sighed. “Yes, I know.”
Heat prickled her cheeks. She didn’t want to be that woman, the one who felt her power rested with her career, but she was in charge, and dammit, she’d worked hard to get there. Way too hard to jeopardize it all for one fantastic night of sex. And that was all it was, wasn’t it?
She exhaled and sat back, crossing her arms. He looked sexy as hell in his business-casual khakis and blue oxford button-down. The color made his already intense eyes even more mesmerizing.
Liv swallowed hard against her need to snuggle against him. “Listen, last night was—”
“Incredible?”
“Finishing my sentences now too?”
“You didn’t seem to have any problems with my technique last night.” He winked, and her knees wobbled. Well, shit.
She shook her head and stared at the floor.
He muttered something she didn’t quite catch then raked a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to like what you say, am I?”
She frowned. “It was a one-time thing. It shouldn’t have happened.”
“I see.” He paced over to the door to shut it. “I admit I tried hard to believe that myself this morning. No repeats. No strings, no entanglements.” He lowered her blinds then returned to her side and took her hand, drawing her to her feet before him. “Unfortunately, the more I thought about you while I was in the shower, though, the more I can’t seem to forget. I’ve always been strictly a one-night-stand kind of guy, Liv.” He cursed and looked away then back at her again. “But dammit, you make me want to come back for more.”
“I do?” She was no simpering virgin, but his words touched something deep inside. She’d never found the right guy either, the one who made her heart stutter and her breath catch and made her want to throw all her precious inhibitions and rules to the winds. She’d never found that right guy—until, perhaps, Tom. Lord knew, all she had to do was see him and her pulse raced. One whiff of his cologne and her senses reeled. A single touch of his hand and her body glowed like a frigging nightlight. “Tom, I—”
He growled and pulled her tight against him. “No more talking.”
Then his lips were on hers, and Liv forgot about work, forgot about everything except this man who made her feel alive again. She slipped her fingers around his neck, into the soft curls at his nape, loving the way her soft caress made him shudder. He slowly undid the buttons on her white blouse while she undid his tie. Lord, she felt wicked and wonderful and…
“Sis, if you have a second, we—oh!” The door burst open, and she and Tom flew apart.
Blake.
Shit, shit, shit.
Liv clutched the front of her blouse together. “Um, we were just… discussing the case.”
“What the hell, bro?” Logan and Garrett shouldered in behind Blake. “Move it or lose it.”
Perfect.
Because one sibling catching her making out with an employee wasn’t bad enough. She quickly did up the buttons on her shirt and ran a hand through her hair, ignoring the throb of her lips and the rapid thunk of her pulse, while Tom remained silent and motionless in the far corner of the room. “What do you guys want?”
All three of her brothers gave them both a once-over, knowing grins on their faces. Blake chuckled then fed Henry a piece of strawberry. “Told you.”
Logan slouched into one the chairs in front of her desk. “No wonder you brought him to the party last night, sis. Duty before nookie.”
Garrett took the other chair and wrinkled his nose. “Mom’s right. You guys do look cute together. Like sappy cartoon characters or something.”
Embarrassed and annoyed beyond belief, Liv glared at her siblings. “Is there a point to this visit?”
“You might want to check your buttons, sis.” Blake pointed at the front of her blouse. “Looks like you missed one.”
Cheeks hot, Liv spun away to fiddle with her clothes, the sounds of her brothers’ snorts and laughter filling the air behind her.
“Maybe we should come back later,” Blake finally said once Liv had turned around again. He grabbed hold of Logan’s arm and pulled him to his feet. Henry took the opportunity to scamper down Blake’s arm toward Logan, who backed away in abject terror.
“Keep that thing away from me, man.”
“He’s fine. Harmless.”
“Says you.” Logan headed out the door. “See you later, sis.”
Garrett headed out too, waggling his brows. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, you two.”
She flipped him off in response.
“I’ll have your assistant schedule a meeting later today, once you’ve had a chance to… compose yourselves.”
Blake hurried out the door and closed it before Liv could say anything else.
Now that they were alone again, the air in the small room vibrated with tension.
“Well, that was embarrassing,” she said at last.
“Yeah.” He coughed and straightened his tie. “Family, right?”
Liv frowned. According to his personnel file, he didn’t have any family. “I thought you were an orphan.”
“Oh, yeah.” Tom jammed his fingers through his mussed hair, only making it worse. “I meant foster family.” He headed for the door, still not meeting her gaze. “I, uh, need to get back to work. Brandon’s digging up some intel on the names we got last night from Nikki.”
Tom rushed out, and her suspicions rushed back. She’d never quite believed the information in his file, and his fishy remarks told her there was definitely more to this guy than met the eye. Now she intended to find out exactly who her newest employee—and lover—really was.
Tom managed to avoid Liv for the rest of the morning, spending most of his time going over files in the IT department or hovering over Brandon while he worked his magic. Hell, he’d even squeezed in a workout down in the gym. Too bad none of it seemed to erase the memories of the night before, of Liv coming undone in his arms.
Jesus.
By the time he showered and changed back into his regular clothes then returned to IT shortly after noon, Brandon at least had some new information on the thieves. All he had to do now was take it to Liv without making a besotted fool out of himself again. He’d not intended to touch her again, but being near her seemed to short-circuit his brain.
Muscles tight and breath shallow, he knocked on her door and waited.
“Yes?” she called.
“It’s Tom. Can I come in for a second?”
Silence. Long enough that he worried their little erotic escapade this morning had done some real damage. Then, finally, the door creaked open a tad, and she peered out at him, her pretty green eyes wary. “What?”
He held up the thumb drive Brandon had given him. “Got something on our case.”
She pursed her full lips, and a nearly overwhelming urge to kiss them swamped his senses. Damn. Tom took a deep breath and a step back.
At last, she waved him in. “I’m meeting someone for lunch in half an hour.”
A pinch of irrational jealousy squeezed his heart as Tom walked back into her office. They weren’t serious. Hell, they weren’t even a couple. He had no right to be jealous. She left the door open this time, and midday sun streamed through the glass front wall of her office, making any sort of secret rendezvous impossible. Smart girl.
“Let me have the drive.” She waggled her fingers, and he handed it over. Liv plugged it into her computer, and her screen filled with photos and aliases, locations and police records. Tom stood behind her against the back wall and stared down at the data, not getting too close. “All of this seems to lead back to two people.”
“And one of them is Cody Brooks.”
“Yep.” Liv closed her laptop and swiveled to face him. “We have to talk to them again.”
“I’ll check into where he and Jessica Matheson hang out.” Tom started out of the office. “I’ll call you when I find something. Boss.”
13
Liv didn’t hear from Tom the rest of that day or night. In fact, by the time she reached Rockford Security on Tuesday morning, she felt more distracted by him than ever. She walked through the lobby and rode up to the fifth-floor executive offices with her coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, head down and attention focused on the tiny screen before her. She didn’t notice anything was off until she walked right into Blake, who stood in the middle of the lobby.
“Sorry.” She glanced up, taking in her brother’s grim expression. “What’s going on?”
“That.” He pointed down the hall.
Teams of people she didn’t recognize, all dressed in black suits, rummaged through Rockford Security. Richard Wilks caught her gaze from where he stood near the second-floor conference room and gave her a single, solemn nod. Her gut cramped with dread. “Why are they here?”
“From what I gathered, this is an in-depth audit. We’re shut down until further notice.”
“What?” She scowled. “They can’t do that.”
“According to Mr. Wilks, they can. He claims it’s just for the day, so he and his crew can go over our books. I’ve contacted all of our field personnel and instructed them to reach me by phone. So at least that part of our operation will remain unaffected.”
A large guy in a bulky black suit charged into Liv’s office, and her posture stiffened. “Is he going through my stuff? What happened to personal space? What about my rights?”
“They have a warrant. And anything on company property is included. Sorry. Don’t ask me how they got a judge to sign off on it, but they did. I went over every detail to make sure it was legal. My guess is they’re looking for evidence of Rockford involvement in the robbery.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why would we have anything to do with taking that necklace? Our people were hospitalized, for Christ’s sake.”
“I know.” Blake ran Henry’s leash through his hand absently, and the iguana curled his tail around Blake’s throat as if in a show of solidarity. “I’m not worried about the company, honestly. It’s the invasiveness that bothers me.” He shook his head. “Anyway, there’s nothing we can do here today. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”
“Right. When have you ever known me to take a day off?”
“My point exactly.” He raised a brow. “Now’s your opportunity.”
“Opportunity, my ass.” She stalked back to the elevators. “You said field personnel are working uninterrupted, right? So I’ll go work in the field.”
“Doing what?”
“Working the case with Tom.”
Blake’s icy stare turned suspicious, but thankfully, the elevator doors closed before he could ask her anything more. Liv slumped against the back wall. Seeing all those strangers combing through their private documents had been unsettling. She needed something to make her feel safe and secure and in control again.
As she reached the lobby, her phone buzzed.
Tom.
“Yeah?” She strode out the nearest exit and into the bright Vegas sunshine.
“What’s going on?”
“You mean other than the fact our offices have been invaded by a swarm of insurance investigators?”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.” Her pumps clicked loudly on the pavement as she headed for her SUV. “Are you close by?”
“Close enough.”
“Good. Meet me in the employee parking lot. We’re going on a field assignment.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He hung up, and she climbed in behind the wheel. They still had the new information from IT to check out, and staying busy would be the best cure for her feelings of violation. She glanced up at the fifth-floor windows and felt a pang of sadness for Blake.
Rockford Security was his life, had been since his wife’s tragic death.
If anything happened to the company, he’d be devastated.
“Hey.” Tom opened the passenger-side door and climbed in. “Where are we off to?”
“I thought we could check out some of the known hangouts you found for Cody and Jessica.”
“Sounds good.”
They spent the next several hours doing surveillance—first at a swanky restaurant, then an expensive boutique near Caesar’s Palace, then a hip new strip club catering to the rich and famous—and finding exactly squat. It wasn’t at all like surveillance was depicted on TV. Most days, watching for criminals meant hours crouched in a hot car with no air conditioning and limited bathroom privileges. Not exactly the stuff CSI: Miami was made of—all suntanned bodies and bikinis.
Tom shifted in his seat and grimaced. “I think my ass is permanently numb.”
“Got ya, and raise you a toe cramp.”
The air in the SUV smelled of grease and salt from their fast-food lunch earlier, but she didn’t dare crack the tinted windows for fear someone might recognize them. Liv stretched out her legs as best she could and rested an elbow on the door beside her. “So, foster care, huh?”
“What?” Tom turned to her, nose scrunched. “No.”
“Earlier you said you were in foster care when I mentioned family. You were only eight when your parents died, according to your personnel file. Too young to be on your own. So which was it? Foster care or adoption?”
“Are you always this nosy into your employees’ lives?” He cleared his throat and turned away again.
“Only the ones I sleep with.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Nice.”
“What? So I want to know more about you. Is it that unusual?”
“What do you care?” His voice had a definite edge. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry. I don’t like to talk about my past, okay?”
“Okay.” She jammed the toe of her pump into the floor to forestall another painful cramp. So much for learning more about her mystery man. What did it matter? She wouldn’t be taking the relationship further, and even though his reluctance to talk about himself was a little unsettling, she was sure he wasn't the one leaking Rockford data… if he was he wouldn’t have stuck around this long, nor would he be suffering through this stake-out.
Liv checked her watch. Almost five. Thank God and all the saints. Normally she was a stickler about working a full eight hours, but considering the crap day they’d had, cutting out a little earlier wouldn’t hurt anything. Besides, she’d promised Shelby she’d volunteer at the shelter tonight. “Ready to go?”
“I guess.” He faced front again and fastened his seat belt. “What a bust, huh?”
“Yep.” She buckled her own seat belt and started the engine. “Want me to drop you at your place again?”
“That’d be great, thanks. If it’s no problem.”
“No problem at all.” She signaled then swerved away from the curb, heading back toward downtown Vegas. The last time she’d traveled this route, she and Tom had ended up in bed together. Too bad she’d put a quick kibosh on those activities. She could use a bit of between-the-covers time to melt some of her tension away. They stopped at a red light, and she couldn’t help ogling him from beneath her lashes—all long, lean, luscious male. God, he made her feel like a wanton sex fiend all the time.
A horn honked behind them, and she punched the accelerator.
Nope. Not going there. Not again.
Minutes later, she pulled up in front of his building, and he got out then turned back and leaned inside. “You want to come up for a bit?”
“No.” Yes. “Sorry. I’ve got plans for the night.”
“Oh, right.” He nodded and looked away. “Sure. Well, guess I’ll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for the ride.”
Tom slammed the door and jogged in front of the SUV to his entrance. She couldn’t help staring at how lovingly those khakis clung to his muscular form or recalling the way his ass had felt beneath her hands as she’d pulled him tight against her. With a sigh, she drove away before temptation got the better of her and she ended up on his doorstep, and in his bed, again.
>
Later at the shelter, Liv worked out some of her frustrations by cleaning. Of course, having Shelby constantly leaning over her shoulder and teasing her about Tom didn’t help, especially since it meant their heated morning encounter in her office now seemed to have made the rounds at Rockford Security and beyond.
“So he’s a great kisser, huh?” Shelby asked, her tone dripping with interest.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Liv plunged her sponge into a nearby bucket of water and disinfectant, the smell of pine stinging her nose. “It’s private.”
“Should’ve thought about that before you knocked boots at the office.”
Liv sighed. “We didn’t knock boots.”
“Whatever.” The bell in the lobby rang, and Shelby straightened. “Bet that’s my new volunteer. Be right back.”
Moments later, footsteps echoed off the back room’s tiled walls, and Liv backed out of the large cage she’d crawled into to scrub it down. She wiped the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead and straightened to find a dark-haired woman with a skinny little boy by her side. From their identical friendly wide smiles, they had to be related.
“Olivia,” Shelby said. “This is Angela Ranucci and her son, Milo.”
She pulled off her rubber gloves and extended a hand. “Hi. Nice to meet you both. And please, call me Liv. Everyone does.”
“Okay. Thanks, Liv.” Angela gave her a warm smile. “Nice to meet you too.”
“Mommy? Can I go pet the dogs?” Milo said, half hiding behind his mom’s leg. “Please?”
Shelby nodded, and Angela ruffled her son’s hair. “Sure. Just don’t let any of them out, okay? Once you meet them all, then you can help me, okay?”
“Okay.” He skipped away down a long row of cages.
“All right, ladies.” Shelby grabbed a clipboard. “Liv, I’ll have you finish these cages, and Angela, why don’t you help her for now. Liv’s been a volunteer here for a while now, and she can answer any questions you might have.”
Wicked Deception (The Rockford Security Series Book 5) Page 11