Shadow of Vengeance

by Kristine Mason

  “I should buy a pair of these for Ian.” She raised the furry slippers. “Think he’ll wear them?”

  He chuckled. “I’d pay to see that, especially if he wore them with one of his Armani suits.”

  Unable to resist, she bought a pair. Considering Ian didn’t have much of a sense of humor, she probably wouldn’t give the gift to her boss. Her brother might get a kick out of them though, and she was always on the lookout for unique stocking stuffers.

  As they moved past more booths, a sweet and tangy aroma caused her mouth to water. She looked ahead and spotted Percy in front of an enormous grill. “We should stop by and say hi to Percy.”

  “You just want to check out his turkey legs,” Owen whispered in her ear, his tone seductive.

  She laughed. “You’re the one who keeps saying you’re going to wine and dine me.” She held up her empty hands. “No wine. No dine.”

  “Then let’s rectify that.”

  Hand in hand, they walked to Percy’s stand. After joking with the bartender for a few minutes, they left with two Henry the VIII size turkey legs, a half rack of ribs, and a couple of cans of beer. They managed to secure a small section of a picnic table, and sat.

  As they noshed on the food, the band took the stage. “I was wondering what type of music they’d have for a Bigfoot festival,” Rachel said. “Polka was not on the top of my list.”

  He used a wet wipe to clean his hands. “Maybe Professor Stronach’s students confused Bigfoot for Oktoberfest.” He picked up his beer. “Either way, this band isn’t any good. My first year with the Secret Service, I was working in Germany. At the time, I was low level, but the US ambassador’s elderly grandmother had come to visit and needed some babysitting. The woman was born in Germany and left during World War II. She was determined to see everything. So me and another agent were put on granny detail for an entire week. Good ol’ Aggie dragged us to every festival she could find and made us dance and eat right along with her.” Grinning, he shook his head. “She was a lot of fun.”

  “Do you miss it? The Secret Service, I mean.”

  He stared at the crappy band. “Honestly, no. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been to amazing places and along the way, met very powerful people.”

  “But that sounds so exciting,” she said, and imagined going to fancy dinner parties, or driving in a limo through the streets of exotic countries. After spending her childhood and teenage years caged in Chicago, looking after her brother, she’d craved action and adventure. Owen had experienced the things she’d longed for, and she couldn’t help envying him the opportunities he’d landed.

  “It was.” He rolled the can between his palms. “Shortly after the granny detail, I asked to be reassigned to criminal investigations, which is what my background is in. Now that was exciting. I love fitting pieces of puzzles together, and that position gave me the opportunity.”

  “What changed?”

  “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Smiling, he lifted his beer in a mock toast. “I spent ten months in Italy working with a team to bust up a counterfeiting operation. Turns out the operation was coming out of our embassy.”

  “What? As in the U.S. embassy?”

  He nodded. “So I went undercover as an agent assigned to the ambassador’s family. We suspected the ambassador’s brother, who was attending John Cabot University in Rome and living with the ambassador and his family. The kid was young, but far from dumb. We discovered he and some of his university buddies were involved in credit card fraud. It was small time, but one of our agents found a red flag linking the kid to a counterfeiting operation we’d been trying to bust. The long and short of it…I collected enough evidence to arrest the brother and everyone else involved.” He crushed the beer can and set it on top of the paper basket filled with discarded rib bones. “But in the process, the ambassador’s seventeen-year-old daughter accused me of…inappropriate behavior. Of course that ended up being my legacy, not the criminals I brought down during the years I was with the Secret Service.”

  Nosey by nature, she already knew what Owen had done during his time with the Secret Service. When she’d met him, she’d been so intrigued by his background she couldn’t help doing a little…snooping. Hacking into the U.S. Secret Service had been out of the question. There were certain challenges she refused to take, and breaking into their network to research the man she had been infatuated with from the very first meeting wasn’t worth jail time.

  Ian’s computer had contained a wealth of knowledge, though. While her boss was a brilliant profiler and businessman, he wasn’t necessarily computer savvy. If he’d had a clue that she’d looked through his files, he’d never said a word. But his files had been light and sketchy. She’d always suspected Ian might be a little old school, keeping certain information and files as hard copies in his safe or locked in his brain. Now her suspicions were confirmed, because while she knew about Owen’s Secret Service background, she didn’t know anything about a seventeen-year-old girl.

  She toyed with the fringes of her scarf. “This girl…is she the reason you resigned? Not that you have to tell me. It’s not like it’s any of my business.”

  “Let’s walk around before our bottoms freeze to the picnic bench.” He gathered their trash and dumped it in a nearby garbage can. She grabbed the bag with the Bigfoot slippers, then after hooking her arm through his again, they strolled around the festival. “The girl, Molly, was a pretty, spoiled wannabe socialite. She had no ambitions other than shopping, partying and…me.” He gave her a sideways glance and shook his head. “Even if she was of legal age and not part of an assignment, I wouldn’t have gotten involved with her. Quite frankly, I just didn’t like her.”

  “But she liked you.”

  “I don’t know about that. I think she liked when men gave her attention. Her father didn’t give her any, so maybe this was her way of filling a void. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What I do know is that I wasn’t the first agent she tried to seduce.”

  “If that’s the case, then why did you say what happened with her ended up being your legacy?”

  “Because I was brought up on charges for statutory rape.”

  She stopped dead. No way. Owen might like the ladies and he might be a serial charmer, but charges like that were ludicrous. He was too moral and had too much integrity. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “No kidding. I never touched her and was only around her when necessary. My sole focus was on the ambassador’s brother, not a bratty girl.”

  “I’m assuming the charges were dismissed.”

  “Yeah, a few months later, I was reinstated. Molly confessed to making the whole thing up, and after questioning, other agents and acquaintances of the ambassador made the same claims about the girl. But the damage was done.” He gave her a wry smile. “I’m talking serious damage to my reputation. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.” He looked over her shoulder toward where the polka band played. “So, I quit. Twenty-four hours later, I get a call from Ian asking if I’d take his private jet to Chicago for an interview.”

  “Subtle.”

  Owen half-laughed. “Tell me about it. Ian has eyes and ears everywhere. Doesn’t bother me, though. He made me an offer I wasn’t about to refuse. I love working for CORE and can’t imagine doing anything else.”

  Which made things between them more complicated. She loved working for CORE, too. If they continued sleeping together or took their relationship to a level that went beyond the intimacy of sex, their work rapport, their careers with CORE, could be affected.

  “Sorry.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “That was a downer story. I didn’t mean to get into all that tonight.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you told me. I’ve always wondered why you left the Secret Service.”

  “Come on. You didn’t do a little…looking? I know how you are and what you’re capable of when you get in front of a computer. You’re brilliant when it comes to technology.”

&
nbsp; “Egomaniac.” She nudged him back. “My brilliant skills are only used for the good of CORE.”

  Chuckling, he pulled her closer. “Liar. I bet you’ve got the scoop on all the CORE agents. You probably have a spreadsheet detailing—”

  “Spreadsheet? Seriously?” She laughed and held a gloved hand over her heart. “I do not, nor have I ever, snooped into anyone’s personal files.”

  She did know quite a bit about the men who worked for CORE, but just basic background information. Although nosey, she drew the line at digging into her coworkers’ personal lives. A firm believer in karma, she didn’t want her actions to come back and bite her on the ass.

  “All right. I believe you…sorta.”

  She dragged him toward a vendor selling cookies, chocolates and fudge. “If we really don’t need to be here, let’s go. I have work to do and my nose is about to freeze off my face.”

  “Then why are we stopping here? Is chocolate going to stop your nose from freezing?”

  “I wish.” She bought fudge, cookies and several chocolate suckers shaped like Bigfoot and the footprint similar to the one they’d seen in Professor Stronach’s office. Bag of goodies in hand, she turned to Owen. “I noticed Joy and Walter have a sweet tooth. I thought they might like these.”

  Grinning, he shook his head. “Well, aren’t you sweet.”

  “Of course. You’re just now realizing this?”

  “You’ve been calling me a douche bag on a daily basis for nearly a year. So, yeah.”

  A little tremor of guilt caught in her belly. “I didn’t exactly have the chance to say this last night, but I’m sorry for the way I treated you. Looking back, I wish I’d confronted you about the Christmas party right after it happened. You made it hard to keep up a bitchy front, plus it was exhausting trying to come up with new ways to be nasty,” she finished with a grin. Based on his honesty about his former job, how he’d treated her throughout the day…making love last night, she knew they were in a tentative, but good place right now. She could be honest and teasing, without offending him. “And for the record, I didn’t call you a douche bag every day, at least not to your face.”

  He threw an arm around her shoulder, steered her away from the crowd and toward the street. “No. That inventive mind of yours came up with other choice nicknames. What I’m wondering? Why exactly didn’t you have a chance to apologize last night?”

  “Because Jake called.” She suspected what he was hedging at, but wasn’t about to take the bait. She still couldn’t believe how brazen and reckless she’d been in the car earlier when she described where she enjoyed his kisses. A welcoming heat warmed her cheeks just thinking about how he’d loved her body with his mouth, and how much she’d love for him to do it again.

  He veered her onto the sidewalk and led them back to the Lexus. “You could have told me after you got off the phone.”

  “No. We talked about the case.”

  “You could have told me after that.”

  She could have if he hadn’t been so distracting. Massaging her back, then her bottom. Kissing her until she’d been breathless, then sliding his thick arousal between her thighs until she came again. “I suppose I could have.”

  “I suppose.”

  He opened the car door for her. After she climbed in and he shut the door, she hoped that was the end of the conversation. She didn’t want to talk about what they’d done last night. She wanted to do it.

  After a silent drive back to Joy’s, they entered the quiet house. A low burning fire crackled in the empty great room. “Joy and Walter must have gone to bed,” she said and set the bag of goodies and the Bigfoot slippers on the dining room table. “I’m going to do the same after I get a little work done.”

  Without a word, they crept up the stairs. When they reached her room, he let out a sigh, furrowed his brows and scratched the back of his head.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Nothing really.” He lifted a shoulder. “I’ve been trying to remember…what exactly were we doing last night that kept you from talking?”

  Still facing him, she reached behind and opened the bedroom door. Grabbing him by the front of his coat, she dragged him into the room. “I think we were doing something like this.” She rose on her tiptoes and brushed her lips across his.

  “Is that all?” he asked as they began unzipping each other’s coats.

  “There might have been a little more to it.” She shoved his sweater over his hard abs and chest, then let him pull it over his head. Her nipples hardened as she stared at his naked chest. Anxious to be skin to skin, she removed her sweater and bra, while he took care of her jeans and panties. Then he quickly stripped the rest of his clothes off, until they were both completely naked, their bodies mere inches apart.

  He cupped her bottom with both hands, and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his back and her arms around his neck, then pressed her breasts against his chest. Instead of heading for the bed, he moved her against the wall.

  He dragged his mouth along her neck. “It’s all starting to come back to me,” he murmured against her ear, his hot breath sending a shiver of anticipation straight between her thighs. Holding her bottom with one hand, he reached between them, gripped his erection and nudged the tip against her sex. Meeting her gaze, he slowly slid inside of her. Once seated to the hilt, he gripped her rear with both hands.

  “Now that your memory is back, should we stop?” she teased, knowing there was no way in hell she’d let him leave her room. Knowing deep down that if what they had together ended up being only a sexual affair and nothing more, she’d take whatever she could from him. A relationship based solely on sex wasn’t her style, but she could compromise where Owen was concerned. She might end up with a broken heart later, but as he filled her, completed her, she didn’t want to think about the consequences. He made her feel alive, wanted, desired. Right now was all that mattered. She’d learned a long time ago that the future could be unpredictable. Instead of worrying about a future that might not happen, she wanted to soak up every moment possible and enjoy being in his arms.

  His breath puffed against her neck as he released a low chuckle. “There’s no way I’m stopping now.”

  He pulled out, then thrust. She closed her eyes and pressed her head against the wall as a delicious tremor zipped through her body. “Not even if Bigfoot came crashing through the door?” she teasingly asked on a gasp.

  Rocking his hips, he kissed her. When he tore his mouth away, he met her gaze. Her breath caught. The intense desire, the open intimacy in his eyes filled her with hope and love. “Not even if Ian crashed through the door.” He moved them to the bed. When her head and back hit the mattress, he thrust inside of her. “It’s no one’s business what we do,” he murmured against her ear. “I’ve wanted this for too long to stop.”

  With her heart soaring, she clutched his broad back. His muscles bunched with each pump of his hips. The soft hair lining his chest tickled her nipples. As her orgasm drew near, she pressed open-mouthed kisses wherever she could reach. Never in her life had she thought she could have this—a gorgeous, sexy and intelligent man making love to her. He might not love her the way she loved him, but he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  As pressure built low in her belly and spread between her thighs, her heart raced faster. She loved Owen. She’d been lying to herself to protect her heart. She wasn’t half in love, or kind of in love with him. She full out, without a doubt, was crazy in love with the man. And it scared her. She gripped him tighter, raised her hips and spread her legs wider to meet every one of his thrusts. Loving him scared the hell out of her. If he walked away, if he looked at this as just a fling, the loss of him would leave a void in her heart and soul.

  When he raised his body and braced his arms along either side of her, he dipped his head and kissed her. Refusing to think about anything but them, this moment, she met his kiss, and mimicked every powerful rock of his hips with her tongue. Every delicious
slide of his hard arousal set her on fire. When he gripped her hip with one powerful hand and moved faster, harder, the slow burn growing in her core ignited.

  Tearing her mouth from his, she dropped her head to the mattress, closed her eyes and gasped. A kaleidoscope of beautiful colors burst behind her eyelids. Inner thighs quivering, pure pleasure burst from within and radiated out, shocking every single sensitive nerve ending. As her orgasm multiplied, her inner muscles clenched and drew him deeper.

  His breathing grew more labored. His movements became shorter, faster. “Beautiful,” he said, and stared down at her. “You’re so damned beautiful.”

  His words, his amazing touch, his familiar, masculine scent collided together. She came in a rush, whispering his name over and over until he released a low, harsh groan.

  Pulling out quickly, he released himself. Seconds later, he dropped his body on the bed and rolled onto his back. She turned her head and smiled when she caught him grinning at her. “You’re amazing,” he said, then dropped his gaze to her stomach. “And I need to buy condoms.” Pushing himself upright, he then reached for his undershirt and used it to clean her stomach.

  “If you don’t, you’re going to run out of shirts,” she managed to say while trying to catch her breath.

  Chuckling, he moved to the center of the bed, and took her with him. “No doubt, because I don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”

  Snuggling against his chest, she curled next to him and ran her hand along his lean, hard abs. “That makes two of us.”

  He kissed the top of her head, then reached down and touched her chin. Too comfortable and sated, she didn’t want to move. “Look at me,” he coaxed.

  With a groan, she rolled onto him. Chest to chest, he ran his hand down her back. “I meant what I said about Ian. What we do is none of his business. I…ah…I’m not saying I want to hide our…relationship. I just don’t want it to affect our careers.”

  She let out a sigh of relief. They were so in sync and always on the same page. “I agree.” She glanced at his chest and feathered her finger through his soft hair. “So…this isn’t just a…ah…casual, let’s have sex while we’re out of town fling?”