There was no sign of anyone in the dining room or living room, so she headed for the kitchen hoping to find Hughes. He always knew what was going on.
The butler stopped what he was doing to answer her. “Dame Kerry is in her quarters doing a video conference with board members from the foundation in New York. Ms. Wilson took Tara and Kenny to run some errands. And I believe the gentlemen are in the basement gym.”
“Thanks, Hughes.”
She opened the door and listened to the sound of clanging metal and heavy breathing. What were they up to down there? Lifting weights? Maybe, but she didn’t think so. She sidled down the stairs, moving quietly so as not to startle anyone.
When the stairs turned at the bottom, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She sank down on the bottom step and drank in the sight. Sandor and Sean were banging blades in the far corner, but that wasn’t what had her hormones taking notice.
Grey and Ranulf were both stripped down to sweatpants and nothing else. Both were barefoot, bare chested, and dripping sweat as they maneuvered around one another. They both charged, grinning like loons as they grappled and beat the stuffing out of each other. Grey wasn’t nearly as big as Ranulf, but he made up for it in speed and just plain sneakiness.
When the Viking hit the mat with a teeth-jarring thud, Sean and Sandor quit sparring long enough to hoot and holler at the other two Talions. Piper couldn’t resist joining in. Unfortunately, the sound of her voice distracted Grey long enough for Ranulf to get his revenge. Grey hit the floor, but came up fighting.
She was mesmorized by the two men moving with such grace and speed. Ranulf was a wonder to behold, but Grey stole her breath. He was all sleek muscle and power, bouncing on the balls of his feet, fists at the ready. The image was a far cry from his usual conservative appearance.
If they’d let her sell tickets to her female acquaintances, she’d make a ton of money. She couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when she suggested it.
Finally, Sandor called time and the two men broke off and shook hands. Sean tossed each of them a towel.
“Thanks, kid.” Grey wiped down his face and chest on his way to join her by the steps. “Hey there. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“My class was cancelled.” She gestured toward the mats. “I’m glad, too, or I would have missed all the action.”
“Liked that, did you?”
She wiggled her eyebrows at him in a playful leer. Careful to pitch her voice so that only Grey would hear her, she teased him a bit more. “I know a lot of women who’d pay good money to watch something that hot. If you didn’t make a habit of hiding all that prime muscle behind those button down collars and silk ties, you’d be tripping over women whenever you set foot out in public. Mind you, I’d rather have you all to myself.”
After a quick glance to see where his sparring partners were, he gave her a heated look. “I promise to show you a few moves I’d never use on these fellows.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
He nodded toward the phone in her hand. “Were you looking for me for a reason other than to watch me sweat?”
“Oh, yeah, I was.” She held out the phone. “I was in the office when your phone rang. When I saw the call was from Detective Byrne, I thought it might be important.”
“We need to give him my jacket. I’ll go shower and then call him back.”
She was hoping he’d kiss her, but he started to walk away. Okay, maybe their relationship was too new. She understood that. On the other hand, there was no time like the present.
“Hey, Grey, isn’t there something you’re forgetting?”
He turned back to face her. “What’s that?”
“This.”
She captured his lips with hers and gave him a kiss intended to boil his blood. God, he tasted so fine as he returned her kiss with hot enthusiasm. By the time they finally separated, both were having a hard time drawing a full breath.
Grey grinned at her. “My memory must be slipping. I don’t know how I could have forgotten something that important. I’ll certainly try to do better in the future.”
“See that you do,” she said with an impudent grin as she stepped back out of his way. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Danby, I’ve got places to go and people to see.”
Her mood vastly improved, she headed back upstairs. Time to get some work done.
“Detective, come in.” Piper held the door open. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Grey’s office. He and Sandor are waiting for you there.”
“Thank you, Miss Ryan.” Byrne walked beside her. “I don’t suppose you’ve remembered anything else from the other day.”
“Sorry, no. It all happened so fast, and I told you everything I can.” She stopped to let him go ahead. “I apologize about the crowded conditions. The Thorsens are remodeling, so I’m sharing Grey’s office temporarily.”
“Not a problem.”
Piper sat down at her desk and did her best to ignore the three men. It wasn’t easy, especially once the detective found out about Grey’s jacket. She didn’t understand what the big deal was. So what if Byrne got it a day or two late? He ought to cut Grey some slack considering the blast had landed the man in the hospital.
She gave up all pretense of working and turned to face the ongoing discussion. She could almost hear Grey’s teeth grinding as he fought to contain his anger.
“As I said, Detective, the hospital threw away the rest of my clothes after they cut them off in the emergency room. If you have a problem with that, take it up with them. My jacket was shoved in a bag and stuffed in a drawer in my hospital room. Forgive me for having other things on my mind other than rushing over to your office to deliver it.”
The detective had his own fair share of temper. “You had the jacket when I was here before. Why didn’t you give it to me then?”
Piper held her breath, wondering what logical reason they’d come up with. They could hardly tell him the truth, that they were holding on to it to aid their own investigation into the bombing. The detective wouldn’t have much use for civilians invading his territory.
Grey met Byrne glare for glare. “When Sandor brought me back to my hotel room from the hospital, he set the bag aside. It wasn’t until earlier today that I pulled the jacket out of the bag, planning on throwing it away. But when it reeked of smoke and what I can only assume is the explosive, it occurred to me that it might be helpful to your investigation. I regret the delay, but it wasn’t intentional.”
Okay, that was a lie, but at least the detective looked mollified by Grey’s explanation.
When he held the jacket out, the detective put on gloves before he took it. “Who all has touched the jacket?”
Grey looked to Piper for help. She held up her hand and ticked the names off on her fingers. “The EMTs, nurses in the ER, probably a doctor or two, Grey, Sandor, and me.”
“Just great.” He started roll the jacket up, but stopped half way. “What this?”
He reached into the pocket and pulled out a wadded up piece of brown paper. If Piper hadn’t glanced at Grey at that moment, she would have missed seeing the quick flash of flames in his eyes before he looked down and away, clearly not wanting the detective to see what was happening.
When Grey looked up again, he was back in control. “I don’t know. Let me see it.”
She wasn’t sure how she knew he was lying again, but he was. He’d recognized that paper instantly and didn’t want the detective to see it. Then it hit her. She’d seen him peel it off the bomb right before it exploded. How had he and Sandor missed finding it before now?
Ignoring Grey’s request, the detective put the jacket in an evidence bag and set it aside. Still wearing protective gloves, he carefully spread out the brown paper on top of Grey’s desk. They all gathered closer, looking over the policeman’s shoulder as he read the words written in black.
The label was printed out on a computer. To Piper’s untrained eye, there was nothing speci
al about the printing, but maybe a forensics lab would be able to tell more.
Byrne pointed at the address on the label. “Does all of the Thorsens’ mail come to the street address or do they have a post office box?”
Piper thought it was an odd question, considering the package hadn’t come through the regular mail. “The mail all comes here, but the mailman didn’t bring that package.”
“I know, Miss Ryan, but I wanted to know if receiving packages here at the house was the norm.”
He leaned down to study the label again. When he straightened up to look at Grey, his eyes were definitely frosty. “I assume by your accent that you’re not from here.”
“No, sir. I already told you that I only recently moved here. I’m still looking for a permanent place to live, but my personal belongings have not arrived from London.”
Sandor finally joined in. “Why are you asking, Detective?”
Byrne pointed at the label. “Because this return address is from London. Is it familiar to you?”
He stood back so that Grey could get a closer look. Grey blinked twice before answering.
“Bloody hell. It’s mine.”
Fifteen minutes later, Grey watched the detective drive off. Turning away from the window, he gave Sandor a rueful look. “Well, I’d say that went well, but that would be a lie. At least he didn’t slap the cuffs on me when he found out the return address on the bomb was mine.”
Sandor clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, he knew you weren’t stupid enough to mail yourself the bomb that damn near killed you.”
“There is that. Now that he’s gone, I’ll drive our piece of leather over to the lab.”
Sandor followed him back into the office. “Why don’t you let me do that? It’s not that far out of my way.”
“If you’re sure. I’d like to stick close by while Piper finishes up a few things in the other room that Kerry had asked her to look over.”
“Not a problem. So unless you need me for something else, I’m out of here.”
“Enjoy your weekend.” Grey sat down at his desk, ready to deal with the paperwork that was piling up.
Sandor paused on his way out. “I’ll be working from home, but don’t hesitate to call if you need me. Lena and I can be here in under ten minutes.”
Alone at last, Grey slammed his fist against the desk. Damn, he really wanted to punch something, or better yet, the bloody bastard who’d used Grey’s address on that fucking bomb. It wasn’t even logical. If he hadn’t happened to peel off the paper and stick it in his pocket before the explosion, no one would have ever seen it.
Well, except for the shipping company. And certainly in the process of backtracking through the company’s records, Detective Byrne would have seen where package had originated.
However, if Hughes or Piper had been injured—or worse—by the explosion, Grey was sure he’d be behind bars right now. But even an overly suspicious, hardheaded cop like Byrne had to admit that it was unlikely Grey would have shipped himself a bomb.
Kerry and Ranulf had left earlier for their mountain retreat for the weekend, taking the three teenagers and Hughes with them. The cabin was located in the Cascades, less than an hour-long drive from the house. Once there, Ranulf would set his wards in place, ones no humans and few Kyth could breach. Short of artillery, no one was going to lay a finger on Kerry or the kids. They’d return when Grey had more men on hand to guard the Dame’s house. He’d issued orders transferring more Talions into the area, but they wouldn’t arrive until Monday.
It would be a relief not to stand guard all weekend. Once Piper finished a few things, they would leave together, and the sooner the better. He reviewed his plans for their evening, the kind that had him horny and restless as he counted down the minutes until they could get naked together.
The king-sized bed in his room was perfect for what he had in mind, and he was betting Piper would enjoy the oversized tub with the jets running full blast. Room service was just an added bonus.
It was tempting to go hunt her down and see if he could hurry things along. Unfortunately, he had a handful of e-mails he needed to read before leaving for the weekend. He clicked on one from Rolf, a Talion who he wanted to transfer to Seattle permanently. Good, he’d arrive by Sunday night. The next two were updates on ongoing investigations across the globe, neither one anything major, just annoying.
And the last one was from the firm he’d hired to do a more in-depth background check on one Piper Ryan. The short message was a status report, revealing nothing that hadn’t already been in Sandor’s notes. The investigator said the full report should be completed within the next few days, after he heard back from a couple more sources.
As Grey scanned the message, he heard Piper coming down the hall and closed the file. Vetting employees was part of his job, and even though they’d taken their relationship to a different level, he still had to do his job. Yet it felt strange to be investigating someone he was sleeping with. It was definitely a first.
Piper walked in just as his phone rang. He was too busy savoring the hot look she shot him to pay attention to who was calling him. Damn it all, it was Harcourt.
The arrogant bastard got right to the point. “I’m still waiting, Danby. Do I need to call the Dame myself and tell her that you’re ignoring calls from her subjects?”
Grey fought to keep his voice calm, uncomfortably aware that Piper could hear him. “You’re bluffing.”
“Rest assured that I’m not.” Then Harcourt paused for a few seconds. “I hear that you’ve had a bit of a mishap. Something about a package.”
“All you need to know is that I’m investigating the situation. When I manage to track the shipment back to its origins, there will be hell to pay. No one threatens the Dame or her people and lives to tell about it.”
He didn’t want to listen to the sputtering coming from the other end of the line, so he hung up.
“Sorry you had to hear that.”
She gave him a worried look. “Is whoever that was a suspect in the bombing?”
“Not really. He’s more of an interfering jerk.” Another lie, but he wouldn’t point the finger at Harcourt before he could prove anything.
“You ready to go?”
She swung her pack over her shoulder. “What kind of food do you want to pick up?”
He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “I thought we’d go to my hotel and have something delivered.”
“Hmmm … let me think about it.” Her eyes were laughing as she hooked one of her long legs around his, pulling him tightly against her.
He groaned. “Keep that up, and we’ll find out how comfortable the top of your desk is.”
She reached behind her to run her hand over the desk’s surface. “Not too bad. What do you say?”
“I say we get moving while we still can.”
He grabbed her hand as he stepped back and all but dragged her down the hallway and out the front door. When he gunned the engine and peeled out, Piper laughed.
“In a hurry?”
He smiled. “Do you have a problem with that? I’ve been waiting all day to get you alone—just you, me, and a bottle of wine.”
Piper settled back in her seat. “I love a man with a plan.”
“Any more of that fried rice left?”
Pleasantly exhausted, Piper nudged the box in Grey’s direction. They were both sitting on the floor by the coffee table, boxes of Chinese food spread out between them.
She was wearing a thick terrycloth robe, compliments of the hotel, just like the one Grey had on. Neither of them had felt like getting dressed for dinner, not when they had every intention of picking up where they had left off when hunger had driven them from the bed. Piper studied her companion, trying to decide where she wanted to start.
He had been concentrating on his dinner, but looked up as she bit her lip while she stared. His hands froze halfway from the box to his mouth.
“What’s the matter? Did I spill on my robe?�
�
“No, I was just thinking how much I’m going to enjoy having my wicked, wicked way with you again. And again.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes, really.” She ran her tongue over her lower lip.
His eyes tracked every movement she made, but he remained right where he was. “Can I finish my dinner first?”
“If you really want to.” She set her chopsticks and food aside. Making sure she had his complete attention, she tugged her belt loose and let the robe fall open.
He took one last bite of broccoli before setting his food aside. “Come and get me if you want me.”
Her robe slipped down her shoulders as she crawled over to where he sat. She knelt in front of him, freeing up her hands to get past the terrycloth to all that warm and wonderful skin underneath. Grey didn’t stop her, but he didn’t seem in a big hurry to help her out.
Fine. Two could play that game. She ran a hand up his leg, starting at his ankle and working her way up until she found what she was looking for. A stroke, a gentle squeeze, and a soft caress was all it took to have those sparks of blue fire dancing in her lover’s eyes.
She loved the little catch in his breath when she repeated the process from his other ankle. This time, she wrapped her hand around his cock and briefly dipped her head down toward his lap. She immediately straightened back up.
“Your robe seems to be in the way of my plans. Do you want to fix that little problem?”
He looked mildly insulted as he shrugged out of his robe. “I’ll have you know, there’s nothing little about my problem.”
Looking down at the hard evidence, she had to agree. “You have a point. I suppose I could make it up to you somehow. Any suggestions?”
He leaned back on his elbows and shifted his legs so that she was sitting between them. “You were headed in the right direction when my robe got in the way.”
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