by Nikki Duncan
“What’s your specific concern, Taryn?” Chris, a handsome black man with a heavy New Orleans accent, and the slightly older of the two White Collar agents, took the lead. It wasn’t the first time, which made her think he was the lead.
“My crew is still suspect.” She paused long enough for a couple of the agents to nod agreement. “I can get around telling them about the extra security measures, but I can’t ignore the fact that we’ll have FBI agents in the audience. Especially since you two—” she pointed at Chris and Steve, “—questioned Kimber in California.”
“What does she do in your show?” Steve asked.
“You’re trying to ask, without asking, if I can do the show without her.” Taryn shook her head. “Kimber’s the most important person up there with me. Without her, I’m out of a job.”
“What if she’s guilty?” Aidan asked. “Will you be able to do your part?”
Taryn leaned forward, bracing her arms on the table. She looked every person around the table in the eye before speaking. When she did, she made sure her tone was strong and would leave nothing to question. “Three of the stolen paintings were painted by my mother. Those commissions helped put me through college, but more importantly they carry a bit of her soul with them.
“If you’re concerned I’ll help one of my friends get away with theft, you should understand where I’m coming from. If any member of my crew is capable of disrespecting my mom and, by extension, every other artist who takes a chance by putting their hearts out in the open for the world to see, then they don’t belong on my team because they’re not the kind of person I could be friends with. The art belongs with the people who actually paid for it and thieves belong in prison.”
“Nice answer,” Liam said.
“Honest,” Chris said. “Which tells me you’ll have a hard time lying to them.”
“I’d rather not, but can if I have to.”
Chris shrugged. “Steve and I can stay out of sight until you’re set up and starting your show, but if she sees us and says anything, make the truth sound like a theory instead of a factual plan you’re in on.”
“My opinion being that you obviously thought, given the recent thefts, the gala would be a prime target.”
“It’s the truth,” Steve put in. “Granted, if she is the guilty one, she’s not likely to take a chance while we’re there.”
“Which is where the surveillance Tyler’s working on will come into play,” Ava said.
“There’s one other person we can call in who could be supremely helpful,” Kieralyn said with a smile for her team.
“You think he’ll do it?” Tyler asked.
Kieralyn wiggled her eyebrows. “I bet he would and at the end of the night he’d be able to tell Taryn how she does what she does.”
“Oh. Are we putting money on this?” Liam scooted forward. “We’ve seen him do some awesome stuff, but that…”
“Who are you talking about?” Taryn asked.
“Kieralyn’s husband.”
“The blind guy?” Tyler had mentioned one of the spouses being blind. He hadn’t mentioned any special abilities, though.
“Wait.” Steve cut a hand through the air. “Agent Cabrera, married to a blind guy. Ian Cabrera is your husband?”
She nodded.
“He’s a legend. Both because of his skills and because of his reputation for never taking on outside jobs like this.”
Steve’s eyes were practically popping out of his sockets and Taryn still didn’t get why it was such a big deal that Kieralyn’s husband might go to the gala. Or how his being there would help them.
Kieralyn smiled. “He’s never been good at telling me no.”
“Even before she married him,” Liam laughed.
“I say bring him in,” Steve said with a grin. “I’d love to see him in action.”
With a few more details ironed out, everyone returned to their jobs. Taryn walked with Tyler back toward the lab. Still curious, she asked, “Okay, so what’s the big deal about Ian?”
“He’s a listener for the NSA. He’s sort of a human lie detector.”
“What’s that mean?”
“He was only ten when he lost his sight,” Tyler said as he opened the door to the stairwell instead of taking the elevator. “Unwilling to let Ian feel sorry for himself, his dad enlisted the help of some military buddies to teach Ian a few things.”
“Okay.”
“They took him out to the glades and taught him to get out again without the help of his guide dog or a cane, but instead by using his other senses.”
“Was this a ‘feel your enemy instead of see them’ thing? They’ve done that a few times in Sidney’s Tae Kwon Do classes.”
“Sort of. Only with Ian he hears them. His other senses are heightened, but his hearing is super heightened.”
“That sounds cool. But I still don’t understand how he’s going to help, what he’s going to listen for, or how he’s going to tell me how my illusions are done.”
“That’s the fun part.” Tyler laughed. “The way Ian explains it, everyone of us has a distinct heartbeat, sort of like our fingerprints. No two are exactly the same, and he can hear them. So, if he’s in the room with the criminal, or even if he’s listening to a recording of the room, he’ll be able to pick them up. Something about extra excitement and pinpointing where they are in the room.”
“Have you ever gotten a conviction on a heartbeat?” It sounded more than a little crazy.
“Not just on that, but he’s pointed us in the right direction more than once. When we know where to look, finding the proof is easy.”
“So, I’m guessing in order for him to tell you who the thief is, he’ll have to meet them.”
“Yes.” He opened the door to his floor and held it for her.
As he joined her in the hall he again placed his hand on her back. Her muscles shifted beneath the light weight and begged for more. There could not be more, or even the possibility of it, until everything had been settled between them. Forcing her voice to sound normal, she said, “Which is why he and Kieralyn are going to work the door, checking everyone’s tickets.”
“They’ll be wired, and she’ll casually say every person’s name as they enter.”
She nodded. “And later, when he listens to the tapes, if anyone moves on the art, he’ll know who it was.”
“Exactly.”
If Ian was that good, he could be making millions as an entertainer, but instead he’d gone to work for the government. When they were finished, she may just want to have some conversations with him, because he sounded like an interesting character.
“I’m still not sure how he’ll analyze my show.”
Tyler only grinned, keeping that answer to himself, as he opened the door to the office space where the lab was. He wanted to keep his secrets, fine. The mystery would keep her on her toes during the performance to make sure the transitions were seamless. And if his hearing was that amazing, she’d make sure the trap doors were well oiled so they made no sound.
She was not going to have her secrets revealed, and certainly not by a blind guy.
Chapter Eleven
“This is odd,” Taryn said as she sank onto the couch beside Tyler.
“What?”
“The quiet. It’s different than when the kids are in bed asleep.”
“Don’t they have sleepovers at home?”
“Sidney does.”
He’d been thinking it was nice, having Taryn to himself with no arguments or doubts lying between them or the expectation of the kids popping up hanging over their heads. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with them, but he’d been unable to deny the request for a grandkid and grandmother sleepover. As soon as he and Taryn had agreed, the kids, his mom and Liz had grinned wildly. When Liz left with them, saying she was joining the sleepover, Tyler suspected a setup.
“Ryder doesn’t do sleepovers?”
She cocked her head, like she was listening for them.
Or thinking. “He’s never stayed with anyone other than my mom, and then only at our house.”
“Guess that means he likes my mom as much as yours?”
“So it seems.” Or more likely it meant his kids were still scheming, only now they were scheming with their grandmothers to get him and Taryn together. If they were a couple, Ryder would have a better chance of getting what he’d asked for, all of them living together like a family. It would also give his mother what she wanted—Tyler married with children.
“It must. He’s always wanted to stay close. Even when he was little and Jenny was staying with me, if he got scared, it was my bed he came to.”
Tyler brushed his thumb over her jaw, studying the way her face softened when she talked about the kids. A peace settled around her, a serenity. She made sure they had everything they needed. She knew how to have fun with them. They talked to her about anything and everything, and she listened and considered her responses instead of brushing them off.
“You really love them.”
She turned to him, surprise widening her gaze. “Yeah.”
“You’ve said it before, and I always believed you, but… Today in the conference room you talked about your loyalty to your friends and your family. You’ll stand up for your friends, you’ll have their backs if they need you, but it’s different with your family.
“Your mom wasn’t a direct victim of a theft, but you don’t see it that way. You saw her name on the list and felt she’d been wronged.”
“She was.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “You still take it to a different level. It’s not enough to acknowledge it and it’s not enough to say you want to help. You’re putting your entire show, your livelihood, on the line to right the wrong.”
“Well,” she cleared her throat. “That’s a little over the top.”
“No. It’s on the level, because if this goes wrong, your name isn’t going to mean shit in your industry.”
“Gee thanks, Tyler.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered with a grin.
She turned, bending her leg so she faced him. “Do you ever sugar coat your opinions?”
Leaning forward, resting his arm on the back of the couch, he played with her hair. He loved playing with her hair. “Would you prefer it if I did?”
“Maybe.”
Staring at her, certain he wanted to make a move but uncertain how she would take it, he swallowed.
“Ryder asked me to marry you so we could live together like a real family.”
“Did you tell him no?”
Was the idea so offensive that her first reaction was to think no? “I told him it wasn’t as easy as that.”
She angled her head and silently dared him to explain. He’d spent the day thinking about Ryder’s request and the chances of it being a possibility so the explanation was an easy one.
“I think we should explore us, Taryn.”
She opened her mouth, but, not ready to hear an argument, he rested a finger over her lips.
“We can’t deny there’s an attraction here.”
She waited.
“I’m not asking for anything public. I think for the sake of the kids, we should figure us out for us.”
She pulled his finger off her lips. Her breath sounded a little ragged, but still she waited.
“If we can’t work, I don’t want them hurt.”
She nodded once.
“Are you game, Taryn?” His heart raced, realizing only now how badly he wanted her acceptance. “Do you want to find out how much chemistry we really have?”
Silent, she pressed her lips together, keeping the bottom one pinched beneath her teeth when she released them. Pushing away from the back cushions, she moved to the edge of the couch.
Her retreat was all the answer he needed. Nodding his understanding, he tried to think of something to say, something that would erase his plea. Nothing came. Words evaded him and he couldn’t write a computer algorithm to make everything work smoothly. “Taryn.”
Moving up onto the knee of her bent leg, she lifted her other leg from the floor and swung it up and over his lap so she straddled him.
His request for her to forget his question died on his lips as he locked his gaze with her passionate one. His body leapt to life while the world around them froze. Nothing mattered except her and him, her body and his racing pulse, her desire and his growing craving.
Still saying nothing, she braced her hands on the back of the couch and eased close. Her breasts brushed his chest. Her lips teased his mouth.
Then she kissed him.
It was so much like the kiss they’d shared in her media room. Hot and hungry, but patient. In sync with each other, they opened their mouths, their tongues danced, their breaths mingled.
The strawberry taste that was Taryn blended with dinner’s cheesecake dessert and begged indulgence. Unable, unwilling, to restrain himself like every other time before, he placed his hands on her hips and raised his so she felt his desire.
In answer, she moved closer. “Should we move to your bedroom?”
Eager to yell “Hell yes”, but not wanting to presume, he asked, “Are we going that far?”
“Seems the best way to know how we’ll work,” she whispered as she kissed a path along the underside of his ear.
“Are we basing this on logic?”
“If it makes it easier for you, go ahead and call it logic.”
He needed no more encouragement. Gripping her ass, he hugged her close, stood and moved toward his room. She aroused him further by playing with his neck and hair, teasing him with brushes of her nails while her mouth worked a path along the rim of his ear. Warmth rushed into him, raising his temperature each time she exhaled.
He didn’t remember the trip to his room and he wasn’t sure how he’d made it without his knees buckling. At the side of his bed, he sat her down. Then, as if they’d been together before, as if it was the most natural thing in the universe, they undressed each other.
Touching.
Brushing.
Petting.
Kissing.
When they were both naked, they stepped apart. He got a condom from the bedside table and sheathed himself. She yanked back the covers and settled into the middle of the bed, spreading her legs the slightest bit.
Ready to plunge, but not wanting to rush, he crawled to her. Braced to keep his weight off her, he lowered his head and moved in for a kiss. With other ideas obviously in mind, she planted her feet against the mattress and lifted her hips, pressing the heat of her core against him.
Already wet and with the slightest shift on her part he slid home.
His eyes rolled back in his head and a groan that sounded more like a guttural growl vibrated up his throat. She rotated her hips, pressing against him with more urgency. Then, like the tether on his control snapped, he plunged.
With a fever burning in his veins, and in hers, if her skin’s heat was any indication, he moved into a rhythm, matching his needs to hers. Moves and mechanics disappeared behind instinct.
Her hands found the most sensitive spots of his body. Her heels dug into his ass, preventing any thought of withdrawal. Not that he was considering a withdrawal of any sort anytime soon.
His fingers danced over her sides and stomach. Her muscles danced beneath his touch and as if each touch-inspired twitch was connected to a string, her inner muscles trembled and clenched around him.
Sweat beaded along his spine, low on his back. His balls tightened, drawing close against his body. Skin popped with gooseflesh, though he was not cold. Muscles knotted with tension, though he’d never felt freer.
And then, like Taryn seemed to be so good at, she took him higher. She rose up and sank her teeth into the flesh of his shoulder. It wasn’t a hard bite, but the sting of her teeth and the brush of her tongue against him were contradictions of softness and strength.
Raising his head to the ceiling, he buried himself as deep as he could get inside her. Org
asm rolled closer, speeding through his veins and buzzing in his head.
Tightening around him, fisting and releasing, fisting and releasing, her body called to his. Feet still locked below his ass, she pulled him closer. Her hands slapped against his upper buttocks, her nails bit in.
The move put her as close as she could get. It pulled him in as deep as he could go. Still, he rolled his hips forward, wanting deeper.
Long and low, she moaned as her body convulsed and twitched beneath him. His own orgasm followed hers, pumping him until his legs shook and the arches of his feet threatened to spasm. He bit his lip, hard, to keep from crowing with pride.
Euphoria swelled in one last rush and swept him along for a ride he wouldn’t forget. And then everything released.
Falling to the side, he pulled her against him and held her until their breaths calmed and their skin dried.
He’d thought before that he could be happy touching her, kissing her. Now, he would never touch her without wanting more. He’d want more at only a thought of her.
This was no testing exploration of attraction. This was full-blown lovemaking, and walking away wasn’t an option.
An early riser, Taryn woke before her alarm went off. She hadn’t seen Tyler since he’d returned home after visiting California almost two weeks ago, as they’d both been working on their roles in the sting. They spoke every night, though. They talked about everything and nothing until early morning or they fell asleep. He’d even talked her into a few rounds of phone sex.
Every time she heard his voice on the phone, she understood how things had changed. She’d known it before they’d finished making love the first time. His touch had gone from tender to worshiping. His kiss had shifted from experimental to familiar.
They’d risked a lot with their trial run, but they’d both walked away different.
She hadn’t expected to find herself in a relationship with Tyler, but she wanted one.
She hadn’t expected to find herself wanting to move for him, but she was willing.
She hadn’t expected to find herself falling in love with him, but she was teetering.