by C. A. Harms
When I looked to my right, I froze. There almost within reach was a pair of what appeared to be expensive black Oxfords. I slowly lifted my head, taking in the full length of the man’s legs. His deep blue dress shirt was untucked and hanging loosely at his waist.
I definitely did not want to come off as some kind of pervert, but if he didn’t fill out his shirts so well, I wouldn’t be inclined to stare. I smiled to myself, thinking that was exactly what I would say if he asked me why I was staring.
He had thick, broad shoulders, and the knot of his black tie was loose, but it was still draped around his neck. I found myself thinking of running my tongue over his throat and along his strong jawline.
I swallowed hard as I shook off the nasty thoughts. What the hell?
“You done yet?” a deep, raspy voice asked. A familiar deep voice.
Our eyes connected, and I couldn’t hold back the satisfied smile that spread across my lips. “Josh,” I said in greeting, because I honestly didn’t know what else to say, my earlier thoughts about teasing him having flown right out the window.
“Phoenix,” he offered, and I just stared at him in confusion. “My last name,” he clarified. “We forgot to share those details last time we met.”
“Well, you were on a date, so…” I shrugged.
“That didn’t stop you from kissing me.” He smiled, and I got a glimpse of a dimple in his left cheek. He held his hands out at his sides. “I’m not complaining. I was fine with it. More than fine, actually. I just figured you would have stuck around long enough to at least give me your number.”
Avoiding the topic, I pointed to the twelve-pack of beer he had tucked under his arm. “Got another hot date with Marissa?”
“Hell no.” He chuckled. “That ended about five minutes after you left me sitting at the bar.”
“Hope it wasn’t something I said.” I bit my lip, trying to hold back my own smile.
“No.” He took another step toward me. “More like something you did. But like I said, I’m not complaining.”
There was a pause, and I became a little nervous, something that didn’t happen to me often. I pulled my favorite bottle of white wine from the shelf and stepped back. “Well, it was nice seeing you again.”
“That’s all I get, huh?” He moved in a little closer, and I had to look up to meet his gaze. He was at least six inches taller than I was. “You kissed me that night for a reason. You don’t strike me as a woman that kisses just anybody. So…” He slouched, bringing his lips closer to mine. The movement of his tongue over his lower lip caught my attention. He noticed immediately and smirked confidently. “Why don’t you let me take you to dinner? A drink maybe?”
“What if you’re some kind of crazy?”
His chest shook with laughter. “I can assure you, I’m not crazy. Overworked and overstressed, maybe, but not crazy.” His expression grew a little more serious. “It’s my job to keep those who may be crazy off the streets.”
“You’re a cop?” I scanned his body once more, looking for his badge or maybe a gun I had missed earlier.
He must have read my mind, because he reached down and lifted the side of his shirt. There on his hip was a badge, and tucked just inside the waistband you could see the top of his gun. I tried not to allow myself to get lost in the line of muscles that led just beneath the hem of his shirt.
“I’m a detective with the FBI.”
I lifted my hungry gaze to meet his. “Impressive.”
“So now will you go to dinner with me?” He cocked an eyebrow at me.
I stepped to his side and nudged him with my shoulder. “You do know I was already gonna say yes before the whole FBI thing, right?”
I walked past him and headed toward the counter to pay for my wine. When he stepped up behind me and I felt the heat from his body against me, I flushed.
“Sure you were,” he whispered against my neck. “But I’ll take what I can get.”
Chills covered my back and neck, and a shiver ran through me, but I did my best to hide it. But when I looked back over my shoulder, I could tell he had noticed.
He reached over my shoulder and placed his beer on the counter next to my wine. I was still breathing slowly, trying my best to tame my racing heart.
“Ring it all up together,” he told the sales clerk. I didn’t even attempt to argue as he paid and nudged me forward. Holding the bag high above my head, he cocked an eyebrow at me again. “Gabriella…?”
“You’re going to hold my wine hostage until I tell you my full name?”
He continued to look at me, waiting patiently. I had a feeling he could play this game of interrogation with his eyes for hours.
“Shannon,” I replied with a smile. “My last name is Shannon. Happy now?”
“Not yet, but we’re getting there.”
I shook my head as he walked away, leaving me staring after him. I had a feeling I was in for it. Josh was smart, and he wasn’t intimidated by me. That rarely happened when it came to men. They usually don’t know how to take my sense of humor or inability to keep my thoughts to myself.
Chapter 7
Josh
I know I had to look ridiculous as I followed her down First Avenue toward the serene Japanese restaurant we had decided on, but I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. My eagerness to get close to her once again was uncontrollable.
The taillights of her car lit up just ahead of me, indicating she was coming to a stop at a red light. As I waited, I watched her rearview mirror through her back window, hoping she’d look up, and when she did, I smiled. Fuck, I felt like a kid again, and it was amazing.
Tonight I would forget about the mission tomorrow. I wouldn’t think about the danger I would be placing myself in, possibly for months to come. Tonight I just wanted to let go of the responsibilities that lay heavy on my shoulders and feel.
Once we were both parked, I rushed to the side of her car and opened the door for her. Holding my hand out to help her stand, I took a chance and pulled her body against mine when she got out.
“Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me,” I said.
Her gorgeous blue eyes locked with mine, and her lashes fluttered. “Thank you for asking,” she whispered in return.
My gaze fell to her lips, and I debated kissing her but stepped back and held my hand out instead. I didn’t want to come across as desperate. There was no need to rush—not yet, at least.
***
“Real estate, I bet that can get interesting.”
“Yeah,” she replied. “Interesting is one word for it. There is also exhausting and tedious.” She lifted her wineglass to her lips and took a sip. My eyes locked on the movement. I gave up trying to hide my attraction to her the moment her lips encased her first bite of shioyaki and she closed her eyes, savoring the taste. Fuck, I had been hard ever since.
“Don’t get me wrong. There are times when I love what I do, like helping families find the perfect place to raise their children in the city, or that older couple looking to downsize because they just don’t need all that space any longer.” Her satisfied smile faded. “But then there are those times when I think, why in the hell do I do this? Like today, for example.” She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table, and I knew instantly I was in for a story.
“I had this asshole that thought he was big shit. My first sign should have been his imitation Gucci shoes and cheap-ass suit, but I was too focused on holding my breath. He had to have put on the entire damn bottle of Giorgio Armani cologne. I thought I would have to fumigate once he left the office. The stench was testing my gag reflex.” She shivered and I laughed.
I had never met a woman that was this talkative. Yes, I know women love to talk, but Gabby didn’t filter her thoughts.
“Anyway,” she continued, waving her hand, “I must have shown him ten different places. Gorgeous, over-the-top amenities to the max, but he turned his nose up at each one.”
I sat quietly, watching her facia
l expressions and her hands as she waved them around while speaking. She was so beautiful.
“Finally, after four and a half hours with this clown, he found one he decided would do. Yeah, he actually said that. ‘It will do.’” She said the words in a snooty tone that I assumed was an imitation of the asshole she was talking about. It was seriously the cutest fucking attempt at an impression I had ever witnessed.
“We get back to my office and run all the numbers, we contact the seller with the offer, and then when it was accepted and ready to finalize…” She widened her eyes as if she was about to tell me the worst part. “He didn’t even have the money to support his offer. I swear he had to have known I was two seconds away from scratching out his eyeballs.”
This time I did chuckle. There was no chance in hell anyone could spend five minutes in Gabby’s presence and not feel lighter. And I could honestly say I had never felt the kind of attraction I felt toward her. I was already planning out the ways I could convince her to see me again. One time, one night, just wasn’t enough.
“So what about you? I mean, an FBI agent. That sounds intense. Do you interrogate and intimidate with just your eyes?” She narrowed her eyes as if she was zoning in on me as she wrinkled up her nose and pinched her lips together.
“What are you doing?” I asked, avoiding her question. I didn’t want to give her too much detail about the job I had in the bureau. The less she knew, the better. Plus, everything about my job was classified, and it would remain that way, no matter how hard keeping it secret was.
She smiled brightly and looked down at her plate. “Apparently, I don’t possess the skills of intimidation.” She shrugged before picking up a piece of sushi and popping it into her mouth.
“No, you don’t intimidate me, but you definitely intrigue me,” I stated as I watched her lips lift slightly. She slowed her chewing as she lifted her wineglass to wash it down.
“Ditto,” she whispered.
“Tomorrow night I have to work fairly late, and after that things are gonna be pretty busy. But I want to see you again.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked a little nervous, and my stomach tensed with the thought that maybe I had read her wrong. Maybe she wasn’t feeling what I was.
“Okay,” she replied as she lifted her head and locked her eyes onto mine. “I’d like that too.”
I instantly relaxed at her response.
Chapter 8
Gabby
My toes curled in my high heels, and I fisted my hand in the dress shirt that hung loosely on his waist, unable to control the moan that escaped me. Josh rolled his tongue against mine, and I sagged back further against my car as he pressed himself firmly against my front.
“Sunday,” he whispered against my lips. Before I could respond, he covered them once more. If he was trying to kiss me into submission, he was succeeding. “I know waiting to see you until then is going to drive me crazy, but I have no other option. Work has me booked for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. But tell me you’ll agree to Sunday.”
“You have my number, call me.” He smiled at my reply.
After a few more minutes of heavy kissing, Josh tucked me safely inside my car. He stood just to the side as I backed out, and when I looked in my rearview mirror, he still hadn’t moved. I liked to think it was because he too was completely shocked by our connection. It was intense and definitely unexpected.
When I arrived at my apartment and got into the elevator, I sagged back against the wall. The ding announcing I had arrived on the third floor startled me from my heated thoughts of Josh and his magical tongue. A shiver ran through me, and I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t felt this light and relaxed in a long time.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open, then jumped when I saw my sister hovering just inside the apartment near the door. “Oh my hell, what are you doing?”
Brook had her hands on her hips, and her eyes were narrowed. “What am I doing? How about what are you doing?” she fired back. “You were supposed to be here with a book and a bottle of wine. I’ve been home for over two hours waiting for you.”
I walked past her and placed my bag on the counter. “You said you were going out.”
“Well, apparently you aren’t the only one that decided going out wasn’t a good idea. So I came home to hang out, and you weren’t here. Plus, you turned off your phone, so I couldn’t call you. Where were you?”
When I didn’t give her any details, she glared at me. When I ignored her and walked toward my room, her heavy footsteps pounded on the hardwood floor as she rushed after me. “So, spill. I can see that smile you’re trying to hide. Obviously, something good happened, so you need to fill me in.”
“Just had dinner, no big deal.” I waved her off as I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower.
“Knock it off, Gabriella.” She thought using my full name would show me she was serious, but that shit only worked when my mother or father did it. When Brooklyn or even my other sister Audrey tried it, I could only laugh. “Damn it, will you stop being an ass? I know you didn’t go to dinner by yourself. And that smile you’re wearing tells me it wasn’t just some sandwich at Ruby’s Deli.” She blocked me from exiting the bathroom to get my towel and pajamas. “Stop playing, just tell me.”
“Oh my God, you are so annoying,” I groaned as I shoved her arm out of the way. I sat down on the end of my bed because I knew damn well she was not going to leave me alone unless I filled her in. “I ran into Josh.”
Her eyes grew wide as she spun in a circle and squealed. “Mr. Hot Lips from the club?” I nodded and she smiled brightly. “And?”
“You are ridiculous, do you know that?”
“Yep. Now go on.” She waved her hand at me.
“I was getting wine, and he was there too. He asked me to dinner and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He held my wine hostage until I agreed.”
“So what is he like?” Brook said, sounding like a giddy girl. Usually I was pretty tight-lipped about my private life because it was almost nonexistent, but she looked so hopeful, I gave in.
“He is really sweet, but he also has this take-control kind of attitude. It’s unbelievably sexy. Oh, and did I forget to mention he’s an FBI agent?” I almost laughed when her mouth fell open in awe.
“No way,” she whined. “I’m the one with the man-in-uniform fetish, and you get the man and the uniform. That’s cruel.” Ever since she was little, Brooklyn has always loved uniformed men. Not just cops but firemen and even soldiers. “So when are you seeing him again?” she pressed.
“Sunday,” I replied. “His job keeps him pretty busy, and he said he’ll be tied up until then. He’s supposed to call me.”
“Well, I’m glad you ran into him again. I could tell he made an impression on you after that night. After you kissed him.”
Before I thought twice about it, I was confessing more details than I had planned. “That kiss was nothing compared to tonight.”
“What?” her eyes grew wide.
I scurried into the bathroom and shut the door quickly.
“Please, like this door being closed is going to make me forget about the details you owe me. You can’t just say something like that and leave a girl hanging,” she said through the door before she began beating on it. “Listen, hooker, I will camp out on the floor here. You’ll have to tell me sooner or later.”
I crawled into the shower wearing a smile so big, my cheeks hurt. I knew I would have to tell her once I got out, otherwise I would have to sleep in the bathroom. So for the next fifteen minutes, I chose to ignore her knocking and whining and lived my Josh fantasies out in my head, alone.
Chapter 9
Josh
Greyson, Mike, and I sat at the table, facing our targets. Leo’s eyes were locked on mine. I knew the game he was playing—intimidate me so I’d feel like he could control me. I wasn’t buying into it. I held his stare, my mouth pressed in a tight line. The men we knew as Pavel and Nic
olay stood at Leo’s side, arms crossed and guns strapped to their waists in full view. Another intimidation tactic.
“We have a shipment, and we need a location to store the goods. We’ve been told you are the men to provide that location.” Leo spoke directly to me. “Of course, I will have my men stationed there as well.”
“I’m sure we can come up with a place, for the right price,” Greyson said
Leo smirked and gave Nicolay a look. Adrenaline pumped hard through my body as Nicolay reached inside his coat pocket. I kept my own hand resting on the gun strapped at my waist. It was not out of the ordinary for us to be holding guns, considering we were playing the roles of drug runners. After all, we were the roughest group of men in the area, or so Leo had been informed by our planted agents.
Nicolay lifted the phone from the inside pocket of his jacket and tapped the screen before putting it to his ear. “Bring them in.”
Moments later, I heard the familiar clicking of heels as five females entered the room. My stomach twisted as I allowed myself to look at them. They were girls, not women. I would be amazed if any of them was eighteen. This was one of the crimes Roman’s people were known for—prostitution of underage girls.
“We brought gifts to show our gratitude,” Leo announced, waving them in our direction.
The three of us remained seated as the girls rounded the table and stepped up behind each of us. The other two approached Leo and stood at his sides. My stomach lurched as he slid his hand up the thigh of the redhead at his left. When it disappeared beneath her skirt and she parted her legs, bile rose in my throat.