by Cynthia Eden
Why does she feel so right in my arms?
“You aren’t smiling,” Harper whispered. “You aren’t even looking at me.”
No, he wasn’t. His gaze was on the crush of people watching them. He forced a smile as he told her, “I’m searching for threats.”
“You didn’t want me wearing the necklace.”
No, he hadn’t. He’d argued against it when he heard the idea. “It seemed like an unnecessary way of putting a target on you.”
“But I have you to keep me safe.”
His gaze cut to her, for just a moment. Then back to the onlookers. “Damn straight you do.”
She laughed. Was it for show? So that the people watching would think they were a couple and she was having the time of her life? Probably.
But what would it be like if Harper was really happy to be dancing with him?
Doesn’t matter. Won’t ever matter. He forced his jaw to unclench. “We’ve got several people who seem far too interested in you. They’re staring.”
“I’m sure the rest of the team is watching them.”
They were.
“If I were going to steal the ruby…” she mused, her voice low as she leaned in even closer to him. “This would not be the time I chose. I mean, everyone is watching now. All the attention is focused on me. For a theft, you don’t want attention. You want…” Her head turned. She stared across the room.
“You want…what?” Roman prompted.
She was still looking across the room. “Trust me.”
“Ah…excuse me?”
“We’re partners. If our relationship is going to work, you have to trust me. So…trust me.” She stopped dancing. Her hand dipped down. Her fingers stroked over the ruby. She lifted it up. “It should be heavier.”
“It’s a giant ruby. I’m sure it is plenty heavy and—”
“Not heavy enough.” She yanked at the ruby—and the elaborate chain that circled her neck.
The chain snapped.
There were gasps from the crowd.
The band stopped playing.
Roman wondered what in the hell was happening.
“Harper?” Tomas’s shocked voice. He rushed onto the dance floor. “What are you doing?” His eyes were wide. Utterly horrified.
Harper simply smiled her charming, dimpled smile. She lifted the ruby up even higher—the priceless, big as a fist ruby—and then she threw it onto the dance floor.
It shattered into a hundred pieces.
Holy shit.
There were screams. One lady in a blue, strapless gown even slid to the floor in a dead faint.
“Do you know what you’ve done?” Roman asked. His voice was mild. Curious.
The security guard was running straight for Harper.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I saved the day.”
Perhaps her definition of saving the day was way different from his?
The museum’s security guard made a grab for Harper. “Hell, no,” Roman snapped. He caught the man’s outstretched arm and sent him hurtling to the side.
Then he realized…
Harper was running. She’d hitched up her dress and was racing straight toward Tomas. Except Tomas—he was running even faster. Away from her. He’d whirled around and was rushing through the crowd.
“Stop him!” Harper yelled. “He’s got the real ruby!”
The real—
I’ll be damned.
But most of the guests ignored her. They were too busy diving for the floor and trying to scoop up what they thought were pieces of the shattered ruby. Harper leapt over several men and one woman, and she kicked her high heels off as she gave chase.
As Roman watched, she shoved her foot on the back of one bent fellow, and she launched herself into the air after Tomas. She slammed into him, and they both hit the floor with a roll. Tomas drew back his fist to hit her—
Oh, the hell no. A bellowing roar burst from Roman as he hurtled toward them. But he was too far away. If Tomas hit her…
I will make that bastard pay.
But Tomas didn’t hit her. Harper easily dodged his blow and then delivered a fast elbow right to the man’s throat. He gasped, choked, and his eyes doubled as he grabbed frantically for his neck.
Harper pushed to her feet. With one hand, she straightened her dress.
Roman staggered to a stop beside her. He was both incredibly impressed and a little bit confused. “The client is the bad guy?” Roman asked as he reached out a hand to steady Harper.
Tomas’s frantic stare flew to him. The man tried to back away by doing some weird-ass spider crawl across the floor.
Roman shook his head. “Don’t,” he warned.
Tomas flipped over and shoved to his feet.
Some people never listen.
“He has the real necklace,” Harper cried out.
“Yeah, and it’s my turn to get him.” And get him, Roman did. Roman grabbed the bastard around the side and threw him down to the floor. Then before Tomas could scramble to his feet, Roman had a knife at his throat. “She elbowed you. I’ll just slice your throat if you piss me off.”
Tomas immediately froze.
Actually, everyone had frozen. Roman didn’t look away from his prey, but he was pretty sure he could feel every eye in the place on him.
“M-mistake,” Tomas gasped.
“Oh, it was a mistake, all right,” Harper declared as she crouched and began to pat down Tomas’s fancy jacket. “Did you seriously think you were going to steal the necklace under Wilde’s watch? I don’t think so.” She shoved her hand into a pocket inside his jacket.
Roman’s gaze flew to her face.
Her smile stretched. Those dimples winked. Her eyes rose to meet Roman’s. “Got it.”
She sure as hell did. Her hand raised to reveal that she was holding the Lover’s Heart in her palm.
I’ll be damned. The sonofabitch had tried to steal the ruby from his own museum.
Everyone seemed to start talking at once. The voices were loud and blaring. Security guards and Wilde agents closed in. Roman kept his knife at Tomas’s throat.
Harper studied the ruby. The light hit it, making the giant jewel gleam. She slid it against her skin, holding the chain behind her neck. “Oh, yes, definite weight difference, just like I thought.” Her head tilted as she studied Tomas. “You are such an idiot. Do you have any idea how long you’ll be in prison because of this?”
***
“Do you foil a lot of jewel thefts?” Roman asked as he watched Tomas get shoved into the back of a patrol car. The man was crying a little. Shouting a lot. Demanding to speak to an attorney. Claiming everything was a mistake.
Mistake, my ass.
“Not a lot, but every now and then, yes, I do manage to stop some.” Harper’s voice was modest. The shiver that shook her body was fierce.
Hell, she had to be freezing. They were outside in the chilled air, and she had on that little-bit-of-nothing dress. Sexy as could be, but not exactly warm and covering. Roman shrugged out of his coat and slid it around her delicate shoulders.
Surprise flashed on her face. “Are you trying to be a gentleman with me right now?”
“No.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak.
Dammit, use more than one word! “I mean, I’m just trying to help you stay warm.”
She pulled the coat a little closer. “It smells like you.”
“Is that bad?”
“No.” She looked away. “Not bad at all.”
Eric Wilde had arrived. He was walking straight toward them. As he neared, he pointed at Harper. “You’re gunning for a bonus, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely.”
His lips curled. “Caught him in the act, huh? Nice.” His head turned and his smile faded as he glared at the man who was now cuffed in the back of the patrol car. “That prick thought he’d steal on Wilde time? I don’t think so.”
Yes, about the whole theft…There was something bugging Roman. �
�Harper, you knew. I mean, before you slammed the necklace into the floor, you knew it was fake?”
“I strongly suspected.”
“Suspecting isn’t the same thing as knowing.” He cleared his throat. “If you’d been wrong…”
“I wasn’t. Look, I also was suspicious as soon as he wanted me to wear it. Figured taking it out the way he was ordering would be a good time for a switch, and I was right.” Her shoulders moved in a small shrug. “I’d worn a ruby almost that big before, and I knew what the weight should feel like. I went along with the ruse for a bit because I wanted us to catch him in the act. We did. Case closed.” She winked at Eric. “Bonus earned.”
“When did you wear a ruby that big?” The question slipped from Roman.
Her gaze slid to his. Held. “When I was briefly engaged to a crown prince.”
He laughed. She didn’t.
“I’m heading home. Been a busy night.” She eased out of the coat. Handed it back to Roman. “And as a partner, you did not completely suck tonight.”
“Thanks?” It was a question.
She didn’t respond. Harper was already walking away.
He was admiring the view. He was also still stuck on one thing… “She wasn’t engaged to some prince.” That was just crazy.
“Uh…”
Roman’s stare jumped to Eric. “Was she?”
“You know…” Eric eased back a step. “I don’t feel real comfortable sharing personal information about agents.”
Was that a yes?
Eric slapped his hand on Roman’s shoulder. “But look at you. I’m impressed. You stopped a major theft with your new partner.”
“I didn’t stop jack. She did it.” His attention shifted back to her. Harper was almost at her car. In a few more moments, she’d be gone from the scene.
Gone. Hell. He took off running.
“Roman?” Eric called.
“We fucking rode together!” Roman yelled back. Sure, he could have caught a ride with Eric. Or gotten a car to pick him up. But he wanted to ride with her.
I want to stay with her longer.
She’d surprised him. In his mind, he could still see her as she kicked off her high heels and shoved one foot on that random guy’s back as she launched herself into the air. She’d had no fear. No hesitation.
She’d been hot as hell.
“Wait!” Roman shouted as he hurried toward the car. It was a sleek beauty, low to the ground and made to go fast.
Harper turned at his call.
“You’re my ride,” he reminded her. He was still holding his coat. He hadn’t bothered to put it on. He’d been too busy chasing her.
“Yes…but am I your ride or die?”
“What?” He frowned at her.
She laughed. “Nothing. A joke. Forget it. Just get in the car.”
He got in the car.
“You’re so big you barely fit inside. Maybe next time,” Harper said as she slid behind the wheel, “we should take your car.”
His head turned toward her. “Next time?” Did that mean she was done trying to sever their partnership?
She nodded. “Next time.”
And as they pulled away, Roman found himself smiling.
***
They had a new target.
He watched as the sports car hurtled away. Roman was inside. Roman and his mystery woman. He’d been close to the car, close enough to hear the pretty lady’s teasing question…
Am I your ride or die?
Funny. They would all be finding out the answer to that question soon enough. For the woman’s sake, he certainly hoped that she wouldn’t have to die.
After all, she would just be the means to an end.
And that end…it was the monster known as Roman Valentino.
Chapter Three
“You live here?” Harper let out a low whistle as she slammed her car door and took stock of the giant house in front of her. They’d driven to the gala from the office, and this was her first time to see his place. Oh, who was she kidding? It wasn’t a normal house. It was a mansion. A freaking, honest-to-goodness mansion. “I think Eric is paying you way too much. And I believe I deserve a raise.”
“I have family money.”
“How wonderful for you.” Her head cocked as she tried to figure out just how many rooms were in that massive house. “Some of us don’t have families, and we have to work hard for every single dime that we get.”
Silence.
Whoops. Had she just slipped up and overshared? A glance to the right showed that he was focused hard on her so, yes, she had just overshared. A lot. “I need to go. You should head into the super big house and tuck yourself in. Or, you know, get the butler to do it or something.” She needed to get out of there before she rambled way too much.
Too late.
“You’re not exactly driving a clunker, Harper. That sports car—”
“It’s on loan from Wilde. It was part of our cover. As much as I love Trixie—”
“Trixie?”
“Yes, she’s fun, so I figured she needed a fun name. As much as I love her, I have to give her back tomorrow. It’s kind of a Cinderella thing. I’ll be back to the pumpkin tomorrow.”
He didn’t head toward the mansion. Instead, he stalked slowly around the car. She could hear him coming toward her. For a moment, she considered jumping back into the vehicle. But, nah, that wasn’t her style. She held her ground. Waited.
Soon, he was right in front of her. He stared at her but didn’t speak. Just did that quiet, intense vibe that he worked so well. As she peered up at him, a shiver worked its way over her body.
“You’re cold.”
No, not really. That shiver hadn’t necessarily been from the cold, but she still said, “Yes.”
And once more, he put his coat around her shoulders.
“I don’t need this.” She tried to push it away. “I’m leaving and—”
“I wish you’d come inside.”
Yes, that was a bad idea. Terrible. “Why?” Surely not for the hot and dirty sex that had just popped into her head. She couldn’t help the imagery. It had been a very long dry spell, and she tended to have an over-eager imagination. Down, girl. Down. He wants—
“You,” he said.
Her heart slammed into her chest. “Excuse me?”
“You have the wrong idea about me. About my family.”
“If you’re related to Eric, I figured you must have the same awesome family that he—”
“There is nothing awesome about my family. I barely knew my mother, and my father could give nightmares to serial killers.”
Her lips parted. But, for once, she didn’t know what to say.
“I shouldn’t have told you that. Probably just scared the hell out of you.” He glanced away from her. “But I’m not some spoiled asshole. I don’t want you to think that’s who I am.”
“You didn’t scare me.” It took a whole lot to scare her.
“And you don’t have to lie to me. I’ve had more than enough lies in my life, so, for whatever time this partnership lasts, maybe you could just skip giving them to me?”
“I’m not lying.” She pulled his coat closer. It was warm and it held his heady, masculine scent. “I am sorry, though.”
Slowly, his stare trekked back to her. “Sorry?”
“I have my own issues with money. I didn’t know my mother, either. Or my father. So…I-I said something I shouldn’t have to you. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
He laughed.
“You’re not supposed to laugh when someone apologizes to you. It’s rude.” Why did she keep having to instruct him on basic things?
He stepped closer to her. “You don’t need to worry about hurting my feelings.”
She thought that maybe she did. She also wondered if she’d been very wrong about him.
“And you told me you were engaged to a prince,” Roman continued gruffly. “Seems like you can deal fine with any money issues that
—”
“It was a brief engagement. He fell for me when I worked his protection detail.” Give Roman honesty. He doesn’t want lies. “You were right before. About me, I mean. I do get asked out a lot. For some reason, people get drawn to me. But nothing lasts. I learned that a long time ago. The prince? I knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to last for me.” But she’d foolishly hoped for the whole happy-ending routine with him. Hadn’t happened. “He was grateful to me. That’s all.” After him, she’d switched to preferring to guard things, not people.
Things didn’t hurt you. Things didn’t make you believe they cared. Things didn’t leave you hurt and alone. Jeez. Stop it already. She was not the pity-party type. “Okay.” She blew out a breath. “This night is getting way too long and maudlin. I need to go home. I need to—”
“I know the reason why people are drawn to you.”
She swallowed. He was closer. So close that their bodies nearly brushed.
“You smile, and you light up a room.”
“It’s the dimples,” she told him seriously. “People think I’m harmless and fun when they see the dimples. They are my secret weapon.”
His gaze had fallen to her mouth. “I’ve thought the same thing.”
She forced a smile. “See?” She knew her dimples would be out. There was plenty of light spilling from all around his house so he should be able to see her dimples quite clearly.
“I agree they are a weapon, but it’s not just the dimples.” His head lowered toward her. “It’s you. It’s…”
Wait. Was he about to kiss her? Did she want him to kiss her?
Her hands flew up and pressed to his chest. “We’re partners.”
“And you don’t kiss partners?”
She had no rule about that at all. It hadn’t exactly come up before. She knew plenty of Wilde personnel dated each other. They just had to fill out some PR form and… “Roman.” Was she leaning onto her toes? She was.
She still didn’t trust him. But she sure did wonder what his kiss would feel like. “This could be a horrible mistake.”
“Sure. Worst ever.” He didn’t back away.
Harper tried to break the thick tension that surrounded them. “We could kiss and then you’d fall hopelessly in love with me, and we’d never be able to work a case again.”