He leaned against the wall at the end of the bar and trained his eyes on the open doorway leading into the lobby. Music and laughter spilled in from the street, only increasing his irritation. The boutique hotel he’d booked boasted a great beachfront location right off the busy pedestrian street in Playa Del Carmen, but offered little else in terms of luxuries. Including a good bartender. The young Mexican was too busy flirting with tipsy tourists to worry about refilling his beer.
Just as well.
He sighed and pushed his empty glass across the slick bar. Crossing his arms, he drummed his fingers against his bicep as he waited. As the time ticked by, frustration mixed with anger and swirled inside him like a hurricane coming to shore until his gaze landed on the one person who was about to walk right into the eye of the storm.
Mickey.
His blood pumped wildly in his veins and pressure built in his chest. He wanted to march up to her, pull her to his room, and yell at her for being such an idiot. But something about the way her shoulders hunched forward and the contorted features of her face stopped him. He sat, frozen to his seat, unsure of how to approach her. How could someone stir up so many emotions in him at one damn time? As if his mind and his heart were in constant battle over the best way to handle her.
With his gaze fixed on Mickey, he sat up on his stool. Even though he wanted to strangle her, the low plunge of her dress drew his eyes to her breasts. He groaned. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He should talk to her once he calmed down. With his nerves screaming at him and his mind racing, he was bound to do something he’d regret.
Or would he?
He straightened his legs and then stood just as Mickey turned his way. Their eyes met across the room, and her long legs stopped short. He raised his brows in her direction and her mouth twitched at the corners as she pressed her lips into a firm line. She dropped her gaze to the ground and weaved in between the small groups of people loitering in the lobby, through the bar, and stopped in front of him. Without her heels on, the top of her head reached past his nose.
His jaw tightened and he curled his hands into fists at his sides. His thumbnails dug into his palms to keep him from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at him with her head cocked to the side. “How did you know I was here?”
“I work for the FBI, Mickey. It wasn’t too hard.”
Her cheeks sunk in, as if she were biting on the inside of her mouth. “That’s a complete invasion of privacy.”
“Is it? Interesting coming from a woman who just showed up at a complete stranger’s house and asked her personal questions pertaining to a federal investigation.” Graham threw his hands in the air. “Really, Mickey, what the hell were you thinking?”
Color stained her cheeks. “I was getting answers. Answers I need to find Becca. To figure out why Pete used me.”
“That’s my job. You need to stay away and let me do it.”
Fire flashed in her eyes. “How is my asking questions getting in the way of you doing your job?”
Graham sucked in a long breath through his nose. “Did you ever think Paula would be so upset after talking to you she wouldn’t want to talk to anyone else? That it would be too painful to go over everything again so quickly after just discussing it?”
“I guess I didn’t think of that,” Mickey said with a grimace.
“No, you didn’t. Because you didn’t think at all.” His voice rose higher than he intended, and a few heads turned their way. “Dammit, Mickey. Every time I turn around I find you in the middle of this investigation. You aren’t helping me. You’re only making my job ten times harder than it already is.”
God, she’s gorgeous when she’s pissed.
“I came all the way here to see her, and she refused. Now I have to try again tomorrow, and that’s more time wasted.” He ran a hand through his hair and then let it drop to his side. “Can you understand how your actions screwed me?”
“I’m sorry, okay,” she said and threw her hands in the air. “I can’t help it. Knowing Becca’s somewhere with that pervert is eating me alive. She’s alone and scared as hell and probably wondering why in the hell I would let this guy into our lives. I can’t stand around and wait for answers. If I see a way I can do something, I have to do it.”
Tears stained her skin and he kicked himself for his temper. She deserved it, but he shouldn’t have been so harsh. This case was taking its toll on him, and he didn’t have a personal stake in it like she did.
She crossed her arms in front of her, accidentally pulling down the silky fabric of her dress. The creamy flesh of the top of her breasts peeked out from the low neckline and his groin tightened. With her anger splayed brightly on her cheeks and her thick red hair in a riot of loose curls around her shoulders, she was like a sexy temptress daring him to touch her.
He couldn’t resist.
Graham reached out and grazed his fingertips over her arm. Her muscles relaxed at his touch and the anger melted from her features. The flames in her golden irises now matched the lust in his gut. He pulled her close and let his hand linger at the small of her back.
“I know this is hard on you, but you have to listen to me. Please, let me handle this investigation. I want to find Becca, and the other girls, as badly as you do. And I will. I’m damn good at my job, but you have to let me do it.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder and the moisture on her face seeped into his shirt. “Paula looked so much like Becca. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the door.”
He rubbed circles around her spine. “What did she say about Pete?”
Mickey’s body shuddered against him. “He’s obsessed with her. Always has been. She’s had to live her whole life watching over her shoulder. And the things he did to her…” Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t have to finish the thought for him to understand.
He glanced around at the growing crowd in the hotel bar. Voices rang loud and tourists pressed against the bar for another drink. “Let’s go up to my room and talk.”
She pulled back and glanced up through dark lashes. “I don’t want to talk. Not right now. I just want you to take my mind off everything for a little bit.”
Indecision warred within him. Common sense had prevailed last night, but not by much. Getting involved with Mickey right now was wrong. But one look at the pain swimming in her amber eyes and all logic melted into a puddle of goo.
He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back and studied her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and the need in her eyes had the power to bring him to his knees.
Turning toward the lobby, he kept his hand on her back and led her to the elevators. Desire throbbed through him with every beat of his heart, faster and stronger with every step. Screw taking their time and waiting until they got Pete behind bars. He wanted her now.
Two giggling girls stepped out of the elevator, and he ushered Mickey inside. The silver door slid shut, leaving them alone in isolation, the noise of the hotel and crowded streets long behind them. Her reflection stared back at him everywhere his eyes landed. His hand slid from the small of her back to the side of her waist and tightened on her hip. He gazed down at her, and fire burned like hot coals in her eyes.
“Dammit,” he growled. His blood burned hot in his veins and he needed a taste of her. “I can’t wait to have you.”
He leaned forward and pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator before he grabbed the back of her head and brought his lips to hers. His fingers roamed through the silky tresses until her hair rained like wildfire around her face. Her legs parted as his knee pressed between them and he pushed forward, trapping her against the wall of mirrors behind her. He released her hair and used the tips of his fingers to trace the outline of her face. Her full lips parted, and he swept the pad of his thumb over them.
Mickey arched up on her toes, nipping at his thumb.
He drew back his hand and a husky lau
gh vibrated from his throat. “I should have known you wouldn’t be a submissive wallflower. But I might need to tame that wild streak of yours.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I’d like to see you try.”
He was more than up for the challenge. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them high above her head and her breath hitched in her throat. He pressed his mouth to her ear and nibbled the lobe, before pressing hot kisses down the side of her neck. The hem of her dress rose high on her thigh, and he shifted her wrists to one hand, while the other dropped to her side. White flesh peeked out, stark against the floral material. He leaned forward, his body pressed into hers, his lips lingering on the hollow dent between on the base of her neck. His lips traveled down as he leaned forward and cupped her sleek calve in the palm of his hand, and then grazed the subtle curve up to the inside of her knee, over the back of her thigh, and stopped when he reached the soft flesh not covered by her panties.
“Oh, God, Graham. You’re killing me.” She squirmed against him, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow.
His body hummed with a need to make her his. He dropped her wrists and circled both arms around her waist, pressing her hard against him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he took her mouth in his. His tongue invaded her mouth and she moaned as she greedily accepted him.
“Excuse me, is everything all right in there?” A deep, booming voice sounded over the intercom.
“Shit.” His voice came out in ragged breaths. Mickey’s chest expanded beneath him as she panted, her hot breath tickling his skin. He pulled himself away and she sank against the wall. He pressed the red button and spoke into the intercom. “Sorry, we’re fine. We must have hit the stop button by accident.”
“No, problem, sir. But if you could please pull the button back out, there are people waiting to use the elevator.”
Mickey giggled as he released the button and the elevator churned to life. He stood beside her, his arm wrapped possessively around her, and held his breath until the elevator stopped on his floor. “Come on.”
“What’s your room number?” Her long legs matched his stride for stride as they hurried down the hallway.
He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and grabbed the hotel key inside. “Four twenty one.”
They turned the wide corner and raced down the narrow hall until they reached the end of the hallway. His hand trembled as he slid the key in the bronze slot in the door. The green light flickered on, and he pushed down on the handle to open the door. He pulled her inside, slammed the door closed, and turned her to face him.
Damn, she was beautiful, and he’d wanted her for days. To hell with patience. They needed each other to ease the pain of the last few days. Ease it with the pleasure he’d been dying to heap onto her body. He scooped her in his arms and carried her to the king-size bed. He pressed his lips to hers and the mattress dipped low under their weight. Her hands slid under his T-shirt and her touch set his skin on fire. She grabbed the bottom of the shirt and pulled it up and over his head, tossing it to the floor.
Mickey crawled to her knees and sat on her heels. One strap of her dress fell off her shoulder and adrenaline spiked through his body like a stake in the ground.
“Wait.” He reached his arm to the light on the nightstand and flicked it on. “I want to see every inch of you.”
Focusing his attention back on Mickey, he slid the other strap from her shoulder, and then tugged the zipper that ran down her back. The soft material pooled around her waist, resting on the bed. He sucked in a sharp breath and his heart squeezed against his ribcage as the creamy flesh of her free breasts stole his attention.
“If you’d told me you weren’t wearing anything under your dress, I’m afraid I might have embarrassed myself.”
A wicked smile curved on her lips and she lifted herself high on her knees, letting the dress drop further down her lean body. Graham grabbed his chest and groaned. “Nothing sexier than lacy, black panties on a beautiful woman.”
He tackled her to the bed. Her squeals of delight were music to his ears, and drove him even crazier with desire. He dipped his head low, taking one breast in his mouth. Mickey arched her back as his tongue circled her nipple, and then he lightly bit the tender flesh. His eyes locked on hers. “Payback for biting my thumb.”
“Less talk, more action.” She fisted his hair in her hands and urged him back to her breast. My God, she’s incredible.
The phone started ringing.
Sonofabitch.
“Please tell me you’re going to ignore that.” Mickey’s fingers played with the short strands of his hair, her voice husky with need.
“I’d like nothing better, but I can’t.” Her fingers slipped from his hair as he pulled away and reached into his back pocket. His palm closed around the hard plastic of his case and ripped it out.
“The ringing stopped. Put the phone down and get back here.” Her words purred like velvet from her supple lips and every nerve ending in his body screamed at him to take her breast in his mouth again. But the only person he used that ringtone with was Eric. He couldn’t ignore his partner.
“I’m sorry, babe, but it’s Eric. I’ve got to call him back.”
Mickey pulled back the white down comforter on the bed and burrowed under it. He sighed as she covered her delicious breasts. He turned away. He couldn’t concentrate on what Eric had to tell him if Mickey lay naked in front of him. He swung his feet over the end of the bed and called Eric.
“Hey, man, where are you?” Eric asked after picking up on the first ring.
“At my hotel in Playa Del Carmen. Just got in.”
“Did you talk to Paula?”
Shit, he’d gotten so caught up in Mickey he hadn’t gotten all of the details about her conversation with Paula. He’d need to find out what Paula had to say when he got off the phone. “I’m going to see her tomorrow.”
“Good. Until then, you might want to meet me. I’ve gotten some leads on Pete, and we might be able to find the bastard tonight. Word is he likes to frequent Fifth Avenue and search for tourists to prey on. We might get lucky.”
“Okay. Where should I meet you?” He leaned forward and grabbed his shirt off the floor.
“I’m at my hotel, right down the street from you. I’ll meet you in the lobby in five.”
Eric disconnected and Graham pulled his shirt over his head. He turned toward Mickey and his heart stopped beating for a split second. Her lips were swollen, her face flushed. He wanted nothing more than to crawl under the covers and finish what they’d started, but he had a job to do. If there was a chance they could find Pete, he had to take it.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. That was Eric, and he got some leads on Pete. We might be able to find him tonight.”
Mickey sat up straight and clutched the blanket to her breasts. “Don’t apologize. Go!”
“Do you want to wait for me? I don’t know how long I’ll be, but you’d be nice to come back to.”
She beamed at him, but shook her head. “I’m having dinner with Vanessa and Allison. I need to go anyway.” With one hand holding up the blanket, she leaned forward and picked her dress up off the floor.
He chuckled. “I’ve seen the goods. No need for modesty.”
She laughed, dropped the blanket, and pulled the dress over her head. “Oh, I didn’t tell you about Paula.”
Graham stood and put his phone back in his pocket. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Later. Right now, I need to focus on catching that bastard. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Okay. And, Graham, if you find Pete tonight, give him hell.”
He nodded, gave a small wave, and walked out the door. He’d be giving Pete Bogart hell all right. For kidnapping three innocent girls, for using Mickey as a pawn in his sick game, and for giving him blue balls for the second night in a row.
Chapter Nineteen
“Have I ever told you two how much I love salsa?” Allison asked as she dipped a tortilla chip
in the bowl of salsa sitting in the middle of the table.
Uneasiness pitched back and forth in Mickey’s stomach like a sailboat in a storm. She glanced around her as her friends enjoyed their dinners. People of every age, color, and gender walked by their table. Mickey searched all of their faces, silently willing Pete to walk by. She hadn’t heard anything from Graham since he’d left the hotel. She assumed Pete hadn’t been found.
“Are you going to eat?” Vanessa asked. Her gentle tone matched a mother speaking to a child.
Mickey forced a smile and shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve had a hell of a week, but you really should eat,” Allison said.
Mickey picked up a taco, took one bite, and set it back down.
Allison chuckled and poured herself another margarita from the pitcher that sat on their table. She took a sip and set her glass down, her features turning serious. “Have you talked to Suzi?”
Mickey shook her head. She’d been too nervous to reach back out to her, fearing the rejection. Maybe she could have Graham call and tell Suzi he believed she wasn’t involved. But would it even matter? She was still the one who had brought Pete into their lives. Tears sprang to her eyes and she dabbed them away with her cheap cloth napkin.
Vanessa reached out and grabbed her hand. “Are you okay?”
She drew in a shuddering breath and sniffed back a sob. Falling apart in the middle of Fifth Avenue wasn’t an option. “I’m fine, just tired. I’m going to head back to the hotel.”
Allison and Vanessa wore matching expressions of concern. Mouths drawn down at the corners, eyebrows dipped together in the center. “We’ll go with you. Let me get the check,” Allison said.
“No, don’t do that. You two stay out and have fun. We’re only here for two nights.” Pushing her chair back from the table, she stood and put some money down. “I’ll get a good night’s sleep and be well rested in the morning.”
“Are you sure? Do you want us to at least walk you back to the hotel?” Vanessa asked.
Bound by Danger Page 15