She rested against him and tried to focus, following the movement of his fingertip.
I’m sorry.
She turned and looked at him, lowering her lips to his earlobe, licking at it between all of that dangling metal. “You don’t have to be,” she whispered. “Stop worrying.” She nipped the edge of his ear and earned a deep grunt, feeling him throb beneath her.
“Harlot,” he sneered, and she got the sense that it was both Savis addressing his toy and Andethor joking around with her. A glance at his eyes reaffirmed that, a warmth there that she knew she’d see rarely when they were in public together here.
“I thought you liked harlots,” she pouted, and Andethor squeezed her hip.
“Oh, I do. We’ll see what a good harlot you are the next few days,” he said lazily, squeezing her hip more. She lowered her head again to the side of his neck. He’d also applied an almost overwhelming cologne, and she wished she could smell him instead. But she nuzzled him, trailing her lips down the side of his neck and felt him throb under her ass again.
Was it evil that she was enjoying this? Probably. She’d make it up to him later. Or they’d call it even for all the times she’d undoubtedly want to punch him in the nuts during this trip.
As she teased him, she watched the passing landscape. It looked like a huge resort. There was a large central building, which they passed on their way to their cabin. The main building was set along a long stretch of white-sanded beach. She could also see an enormous pool, several umbrellas and small canopies for people to rest under. There was, of course, a full bar right on the beach, and she could see servers carrying trays of food as well.
She was glad she’d packed that bikini, just in case. She imagined they’d spend a lot of time there if Andethor’s target ended up being a beach person.
When the transport stopped, Andethor stood, dragging her up with him, grunting as she brushed against his crotch in the process. He grabbed their bags and pulled her toward the nondescript light blue cabin. Same shape as the rest of the cabins on this thoroughfare, but each was a different color, A bright pink one and a deep green cabin flanked theirs, she noted, as Andethor used his comm to unlock the door. He pulled herinside and held a finger to his lips, a signal not to say anything yet. She nodded, and he took a small device out of his pocket, pressing it to the wall and tapping the screen a few times. It gave a soft beep, and he nodded in approval. Then he turned to her.
“Just in case the cabin was bugged. We can speak freely in here,” he said in his normal tone, and she nodded.
“Thank you. It’s exhausting pretending to be that ditzy,” she said, and he laughed.
“I’m… uh. I’m sorry. I can try to touch you in ways that won’t affect you…” she said, and he stepped toward her.
“Jules. Any way you touch me is going to get me worked up.” She looked up at him, and the heated look in his eyes ignited something deep in her belly.
“This might have been a bad idea. You need to be able to focus,” she said softly.
“I’ll live with it. At least I won’t have to pretend to be a lust-filled pervert. You’ve already got me there, without any acting at all.”
Something made her wrap her arms around him. Whether she needed the closeness or thought maybe he did, she couldn’t say.But the next thing she knew, she was pressed close, holding him tight, and then his arms were around her and he was bending his head, pressing his face against the side of her neck, breathing deeply.
They stayed like that for a little while, and, at least to her, it felt like a whole unspoken conversation passed between them.
It would be so damn easy to fall for him. So easy to lose herself in the way he made her feel. Now that she’d seen him, the real him, the spymaster with the quick mind and deep sense of responsibility… yeah.
They’d both misjudged how complicated this little trip would be.
They’d deal with it. If there was one thing that was crystal clear now, it was that they’d both done difficult things in their professional lives. This was just one more.
He took a deep breath and finally, slowly pulled away. She got the feeling he didn’t really want to, and they were in agreement on that. But, at the same time, she was relieved. The longer she stayed held that way by him, the more she knew she’d be thinking about how good it felt.
Andethor straightened and looked at her. “Okay. Thank you for that,” he said quietly, and she nodded. “We’ll put in an appearance at the resort center first. There’s a bar there. Dance floor. Exotic dancers. Lots of gambling and expensive food and drinks. It’s the most likely spot to run into him.”
She nodded. “Should I change or is this okay?”
His gaze darted down to her body and he groaned. “More than okay, Jules. You’re perfect. I’m going to have to do my best not to fight everyone who looks at you.”
She laughed. “You’re doing an awful lot of looking,” she teased.
He met her gaze again. “I am. I shouldn’t do that unless I’m in character. I’m sorry.”
Why in the hell couldn’t he be a jerk? Every sincere, caring word only made that shield of ice she’d spent so long building around her feelings crack a little more.
“You’re forgiven. Let’s see if we can find your guy,” she said, and he nodded, and adopted Savis’s slouchy, careless posture and held his arm out for her. She took it, hoping, and also not hoping, that they’d find him easily.
Chapter Seven