“So if none of this had ever happened, if you hadn’t come back here for the pictures, then you would have spent the night with me?”
Her lips parted seductively and her eyes clouded with lust. She nodded, whispering, “Absolutely.”
It was what he wanted to hear.
“We’ll have to talk to the FBI in the morning. They need to know what Tracy said about the boy. Will she come with us?”
“Shouldn’t we go get her and call them now?”
This was important, but no one could have predicted what was going to happen here tonight, with Gina, with her sister.
“Since Dupree doesn’t expect the photos until tomorrow, I don’t think this merits getting Agent Kelly out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said.
“So we have several hours until daylight. What do you suppose we should do with them?” Mason mused, his fingers trailing lightly up and down her bare arm.
Gina’s eyes went wide, and he smiled, watching her cheeks turn pink. “You still…you want to be with me?” she asked, as if the idea was incomprehensible.
To Mason, it was incomprehensible
not
to be with her. There was something happening here, something he hadn’t experienced with any other woman. It was too early to tell what it was, but he was a man who trusted his gut. His instincts were telling him Gina was special.
“Absolutely.”
He reached up to trace his fingers over the curve of her cheek, rubbing his thumb along her jaw. The pulse that suddenly raced at the base of her throat captured him. He bent to kiss the spot, smiling against her skin when she sighed. Her hand closed around his elbow as if to steady herself.
“I…I’d like that,” she said. “There’s no sense in dragging Tracy out of bed in the middle of the night,
either, when we can’t do anything until morning anyway. She’s panicked enough.”
“Exactly,” he said, moving in for a kiss, finding himself intrigued with her eyes and lips, exploring her features. Now that the masks were off, he could enjoy her completely, with no secrets between them. “I’ve been thinking about this all day. What I wanted to do to you, how I wanted to touch you, taste you,” he whispered against her ear.
“You were on my mind, too,” she confessed, their eyes meeting as he lowered to his knees before her, her hands on his shoulders as she watched him curiously. “I could barely work. All I kept thinking about was…oh,” she said, sucking in a breath as he pushed the bottom of the dress upward.
His hands fisted into the material as he kissed her through the scrap of lace that covered her. Pressing his mouth against her intimately, she cried out sweetly, opening to his kiss, the musky, honeyed scent of her arousal surrounding him.
After a few more moments of teasing her, tempting her to the edge, he looked up, delighted to see her dark brown eyes watching him.
“I could do a much more thorough job of this upstairs, on the bed.”
“That would be nice,” she said, catching her lip in her teeth in a way that made his blood race straight to his crotch.
“But this time, I think we’ll skip the bondage, if
that’s okay with you,” he joked, smiling even wider when the pink in her cheeks deepened.
Rising, he held out his hand to her, and she wordlessly wrapped her fingers around his as they walked back up the stairs.
G
INA TOOK HER TIME WASHING
in Mason’s shower the next morning. It was still very early, just after dawn, soft light just peeking through the crescent window over the shower.
His bathroom was heaven, especially compared to the small, utilitarian one she had at home. Several jets of water sprayed out from various, strategically placed levels of the beautifully tiled wall, washing gentle, warm water over her sensitized skin.
There was more than enough room for two in this huge shower, a hot tub on the other side of the room and music that emanated from speakers hidden where she couldn’t see them. The bathroom smelled like him, his cologne, his soap, and she found herself becoming aroused again, just inhaling. She wished he was here, and thought about how he’d press her up against the cool tile with his hot body…
She took a breath, fanning her face and turning off the water.
How could she want him again, so much, so soon? They’d barely slept, but she didn’t feel tired.
They’d done…everything. At least, everything she thought two people could reasonably do in one night. Each time, the passion exploded between them. Her
body was obviously capable of so much more than she had previously guessed. It was a nice discovery to make.
At least with Mason. He seemed to know how to unlock her inhibitions, to open her up and make her respond like she hadn’t even done in her fantasies.
What would happen now that this night was over? Mason obviously was a talented lover who had shown her things about sex, about herself, that she had never imagined. But what now?
He was gone when she’d awakened, disappointingly. He left a note, a pot of warmed coffee and some pastries. He was out for his morning run, didn’t want to disturb her, and would make phone calls to set up the FBI meeting when he got back. All of that left in clear, strong, male script.
Hardly the kind of note she would have expected to be left by a man who had made love to her for the last six hours.
Grabbing thick towels from the warmer, she stepped out and was glad she at least had a change of clothes, using the contents of the bag she’d brought along after all.
Pulling on a pair of capris and a light sweater-tank, she slipped into sandals and finger-combed her hair, all it ever needed. Her one really positive asset was thick, easy hair. The humidity brought out the curls. When everything else in life was so complicated, she was thankful for wash-and-go hair.
A knock on the door made her start. She opened it,
to find Mason standing before her, looking wonderful and very serious.
“Morning, beautiful,” he said, dipping in for a quick kiss. “I talked with Agent Kelly. He wants us down there pronto. They were going to send some guys, but I told him that would just freak your sister out. Instead, we’ll go over to your place and get her, and head to Tampa to see the feds.”
Gina nodded, feeling awkward. She’d never had a morning after like this one. Probably the best thing was to focus on the situation at hand, like Mason was. There would be time to think through the rest later, when she was alone.
Alone.
The thought left a hollow feeling in her chest, and she knew already her body would be protesting. It wanted more of Mason.
She
wanted more of Mason. But he was already turning away, answering the ring on the cell phone he pulled from his pocket.
Stuffing her doubts and self-recriminations down, she quickly packed her things and followed him out, finding her own phone and dialing the house. She had to get Tracy and settle this business about Dupree. There would be more than enough time for her to sort through her worries and regrets later.
T
RACY HADN’T ANSWERED
her phone, and Gina’s had been dead from the night before. Luckily, Mason didn’t mind her using his, but Tracy might not pick up calls from his phone, Gina reasoned. It was about the worst time possible for her stupid phone to have run out of juice, but Gina tried not to worry. Tracy was probably still asleep. When her sister passed out, an earthquake couldn’t move her.
They took Mason’s SUV, and rode in tense silence while she repeated her call. Very little was said about the previous night, the intimacy she’d shared with him evaporating in the daylight. What did she expect?
Their original deal was one night, one night to explore their fantasies, and that night was over. He’d moved on, and she had to, as well. They both had more important things to think about.
When they pulled up to the condo, Gina felt somewhat relieved, wanting to get Tracy and get downtown to talk with the FBI as soon as possible. Hopefully they could arrest Dupree on Tracy’s testimony and that would be that.
But when she reached the door, she saw it partly opened, and her hands turned ice-cold in spite of the morning heat.
“Oh, no,” she whispered under her breath.
“What’s wrong?” Mason asked from behind, making her jump out of her skin, and it took him only a moment to see what had her standing still and stunned. Her home was wrecked. Everything was trashed, slashed open, ripped apart.
Finally, she found her voice and yelled for Tracy, but felt herself pulled backward by Mason.
“No, stop, she’s not here. We have to go, and we’ll call this in,” he said, pulling her toward the car, but Gina broke free.
“She could be in there, she could need help,” she said, running back toward the house and inside.
She went directly upstairs, and found only the same, complete wreckage, but no sign of Tracy.
“Gina, where are you?” she heard Mason shout, and he sounded wrong, somehow. She went to the stairs, and peered down.
“She’s not here, Mason, I don’t know what—” But Mason was running up the stairs, his phone in his hand, and he didn’t stop to listen, but took her and hustled her into another room, closing the door.
“What are you doing? What’s going on?”
Mason looked at her, his face dead serious. “I think Dupree’s men are out front. They must have been waiting for someone to show. I called 911 and Kelly, but
we have to try to protect ourselves until help comes,” he said as he pushed her mother’s very heavy antique colonial dresser in front of the door.
She heard a car door close, and ran to the window, watching two large men cross the street. One pulled a gun from his jacket as he got closer to the house.
“Oh, no. What could have happened to Tracy?” she said, but turned, jumping to help Mason push her bed over to the door, as well.
“This won’t hold them for long, but hopefully enough to keep us alive until help gets here,” Mason said, opening the closet. “Now you, in here.”
Gina looked at him, frowning. “What? Why would I go in the closet?”
“If they find me in here, I can tell them I sent you out the window or something…buy you some time.”
“No! I won’t do that, you come in here with me, or neither of us hides,” she said adamantly.
“Gina, please,” he started, but she interrupted, her blood running colder as she heard footsteps on the first floor.
“No.” She turned, and reached behind her desk to grab a heavy brass candlestick.
Mason shook his head, whispering, clearly agitated. “That’s not going to do much against a guy with a gun.”
“It might if he’s not expecting it. Guys with guns don’t usually expect people to fight back. They expect them to cower in closets,” she whispered back.
Mason conceded the point and pulled her with him,
to one side of the door. A good spot to hit someone if they pushed their way through.
The steps came closer, and Gina tried to breathe normally, though her legs were shaking so hard she could barely stand. Where was Tracy? What had happened? Why didn’t Dupree wait until today to get the pictures? A million questions crowded her mind.
The doorknob shook, and someone on the other side pushed hard on the door. She and Mason both jumped as a bullet zipped through the door, stopped by the furniture it encountered on the other side.
“I’ll move into sight to distract him, you get him with that,” Mason whispered, and while she didn’t like it, it was the only plan they had. She nodded.
Then, the screeching of brakes out front distracted them and led to the sound of footsteps pounding back down the hall.
“What’s happening?” Gina said, starting toward the window, but Mason pulled her back and slid to the floor.
“Cavalry, I hope, but we’re staying put.”
Shouts were followed by more popping sounds, and then sirens in the background. When the glass on the far side of the room was broken with a gunshot, Gina couldn’t hold back a small scream, and Mason pulled her next to him, tight and close.
Then it all stopped.
Minutes later, more footsteps thundered up the stairs and fists pounded at the door.
“FBI, come out. Mason, Ms. Thomas…if you are
here, if you need help, please shout to let us know where you are.”
“We’re here,” Mason shouted. “Agent Kelly, we’re in here,” he said, starting to push the furniture away from the door.
Gina looked out, letting Mason pull her through the small space he’d opened, and she found herself face-to-face with several intimidating-looking men, all holding guns. Movement swarmed below, on the first floor, her home taken over by chaos.
She felt herself herded forward, hurried along. The man Mason addressed as Agent Kelly moved quickly, looking them both in the eye. “Come on—we have to get you both somewhere safe. Now.”
“Y
OU
OKAY
?” M
ASON LEANED IN
and whispered as they were hustled off into a car that whisked them north.
Lulled by the motion of the car and exhausted by events, Gina had curled into the solid warmth of Mason’s body and was dozing off. Dreams of his smoldering eyes as he’d watched her when she’d tied him up on the bed followed her into her sleep. Those were followed by dark images that chased them, and she jerked forward with an exclamation of fright as the car came to a stop.
“Hey, it’s all right. You’re okay.” Mason’s voice was comforting as she reoriented herself and saw that they were at an intersection in the small town of Dunedin. Wherever they were going, they had taken
a circuitous route along the coastal towns, rather than going up the highways.
She’d been dozing for a while, amazingly, and shook the sleepy fog from her mind.
“Sorry, I can’t believe I passed out like that,” she said, and in spite of the circumstances, her heart warmed when he brushed a gentle kiss over her temple.
“You needed the rest.”
He was so handsome. She even liked the small lines around the corners of his green eyes that crinkled when he smiled or was focusing intently. His face had character, as well as sheer beauty, the result of many smiles, laughter, passion. He was solid as a rock. That morning, she’d felt as if he was walking away from her, but the instant she’d needed him, he was right there.
And she was going to be locked away with him in some secret FBI safe house. She had wished their time together wouldn’t be over, but this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.
They hadn’t been given all of the details, but it was clear something had gone terribly wrong, and they were in more danger than they thought. The events of the morning came back to her with a shudder and his arm tightened around her.
“Any news about Tracy?” she asked.
Mason shook his head, his lips flattening into a grim line.
They drove farther up the coast and finally crossed the town line into the small village of Tarpon Springs,
where Gina vaguely remembered coming once as a child for dinner with their parents. Normally, she traveled between Tampa, Orlando and Miami for her work, visiting mostly city restaurants, although she sometimes took in the occasional rural venue.
All she knew about this town was that it was home to the largest Greek-American population in the U.S., and that ocean sponges, the natural sponges found in spas and specialty stores, were the main source for the town’s fishing and tourism industry. Other than that, as she looked around at the small town square they drove past, she didn’t know much about the area at all.
“We’re almost there,” Kelly said. “You lucked out. This is one of our nicer places. Some of the safe houses can be real dives.”
“Don’t the other agents know where all the safe houses are? I heard someone mention something about a leak?” Mason asked.
Kelly looked at him, giving nothing away. “Some do, some don’t. We change the locations, and there are a lot of them. I’m the only one who knows about this assignment. Still, it will pay to be ultracautious. Use your fake IDs, and if anything seems odd, even if you feel like it’s stupid, even if you think you’re just being paranoid, call me from the house phone. No cell phones.”
The small street they drove down really was kind of charming. Older, single-family houses mixed in with subdivisions and town houses, many with cheerfully painted stucco exteriors in soft yellows, whites and oranges.
As they drove a bit farther, the houses were more sparsely distributed and finally they pulled into the driveway of a white cottage on the water. Gina started to get out of the car, anxious to get on with things, but Kelly stopped her.
“Wait here.”
He got out, jacket and tie removed, and looked around, stretching as if he’d just recovered from a long drive, surreptitiously scoping the place out. There was nowhere for anyone to hide. Some lush, leafy plants grew around the sides of the house and down the back, but the front was open on all three sides. So they could see someone coming, she realized with a chill.
Going up the front steps and into the house, he reached for his gun before entering, which swamped the bit of optimism she’d felt when she saw the house. A few minutes later, he came to the front, smiling and waving, calling cheerfully, “You guys coming in or what?”
Mason smiled at her. “I guess that’s our cue.”
Gina slipped out of the car, walking beside Mason, whose hand settled protectively at the small of her back, steadying her. She stopped in place, looking at him.
“I don’t have any clothes. This is all I have,” she said, looking down at her outfit, the pocket on her pants ripped where she had caught it when they were pushing furniture up against her bedroom door.
Mason urged her to walk along with him again. “We have the credit card they gave us. We can buy some
clothes, whatever we need, within reason, Agent Kelly said. We’re vacationers renting the cottage for a week or two, if anyone asks,
Annette,
” he said with a wink, using the fake name they’d assigned her. “Though as far as I’m concerned, we don’t have to worry about clothes too much.”
She couldn’t repress a shiver of response to the sexy timbre of his voice.
“This isn’t a date. We’re here because someone might try to kill us,
Roger
,” she said, using his pretend name. Gina had started out pretending to be a cabaret singer just to find her way into Mason’s home, and now she was living a whole pretend life.
Then cold panic gripped her again, and she just stood in the middle of the lawn. “No,” she said suddenly, shaking his arm off. “I can’t do this. I can’t just hide here while Tracy is out there, and who knows what happened.”
“Gina, we have no choice. We can’t help Tracy now, but these men can. We have to believe she’s okay—she wasn’t at the house, and that’s a good sign. You can do this. I’m here, too. I won’t let you deal with this alone,” Mason promised, peering down into her eyes. He was making all kinds of promises she wanted to believe, but it was just the circumstances, she knew. Even so, she found herself very much wanting to believe him on another level.
“Okay, okay. Sorry.”
“No need for that, but let’s get inside.”
In spite of the fear and worry about Tracy, she couldn’t help but look forward to playing make-believe with Mason for a little while longer.
“T
HIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN
I expected,” Gina said, looking around the cozy, beautifully decorated rooms after the agents had made their exit.
Mason agreed. He’d feared that they’d be holed up in some smarmy hotel room with a couple of FBI agents, but apparently that only happened on television.
They were here alone; no need for agents on premises. Their situation wasn’t considered that dire. No one knew where they were.
“It is nice. Not home, but nice.”
Mason tried to stay upbeat, knowing Gina was worried about her sister, and with good reason. All they could do was sit tight until they got word. Mason didn’t like being cut off from his life, things out of his control, but he liked the idea of being dead even less.
It was still pretty surreal to be here under federal protection. Alone with Gina, with no work and nothing to do but spend time with her. It was a difficult time, but it was also a second chance, in a way.
The reality of that morning had hit him on the drive, as she’d been peacefully dozing on his shoulder. They both could have died.
Mason had never been shot at before, and it brought everything into sharp relief. He always thought he had
enough time to do everything in life that he wanted to. Didn’t everyone?
When the bullets had been coming through the doors and the windows, all of the things he still wanted and had been putting off came into focus. Someone to love, a home, children.
For the moment, he wanted to provide comfort and try to make this as easy for Gina as he could. The myriad ways he could take her mind off her troubles were tempting, and he stifled the thoughts temporarily.
She stood by a paned-glass window, a tall potted palm at her side putting her in shadows while the sun shone brightly outside. “I wonder where she is,” was all she said, still staring out the window. “They have to find her.”
Walking up behind, he pulled her back against him, linking his arms around her waist. “You can’t drive yourself crazy. Kelly assured us that he would let us know what happens, especially if they found Tracy. Until then, all we can do is wait.”