The King, page 15
I swallowed hard. "I’m lucky too. After all, he chose me, didn't he?"
"What that means is that he's smart."
“I suppose that's true."
“Do you think being open is a mistake?"
“I think whatever works for the parties involved is what's important. And good communication." This conversation was making me more and more uncomfortable.
“Do you think you would ever consider being open?"
The moment he asked that question, Lock's growl was audible through the balcony door. "No, she wouldn't. If you don't mind, Massimo, I’d like your hands off my fucking wife." His voice was all gravel, and there was a hint of ice in it that sent a shiver down my spine.
I purposefully turned with a smile. "Oh, sweetheart, there you are. Massimo was just asking me questions about—"
“I know what he's fucking asking about. I can hear. He was putting moves on my wife."
I gave him a tremulous smile. “It's not like that. Tell him, Massimo."
Massimo gave me a sheepish smile. "He wouldn't be entirely incorrect. Graciella and I, we're looking for a third."
I swallowed hard. I knew what he was doing, but I deliberately shifted my stance and stepped out of his hold.
Lock took my hand and tucked me into his side harshly. His hand wrapped around my waist and hip, his fingers imprinting on my flesh. "Mine."
Massimo's brows lifted. "Oh, I didn't know it was like that. Possessive. If you hold on too tight to your toys, sometimes you break them."
"Let me be clear. I will break anyone who touches what’s mine.” He glowered down at me. “Looks like you need to be reminded who you belong with.”
Massimo gave him an angled nod. “If you two will excuse me, I need to get back to my guests. Enjoy the view. Join us when you're able."
Lock snatched my hand in his and pulled me toward the stairs that led down to the beach. "We’re taking a walk."
He looked angry. Genuinely ticked off. But we’d been following the script.
"Lock? What's wrong?"
“You mean besides Massimo's hands all over my wife?"
I frowned at his tone. Something was going on. "There's no reason to be jealous. You're the only one. Only you can make me feel the way you do."
When we were down the stairs, we paused and he led me toward the gazebo. He pulled me in close, his lips hovering close to my ear. “I don't know how much of this place is bugged, but I just heard from Saint. Massimo's men are in our villa now. They're bugging it.”
My breath whooshed out, and for a second I forgot to breathe. The burn in my lungs forced me to inhale sharply. Fuck.
"He clearly wants you."
"That's not on the menu."
He snorted. “Yeah, well, I think I made it perfectly clear you're not down for that."
"Shit. Did Saint say why they think he's bugging us?"
He shook his head. “He slipped me a note that we should go to Royal Elite."
"Why?"
"I’m not sure. The queen's here with Ariel. Maybe it’s to get us out?”
"Okay, I suppose we'll go with them."
“I think that's the plan. Are you okay? He had his hands all over you."
I nodded. “I'm fine."
He pulled back and his gaze searched mine. “Graciella left you with him?"
“Yes. She found me after I’d bugged the library and bedroom.”
“Do you think she knows what he’s up to?”
“I have no idea,” I muttered. “But remember, we know very little about Massimo. He's a blank slate. The real question is if we can get any decent intel on his family. So don't worry about Massimo. We can handle him. You and I, we're a team, right?"
His gaze fell to my lips and he nodded. “Yeah. We’d better get back before I do something reckless."
17
Lachlan
I had no idea how in the world we were going to leave with the queen. But it seemed she and Ariel had a plan of their own.
Over the course of the last hour, the queen had been getting steadily and steadily louder. And finally, at one point, she and Ariel stumbled into each other. Then the queen murmured to Ariel that she'd had too much to drink. Ariel countered with she was the one who'd had too much to drink. Then they started to squabble.
If we weren’t in real danger, I would have found this hilarious.
The queen looked regal and normal all at the same time with her dark skin, updo and mermaid style dress.
Since Massimo hadn't allowed any cameras in the party, there was no danger that there would be some tabloid report about the queen's behavior. I recognized that they were playing their roles well. Ariel turned and leaned on Saff then. "Can you take me home? Some best friend she is."
My eyes went wide, because just as she leaned into Saff, Penny shoved her. Ariel turned as if to shove the queen, and then a hulking brood of a man came out of nowhere. "Princess Ariel, it's time to go."
She shook her head. “I'm not going."
Penny just laughed. “You're being escorted out."
Ariel shrieked. “You're the one who's being escorted out."
And suddenly, another hulking man came forward. "Ladies, time to go. The king calls."
Ariel shook her head. “I'm not going anywhere without my new best friend."
Saff's eyes went wide when Ariel's arm wrapped around her waist and dug in. "Oh, um…"
Massimo looked irritated. Graciella's face, while attempting to remain neutral, held sort of a secret smile as if this was something she wanted. Massimo tried to call one of his men forward. "They'll escort you, make sure that you get back safely, Your Highness."
Penny shook her head. “I have my own men. I'm also making sure she gets home safely."
Ariel snorted. “I'm not going. Not without my new bestie."
The more Massimo's men tried to advance, the louder Ariel got. And finally, Penny just shoved her, making Ariel stumble two feet, almost taking Saff with her. Saff saved them both. "Okay, we'll make this easy. I'll come and make sure you both get home safe and sound."
Ariel grinned at her. "See? I knew we were going to be besties."
“I'm already your bestie," muttered Penny.
They were doing their drunken best friends out on the town act so well. I would have almost believed that they were two girls in their twenties who'd had way too much to drink at a party.
When we were outside, Graciella stopped me just outside the door. "We’d love to take you to lunch since you won't be able to stay for the rest of the party."
“Yeah, I think you have Saff's number. Just give her a call and we'll arrange it."
She nodded. "And please, tell her I’m sorry if Massimo made her uncomfortable on the balcony. Sometimes he gets ideas in his head, and she didn't do anything wrong."
“Give her a call. Arrange that lunch." And then I followed my wife and her new best friend to the waiting car.
Once we were in the limo with the privacy partition up, Ariel and Penny high-fived. "Oh God, it's been a minute since we've done the drunken-girl-fight thing," Ariel said, laughing.
Penny giggled. “In case you haven't noticed, we've done this before."
Saff just laughed. “For a moment there, I almost believed you two were having a legitimate squabble."
Ariel snorted. "She's so bossy, right? I should get a new best friend."
Penny just laughed. “Good luck. You're stuck with me. Besides, we're also sort of family now, so you know how that goes."
Ariel rolled her eyes. "Can't get rid of family, can you?"
Penny shook her head. "Nope. Might as well get used to me."
When` we arrived at Royal Elite, we all jumped out of the car and followed Ariel into her office, the heels of the women making soft clicking noises on the marble as we walked.
"So what are we going to do about our villa?" I asked.
Ariel was already calling Gabe when we all filed in. Gabe's terse one-word answer let us know he was on the phone. "Webb."
“Gabe, it's Ariel Winston. I've got the queen with me and your agents. We notified you earlier that the villa has been compromised. How do you want your agents to proceed?"
Gabe's voice was tense. “Is my sister there?"
Saff answered, “Yeah, I’m fine. Massimo tried to recruit Lock and I into some kind of poly situation, but Lock shut him down pretty hard."
I could almost hear Gabe choking on the phone. "King, I owe you."
"Trust me, it wasn't hard to decline."
“You're being watched now, so you'll have to be extra careful inside the house. We can't dismantle the bugs they planted without alerting them, so you’ll have to follow strict protocol."
“Yup, we're on it."
“Your devices should still be safe, but let's save any phone calls back to base unless absolutely urgent.”
Penny added, “I'm going to make a big deal about an apology to Graciella and Massimo too. Maybe invite Graciella to lunch as well."
Gabe's voice was terse. “Your assistance is greatly appreciated, Your Majesty."
"Please, it feels good being back in the field." She did look like she was happy, despite being in the presence of a man with potential ties to weapons manufacturing.
“Gabe, can Lock and I speak to you privately for a second?" Saff asked.
Ariel and Penny excused themselves. Saint tried to stick around, but Ariel tugged him along. "Something tells me, she doesn't want you there."
Saint frowned but complied the moment Saff gave him a sheepish smile. When it was just the two of us and Webb, she muttered, "What do you want me to do? They bugged us, so that means that they're going to expect something."
“Yeah, about that. You're not a honey agent, I know."
I frowned. "What's a honey agent?"
She flicked me a glance. "Uh, a honey agent is, you know, a honey trap. Agents trained to use every tool in their arsenal?"
I frowned at that. “You would let your sister be a honey agent?"
Gabe cursed low. "Of course not. And trust me, having this conversation is uncomfortable enough, King. But you two are going to have to put on a convincing enough show."
"Show?" Saff's voice squeaked out. "What do you mean by show?"
“Massimo is listening in, and he just attempted to proposition you. I have confirmation that the bugs are audio and visual, so you will need to play the part. Obviously, King, keep your fucking hands off my sister, but make it look real, yeah? Unless it's a fucking problem."
My gaze locked on Saff's. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. “I'm going to defer to my partner and team lead in this situation, sir."
There was a long pause, and then Gabe exhaled slowly. “Good answer."
Saff cleared her throat. "Right. Um, I guess we'll figure something out."
Gabe's voice was low. "Saff, you don't have to do this."
"What else are we going to do, Gabe? Massimo was never supposed to bug us. If he's in our villa, it means he doesn't believe us. Which means we have a problem. How are we supposed to surveil him and get the intel we need if he suspects us?"
Something occurred to me. "What if it's not about suspicion? Maybe he's trying to get in Saff's knickers and this is more about his obsession than our cover being blown."
Gabe was silent for a moment and then said, "That's a good point. This could have nothing to do with your agent status at all. It could have to do with you, Saff."
“I spent my whole life with men ignoring me, and suddenly a potential arms dealer wants to stalk me? That's a lot."
When Gabe hung up and I was left alone with Saff, I swallowed hard. My fingers were already tingling with the anticipation of touching her. "We don't have to do this. We can fake it."
She folded her arms. "How are we going to fake it? We don't know where the cameras are."
"Look, it just has to look real enough in some random cameras right? It's highly unlikely he's got night vision in there. I get you upstairs and we put on a good show, no big deal. Get you on the bed, and we just—" What the fuck was I saying? I cleared my throat. “Fake it. We don't have to actually, um, have sex."
Her eyes went wide. "Jesus fucking Christ, things were not supposed to go like this." She started pacing back and forth.
“It's fine, Saff." I strolled to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “You trust me, right? You wouldn't have agreed to come on this mission if you didn't trust me in the field."
Her gaze lifted and met mine directly. “Yes, I trust you. You're my partner. But Lock, from the moment we step back in that villa, it has to look real. If that matters to you too, are you going to be okay to pull this off?"
She had no idea I’d been fantasizing about what she would feel like for weeks. And now I had to go and live out my fantasies. But only to a point, and fake it. Yeah, easy. “You're my partner and I want you to trust me."
She nodded, her gaze never straining from mine. “I do trust you. We're in this together, and we can do this. I also think you're right. I don't think this is about us as agents. The stuff he was saying out in the balcony makes me think it’s more about wanting me to be some kind of third in a poly situation than anything else."
“I think so too. Also, I think Graciella was hinting that she was going to call you and apologize. I think she knows something is not right."
She shook her head. "We're just going to go in and play the part. I'm sure you've hooked up in a million bars and clubs and with all kinds of women, right? We can do this."
"This is different. We're a team, and this is awkward."
She gave me her determined smile. I'd seen it before when she was about to do something she didn’t want to do. "We can do this. We're adults."
“It's just for show. If you don’t want to do this, we won’t. You’re my partner. I only care about your safety.”
She put her hand over my heart, and I knew she could feel it trying to jump out of my chest.
With her eyes locked on mine, I watched hungrily as she licked her bottom lip. “I want to.”
Her voice was a low whisper that went straight to my cock, “Fuck.” My brain offered up all the ways I could consume her. My throat constricted as I asked, “Anything off limits? Something you don’t like?” We wouldn’t be able to ask real questions once we were inside the villa.
Her eyes went wide. “No. I guess I’m pretty vanilla.”
“Nothing about you is vanilla. Just touching you is hot to me.”
She swallowed. “This is only the one time.”
I knew what she meant. Didn’t mean I had to like it. “Guess I better make it count then.”
18
Lachlan
I wanted her.
From the moment I’d seen her outside the cottage in the dark, I'd wanted her. From every moment we fought, to hearing her laugh, or seeing her smile when I actually got something right in training, I'd wanted her. Everything about her determination and grit, and God, that fucking smile. The way she just turned it on me and something deep inside would ache, as if I knew that smile. As if it called to me. I wanted her. But could we do this?
If you’re smart, you’ll take her any way you can get her.
When we were back in the real world, there would be rules that said I couldn’t touch her. I was only getting one shot at this. One chance to make her mine, even if it was only for the moment.
We approached the door, and I lay my hand on her lower back. She turned to me with derision. “I don't know what your problem is, Lock, I didn't agree to anything."
Confused I searched her gaze. She lifted a brow as if trying to get me to catch on. Oh, we were starting.
“I saw how you were looking at him."
“I wasn't looking at him in any way. He was looking at me. Jesus Christ, I was minding my business. It's not my fault that he made an indecent proposal. How are you blaming that on me?"
“You are my wife. Mine." I ground out. “My pussy.” I palmed her arse and pulled her to me. “My arse.”
Her laugh was melodic and quick. God, I love that laugh. “You are out of your mind if you think that I’m going to let that fly. Let's be really clear; I need someone who's confident. You know how I feel about you. I fucking want you."
To hear her utter those words was like a shot to the solar plexus. I knew it wasn't real, but God, to hear her say them. “If you love me, what the fuck were you doing with him on the balcony?"
She stepped past me and used our key to open the door.
Now it was real. There was no backing out of this.
“Graciella brought me there. I'd gone to the loo, and when I found her in the hallway, we got to talking, then she invited me out on the balcony. I didn't have anything to do with it. I didn't know he was going to be there."
“Don’t you lie to me." I forced my voice to an even lower register.
Right in the doorway, she turned in my arms and planted a hand on my chest. “I only want you."
"Someone needs a reminder of who they belong to."
"Oh, yeah? Are you going to remind me?"
She tried to shove away from me, and I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Are you sure about that? Maybe it's him you want."
“You wanker." She shoved at my chest hard. She didn't budge me, because she wasn't using force as much as she would have if she was actually pissed, but if she had, I would have moved a step or two. “This has nothing to do with me. They have some weird kink going on, and it's none of my business. Good for them though, because I have the man I want."
“Do you?"
"Maybe if you would spend more time fucking me instead of worrying about who else wants to fuck me, I wouldn't be entertaining other offers."
I grabbed her then. My hands twitched as she trailed a hand on my chest. “You are playing with fire."
She shrugged. "Am I? I'm dying to see that fire in you."
Her brows lifted ever so slightly, and she was telling me she'd ratchet it up. Fucking hell. With a strong grip on her upper arms, I pushed her ever so slightly into the villa and I used my foot the kick the door shut. “You're spoiling for a fight.”
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