behind him, he grabbed a file folder and handed it to Blaze, who nodded but didn’t open it. Michael indicated the other two agents in the room. “Osborne and Willis have their own copies.”
Emma guessed she and Blaze would go over the contents later. “Dietz’s backers are going to be ready for SHADO to make a move. I’m with you — don’t get me wrong — but I don’t see how this is going to work.”
Blaze disagreed. “Dietz’s accomplices will be prepared for surveillance and even an outright assault should we locate the weapon, but they don’t know we have a lead on their backers. These guys are rich fat cats, not warriors. They’re complacent, oversexed, and full of their own power. That’s what we’ll use to our advantage, combined with your skills in changing our appearance.”
“My illusions are designed to blend agents into the background,” she pointed out. “When we’re actually in the club mingling with these people, fading into the walls won’t exactly be our goal.”
“True, but that’s only part of the time. We’ll do some field surveillance as well, so your
Damn the man — the double entendre tightened her nipples and made her grow uncomfortably warm between her thighs. That he could affect her this way in a room full of her colleagues was as disturbing as it was arousing, and it left her scrambling for a response.
Michael saved her the trouble. “Let’s meet back here in twenty-four hours. Know the men in these files forward and backward, and we’ll plan the rest of our timeline from there.”
At the clear dismissal, Emma filed out after Willis and Ozzie, determined to catch her friend and give him hell for throwing her under the bus. Her plans were thwarted by her ex-lover, however, who gently grasped her arm.
“Hold up, tiger. We have a file to memorize, and I’m hungry. Let’s pick up some dinner and go back to my place — kill two birds, so to speak.”
Bracing herself mentally, she turned to face him and barely restrained a grimace at the sight of the small bandage gracing his temple that she’d ignored during their meeting. The patch of white gauze served as an unwelcome reminder of just how close he’d come to having his brains splattered all over the Tennessee countryside. She squirmed under his golden gaze, struggling to keep her composure.
“I don’t think going to your place is a good idea. We can grab something from the cafeteria here and study in my office.”
He made a face. “All night? Because that’s what we’re facing if we hope to have the info in that file down pat by tomorrow. No, I’d rather be home where we can get comfortable, or even at your place. Anywhere but here.”
Well, she didn’t really want to stay at the compound, either. It was putting herself in an intimate situation with her ex, which she had qualms about. Which was ridiculous now that she thought of it, since she was going to have to get real intimate with the man again, very soon.
“My house it is, then,” she said. Better the illusion of control, even if it was only that. She was damned good at illusion, after all.
“I’ll drive.” His grin sent a thrill up her spine.
“I’ve got my car.”
“I’ll bring you back tomorrow, honey. No worries.”
“Should you even be behind the wheel? I heard you’re still having headaches.”
“McKay says they’ll last a few days and then fade. Nothing I can’t handle.”
She sighed. Really, arguing with the man was like pulling hen’s teeth — impossible. “Fine.”
Irked, she did her best to ignore him as he followed her while she locked her office and classroom. But it didn’t work. His presence was like a beacon of light on a bug zapper, with herself starring as the bug. Why the hell couldn’t she stay away from something she
Shouldering her purse, she trailed him across the parking lot, unable to stop herself from sneaking peeks at his ass. And what a fine ass it was, high and tight, hugged to mouth-watering perfection in those jeans, the denim faded in all the right places. She remembered well the smooth tanned globes hidden underneath the material, the way they fit her palms just so as he drove himself—
“Emma?”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“Um, the car is unlocked, darlin’.”
So it was. Somehow they’d reached his vehicle, and he was smirking at her across the roof from the driver’s side, waiting for her to come back from dreamland. Her face heated, and she scowled. “I was just thinking about the assignment.”
“Uh-huh. I’ll bet,” he drawled.
Arg! Arrogant man. Not giving him the satisfaction of a reply, she slid into the passenger’s seat of the low- slung Viper. The second he joined her, she felt trapped, being shut into the small space with him, closer than she’d been in months. His spicy scent, his unique blend of light cologne and earthy male, filled her senses and caused a stab of longing. He’d been hers once, or at least she’d believed, and she’d lost him.
The pain never went away.
“You’re thinking too loud,” he said, driving through the gate with a wave to the guard on duty.
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“Care to share?”
She studied his handsome profile and reached out to finger a long, silky strand of dark hair. Time for a diversion. “About changing our appearances. We’re going to have to cut this.”
“What?” Shooting a look at her, he laughed. “No can do. You’re not getting near my head, or any other part of my body, with a pair of scissors.”
“Oh, don’t worry. If I haven’t sneaked up on you and chopped off something vital by now, I probably won’t,” she said dryly.
“Not taking any chances. You’ll have to come up with a different way to alter me — sorry. The hair is off- limits.”
She was kind of glad. She loved his hair long, not that she’d admit it now if the world was about to end. Which it might soon, if they failed in their mission.
“Okay. How about highlights, maybe to lighten the color and streak it with autumn tints. And blue contacts for your eyes.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I can pull rank on this one if you want to make it an issue,” she reminded him. “Disguises are my area of expertise, and I’m in charge.”
“So you are.” Those sexy lips quirked upward. “I do love a take-charge woman — in every way but one.”
Her libido did a happy dance without her permission. He infuriated and aroused her by turns, as no man ever had. “So I recall.” She hadn’t meant to snap, but dammit, he made her nuts.
“Do you?” His voice lowered, and he reached over, one of his big, calloused hands covering hers. His thumb stroked the soft skin on the back of her hand, the contact radiating pleasurable signals to the rest of her nerve endings. “Do you honestly remember how much I enjoyed taking you to your limits, how badly I craved finally pushing you beyond them?”
“Blaze, I don’t want to talk about this.” The statement would’ve been more convincing if her voice hadn’t quavered.
“Oh, I believe you do. You came to me that night to tell me you were ready to take the next steps, to give my world a try. You wanted it, wanted me.”
“That was before…” She couldn’t finish.
“Before you saw my cock sliding down Caitlin’s pretty throat?” he asked, voice husky with remembered pleasure. “Before you spied me helping Ryan master his eager sub, and enjoyed every second of it? Because I believe you
“You’re
