“I changed my mind,” he growled, breathing hard and fast, his strokes uneven as he slammed into her ass. “When we get back, you’re going to strip, get on your knees, and beg me to put a clamp on your clit.”
Nikolett came, screaming into the duvet as Eric came inside her.
Half an hour later, she was dressed, shoes on, cane in hand, as the whole team stood around the map going over the plan again. Her body ached from hours of use, her mind desperate for this to be over. She should probably be scared, or at the very least, wary. Instead, she just wanted this to be over so she could have sex with Eric again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The first time he passed her, Nikolett blushed.
Eric was breathing hard in the cold morning air, Regina running at his side. They’d left before her and been running for fifteen minutes, looping around the same path Nikolett would take.
She’d just stepped out onto the sidewalk, Maxim and Iacob at her sides, as he jogged past the front of the hotel. Their gazes met for only a moment, but he saw her cheeks pinken and grinned.
“Stop smiling while running,” Regina told him. “It’s odd.”
He sped up, wanting to hurry and see her again.
The route took them not only past the hotel but also past the building the Spaniard would be breaking into if he took the job. The office was in an ugly modern building on a corner, surrounded by classically Parisian architecture that made it noticeable for how ugly it was. The concrete core in the center of the building made for a perfect secure server room, and that’s where the Spaniard would have to go.
The jog didn’t take them past the front door, but instead, they ran along one side of the building, turned and ran along the back, before continuing several blocks east, then turning right.
Eric’s pace slowed as they hit the corner and started running along the back of the building. Something here didn’t feel right. He’d noticed it on their first loop too. It might just be the jarring ugliness of the building itself, but more likely it was the fact that the fat solid block of the building cast dark shadows. The switch from early morning light to heavy cold shadow was disquieting.
Eric scanned the back of the building then glanced across the street. Directly across were residential buildings, the shades still mostly drawn. The rest of this block not occupied with the ugly building was small neighborhood shops. The only one open this early was a café. They jogged out of the shadows, approaching the café.
On their first pass, there had been a line of people waiting for coffee and a pastry. This time, the line was gone, making it easier to see the lone man sitting at one of the two bistro tables set on the sidewalk and tucked up against the café’s window.
He was a construction worker, body thick with insulated work wear to ward off the morning chill. He wore a high-vis jacket and white hard hat. The man’s back was to them, and as Eric jogged past, the worker pulled the bottom half of his balaclava-style helmet liner up over his face.
Eric met the man’s gaze for just a moment, and an odd sense of recognition passed over him, time itself almost slowing.
“Watch out,” Regina said.
Eric turned to face front, since running while looking back was hardly a good idea. He veered to avoid a planter.
Did he know that man?
It was probably one of the French security officers. Still, he didn’t remember that café being one of their designated security points, or a construction worker being one of the team’s undercover identities. As he and Regina hit their next turn, Eric slowed again, looking back.
The man was watching him.
Scope sense. Eric rolled his shoulders to shake off the feeling. He nodded at the security officer. Slowly, the man inclined his head.
Eric hesitated on the corner, now jogging in place as he tried to identify the man. He’d seen enough of his face to know it wasn’t Idir. Hughes was positioned on a roof, he remembered that much. Maybe it was Remi, one of thechevalierwho’d been with Nikolett in that courtyard.
Regina had stopped with him, also jogging in place, but she was looking forward rather than back the way they’d come.
“There she is,” Regina murmured.
Eric jerked his attention away from the man. Several blocks down, he spotted not Nikolett but Iacob and Maxim, who were noticeable in their all-black suits. They stood out because they looked like bodyguards rather than men who’d chosen a sleek monochromatic look.
Eric shook off the odd feeling of recognition and started running again, needing to see her.
Nikolett walked between her guards, wearing the same loose pants and oversized sweater she’d been wearing when he woke up from his ill-timed nap yesterday. Given it was cold out, she also had on a scarf and gloves. She walked slowly, using the dark-wood cane.
Iacob was eyeing him as they approached with a sort of flat menace that Eric appreciated.
“Ma’am, if you feel unsafe in any way let me know and I’ll take care of him. It,” Iacob said in English, speaking just a little too loud and making it clear his words were for Eric.
