“Have you had a chance to snoop around yet?” Jake asked.
While he directed the question at Caleb, he leaned in close to Jes, like he was whispering something important in her ear. Jake’s warm breath glided across the skin of her neck as the scent of his cologne surrounded her. Given that they were standing in the home of a rogue spy who’d already shown a willingness to kill those he considered enemies, she refused to think about how distracting those sensations were.
“I’ve covered the entire first floor since Misty and I arrived and haven’t found anything worthwhile. Definitely no teenage girl, that’s for sure,” Caleb replied. “But considering this level is open to guests, I wouldn’t expect to find anything. I talked to Misty right before you got here, and she hadn’t gotten much beyond all the pass codes for the manor’s security system.”
Jes nodded. Having those codes might come in handy later, especially if everything ended up going to crap tonight. She was about to ask whether the manor had any interior surveillance, but Caleb was forced to move away to serve other partygoers. Jes cursed silently. Jake didn’t seem thrilled, either. But it wasn’t like they could follow Caleb around like a couple of groupies. He couldn’t even covertly talk to them through the tiny microphone inside the collar of his shirt while he was serving other guests.
Thankfully, Caleb worked his way over to their side of the room again. Jes tipped her glass in his direction like she wanted a fresh drink, even though she hadn’t even touched the first one.
“How about the second and third floor?” she asked when he stopped in front of her.
Caleb collected several empty glasses from a small table, taking his time balancing them on the tray. “The north wing of the second floor is open. There’s a library, an art gallery, and a set of bathrooms in that direction. The south wing is roped off, but they don’t seem to be keeping people away. The stairs leading to the third floor are the only ones that are actually guarded. Security won’t let anyone go that way.”
“Then that’s where we need to check first,” Jake said as Caleb walked away and disappeared into the crowd. “Misty,” he added, knowing she was listening to their conversation in her earpiece even though she hadn’t said anything, “head up to the second floor. If we can find a way up to the third, that skill of yours will come in handy.”
Giving Jake a slight nod, Jes casually headed toward the stairs, exchanging niceties with a few people she passed along the way. It was almost funny the way everyone greeted her as a close friend, even though she doubted most of them knew anything more about Rose Howard than her name.
When she and Jake reached the second-floor landing, Jes glanced to her right to see a hulking guy in a dark suit standing at the foot of the stairs to the third floor. If the unmistakable bulge of a weapon under the man’s jacket wasn’t enough to keep people away, the stone-cold expression on his face would be.
Jes headed to the left, following several other people toward the library and art gallery Caleb had mentioned. She’d only gotten a few steps when a deep voice called her name. Well, Rose Howard’s name actually.
Stopping, she turned, expecting to see yet another stranger with a fake smile pasted on his face, but instead found Arran Darby coming her way, an expression that could only be described as intrigue on his face.
“Rose,” he said with a grin. “It’s been a long time.”
Putting one hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder, he leaned in to kiss her cheek, getting way too close to her lips for comfort. Then he was pulling back, leaving one hand on her waist as his hazel eyes locked on her mouth for a moment before continuing down to her exposed cleavage. Finally—after about five seconds too long—his gaze returned to hers.
“I must say, you look as beautiful as ever.”
The weight of his words—not to mention the look in his eyes—hit Jes like a ton of bricks. Oh, crap. Rose Howard didn’t merely move within Darby’s social circles: they’d slept together!
Alarm bells went off in Jes’s head as she fought to stay calm, worried Darby would see through her makeup job. But when he didn’t accuse her of being an imposter, she took a breath and gave him what she hoped was a warm smile.
“It has been a long time, hasn’t it?” she murmured, resisting the urge to move away from him. The feel of his hands on her was making her skin crawl. “Thank you for inviting me tonight.”
“Of course,” he replied softly, and for a moment, Jes was afraid the man might try to kiss her—on the lips this time. But instead, he took a step back, one hand sliding down to capture hers.
The distance gave Jes the opportunity to assess Arran Darby. He seemed different than his photos. Bigger and more powerful. There was something about how he carried himself that didn’t exactly meet with her expectations of a rich, entitled aristocrat.
Jes was still trying to figure out what it was about Darby that creeped her out when she heard Jake clear his throat. He was trying to look professional, but Jes noticed the tension in his shoulders. Something about Darby was making Jake uncomfortable, too.
If the way his mouth tightened was any indication, Darby didn’t seem very happy about the interruption.
“Arran, let me introduce my bodyguard, Jake,” she said before she realized her faux pas. Rich people didn’t introduce their bodyguards. But the words were out, and she couldn’t take them back. “Jake, Lord Arran Darby.”
Jake and Darby stared at each other for a moment, distaste obvious on their faces as they shook hands. Jes didn’t miss the way they tried to crush each other’s grip. The alpha-male behavior would have been amusing if it wasn’t for the fact that Darby was a trained killer who was almost certainly responsible for Jaime’s and Neal’s murders.
“Should I be concerned you felt the need to bring your bodyguard with you?” Darby asked, a curious expression on his face as he turned his gaze on her. “Is there a particular threat I should know about?”
For a moment, Jes thought maybe Darby might actually care for Rose and that she might be able to use it to her advantage. But then she caught the challenge in his eyes and decided it was probably more about male pride than anything else. Did he think she was sleeping with Jake, too?
Like I’d ever sleep with a werewolf.
“Nothing like that,” she laughed. “But a woman can never be too careful. It makes no sense paying someone to be my bodyguard, then leaving him in the car like an umbrella. What if it rains?”
Darby regarded her thoughtfully, like he didn’t really understand the comparison. Or maybe he did and couldn’t come up with a witty response. Finally, he nodded and gave her a dashing smile that struck Jes as somewhat practiced. Ignoring Jake like he no longer existed, Darby slipped a hand behind her back, turning them toward the north wing of the manor.
“I was hoping to run into you tonight,” he murmured as they walked. “There are several recent additions to my gallery I want to show you.”
