He tugged at the waistband of her sleep shorts. The tone of his phone rang across the room stilling him.Now? No, why would someone be calling him now?
Meg stiffened, a small gasp of despair escaping from her lips. Ignore it. Just ignore it. When the ringing stopped he breathed a sigh of relief, returning his lips to Meg’s silky skin. The tone sounded again. Whoever was calling was anxious to get a hold of him.
“Damn,” he muttered, pulling himself reluctantly away from Meg and off the bed. He grabbed the device from his pants pocket and growled, “Hello?”
His boss’s voice came through the line and he stared at Meg in the mirror as she covered herself with the sheets looking around frantically for her top. She found it then scooted off the bed to run into the bathroom. He looked at the closed door and frowned wondering what she was thinking about now. Doolittle gave him a few details so he moved into the living area to grab a pen to jot them down. By the time he was done, Meg had come out of the bathroom fully dressed wearing her long sweater. Protection mode.
He hung up the phone looking at her with regret. Not because he hadn’t wanted to make love to her, but because it wasn’t the right time. How did he tell her this without making her feel worse?
“You hungry?” he started casually. She was always hungry when she woke up.
She rolled her eyes answering, “What do you think?”
Back to the wise remarks. Some day he wished she didn’t feel like she had to hide behind them as much. The smartass comments were her protection and had been since she’d been down here. Smiling, he opened the fridge.
Within ten minutes he had some eggs and ham cooked up and served on plates, but he noticed this time she only picked at the contents. He wasn’t all that hungry himself; not for food anyway.
“Meg,” he began softly, awkward and unsure. “About what happened … it might not have been the best timing.”
She glared at him, “You think?”
He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. “No, I mean it’s not the right time for us to be doing that sort of thing. Not for real anyway. The kissing and touching in public is one thing but that….”
“Wasn’t the right time,” she ground out, polishing off her glass of juice. “Yeah, I get it.”
She carefully placed her glass in the sink, her shoulders lifting up and down. He moved up behind her, leaning down to see her face. Her eyes were filled with moisture. His heart ached to think he’d caused the reaction.
He lifted his hands to her shoulders sighing. “It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying myself, it’s just we got a little carried away. You’re still technically under my supervision as my informant. It would be highly unethical of me to sleep with you now. And I respect you too much to put you in that position.”
She sniffed then straightened her shoulders before she turned around. Her face was completely under control, her stiff smile firmly in place.
“Well, don’t worry about it too much,muffin,” she emphasized the name but the playful tone was missing. “I was trying to get the memory of dough boy’s hands on me out of my mind. I think we managed that.”
His eyes narrowed and the pain in his gut was like a sucker punch. He didn’t know if he believed her; didn’t want to think she would use him that way. She wasn’t the type to use someone for her own sexual needs, was she? Trying to save face more likely. He’d remain professional and wouldn’t call her out on it now. They hadn’t wrapped up this case yet. If they’d finished what had started, he wouldn’t be able to think of anything else. His dick was still aching.
“That was Doolittle,” he changed the subject as she walked over to the balcony staring out at the pool area. “He wants to meet with us today and see if you can fill in any of the blanks. We should probably head out soon if we want to get back in time for you to work tonight. It’s almost eleven.”
She nodded her head and replied, “Okay, I’m ready whenever you want to go.”
“I’ll just take a quick shower then we can leave.” Standing in the doorway for a second, he watched her, but she never turned around. He sincerely hoped they could put Moreno behind bars soon because then she wouldn’t be working with him, and having a relationship with her wouldn’t be taboo.
* * * *
Meg opened her locker and sighed. She hoped tonight would be the last time she’d have to do this. The Feds and local cops had picked up a few of Moreno’s accomplices last night while they were transporting some of the stolen goods he’d spoken of two nights ago. Even with those arrests, they still needed the big bust tonight, the weapons shipment that was due in soon. She and Chris had met with Doolittle and some of the other agents who were working the shadier end of things and managed to get all the little details ironed out as to exactly what was coming in, where, and when. If she was lucky she might not even have to finish her shift tonight.
Then she and Chris would say goodbye. She sighed again. It didn’t matter. Their time together had all been pretend anyway. She’d enjoyed herself and suspected he had too, but still, it was only an assignment to him, nothing more. To her it was the beginning of a broken heart. She’d vowed she wouldn’t fall for him and had failed miserably. She couldn’t deny how she felt about him, but she wouldn’t make it hard on him when the time came to say goodbye. Her grin would be huge when she said, “So long sucker, thanks for the good time.” Then she would call him muffin one last time.
Would the memory of the nickname have him remember her and smile? She’d be smiling soon when she finally got back home, though nerves jangled in her stomach at what her family would say when she showed up on their doorstep. She wanted their forgiveness and a second chance to show them how much she loved them and missed them.
Reaching inside her locker, she picked up the dreaded sandals and dropped them on the floor before she lifted her blouse from its hook. As she grasped the hem of her shirt the door opened and Sonny stuck his head in. Her mouth opened to yell at him when he smirked and said, “Boss is looking for you. Wants to see you in the back room. Now.”
Her heart raced as she adjusted the fancy metal hairclip on her ponytail. Doolittle had given it to her yesterday and it held a tiny electronic listening device inside. They had wanted to make sure they could hear anything he said tonight in case he decided to call off the big deals. She was hoping to drop it in the back room to record everything they said regardless of whether she was in there or not.
“I’m not in my uniform yet,” she pointed out as she looked down at her ripped jeans and faded shirt. Sonny frowned pointing in the direction of the back room.
“He saidnow.”
She followed him, surprised to find Barone there, too. Sonny closed the door behind him and a sudden chill crawled up her spine. This couldn’t be good.
