Sean’s own smile felt tacked on, but he held it before turning away, remembering to keep his expression calm and even for the short walk back to the SUV. Trevor got out when he saw they were on their way over and held the door open for them. They climbed in, and Trevor closed the door, hurrying around the vehicle to enter on theotherside.
“How’d it go?” Madison asked as she twisted around in the front passenger seat to lookatthem.
“Fine. Let’s get clear,”Seansaid.
“Our electronic jammers are runnin’,” Annabelle said as she started the engine. “Got no sign y’all werebugged.”
“We’ll call headquarters ontheroad.”
“Copythat.”
Sean sighed quietly, some of the tension he’d felt since seeing Jansen at the party beginning to fade. They drove in silence for a good five minutes before Madison reached for the control screen on the dash and accessed the hidden options with a fingerprint scan. The uplink to headquarters only took seconds before Jamie’s voice came overtheline.
“Secured on our side,”Jamiesaid.
“Surveillance bugs have been deployed, Apollo. There was an unexpected problem during dinner with a guest,”Seansaid.
“Whathappened?”
“Jansen show,” Alexei said, mouth twisting in a scowl. “Will need scan whenreturn.”
Madison snapped her head around to stare worriedly at them, but didn’t speak up. The line was quiet for a few seconds more before Jamiecameback.
“Understood, Inferno. We’ll have Viper on standby for your arrival intwodays.”
“We have a business meeting tomorrow during lunch. I’ll know afterward if we have to stay longer. In which case, Viper may have to come to us,”Seansaid.
“We’ll wait for your read of the situation, Wraith. The appropriate agents have now been notified that the surveillance bugs are deployed. Full activation will commence in twelve hours. Good luck tomorrow.Apolloout.”
The line went dead. The silence in the SUV was more than a little tense, but Sean felt marginally better the more kilometers they put behind them. He glanced at Alexei out of the corner of his eye. Since they no longer had an audience, Alexei kept his hands to himself and Sean acutely felt the absence of histouch.
Which is ridiculous, because we’re not what we were pretending to be,Sean thought tohimself.
Not since his first time sleeping with the enemy did Sean feel so out of his depth. The faint bruise the collar of his button-down shirt rubbed against was impossible to ignore, the reminder going to be with him for days. They couldn’t hide what they’d done in the house because it worked for their cover, even if it didn’t work well for his own peace of mind. Sean refrained from touching the mark on his neck, wishing he could forget the feel of Alexei’s mouth against his own, againsthisskin.
They had two days, possibly more, of running with these covers. Sean honestly couldn’t wait for this mission tobeover.
Traffic on the Strip late at night was almost worse than it was during the day. Las Vegas was alive at night in a way it wasn’t when the sun was out. The seedy underbelly beneath the glitz and glam and promise of riches seemed more prominent once darkness fell. Eventually, Annabelle pulled into the long drive leading to Olympus and parked in the VIP area. She left the engine running for the valets while the rest of them exited thevehicle.
They headed for the casino entrance, dodging around a surprising number of people milling around out front. Inside, it was just as loud and hectic as during the day, with people chasing Lady Luck at the slot machines and card tables with drunken and not so drunken need. The nightclub the casino operated was probably rocking with patrons, but Sean wasn’t in any mood to checkitout.
Their small group took the restricted elevator up to the penthouse suite and the privacy it afforded them from the ever-present CCTV. At the moment, Sean just wanted to shower and sleep off the evening in order to mentally prepare fortomorrow.
Sean said his goodnights to the rest of the team and headed for the bedroom, already loosening the knot of his tie. He palmed the door open and walked inside, able to take a deep breath in peace once the door shut behind him. He needed to stop thinking about what happened at the dinner party if he had any hope of sleepingtonight.
Sean caught sight of his reflection in the ceiling mirror as he walked farther into the room. He made a face at it. “Computer—”
The sound of the door sliding open cut him off. Sean turned around, watching as Alexei tapped at the control panel by the door for a few seconds beforefacinghim.
The expression on Alexei’s face had Sean freezing where he stood because the heat from earlier was back in full force in those fierce gray eyes. Sean swallowed dryly, unable to look away as Alexei stalked toward him with a focus he’d seen before in the middle of a fight back inJanuary.
Like Sean was something to beconquered.
8
Play the Hand You’reDealt
Sean staredat him with wide brown eyes, much as how he’d stared at Alexei in the Wolcotts’ guest bedroom, pressed up against the dresser and arching against him. Only this time, the flush of arousal was missing, something Alexei was determined toremedy.
