Barefoot with a Stranger (Barefoot Bay Undercover #2)(25)

“I found this on the bedrail in your hotel room when I was retrieving my clothes.”

He looked at it and visibly paled beneath his tanned skin. “Fuck,” he whispered.

“Yep. And with, it would seem, an audience.”

He reached for it, but she shut her hand over his, trapping the bug between their palms. Electricity danced up her arm at the contact that felt both familiar and scary.

“You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

“That’s not what I’m thinking.”

“But you are. I can tell by the look on your face you’re planning your next move, which will be out and far and fast.”

“How would you know that?”

She managed a wry smile. “Forty-two addresses in thirty-eight years. And those are the ones that are registered.”

His gaze tapered. “That’s some thorough background check you did.”

“I’m nothing if not thorough,” she told him, freeing her hand.

He took the bug and flipped it in his hand to see the other side. “You destroyed it?”

“Yeah, I, um, might have freaked a bit when I found it and realized our, um, liaison had been overheard by…someone.” But who? Did he know?

“We have to tell Gabe about our hookup now,” he said simply.

Hookup. She closed her eyes and pretended it didn’t bother her.

“And he’s going to pull us both from this assignment,” he added.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because if someone is following me, it could be dangerous for you if we’re together.”

“Why the hell would someone be following you?”

He just stared at her, a look she knew so damn well from her brother. Need To Know. Need To Know. Always the freaking Need To Know and she didn’t.

Irritation ricocheted through her. “I was in that room, too, Mal. I’m involved whether you like it or not.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Sorry that he dragged her into this or sorry their hookup happened?

She had to let that go. It was a hookup. “Does that device have a tracking system in it?” she asked.

He turned it over and over in his hand. “I don’t think so. It’s pretty low-tech.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “Maybe one of the housekeepers puts it in the rooms and gets off on people…liaising.”

He didn’t smile at the joke. “’Fraid not, Chessie. We have to tell Gabe and let him make the call.”

“Do we, really?” Maybe Mal wasn’t afraid of Gabe’s wrath, but Chessie sure as hell wasn’t prepared for his…disappointment. And wrath.

“Yes, we do. There’s no room for argument, because this could change everything.”

She blew out a breath, knowing deep inside that arguing was futile. “Let me get some clothes on, and I’ll go with you. In fact, you should hang back and let me do the dirty work because I might be able to save your ass by taking most of the blame myself.”

“Hell no.”

“Excuse me?”

His jaw clenched as he reached for the collar of her robe, easing her closer. “You’re not going to take any blame for what happened between us. You didn’t come on any stronger than I did.” His mouth was too close, his eyes too dark, and his touch too sure and strong.

“I could have stopped you at any point in time. I’ll be sure to mention that to Gabe so you get extra bonus points.”

“I don’t need bonus points,” he said.

“What do you need?”

He gripped the collar tighter, then let go, grazing her lower lip with a maddeningly slow touch. “More of you.”

Speaking of hell no. But there she was, inching closer like he was a magnet and she was a helpless piece of horny metal. “Sorry, it’s called a one-night stand for a reason.”

“He’ll split us up,” he said. “At the very least.”

“I know,” she said, staring at his gorgeous mouth.

He got closer. “Maybe was stupid, Francesca, but that was some damn good liaising.”

“Really good,” she whispered.

He lowered his head and put his mouth over hers, and it started all over again, just like last night. A low burn in her belly, a tight squeeze in her chest, and a crazy, lazy, dizzy sensation that made her head feel disconnected from the rest of her body. She let her eyes close and her hands grip his biceps, remembering how it felt when he laid her down and took ownership of her.


He ended the kiss long before she was ready. “I’ll wait for you outside while you get dressed.”

She managed a shaky breath. “I’ll just be a second. Then we’ll go to the hangman together.” As she walked away, she glanced over her shoulder to see him staring at her. “What?”

“Gallows humor. I like that in a woman.”

Great, just great. The embezzler with forty-two addresses and someone following him liked her. That was so not in her plan.





Chapter Eight





While Mal stood outside the villa waiting for Chessie, he examined the gadget in the sunlight. Pretty cheap quality, but effective enough if someone wanted to listen to him spill secrets to a lover. He knew who’d planted it, and it wasn’t a f*cking Marriott maid.