Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(69)

He would keep her close and if they needed to figure out who wanted to meet her, he would make sure she was safe.

He wouldn’t let her out of his sight. Not until the moment he had to.





Chapter Twelve





Three days later, Rebecca stared at her computer screen, but the data kind of swam in front of her eyes.

All she could really see was Owen and how he’d smiled at her and kissed her when he’d dropped her off earlier this morning. She’d found a new schedule. Wake up to Owen kissing her, shower with Owen, have breakfast with Owen, ride to work with Owen. Think about Owen. Count down the time to when Owen would pick her up. Have dinner and hot sex with Owen. Scream out Owen’s name until she passed out. Start all over again.

Yep, she was like a teenaged girl with her first crush. Well, except for the very adult sex stuff.

“I have never seen you zone out,” Cathy said from the doorway. Her assistant was standing there with her hands on her hips, her eyes wide as she stared at Becca.

“Maybe I was concentrating,” she tried. It was good to see Cathy. She’d been out with a sick kid, and Becca had been reminded of how much she relied on her.

Cathy stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “Nope. That’s not your concentrating face. You get a little more brow action when you’re concentrating on work. And you didn’t get in until nine. You haven’t been in early all week. That is not your schedule. You’re always in by six thirty. Are you all right?”

At six thirty this morning she’d had Owen’s head between her legs and she’d been forcing herself not to scream out in pure pleasure. She’d woken up with his hands on her body, coaxing her to open for him.

They’d had breakfast in the café with his roommate, Robert, who was a funny, friendly man, and then Owen had driven her to work with the promise that he would be back to pick her up at the end of the day. They’d argued about what time the day ended. She’d said seven. He’d wanted her done by five. They’d agreed she would be out front at precisely six this evening.

“I’m fine. I’ve had something to do the last couple of mornings.” Owen. She’d been doing Owen. She’d taken all of Sunday off. She normally would have at least come in during the afternoon, but she hadn’t thought about work at all. The only thing that had mattered was him. They’d gone out a couple of nights, taking in a movie once and going to some nice restaurants. She’d seen more of the city in the few days she’d been with him than the whole two years she’d lived here.

She was thinking about going to another tourist destination on Friday. Oh, she’d put it all in Owen’s lap, but there was a big part of her that wanted desperately to see who would show up to that meeting. Something was going on. She could feel it, and she was starting to trust her instincts.

Paul Huisman had smiled at her this morning. That man never smiled. Ever. It had been the kind of smile a predator might give a small furry thing right before it feasted. Maybe it was her imagination, but she hadn’t liked the way that smile had made her feel.

“Is whatever you were doing the reason why you’re wearing your cardigan inside out?” Cathy asked with a knowing wink. “Please tell me it was the man you left Larry for. I still haven’t heard the end of that.”

Damn it. How had neither of them noticed? She stood up and quickly fixed the problem. “His name is Owen and he works for a security company. He moved into my building a week ago.”

Cathy leaned against her desk. “Is it true you showed up for work on a motorcycle? The ladies down in reception were all talking about it. They said he was gorgeous.”

“He’s a very careful driver.” She would get lectures on motorcycles and head injuries and how the neurologist probably shouldn’t be riding a death trap, but some things were worth the risk. The feeling of freedom she had as he drove her around the city was definitely worth it. He treated her like she was something precious.

“I’m happy for you,” Cathy said with a broad smile. “It’s good for you to get out of this office once in a while. Is that why Carter is in such a foul mood? Did he finally figure out you’re a woman under all that intellect?”

“He wasn’t happy the first time Owen spent the night at my place.” Had everyone seen the Carter problem except her? “He was pretty rude about it. I haven’t talked to him since then. We’ve given each other a pretty wide berth. I think we should look into how he treats the female interns.”

Cathy nodded. “I’ve heard some rumors. I’m glad that’s out in the open. He’s had a creepy thing for you since the day you hired on. At first I thought he was a groupie.”

“A groupie?”

“An industry junkie. They all either love you or they’re jealous of you. Did you know Carter studied medicine?”

“Of course,” she replied. “I’ve heard all about it. He studied neurology, but he has a fine tremor in both hands. It’s not Parkinson’s. It’s an essential tremor. When he couldn’t perform surgery, he switched to medical admin. I don’t know why. He could have done research. He could have been a GP.”

“He’s the type who doesn’t compromise,” Cathy explained. “I think in some ways he was punishing himself for not being able to do what he wanted to do in life.”