Seduction in Session

  No matter what he had to do.

  He lowered his mouth to hers and tried to forget that they weren’t alone.

  EIGHT

  Every muscle in her body was deliciously sore. Lara stretched as she prepped breakfast. Kiki had brought her some eggs for Connor, so he could have a scramble with spinach and peppers, rather than her usual tofu. She might have given on the animal products, but she intended to sneak some veggies into his diet one way or another. She cracked another egg into the skillet. He looked like a man who could eat four eggs. Maybe more. He’d expended an enormous amount of energy the night before.

  She felt a grin spread across her face. He might be a carnivore, but he was the most spectacular lover in the history of time. Now she knew why Kiki giggled when she talked about sex. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling when her whole body felt alive.

  He’d taken over her shower just fifteen minutes before, using his big body to trap her and kiss her until she was breathless. With her hands over her head, both manacled by one of his, she’d been utterly at his mercy and he’d had none. He’d grabbed the soap and washed her off, paying very close attention to his favorite parts. She’d cried out his name.

  Apparently, she was a screamer. Lara had always thought she was very ladylike in bed, but Connor brought out her inner vixen. There was no place for decorum when his mouth was on her.

  She’d even turned the tables on him, taking his erection in her soapy hands and rubbing. She’d watched him, utterly fascinated when his cock had surged and released in her hand.

  She felt a little damp and flushed just thinking about it.

  Lara scooped his eggs onto a plate just as her doorbell rang. She was almost to the door when Connor scowled at her from the hallway.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” He was back in bodyguard mode, wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt, his shoulder holster and gun on display.

  In her mind, she could still see him naked, feel every muscle and indention of his body. And all the scars. What had he been through besides the psychotic ex? Probably a lot. She wanted to kiss all his scars, to let him know he was safe with her.

  She gave him a little smile. “I was just coming to get you so you could answer the door.”

  His eyes narrowed, but he rewarded her with a slight hint of a smile. “Sure you were, princess.” Now when he called her princess it made her warm and happy. He winked as he brushed past her. “Get out of view until I tell you it’s safe. We’re going over protocol this morning. After yesterday, I’m putting some new rules in place.”

  She wrinkled her nose. He loved rules of all kinds when they applied to her. In fact, he seemed to relish them. “That does not sound like fun.”

  “I’m going to have a ton of fun going over all the new boundaries. Can you fix me some coffee, baby?” He strode toward the door.

  At least if she was stuck in the house, she was stuck with him. If he was going to restrict her routine and control her schedule, he could entertain her. She had a list of things she wanted to try. After last night, her imagination had opened up. Now her mind was a veritable Kama Sutra.

  She poured Connor a cup of coffee and took both plates to the table. Hopefully whoever had knocked on the door wouldn’t need too much attention. Their breakfast would get cold.

  She’d gotten an e-mail the night before from a woman named Everly Parker. The Everly Parker. Maddox Crawford’s sister wanted to talk to her about something and she was coming to D.C. today. Lara had already started mentally composing a list of questions to ask the woman. Her brother had somehow been involved in the plot to cover up Natalia Kuilikov’s whereabouts. The conversation would be delicate, but she intended to find out what Parker knew. Lara hoped Crawford’s sister could provide more information about this piece of the very large puzzle she and Freddy had started to fit together a little over a year ago.

  That wasn’t her only problem. She had to figure out how she was going to slip past Connor to meet her informant at midnight. He would bolt if he saw Connor there. Maybe she should think about giving up on this particular story. The idea of tricking him didn’t sit well with her.

  Or maybe she should tell him everything and ask for his advice. He could be her partner.

  The only thing that held her back was the fact that he’d used Zack Hayes as a reference. How loyal was he to the president? How would he feel when he found out exactly why she was investigating the commander in chief?

  “I need to talk to Lara.” Tom’s voice rang down the hall.

  “We really do. There’s something freaky going on with Freddy,” Kiki chimed in. “Not that there isn’t always something freaky happening with that guy, but this is even weirder than normal.”

  Despite Connor’s warning, she stepped into the hallway. Freddy had issues, but she could usually talk him down. “Come on in.”

  Kiki set Lincoln down and he immediately started jumping up on Connor’s leg. Traitor. Her dog had turned on her for a little beef. Connor scooped the pup up and then turned, giving her a stare that could have frozen a blazing fire. That stare promised retribution for misbehavior.

  She shivered but not in fear. Connor was rapidly turning her into a sex-crazed woman.

  “Later,” he mouthed as he let her friends in.

  “Your breakfast is on the table and I brewed fresh coffee.” She gave him a smile she hoped would calm his savage beast a little.

  “I’ll get him some water.” He leaned over, kissing her right in front of her friends. “Behave until I get back. And if you set foot out of this apartment or unlock that door while I’m gone, you won’t like what happens when I catch you.”

  His dark tone sent another shiver down her spine. She watched him until he disappeared into her kitchen.

  “Holy shit, you slept with him.” Kiki’s eyes were wide.

  Tom shook his head, his jaw hanging slightly open. “No. She wouldn’t do that. She’s got better taste in men. He’s a barbarian and she knows it.”

  “He’s wonderful,” she said with a sigh. She didn’t want to get too into it with Tom. As far as she knew he wasn’t dating anyone. He’d gone through several woman right after they’d broken up, but no one in the last year. “Yes, he’s different from my normal dates, but that’s okay. We get along really well. We’re very compatible.”

  Kiki leaned in. “How compatible?”

  “Multiple times compatible.” She was fairly certain the grin on her face was a mile wide.

  “I can’t believe you slept with him.” Tom was staring at her like she’d grown two heads.

  “I know it’s soon, but we’ve already spent more time together than a lot of people who’ve been dating for weeks. The twenty-four seven thing can really make you get to know a person fast.”

  “Do you?” Tom asked. “Do you really know him? Or do you see what he wants you to see?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that he’s obviously using you and you’re too naive to know it,” Tom spat.

  “It isn’t obvious to me.” Connor sipped coffee from the mug she’d left for him, his eyes steady on Tom. “Just how am I using her?”

  For just a second, she thought Tom would back down. She hoped he would. Naturally he found his backbone and squared off against the much more muscular man.

  “You’re using her for sex,” Tom accused.

  “Hey!” Lara flushed, embarrassment flooding her system.

  “Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe she’s using me for sex,” Connor said without a hint of humor on his face. Lincoln bounded back through the door and Connor scooped him up again. He looked simply delicious standing there with her dog cradled to his chest and drinking her coffee. He didn’t need to shout. His deep voice reeked of authority. “I don’t see anyone standing up for me.”

  Kiki nodded his way. “I will. The way she’s using you is terrible. You deserve so much more. It’s easy to see you’re more than just a hot body.”

  “I like
to think so,” he said as innocently as a man wearing a gun could.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Tom had turned red in the face, his eyes narrowed. “She doesn’t even like sex. You tricked her into bed.”

  Embarrassment turned to flat-out humiliation.

  “She likes it with me and she’s absolutely the best lover I’ve ever had in my life. She’s giving and passionate and I’m lucky she’s with me. Now get to the reason you came here because my breakfast is getting cold.”

  Just like that the humiliation fled. She moved close to him, trying to let him see how much she appreciated him. “It’s okay. You go ahead and eat. I’ll be there in a little bit.”

  “No. We had a very important night. I believe I performed heroically given your inexhaustible appetites.” He winked her way. “I want my intimate breakfast for two. I’ll wait.”

  For a man who didn’t say much, he really knew how to get to her. She turned to Tom, whom she’d had just about enough of. “What did you need?”

  Tom shook his head. “I can’t believe you would fall for his bullshit. He’s not what he seems. You think he’s a good guy, but he’s lying to you.”

  And they called her the conspiracy nut. “About what?”

  “About what he wants,” Tom sputtered. “And he’s some kind of pervert. Don’t expect me to clean up the mess when he breaks your heart.”

  Tom stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

  Kiki frowned. “I would never have brought him with me if I’d known he would react like that. I’m so sorry.”

  “Why was he with you in the first place?” Connor asked, cool as a cucumber.

  “I’m helping him write up a brief on a case. I know more about the legal precedent than he does. He fell asleep on my couch last night. He was there this morning when Freddy showed up.” Kiki reached into her bag and handed her an envelope. “He wanted you to have this. He said it was information you need to know in case he doesn’t come back.”

  She took the envelope, but it was in Connor’s hands before she could open it.

  “No,” he corrected her, setting the coffee mug on the bar and letting Lincoln run free. “You have no idea what’s in this thing.”

  “Very likely it’s a treatise on ancient aliens.” Freddy had a little bit of an obsession with them. Lara frowned. “What do you think could be in there? It’s an envelope, so I don’t think it’s carrying a bomb.”

  “It could contain any number of lethal agents. Anthrax comes to mind first.” He inspected the envelope as if it could explode at any moment.

  “Freddy is terrified of all viral agents,” she replied. “He likes me. He wouldn’t send me anthrax.”

  “Or he’s the one stalking you and he’s just pretending to like you. Maybe he’s obsessed with you. Did he know about Niall?” Connor asked.

  “She didn’t hide it from her friends,” Kiki replied.

  Lara nodded. “I mentioned him.”

  “And this was right around the time the threats started?”

  It had been. She’d started talking to Niall a few weeks before. “Yes, but Freddy wouldn’t try to hurt me.”

  “Discovering you had a thing with another man might have been an inciting incident. I’m taking this to the bathroom to inspect it. Do not follow me. Kiki, tackle her if she tries.” He stomped off.

  Freddy wasn’t her stalker. Connor was being paranoid. Not once in their entire relationship had Freddy shown a single sign of wanting anything beyond friendship. Connor could do whatever bodyguard-like things he wanted with that letter. He wouldn’t find anything beyond a list of the most likely politicians currently under alien control. She turned back to Kiki because her friend could give her some important information. “Was he wearing his bug-out bag?”

  “Is that what you call that massive backpack? Because yes. It looked like he was ready to survive an apocalypse. He said he was heading for the woods.”

  He had a small property somewhere in the Appalachians. He hadn’t told her where it was since then he’d have to kill her, but he had offered to take her with him if things got too hot with their investigations. “I wonder what set him off.”

  “He said it was men in black. He claims they were crawling all over the building late last night.” Kiki shook her head like she couldn’t quite believe a grown man would say such a thing. “I think I know what he saw, and they were definitely in black suits. I went across the street to the all-night drugstore to get some candy bars. I think better with sugar. I would have sworn I saw Roman Calder leaving the building with a group of men just after three this morning.”

  “The president’s chief of staff? Are you sure? What would he be doing here at that time of night?” No wonder Freddy had flipped out. If Calder had been in the building, he’d likely been surrounded by guards or Secret Service, and almost all of them wore similar black suits. There was a reason the myth had started.

  Kiki shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it was him. Superhot. I watch press conferences just to catch a glimpse of that man. As to why he’d be here, I have no idea. Maybe he has a mistress here. You know he doesn’t have a girlfriend. He probably keeps a little something on the side. I can’t imagine a man that alpha male hot would go without sex.”

  “Or he was meeting someone and he didn’t want the press to find out. There are a couple of congressmen who keep apartments in the complex.”

  “I like my version better,” Kiki complained. “Anyway, that’s probably what set Freddy off and he said he came to my door because Connor is one of them.”

  Of course he was. “Well, there’s not a lot I can do. He’ll come back in a few weeks. This isn’t the first time he’s bugged out.” She winced. “I left my copy of the investigation in his apartment. Damn it. He won’t let me keep it on my system. He claims it’s too important to let the hackers find. I have a key to his place. I think I’m the only person in the world he trusts. God, I hope he doesn’t have the place booby-trapped.”

  She was going to have to go in because she couldn’t leave that data behind. Things were starting to happen.

  “Don’t go anywhere without Connor,” Kiki said.

  The minute Kiki said the words, she figured out how to get what she needed. Guilt hit her hard, but she shoved it down because there was a greater good to be served. If she played her cards right, Connor wouldn’t even know she’d ever left the apartment at all. “I’ll leave it to him. He’s the expert after all.”

  He was the expert who would very likely agree that the best time to break into a place was late at night when no one was around. He would never take her in with him, simply lock her in the condo until he was done.

  Connor would be so mad if he figured out what she was going to do.

  Kiki gave her a hug. “I think letting Connor handle everything is the best way to go. I’ve got to get to work. Call me if you need anything. And I’ll talk to Tom.”

  “Thank you.” No matter what, they’d been friends since childhood.

  She locked the door behind Kiki and tried to come up with a way to tell Connor she firmly believed the president had arranged for his wife’s murder.

  * * *

  Connor locked the bathroom door and opened the letter, suspicion playing in his brain. Freddy wasn’t without resources. He’d read the man’s dossier. Just because he believed in aliens didn’t mean the man couldn’t get it right from time to time.

  He could hear the mumble of Lara’s conversation with Kiki out in the living room. Lara was likely explaining that her new lover was paranoid and that Freddy would never hurt her.

  Of course he couldn’t agree with her or tell her the Russian mob was after her. That would require far too many explanations he wasn’t in a position to give, especially since he didn’t know precisely who was behind the hit.

  Besides, being a paranoid freak allowed him to do things like “inspect” the letter meant for her. He was sure Freddy had told Kiki to deliver it as quietly as possible, but he’d misjudged the girl. Kiki
was the kind of woman who actively looked for authority in her life. For all her Bohemian charms, she wanted the world to have rules that made sense and a strong leader to guide her. It was very likely how she’d gotten involved with a married congressman. If he was strong and charismatic, she’d probably believed whatever the fucker told her. So she’d come straight to