Chapter 18
Anger simmered through his veins as he sat on the stool at the small hotel bar.
His day had gone from bad to worse. First his conversation with Harper, then he’d landed in Cancun to find out Eric still hadn’t found anything more about Pete, and then there was the call he’d had twenty minutes ago.
That call was the one that had set his blood to boil.
He leaned against the wall at the end of the bar and trained his eyes on the open doorway leading into the lobby.
Music and laughter spilled in from the street, only increasing his irritation.
The boutique hotel he’d booked boasted a great beachfront location right off the busy pedestrian street in Playa Del Carmen, but offered little else in terms of luxuries.
Including a good bartender. The young Mexican was too busy flirting with tipsy tourists to worry about refilling his beer.
Just as well.
He sighed and pushed his empty glass across the slick bar.
Crossing his arms, he drummed his fingers against his bicep as he waited.
As the time ticked by, frustration mixed with anger and swirled inside him like a hurricane coming to shore until his gaze landed on the one person who was about to walk right into the eye of the storm.
Mickey.
His blood pumped wildly in his veins and pressure built in his chest. He wanted to march up to her, pull her to his room, and yell at her for being such an idiot.
But something about the way her shoulders hunched forward and the contorted features of her face stopped him.
He sat, frozen to his seat, unsure of how to approach her.
How could someone stir up so many emotions in him at one damn time?
As if his mind and his heart were in constant battle over the best way to handle her.
With his gaze fixed on Mickey, he sat up on his stool.
Even though he wanted to strangle her, the low plunge of her dress drew his eyes to her breasts.
He groaned. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
He should talk to her once he calmed down.
With his nerves screaming at him and his mind racing, he was bound to do something he’d regret.
Or would he?
He straightened his legs and then stood just as Mickey turned his way.
Their eyes met across the room, and her long legs stopped short.
He raised his brows in her direction and her mouth twitched at the corners as she pressed her lips into a firm line.
She dropped her gaze to the ground and weaved in between the small groups of people loitering in the lobby, through the bar, and stopped in front of him.
Without her heels on, the top of her head reached past his nose.
His jaw tightened and he curled his hands into fists at his sides. His thumbnails dug into his palms to keep him from reaching out and pulling her into his arms.
Her eyes were wide as she stared at him with her head cocked to the side. “How did you know I was here?”
“I work for the FBI, Mickey. It wasn’t too hard.”
Her cheeks sunk in, as if she were biting on the inside of her mouth. “That’s a complete invasion of privacy.”
“Is it? Interesting coming from a woman who just showed up at a complete stranger’s house and asked her personal questions pertaining to a federal investigation.” Graham threw his hands in the air. “Really, Mickey, what the hell were you thinking?”
Color stained her cheeks. “I was getting answers. Answers I need to find Becca. To figure out why Pete used me.”
“That’s my job. You need to stay away and let me do it.”
Fire flashed in her eyes. “How is my asking questions getting in the way of you doing your job?”
Graham sucked in a long breath through his nose. “Did you ever think Paula would be so upset after talking to you she wouldn’t want to talk to anyone else? That it would be too painful to go over everything again so quickly after just discussing it?”
“I guess I didn’t think of that,” Mickey said with a grimace.
“No, you didn’t. Because you didn’t think at all.
” His voice rose higher than he intended, and a few heads turned their way.
“Dammit, Mickey. Every time I turn around I find you in the middle of this investigation. You aren’t helping me.
You’re only making my job ten times harder than it already is. ”
God, she’s gorgeous when she’s pissed.
“I came all the way here to see her, and she refused. Now I have to try again tomorrow, and that’s more time wasted.” He ran a hand through his hair and then let it drop to his side. “Can you understand how your actions screwed me?”
“I’m sorry, okay,” she said and threw her hands in the air.
“I can’t help it. Knowing Becca’s somewhere with that pervert is eating me alive.
She’s alone and scared as hell and probably wondering why in the hell I would let this guy into our lives.
I can’t stand around and wait for answers.
If I see a way I can do something, I have to do it. ”
Tears stained her skin and he kicked himself for his temper. She deserved it, but he shouldn’t have been so harsh. This case was taking its toll on him, and he didn’t have a personal stake in it like she did.
She crossed her arms in front of her, accidentally pulling down the silky fabric of her dress.
The creamy flesh of the top of her breasts peeked out from the low neckline and his groin tightened.
With her anger splayed brightly on her cheeks and her thick red hair in a riot of loose curls around her shoulders, she was like a sexy temptress daring him to touch her.
He couldn’t resist.
Graham reached out and grazed his fingertips over her arm. Her muscles relaxed at his touch and the anger melted from her features. The flames in her the golden irises now matched the lust in his gut. He pulled her close and let his hand linger at the small of her back.
“I know this is hard on you, but you have to listen to me. Please, let me handle this investigation. I want to find Becca, and the other girls, as badly as you do. And I will. I’m damn good at my job, but you have to let me do it.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder and the moisture on her face seeped into his shirt. “Paula looked so much like Becca. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the door.”
He rubbed circles around her spine. “What did she say about Pete?”
Mickey’s body shuddered against him. “He’s obsessed with her. Always has been. She’s had to live her whole life watching over her shoulder. And the things he did to her…” Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t have to finish the thought for him to understand.
He glanced around at the growing crowd in the hotel bar. Voices rang loud and tourists pressed against the bar for another drink. “Let’s go up to my room and talk.”
She pulled back and glanced up through dark lashes. “I don’t want to talk. Not right now. I just want you to take my mind off everything for a little bit.”
Indecision warred within him. Common sense had prevailed last night, but not by much. Getting involved with Mickey right now was wrong. But one look at the pain swimming in her amber eyes and all logic melted into a puddle of goo.
He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back and studied her. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and the need in her eyes had the power to bring him to his knees.
Turning toward the lobby, he kept his hand on her back and led her to the elevators. Desire throbbed through him with every beat of his heart, faster and stronger with every step. Screw taking their time and waiting until they got Pete behind bars. He wanted her now.
Two giggling girls stepped out of the elevator, and he ushered Mickey inside.
The silver door slid shut, leaving them alone in isolation, the noise of the hotel and crowded streets long behind them.
Her reflection stared back at him everywhere his eyes landed.
His hand slid from the small of her back to the side of her waist and tightened on her hip.
He gazed down at her, and fire burned like hot coals in her eyes.
“Dammit,” he growled. His blood burned hot in his veins and he needed a taste of her. “I can’t wait to have you.”
He leaned forward and pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator before he grabbed the back of her head and brought his lips to hers.
His fingers roamed through the silky tresses until her hair rained like wildfire around her face.
Her legs parted as his knee pressed between them and he pushed forward, trapping her against the wall of mirrors behind her.
He released her hair and used the tips of his fingers to trace the outline of her face.
Her full lips parted, and he swept the pad of his thumb over them.
Mickey arched up on her toes, nipping at his thumb.
He drew back his hand and a husky laugh vibrated from his throat. “I should have known you wouldn’t be a submissive wallflower. But I might need to tame that wild streak of yours.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I’d like to see you try.”
He was more than up for the challenge. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them high above her head and her breath hitched in her throat.
He pressed his mouth to her ear and nibbled the lobe, before pressing hot kisses down the side of her neck.
The hem of her dress rose high on her thigh, and he shifted her wrists to one hand, while the other dropped to her side.
White flesh peeked out, stark against the floral material.
He leaned forward, his body pressed into hers, his lips lingering on the hollow dent between on the base of her neck.
His lips traveled down as he leaned forward and cupped her sleek calve in the palm of his hand, and then grazed the settle curve up to the inside of her knee, over the back of her thigh, and stopped when he reached the soft flesh not covered by her panties.