Consumed with Passion (Blackguard Security: Cobra #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

PARKER

My team and I walked into the glamorous hotel after yet another heinous assignment.

It felt great to end the miserable lives of the scum of the earth, but it always stung when we were forced to face their victims. In this particular case, it involved children, and that hurt more than usual now that Rhett too had welcomed a baby.

Graham was no longer the only father on the team.

"I hate these kinds of assignments." Rhett ran his palm down his face.

"Me too. It sickens me what humans can do to other human beings." Sickens wasn't even the right word. It was downright despicable.

"I need to shower this shit away before calling Elle. I know we cleaned up before leaving the precinct, but I feel another one is in order. I'm not talking to my little baby until I do so."

"I don't think your six-month-old is going to know the difference."

"Maybe not but I will." Rhett sighed.

I looked around the lobby and over to the bar area. I contemplated grabbing a drink before I headed up to my room, but a familiar face caught my attention.

"Is that Elle's friend Molly?"

Rhett turned around to where I was pointing. "Huh. Yeah, it looks like. I knew Elle said she was in Vegas, but I didn't realize she was staying at the same hotel as us."

"I think I'm going to go over and say hi."

"Parker," my friend warned.

"Relax. I'm just going to say hi before going up to my room. Don't get your panties in a twist. Besides, don't you have a shower to take and a phone call to make."

"You better just say hi. That's my wife's friend."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Run along now. Your wife is waiting for you."

I headed over to the bar before Rhett could say anything more.

I was several feet from where Molly sat before I looked back to see if Rhett had left yet.

He was still rooted in place with a frown on his face.

I waved him off again but this time made sure he actually left.

Once there was no threat of him falling over me, I continued on my way until I was standing next to Molly.

"Molly, right?" I waited for her beautiful eyes to look my way. "I'm Parker. I work with Elle's husband, Rhett."

"Oh right." Her face went from confused to a small smile slowly. "I saw you at the hospital after Savannah was born."

"Yeah. The whole team rotated in to give our congratulations." I looked down at the empty barstool next to her. "Do you mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course not. I was just drinking alone, so it will be nice to have some company."

I sat my ass on the stool and turned so that the two of us were facing each other.

"So what brings you to Vegas?"

Molly smiled. "A science conference."

I tilted my head to the side. "I didn't think a school district would send one of their teachers all the way to Vegas to attend a conference."

Molly chuckled. "Definitely not. I have to use personal days to come, but I do it every year because I absolutely love the conference they put on."

"I can tell by the way your eyes light up when you talk about it. So what exactly goes on at a science conference?"

"It's mostly vendors trying to sell stuff, but most of the time, they demonstrate how to use the product so it's a fun experience.

I figured if I'm excited about what happens, then my students will be as well.

Usually by the time I get back to school, I have a nice long list of supplies I want the school to buy for the following year. "

The way her whole body became animated as she spoke only proved how passionate she was about the topic. It dragged me in and made me want to know more about her.

"Does the school usually get you everything you want?"

Molly laughed so hard that the man next to her looked over with interest. I wanted to punch his face even if the thought sounded ridiculous.

First of all, I wasn't a jealous kind of man.

Second, she wasn't mine, but right that moment, she was giving me attention, and I wasn't about to let some fuckboy in a polo take that away from me.

Fortunately Molly didn't even give him the time of day. "Definitely not. I'll be lucky if they get me a third of what I asked for."

"And what about the rest of what you wanted?"

Why did I have the sudden urge to get that list and make all her dreams come true? That wasn't like me.

"Some of it I buy myself. The rest usually gets transferred to the following year’s wishlist. A list that's getting quite long, considering I come here every year and they usually have new stuff."

I liked the sound of her laugh and the sound of her voice. It soothed me in ways I didn't even know I needed.

"But enough about me. What brings you to Vegas?"

My smile dropped a little. "I'm not sure how much Elle told you about what we do or the assignment that brought us here."

Molly placed a hand on my bicep. "We kinda have a don't-ask, don't-tell agreement going on when it comes to Rhett. She doesn't want to have to lie to me, so yes, I knew you were going on an assignment but I didn't know it was to here."

Elle probably didn't want to give too much away. I knew Rhett shared the details with her but whether he said she needed to keep a secret wasn't for me to ask.

"Well, I can confirm we are here for an assignment, but that's all I can say."

Our work wasn't classified like it had been in the Army, but it was an unspoken rule with the agencies that we wouldn't share details about their cases. It was a system that worked for us.

"Do you have any other plans for the evening?" I asked as a way to change the subject.

"Nope. I figured I would grab a drink before heading up to my room, but now that you're here, what do you say to a shot and a round of twenty questions. Maybe a little ‘get to know you’ since our friends have something in common."

"You mean being married?" I smirked.

"Yes, that." She saluted me with her wineglass before tossing the small amount left back. Then she waved the bartender down. "Two shots of tequila, please. Or maybe just leave the bottle since I plan to make this game more interesting."

The male bartender gave her an indulging nod before turning around and grabbing a bottle from the shelf. He poured two shots but didn't leave the bottle like she asked.

That was too bad. I wanted to keep this woman here as long as I could.

"So how do you plan to make this game more interesting?" I grabbed the shot glass but didn't knock it back yet. I watched as her delicate fingers wrapped around her own glass.

"We're going to ask each other a question, and we have to say the first thing that pops into our head. If you take longer than three seconds to answer, you have to take a shot."

"And why exactly are we taking shots if it takes us too long to answer?"

"Because if you think about it too long, then it's obviously not true. Twenty questions is meant to be things you already know the answer to."

I wasn't sure I agreed with that logic but whatever. If Molly wanted to play it that way, then so be it.

"All right, ladies first."

"Well, thank you." Molly gave a tiny bow from her seat. "I'll even start with an easy question. What's your favorite color?"

"Brown," I said a moment later.

Molly looked like she didn't believe me. "Who the hell has brown as their favorite color? I feel like you're lying, but you were able to answer it quickly enough, so I guess no shot for you."

I didn't tell her that it was my new favorite color because my favorite was now the color of her eyes.

"How about I take a shot simply because you think I'm lying?"

Molly smirked. "Now that's the spirit. I can tell this game is going to be fun."

I tossed the shot back and inwardly winced. Tequila wasn't my favorite, but I wasn't about to say anything. Instead I waved the bartender over and asked for another.

"My turn . . ." And that was how Molly and I spent the evening getting to know each other.

My head pounded.

Why the fuck did my head hurt so damn much?

I tried to remember what I had done last night to make me wake up feeling this shitty. The last thing I remember was going over to the bar to say hi to Molly. Bits and pieces of the night flashed before my eyes.

Tequila shots.

Twenty questions.

More tequila shots.

How much did I drink? It had to have been a lot because I couldn't remember how I got back to my room. This was my room, right?

I looked around the hotel suite. That was my bag sitting on the dresser, so this had to be my room.

My stomach swooshed as I tried to sit up to look at the clock.

Fuck, our flight was leaving in an hour. I needed to get my ass out of the bed and shower. I could worry about my hangover later.

Throwing the blankets off of me, I swung my legs around and set my feet on the floor.

Well, I didn't pass out in my clothes. That was a good thing. I must've been sober enough to get undressed and climb into bed naked.

Then why the hell couldn't I figure out how I got upstairs? Maybe it would come back to me after I showered.

Yup, I just needed a good hot shower, and everything would be better. I repeated that mantra over and over as I stumbled to the bathroom. I had to keep rubbing my eyes so I didn't land flat on my face. The bright light coming through the curtains was hell on my headache.

I didn't even want to turn the bathroom light on in fear it would make things worse, but showering in the dark while I was this unstable would only be worse.

With much reluctance, I slapped the switch until light flooded the small space. The sight in front of me stopped me dead in my tracks. Not that I had been moving much but my body definitely locked up.

Was that a used condom hanging off the trash?

Oh no.

Oh please, God, no.

Tell me I didn't have sex last night.

I looked at my face in the mirror. I wasn't sure what I’d hoped to see as I scrubbed my face with the palms of my hands, but a wedding band on my finger wasn't it.

Shit! What had I done?