22. Underestimate Me
UNDERESTIMATE ME
“You’re right on time,” Paris said when she heard the bell go off.
Not that it mattered because Molly was still there.
And Fletcher had a keycard to get behind the security door that had been installed over the weekend.
He had to admit that Paris had already made it look nicer than he’d expected.
She’d worried over nothing.
He walked through the door she was holding open. “Coming to greet me? Want to know my reaction to your decorating skills?”
She smiled, the wariness no longer behind her eyes.
It’d been a few weeks of nothing at this point. He didn’t think West was going to keep him on this much longer.
There wasn’t much more he’d been able to come up with that stood out enough. He was still tracking down where the rat came from, but that had been a dead end.
No one was talking in Chinatown just as he expected.
“I do,” she said.
“It looks nice. You worried for nothing.”
“I know. London said the same thing. It’s almost as if it always belonged there.”
“Did you think otherwise?”
“No. Come back and I’ll get my stuff.”
“Night,” Molly said.
He nodded to Molly and followed Paris’s ass down the hall. A young man caught his eye in another office.
“Ryan, this is Fletcher Wilcox. He’s the Head of Security for the building. I have to show him something, but you’re good for the day. Hope it wasn’t too chaotic for you.”
“No,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “I’m learning a lot already. I’m going to dive into MHT tomorrow now that you sent it all over.”
Fletcher waited until Ryan left, heard the bell go off again, then asked, “Why is your new hire going over an old project?”
It wasn’t lost on him the name of the company.
“I’m training him. Best to have him go through start to finish and see how we operate and what we look for.”
“True. But hadn’t you said that was your first strategic planning project? I thought you did a lot more lean consulting.”
“Wow, you really do know your job.”
He reached for her arm and yanked her to his chest. Maybe he wanted the kiss as much as she was eying him to give it.
“Don’t underestimate me.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Never.” Then she pointed to her lips as if he didn’t want to place them there himself.
They landed hard, quick, and with little heat.
She crossed her eyes at him.
“That was more than I thought I’d get here. And as for why Ryan is doing that, it’s because I had a conversation with Debra. A lot has popped up today and I glanced back quickly at things and want a second fresh set of eyes to do the same thing.”
“He looks like he just learned to shave last month.”
“Yes,” she drawled out. “He’s young and inexperienced. But I’ll only have him double-check simple things. Like what I did today and noticed a double file.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that after my conversation with Debra earlier—”
“Why are you still talking to her?” he interrupted.
“She called me. Let me explain.” He listened while Paris went over the conversation. “Then I decided to just look through my files again. This woman was completely different months ago.”
“How so?”
“She was composed and professional. Now she’s more skittish, stressed, and calling me from home is unprofessional. She knows that the contract is over. She asked for more hours and they told her no.”
“So you think you missed something? Or they are hiding something?”
“I don’t know, but it’s not sitting well. Should I just walk away because my job is done? Yes. I should. But I can’t. Did I miss something? Did I have it all wrong and caused people to lose their jobs?”
He shook his head. “Paris. Come on. You know how ridiculous that sounds. One file isn’t going to change the outcome of their business or your suggestions.
I looked over everything you did and sent.
Nothing appeared off from the end results.
” He paused at her reaction. “You don’t have to look so shocked.
What? You think I don’t understand your job? ”
“Oh, get that smirk off your face. I know you do. With your background, I should have figured it. But I didn’t think you’d take the time to read it all.”
“I do my job well,” he said.
He’d read it, he looked for any angle he could that this was coming from MHT, but nothing stood out other than Rick’s words.
She leaned back in his arms. “You do a lot of jobs well.” She stepped back. “But today, I found this extra file, named the same as one I used a lot. I’m not sure how I missed it. It was sent months after and almost half the size, but it’s password protected.”
“What did you do?” he asked. “Tell me you didn’t call the company asking for the password.”
“I didn’t. I could have called Debra back, but I’d already played coy with her. I’m acting like I’m done with the job.”
“Which you should be.”
“I know. But I called Braylon. I worried maybe I missed something. I can’t let it go. He didn’t think this file was that big of a deal. At half the size, it’s not like there is more information I needed on it.”
“What was on the original file?”
“A bunch of things. Multiple spreadsheets, but mainly personnel. Titles, responsibilities, job descriptions. Things like that.”
“Let me see the file,” he said.
“My laptop is off,” she argued.
“Turn it on and let me see it.”
She moved out of his arms, her face scrunched up as if she was put out.
He didn’t care.
She typed her password, went to the file, he nudged her out of the way and clicked. “See, you can’t access it.”
“Do you have a thumb drive here?”
“Huh?”
“A thumb drive. I’m going to get a copy of it but don’t want you emailing it to me.”
She opened a drawer in her desk. “Let me check in the supply closet. No one uses those things anymore.”
He moved around her files some more, nothing else stood out.
She returned with a package that she was opening and handed it over.
He transferred the file and put it in his pocket.
“Are you going to try to crack the code yourself?” she asked.
“No. I’m going to give it to someone else who can do it. Just not sure how long it will take.”
And Avery would be discreet.
“Can I ask who?”
“No. You can’t. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’m not leaving anything up to chance.”
“How much longer is West going to have you watching over me?” she asked. “This is almost ridiculous at this point.”
“Don’t worry about that. Get your stuff and let’s go.”
She powered down her laptop, put it back in her bag, then they shut the lights and left the building together, taking the elevator down to the basement where his SUV was parked.
“Did you want to get some dinner or you’re just bringing me home?”
“We can eat.”
“What did you tell Ian?”
“What did you tell London?”
She climbed into his SUV once the doors were unlocked, then he pulled out and made the slow drive the few blocks to her apartment. It might have been faster to walk and then return, but he’d turn his SUV over to the valet for a bit.
“Wow, going to play that game?”
He lifted an eyebrow at her at a red light. “I told Ian I’d be home after dinner. He doesn’t question it.”
“I told London to go to Spencer’s rather than wait for me. I’d be fine.”
“You didn’t tell her how you were getting home?” he asked.
“No. She knows I won’t lie and put myself at risk. I’m not her. I follow the rules. She’s going to assume Marcus most likely.”
“So you still haven’t told her about us?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Do you want me to?”
He didn’t know what the fuck he wanted.
“You said you told her everything. Or that she could sense everything.”
“I thought she could, but last Sunday when she came home, she was tired from traveling, then changed and went to see Spencer. She wasn’t around much to get a read on things.”
“And Marcus got you that morning for work?” he asked.
“Yes. By the time she saw me again alone, I’d come down from that high.”
He laughed. “A high, huh?”
“You didn’t think it was one?”
“Oh, it was.”
“What do you want for dinner? I can throw something together quickly unless you want to walk somewhere?”
“Don’t go out of your way.”
“It’s not. I planned on cooking tonight. And maybe I’d rather spend the time with you and not in a restaurant with other people,” she said, her voice low. Almost as if she was afraid to voice those words.
“Then we’ll eat at your place.”
They didn’t talk much more until he pulled in front of her building, got out, handed the key to the valet, got the ticket and then walked inside with Paris.
“Does it bother you wearing a suit jacket now daily?”
“No. I’m used to it.”
They got in the elevator, the two of them quiet, as they weren’t alone.
The minute they were in her front door, she shut it behind her, grabbed the front of his suit and pushed him against the wall, her mouth on his.
“This is the kiss I wanted earlier,” she growled.
He didn’t hesitate.
He fisted a hand in her hair and kissed her back just as hard.
She wasn’t teasing. She wasn’t soft. She came at him like she meant to consume him, her hands gripping his lapels, dragging him down to her height, her body pressing into his like she’d been holding this in all day since he’d said he’d be bringing her home.
And damn, if he didn’t love every second of it.
Her mouth was demanding, hot, and a little reckless. Something he was positive she’d never let loose in her life.
Her teeth scraped his lower lip before she soothed it with her tongue. She shifted closer, one thigh sliding between his, pinning him to the wall this time.
Attacking him. Claiming him.
His pulse kicked hard.
He’d spent most of his adult life composed. Controlled. Measured. Even when he was younger, even when he worked undercover—he was always the one toeing the line.
But with her?
She made him want to lose it.
He dropped his hands to her hips and hauled her flush against him, the soft curve of her fitting against his harder edges like she’d been built for it. Her breath hitched against his mouth, and that small sound nearly unraveled him.
“You wanted this?” he murmured against her lips, his hips rubbing hers.
“Yes,” she hissed, already kissing him again before he finished speaking. Her pelvis grinding against his cock, hard, ready, willing to let her take it all from him.
She nipped his jaw, trailed hot kisses down his neck, and he tipped his head back against the wall, letting her take what she wanted. Her fingers slid under his suit jacket, pushing it off his shoulders impatiently like the fabric annoyed her.
“Careful,” he said. “Don’t want to rip the jacket.”
She pulled back just enough to look at him, his eyes dark and unbridled. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
Then she kissed him again. Deeper this time, slower, but no less hungry.
He flipped them without warning, turning her until her back hit the wall instead. Not rough. Just determined. His hands bracketed her face as he kissed her with a different kind of intensity. A steady, consuming, controlled heat to match her wildfire.
She gasped softly at the shift.
“You’re not the only one who wanted that kiss,” he said, brushing his thumb along her swollen lower lip.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, tugging him closer like she didn’t believe him. Like she wasn’t sure of her next move.
But then her fingers went to the bottom of his shirt, lifting it free of his pants, her hands careful not to touch the gun under his arm.
He lowered his mouth to hers again, slower now, savoring instead of devouring. Every brush of her lips, every breath she pulled from him. He felt her melt a little under the steadiness, but the fire consumed them, still coiled and ready to strike.
And he loved that too.
Loved that she came at him without hesitation.
Loved that she didn’t treat him like something fragile or untouchable.
Loved that, with her, he didn’t have to be on top of his game all the time.
She slid her hands up into his hair and whispered against his mouth, “Don’t hold back.”
His jaw tightened slightly at that.
He wasn’t holding back. Not really.
But he leaned in again, letting the kiss deepen until the rest of the world fell away.
Right now there was only her mouth on his. Her body against his. Her need matching his.
And he intended to enjoy every single fucking minute of it.
“The bedroom,” she mumbled against his mouth. “Right now. Or it’s here in the hallway and that’s too hard in these pants.”
He backed her to her room, kicked the door shut with his foot, lifted the blue sweater over her head and tossed it on the floor.
She was kicking off her heels, then reaching for the button and zipper of her brown pants.
He unhooked his gun, laid it on the dresser and undressed.
Too many buttons to tackle.
He got three down and pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground, then toeing off his shoes as he undid his pants.
She was already on the bed naked, willing, ready with a condom out and in her hand, holding it up and waving it as if it was a treat to tempt him into her lair.
He all but dove on the bed, snatched it away and pinned her in place.
His mouth, it was on hers again.
Kissing her was becoming his new obsession.
Her nails, they were scratching him. Her hips, they were bucking up and grinding. Her leg curved and ran over his hip.
If he didn’t cover his dick now, he was pretty sure she was going to climb on and take him without it.
He leaned back, opened the package and slid it on one handed. Grabbing her legs, his palms, fingers wide on her hamstrings, he lifted her up, spread her wide and sank in in one smooth motion.
She was pinned in place for him.
All for the taking. Every bit of it.
Her eyes were on his, kind of wild, kind of willing, and open for more.
He was going to give it to her. Everything he had, she better be ready to accept it.
Her tongue came out and slowly swiped across her upper lip.
A tease. A temptation. A silent request for more.
She was holding steady.
More than him. Stronger than him.
He was slamming into her. The moans coming out of her mouth, they were sharp, short, and fueling him to keep at it.
Then every moan, every sound, every movement.
Everything she did, he fed into it.
Her eyes closed. Her bottom lip went between her teeth.
She was panting, cursing, then yelling out his name as she squeezed him tight.
As she milked every ounce of fluid out of his cock.
As he groaned with her and then dropped her legs down and rolled to the side on his back to stare at the ceiling and try to catch his breath.
“Now that was a workout,” she said.
He let out a short laugh.
“You didn’t do much more than lie there.”
She pinched his arm. “You tell yourself that.”
She rolled over and got up much faster than he thought he’d be able to do. She picked up her clothes, her naked ass moving around the room, her long blonde hair swishing across her back, then dropped the pile into the laundry basket and grabbed more out of a drawer.
Guess that was his cue to get his ass up and clean up also.
She already had his clothes in her hand when he stood up, then gave him a kiss and pushed him toward the bathroom.
He took care of the condom, debated taking a shower, then noticed his shampoo on the shelf, a smile filling his face.
She sure the hell let nothing slow her down.