Katie Reus - Targeted

“Uh, sure.” Now she definitely sounded rude.

“Is La Marea okay?” There was a slight touch of amusement in his voice.

“That sounds wonderful.” Okay, that was a much politer response. Good for her. La Marea was an expensive restaurant for a work lunch, but it was also her favorite place. For some reason, it annoyed her that he’d picked it. As if he knew more about her than he should.

Jack followed suit as she stood. She looked at her boss. “You coming?” Please say yes. She tried to will him to respond. All she needed was a few minutes of his time.

Ronald shook his head and grabbed his briefcase. “You two go ahead. I’ve got a meeting to head to.”

A strange panic settled in her gut at the thought of being alone with Jack Baldwin before she’d spoken to Ronald. Ignoring the newcomer, she looked pointedly at her boss. “I need to talk to you in private before I leave.”

“It’ll have to wait, Sophie.” His voice was tired, strained.

“But—”

“I have a meeting,” he snapped, taking her completely off guard.

She recoiled at the abrupt tone. Ronald had never spoken to her like that, and even though it was childish, she felt stung. Fighting the sudden onslaught of emotions, she turned and found Jack staring at her as if he could see straight through to her innermost thoughts. How the hell did he do that? It was so damn jarring, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from those pale eyes.

He was definitely good-looking in that rugged, muscular Marlboro man sort of way. And something told her he didn’t get those muscles from a gym. Which made her wonder exactly what kind of exercise he did to warrant that clearly fit body.

There was something about him that triggered her feminine awareness. He wasn’t doing anything outwardly offensive. It was something primal he exuded. Something akin to death clung to him, and it put all of her senses on red alert. Yeah, she definitely needed to get away from him. Maybe she could call Ronald on the walk to her office and make him listen. Short of tackling him and forcing her boss to sit and listen to a few words, she had no other choice but to play it cool and act normal. At least until she knew what was going on and especially in front of this particular stranger. “I need to grab my purse if you don’t mind wait—”

“I’ll walk you to your office.” There he went with that deep voice again, sending tingles straight to her toes.

It rankled her that when he spoke it sounded like a command. He was quiet the entire walk to her office. Sure, it was only at the other end of the hall, but it dragged on for an eternity. Unable to help herself, she snuck a quick glance at him. Even his profile was intimidating.

Well, except for his mouth. It looked absolutely kissable. Which was plain wrong. A man with such a hard exterior shouldn’t have inviting lips.

His square jaw clenched as if he was aware of her scrutiny. Swallowing, she glanced away, horrified that she was having these thoughts about a possibly dangerous stranger. She blamed her response on his eyes. They looked so much like her first love’s it was beyond startling.

As soon as they stepped into the receptionist’s area, Mandy smiled and handed her a white binder. “This is the information you requested on K—”

“Thank you, Mandy. I’ll go over it later.” Sophie quickly grabbed the binder and tucked it under her arm, hoping the man next to her didn’t notice the Keane cover Mandy had thoughtfully put on it. He definitely didn’t need to know she’d been looking into his company before he arrived. Not until she knew what his deal was or why he was really here.

Thankfully Jack didn’t follow Sophie into her office. She unlocked her drawer and pulled out her purse. She started to put the binder in her drawer, but slipped it into her purse instead. She also shoved the pictures she’d planned to show Ronald into her purse, then tucked the flash drive she’d saved them on into her bra. She might have e-mailed herself the pictures and have them saved in her online mobile album, but she wanted another backup and she was taking it with her.

Ronald might be acting like a jackass right now, but after this stupid lunch she was hunting him down and making him listen to her. If she had to spend a little time with the sexy, intimidating, and probably criminal Jack, so be it.

Contract killer: a person hired to kill a selected target or targets for money.

From the doorway of Sophie’s office, Jack watched her walk around her desk. Her slim-fitting skirt hugged her in all the right places. Even though she had on a jacket, her small breasts were outlined perfectly. Nothing about her outfit was overtly sexual, but simply watching her move around her office got him hotter than anything any other woman had ever done. She didn’t just move. The woman flowed with a grace that made staring at her an addiction. Something about the sleek tailored outfit made him wonder what she had on underneath. Plain cotton, or silk and lace? Or maybe nothing at all. When they were seventeen she’d usually worn Brazilian-style bottoms that showed the bottom half of her butt. Those things had driven him crazy, so of course she’d loved to walk around wearing only that when they’d been alone.

At that thought, his entire body tensed. When they were teenagers he’d wanted her so badly he couldn’t think straight most of the time, but this reaction was different. It was . . . more. Intense. Like thirteen years of pent-up need clawing its way to the surface and just begging to be set free. He’d known coming on this mission so soon after that last op was a mistake, but hadn’t been able to force himself to tell his boss no. Not when he’d been dying to see Sophie.

When she leaned over her desk to grab something, her dark hair cascaded over her shoulder and he couldn’t help remembering what it had been like to run his hands through that thick mass as she rode him. Or as he’d taken her from behind. Or as they’d simply held each other and watched the ocean waves. Memories of their short time together had kept him sane during some of his nastier missions. Her smart-ass attitude and sense of humor had kept him entertained back when there wasn’t much bright in his life. She’d been one of the few bright beacons in his world. He’d even categorized his life into “before Sophie” and “after Sophie.” Because after he’d met her, he’d known on a fundamental level that she was meant for him.

Watching her now felt too surreal. The outline of her jaw, the gentle curve of her neck, her dark, intoxicating eyes. Despite the sharp angles of her exotic cheekbones, everything else about her compact body was soft and inviting. Especially her hips. She had just enough curves for a man to hold on to. Well, not any man. Only him. He wanted to bury his face against her neck, between her breasts, and definitely between her legs. God, if she knew what he was thinking now, she’d run. Or maybe not. He’d seen a hint of awareness in her eyes back in Ronald’s office. It had been tempered with almost outright anger at his presence—which made him curious—but he was pretty sure she was attracted to him.

She paused before slipping the binder her assistant had given her into her purse, and then it looked as if she tucked something into her shirt. Since she had her back to him, it was difficult to see, but he found it interesting.

“Hey, Mandy. Is Sophie in her office?” A man’s voice caused Jack to turn.

Jack quickly sized up the man standing at the receptionist’s desk. He recognized him from one of the dossiers he’d studied. Benson Pollard. Been with the company six months. No red flags.

But Jack didn’t like the familiar way he said Sophie’s name.

Sophie walked out and smiled warmly when she saw the other man. A punch of need slammed into Jack, along with a healthy dose of jealousy. He hadn’t seen that smile in too many years, and he didn’t want her sharing it with anyone else. Crazy? Definitely. He just didn’t care.

She hoisted her purse higher on her shoulder. “Hi, Benson. I’m just heading to lunch.”

“I was actually coming by to see if you wanted to join me for lunch. Where are you headed?”

“It’s a private lunch.” Jack surprised himself and everyone else around him with his heated tone. Mandy’s mouth dropped and the other man’s eyes narrowed at him with barely concealed annoyance . . . and disgust?

Sophie’s dark eyes widened, but she quickly recovered before turning back to her coworker. “Sorry, Benson, it’s a working lunch. Maybe later this week.”

“Sure, or maybe we can do drinks after work?”

Jack watched Sophie finger a strand of dark hair. Something she’d always done when she was uncomfortable. Not that he blamed her. What kind of jerk asked a woman out in front of people?

“I’ll buzz you when we get back.” She looked at Jack, but her eyes were shuttered. “You ready?”

He was silent until they reached the elevators. The short walk didn’t bother him, but it was obvious Sophie was uncomfortable around him. The tiny pulse point on her neck was visible and it was working overtime. He was still unsure if it was because of him or if it was because he worked for Keane Flight and she had something to hide. Once they stepped into the elevator, he broke the silence. “I’m sorry if I was rude to your boyfriend.” If this had anything to do with work, he would have been subtle, but something primal inside him wanted to know exactly who that guy was to Sophie.

She glanced at him as he hit one of the buttons. “What . . . Oh, Benson’s not my boyfriend.”

“He wants to be.” He inwardly cringed. Today he was definitely not a superspy. More like a randy teenager who couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He was supposed to be getting close to her, getting information from her, not grilling her about her social life. And certainly not alienating her. Jack couldn’t seem to stop his apparent repressed Neanderthal behavior, though. Being around her put him on edge, and the close confines of the elevator didn’t help. His skin felt too tight for his body, and the urge to reach out and touch her just for a moment was so real it scared him. For a former, highly trained Marine Corps Scout Sniper and an even better-trained government agent, he was fucking pathetic.