Beck & Call (20 page)

His cock hardened more, tempting him to take action on its behalf. Damien frowned at that.

One release in an evening ought to be sufficient.

He shifted, telling himself the hum of desire didn’t bother him. It was, after all, a familiar companion.

He undid his self-talk by wondering if Mia were aroused too.

She took another sip and looked at him. “That was the first time a man played with you, wasn’t it?”

Her perceptiveness surprised him. She seemed so guileless and young he didn’t expect it. “I suppose it was.”

“Why didn’t you ask Jake to stop?”

“I enjoyed it, didn’t I? He’s very skilled. And I certainly didn’t mind the effect it had on you.”

She flashed a sheepish grin. “Maybe it’s twisted, but watching man on man stuff is total catnip to me. It’s like getting access to the ultimate boy’s club.”

“No girls allowed in our tree house?”

She shoved his knee with her hand. “Don’t tease. Men like the idea of lesbians, don’t they?”

“Sometimes.” He set the Sauterne on his side table. When he turned back, Mia was watching the play of muscle in his chest and abdomen. He was used to attention from women, but hers especially pleased him. “Your brother was gay, wasn’t he?”

“I think you know the answer to that question.” Her gaze was level. She didn’t seem to need him to pretend he hadn’t come across this in his research.

“Yes,” he admitted. “When did you realize he liked men?”

“He came out when he was eighteen, when he and Curtis started dating seriously. My parents were shocked. Mike was athletic. Star of the soccer team. Always popular with girls. They had plans for him, and him being gay disappointed them. I was ten, but I don’t remember being surprised myself. Maybe on some level I always knew.”

“Didn’t your folks have plans for you?” Damien asked.

Her dry laugh belonged to a different, more cynical girl. “Mike was the favorite child. From day one, I was something of an embarrassment. Too weird. Too sensitive. Too bad at fitting in. The funny thing is—” She hesitated before continuing. “My parents loved Mike so much, they both came around about the ‘gay thing,’ as my mom calls it. They made Curtis part of the family. My parents send him Christmas and birthday cards. Sometimes they forget me but not him.”

The back of Damien’s eyes pricked unexpectedly. “They didn’t come around about you—after your accident, I mean.”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “They’re not deliberately neglectful. They love me. I just can tell they wish I were more like him. They wish … They never say it, but I think they’d rather I’d died instead of Mike. I understand that, I guess. Mike had a stronger bond with them.”

Damien squeezed her knee.

“Sorry,” she said. “I sound pathetic.”

“No,” he said very firmly. “You’re anything but. I also expect your brother would disagree with their position.”

She smiled faintly. “Probably. Mike was a very giving guy. He had a bad boy streak now and then, but Curtis used to call him Saint Michael.”

“Curtis, your old boss.”

Mia inhaled and then let out a sigh. Damien hadn’t thought much about the man who’d so recently employed her. He’d been more interested in the convenience of her being available to hire. “Do you think Curtis will forgive you for getting involved with Jake?”

She blinked at him, thoughts he could only guess at passing behind her eyes. “I think so. I hope so. When he has a chance to cool down. He’s been an important part of my life.”

Would two months be enough to settle the man’s temper? That would suit Damien. A twinge of something he couldn’t identify prodded his breastbone. He’d never wanted a limited contract to last longer, but he’d also never been this involved with a pair he was observing.

He fell silent and Mia did too. A slap of wind buffeted the roof above them and was absorbed, a sound he was well used to. His building was engineered to withstand more than hurricanes. Mia rubbed the stem of her wine glass. He noticed she hadn’t taken another sip. He had the oddest urge to ask her to stay with him, to sleep with him through the night. He hadn’t cuddled a woman in a long time. Maybe he could convince her she was good enough to come first with anyone.

“You must be tired now,” he said instead. “You’ll want to get back to Jake.”

She seemed startled. “I— Are you tired? I don’t want to leave if you’d still like to talk. Not that you’re the one who’s been blabbing.”

He smiled. His hand was still on her knee where he’d left it. He lifted it to brush the side of her face with his fingertips. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. “I enjoyed our conversation. I believe it’s relaxed me enough to sleep.”

“Or bored you.”

“Not at all,” he said honestly. “You remind me people are more than the sum of the metadata one can dig up.”

“Um. Glad to be of service?”

He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Go to bed, Mia. I’ll see you in the morning.”

~

For the life of her, Mia couldn’t concoct a reason to stick around. Damien’s bedside light was on, so she couldn’t stand guard over him either. She had to leave and hope Jake had finished his rummaging.

She guessed he had. He was in their guest “room” when she arrived, sitting up against one headboard.

She sat on the other bed facing him. “You don’t look like you found anything.”

“I didn’t. And only the office door was locked. I searched every drawer. Maybe Damien destroyed the original plan. He could have scanned it onto his computer.”

“We’re not hackers.”

“We’re certainly not good enough to hack him.” Jake rubbed the stubble on his cheeks. “I’m beginning to wonder if this assignment isn’t a fool’s errand.”

“At least we’re having an adventure.”

She was trying to cheer him up, but he grimaced in response. That hurt a tiny bit. She had mixed success in hiding her reaction when he leveled a look at her.

“Be careful about liking him too much, Mia.”

“Don’t you like him?” she couldn’t help asking.

“I wouldn’t let liking someone blind me to what I had to do.”

“Were you this cold when you were cultivating assets for the CIA?”

To her surprise, Jake flinched. “I am what I am,” he warned once he’d recovered. “You should remember that as well.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “I promise not to like either one of you.”

That, at last, caused him to crack a smile.

“By the way,” she said. “Damien hasn’t been with a man before. If there’s a next time, you could go easier.”

This time, she had the satisfaction of seeing him flush.

“I didn’t know that,” he said gruffly. “He seemed … into it.” His gaze sharpened. “What else did you two talk about?”

That was satisfying too, until she remembered she’d done most of the talking. Jake seemed amused when she admitted this. “Tell me anyway. You never know what might be important.” He patted the mattress beside him.

“You want us to sleep in the same bed?”

“Damien will think it’s strange if we don’t.”

Mia kind of doubted that. She guessed her face said so. Jake’s expression turned stubborn. “I’ll feel safer if I know where you are.”

He was who he was, all right: overprotective, overbearing, with marshmallow underneath.

“Fine,” she said aloud, “but only because you’re asking so nicely.”

He made room for her on the mattress—taking the superior spoon position, she noticed. They snuggled together with maybe not so surprising ease.

“Now,” he said, his body warm, his head above hers on the pillow. “Don’t leave out anything.”

AN
ocean of dappled sunshine greeted the opening of Jake’s eyes. He lifted his forearm to block the glare. His waking brain informed him it was Saturday morning, and this was Damien Call’s penthouse. Mia was curled up beside him, evidently still unconscious.

Her presence in the bed felt too comfortable. Falling asleep twice with her shouldn’t turn the act into a habit. He made up for the treacherous ease by slipping out without disturbing her.

He pulled on the trousers he’d worn the night before, did what he needed in the bathroom, and went foraging for food.

Damien’s residence in daylight was remarkable. Jake was no expert, but he could tell the architecture was award worthy. Light flooded the sculpted metal and glass dome, glinting here and there with rainbows, animated by shifting clouds and bird shadows. The space beneath seemed weirdly empty—and for more reasons than the widely scattered modern furniture. It was too serene, Jake realized as he padded through it toward the kitchen. Too impersonal. He didn’t spot a single photograph of Call’s friends or family. No paintings hung on the few walls there were, not even framed magazine covers of his cars. He saw a bit of dust but no clutter.

It was as if Damien were hiding his personality from himself.

And speaking of hiding things … The story Mia shared last night about her brother being her parents’ favorite wasn’t one Jake had heard. All Curtis had told him was that the Becks were white-bread and a tad judgey. Jake got the impression his boss wasn’t as attached to them as he was to Mia. That was satisfying to him right then. No girl as special as Mia ought to be made to feel inferior.

Not by me either
, was the thought that came to him.

Damien was already in the kitchen when he reached it. The CEO sat at the breakfast bar in business attire, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper one-handed on a sleek tablet screen. The shiny silver case matched the trademark paint on his electric cars. Curiosity pricked Jake. He hadn’t known WorldWide was dipping its toe into the device market.

“There’s yogurt,” Damien said without looking up. “And toast. And navel oranges in the bowl.”

“Thanks.” Jake wondered if Mia liked any of those things. He poured himself coffee from an apparatus that looked like it belonged in a science lab.

“Cream’s in the fridge,” Damien added, thumbing onto another page.

“That’s good. Mia likes her caffeine pale.”

The mention of Mia brought Call’s head up. Damien had a killer poker face. His expression told Jake nothing. If his own ears hadn’t heard the man loudly groan out an orgasm, he wouldn’t have believed anything could move him.

“Is Mia still asleep?”

“Yes. She said you and she talked last night.”

Damien grunted noncommittally and shifted on his designer stool. “I forgot to remind you. Did you plug in your car last night? It could probably use a charge.”

Suddenly Jake realized Damien was self-conscious about having people in his home. He was the opposite of cool and trying to conceal it. If being a host hadn’t distracted him, he’d never have overlooked maintenance for the vehicle.

“I used the hookup next to the parking space.” Impulsively, he decided to twit the man. “You should know Mia thinks she’s a cheap date compared to me. I got a sports car. She got a coffee pot.”

Damien’s mouth fell open. “I didn’t think she’d accept an expensive gift.”

“I’m not accustomed to them myself,” Jake said wryly. “Just so you know, I plan to return it when our contract is up.”

“As you wish, though you could consider keeping it to set an example for less ecologically conscientious car owners.”

He was completely serious, which meant Jake couldn’t resist yanking his chain some more. “In other words, for the good of mankind, I should hang onto it.”

Damien might have recognized his leg was being pulled if Mia hadn’t walked up before he could. She wore a robe and she’d brushed her hair down her shoulders until it shone. The expression that crossed Damien’s face was illuminating. His hard features softened, his hazel eyes warming as they sought hers.

“Good morning,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”

Jake felt a bit like the cheap date then. This hadn’t been his greeting.

“I slept great,” she said froggily. “Is that coffee?”

Jake prepared another cup as she wriggled onto the stool beside Damien.

“Thank you,” she said. “What are we doing today?”

A zing shot through Jake without warning, one he wouldn’t have predicted and was unable to control. His morning wood hadn’t been as hard as this sudden erection. Damien shifted on his seat and Jake knew as sure as sunrise that he’d just stiffened too. Damien’s eyes met his, and the zing strummed his cock again. Damien knew what had happened to Jake and was turned on by it.

Shit,
Jake thought, totally off balance now. He had a raging boner for both of them.

“What would you like to do?” Damien asked politely.

“I could choose?” Mia responded.

“Within reason, certainly.”

Her eyes cut to Jake. Damned if he didn’t know what she was thinking. She wasn’t going to suggest they have a picnic in the park or fly Damien’s jet to Paris. No, she was going to press for the next level up in their intimacy.

Don’t
, he thought, though his throbbing body was begging
do.

“If Jake wouldn’t mind,” she said, “and if it doesn’t upset your timetable, I’d like to have actual sex with him. With kissing too, if that’s all right with you.”

~

Jake’s face tightened, so Mia probably shouldn’t have asked for this. She couldn’t help if intercourse was what she really wanted. If this mission ended tomorrow—which it might—not having had him inside her would be the thing she kicked herself most over. Not that she could be blamed. If Jake hadn’t wanted her to think about doing him, he shouldn’t have come to breakfast without a shirt. Any woman would get itchy over him and his stellar abs. On top of which, she was
asking
, not forcing him. Plus, Damien could still say
no
.

Jake jerked his head away, so she turned her gaze to their host.

Damien rubbed his lower lip. “You want plain old sex. No bondage. No role-playing or props.”

“Well, you’d be there.” Her cheeks flashed hot as she realized what she’d said. “Not that you’re a prop. Just that you’re not plain old.”

He pressed his lips together like he was trying not to laugh. “I’m gratified to hear it. What do you think, Mr. Reed? Are you up for a straightforward erotic encounter?”