Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (19 page)

“Honestly, I always thought I’d be alone.
I’ve never met anyone who made me want anything different. Until
now.” He smoothed her hair against her head. “Maybe we just needed
to find each other.”

Squeezing him tightly to her, tears stung
Carlie’s eyes and she blinked rapidly to clear them.

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Did I say something
wrong?”

“No, not at all.” Emotion choked her up, but
she wanted to reassure him. “The opposite, really. You’ve made me
happy.”

“Good. Being with you makes me happy,
too.”

***

Nick rubbed Carlie’s back until the change
in her breathing told him she’d fallen asleep.

What in the hell am I doing?

It wasn’t the first time the question had
gone through his head. He didn’t allow himself to feel anything
deep. Getting close to people meant taking a chance with his heart,
and Nick had never been good at doing that.

But Donovan said it was worth it. His friend
sounded so happy, and Nick wanted to be happy too. Until meeting
Carlie, he never met a woman who would be a good match for him.

Carlie was something special. Her
resourcefulness in keeping herself safe all these years from people
out to kill her, and then her bravery at deciding to take control
of her life and go after what she wanted...it impressed the hell
out of him. He’d never met anyone quite like her.

Playing best-case scenario, when Paul met
with the leaders of S.A.T.O., they’d quickly realize she wasn’t a
threat to the country and let Nick protect her. Maybe Paul would
release him from the organization. Nick never imagined that one day
he might want to leave S.A.T.O. People didn’t just leave. He
wondered if there was any chance he and Carlie could stay in Sayle,
running her shop happily together.

However, knowing the way the organization
had been run lately, they would probably have to go into hiding,
making use of the identities and start over somewhere new. Carlie’s
entire life was here, and she made it clear she wanted to stay.
Would she give up her shop and friends, just to take a chance on
love with him?

He kissed the top of her head and breathed
in deeply, loving the subtle vanilla scent that lingered in her
hair. Carlie mumbled something and slipped her leg over his before
settling back into sleep.

All he could do was hope for the best. If
Carlie truly fell in love with him, maybe she would choose him if
they had to leave.

Nick startled from sleep and looked around
the unfamiliar room. It took a few seconds to remember where he was
and to identify the wonderful smell filling the house as some sort
of cake baking. He hadn’t heard Carlie get out of bed. Though it
took him a while to fall asleep last night, apparently he slept
more soundly than usual once he did.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the
reason. Being with Carlie was comforting, and he felt like he could
let his guard down. She felt more real to him than the other women
he’d been with—more solid and grounded. Though he never expected
it, Nick couldn’t deny the truth to himself. He was becoming
attached to Carlie. His brain screamed loudly that she was the
target, but his heart didn’t care.

Nick climbed out of bed and grabbed his
sweat pants off the floor. As he pulled them on, he looked at the
digital clock on the nightstand, relieved to see it was only a
little past 7:00. With the aroma of baking in the house, he’d
worried he slept in late. Apparently Carlie was an early riser.

Walking into the hallway, Nick heard her
humming tunelessly while working in the kitchen. Although he
couldn’t wait to kiss her good morning, his first stop had to be
the bathroom.

Flipping on the light switch and closing the
door, Nick walked to the sink and looked at his reflection. The
stupid grin on his face shocked him. Usually the only time he felt
happy was while shooting his gun or practicing at karate class.
After Paul ordered him to kill Jason Steele last year, Nick’s work
offered less satisfaction than it once had.

Carlie was the difference. She made him
happy.

Nick leaned against the countertop heavily.
It was overwhelming. Almost too much to take. The perfect woman for
him, and S.A.T.O.’s new management skills made Nick’s future with
her all too uncertain.

He turned the faucet to cold and let water
run into the basin for a few moments before splashing his face.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Nick stared at himself in the
mirror.

What if today is the only time I get with
her?

While he wanted to shove that thought away,
it was a possibility he had to face. If S.A.T.O. gave orders Nick
didn’t like and Carlie wouldn’t run away with him, his happiness
could be short lived.

Then I better make the most of today.

***

Hearing Nick moving around in the bathroom
brought a smile to Carlie’s face. Waking up next to him this
morning was nice. She’d snuggled against his warm side and listened
to him breathe. While she realized she couldn’t depend on Nick to
protect her from all the Stephens of the world or Ryan’s other
enemies, she felt secure with him, something she hadn’t felt in a
very long time.

While she loved cuddling, the thought of
Ryan’s enemies sent her mind into overdrive, and Carlie knew there
was no chance of going back to sleep. Baking always relaxed her, so
she had headed to the kitchen. She needed to come up with new
cupcake ideas for the shop anyway.

After carefully filling each of the
chocolate cupcakes with the raspberry filling she’d mixed while
they cooked, Carlie had replaced the top portion of the cakes. She
then coated them with a raspberry cream frosting and topped that
with curls of dark chocolate.

Not knowing what Nick liked, and wanting him
to be her taste tester, Carlie also had vanilla cupcakes in the
oven. A cookies and cream frosting waited in the fridge, ready to
top them. As far as she knew, no one else in Sayle made gourmet
cupcakes, which would give her shop that much more to distinguish
it from the competition.

While adding a few more shaves of chocolate
to the cupcakes, Nick’s footfalls padded down the hallway. Carlie
looked up as he entered the kitchen, her heart fluttering with
excitement. “Good morning, Nick.”

“Good morning yourself, beautiful.” He cross
the space between them and took the hunk of chocolate and knife out
of her hand. He set them on the counter and then pulled her in for
a kiss.

Carlie wrapped her arms around his neck,
losing herself in the joy of being with him. She’d forgotten how
exciting a new relationship was. The moments where couples couldn’t
wait to rip each other’s clothes off and nothing mattered except
being with the other person. Exciting and exhilarating. All she
could think about was taking Nick to the bedroom and repeating more
of what they shared last night.

The timer on the oven sounded its alarm,
warning her to retrieve the vanilla cupcakes. Part of her wanted to
let them burn, but she reluctantly pulled away.

He sighed. “I thought you were taking today
off from work.”

“Only because I didn’t want to scare away
the customers with my bruises.” She shut off the timer and grabbed
the hot pads. “I’m trying to come up with new ideas for the store.
I was thinking about featuring a different type of gourmet cupcake
each week. Maybe that could draw in more business.” She pulled the
pan from the oven and set it on the stovetop.

“Your ambition and drive are some of the
things I like best about you.”

A glow of happiness washed over her at his
compliment. When she was Ryan’s wife, she hadn’t been allowed to
open the shop she wanted. Ryan thought it would look bad to the
people in his country to know she was a common cook. With Nick,
she’d never have to worry about that. The more successful she
became, the happier it seemed Nick would feel.

I promised myself I’d stop comparing
them.

Carlie shook her head at herself and turned
off the oven. “I need a taste tester. You can decide which kind I
serve at the shop first.”

“Taste tester?” Nick’s tongue ran across his
lips. “Do I get to choose what to taste?”

The way he looked at her made it clear his
mind
wasn’t
on cupcakes. She felt another blush coming on,
but forced herself to maintain eye contact. “Anything in particular
you wanted?”

He nodded, stepping forward and putting his
hands around her waist. As though she weighed nothing, Nick’s
muscular biceps and chest flexed and he lifted her off the floor,
carrying her the short distance to the counter and setting her on
the edge of it. He stepped into the space between her legs, and she
wrapped them around his waist, drawing him against her.

She ran her hand over his hard jaw, stroking
down his neck and across his shoulders. “I take it you’re not in
the mood for a cupcake.”

He ran his hands up her thighs. “Not quite
yet. First, I have an appetite for something else.” He scooped a
small bit of raspberry frosting from the dish next to them and
cocked his head to the side, apparently considering the situation.
“This frosting has potential.” Without warning, he ran his hand
across her neck, smearing frosting over it. “There are lots of
places to lick it from.”

***

After satisfying their other appetites,
Carlie frosted the second batch of cupcakes, explaining what she
was doing while she worked. Nick listened to it all—not because he
aspired to be a chef, but because it mattered to her. Besides, she
was extra cute when overcome by excitement explaining her
craft.

When the cupcakes were ready, she led the
way into the living room. Nick carried their mugs of coffee and
followed along, enjoying the view. Carlie’s ass swished from side
to side while she balanced a tray of cupcakes on one hand.

Even though his needs were completely
satiated on the kitchen counter, desire twitched again. Life with
Carlie held excitements of a nature Nick hadn’t sampled before. He
couldn’t believe her ex hadn’t been satisfied with her. She was
remarkable. Obviously, Prince Rayhan had been an idiot.

Carlie set the plate of cupcakes on the
coffee table, then sat on the couch and smiled at him. Even with
the bruises darkening her neck and cheek, she was the most
beautiful woman he’d ever known—the cute gap between her front
teeth only enhanced her attraction.

“How are you feeling today?” He put the
coffee down and sat next to her, inspecting her bruises more
closely. “I should have asked before, uh...”

“Before you attacked me in the kitchen? Is
that what you mean to say?” Her eyes sparkled with barely
suppressed amusement.

“Well, yeah.” He shrugged and leaned back.
“Honestly, though, you didn’t seem to mind.”

“Nope, not one little bit. Actually, I’m
looking forward to more later.” She grabbed a chocolate cupcake,
pulling her legs up onto the couch and laying them across his
thighs. She snuggled her body against his side, and Nick put his
arm around her back and held her tightly.

Something seemed to have changed in Carlie
from the shy woman he observed for the past month. In fact, she was
different from the woman he took to dinner the other evening when
she’d been so embarrassed by dancing in front of strangers. Now,
she was more confident and sure of herself.

Nick wondered if he was glimpsing the woman
she’d been before meeting Ryan—before spending six years on the run
and afraid. Already attracted to her ambitious nature and the way
she pushed herself to accomplish her goals, Nick found this new
confidence all that more alluring.

He rubbed his cheek against hers. “Does that
mean you don’t hurt too badly?”

Leaning into him, she caught his earlobe in
her lips. She sucked on it gently, sending a shivery jolt down his
back. “How do you think I feel?” She leaned away from him with a
smirk on her face.

Nick squeezed her thigh. “Pretty damn
wonderful, but I was talking about your bruises. How bad do you
hurt?”

“Nothing seems to hurt when I’m with
you.”

That wasn’t really an answer, so Nick
guessed she probably didn’t feel perfect, but if she was content,
then he was too. “Give me a bite of that cupcake. I think you
worked up my appetite.”

Laughing, she peeled back the paper wrapper
and raised it to his mouth, placing her free hand underneath it to
catch any stray crumbs. “Okay, I want your honest opinion. Give me
your first reaction.”

“I promise.” He took a large bite. Although
he wasn’t big on sweets, the raspberry filling had a slight
tartness to it that counteracted the sweetness of the sugary
frosting and the chocolate. “That’s surprisingly delicious.”

“Surprisingly? You doubted me?” She shook
her head, though he could tell she was teasing. She took a bite of
it herself, staring at the remaining cake while she chewed. A small
blob of frosting stuck to the corner of her mouth.

Unable to stop himself, Nick leaned forward
and sucked it off. He took advantage of the opportunity to sneak in
another kiss.

She laughed against his mouth. “If you don’t
cut that out, we’ll never actually eat these. I need to decide what
to make at the shop tomorrow.”

Nick sighed theatrically. “All you care
about is work.”

“Well, a taste test with you certainly makes
everything sweeter.” She kissed him again and then fed him another
bite, finishing the last of it herself. “This one’s pretty good,”
she decided, “but I’m afraid it might be too much chocolate.”

She launched into a discussion about the
pros and cons of different types of cake and frosting in between
feeding him. The second cupcake was also very good, and he was
unable to choose a favorite. Deciding to go with the vanilla one at
her shop this week, Carlie went back to animatedly discussing
them.