Love & Deception (Agents in Love - Book 1) (21 page)

“I’m sorry, Nick. I know you had your heart
set on her being innocent.” Paul actually did sound sorry.
“President Sharp wants you to stay with her, though. I assume
things have moved to the physical level, since you’ve been living
with her now for a week?”

“Yes.” Nick wondered when the shock would
wear off. He knew the hurt had to come eventually. The nights spent
locked in passion with Carlie were wonderful, and he thought he’d
found true love.

“Can you stay with her, keep pretending
everything is fine?”

“I’m a professional.” Nick’s hands felt like
ice and his heart pounded too fast. “I can handle this.”

“Have you found the bracelet yet?” Paul
asked quietly. “She can do a lot of damage with those
microchips.”

Truthfully, Nick hadn’t even bothered
searching. Carlie kept him busy with training and loving, and he
thought she was wrongly accused. “I’ve never seen her wear any
jewelry except what she borrowed from her friend.”

“She’d likely keep it in a safe place,
hidden for now. You’ll have to figure out a way to get her to show
you where she would keep something valuable.”

Nick thought about the safe at Carlie’s
Creations. She kept all the money the shop earned in there while
waiting for the armored car to collect it each day. However, she’d
opened it freely in front of him several times, without any
hesitation. That didn’t necessarily mean the bracelet wasn’t in
there, but it must be well hidden.

“I’ll come up with something,” Nick finally
answered. “Do you or the other members of S.A.T.O. have any clue
who Carlie actually is?”

Paul sighed. “Have you fallen for this girl?
I’ve never heard you so upset on a case before.”

Rolling his eyes at himself for slipping up
with her name again, Nick’s sigh matched Paul’s. “I’m going to be
honest with you. I have fallen for the girl I thought she was. The
one she pretended to be.”

“And now that you know the truth?”

“I told you before that if you had proof,
I’d do things your way.” Nick’s heart spasmed with pain, but he
stuffed it down, refusing to acknowledge it. “So, who is she? Her
story was so convincing, I thought for sure no one could make
something like that up.”

“We think she was Princess Stephanie’s best
friend.” Paul’s voice held a softer quality.

After everything the boss had put him
through the last year, Nick was surprised to hear that. It was
almost as if Paul truly felt bad for him. He sounded like the man
Nick had known for thirteen years, the one he admired. It made him
feel a little better to at least have that back. He’d missed the
old Paul the past year.

“What makes you think she’s Stephanie’s
friend?” he asked.

“Look at the picture of the bridal party.
Check out the maid of honor,” Paul replied. “I know this is hurting
you, Nick. You’re usually so cautious and never get involved with a
target.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said firmly. Even if he
didn’t really believe that, he had to reassure Paul.

“You know I trust you completely, son, and
I’m sure you’ll be fine. However, if you need anything, I’m here
for you.” He sighed loudly. “Search for the bracelet. The important
thing is protecting the innocents Muhammad Khan wants to hurt. I’ll
be in touch soon.”

The call disconnected, and Nick closed the
other opened files until only the picture of Stephanie’s bridal
party was on the desktop. All the women smiled out at him, happy
about the festive occasion. He studied their faces, particularly
the face of the girl next to the happy bride.

She looked a lot younger. The years on the
run, or whatever she was doing, had hardened Carlie. Nick wished
there was another explanation, anything besides Carlie lying to
him.

However, the cute gap between the front
teeth of the bride’s friend left no doubt.

Carlie waited for Nick’s Porsche to pull
into the parking lot, then set the alarm and stepped outside,
locking Carlie’s Creations. When she reached the car, Nick stood by
the passenger’s door, holding it open.

She smiled at him, pleased by how things
went today. “You’ll never guess who’s catering her first birthday
party this weekend. We’ll hold it at the shop and I’m going to cook
the food and help with decorations and—”

Nick scooped her into his arms and dipped
her down, pressing a hard kiss against her lips. Carlie clung to
his shoulders, opening her mouth and returning the kiss with
interest. Her heart raced and her insides tightened with excitement
while his tongue tantalized her senses.

He finally pulled back, coming up for air,
and hugged her to his chest. “I missed you.”

Even though they’d only been apart a couple
hours, Carlie had missed him too. “I think we need a new rule.”

“What’s that?” he asked, stroking her back
through her thick coat.

“Every time we’re apart, we have to greet
each other just like this.”

“You liked that, huh?”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled at him, but was
shocked to see the hardness that crossed his face. “Nick? Did
something happen?”

“Why would you say that?” He smiled, but it
looked forced.

“Something’s wrong. I can tell.”

He cupped her cheeks in his hands, his dark
eyes penetrating hers with the hawk-eyed stare she first noticed
from him. “Nothing is wrong, my lady.” He pressed his lips against
hers again.

Carlie returned the kiss, although she could
tell he was lying. Maybe something went wrong at his restaurant,
and he didn’t want to burden her with bad news. She wished he would
share, since that’s what people in relationships were supposed to
do. Then again, Nick had admitted to her that their relationship
was the first he’d truly been serious about, more than a casual
fling. She couldn’t expect him to get everything right all the
time.

Heck, she made mistakes too and was bound to
make more. As long as they cared about each other, everything would
be fine. She’d purposefully avoided thinking she was in love with
Nick, but feeling her heart clench down with concern just knowing
he was unhappy, Carlie knew she had to be honest—at least with
herself. She was totally, head over heels, in love with the
man.

Even though passion was lacking on the other
end of the kiss, Carlie ran her fingers through his hair and tried
to let her love come through to him. Anything to cheer him up a
little.

He finally ended the kiss and helped her
into the car, running around the front of it to slide into the
driver’s side. “So, you found a way to help that mom who came in,
huh?” he asked while backing out of the parking lot.

The question was flat, disinterested.
Something really must have gone wrong. The only thing Carlie could
think to do was talk to him like normal and hope he pulled himself
out of his bad mood. Maybe if she gave him enough time, he’d open
up and tell her what was wrong.

“Mrs. Flair had the worst week of her life.
Since I’ve had the best week of mine,” she rubbed his arm, “thanks
to you, I decided to share a little of my cheer.”

“Are you giving everything away again?”
Although he’d seemed impressed and happy about Carlie contributing
to charities before, he sounded hostile now.

She jerked her hand away from him, feeling
hurt even though she told herself not to. “Actually, no, I’ll make
a nice profit. She’s paying to rent my shop for the party tomorrow
night, and paying for me to cater it. Shelley’s going to help
serve. I was hoping you’d help set up a little stage area, they
plan to sing karaoke, but if you don’t want to...”

“Of course I’ll help you,” he snapped.

She stared out the window into the night,
biting her tongue. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk. His gruff
manner provoked an equal anger in her, and she knew she’d better
keep quiet, or she’d lash out and make things worse.

Whatever happened today, Nick would have to
work through it on his own. She’d had enough silent car rides and
not talking about issues when she’d been married to Ryan. If he
didn’t open up about his life and share with her as much as she
shared with him, Carlie would have to decide if loving him was
reason enough to continue seeing him.

She sighed, knowing it was her anger making
her think such thoughts.

I do love him. I hope he can work through
this and learn to let me in.

***

Damn. That didn’t go well. Nick knew he made
a mess of things. His acting abilities apparently didn’t apply in
this scenario. Carlie read his reactions too well. As soon as they
walked into her house, she told him to help himself to whatever was
in the refrigerator and went to take a shower—not inviting him to
join her like she usually did.

He ran a hand through his hair and took some
deep breaths, trying to clear his mind of the rage built inside him
by her betrayal. How could he have been so stupid? He let himself
fall for a target, and she did what every target did. She lied.

If he was going to make it through this
mission, he needed to get his head on straight. He’d worked with
plenty of women over the years. He even slept with a few of them in
the name of duty. This was nothing more than a case. His job was to
protect the American people from terrorist attacks. Carlie was the
enemy. Somehow, he needed to reboot and get his mind wrapped around
this change.

He shouldn’t even be angry with her for
lying, not really. Every target lied. It was what criminals did.
Carlie’s allegiance was to Muhammad and whoever else gave orders to
the cell of terrorists she worked with.

The important thing for Nick was to find the
bracelet and learn as much about the terrorists’ plans as Carlie
would share with him. He needed to pretend nothing changed in the
last few hours, even if everything had.

He strode into the bathroom, shedding his
clothing. The silhouette of Carlie’s thin form showed through the
yellow shower curtain. Terrorist or not, Nick still got hard upon
seeing her.

Pulling back the corner of the curtain, he
watched while she rinsed her hair. Hot water and soap bubbles
trailed down her body, and Nick knew he could do what was required
of him. He still desired her. The tricky part would be guarding his
heart, because everything in him still urged him to believe in her.
Even with all Paul’s proof, Nick wanted things to be different.

The cold air must have hit her, because
Carlie swiped water from her eyes and looked at him, not saying
anything.

Without asking permission, he climbed over
the edge of the tub and closed the curtain. He stepped into the
stream of water, rubbing his hands over her slippery stomach and
across her tits, finally wrapping his arms around her and pulling
her into an embrace. Things with her felt so real. He would only
hurt himself by pretending they still were, but he couldn’t stop
it. He wanted to be with her.

He turned her into the wall, pressing his
body tight against hers and kissing her neck. She softened against
him and let out a low moan, running her hands down his back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, nipping at her
ear. “I had a bad evening, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on
you.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now.”

He grabbed the perfect globes of her ass and
lifted her, bracing her against the wall. She wrapped her legs
around his hips and reached between them to stroke his engorged
shaft.

“God, Nick,” she half whimpered, half
moaned. “I want you so bad.” Her eyes met his and her hand stopped
its movement. “No, that’s not entirely right. I need you. I’m
yours. Take me.”

***

Nick lay in bed with Carlie draped across
his chest. Her hand contracted against the muscles of his stomach
now and then, but she seemed close to sleep.

For his part, he couldn’t quit thinking
about what happened in the shower. Quick and rough, he’d screwed
her against the shower wall, almost animalistic. She seemed happy
and content afterward, as though they worked out their issues. Nick
couldn’t help but feel dirty and dissatisfied. He was used to
making love to her, not just having sex. It felt wrong.

This case might very well make him lose his
mind. How could he love her, but still turn her in? Never had he
expected to fall for a target. The past fourteen years, ever since
his mom died and his dad went off the deep end, Nick had devoted
himself to stopping terrorism. Love didn’t happen for men like
him.

He remembered it like it had just happened.
His younger self walked off the shooting range when Paul
approached. Nick had noticed the man following him for quite some
time and planned to ask what his problem was. At twenty-one years
old and having just lost his mother, Nick was ready for a
fight.

Paul had told him to get into his car, and
for some reason Nick did it. Overconfidence, he supposed, thinking
his shooting and fighting skills would keep him safe. Funnily
enough, it was those skills that attracted Paul’s attention and let
him know Nick would be a good fit as an agent.

He explained to Nick that if he chose to
become an agent of S.A.T.O., he would protect fellow Americans but
never be recognized as a hero. He would never have a life of his
own and, most important to Nick, would never be the same person
twice. It sounded like a dream come true. He could just sweep the
pain of his mother’s murder away and become someone entirely
different.

He dropped out of college that week and
tried to say goodbye to his father, making an effort to end things
on congenial terms—though the man made that difficult—and then set
off to a new, exciting life, with Paul to guide him on his new
path. Until recently, he thought that life was enough. Carlie had
made him want more, and then cruelly snatched that promise of
happiness away with her lies.