Until Noon (3 page)

to ignore those feelings threatening to derail her. “That sounds like a good idea. Let’s go tell him we’re leaving and see how long he thinks this will take.”

“I’ll drive,” he told her as they walked away from the scene. He took her hand as

naturally as if it was a gesture of habit.

“I have a car here,” she protested.

“And it will still be here when we get back.”

Pilar found herself literally towed along to Raul’s SUV. He opened the door and

helped her into the passenger seat, waiting until her seat belt was buckled before

jogging around to the driver’s side.

They were silent during the few minutes drive to the bistro, a typical little café in that part of the world. Inside it was dark and warm and a wonderful blend of aromas

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Until Noon

swirled in the air. Raul ushered her to a booth at the back of the tiny place, surprising her when he slid onto the opposite seat.

Was she surprised?
Disappointed.
Oh, she clenched one fist in outrage. How could the man attract her so? Yes, he was handsome. Deliciously so. The hair, black and wavy.

Thick. The eyes, dark and dreamy. Focused on her. The lips, meant for kissing, meant to be kissed.
By me.

The crotch of her panties was instantly soaked just to look at him. How the hell

could one man arouse her so much so quickly and easily?

“Time to be truthful with each other.” A flat statement.

She wanted to question that, but really, she wasn’t that much of an airhead to

pretend she didn’t understand his reference. He wanted to know why she had allowed

him the pleasure of her body for fabulous long hours and then snuck out. She nodded.

“You left the room and I had no way to find you.” His low voice resonated through

her body.

“I thought that was the best thing,” she said slowly. “I didn’t think you wanted to

deal with a messy morning after.”

He nodded. “Usually I don’t. But our night together was…extraordinary, to say the

least.”

His words sent sweet tremors through her body. Still, she had to be objective. Tell

him the right of things. “People in our line of work can’t afford anything more than a few hours.”

He stilled, his smoky gaze boring into hers like smoldering coals, searching, on

guard. “So then you knew who I was? What I did for a living?”

“No! No.” She sounded like a teenager caught in an embarrassing trap. She took a

deep breath and reached for control. She was a professional and needed to act like one.

“But I know what I do and history bears me out on this. And now that I know what you

do, I’m—”

“Confused?” His lips curved in the beginning of a smile that showed her he

believed her.

She inhaled, drawing herself up into a dignity she had momentarily lost, captivated

by the memories of his charm. “Our night together was just one of those things. Messy emotions get in the way and color my ability to do my job.”

“I had feelings about that night too,” he told her, his bass voice a breath of sound.

“Wild ones.”

He laced his fingers through hers and held tightly to them.

She slid her hand away and to her delight and regret, he let her go.

“Are you saying you can’t do both?” He tipped his head to one side, arched a long

brow. “We can pool our resources on this investigation. And spend time together while we’re doing it.”

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Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand

No, no, no. The one time she had allowed it had been disastrous. Devastating. She

couldn’t go through that again. She needed to get her head into the game here. Another minute and she’d forget where she was. She’d rip off his clothes and have him fill her right here in public.

”Raul.” She needed to break the spell he was weaving around her again. His mere

touch transported her back to that hotel room, to the sheets crumpled between their hot, sweaty bodies. To the best sex of her life. Ever. And god help her, she wanted it again.

“If I promise not to sabotage your assignment, to work with you, can we manage to

pick up where we left off?” His lopsided grin was practically lethal. “I can remember where we were, how you took me inside you, how you pulsed for me, creamed for me.

Can’t you?”

Yes.
Heat flashed through her body. Her internal temperature had to be rising into the red zone. Pulling at her jacket, she managed to shrug out of it. A waiter placed two glasses of water on their table and she drank from one of them greedily. Anything to

cool herself off. This man was a definite danger to her self-control.

Shifting her body, she leaned into the corner of the booth.

“Trying to cool off,
Señorita
?”

She clutched the half-empty glass. “Trying to keep things in perspective. We have a

job to do here.”

“I’m well aware of that.” His chiseled face hardened, all vestiges of a smile wiped

away. “Because of Adam Molloy, it’s personal for me, so it’s definitely a priority.” Then his expression softened and he reached across the table to brush the tip of a finger along her cheek. “But that doesn’t mean we should ignore what’s between us.”

“What
is
between us, Raul? A few hours?” She took another swallow of water. “I’m sure you’ve had other one-night stands.”

“Not like that one.” His eyes glittered.

Pilar squeezed her thighs together against the internal throbbing. She breathed a

sigh of relief when the waiter came to bring the espressos Raul had ordered. Sipping the hot, fragrant liquid didn’t cool her off but it gave her something to do with her hands.

“I think we should focus strictly on business,” she told him.

It was vital he understand that. She might risk her body again but this man could

do damage to her heart. This was very difficult since every time she looked at him she remembered the image of him naked, his muscular body glowing in the lamplight, his

cock, thick and swollen, protruding from the tight nest of hair surrounding it. Even

months later she could still conjure up the feel of that cock inside her, his hands holding her hips as he drove into her again and again. Her orgasms had been the most explosive she’d ever experienced.

What is wrong with me? I never obsess about men like this. I don’t have the time in my life
for that. Or the courage to explore it again.

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Until Noon

What scared her was the fact she couldn’t simply wipe Raul Cardona from her

mind as she had with all the others. And now she was going to be working closely with him on this investigation. A case that reached far into both the European Union and

most likely the Russian mafia. She suspected foul play on the part of Russian mobs to gain hegemony in Europe by controlling the oil supply. This death of the English

private detective scared her. If the Russians were now resorting to murder to gain their ends, it was up to her to find the proof. Every clue about the oil supply she had led her to a dead end. She needed more info, more brains on the investigation. Her supervisor who thought she was chasing a red herring had nixed any more support for her on this

case. So Raul’s assistance could be a boon. She’d be a fool not to take advantage of his connections, but how would she keep herself out of his bed?

Business. Pay attention to business.

“What do you know about the dead man?” she asked him, hoping to draw out any

small details.

“Not much. I’ll ask my headquarters to dig out more information.” He sipped his

espresso. “Then I’ll share whatever I learn with you.”

“You’d do that? Just like that?”

He let his eyes flow over her, his gaze was a caress so gentle, so appealing she felt his admiration. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I might not be able to reciprocate,” she told him, her words breathless as he locked his eyes on hers and smiled that devastating smile.

“That’s okay. I understand. Proprietary information, right?”

His words brushed her skin, arousing a desire so needy, so sweet, tears stung her

eyes. How could a man be so enchanting? “Yes. Proprietary.”

“I’ll trust you to tell me what you can.”

“Why would you?”

“Because the woman who writhed so beautifully in my arms that night two years

ago for hours on end is not a manipulator or a she-wolf.”

Pilar snorted in laughter. “She was insatiable.”

“But she was sated.”

Her whole body went to mush. The man could dissolve her into a mindless little

vapor of delight.
Why not admit the truth?
“She was. Beautifully so. Over and over again.”

“And did she ever forget the feeling?” His words barely held sound.

She shook her head once. “Never. Not the man either.”

He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “The man is thrilled he’s found

her again.”

She held back a cry of delight.

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Desiree Holt & Cerise DeLand

Turning to the waiter, Raul lifted a hand to signal for the check. “Finish your coffee.

Then we’ll head back. Enrique should have more information for us. Let’s see what he’s found and decide where we go from there.”

When they arrived at the crime scene again, Enrique could do little more than

confirm what they’d originally thought. He gave them every meager detail the forensics team reported and walked them through the area once more. But the conclusion was

the same. Although Tony Graham had fallen from a great height, he was dead long

before he lost his footing.

“What confirms that?” Pilar asked him.

“His cuts and the bump on his head. They did not bleed. He was dead before he

fell.”

“What killed him then?” Raul asked his friend.

“Good question for my coroner. I’ll get in touch. Give me your phone number,

Raul. Your information,
Señorita
, I already have. Do you both have tablets? Yes? As soon as I have any useful information, I will email or call you.”

As Raul walked with Pilar back to their cars in the guest lot, he said, “So Tony is

working for Roca Oil. I know nothing about them.”

She was still hesitant about giving out too much information. “A Spanish oil

company in the Barcelona harbor. They are major suppliers to the EU for heating oil.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Is Roca legit? Does the company have any black

marks against it? Are their refineries operating with proper equipment? Do their

workers have government clearance? Are their tankers in tip-top shape?”

Facts that were public record she could readily tell him. Her suspicions were

another thing, but she had to give something to get something, didn’t she? “Roca is in good shape. No smuggling. No short cuts on refining. No labor disputes. Equipment

passes all inspections. Tankers are number one. But someone is trying to sabotage their refineries and the heads of the company want to know who. And why.”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was now a murder case as well

as one of international conspiracy. She’d need help. If the EU sent in another

caseworker, she might not be able to work well with them. It could even be one of those assholes who’d recommended she be sent back to tend to simpler tasks in the main

office in Brussels. But Raul was not officially on this case, not entitled to the facts. Great that he was a friend of the Spanish detective on the case and wonderful that he worked for renowned security firm Nemesis, but that still did not make him entitled to learn all details of the case. But she could avail herself of his expertise, couldn’t she? She could learn what he knew or his friend did about Tony Graham. That was more than she

knew at the moment about the dead man. If Petron was like other local law

enforcement, he wasn’t about to share too much and let her solve his case.

Then there was the sweetly delicious matter of her brief and savagely beautiful one-

night stand with Raul. She had trusted him enough to spend hours with him, allowing

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Until Noon

him intimate invasion of her body and her senses. Her trust for that washed through

her now. Could she extend that to her professional trust of him? God. She bit her lip.

She wanted to. And she had to confess, at least with Raul she had the devil she knew. A friend. A confidant. A devil who would tempt her sexually. But she could work with

him as long as she kept her wits about her.

She leaned against her car, staring off toward the craggy hills.

“Roca Oil supplies forty percent of the oil used by the countries of the European

Union. They have for some time.” She hitched the strap of her purse up on her

shoulder. “But with the fall of Gadhafi in Libya, the crude from that country is slow to get to market. Field production is down. Workers are scattered. Roca has been working to negotiate with the new government, but the party is so green to power that the

negotiations limp along. I’ve been here in Barcelona for more than six weeks to meet

with local Libyan officials and try to get a sense of things. I know quite a few of these men well because we worked on a similar problem shipping refined oil to Italy last

year.”

He crossed his arms, wincing at her words. “We need to learn what Tony was doing

for Roca. If he was checking into possible sabotage, he was doing dangerous work.”

Pilar nodded. “To destroy Roca oil supply would allow another to gain a lock on

the EU market. In control of the wrong companies that could spell both economic and

political disaster for Europeans.”

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “I’m going to call Nemesis and ask

them to set up an appointment for me tomorrow with the head of Roca.” He studied her

for a long moment. “I think we should probably go together.”