A Man Like No Other (5 page)

“She likes me,” Tucker teased.

“Right,” he scoffed, doing his damndest
not to be jealous.

“Guess the assignment won’t be too bad
for her. She knows you and another agent.”

“Who?” Tucker raised his brows. “I’d
heard she hates DEA, just wondering who else she would know.”

“Besides you?”

“Don’t go there, man. When I met her, I
placed her under arrest, ruined her sting. I’m not one of her favourite
people.”

Tucker laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t
expect lunch then.”

I’m
expecting a lot of things.
“Not unless it was laced with arsenic.”

“True. SA Forrest is the other one she
said she knew. I’ll be right back, off to hit the head.”

Taber was busy trying to figure out who
SA Forrest was and how Serefina would have met him. He didn’t know him. Taber
remained until Tucker returned.

“I’m off to look around. I’m in room two-sixteen.”

“Catch you later, man,” Tucker said.
Sebastian never looked away from his book.

Walking around, Taber found himself at
a balcony overlooking the pool. He stared down and almost toppled over the
polished rail. Serefina lay on a chaise almost directly below him. She wore a
bikini of incredible temptation.
Although,
she’d tempt me in a burlap sack.
The strapless top barely seemed to contain
her breasts and the high cut bottoms only served to coat his erection in
titanium.

From this height, he could see her
nails were painted. She had a toe ring on her right foot and an anklet on her
left. Everything about her screamed ‘woman on vacation’. Unable to help it, he
strolled to the poolside and walked in front of her. She opened her eyes when
his shadow fell over her, but there was no flicker of recognition on her face.
He moved on, reminding himself they were here to do a job.

He followed at a distance that night
when she went out. She headed to a club and got let in immediately. Again, she
wore a dress that was barely there, soft pink this time. It took him a while to
get in but he did. The place was loud, packed and full of drinking fools. When
he spotted Serefina again, she was on the dance floor shaking what the good
Lord gave her.

His state alternated from horny to
possessive and onto a combination of both. Which was where it stayed. She
headed off towards the back room. He’d taken two steps before he stopped and
turned. He had no business following her that close. She was a trained federal
agent.

Get
a hold of yourself, man.

“Care to dance, handsome?”

He glanced down to find a woman in
heavy makeup waiting. Agent Betsy Kline. “Sure.”

The music slowed enough to where they’d
look just fine close together.

“Name’s Rochelle.”

He smiled. “Nice name.”

The grin on her face never slipped but
her eyes betrayed her. This time he laughed. He knew she hated the name
Rochelle. Knowing Sebastian, it was why he’d given it to her.

“You okay?” he asked as they moved
around the floor together. He’d trained Betsy personally.

“Yes.”

“How’s your husband?”

“He’s here. In the back with Cousin
Missy.”

“Do you know him well?” He hated the
thought of his angel with another man, even being work related.

“I’ve been married to him for a few
months. Never met him before that. I’m glad you’re here.”

Her tone alerted him. “What’s wrong?”

“There you are, Rochelle,” a masculine
voice intruded. “We have to go. Scott’s waiting.”

Taber turned his head to meet the sharp
gaze of Betsy’s ‘husband’. Tall, fit and handsome if you liked those model
looks. He could see how Roger fit in the plan. He portrayed a white-collar man
who worked extra hours to get the money to pay for his drugs, and not the
street corner drugs. More designer. Betsy had the issue, or Rochelle as she was
called. And he, Sean aka Roger, did his best to look like he came from money to
hide his own addiction.

“You must be Roger; Rochelle’s been
talking about you.”

Brown eyes narrowed slightly. “That so?
Well, sorry, man, I can’t hook you up with work. Come on, Rochelle.”

Betsy’s smile was strained but she
managed to pull off her role without a hitch. Left alone, Taber looked out over
the sea of people and saw Serefina standing there staring in the direction the
undercovers had gone. When she headed for the exit, he did as well.

“Call you a cab, ma’am?” a valet asked.

“No thanks.” She walked on.

Taber grabbed her arm and pulled her off
into the entrance of an alley while saying, “It’s me—Taber,” so she didn’t
shoot or otherwise maim him.

“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded
when he released her.

“What the hell do you think you’re
doing walking around at night in that puny piece of material?” he growled right
back, furious she would put herself in danger.

“I am doing my job.” Each word encased
in ice fell like a shard around him.

“Let me give you a ride back.”

“I don’t think that’s wise,” she
muttered.

He smiled down at her and prowled
closer, his attention totally on her. “What is the big, bad agent afraid of?
We’re both professionals.”

“That’s not it.”

One brow rose in disbelief. “Prove it
then. Ride with me.”

Taber remained on the edge of his
control; the smell of citrus filled his nose and drove him crazy.

“What about the sting?”

He glowered “What about it? Neither of
us is assigned to follow them. And I’m
not
letting you walk five blocks dressed like that.”

“Let me out at the park before the
hotel?”

“Sure.”

She searched his face looking for the
truth. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

He lowered his head and nipped her
collarbone. He felt her shiver all the way through him.

“Let’s go, ” he said, offering his arm.

They strolled from the alley arm in
arm. He led her to his car, a dark blue Charger. Once she sat safely in, he
climbed in and started away. Serefina wasn’t stupid and caught on instantly.

“Where are we going? This isn’t the way
back.”

“We’re making a slight detour first,”
he stated matter of fact.

“Okay.”

Her immediate acceptance shocked him.
“You’re not going to argue this with me? Just ‘okay’?”

She shifted on the seat. The short hem
of her dress rose, exposing more firm thigh. He’d reached the point where he
wasn’t sure he could get any harder.

“We both know how important this is. I
don’t think you’d jeopardise the entire thing.”

She hit it square. Content they hadn’t
been followed, he pulled off onto an unlit road and drove up to a warehouse.
Coasting in under the cover of darkness, he shut off the engine and said, “Come
on.”

Again, he got a pleasant surprise when
she climbed out after him, without argument or protest. Taking her elbow, he
escorted her to a large door and slid it open. Low lights filled the cavernous
area and he smiled at the sight of his own people. Serefina tensed beside him
and he released her arm, reluctantly.

“Sorry, I couldn’t tell you,” he
whispered.

No response.

Every man there honed in on her and
made Taber’s male protectiveness rise with vast swiftness to the surface. He
forced himself to appear unaffected. Tobias strode towards them, his familiar
scowl present on his face.

“LeBenoit,” he uttered in a crisp
voice.

“Feeny.” Her response as warm as a
summer night. If the night was in
Antarctica
.

“We need your help.”

Taber watched her expression. Nothing
changed. Not even a flicker.

“I’m already working a case with your
people.” He could hear the derision in her tone and realised how little she
liked working with the DEA.

Feeny ran a hand over his near bald
head. “That’s what we need your help with.”

“Explain,” she ordered as if she, not
he, were the director.

“Come with me.”

Tobias gestured and she followed him
without a single look in Taber’s direction. While he knew it was their
agreement to show nothing between them, it bothered him she seemed to do it so
well.

“Lucky bastard.” Howard smacked him on
the back.

“What?” He turned towards his friend.

The man winked lewdly. “So tell me,
man, is she as hot as she looks?”

“Watch your tongue, Howard,” he
growled, hands fisting briefly.

Eyes wide, Howard stared at him.
“Something you want to share?”

His anger close to bubbling over, Taber
leaned in close. “SA LeBenoit is a federal agent and I suggest,
SA Howard
, if you want to keep your
status as one, you stop looking at her like a piece of ass.” He marched off
before he planted a fist into Howard’s face.

“You okay, hot stuff?” a gentle voice
questioned.

Before him stood Shania Dodd, another
agent. One he’d had a thing with but who actually was cool with it only being a
one-time thing. She was an amazing agent and beautiful woman.

“Hey, darlin’,” he said on a sigh.

She gestured with a sharp head motion
over behind him. “You never lose it on Howard. What gives?”

“I was reminding him that although
she’s wearing a very small dress, LeBenoit is still a federal agent and should
be treated with respect.”

Shania popped some almonds in her mouth
and chewed slowly. He waited for her to agree, but when she swallowed, she
dusted her hands off. “Good advice. Now here’s some for you. Keep acting out of
the norm and everyone will know you’ve got a thing for the lovely ATF agent.”

Taber watched in silence as she walked
off. He groaned and ran a hand down his face. Sleep. He just needed sleep. The
gentle citrus aroma he associated with Serefina reached him and he dropped his
hand.

“Yes?”

“Are you taking me back as well or
should I find someone else?” Her voice carried a challenging edge.

Like he would allow someone else to do
it.

“I am.”

“Let’s go then.”

She spun so fast the hem of her skirt
flared up, showing more beautiful skin. Skin he knew to be soft to the touch.
So soft.

I’m
fucked.

Trailing after her he shoved his hands
in his pockets. They slipped back into the night and to the car. Once they were
on the road, he glanced at her. In the glow of the dash lights, he could see
the drawn corners of her mouth.

“What’d Tobias want?”

“He wanted my opinion on SA Forrest and
my first reaction to SA Chantor.”

Again, she’d surprised him with her
lack of protest and quick response.

“What’d you tell him?” He really wanted
to know what she thought of and about Forrest. Not to mention where she’d met
him.
Don’t forget if she’d slept with
him,
his brain taunted. He didn’t like this feeling of possessiveness he
had when it came to Serefina. It made him think crazy.

“I told him Sebastian seemed like a
pencil pusher and more interested in his books than anything. His men barely talk
to him. I wouldn’t be good with him as team leader.”

Taber couldn’t agree more. He had no
respect for the man either.

Chapter Five

Serefina scowled in the dark. Normally,
she wouldn’t share what she’d discussed but for some reason, Taber made her open
up. So she went with it. Although that implication worried her. He didn’t
respond immediately and she knew he currently mulled over what she’d told him.

“What about Forrest?”

She swallowed and fought the urge to
squirm. “He wanted to know what I thought about him.”

There was no hesitation this time.

“What do you think of him, angel?”

Somehow
I don’t think we’re talking work-wise.
She breathed deep. “From what I’ve
seen, he’s competent…for DEA.”

The car swerved onto a different road.
This one lined with trees and other heavy foliage. He brought them to a halt,
and soon, the man’s fingers had somehow found their way to her chin. Like he
had eyes of a predator.

“Spill it, angel.”

“There’s nothing to spill. I’m telling
you what I told your director.” The way his thumb caressed her skin made
thinking a huge chore.

“Then,” he whispered, his warm breath
skimmed her mouth, “tell me what you
didn’t
tell him.”

Damn. This man was too smart for his
own good. Or hers.

“I really need to get back,” she
insisted, prying his fingers off.

The car didn’t move a single
millimetre.

“Taber,” she said.

“One day, you’ll be moaning and
screaming my name.”

Burying her traitorous lust for this
man in a deep hole, she squared her shoulders. “Taber!” It was a struggle to
keep her laugh contained when he jerked at her scream. “There, now I’ve
screamed your name. Take me back to the hotel.”

“That wasn’t nice, Serefina.”

She smiled in the dark. “I’m exhausted;
can we
please
do this later?”

“Does this Forrest mean anything to
you?”

Only everything at one time in her life.

“Nope. Nothing more than another
agent,” she lied.

He drove on after that, the car filled
with classic rock. The urge to run home slammed her with the force of an EF-5
tornado. She knew the job would be challenging, some days more than others, but
this…this was so much more.

“Here you go.” Taber spoke softly.

She opened her eyes to see the park.
Hand on the door, she hesitated. “Thanks for keeping your word. You know, about
our thing.” Quickly, she left and walked back to the hotel before she gave into
the urge to crawl into his embrace.

In her room, she showered and dressed
in something less revealing then she went through the adjoining door with a
precursory knock. It was empty or so she thought. Right up until Taber walked
into view. Shirtless.

“Kysenzki,” she said, unsuccessful at
tearing her gaze from his ripped torso.

Does
any man have the right to look that good?

“LeBenoit,” he replied, perusing her
with no modesty whatsoever. Her T-shirt and lounge pants no longer seemed like
they covered enough and she fought the urge to cross her arms.

“Where is everyone?”

“Right here.”

He flopped down in a chair, obviously
in no rush to finish dressing. The man could wear the hell out of a pair of
jeans. This one had a hole in the upper left thigh which totally drew her gaze.
They fit like shrink-wrap to those powerful quads and did nothing to stop her
overactive—
way
overactive—imagination.

“What do you mean?”

Her palms were a bit sweaty and she
prayed he couldn’t see her nipples tightening. Was it getting hot in here? She
could feel the moisture gathering between her breasts.

“I’m it for the night. Just me.” His
deep gaze smouldered.

Be
professional, LeBenoit.

“Okay, well, I’ll be out of your hair
in no time. I just have to check for messages and leave a note.”

He stretched his long legs out and she
bit back a whimper.

“Don’t rush on my account. Perhaps you
could stay and keep me company a bit. Your messages are on the table here.”

She crossed to his side and reached for
them, half expecting him to grab her. “Let me go take care of these messages
and I’ll be back.”

His lips curled up slightly. “Great.”

Back in her room, she shuddered and
sank to the couch. Could she do it? She wasn’t all that tired and she did like
being with Taber. He was funny, intelligent, not to mention extremely easy on
the eyes. She hurried through her messages and found one from Rochelle to call
about dinner. The final one was from her boss.

Soon, she had double-checked the lock
on her door and was pushing back through to the other room. Taber had moved and
had put on a shirt. She had mixed emotions about that. It was black and
blessedly tight, barely seeming to contain his arms.

“Cards work for you?” he asked, staring
at her.

“Sure.” She placed a bottle of water
down and sat across from him, the table between them. “What are we playing?”

“Gin? Rummy? Gin rummy?”

She chuckled. “Gin is fine.”

He shuffled and dealt with swift
efficiency. Into the first hand, she glanced over the top of his cards at him.

“Tell me your story, Special Agent
Kysenzki.” While there were other things to do with him on her mind, including
licking him all over, she knew the room had surveillance and all things were
recorded. She hoped he knew. Plus, she truly was curious why he was in his job.

“I’m the middle of three. All boys. The
youngest, Pete, is a naval pilot. Cort is a
US
Marshall
. Born
and raised in the great state of
Texas
.
As to the job, I lost my best friend to a drug deal gone bad when I was a teen
and decided the day he was buried I would do everything I could to stop the
trafficking of illegal drugs.”

He never looked at her as he answered,
just continued to play cards. Still, her heart went out to him. “I’m sorry for
your loss.”

He smiled slightly. “What’s your story,
LeBenoit?”

Taber lifted his head and pinned her
with his gaze. His heat seared her.

“I come from a large family.” She knew
he knew that for he’d seen her picture wall. “From
Louisiana
. A small town on the bayou. They
came and recruited me when I…I uncovered a huge gun deal.” She picked up the
card he’d just discarded. “Worked my way up through the ranks to finally make
Special Agent.”

He nodded. “Tell me why everyone’s so
scared of you.”

Her eyes widened. “I have absolutely no
idea.”

“Really? How about why you don’t like
the DEA?”

He baited her, she knew it. She lifted
a brow and stared at him. “Do any of the alphabet groups get along? Really?”
With a smirk, she lay down her hand. “Gin.”

Taber counted his points and handed her
the cards to shuffle and deal. “Guess not. But I hear you spit out DEA for
breakfast.”

This time, she laughed. “Wow, I sound
like an ogre.”

His blue eyes twinkled. “Don’t look
like one… Don’t yell at me. I’m a red blooded male who’s not blind.” He smiled.
“I think I see why you scare people. Your glare could freeze hell.”

“Ahh, sorry. I didn’t know I froze your
home. Don’t worry; I’m sure the fires will be burning again soon.”

He clenched a fist to his chest. “Ouch.
But, in case you misheard, I’m from
Texas
,
not hell.”

She shrugged. “If you say so.”

“Tell me something, LeBenoit.”

“What?”

“You married? Have a man at home
waitin’ for you?”

Sean Forrest flashed before her eyes.
She’d had everything planned down to the last detail. And then…

“No,” she forced out. “No man at home
waiting.”

“I’m not married either.”

“I didn’t ask. I’ve heard your
reputation.”

“Not all reps are true.” He stared
directly into her eyes.

She understood he was trying to tell
her he wasn’t such a womaniser. “I guess that’s good.”

“Gin.”

Serefina grumbled and counted up her
points. They finished the game talking about small, inconsequential things, and
yet, she found herself being drawn to him more and more. Once the arrogant
attitude got stripped away, Taber was a very interesting and fun man. After the
third game, she stifled a yawn and he put the cards down after shuffling them.

“Thank you for spending some time with
me, SA LeBenoit. You should get some sleep.”

“Goodnight, Kysenzki.”

Empty bottle in hand, she strode to the
door and slipped through to her own room. Not much later, she crawled into bed.
As it had the previous night, sleep remained elusive. The very knowledge that
Taber lingered on the other side of the door didn’t help.

Geez,
Serefina, you’ve got it bad. Didn’t Sean teach you anything?

Apparently, if he had, she’d forgotten
it. Because now, Sean had resurfaced and here she lay at three in the morning
pining after a man who worked for the agency she swore she’d never get
personally involved with.

A knock came to the door, but before
she could get up, it swung open. Sebastian stood there. Behind him she could
see both Taber and Tucker, who looked exhausted.

“Can I help you?” she asked, rolling to
her feet and glaring down her nose at him. How dare he burst in here.

“Where is he?”

She shook her head. “Where’s who?”

“Forrest.”

“Don’t you have recon on him?”

“Yes, but his tracker says he’s here.”

Taber seemed a bit more interested in
the conversation now.

“Well, he’s not. In fact, no one was.
Which is how I sleep, alone. But if you want to search the room, go ahead.”

She stood by the wall as all the lights
came on. Taber’s gaze was upon her, but her thoughts remained focused on Sean.
Why would his tracker be in here?
It hit
here. The hug.
Bastard!
Keeping her
face calm, she waited until Sebastian stopped searching.

He stomped over to her. “Have you been
in contact with him recently?”

“No sir,” she vocalised on a growl.

“Are you sure?”

His snide tone pushed her to the edge.
And she bristled. Her already strained nerves frayed faster than she could
repair them.

“Don’t get on your fuckin’ high horse
with me, Sebastian Chantor. I’m here as a consultant. Not to be one of your
whipping boys. I know who I talked to and when. As I put in my report, which
you would have known if you would do your damn job, the last time I spoke with
SA Forrest—Roger—was at The Klink. It was in a back room and all we did was
arrange breakfast for another info gather. Then I left.”

She could feel the heavy weight of
Taber’s assessing gaze. Like he knew she withheld something. But she refused to
look at him, instead holding Sebastian’s weasel-like glare.

“Now that you’ve interrupted my sleep
and tore up my room, can you leave so I can try and get a few winks before
my
day starts again?”

Face red with either anger or
embarrassment, Sebastian did as she asked. The second she closed the door
behind him, she ran for her backpack.

“Conniving little bastard.”

Hidden up under the bag hook sat a
small bug. Removing it, she placed it on the bed and dug into the bag’s
interior. Half a sandwich from earlier. Tearing the bread, she made small
pieces and implanting the bug into one. The seagulls would get a feast.

But she couldn’t do it. Mainly because
Sean would expect that. Time for him to see the unpredictable Serefina.

“I’ll give you your bug back,” she
muttered irately.

Removing the bug from the bread, she
made sure it would adhere when she placed it and with a grin disposed of the
bread then climbed back into bed. Still, it wasn’t Sean who plagued the return
of her dreams. It was, again, SA Kysenzki, the man in the next room. Her alarm
woke her early and, after getting ready, headed downstairs. Outside, in the
predawn light, she spotted a familiar car and, without hesitation, went to it
and got in.

“Morning, dear. Is it too dangerous for
me to walk to breakfast?” she asked with barely concealed sarcasm as Taber
pulled away from the hotel.

Manoeuvring so she could see him easier,
she marvelled over his good looks yet again. He wore what he had last night,
there was a day’s growth on his face and she dug her nails into her palms to
keep from touching him. Beyond the handsome, sexy man, she spied exhaustion.
How she could be so sure she hadn’t a clue. But she knew.

“I want the truth, Serefina.
All
of it this time.” Taber drove away
from the hotel.

While he couldn’t put his finger on the
specifics, he
knew
there existed
something more between Serefina and Sean. He wanted to know. His jealousy
hovered close to the edge of no control. Serefina was his. He knew that much.
Just like he knew she’d be leaving early and had made sure to be waiting. When
she’d walked out of the hotel in a little coral halter dress and heels, he damn
near came apart.

Sex. Hot. Hard. And fast. The mental
images his thoughts created in his head had him near to bursting. Her shiny
black hair had bounced freely with each step she took and the moving wind. In
one hand, she carried a small purse.

“Truth about what?”

She shifted and crossed her legs,
bringing his attention to them and the memory of what they’d felt like wrapped
around him. With a mental curse, he focused on the road.

“Don’t believe me as dumb as Sebastian,
Serefina. I can read you and you’re hiding something.”

Serefina stiffened then relaxed.
“Everyone has secrets, Kysenzki.”

“Not when it comes to a case. Personal
feelings can ruin an op.” He stopped at a stop sign and faced her fully instead
of observing her in his peripheral view.