A Trick of the Moon (3 page)

Both men were tall, but Dario was much beefier than Declan, who had always told her his frame resembled that of his mother's side of the family, tall and lean. They both had muscles, though, wonderful muscles that stretched out the arms of their T-shirts. She mentally willed herself to stop acting like they both belonged on stage at an all-male revue.

“Hi.” She tried to hide a grimace as she realized how lame that sounded.

“Oh sorry.” Declan released her and stepped aside. “Maura Atwell, meet Dario Fuentes. We went to junior high and high school together.”

“And now you're a cop?”

“So they say,” Dario replied, winking at her. “It makes it legal for me to carry handcuffs and a gun.”

“Oh, well I'll remember to behave myself while you're around.” She put her hands on her stomach, trying to soothe the butterflies without looking like that's what she was doing. He had handcuffs on him? That was interesting.

“There are other loaded guns around, but they're all locked up.”

“What a pity, locking up loaded guns.” Dario winked again and it wasn't hard to get his meaning. She blushed, but he kept talking and she hoped neither of the two gorgeous men standing with her noticed her red cheeks.

“Don't worry; I won't shoot you. I might spank you if you're bad; you might keep that in mind.”

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What was that he said? Spank her? She shot an inquisitive gaze at Declan, who was grinning.

“Dario, behave.” Declan pulled her close again. “To get back on target, our trip was fine. Although the last hour of it seemed to be more like six hours.”

“Yeah, the road's long and barren. You want to bring in your stuff, or have something to drink? Are you hungry?”

“Not yet,” Declan said, stepping around her. “We filled up on junk food just a little while ago. How long a ride is it to the site?”

“About an hour and a half by horseback. Do you both ride?”

The affirmatives from both of them were good to hear. “We can take an SUV out there, but it's a little bumpy that way. The horses provide a better ride.”

“Car tires might obliterate evidence of someone else being there,” Dario said. “How many people have been there since you discovered it?”

“Just me, or so I think. I advised the hands to avoid that area.”

“Good,” Dario said. “The less traffic, the more chances of reconstructing what happened.”

“Definitely.” Declan turned toward the door. “You want to go now? We can bring our stuff in when we get back.”

“I want to go today, yes, but let's sit and talk for a few minutes first.” This part would be easy. She was good at tackling subjects like this, as long as she didn't piss Declan off in the long run. If she didn't word this just right, she would upset his sense of honor, and she didn't want to do that.

They exchanged a look of confusion and she knew she'd already put her foot in it. She should have mentioned this to Declan during her phone call.

“Let's sit down.” She sat on the middle of the couch, surprised when they sat on either side of her instead of taking a seat in one of the chairs. She had knees pressing into her own on either side and it provided a spark of fire that felt absolutely wonderful.

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“What's up?” Declan's voice was calm, and she hoped it stayed that way.

“My father's a little concerned about not being here. Not that he doesn't trust me, but this is his land.”

“Of course.” Declan's voice was cautious. “Your father's met me, though.

He knows I'm not going to go loot the place, right? What is it he's worried about?”

“He wants me to hire you.” Maura sat up straighter and went into lawyer mode. “It makes sense, if you think about it. If this does turn out to be something other than a modern model that someone built, then it will sound better to say, we had an archeologist come look at it rather than just my friend Declan.”

“Hire me?” Declan focused his gaze on her. “I'm not here to make money.

I'm here because you, my friend, wanted my help. If you think I came here wanting to get paid, then—”

“I don't think that's what she said, Deck.” Maura was happy to hear Dario's voice interrupt Declan, who was none too happy about her suggestion.

“And she's got a point. If this is something that has to be reported to the government, who better to write a report than an archeologist who's been hired to survey the site.”

She shot Dario a grateful glance, then looked back at Declan, who seemed to be carefully considering what to say. That was Declan through and through, she knew. He never said anything without thinking about the consequences.

“I'm still an archeologist, whether or not I'm paid,” Declan replied, anger riding the edge of his words. “To offer me money for a favor insults me.”

“That's not what he meant,” Maura said, putting her hand on Declan's thigh. This wasn't a professional thing to do, but she hoped it would soothe him just a little. “He's afraid someone could come back and say we didn't follow procedure, that we messed things up. If you're his employee, then it's obvious that he took it seriously and had it investigated.”

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“I would investigate as a friend too.”

“Yes, but a report signed by you as an employee has more weight than a report signed by a friend,” Dario said. “I see Mr. Atwell's point. As a cop I'd be more likely to believe a report from an employee rather than one of a friend.

Sorry, buddy, but it's the way of the world.”

Declan leaned back against the couch, pressing his leg harder into her own. “Employees lie, you know. It doesn't mean it's totally truthful.”

“But it means it was more than just a handshake agreement.” Maura leaned back so she didn't have to turn to look at him. “My father trusts you, as do I. Implicitly. It's not you we're worried about, it's the others who might come after, if we discover we have something big here.”

There was a long, pregnant pause, and then Declan nodded. “Fine. I'm your employee. When do we go to work, boss?”

She smiled, happy as he returned it. “Thank you.” She turned to Dario.

“And you too. Both of you will be employees while you're here.”

“I don't know”—Dario lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head just a little—

“how much are you offering?”

Declan snorted out a laugh and Maura joined in. “My father suggested a hundred dollars a day, plus room and board.”

“Oh no.” Declan stood and moved around the coffee table. “That's way too much. I'll go for twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five?” Maura studied him carefully. “Way too low. Seventy-five.”

“Fifty,” Dario put in. “That's in the middle.”

“Done.” Declan nodded. “Do you want me to sign a contract, Ms. Lawyer?”

“Yes.” Maura stood. “I've already prepared one. It's very simple and just says that you've been hired to examine the site and verify exactly what we have. I just need to change the money amount, and print off two now, for you and Dario.”

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Melinda Barron

“Well snap to it, boss.” Declan glanced around the room. “Where's the computer? We're burning daylight and I want to see the site today.”

Maura headed toward the back end of the house. “You guys can bring in your gear while I'm printing. There are three bedrooms behind the kitchen.

Mine is there, and you can choose between you from the other two.”

She'd just entered the hallway when Dario's voice reached her ears. “Is there an archeological union we need to join? We want to be sure we're treated fairly, you know, make sure management doesn't take advantage of us.”

Maura backed out of the hallway and glared at him. “I'm going to have difficulty with you, aren't I?”

“Count on it,” Declan told her. “He's always been a troublemaker.”

“It's part of my charm.” Dario held out his hands and she could tell he was trying to look as innocent as possible. It only made him look sexier.

“Honestly.”

“Right.” Maura glanced between the two of them. They were giving her sheepish grins that made her stomach flutter. “Maybe I need a boss's union, something to protect me from the both of you. No funny stuff.”

She wagged her finger at them, then headed down the hallway. The deep male laughter that followed let her know Declan wasn't angry with her, which was good. It also let her know this time with them would be entertaining, even if she and Declan weren't alone to work toward a romantic relationship. At least they were together for a while, and that was a start.

* * * * *

“You mean to tell me you never, ever even kissed that tasty little morsel?”

“Watch it, Dario.” Declan dropped his bag, his fingers curling into fists.

“Don't say things like that about her.”

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“What, that she's gorgeous? I'd be a fool not to notice. All those luscious curves and that blonde curly hair. And those eyes…” Dario shivered and licked his lips. “She's perfect and you let her get away. You're nuts.”

“Don't try it. I swear I'll kick your ass.”

Dario backed away from him. “I'm not trying to horn in, I'm just saying—”

“Yeah, I know what you're saying, that you want to fuck her.”

“I'm a man, which means I think about sex all the time, just like you do.”

Dario took a step forward. “Don't get pissed because I said you have good taste.”

Declan seemed to consider his words, then picked up his bag and headed toward the house. Dario fell into step beside him.

“She reminds me of Sorcha, Diego's wife. She's one of those big, beautiful women that most men don't appreciate.”

“Yes, she is,” Declan replied. “But I don't like knowing I have a rival.”

“Shit.” Dario dropped his bag. “That's not what I said. Fuck, Declan, I'm sorry my cock went into want mode at the first sight of her. Can you blame me?”

“No, I suppose not.” Declan turned to him. “She's done that to me for years.”

Dario carefully considered his words. He didn't want to say anything that would add fuel to Declan's obvious distrust of him right now. “Okay, so I'll take the room farthest away from hers. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, it does.” Declan started to walk, then turned back around. “Sorry to be so paranoid, it's just—”

“Don't worry about it.” Dario moved around him and walked up the steps to the porch that wrapped around the large ranch house. “I'll behave.”

Once inside, he headed in the direction his new “boss” had indicated.

Behaving himself around Maura would be difficult, but he would never do anything to damage his friendship with Declan. They'd been friends since they 18

Melinda Barron

were in junior high school, when he came to Declan's rescue after bullies were making fun of a “half-breed with a stupid name.”

They'd teamed up and kicked some ass, and become best friends in the process. There was no way he'd let a woman come between them, no matter how hard she made him. He stopped to examine the first room, done in a mixture of reds and blues, the large four-poster bed taking up much of the space.

“This one looks good,” he said as Declan looked over his shoulder. “I imagine her room is at the end of the hall.”

Declan walked past him to the other room. “Think again. This is hers, unless I'm mistaken.”

Dario peered over Declan's shoulder, noticing the perfume bottles and makeup case on the dresser. The brass bed looked fit for a woman, covered in a wedding-ring quilt.

“I bet this was her room as a kid,” Dario said. “Notice some of the posters are teenlike,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and
Titanic
. All stuff from when she was in high school.”

“Yes, that's my room.” They turned toward her voice and Dario noticed the

“tease me about my posters and die” look on her face. He put his hand in front of his mouth to hide a grin. He pushed past Declan and headed toward the room he'd already picked out.

“This one's mine, then. Deck can take the other one.”

“Thanks for making my decision for me,” his friend said as Dario disappeared inside his room, flopping his bag on the bed. He'd stayed in a lot of dumps while working undercover and this place was like Buckingham Palace to him. A large, comfy bed and a bathroom right down the hall. Add to that the beautiful woman right next door, and this place wasn't a palace; it was heaven.

He shook his head to remove the image of Maura under him, groaning as he slipped in and out of her. He'd made a promise to Declan and he would keep A Trick of the Moon

19

it, no matter how blue his balls got. And from the tingling he was feeling, they might be midnight blue by the end of the night, when he could greet Rosy Palm.

This might turn out to be a very long day.

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Melinda Barron

Chapter Three

Declan eased up on the reins, dropping behind the other horses just a bit.

Maura was in the lead, chatting amiably with Dario. She looked gorgeous in the saddle. But then again, she looked gorgeous anywhere.

She's cut her hair short since they'd been out of school, and he liked it, although he preferred it longer. She still looked beautiful, though. Being out of the city and living in the country seemed to agree with her.

Or maybe it was just the fact he was there that kept her smiling. Declan could only hope that was the case. Watching her laugh and joke with Dario right now made him remember his overblown reaction to Dario's pronouncement that Maura was delicious. He'd only been telling the truth, after all, and Declan had gone overboard, thinking that Dario was going to go after her.