Code Name Desire (10 page)

The cook sent her a miserable look, water
eddying around her clunky black boots. “Polly.”

“Let’s see about getting you warm and dry,
Polly.”

Mrs. Chesley moved through the deepening
water and took her hand, her freezing fingers engulfing Jaeda’s and
sending a chill up her arm. They made it to the cavernous
ballroom-type space that housed the staircase when Mrs. Wilson, in
pink fluffy slippers and curlers in her hair, came to a sliding
halt at the top landing.

“Stay right there,” the housekeeper called in
a shrill voice.

The cook wilted, her hair hanging limp
against her cheeks and her soaking clothes sagging.

Jaeda’s heart went out to the poor wretch.
“What happened?”

“It’s the freeze,” said Mrs. Chesley. “Froze
that water line, it did. I always said it was too close to the
outside wall.”

“But I heard an explosion.” She wanted to let
go of the cook, but the woman clung as though feeding on her
warmth.

“That was the pipe bursting. Scared me half
to death, it did. And now look at me,” she said on a wail. “I’m
likely to meet my maker, what with all this freezing water sucking
the life out of me.”

Jaeda bit her lip to keep from smiling at the
woman’s dramatics. When Mrs. Wilson arrived with a stack of towels,
Jaeda relinquished the wet cook to the housekeeper’s capable care.
The two women went up the staircase.

Glancing over her shoulder, Jaeda waited. The
women disappeared upstairs and Teague didn’t join her. She gripped
her gun. Leaving it in her pocket, she conducted a reconnaissance
of the first floor. The floor plan she had memorized made it
easy.

With the first level secure, she headed for
the second.

“We’ve had our excitement for the day,” said
Teague, stopping her before her foot landed on the first stair.

She wanted to be upset with him for
interrupting her search, but his voice sounded too wonderful. It
brought all manner of incredible memories to mind from the night.
Her body responding against her will, she released her hold on the
gun.

“Is Mrs. Chesley alright?”

Jaeda offered him a close-lipped smile. “Mrs.
Wilson took her upstairs.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, then.” He took her hand
and led the way up. “We’ve got the water stopped. Caster brought a
heater from the stables and Sutton is tightening a new pipe in
place. That one bursts every few years, so we always keep extra
pipe in the storage room.” He gave her fingers a squeeze and
ushered her into his room. “You were very kind to Mrs. Chesley.
Thank you. She can be one for the dramatics.”

“No problem.” Jaeda held his hand longer than
necessary, but didn’t care. He created an excitement in her she
hadn’t experienced since high school. She wanted it to last as long
as possible.

Releasing her grip, he moved toward the bed.
“Is that your coat? You don’t like to part with it, do you?” He
chuckled. Then he frowned and picked up a square of paper from the
comforter. “What’s this?”

Jaeda closed her eyes and groaned
inwardly.

“How did you get this? I didn’t give it to
you.”

If she lied, he’d know it. The man was too
observant. Shoving her hands in the pockets of her robe and running
a finger along the handle of her gun, she slowly headed toward
him.

“I’m serious, Jaeda. I need to know where you
got this. Have I somehow been set up?”

Set up, yes. Think. Think. Think.

A flush rose up his neck and reddened his
face. “You’d better start talking. Who gave this to you?”

A terrible sadness washed over her. And it
surprised her. She had never cared whether or not she made a target
angry, but his anger at something she’d done tore a hole in her
heart. More than that, the idea of disappointing him crushed
her.

“I don’t know who gave it to me,” she
answered honestly.
I think the world of you.

“Then how did you get my business card? Did
you go to my office and meet my secretary? Are you an American
gold-digger?”

“No!” This was going badly.
Please hear me
out…once I come up with something for you to hear.

He waited, his stare boring into her.

She thought of everywhere she’d spent time
last evening. Somewhere he might believe she’d found the card.
Think
. The club. The car. The study. Here. The desk in the
study? Too obvious. The car? Maybe, but she’d be lying.

Tension rolled off him in waves. “You don’t
want to tell me.”

“I really don’t.”
Please don’t make
me
.

“Is it that horrible?”

Yes
. “Depends on the perspective, I
guess.”

“You leave me at a severe disadvantage. What
else are you hiding?” He grabbed her trench coat by the collar and
held it high. With his free hand, he searched the inside
pocket.

Jaeda hid her relief at having the gun safely
in her robe.

His hand came out empty and he sent it into
one of the hip pockets. Still empty. With a determined twist of his
lips, he found the other pocket. Opening his fist, he revealed two
mangled paperclips on his palm.

She tried not to wince but failed, her lids
flinching slightly.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded.

“Would you believe I needed something to
clean my fingernails with?”
What? The man was reducing her to
amateur status but quick!

“Not for an instant.” He took a menacing
step.

In a flash, Jaeda raised the gun, disengaged
the safety, and trained it on him with both hands. “Stay where you
are.”
And don’t laugh at my tiny gun or I may shoot you for
spite.

“What the…?” Teague carefully lowered the
coat. “Is that thing real?”

“Very.”

“Who
are
you?”

“I told you. Jaeda Bennett.”

“You mean you told the truth about that?” He
raised a skeptical brow.

She felt the corner of her mouth quirk and
sent the urge to smile into whimpering submission. She had to keep
her cool. Think straight. But he made it difficult with a curve of
muscle peeking at her from the V in his robe, and his impressive
calm in the face of a cocked firearm. The fact that the pistol
looked more like a toy didn’t help. Damn it.

“You’re not a computer master, are you?” He
tossed her coat on the bed and crossed his arms.

She wished he hadn’t, since it made his chest
muscles bulge. She wanted to sink her teeth into them…just a
little.
Concentrate!
She blinked. “I am, actually.”

“Would you put that thing away? I’m not going
to attack you. I might make you leave. Make you walk back into
London through however many inches of snow are out there in nothing
more than that robe and those ridiculous red shoes of yours. But I
mean you no bodily harm.”

Warily, she affixed the safety and lowered
the weapon to her side.

“What kind of computer master carries a gun?
I mean, look at you. You’ve got the stance and posture of someone
who has obviously received extensive fight training. Really, who
are you?”

Danger is imminent. Don’t let your target out
of your sight.

Jaeda gasped. “It suddenly occurs to me that
you’re not who I thought you were.”

“That’s not an answer. And who did you think
I was that you needed to point a pistol at me?”

Brushing past him, she tossed the weapon on
top of her coat and headed toward his dresser. Pointing at the gun,
she said, “Don’t touch that.”

“I hadn’t intended to. Are you going to tell
me what this is all about?”

“Maybe.”

“
Maybe
isn’t good enough. You’re a
guest in my home.”

“Sort of, but not really.” She took a pair of
his underwear from a small top drawer. From a long drawer at the
bottom, she chose a pair of white drawstring sweatpants.

“You seem to have an intimate knowledge of my
belongings. Did you snoop while I slept?”

“Yes.”

He laughed. “Your blunt honesty would be so
much more refreshing if you were a bit more forthright. I thought
you were mysterious last night, but now… Well, you’ve quite
exceeded your mystery quotient.”

“Have I?” She went into his closet and
dressed. She chose the smallest sweater she could find on the
closet’s rear shelves and drew it over her head then rolled the
sleeves at her wrists. She gave her legs stretching kicks. The
sweats accommodated longer legs than hers, but the elastic at the
ankles kept them from slipping around her feet and tripping
her.

In the bedroom, he adjusted a pair of pale
gray sweatpants at his trim waist.

“I can’t think. Put on a shirt, would ya?”
She waved a dismissive hand at him but couldn’t take her eyes from
his striking body.

He struck a pose, flexing his biceps and
making his pectoral muscles ripple. Jaeda lost the ability to
breathe for a moment.

He became serious. “How much longer do you
think I can keep up this flippant attitude? You’ve misled me. Is
anything you showed me of yourself last night true?”

Her throat grew thick with emotion. “It’s all
true. How I got my job, and why I’m in England. I let you see me –
the real me. You’re probably the only person in the country I’ve
let see me.” Her throat closed, making speech impossible. She
swallowed hard and managed to whisper, “Last night was real, and
now, I need you to tell me you love me.”

“I love you,” he said without hesitating.

Chapter Thirteen

Jaeda jerked. Her pulse went wild, and her
brain felt ready to explode. “You do?”

“You scared the hell out of me.” Teague took
a sweatshirt from his dresser and unfolded it. “I met a special,
one-in-a million woman last night. When I found my business card
fallen from your pocket, I thought you’d faked everything.” He drew
on the shirt then closed the space between them and cupped her
cheek. “You just showed me that you didn’t.”

“You love me, after one night?”

“You said you needed me to say I love you.
The potential is certainly there, though it’s suddenly become more
complicated. I have a lot of questions. You have a lot of
explaining. But I love the kindness in you. You’re wicked smart,
and I adore it when you show your vulnerability. It lets me know
you’re real. Keep opening up to me, and you’ll capture my heart. I
want the truth.”

Capture his heart.

He’d said the magic words. She didn’t have a
choice. Sighing, she went to the window and shifted the drapery
barely enough to see the rear lawn. Snow covered the sleigh tracks,
turning them into mere indentations. Nothing below indicated a
trespassing, much less a threat. She had time…she hoped.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?”

She went to him and took his hand then led
the way to his sitting room. She sat on the green couch and patted
the cushion next to her.

“You don’t work for the Pentagon, do you?” he
asked, accepting her invitation.

“No. I work for an agency. And please
understand that I can’t tell you which one.”

“An agency. And agents work for an agency. So
you’re an agent.”

“Yes.”

His brows arched. “A spy.”

“An operative.”

He shook his head and raked fingers through
his hair. “And your real name is Jaeda Bennett?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t lie. You caught on
every time I did. I’m a good liar, Teague, but you’re better at
reading body language.”

“I’ve always called it judging character
well.”

“Whatever you call it, you’re good at it. You
earned my respect right away.”

A light sparked in his gaze, and he released
a heavy breath through his nostrils. “I like that you respect me.
It means a lot. So you’re a spy – sorry,
operative
- on a
mission. Am I your mission?”

“Yes. I planted myself in your path last
night. I knew where you would be and when. I was given as much
information as I needed to logistically see this mission
through.”

“Remarkable. But I’m just me. I don’t sell
government secrets, not that I know any, and I’m not privy to any
top-secret or illegal dealings. So why are you here?”

“I can’t say.” Her stomach clenched, and she
resisted the urge to touch him. Connect with him.

“You can’t say, or you
won’t
say?”

“I can’t.”

“I see. Is it one of those things where you
could tell me but then you’d have to kill me? Or do you really not
know?”

“I really don’t know. I’ve been given an
objective, but it’s short term, need-to-know. I expect I won’t
learn more until I can confirm I’ve completed my assignment.”

“Which is…?”

Jaeda shook her head. She couldn’t tell him
her assignment was to make him fall in love with her. If she did,
he’d be sure not to.

“That’s disheartening.” He rubbed his chin.
“Why me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re not exactly a wealth of information,
are you?”

She smiled, unable to help it. “I’m a wealth
of know-how and ability. The information – not so much. It tends to
come in bits and pieces.”

“And last night. Were those skills you
learned in your training? Do you perform this service for the
agency as a routine duty?”

His acerbic tone and pained glance sliced her
like a dagger’s blade. “They didn’t ask it of me. Never have. They
gave me an assignment and vital information but left the means to
achieve my goal at my discretion. I chose to be with you last
night, not as an agent, but as a woman. And you’re the first man
I’ve been with since joining the agency seven years ago.”

His eyes widened and he leaned toward her.
“Good God, you’re telling the truth.”

“You have that effect on me. I told you, I
can’t lie to you.”

Taking her face between his hands, he looked
her in the eyes with such tender affection that she melted inside.
He tilted his head and took her lips. The kiss sent her world
careening onto a foreign axis, and she gripped his shoulders.