The Undercover Playboy (Captured by Love Book 3) (13 page)

Carter gripped her tighter. “Fuck... Cassie! Yes!” he roared, emptying himself inside her.

*

“Y
ou were louder,” Cassie murmured from her prone position
on Carter’s chest.

“No, you were.”

“You yelled.”

“You screamed.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “Your voice was more booming.”

Carter chuckled. “Give me a minute and we’ll do it again. Make sure you pay attention to the fact that it’s you who can’t control yourself.”

“Okay,” she said with a grin.

*****

C
assie woke up, feeling overheated. She tried to get out of Carter’s spooning embrace,
only for his strong arms to hold her tighter against him. She smiled, feeling more content that she’d been in a long, long time.

“Morning,” he mumbled, kissing her shoulder.

She turned to him and gave him a peck on the lips. “Morning.”

Carter deepened the kiss, running a caressing hand on her back. “Can’t think of a better way to start the day than to wake up next to you,” he murmured against
her lips.

Aw, how he could make her melt with such a simple declaration. “Just because you’re so sweet, I’ll concede defeat,” she said.

“Yes!”

“But I’ll have you know I still think it’s a draw.”

“You can’t concede defeat yet state it’s a draw,” Carter protested.

She giggled. “Does it matter?”

“No. But it’s so much fun proving to you how loud you get in bed,” he said, placing light kisses
on her neck.

“You’re insatiable,” she said dryly.

“And you’re not?” Carter asked with challenge in his voice.

“Oh, no. Not another game,” she said with an eye roll.

Carter’s phone rang, and a frown quickly appeared on his face. Extricating himself from her embrace, he picked up the device from his bedside table. “Hey, Tash.”

Cassie put her hand on her mouth. She’d totally forgotten to tell
Natasha that she was staying the night at Carter’s. It hadn’t been her plan, and calling her flatmate just hadn’t entered her mind last night. Well, she was blaming Natasha’s brother for that lapse.

“Yes, she’s here,” Carter said over the phone, smiling at Cassie. “... Well, she was so busy proving something to me that she obviously forgot to call or text you...”

Cassie tapped Carter’s thigh
for that suggestive comment.

“...No, Tash...” Carter said, his teasing look replaced by a scowl. “... I know... just... let me handle it... Bye.”

He was still frowning when he hung up.

“Is everything okay?” Cassie asked.

“Yes,” he said with a smile. “Just something Tash wants me to do. Anyway, since it’s almost ten o’clock, how about we get ready and have an early lunch somewhere?”

“Okay.”
Nothing better than spending more of her weekend with Carter. Then she remembered something. “How about we grab some fish and chips and have lunch at a park or on a beach? The sun’s out so we should be all right if we rug up enough.”

“Sounds good to me,” he answered with a grin.

She exhaled her relief. Carter had been extravagant when they’d gone out on dates before. He’d taken her to fine dining
restaurants and gold class movies and had insisted on paying for everything. Now that she knew he was having financial problems, she didn’t want him spending anything more on her.

But she didn’t want to embarrass Carter by letting him know she was aware of his issues. She’d already asked him last night to consider telling her. She’d wait until he was ready.

In the meantime, she’d have to build
the trust between them so he’d be comfortable sharing everything with her. And she’d have to find excuses to pay for their dates without him being suspicious about it.

“
This is on me, okay?”

“Nope,” Carter answered Cassie as the lady at the counter called out their number, indicating that their lunch was ready. To his surprise, Cassie wrapped her arms around his neck. He grinned at her. He loved it when Cassie got affectionate in public. The only time he didn’t welcome it was when someone from the gallery might see.

“Please,” Cassie said with
a cute pout. “I’ve never bought you lunch or dinner and I want to.”

“Okay, fine,” he said with a resigned sigh. How could he say no when she asked so sweetly?

Cassie beamed at him and went to the counter to pay.

He watched her, aware of how his heart beat in his chest with more life and joy when she was around. He couldn’t wait to make their relationship official, but he couldn’t do that until
the Tellman Galleries case was wrapped up. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Cassie because he’d been careless.

Cassie came back carrying a bag filled with their fish and chips. He took it from her and held her hand as they headed out to Manly Beach across the road.

“Glorious day,” Cassie murmured, taking her sunglasses from her handbag and putting them on while he laid out
two beach towels on the sand.

“You look so pretty,” he said, sitting down and pulling her next to him.

She giggled. “Haven’t you seen me with sunnies on before?”

“I’m not talking about your shades, I’m talking about you.”

He got the reward he wanted: Cassie smiling happily and snuggling closer to him. It was indeed a glorious day. He surveyed the beach, shielding his eyes from the sun’s glare
with a hand.

“Do you want to go back to the car and get your sunnies?” Cassie asked.

“I broke them, actually. I haven’t had the chance to get new ones.”

“What happened?”

“I didn’t realise they’d fallen to the ground. I drove over them as I was backing out of my driveway.”

“Oh, no. You need those for work, don’t you? When you’re working on rooftops and it’s sunny?”

“Yeah. I’ll get a new pair
soon,” he said, opening the carry bag and bringing out their food. “These smell yummy. I’m starving, especially since you made me miss my pizza last night.”

“Sorry,” Cassie said, leaning over to give him a lingering kiss.

Aahh. He could get used to days like this.

“Wait for me here. I’ll be back in a tick,” Cassie said, standing up and grabbing her bag.

“Where’re you going?”

“Ladies’. Start
eating. I won’t be long.”

He wanted to watch her walk away, but the sun hit his eyes from that direction. So he turned his attention to the other beachgoers instead.

The last time he’d been to a beach was to catch a drug dealer who’d brazenly met his suppliers in the light of day. He wondered if there were unsavoury characters relaxing under the sun with him right this moment.

He shrugged.
He didn’t want to know. He only had a few more hours with Cassie today. He meant to enjoy every single minute of them before he had to prepare for another date tonight—with Susan.

Seriously, if Susan didn’t make him an “offer” soon, he’d punch something in frustration. This case had been going on for far too long. Every time they had what looked like a promising lead, they hit a dead end.

Susan
was still their most obvious suspect. But she hadn’t given up anything that would put anyone away despite his best efforts. He could see why, though. With the body count adding up, it wasn’t a big surprise that the syndicate was being extra careful.

He ran his mind back over the case, staring blankly at the rolling waves as he recalled all the clues they’d gathered from the moment of that first
robbery, to Gavin being involved, to what they’d learned so far up to this moment.

Whichever way he looked at it, Susan was the key. Did she expect him to kiss her tonight? Ugh. He hoped not. So far, he’d managed to keep his act to nothing more than verbal flirting, and he’d prefer that it remained that way.

He’d never slept with a suspect before, and he never would. But he’d never been averse
to kissing to get what he needed. That had changed when he’d fallen in love with Cassie.

Yes, he was in love with her. How could it not be love when Cassie either made his heart burst with happiness or break with grief?

He looked around for her, realising how much time had passed. She should be back by now. She’d been gone long enough.

He stood up and scanned the area leading to the restrooms.
He couldn’t see clearly from the sun’s glare, but he couldn’t make out Cassie from any of the figures milling about. He’d know instantly if one of them was her.

Nerves set in. He pulled out his phone and rang her number. Just when he thought it was going to go to voicemail, she answered.

“Hi,” she said cheerfully.

He exhaled his relief. “Hi. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t slip in the bathroom
or something.”

“No,” she said with a laugh.

“Where are you?” From the pinging he’d heard in the background, she was most definitely not in the ladies’.

“I’ll be back in two minutes,” was her answer, then she was gone.

He sat back down, shaking his head. His woman was up to something.

*

A
pair of arms snaked around Carter’s neck from behind. “I’m back,” Cassie said, kissing him on the cheek.

“It’s exactly three minutes and forty-seconds since you hung up on me,” he said, looking at his watch. “And over fifteen since you left.”

“Aw, did you miss me, honey?”

“Yes,” he answered. Because he did.

With a secretive grin, Cassie sat down in front of him and took something from her handbag. “I bought you a present.”

His jaw slackened. The unwrapped box clearly told him what it was—a new
pair of sunglasses. He guessed, even before he took them out of the box, that they would be aviator style like the ones he used to have. “Cassie...” he whispered, touched.

Cassie grabbed the shades from him and fitted them on his face. “There you go. Now you don’t have to squint all day.”

“You didn’t have to, sweetheart.”

“I wanted to.”

He sighed, scooting close to her and hugging her tight.
“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Just make sure you don’t run over those.”

“No, babe. I’ll be extra careful.” He kissed her temple. She was the sweetest thing in the world.

“Okay, now I’m ready to eat, even though these are a little cold,” Cassie said, cutting up a piece of beer-battered fish and putting it in his mouth.

They fed each other and chatted about anything and everything while they
lazed on the sand, the clear blue skies and calm waters adding to the perfection. A truly glorious day.

*

“R
eady to go?” he asked Cassie after a couple of hours of relaxing on the sand.

“I guess,” she said, sitting up. “I wouldn’t mind having coffee and cake somewhere.”

“I’m not surprised you’re peckish. Our food got cold because you went shopping.”

“I saved your eyes,” she said with a cute
scrunch of her face.

“You did,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her. He only meant to give her a peck, but Cassie gave him a passionate one. He was more than happy to reciprocate.

“We could always go back to your place and have coffee there,” she suggested against his lips.

He pulled back. “I’d love to, babe, but I have something on tonight.”

“Oh, okay. Where are you going?”

“I have to meet
someone about work.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie, but he still felt guilty for having to keep her in the dark.

“For a new job?”

“Not new, but an ongoing, important one.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, babe.”

He definitely needed all the luck he could get. His future with Cassie depended on this case being solved—the sooner, the better.

C
arter stopped the engine of his car and got out. “I’m on my way to the restaurant,” he said, the hidden mic inside his shirt delivering his voice to David. His partner was sitting in another vehicle parked on the street near the fancy establishment where Carter was supposed to meet Susan.

“Just don’t take it too far, okay?” David’s teasing voice said through the mini wireless
earpiece Carter wore in his right ear. “You wouldn’t want to have to say no to her if she wants have sex with you. She’ll be expecting you to jump at the chance.”

“Don’t gross me out,” Carter said dryly.

“Hey, at least she’s a beautiful woman.”

Carter shook his head as he rounded the corner towards his destination. They weren’t sure if any of the stooges had slept with the women who’d recruited
them before they were given the “offer”. The comforting thought was Gavin hadn’t had to before Emma had shared the plan with him. It was possible, though, that Emma was a novice and had made the offer a little too early.

“Seriously,” David said. “Stay in a public place. Don’t go with her to her home. We don’t know what they know about you. Remember they shot Gavin simply from suspicion that he
wasn’t who he said he was because of the two phones he had with him.”

“We’ll see,” Carter replied. “Just be ready to follow us wherever we might end up.”

“I have your back, bro,” David answered.

Carter entered the restaurant and gave his name to the receptionist who greeted him. He was escorted to a table for two near the back. Susan hadn’t arrived.

“So does Cassie know that you’re on a date
with another woman tonight?” David asked.

Carter placed his elbow on the table and casually covered his lower face with his hand. “No,” he answered.

“Imagine what will happen if she saw you and Susan together,” David mused.

“Fortunately, she’s having dinner with my sister tonight far away from here.”

“So what happens when you get hitched, Carter?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the boss always
asks you to take on these roles because you’re single...”

Carter snickered. “The boss gets me to do these jobs because I’m better looking than you, not because you’re hitched,” he joked.

“Seriously, if another job that involves seducing a suspect crops up tomorrow, what will you do?”

“You know they take into account our relationship status when giving us jobs.”

“Ooh, getting serious with Cassie,
huh?”