The Devil You Know

“Join us,” Adam invited, rising and holding a chair for her. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

He brought her a steaming cup of the delicious gourmet blend, then inquired about her preferences in food. Roni tried not to get angry about his attentiveness as he served Geena the single slice of toast she’d requested and placed the container of marmalade close at hand.

“My, aren’t we the gentleman this morning?” she said and immediately regretted the acid drip on her tongue.

“I’ve always found Adam to be perfectly charming.” Geena smiled into Adam’s eyes, her sexy perusal meant for him alone.

Roni experienced the uncomfortable feeling a person got when with others who obviously would have preferred that she disappear so they could have privacy.

Her chin went up. She gazed out at the lawn. “Are you two going to play tennis this morning?”

“I thought we would go for a walk by the river. There are some beautiful rose arbors on the estate.” She glanced at Roni. “You might enjoy them, too.”

“No, thanks. Roses make me sneeze.”

Adam frowned at that, but Roni didn’t change her story. He was probably recalling all the flowers in her yard. Well, she did take allergy pills when ragweed was in season. At any rate, Scott was her host. She would wait for him.

Thirty minutes later, the couple left her at the table. She watched them cross the tennis court and stroll down the sloping lawn. Geena slipped her hand into the crook of his arm before they disappeared among the trees that lined the river.

At nine, Mr. Masterson appeared, gulped down a cup of coffee, then headed out for a golf game. He told her his wife took breakfast in her room and answered her mail in the mornings, that his son didn’t usually get up before ten on the weekend and that she should feel free to watch television, read or do whatever she wished until they all met for lunch at one at the country club.

He was a nice man, she reflected after he left. Going to the other room, she read financial magazines until Scott appeared. “Shall we see if we can catch up with the other two?” he asked, bringing a muffin and glass of orange juice to the library with him.

“Sure.”

They headed for the river as soon as he finished. There they found Adam and Geena sitting on a bench beneath a bower of white roses. They were just about to kiss, or so it seemed to Roni.

“Hey,” Scott said, not at all embarrassed at coming upon the other couple. “Knock it off, you two. It’s too early for that sort of thing.”

The older couple laughed as they leisurely drew back. Roni indicated the stain on Adam’s jaw near his mouth. “Is that your favorite shade of lipstick for daytime wear?” she teased, hiding an unwarranted possessiveness. Adam wasn’t hers. And never would be, according to him.

His eyes met hers. For a second she thought she saw regret in those gray depths and something that seemed warm and sensual and concerned. Then the impression was gone.

He might be here on a case, but that didn’t mean his reactions to Geena weren’t sincere. The thought hurt, but she had to face it. The other woman was lovely, smart and sophisticated. Why wouldn’t Adam be attracted to her?

He wiped his hand across his face and glanced at the resultant smear. “Yes, I think it is.” His grin at Geena was sexy and intimate.

Geena removed a tissue from her pocket and gently wiped the color away. “There,” she said. “Now we won’t embarrass our young guest.”

Roni rejected the comparison to a child coming upon a grown-up game she didn’t understand. She understood all too well. The other woman was marking her territory.

Chapter Three

A fter a morning of hiking around the beautiful estate, Adam showered and dressed in fresh khakis and a white polo shirt for the planned luncheon at the country club. He gave a silent whistle upon meeting Geena in the library.

“Very nice,” he murmured, ignoring the slight pout to her lips that indicated she would like a kiss. Maybe the weekend visit hadn’t been so smart, although it was part of the plan that he should distract the daughter of the house while Greg got Mr. Masterson’s approval for the bogus leasing agreements with the fake company Adam represented.

Since Geena knew he was with the FBI and had helped him set up the sting operation, he thought she was taking the friendly pretense a bit far. He hoped she wasn’t making plans for the two of them for when the case was resolved.

“Thank you, sir,” she said demurely, then laughed.

She wore white slacks with tiny gold stripes and a golden-colored, clingy blouse that crossed over her breasts and tied in the back at her waist. An enticing bit of tanned flesh was visible at her waist. Her gold sandals had three-inch heels, putting her at eye level with him.

He’d always liked his women tall and elegant, he grimly reminded himself. Until he’d met a certain small tomboyish woman who’d shown him the sweetest passion he’d ever known.

Hearing voices from the stairs, Geena picked up her purse, extracted her sunglasses and glanced impatiently toward the corridor. “Are you two ready?” she asked.

Scott and Roni entered the room. Her brother checked the clock. “Yes, we’re right on time.”

Adam noted the not quite concealed irritation in the other man. Scott and Geena, like many brothers and sisters, didn’t get along all that well.

Had circumstances been different, he and Honey might have been at odds, but with the difference in their ages and the fact that they’d had only each other while growing up, they were close. He suddenly missed her.

He wanted to question her about falling in love, about taking a chance on another person, about trusting in luck for once and a gut feeling that he should take what life offered and run with it.

Then what? What came next? Marriage and happily ever after, as Roni so confidently proclaimed?

Upon this odd note, he let himself look at Roni. His heart started pounding, as it had last week at her cottage.

She wore a short white skirt and a formfitting white top with blue sleeves and collar. Like Geena, the top and bottom didn’t quite meet, exposing a midsection of smooth flesh. A gold ring with a tiny cross dangling from it pierced the edge of her navel.

His lungs stopped working.

He stared at the bit of gold as it shifted constantly with each movement, each breath she took. He thought of kissing her there, of stripping the skirt from her perfect form and tasting the delectable flesh—

He broke the thought and held his arm out to Geena. “Shall we go?”

They followed the other couple to Scott’s car. He forced himself to think of winter snow and icy dips in the river until the fever left his blood.

On the short trip to the country club, he was mostly silent while the two women chatted. Anger—with himself for his lack of control, with his job for bringing him to this place and with the unfairness of life for making him long for things he couldn’t have—burned in the pit of his stomach. As soon as he finished the current task, he would request a transfer back to LA.

Fat chance, some snide part of him whispered. The division manager had wanted him out of the LA area after they broke that case so he’d be safe from vengeful cops.

Safe?

Glancing at Roni’s dark, gleaming hair in the front seat, he experienced a sinking sensation. He could have gone to New Mexico on a drug smuggling bust. Why had he chosen to come here?

“You’re quiet,” Geena murmured, leaning close. “Deep, dark thoughts?”

“Very deep, very dark,” he said with a wicked smile.

She shivered delicately. “Mmm, sounds delicious.”

When she laid a possessive hand on his knee, he didn’t pull away. Instead he clasped it in his and held it as they pulled into a parking space at the club. Through the side mirror, he met Roni’s eyes. They watched each other for a second as if sizing up an opponent, then she looked away.

He felt as if he’d taken a cheap shot at her. He quickly got out and went around to Geena’s side to open her door. Damn, but it was going to be a long weekend.