Immovable Objects

A job. He was offering her a job. On her own. Take that, Anthony, she thought. See, not everyone thinks I’m incompetent on my own.

She did her best to keep the glee out of her voice. “How much?”

Pragmatic. He liked that. He found he liked a great deal about this woman with no name. Ordinarily, before he struck a bargain with someone, he had them checked out. Dealing with MacFarland originally had taught him to be cautious. The exception to that had been Lorenzo. And since she was acquainted with Lorenzo, he thought it rather ironic that he was entering into an arrangement with her under the same circumstances.

He needed someone and she seemed to fit the bill.

“How much do you usually get?”

She thought it wise to qualify her statement. “That’s assuming I do this kind of thing.”

He grinned, and she found her stomach experiencing a strange earthquake.

“I think we’ve already established that,” Cole said. “I don’t know how you got past the lock on the back door. The heat from a hand, or the contact of metal on metal, like bull cutters, sets off an internal alarm. But nothing went off inside when you came in.” He made a note to check the surveillance tape first chance he got. She might not have noticed the tiny camera he had positioned on the opposite wall of the alley. “So that means you’re a professional and good at your job. I don’t know if your little floor show’s part of it—”

“That was impromptu, as was coming here after hours,” she cut in. “I told you, I wasn’t out to take the statue, just to satisfy my curiosity.”

That still didn’t make any sense to him. It smacked of a recklessness he was going to have to make sure she kept under control while working for him. “And that’s worth a jail sentence?”

“I wasn’t planning on getting caught.” She looked up at Cole, her eyes challenging him.

“But you were.”

It was a matter of semantics. “Only in the strictest sense of the word.”

Cole had a feeling that she would eagerly argue an opponent into submission. More interested in finding the real statue, he switched gears.

“Does that mean you’re going to help me?”

Although the man before her intrigued Elizabeth more than anyone she’d come across in quite some time, she didn’t want to appear desperate for a job. That would leave her holding no cards and it was all about control now. Having left Anthony, she wasn’t about to hand over the reins to another man.

“We’ll talk.”

The smile she gave him made him want to do more than just talk. A great deal more.

He was right, Cole thought as he led the way out of the room. The lady was trouble. But trouble, he had to admit, had never looked quite so inviting or intriguing before.

Chapter 4

Leading the way, Cole brought her into a small but tastefully furnished office that was a little way off the main room.

The highly polished wooden floor was new, the Napoleon brandy he poured and offered her was old. Accepting it, Elizabeth sat down in the chair that was positioned before his desk.

All in all, Elizabeth felt very comfortable in a world in which she knew she really didn’t belong. For the moment she did and there was nothing wrong with pretending. Pretense made a wonderful bridge from here to there. She’d gotten through a great many situations that way.

Nursing her drink, very aware of the man who was studying her, Elizabeth carefully took in her surroundings without appearing even to be aware of them. Another talent she’d honed while under Jeremy’s tutelage. She was actively alert to all possibilities, including the one represented by the man in the room.

Before ever entering the gallery, she’d gone out of her way to learn as much as she could about Cole Williams. It was in keeping with the fact that she made it a point never to walk into anything without first knowing something about either the person she was dealing with or the place she was venturing into. Survival often depended on it.

Williams had begun small, taking a minor inheritance left to him by his late mother and parlaying it into a large nest egg. Buying and selling choice companies and surrounding himself with the right people, he’d turned that money into a veritable fortune. According to the latest financial magazines, Cole Williams was easily one of the ten richest men in the country, owning a cable network as well as a publishing empire, all well before the age of forty.

From the looks of him, Elizabeth judged that he was a regular visitor to the gym he owned.

Raising her eyes from his hard, muscular form and looking up into his eyes, she saw a man who was confident, who knew his own destiny because he was in charge of making it happen. And like a man who dictated his own terms and got what he wanted, he needed to be in control of things.

Just like her brother.

Just like, in his own way, Jeremy. Except that, these days, the latter had a lighter touch. Her one-time mentor and guardian had evolved into more of a benevolent figure. The terms of each assignment were his, but unlike Anthony, Jeremy allowed for some flexibility. He gave her credit for having a mind, for having good sense, which was why she hadn’t left Jeremy’s organization, she had just elected to take a brief vacation.

Matters with her brother, however, were still very much up in the air. And would continue to be, she thought, until Anthony began treating her like an equal and not like the little sister whose every move he felt he had a right to dictate.

This wasn’t a time to think about her brother, Elizabeth told herself, not when those incredible light-blue eyes were looking at her, taking measure. What was Williams thinking? Not for the first time, she lamented the fact that her talents didn’t run to mind reading.

Elizabeth cupped her glass between her hands, slowly warming the sides with her skin. Waiting for Williams to make the first move.

It wasn’t long in coming.

“So,” he pressed when she said nothing to cut into the silence. “Who are you?”

Cole had never seen innocence mixed with sensuality before. The woman sitting in front of him pulled it off flawlessly. As regal as a queen, as tempting as sin, she was definitely a woman who could keep a man guessing.

“Just an art lover.”

He laughed dryly. “You’re a great deal more than that. Most art lovers don’t break into art galleries after hours just to verify the authenticity of a piece.” He knew she couldn’t argue with him, but as a preventative measure, he added a coda. “They haven’t the talent.”

She smiled at him and he felt the effect rippling into his inner core.

“I’ve always been a little…different,” Elizabeth allowed, then paused to take a sip of brandy. Her smile became more seductive, less innocent. “Very good,” she murmured as she felt the thick liquid curling through her system.

Her husky voice wound into his. It took Cole a moment to find his tongue. “It should be, considering the cost.”

“Do you?” she asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow in response. Did he know exactly what he was worth and want more? Or had money become something that was now just there to him, to be used to facilitate the pursuit of other things? “Consider the cost?”

It had been a long time since he’d looked at a price tag. “Only in so much as I like having the best.” He looked at her significantly. She was still evading him. “So, what do I call you?”

She lifted a thin shoulder. “Whatever you like, as long as it’s not insulting.”

He laughed out loud at that. He was enjoying himself. “I meant your name. What name do I use when I talk to you?”

For some reason, terms of endearment flocked into her head like so many sparrows looking for a place to land. She deliberately blocked them. This wasn’t a man to give affection to. This was a man to be wary of. Even if he did possess a face and body that could generate endless dreams.

“Whatever you like.”

He leaned his face in close to hers. For a moment, their breaths mingled. “What I’d like is to use your real name.”

That rush was beginning again, the same rush she felt at the start of a job. The same kind she’d felt standing in the alley just before she’d made the lock open. It took effort to keep it from taking over.

“So that you can check me out?” she guessed, congratulating herself on how cool she’d kept her voice, especially when everything inside her felt as if it was red hot and jumping around. She noted the way Williams was looking at the brandy in her hand. “I know you’re very thorough, but it really won’t do you any good to have the glass checked for fingerprints.” Her smile widened ever so slightly as she looked up into his eyes. She could see that the thought had crossed his mind. “I have no priors, no arrests.” Her eyes teased his. “I am as pure as the driven snow.”