Twin Temptation

Trying to figure it out, he’d studied her sprawled across the bed. She slept with the same intensity that she did everything else. And she was a lot tougher than she looked. He’d experienced the strength and passion that she brought to their lovemaking. But right then as he’d looked down at her, what he’d wanted more than anything was to protect her. To cherish her.

The fact was that he was coming to have feelings for her other than those of a casual lover. Feelings that went far beyond making sure that she wasn’t killed.

He thought of what she’d said to him that morning in the kitchen—that if they made love again, it would complicate things. Well, she sure as hell had been right about that. But he hadn’t brought her here to the Donatello just to make love to her. And though it had been a long day, they still had a call to make. After what Dino had told him on the phone, he very much wanted to see what Eva Ware had written in her appointment book.

He ran his hands through his hair and started toward the door to the bedroom just as it opened and Maddie entered the bathroom. Both of them stopped in mid stride.

MADDIE’S THROAT went dry, and the air in the room was suddenly thick. Jase’s shoulders still glistened with droplets of water from his shower. The towel was tucked low over his hips.

The silence stretched between them.Maddie finally broke it. “I want you again.”

“Ditto. But we need to get to your mother’s apartment.”

“I know. The clothes you ordered came. I need to shower.” But hadn’t she known what she really wanted when she’d stepped into the bathroom?

“Right.” On his way to her, he dropped the towel and then he shoved the bathrobe down her arms. Finally, he scooped her up into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“We might as well try the age-old solution.” He twisted the faucets. “A cold shower.”

Maddie screamed as the icy water sluiced over them. “Turn it off! I’m freezing!”

“That’s the idea.” He set her down but used his body to block her in.

Through the wet hair plastered to her face, she glared at him. “I don’t like this idea.”

“It does have its drawbacks.” There was laughter in his voice. “But I thought you were tougher than you look.”

She raised both hands and gave him a hard shove. She might have had more luck with the boulder in Central Park. Sputtering, she made a blind grab for the faucets.

He grabbed her wrists. “No cheating.”

“I’m sure I’m turning blue.”

“That is one of the drawbacks.”

He backed her farther into the shower, and a fresh spray of icy needles pelted her.

“I’m going to get even for this.”

“I’m looking forward to it. But for now, since you don’t like a cold shower, I thought we’d shift to plan B.”

“No, you—”

He cut off her protest by covering her mouth with his. With one arm holding her close, he slathered soapy lather all over her body.

Incredibly, her skin began to heat. When his fingers slipped between her thighs, found her, pierced her, she began to burn. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him even closer. The fire he’d ignited built rapidly then. With his hand alone he took her on a desperate ride, driving her up and up until the climax shot through her with a violence that left her trembling.

That was enough to drive him to the edge. When she whispered his name, he lifted her and wrapped her legs around him.

“Maddie, open your eyes.”

She did as he asked, and he looked into those blue-violet depths. When he drove himself into her, he knew she thought only of him.

When she murmured his name, he thought only of her.

He pulled out, thrust in again, over and over. She shuddered again and again. When he could no longer help himself, he drove them both into the madness.

MADDIE WAS just slipping into her new shoes in front of a full-length mirror when Jase’s cell phone rang.

He tucked it under his chin and listened silently while he shrugged into the new blue shirt, then buttoned it. He left it hanging loose and tucked his gun into the back waistband of his jeans.The man was definitely efficient. As a security agent, as a lover, as a friend. And he seemed to be able to shift between his various roles effortlessly. Since they’d left the bathroom, he’d been all business again and she was learning to follow his lead.

But something had happened while they’d been in the shower. It was as if some question between them had been asked and answered. Maddie just had to figure out what it was.

Jase shut his cell phone, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “D.C.’s plane is boarding. He’ll be in Santa Fe tonight. Between him and Cash, Jordan will be all right.”

She’d already told herself that, but it helped to hear Jase say it.

“Ready to hit the road?” he asked.

“Yes.” They’d decided while they were dressing that they were going to go to her mother’s apartment and get the appointment calendar. But it wasn’t finding the calendar that had nerves knotting in her stomach. It was the idea of seeing the place where her mother had lived.

“There’s a strong possibility that whoever it is we’re dealing with will have Eva’s apartment staked out. In their place, that’s what I’d do. They have to know by now that the hit failed, and they may have a back-up plan.”

“What are you saying?” Maddie asked.

“We have to take precautions. I already asked Dino to post one of our men near the entrance. His job is to see if anyone else is watching. But we’re going to have to be fast. We can ditch the taxi a few blocks away, and I’ll pay the driver to wait for us across the street from the apartment so we can make a quick getaway. You’re going to wear the scarf and the sunglasses I had sent up.” Plucking them out of the bag, he tossed them to her. “It’s standard celeb wear.”

His eyes when they met hers were sober. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could talk you into waiting here and letting me get the appointment book?”

Maddie shook her head firmly. “No way at all.”

“Figured.” He took her arm and they were halfway to the door when his cell rang again.

He checked the caller ID, then said, “Yeah?”

For a few minutes, Jase said nothing. He merely listened. When he finally repocketed the phone, he opened the door of the suite.

“That was Dino checking in again. While you were sleeping, he called to tell me what he’d found out about Michelle Tan.”

“Michelle?”

“About a month ago, three days after the robbery, in fact, a bank check for one hundred thousand dollars was deposited into Michelle’s bank account. The money was withdrawn in cash two days later.”

She shot him a look. “Can Dino hack into a bank’s computers?”

Jase grinned at her. “Sure. He’s getting better at the technical stuff. But it was a bank check, so he doesn’t know yet who it came from.”

“I see.”

“Even more intriguing, it turns out that Michelle’s the granddaughter of Cho Li.”

“GOOD JOB,” Jase murmured as they rode up the seven flights to Eva Ware’s apartment.

“Thanks. It seemed the easiest way.”And it had been. She’d gotten them past the doorman by lowering her scarf and pretending to be Jordan. It had also saved them some time. And Jase wasn’t sure how much time they had. Whoever was behind this was smart and prepared. In his experience, people who were prepared always had a back-up plan.

He glanced sideways at Maddie. She’d been very quiet during the short cab ride to Eva’s place. Because she was trying to absorb the news about Michelle and Cho? He could understand that. He was trying to figure it out too. The two least likely suspects for robbing Eva’s store had risen like cream to the top of the group.

He was positive Jordan hadn’t known about the relationship between the two. She’d certainly never mentioned it to him, nor had she put it in the notes she’d given Maddie. Had Eva known? Or perhaps suspected? The appointment calendar just might tell them something.

But Jase had a hunch that what was bothering Maddie now went a little deeper.

“Have you ever been in Eva’s apartment?” she asked as they left the elevator.

“No.”

“After we find the appointment calendar, I’d like to take a little time to look around.”

When he didn’t immediately reply, she continued, “I know you’d prefer to get in and out, but I won’t take long. I’d just like to get…an idea of how she lived.”

Jase thought of the doorman, a fit enough looking man. But he was in his fifties and a pro could take him out in seconds. He reminded himself that Dino had stationed a man across the street who was a pro also. “Sure.”

She unlocked the door with the key Jordan had given her and hesitated a moment before stepping into the foyer. Then she simply looked around. Jase had noted before that she was good at standing still and absorbing her surroundings. Perhaps every artist had to have that quality.

The foyer opened into a short hallway with high ceilings. The apartment itself was located in one of Manhattan’s oldest buildings, but the wainscoting and the chair railings had been artfully restored. Beneath the rich hues of an oriental carpet lay gleaming dark hardwood floors.