“How?” His hand dug in his pocket as he strode toward me, and then he produced the torn piece of newsprint. “With this?”
He held it up for me to see. My handwriting in red was a bloody mess. The R of my name was the only thing legible- the rest looked like blobs. The marker had bled and smeared with the black newspaper ink, making it impossible to see a single digit.
“It didn’t look like that when I wrote it. I mean, it was dark, but I had no idea it would spread like that.” Jesus. I’d wanted him to call but left him no way to do it.
“You could have woken me up so I could put it in my phone. You know, instead o
f bailing on me again.”
I was annoyed that he was annoyed with me, and set my jaw. “I had every intention of giving it to you.”
He freed his cellphone from a pocket, tapped in a code, and then waited on me with a pointed look. “Yeah?”
I rattled my number off and he typed it in, only to hold the phone up to an ear.
It was obvious what he was doing. “I don’t have it on me,” I said. “But the voicemail should tell you I didn’t give you a fake number. Because, like I said, I had every intention of giving you mine.”
It was deathly quiet until my recorded voice played, muffled against his ear. His shoulders relaxed a degree as he turned it off and tucked the phone back in a pocket. As he collected himself, his gaze drifted to his left—
It snapped right back to mine, but there was fire there. Like he was trying very hard not to think about the beautifully naked woman on the table.
“It’s a bit drastic,” I said, “coming here for my number.”
Every moment that passed between us, the tension in Silas seemed to fade, and heat moved into its place. His expression filled with desire. “When I see something I want, I go for it.” He tossed my words back at me, more or less the same ones I’d said when he’d finished the tattoo.
“And Joseph wasn’t any help?”
“He helped.”
I tilted my head to the side. How? Clearly Joseph hadn’t given him my number.
Silas hooked his thumbs into the belt loops of his pants. “He told me to come here and he’d cover whatever price you wanted.”
My knees almost gave out but I locked them in place. “What? I am not fucking you for money.”
In my shock, I hadn’t been aware he’d moved closer until he was right in front of me, a hand on my waist. His voice dipped low. “Okay, you’ll fuck me for free?”
There wasn’t audio in the room unless I turned my comm on, but there was a camera. One of my stipulations with the assignment was the FBI never linked into the feed. I couldn’t do what I had to, knowing my coworkers were watching, night after night. There was a backup drive I’d planted in Joseph’s office my third week here. I pulled the data from it Saturday nights, examined the johns, and wiped it to make room for the upcoming weekend.
At least, the FBI not watching was what I’d been led to believe, but I’d be a fool to trust the bureau completely. This ongoing operation was the crown jewel, probably too valuable to give me free rein. There was always the chance the hidden camera in the corner of this room was broadcasting to an FBI receiver somewhere outside the building.
“The only woman in this room,” I said, my voice low to match his, “you’re allowed to fuck right now is on the table. Are you interested, sir?”
The thought on his face was loud, screaming “Avoid. This question is a trap.” His hand on my waist tightened and he hauled me up against him. “I’m only interested in this.”
Oh, really? I smirked as I shook off his hold. A bluff, and I couldn’t help but challenge it. “Then you’re crazy, because I think she’s spectacular.”
I felt off-kilter with Silas here. I liked being the one in control, leading the client through the bargaining process. I was used to them wanting the woman I was selling, but this man flipped everything upside down. It wasn’t fair to Tara to lose out on a paying customer.
His eyes went thin and skeptical. “I don’t get what game you’re playing.”
Now it was my turn to bluff. I laughed softly. “I’m not playing a game. I’m just doing my job. A client walks through this door, and I’m supposed to negotiate.”
“For wine.”
I strolled on my heels toward Tara. She had to be wondering what the hell was going on. “Yes,” I said. “Would you like a taste?”
I expected him to say something. To call me out for egging him on, but there was no response and it forced me to act. My fingertips glided down her arm and across her stomach. Any second he’d give me a command to stop.