WARD CASSIDY could think of better uses for an ice cube.
Although the way Hannah Garrett rolled the ice along her
skin to cool the slope of her gorgeous neck still topped
his list. He sucked in a breath as a droplet of water
slowly ran past the inviting underside of her chin and
slid down her throat, weaving a path along her collarbone
and disappearing into the tantalizing area below.
Tantalizing because he hadn't thought of much else other
than Hannah or her breasts since he'd gotten this awful
assignment in the hottest place next to hell.
He liked his ice cold, and his women hot. And Hannah would
make an ice cube melt in Siberia. Now she was lifting up
her red curly hair and rubbing the cube on the back of her
neck. Next to hell? He was in hell. Why'd his office have
to face the break room?
The multiline telephone on his desk beeped an annoying
jingle.Why couldn't phones just ring? The electronic
chimelike sound literally tap-danced on his nerves.
Just then Hannah put the ice cube in her mouth and sucked.
Desire shot through him as his mind conjured up images of
those generous lips of hers surrounding him. His knuckles
tightened around the cool plastic phone handle. But
nothing could chill his white-hot arousal.
The phone chimed again, and he almost flung the damn thing
across his desk. Whoever was daring to interrupt his stint
as voyeur could take a train ride to hell. Or right here
next to him in Gallem. The heat was probably about the
same. He took a deep breath. Get it together.
Ward Cassidy, federal officer of the law, turned his chair
with slow deliberation away from the break room where
Hannah was perfecting her "cooling off" techniques.
Instead he concentrated on the view outside his window. He
centered on the grass, parched just as he was. The office
air conditioner couldn't chug out enough cold air to
contend with the heat. He was acting a fool. Hannah was
just a woman trying not to sizzle in the offices of
Protter and Lane Investment Banking. And here he was
taking his frustrations out on a poor defenseless
telephone.
He lifted the handle before the damn thing could ring a
third time, just barely remembering to use his cover
name. "Coleman here."
A few clicks echoed in the background, and he immediately
went on alert.
"We're on a secure line."
"I'll shut the door." Ward stood and closed the door,
welcoming the barrier. A lot of good it did, a huge
picture window still gave him a prime view of the break
room.
He picked up the phone again. Ward recognized the voice of
his friend and former partner at the Bureau. A few years
ago, his colleague, Brett Haynes, was one of the best
field agents. Now he was permanently desked after choosing
the wife and family route over adventure and danger. Poor
guy.
Good. Another person he could take his frustrations out on.
Ward resisted his urge to laugh out loud. "Why wouldn't
the line be secure? The security around here is so lax any
ten-year-old with low speed Internet access could hack
into this place."
Brett's chuckle was loud and clear. In disgust, Ward
angled his chair away from the window. Still his eyes once
again drifted back to the break room. He gritted his
teeth. Hannah hadn't left. Neither had the ice cube.
Although a human resources memo to employees had given
permission to wear shorts in the office during the heat
wave, Hannah's legs remained encased in pants. She didn't
have a problem leaving her arms bare, though. She now ran
the ice cube up the gentle curve of her bicep, then down
the soft skin of her...
He knew her skin would be soft. He imagined his lips
following such a path. Starting at her wrist, tracing his
tongue on the delicate skin of her forearm, stopping only
long enough to lick her inner elbow before...
I'm losing my mind. "You gotta pull me from this
assignment."
"Can't. You really pissed off the boss lady with that
stunt you pulled on your last case."
His lips twitched into a slow smile. "The bad guys are in
prison, aren't they?"
"I think it's more like how they got there. Dragging two
prisoners who've been hiding in the swampland of Louisiana
for two weeks through Director James's office is not the
best method for career advancement."
"She said I could never bring in the big ones. I wanted to
show her that I could, to look good for the boss."
"Ha. You looked worse than they did. Forget it. You'll be
in Gallem until this case is put to bed. Which shouldn't
take too long with your skills. Any rookie could nail it."
Damn, why did he have to put it that way? When he thought
nail, he only thought of...
Hannah was blotting her skin with a paper towel. Rubbing
the thin paper along the column of her throat. He almost
growled. He almost shouted at her to stop.
"I expect we'll be hitting the eighteenth hole by the end
of the week."
"You'd be surprised. I've been thrown a few curves," Ward
said.
"You? Nah. Actually, the reason why I called was to let
you know the field office is sending me there for a check."
"No wife? No kid?"
"Just you, me and a beer."
Ward angled back in his chair as he watched Hannah ball
the paper towel and lob it toward the trash can.
"Now, that's the best offer I've had in two weeks."
"The ladies of Gallem not lining up at your door? You must
be losing your touch."
He spotted Hannah's slim, sexy form pass by the small
window of his door. No friendly wave, no courtesy smile
from one employee to another.Yeah, she didn't like him.
For the first time today he felt a chill.
"Having a dry spell." The show was over. Ward sat straight
in his chair, and checked out the employee files. "Is
Grace hassling you about leaving? After all, that's why
you took that desk job."
"It's just an overnighter, and I think she's actually
looking forward to me being out of her hair for a bit."
"Great. Come by the office Saturday, and I'll introduce
you to corporate hell." Ward replaced the receiver. He
reached in his pocket and pulled out his black, spiral-
bound notepad. Research telephone ring. He flipped the pad
closed, and returned it to his pocket. Maybe he could find
the phone's manufacturer on the Web tonight at his rental.
Case or no case, some things had to come first.
He'd learned his lesson. He'd get this little situation
solved, criminals would be deposited in jail cleanly, and
he'd do what he could to get back on James's good side. He
knew she couldn't hold a grudge against him for too long.
After all she'd mentored him since he left the Marines to
join the Bureau.
He knew he'd really pissed the top lady off, parading
those men through her office. But was it worth this?
As the newly hired security chief at P&L, he had an office
to himself. He didn't know who to thank for that small
favor. Outside stood rows and rows of battered metal desks
without a single cubicle divider. How could the bankers
get anything done? At some point, the walls had been
painted a hue between blue and green. Why, he could only
guess.
The whole place buzzed with nonstop corporate team
building. If he heard one more inspiring little snippet
over the office speaker, he'd cut the wires himself. As if
the framed motivational posters weren't bad enough.
The FBI had lucked out when Arvest Lane had created the
security position in the Gallem office. Over the course of
the last six months, someone had been manipulating
government money through P&L. Straight into a nice little
offshore account.
Uncle Sam didn't like people to steal his money. Neither
did Ward. Finding the culprit wouldn't be difficult. Just
very, very time consuming with lots of paperwork. Yeah,
James really knew how to turn the screws.
A week ago, Ward moved into the position, and no one in
P&L knew his real identity. For all intents and purposes,
he was the security chief, with all the perks, including
access to the employee files. He'd read through them a
dozen times. Searching for clues.
Hannah's rested on top. He lifted her résumé with the tiny
photo of her stapled to the corner. The grainy picture was
not the best quality. But it didn't obscure her high
cheekbones or the lushness of her full lips. Lips that
made a man's mind wonder.
Despite her beauty, her eyes were what always drew him. He
wouldn't call them cold, but a coolness lingered in the
green depths. When hounded by the male employees, she was
quick with a glare of irritation. That was the only
emotion she ever revealed.
Yet Hannah's eyes gave her away. Something... guarded some
deep pain tinged those haunting eyes of hers. He planned
to ferret out all her secrets.
First things first, assess the current situation. He
wanted her. And even though they'd rarely made eye
contact, he sensed she was attracted to him, and that it
bothered her. A lot. A swell of satisfaction infused his
gut. He liked the idea of her experiencing the same kind
of frustration he did.
"Knock, knock." Ward glanced up to see his office visitor.
He never really trusted a man who said knock, knock rather
than actually knocking. Dan Protter, the Protter of
Protter and Lane, walked through the door.
Ward schooled his features, cloaking himself in the
persona of Ward Coleman. His new boss more than likely
expected a man in charge of security to look, well,
secure. Ward did his best to live up to the man's
expectations.
In fact, strutting around the office acting macho,
fulfilled his own dreams of what a federal agent should be
doing. That lonely Marine lying in his bunk all those
years ago had no idea that a fed's life wasn't so much
chasing the bad guy and getting the girls. It was more
about tackling a pile of paperwork and wrestling it to the
ground. And there would be paperwork to spare with this
P&L investigation.
But those times he did chase the bad guy made up for it
all. The girl never stuck around for long. An odd twinge
of disappointment surprised him. Whether the emotion came
from the women not staying or the fact that he cared
little if they did, he didn't know. "TGIM, Ward." Dan
handed Ward a coffee cup. "No cream, no sugar."
"Thanks." Ward never developed a liking for Mondays, or
coffee, but he took a swig to satisfy Dan. He swallowed
quickly. Coffee had about as much appeal to him as liquid
dirt. Still, he did have a cover to keep, and this
particular cover required him to act the tough guy. A guy
who drank his coffee strong, preferably with the grounds
still in.
Dan angled himself off Ward's desk. He sensed his new boss
liked being around him. Ward's presence more than likely
added a bit of danger in Dan's dully familiar world of
investment banking. "I've gone over the new security
measures you suggested," Dan said.
Though Ward's job was a means to an end, how could he
leave here without implementing a few security procedures?
He had standards, and leaving this particular job undone
defied his sense of professionalism. Dan, and the rest of
the investment firm, would luck out.