Bestselling Authors Collection 2012(111)

She shivered beneath his gently insistent touch. “At Diamondt’s?”

“Sure.” He caught the lobe of her ear between his teeth and tugged, giving a husky laugh at her helpless shudder. “I can introduce you to Moretti. Since this is the first time he and I are meeting face-to-face, maybe it’ll help put us on a more friendly footing.”

“Okay.”

“What about you?” Constantine asked.

“I want to check out the address Juice gave me.” She forced her muscles to remain relaxed, difficult enough when he kept touching her. Even so, she couldn’t risk communicating any of her tension to him.

“I wish you’d wait until I can go with you,” he murmured against her ear.

Oh, Lord. That would be a disaster. “No time,” she hastened to say. “We’re flying home right after your meeting, aren’t we?”

He considered for a minute, his hand stroking her in an absentminded way. Unfortunately there was nothing absentminded about her reaction to his touch. She turned in his arms to face him and slid her leg over top of his. “Okay, fine,” he said at last. “But call me right before and right after you speak to this woman.”

She nipped at his mouth. “No problem.”

She didn’t give him the chance to say anything else. The sooner they put the conversation to rest, the better. Of course, the instant he shifted her beneath him, she found she couldn’t think, much less speak.

They gave themselves over to one another, gave themselves over to the night. Her soft sigh of pleasure was answered by his hoarse demand. Her cry of completion echoed his roar of satisfaction. Through the night they burned, riding the crest of passion from one wave to the next until the first break of dawn tumbled them back into a deep sleep.

The next morning Gianna woke to discover Constantine long gone. He’d left a single red rose on the pillow beside her and she picked it up, smiling softly. Even better, he’d prepared a pot of coffee for her, using one of Seattle’s world-renowned brands. She sipped in appreciation while preparing for the day. After doing a swift run-through with first Luc and then Juice, she pulled out the bold red slacks and jacket she’d chosen specifically for today’s mission.

Next, she headed downstairs, speaking at length to the concierge and getting very specific directions to the address she’d been given. She arranged for a cab, requesting it pick her up in half an hour. Then she returned to her room and sat, counting down the minutes, before returning to the lobby. The hope was that the brief delay would give David time to bribe the concierge and obtain the address, or if that failed, follow her to her destination. Once Luc and Juice spotted him, they’d arrange their men in a tidy net around the house, ready to spring the trap when David made his move.

Since it was midday Saturday, the drive to White Center didn’t take long. The taxi cruised slowly through a neighborhood overrun with small boxy homes. Though there was an air of shabbiness that encompassed many, for the most part they were tidy with neatly kept lawns and flower beds.

At the last minute she remembered to call Constantine. “I found the house. At least, I think I have.”

“Give me the address.”

She hesitated. “Why do you need the address?”

“So I know where to send the police if I don’t hear from you within the next thirty minutes.”

She sighed and did as he requested. “There’s no need to worry, Constantine,” she reassured. “This will be over before you know it and I’ll call you the minute it is.”

“What do you mean?” Constantine asked sharply.

“Oh, well, you know,” she said, a trifle distracted. “It won’t take long to discuss the situation with Mrs. Mereaux. I’m sure Primo will pay her a generous price for Brimstone and that’ll be that.”

“Gianna—”

“Oh, someone’s looking out the window. I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done.”

She flipped the cell phone closed before he could say anything further and exited the cab.

Constantine stared down at his cell phone and frowned. Something about his conversation with Gianna felt off, and a sense of wrongness sizzled through him. He glanced at the group hovering over the blueprints spread across a table in the center of the Diamondt building foyer. Getting the account was vital to Romano Restoration’s continued growth and expansion. Maybe that explained why he’d been so distracted. So distracted that he hadn’t really given his full attention to this Brimstone business.

But now that he did…

It hit him then and he swore, praying he was wrong. He flipped open his phone and dialed Luc’s number. No answer.