Not that she was the kind of woman who would want to be shielded. That was actually part of the reason he was falling so hard for her, despite all his protectiveness. “We’ll just have to keep digging,” he murmured to her. She nodded but didn’t answer and he could practically hear the wheels in her head turning as she tried to piece this all together.
They each took some financial information and began sorting through it. Just after midnight they hit a brick wall that prevented Zahra from delving any deeper into the shell companies’ histories.
She let out a frustrated sigh and drummed her fingers on the desk, a frown on her face. “I’m not sure what else I can do. I’ve tried everything I can think of without going so deep that I trigger warning bells anywhere.” She looked over at him and Briar, now seated on a couch set against the wall, looking through reports she’d dug up on the men Briar had earmarked for further investigation. “We need to bring more people into this to help find that money.”
“Not yet,” Rycroft said. “If we can’t crack this thing ourselves by the time we leave, I’ll see what I can do on my end once I get back to Fort Meade.” He checked his watch, frowned. “We won’t be flying out of here until morning now.” He glanced over at Matt. “Guess you’re stuck with us for the night.” A hint of rueful amusement lit his eyes, as though he knew it was the last thing Matt wanted to hear.
“No problem. Hell, it’s your place. I’ll—” He was about to say he’d stay with Briar, since he had no intention of sleeping anywhere else, but then stopped when he saw the expression on her face. Discomfort, and maybe a little embarrassment. Shy at the thought of the others knowing they were sleeping together? He knew she didn’t have much experience with this kind of relationship, so maybe she didn’t want the others to know about them.
He could have told her that Rycroft was well aware of what was going on, but that would likely only embarrass her more. “I’ll take the couch in the living room,” he amended, “and Zahra can have the other guest room upstairs.”
Although he was disappointed that he wouldn’t have Briar curled up naked in his arms, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable and couldn’t very well drive her to screaming orgasm when Rycroft was in the next room and Zahra across the hall. Considering how hot she made his blood run, there was no way he could take her slow and sweet next time. After they’d both come at least twice, but maybe not even then.
“You two go ahead and call it a night,” he said to Briar and Zahra. “Alex and I’ll make sure everything’s buttoned up tight.”
Briar shot him a narrow-eyed look at the dismissal and stood. “I’ll help.”
Matt hid a grin but didn’t argue, knowing she’d be offended if he didn’t treat her as an equal. It was rare that he met someone who could match his skills in the field or with a firearm, but Briar could and that made her a thousand times hotter than she already was. “Sure.”
Together the three of them checked the lodge again and took a thorough look outside. No one found anything that raised any concerns or led them to believe that anyone had been skulking around. Still, there was no way to tell for certain whether their location had been leaked.
They came in the back door and took off their snow-covered boots. Briar’s cheeks and the tip of her nose were pink from the cold. Alex mumbled a good night and left them in the foyer, heading upstairs to the master bedroom.
In the silence they stood staring at each other, and it was clear from the hunger glowing in her dark eyes that had they been alone here, she would have jumped at picking up where they’d left off in the bathroom. Suppressing a groan of frustration, Matt slid a hand into her hair at the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her ribs, tugging her close.
He hugged her tight to his chest, closing his eyes as she held him just as hard. “Try to get some sleep,” he murmured against her hair, all shiny and smelling of shampoo. “We’ll hit it again in the morning.”
“Yeah. Hope you get a good night’s sleep too.” She gave him one last squeeze and released him, stepping back to give him a sexy half-smile that made his pulse pick up. “I really liked doing that to you in the bathroom. I look forward to that rain check, except next time I want to finish what I started.”
Ah, hell, the thought of her finishing him off in her mouth made his heart rate double. It was torture having her this close without being able to do more, but her sauciness made him chuckle. “Can’t wait. Know what else I’m looking forward to?”