You have a problem.
Yes, I did. And the problem’s name was Nyla Kincade. Bringing her shawl up to my nose, I took a quick whiff and that heady combination of need and irritation lingered in my blood, sending me to the edge of desire. I watched her. I had never trained the camera on her bedroom, never looked in there, but the sight from her living room was what I focused on. And that was somehow more intimate. I watched her as she cooked and then plopped on her couch to watch TV. My favorite was her in her unicorn fitted pajamas. But that night, she wasn’t wearing her unicorn fitted pajamas. She strolled out of her bedroom in the tiniest pair of shorts I’d ever seen.
What I wanted to do was pick her up and put her over my knee, but a phone call would have to do.
Her words were quiet as she answered. “Hello?”
“Agent Kincade. You’ve been very naughty.”
Instead of hanging up on me, which she probably should have, she sighed. “East Hale. To what do I owe this very late phone call? Did you mistake my phone number for a phone sex line?”
“I can get women to talk dirty to me any time I like.”
Her chuckle was low. “I’ll bet you can.”
“For such a naughty little thing, I’d have thought you’d be more contrite.”
She strolled past her windows, hips sashaying as she went. All the blood in my rational brain rushed to my dick. “You are going to have to be more specific. This has been that kind of day. Did I scratch your precious car? Perhaps I made your day more difficult. And if you are going to tear me a new one, I would advise you maybe take a number. The line for that can get quite long, you see.”
I frowned at that. She’d had a hard day?
Not that it matters to you in the least.
Nope, it didn’t matter. But still, I didn’t want to make her day worse.
“I’m sorry you’ve had a shitty day. I have an idea or two of things that might cheer you up.”
Her chuckle was soft. Lilting. “Oh, I’m sure you do. But alas, that’s not going to happen. I don’t kiss arrogant men.”
“Now, don’t add lying to your day’s transgressions.”
“What is it you want, Mr. Hale?”
“Well, Agent Kincade, I would like your assistance. It seems that someone has bugged me.”
There was a beat of silence. “That’s probably something you should take to the police.”
“Aren’t you the police?”
“I’m Interpol; my cases are different. If you like I can provide you with the number—”
“That won’t be necessary. But thank you for being so helpful. I think I’ll speak to your section chief again. I met him once. He seems like a reasonable sort.”
More silence.
That was okay, she knew I had her. If she wanted to play cat and mouse, I wanted her to be very clear on who was the predator and who was the prey. “I have to say, I’m impressed. It was at the hospital gala, right? When I was so busy falling into your eyes and you were flirting with me.”
That earned me a scoff. “Please, when I flirt, you’ll know.”
A smile teased my lips. The more she defied me and fought back, the harder I became. “I know Interpol plays by a different set of rules, but you ought to play by the rules of the country you are stationed in, and illegal bugging is a big no-no.”
“Good thing I would never do such a thing. I’m a good little agent.”
Fuck, I was so hard.
As if she could read the direction of my thoughts, she perked up. “Also, Mr. Hale, dare I ask, how have you gotten hold of my phone number?”
“Ingenuity.”
“Right. Ingenuity.”
“I decided to call you to tell you that whatever you think you’re doing, you’re in way over your head. You need to back off.”
“That’s the thing, Mr. Hale. I have a tendency not to give up on anything. I mean, of course, that’s if I was interested in you. Which I’m not.”
I chuckled then even as I rubbed the soft silk of her shawl and inhaled. “You are intriguing, Agent Kincade. So let me help you out. Why don’t you tell me what it is you want from me, and I’ll tell you if I can give it to you or not.”
She’d disappeared from my camera feed, and I could hear rustling, as if she was moving around in her bed. “Mr. Hale, I promise that you don’t have anything I want.”
“Are you sure about that? I think you’re intrigued by me. I think you can feel the hum between us. I think that after that kiss, you could still taste me. Hell, I would wager you can still taste me right now. You know that low pulsing between your thighs? The one that you’ve been trying to ignore? The one that you’ve been telling yourself isn’t good for you? That’s because of me. I make you feel that way. And it really, really is a shame that you thought you could get away with bugging me. Because I’ve made a decision, and I don’t intend to be fair.” I rubbed the silk of her shawl with my fingers again, the faint hint of honeysuckle making me ache.
“First of all, Mr. Hale, I want to remind you that you’re talking to an Interpol agent. Second of all, I’m not afraid of you. I have dealt with bigger and badder men. And I put them in jail too. You poke at me, and I’ll poke at you.”
“Oooh, kinky. Should I remind you that you fired the first shot?”
There was another beat of silence. “You can’t prove that I bugged you, so it’s a stalemate.”
“That’s the best part. I don’t need proof. You’re the one who’s afflicted with that burn, not me. So since it’s open season, I should probably mention to you that I really, really like the shorts you’re wearing.”
There was a hitch in her breath, and I could hear her swallow. “What?”
“They’re cute. And also, you should probably close the blinds of your flat. A T-shirt that says, ‘Woke up fine as hell’ and boy shorts? While I appreciate the view, I will say, so does half of London.”
She came back into the living room and whipped around, searching for me somewhere on the street. “You arsehole.”
“If you say so.”
“You want my address? I can give it to you. Come find me anytime.”
I liked her. She was fire and spunk, and just a bit shy of crazy. And I wanted her. And that was a real big fucking problem.
The real question was, what was I going to do about her attempt to tap us? Because if she tapped my fucking wallet and I hadn’t been paying attention, what else had she gotten her hands on? “Sleep tight, Agent Kincade. We’ll be speaking again soon.”