Honeymoon With A Stranger. Frances Housden

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СКАЧАТЬ that shared kiss, a slim thread of doubt lingered in the back of his mind. If Roxie was who she’d claimed, he was already guilty of corrupting an innocent.

      Damn, after only six hours. That would be a record.

      “What do you want me to do, Mac?”

      “Nothing drastic. I need to discover where the bugs are, but I can’t do that with that camera recording my every move.”

      He’d already thought the steps out. “Once you’re somewhat decent, come through and slip into bed. I’ll say I’m turning the light out. After that it will be easy to toss my jacket over the camera and switch the light back on so I can search for bugs.”

      She nodded at him, wet curls bouncing on her forehead as if this was nothing out of the ordinary. Yeah, she was an agent. The decision made him feel better.

      “Look, even if I find the bugs, they’ll have to stay where they are. I don’t want Zukah or his lackeys suspecting anything other than that we’re content to spend some time together.”

      She showed him a wry grimace. “Our so-called honeymoon?”

      “That’s it in a nutshell. Are you with me, chérie?”

      “Of course. What choice do I have?”

      “Couple of days, tops, and we should be out of here. Until then…it will have to be make and mend as we go along.”

      “Okay, turn your back and let me get out of the shower.”

      “No, hang on a minute.” He pulled out his shirt and began to unfasten it.

      “Are you going to have a shower after all?”

      “No, I’m going to wet my hair and pretend we’ve shared a shower.” He stripped off his shirt, then turned on the faucet.

      The water had just begun to run when Roxie cried, “Ow!”

      The faucet spun round in his fingers as he shut it off again. “Sorry, forgot these old-fashioned systems wouldn’t have a pressure equalizer. Did I burn you?”

      “Not in any way that counts. The water just turned icy. Let me get out first this time.” She turned around and once more all he could see was a flesh-colored blur, but she’d left him wondering what she meant by saying, Not in any way that counts?

      He’d just decided if anyone ended up burned by this arrangement it could be him, when she said, “Shower’s off.”

      Mac began running hot water into the basin.

      “When I leave here, I’ll make a show of looking through the armoire to see if anything useful has been left in it. Just remember not to look straight at the camera. And no matter what, follow my lead. Act as if you love me.”

      He almost told her, The way you did when I kissed you. She didn’t seem to have to put on an act then.

      Her mouth had simply flowered under his.

      In the mirror he watched his own mouth twist in an expression of grim reality. Until he had Thierry check Roxie out, she’d better believe his was simply an act to make sure they both survived.

      That way, he might not only get out of this situation alive but with his honor still intact.

      “What are you doing, chéri? Come to bed.” Mac heard a sultry ring of impatience in Roxie’s voice. Only the two of them knew it wasn’t the sound of a hot-blooded woman anxiously awaiting her lover.

      Or, that having him in bed with her was way down on her wish list, if indeed it made it at all.

      “Soon as I switch off the lights.”

      Under cover of darkness, he threw his leather jacket over the camera, but before turning them on again there was something he needed to be sure of.

      Barefoot, he padded softly toward the window. A pale gold haze bloomed behind the trees like dawn on the horizon. Since it wasn’t anywhere near daybreak, it could only mean a largish town wasn’t too far distant.

      Interesting, but that wasn’t what he needed to know. The window overlooked the dark driveway and was unbroken by patches of light.

      That meant the other occupied rooms must face the back of the house, which meant it was okay to flick the switch on without anyone noticing there was light coming from the attic while the monitor showing the attic was dark.

      “How many extra quilts did you pile on this bed?” Roxie’s voice sounded hot and breathless, though she’d only worn her long black T-shirt to sleep in.

      Her words reached out to him through the thick gloom, a reminder that the conversation was lagging.

      “Only two.”

      “One would have done.” As the light came back on she tossed off the quilts he’d found in the armoire and slipped out of bed. Her dark hair, dry now, had a tousled and sexy appeal, as if someone had just run his hands through it.

      For God’s sake, keep your mind on the job, Mac.

      He palmed the countersurveillance gadget. Just in time, a second later, she was over at the table standing beside him shivering. “Trust me, we’ll need them.”

      “Come under the covers and then tell me that. The sheets are cold as well.”

      He knelt down. Keeping his hands hidden, he ran a scan and found a bug. There were so few pieces of furniture this shouldn’t take long as he’d already covered the armoire.

      That left the easy chair and the bed. His concentration focused on one thing alone, and again Roxie had to fill in the conversation. “Isn’t this the most uncomfortable bed we’ve ever slept in?”

      She’d gone back to the bed and was jiggling the edge of the mattress.

      “I don’t remember doing much sleeping,” he said from the end of the bed as he knelt to check underneath and got a faint signal.

      He moved to the other side. Roxie followed by rolling across the quilts, achieving a few satisfactory squeaks of the mattress.

      They were eye to eye as she inquired, “Don’t you know a euphemism when you hear it?”

      “You mean you’d prefer me to use a much more earthy term?” he asked, then ducked his head, quick to hide his grin. And there it was, a bug behind the antique iron frame supporting the sway-backed spring base.

      Damn Zukah. That one would have to go. Somehow he’d have to make it look like an accident, so that the Algerian kept thinking he was as dumb as they were both acting at the moment.

      Her voice came down to him, “Actually, I meant instead of making love.”

      “With you, chérie—” he punctuated his words with a couple of crude kissing noises “—I always make love.” Then putting a finger to his lip, he pointed behind the headboard.

      He had to admit she was quick СКАЧАТЬ