Free Prelude to a Secret by Melissa Schroeder Page B

I have a suite so we won’t be sitting on a bed.”
    She didn’t answer right away, and he wondered if he had pushed it too far.  Devon didn’t usually show his hand this early in the game, and if he thought about it, he might be more than a little worried why he was with this woman.
    “Nothing else?” she asked.
    “That’s up to you.”
    She didn’t answer right away. Then, after a few long moments, she smiled. “Okay.”
    * * *  *
    Alicia was already a bundle of nerves but now she was even worse. Any other assignment would have her thrilled at getting into the private room of the mark. But…this one had her heart turning over, her pulse beating completely out of control.
    She stepped into the suite and had to hide her reaction. This wasn’t the average suite, but a massive suite with a bar, a view of Las Vegas most people would kill for, and she was sure more than one bedroom. Her heels clicked against the marble floor.
    “Nice room.”
    He chuckled. The sound slid down her spine.
    “Nice is what you get when you throw money around.”
    Straight forward and honest. It was something she liked about him. The fact the CIA had trained him apparently didn’t matter. It only mattered that he wasn’t lying about this.
    She turned and faced him. Immediately, her brain blanked for a few seconds. He was looking at her as if she were his next meal. Granted, she had done this so many times before, and she should be accustomed to that look. But it was different, so different this time. There was another edge to the arousal that she wasn’t comfortable with.
    The panic slammed into her out of nowhere. What the hell was the matter with her?
    Do the job, Alicia. Feelings, worries, that’s all for other times. Just get the man.
    She cleared her throat. “Should we order?”
    “I ordered for us already.”
    Of course, he did. People like Devon Stryker did what they wanted. “That’s a bit presumptuous.”
    “Most women go for that sort of thing.”
    She laughed. “Learn now, Mr. Stryker, I’m not like most women.”
    He cocked his head as he studied her. “I have a feeling you don’t do that very often.”
    Her humor faded. “What?”
    “Laugh. And please, call me Devon. I feel weird having you use my surname.”
    She walked away, trying to calm her nerves again. It wasn’t easy. Warmth spread low in her tummy. He’s an assignment, not a date. Hell, she didn’t understand dating to begin with, unless it was in the context of the job. Flirting was a way to bring in a job, entrap him. She could handle that. This time, it was different.
    Of course, she wasn’t officially on the job. There was no one listening through well-placed bugs, and there wasn’t anyone to save her if he discovered she was MI-6.  She might not have heard from her father in a few weeks, but Devon Stryker was the only lead she had, and she would do anything to find her father.  It was a little too suspicious that her father sent her after Stryker right before disappearing off the face of the earth.
    The fast text she had sent her cousin about finding Stryker was the only contact she’d had with anyone.
    “Maybe I don’t have much to laugh about.”
    “Then you’ve been spending time with the wrong men in my opinion. You’re a woman who should laugh and laugh often.”
    She sighed as she stepped up to the windows. The ceiling to floor windows allowed for a spectacular view, but she didn’t really see it.  “You don’t know anything about me.”
    And this byplay was making her feel worse. She didn’t understand why now her scruples would come to bother her, but it was there. Maybe it was because he was so genuine.
    There was a knock on the door, and he rose to answer it. He was sexy, sure. But she had seduced other men women would have killed just to have a drink with. This man…there was something different.
    Maybe it was because she was on her own. For the first time in a very long time, the seduction was private. It