Free Aegis Security 02 - Sinful Surrender by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

stomach felt like it was about to hurl up what little she’d eaten today. She couldn’t believe what a complete idiot she’d been. Brian had lied to her. Seduced her. Then fucked her. All for what? To get close to her because her brother had ordered him to? She was nothing but a stupid job to him.
    “Come with me, Gracie.”
    Goddamn it. If she’d paid attention to the signs—to the way he held himself, the way his gaze noticed everything happening around him, to the fact he’d called her by her real name last night before she’d told him who she was, she’d have known he was a liar and a cheat.
    Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized plotting his demise probably counted as premeditated murder, but she didn’t care. He worked for her brother. He wasn’t a professional skier like he’d told her. He was a stupid Aegis operative.
    Tightness pressed down on her chest, a tightness she didn’t like. She waved her hands in front of her face and tried to suck back air. Dropping to sit on the edge of the tub, she breathed deep so she didn’t pass out. That would make things better, wouldn’t it? Prove to him and her son-of-a-bitch brother that she actually did need protecting?
    The rage slowly receded, and she focused on the push and pull of her lungs, on the sound of the wind picking up outside and the hum of the heater somewhere in the ceiling. One night. She could get through one night without killing him. Once the storm cleared, she’d head home, forget she ever met Brian Walker, then deal with her brother later. When there weren’t any sharp instruments within reach.
    Her phone buzzed, and she crossed the room and snatched it from the counter. Unknown number. If it was her brother…
    “Hello?” she answered curtly.
    “I want to set up a scene in one of the fantasy rooms tonight, but I need another partner. Do you know if Jessica’s working?”
    Grace lost it. Just completely lost it. “This isn’t the fucking Playhouse. Check the goddamn number, prick.”
    She punched End on her phone, totally dissatisfied she couldn’t slam the thing down and really make a statement. A knock sounded on the door, and Grace’s head came up.
    “You didn’t fall in in there, did you?” Brian teased, using the same line she’d tossed at him last night. Then, less amused, “Get off the phone and come out here, Grace. We need to talk.”
    Grace’s fingers turned white around the phone in her hand. Oh yeah, they needed to talk. She just didn’t trust herself not to let him have it.
     
    Composing herself as best she could, Grace pulled open the door only to find the master bedroom was empty. Glass clinked from the direction of the living area, and, knowing she couldn’t hide forever, she lifted her chin and headed that way.
    The villa was exquisite. Even in her questionable mental state, Grace could see that the accommodations here were head and shoulders above what she’d had at the hotel. Travertine floors, marble counters, tall, arching windows that looked out at the snowy mountains, a river-rock fireplace in both the living area and master bedroom, and plush, comfortable furnishings a person could sink into after a long day of skiing. Their villa was situated on the edge of the property, and out the back windows, you couldn’t even see the other buildings around them. It was a tiny slice of heaven in the middle of what Grace considered her own personal hell.
    Brian was standing in the adjacent kitchen when Grace stepped into the room. A fire roared in the fireplace and snow fell outside the steadily darkening windows. The TV caught her attention across the room, the image paused on a view of the hallway outside her room in the main part of the hotel.
    He was watching the security tapes. Clenching her jaw, Grace dropped into a leather chair and reminded herself to stay calm. One night. She could get through one night without committing murder.
    “Here, drink this.”
    Brian shoved a glass in her hand