Free Secrets and Lies (Crimson Romance) by Shay Lacy

about that transaction. “What time is the wedding?”
    “Two o’clock.”
    “I’ll make sure I’m available in case you get what I need.”
    “Right.” Montoya imbued that one word with a world of frustration before he hung up.
    Juliana watered the poor plants. The dark pink Jacobinia, yellow coreopsis, orange milkweed, and pink periwinkles perked up instantly in their colorful homemade clay pots.
    What did a spy wear to a society wedding? And how big was the house where she’d have to locate this relic? She did a web search and found stories about the wedding in all the Miami newspapers. There was plenty of information about Dalton Montgomery. And there was a photo of his mansion. Juliana let out her breath and leaned back in her chair.
    She knew that house.
    Her mind turned like tumblers clicking into place to open a safe. Charlie had gone to find a way into Montgomery’s house to retrieve his client’s sculpture, the relic worth a drug distribution pipeline.
    Oh my God!
    Charlie had no idea what he was getting into. He could be in danger right now. Her heart thumped against her rib cage. Her first instinct was to call him, but if he was sneaking around on Montgomery’s property, she didn’t want his phone to ring and jeopardize his safety.
    She could call his brother, Rick. But tell him what? That his brother was trying to break into the house of a mobster wannabe to steal back a sculpture drug dealers would kill for? What would Rick do, stake out Montgomery’s mansion? Haul his younger brother home by the scruff of the neck? Charlie was an adult, capable of playing any character and lying through his teeth. Maybe he wouldn’t even get on the grounds. Surely Montgomery had the best security money could buy, including paid thugs to guard him.
    Still, her heart continued to thunder.
    Fine, she’d stop Charlie herself. She Mapquested the route to Montgomery’s house, which said she could be there in thirty-five minutes. But what would she do when she got there? She knew Charlie had a dark gray rental car, but so did thousands of other Miamians. What if she couldn’t find his car, or found it but not him? She wouldn’t trespass on the grounds. What use was it for her to go there? He’d been gone for hours already. Anything could have happened during that time.
    Juliana didn’t want anything to happen to Charlie. If she ever had a chance to see him again she wanted him fully functional. She liked the way their two bodies combined seamlessly; four limbs entwined, four hands caressing, gripping, grasping, fondling, pressing.
    Had her air conditioning failed? Juliana fanned herself. Her panties were damp. Again. She lifted the skirt of her little red sundress and fanned her crotch.
    How could she get so hot so fast for a man she’d reconnected with only two days ago? No man had ever made her pant like a bitch in heat. She wanted him, and she wanted him
now
.
    The doorbell rang, making her heart leap in her chest.
Charlie.
She ran to the door and checked the peephole—it was him! She hauled him inside her apartment with the intention of checking his functionality.
    • • •
    Charlie had a second to admire the short, sexy halter sundress Juliana wore before she plastered her lips to his. He was so pleased at her welcome he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. As fast as her soft body touched his he had a hard-on. It was as though the past two nights with her had only whet his appetite.
    She tugged at his jeans. He fumbled at the knot that secured the halter, and the material parted. He reached between them to palm her tight globes. Already her nipples were tight peaks.
    “Fill me, Charlie,” she begged, leaning into his caress. She had his jeans open and stroked his cock.
    “I just got here,” he complained half-heartedly. He wanted exactly what she wanted.
    “I need you inside me.” She found the condom in his pocket and sheathed him. Juliana tugged him into the living