Page 27 of Playing With Love

“That was the last time I listen to Frank run his mouth and act like an asshole. I was done with his shit six months ago. Steve was a great partner, anyone who came after him would be a hard act to follow. I put up with Frank because I thought it was me being a hyper-critical bitch. I wasn’t, Frank’s just a shit person.”

“Honey—”

I knew what that soft tone meant; nice guy Tucker was coming out to play. I cut him off before he could gut me with his kindness.

“Frank’s a crybaby, I’m sure he’s already on the phone with her. Unfortunately for him, his complaints will fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately for me, he’s taken the car to the airport.”

“Airport?”

Right.

He didn’t know.

“Shannon already knew. GSW. The locals are waiting for Frank to arrive. Greg Newsome will meet Frank in Tennessee.”

“Right. You can use my Yukon. I’ll take a company SUV.”

Use his Yukon that undoubtedly smells like him…um, no.

“I can rent another car.”

“You can try. But this is Hollow Point, not the city. Besides, it’ll be a waste.”

I heard footsteps behind me and glanced over my shoulder to find a man who looked like he had walked off the pages of GQ. That was, if GQ had a badass, military edition. Striking green eyes, strong, cut jaw, dark hair that made those green eyes more pronounced. He was male-model gorgeous, even the scar marring one side of his face added to the sex appeal.

Cripes, he was hot.

What was it with Triple Canopy? Did they hit up modeling agencies for staffing? And it wasn’t just the men in the building. Lauren and Liberty were beautiful.

“Trey, this is Agent Liza Monroe. Lizzy, Trey Durum.”

The man called Trey looked beyond me, his lips twitching in that sexy way good-looking men tend to do when they find something amusing.

“Liza,” he drawled. “Nice to meet you.”

Trey’s gaze didn’t stray from my face. Not that I was much to look at, but I was a woman and in my experience men as good-looking as Trey tended to do a full body scan. It was like they thought it their due and if they liked what they saw, with nothing more than with a wink and a smile, they could have it.

Trey took no such liberties.

I liked him immediately.

It must be noted, I’d never seen Tucker do a full-body scan unless the person in front of him was a suspect. And the first time his gaze had dropped to my cleavage was after I’d made it clear that perusal would be welcomed. Before that, he’d always been professional, albeit in a friendly way. It was me who’d shifted that friendly banter to flirty.

However, after I’d opened the door, he’d sauntered straight through it and surpassed my best efforts. Tucker Mitchell had it going on and he knew it. Thankfully not in an up-his-own-ass kinda way. He was hot. He had the body and looks, but more than that he had what could only be described as swagger. The good kind of arrogance that was magnetic. The promise of a good time with a good guy who was hot but wasn’t a player in the sense he’d screw you and kick you out the door when he was done.

All of that proved to be true after he’d screwed me within an inch of my life. He didn’t kick me out after he was done, instead he’d pulled me close and whispered deliciously filthy things against the back of my neck. After he’d worked me up again—this time with nothing more than words—he went about doing all those filthy things, fulfilling the promise of a good time with a good guy who could get seriously dirty in bed. And still after three rounds of the best sex I’d ever had—which still held true in the present—he hadn’t allowed me to leave his hotel room. He’d held me all night long. In the morning, he didn’t rush me out the door. We’d showered together, ate the room service he’d called up, he’d kissed me sweetly, then let me down easy.

Or maybe we’d let each other down easy. Neither of us was in a position to act on our attraction beyond the night we’d given each other. That didn’t mean he didn’t deliver his speech about us staying friends only gently, he did. The problem was he had no idea I’d fallen in love with him. So as gently as he’d let me down, as much as I knew I could never have him the way I wanted, his gentleness had felt like a blow.

One I had yet to recover from.

“Lizzy?” Tucker called.

I blinked away my thoughts and focused.

“Yeah?”

Tucker was looking at me funny. It was then I realized I’d been lost in my thoughts and zoned out.