AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Satisfactory didn’t begin to describe what Toni saw when the doors opened again.
5
Spencer slumped back in his seat on a gold velvet divan and checked his watch for the umpteenth time. He and Toni had been together while Ayaan had given them their tour of the suite, which comprised the entire top floor of the luxury hotel and was dripping with priceless mosaics and artwork, thick rugs, and intricately carved wooden furniture—plus the numerous sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings. But once the tour was done, Toni had locked herself in her chosen bedroom for an eternity. She’d asked him to wait for their luggage and to choose whichever room he wanted, then disappeared into her quarters. He’d done as she asked, but waiting around like this had him climbing the walls. Not to mention that he was starving again. A burger and fries only lasted a man so long.
He pulled out his phone to check for new messages from his team. Nothing yet. He suspected they were still stuck waiting to land at the airport or in line at customs. Hopefully Gage had discarded his contraband before entering Jubail airspace, or they’d be facing an international incident—again. That was definitely not what they needed, now that they were closer than ever to finding Nick’s killer and unraveling the conspiracy behind his death. He wondered whether Hayley had cracked the encryption on the e-readers yet and sent Kyle another text asking for an update.
Even though they were a monumental pain in his ass sometimes, he missed the guys when they weren’t around. Not that he’d tell them that.
Finally, Toni’s door opened and she stepped out, looking dead tired and decidedly adorable in her pj’s, her face scrubbed clean of makeup and her hair pulled back in a messy bun. She padded over on bare feet and settled on the other end of the divan from him. He noticed her toenails were painted a deep pink with tiny white polka dots. Her thumbs were furiously flying over the virtual keyboard on her screen as she texted someone. Spencer tried to casually lean over and see who she was messaging, but she hit send and put the phone down before he saw anything.
“Sorry I took so long. I fell asleep in the bath.” She sighed and rolled her shoulders, the movement highlighting the deep scooped neck of her fuchsia tank top and the delicate lines of her collarbones. “Do you mind if we stay in and order room service for dinner?”
It took a moment for her words to penetrate the fog of lustful images clogging his brain. Why hadn’t he gone to check on her? Then he could havefoundher asleep in the bath—and maybe even joined her. He pictured how beautiful she’d look, fast asleep. How he’d kiss her awake, then kiss his way down her body as he slid into the water on top of her. Imagined warm, wet limbs wrapping around him, pulling him close. Toni sprawled against the side of a tub full of bubbles, her head thrown back in ecstasy as he thrust into her, bringing them both to the pinnacle of climax again and again. His cock twitched in eager response, and he shifted away from her to hide his body’s reactions. Embarrassed by his lack of control, Spencer forgot all about revisiting his favorite local fattoush places. “That’s fine. Whatever you prefer.”
“Great.” Toni reached over and grabbed a large black binder and flipped it open to the in-room dining menu. “The kitchen downstairs is Michelin rated. Looks like they’ve got a pretty great selection. I think I’ll have the hummus platter with a side of tabbouleh.” She handed the menu to him. “What about you?”
“Hmm.” His stupid stomach rumbled, and he glanced up at her to see if she’d heard. From her sly grin, he guessed she had. “Hand me the phone and I’ll call it in.”
He punched in the number for room service, and a moment later, a man with a thick accent answered the phone. “Miss Williams, Mr. Nixon, thank you for calling Al Ewaans. How may we serve you this evening?”
Somehow Spencer wasn’t surprised they knew the names of the people staying in this suite. Though in a hotel of this caliber, maybe all guests got similar treatment. “We’d like one hummus platter with a side of tabbouleh, one order of jumbo prawn kebabs with a side of grilled halloumi, and four bottles of pale ale.” He was grateful Jumail’s interpretation of religious law allowed foreigners to drink alcohol.
“Very good, sir. May I interest you in any of our delicious baklava or knafeh for dessert?”
Spencer gazed at Toni, who had stretched out on her end of the divan, looking like some kind of frigging centerfold come to life, and swallowed hard. Nothing the restaurant could offer would compete with the delicious sight in front of him. Still, Toni had exhibited a sweet tooth earlier. “Thank you. One of each, please.”
“Very good, sir. We’ll have your order delivered right away.”
He fumbled to replace the receiver without taking his eyes off Toni. “Food’s on the way.”
“Thanks.” She clutched a large throw pillow to her middle, blocking his view of most of her. He sat back and scrubbed a hand over his face, his stubble scratching his palm.Damn.She’d gone and taken a bath, and he hadn’t even bothered to change out of his suit, though he had put his stained tie aside to send down for cleaning. Of course, he’d been busy scouring the suite for bugs and taking inventory of all the exits and possible sniper hideouts just in case. Wouldn’t do to accompany his target halfway around the world only to have her taken hostage. And when all that was done and he’d found himself at loose ends, he’d expected her to come out at any moment, ready to head down to dinner, so it hadn’t seemed worth taking the time to change.
Probably wasn’t worth it now, either, since dinner would be coming up in just a minute. He’d bet the turnaround time at places like this was lightning fast. But in the meantime… His glance slid to her phone sitting on the cushion beside her. If he had a moment, he could slip it away from her and check her texts, make sure she wasn’t talking to her father on a regular basis. He didn’t think she was lying to him—but it never hurt to make sure.
As if reading his thoughts, she grabbed the cell and set it on an end table beside her, out of his reach.
Spencer pushed to his feet and walked over to a set of French doors that opened out onto a small balcony. Maybe fresh air would do him good, help clear his mind for the mission ahead. The sun was already setting over the rooftops of the city, and the panorama looked like something out of a movie, hues of purple and deep orange staining the horizon.
He and Kyle had discussed adding extra security for Toni on the trip, but considering there were only four of them now and they were stretched thin covering all their investigative avenues as it was, Kyle had thought it best to continue with only Spencer for the time being. If he found he needed more backup, the team would be only a text or call away. Meanwhile, the others would keep working to discover who was responsible for the shooting at Toni’s office.
Spencer pulled his phone out again, glad to see there was finally an update from Kyle, short and not quite sweet.
At Best Western. Finally. Team homicide imminent. Have bail money on standby.
Encryption cracked.
Per Hayley, coded software is used for tracking purposes.
More info later.
Tracking, huh? The only reason he could think of for terrorists wanting to track anything was to plan attacks on specific targets. Spencer leaned against the sturdy railing, peering down at the streets far below. Seventy-four floors up, there was a constant breeze and a subtle sway of the structure beneath his feet. Then again, maybe he was just still dazed from his beautiful suite-mate.
“So,” Toni said, joining him. She rested her forearms on the railing beside him, her position inadvertently giving him a nice view right down her shirt. He knew he shouldn’t look, but hell, he was only human. “What makes a man become a SEAL?”
He managed to drag his eyes away from the too-tempting expanse of her creamy chest and turned his back on the dazzling skyline. “Can’t speak for everyone, but for me it was 9/11.”
“Did you know someone in the attacks?”
