“The Duke Agency. This is Janna. How may I direct your call?”
Janna. Oh geez. He didn’t have time for this, he thought, rolling his eyes. “Janna. It’s Dex. I need to talk to Rachel immediately.”
“Dex? Who?”
God. Kill me. “Dex Isaac. I work as a Duke.”
“Oh! Hi, Dex!” Janna replied with her usual brainless perk and he could hear her shuffling around the few things she was allowed to keep on her desk. “Rachel’s with a client right now. I’ll have to take a message.”
He all but groaned, his eyes fixed across the gate at a seated couple chatting and smiling at one another. “No message, Janna. This is an emergency. I’m about to board a plane and I need to talk to Rachel about our Maddox client.”
“Caitlyn Maddox? She leaves today.”
Oh sure, the client she’s only met a couple times she knows. Dex heaved a patient sigh. His mother had always told him: ‘you can be pretty, or you can be smart’. The sentiment fit Janna to a tee. The girl was pretty, and that’s exactly where her utility stopped. “I know that. I’m her Duke, Janna. Listen, I need to talk to Rachel. Now,” he added insistently.
“Hold please.” Abruptly, his ear filled with the agency’s hold music. Another sigh escaped him, this one edged in irritation.
While he waited, he studied the Maddox woman. She was cute, doe-eyed, with a shy smile and svelte, but curvy build. And one of the most sensual mouths he’d ever seen, framed up nicely by the shoulder-length cut of her dark hair.
She was also big-time brainy. The book she’d been reading was a veritable War and Peace, full of long strings of complex equations he’d seen as he wandered by casually, scoping her out.
Some sort of research doctor was all he could remember from her profile—he generally performed better if he got the details directly after introductions with his client. Still, she was the kind of smart woman that turned him on personally, with an introverted, skittish side like a feral cat that always brought out the best in him professionally.
And Italy. This one was supposed to have been a slam dunk. How much easier was romancing a lonely woman when everything about the very locale oozed romance?
He eyed the muscly stranger beside her completely monopolizing her attention, and wondered what the hell was going on. The agency’s files were encrypted and supposed to be confidential. The only way he could think of that someone else might know both who Caitlyn Maddox was and that she’d hired a Duke Agency companion to keep her company on this trip was if she’d told them.
Self-conscious as she obviously was, that hardly seemed likely.
Which meant the only other way was if they’d followed her.
That thought bothered him.
“Dex?” Rachel’s voice dripped with annoyance. “Somebody better have died.”
“No, but it might be a possibility,” he replied, watching as the stranger rose, then offered a hand up to the Maddox woman which she compliantly took. Taking the phone off his ear, he snapped a quick photo and sent it to Rachel’s email and cell. “Something has gone wrong. There’s another player here calling himself a Duke. He got to Caitlyn Maddox before I did.”
“Another player? What? There’s no other Duke. That’s what I sent you for. What are you talking about?”
“I’m at the airport, getting ready to board the flight to Italy for the Maddox trip, and I don’t have much time, Rachel. Listen carefully. Caitlyn Maddox is here. She’s on the flight in seat 19C, like she’s supposed to be, but someone bumped me out of 19A. And a stranger calling himself a Duke has inserted himself into her graces,” Dex explained again, hoping that this time Rachel would catch on.
“Why would someone else masquerade to our client? It’s not like he’s going to get paid.”
“I don’t know, but he’s pretty good. He smoothed himself into the seat next to her at the gate and waited her out like I would have, and it only took him a few seconds to have her eating out of his hand when he finally did catch her attention. She just walked off with her fingers tucked into his elbow. Now he’s buying her coffee at the shop across from the boarding gate.”
For a long second, there was no response at the other end of the line.
“Rachel?”
“She doesn’t know?”
“He introduced himself as a Duke. How the hell is she supposed to know the wrong guy’s there? She doesn’t know who I am. ‘Organic introductions’, remember? This is your company, Rachel. I do what I’m told.”
“Crap.” She paced frantically to the opposite side of the room, staring out over the city towards the airport without seeing anything. “You said your seat got bumped. Are you still on the flight?”
“Yeah, but not beside her like I’m supposed to be.”
“It doesn’t matter. Whoever that guy is, she’s not safe.” He could hear her mind whirling. “Where are you in the terminal?”
“Standing by myself at the windows directly behind the gate desk.”
“What are you wearing?”
“Teal polo shirt and blue jeans. I’ve got a hard-sided carry-on that’s bright red—there’s no one else here with one. She can’t miss me.”
“I’ll send her your photo and try to call her. God willing, she can get herself out of there and get over to you safely. If she doesn’t, you have to get on that plane. You have to follow them. There’ll be another opportunity. Try to talk to her. Straighten it out. If nothing else, encourage her to call me.”
Dex heaved a sigh, blowing it out through pursed lips. What should have been an easy, enjoyable job had just turned into annoyingly real work. “Okay.”
“Caitlyn.”A shiver rippled over her at the sound of his voice. She turned and cuddled into his chest before settling again. Much as he needed to, Duke couldn’t bring himself to attempt to rouse her.Something peculiar fluttered through his chest, settling there lightly. Something more than his usual protective instinct. He cursed himself silently. She was the job, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t die to keep her safe. But this?This was something else entirely.Caitlyn Maddox had him— hook, line and sinker— from the minute she’d spoken his name. That one arched brow over those great big toffee-colored eyes and that teasing little smile on her absolutely luscious lips.His mission briefing hadn’t prepared him for her.Neither had the grainy images taken at a distance of a mousy-looking researcher. Which she might be. She definitely gave off an air of fragility and the social ineptitude of a genius savant.But this tallish, slender woman with the figure of a centerfold certainly didn’
From his seat nearby, Dex subtly noted every interaction between Caitlyn Maddox and this fake Duke, his usurper. He had to hand it to the self-professed west Texan—the guy was good. Rachel really needed to find out where he was from and who’d trained him. During the early hours of the ten-hour flight, he’d kept Caitlyn talking—the general chitty-chat getting-to-know someone that sets people—well, women really—at ease. This wannabe Duke had created a credible and reassuring backstory for himself, then extracted Caitlyn’s, even a few things she hadn’t revealed during her onboarding process with The Duke Agency. The guy picked up fast when something made her uncomfortable, and smoothed over his blunders with a cool confidence that was truly enviable. Seemingly without effort, he charmed the socks right off of her. Once their shitty airline meal had been served, he’d started with the wine—a surprisingly good offering of Italian blends, generously served in unending quant
“That went faster than I expected.” Caitlyn covered her yawn with a hand, then reached high over her head with both arms in a long stretch. “You mean Customs? Or the flight?” Duke asked, tucking the handle of her roller luggage in as he parked it beside his, then loading it under the bus while the driver worked on other bags. Standing upright, he watched her, enjoying the view. “Both.” Beyond them in the trees lining the airport’s bus parking, a bird trilled an unfamiliar song and she turned her attention towards it. Coming alongside her, Duke bent, hoisting her carry-on bag onto his own shoulder opposite his backpack, then took her elbow, directing her towards the nearest of the two bus entrances. “Twenty-five isn’t a large group. Plus, I think we got lucky. We must’ve been the first international flight landing in that terminal. Did you see the line behind us?” Ahead of him, she shook her brown, delightful head and climbed the three stairs to the bu
Frowning, Caitlyn powered her phone off, then tucked it back into her shoulder bag and zipped it closed moodily. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with that thing.” “We’ll use mine.” Reaching into his breast pocket, Duke pulled out his phone, then unlocked the touchscreen and handed it to her. “Do you have an international plan?” Without a second thought, Caitlyn accepted it from him, immediately ducking her head and accessing an internet browser. “Of course, I do, but obviously something’s not set up right. I’m not sure how I can fix it either when I can’t get service to call or message them.” Reaching out, he wrapped a large hand around her upper arm, pulling her out of the press of people traffic and into the protective shelter of his hulking frame. “You can use mine when we get back to the hotel.” Not that it would make any difference. It would be after call hours and Duke had no intention of letting her out of his sight even if she did have phone service,
Caitlyn yielded, her entire body turning to mush as his tongue delved inside her mouth, fluttering over hers. Feeling her concession, Duke deepened the kiss, and was soon plundering the sweetness there aggressively, as if he could never get enough. Maybe he couldn’t. Though she trembled in his tightening arms, she was anything but cold. After so long alone, so long lost, his touch felt like the first of spring’s thaw, breaking the back of a harsh, endless winter. She closed her eyes, arching her neck, silently begging for everything his talented mouth would give. Taking as he wanted, Duke fed hungrily there, and she let him. She savored his answering desire, her fingers knotting into the soft cotton of his t-shirt then releasing in an unconscious come hither, flattening again over the solid wall of muscle beneath them. Leaning harder into him, she tentatively brushed her tongue past his, raking it along the edge of his front teeth. He stiffened as the
“We should get gelato,” Duke stated as they emerged from the restaurant. The sun had shifted noticeably, but in the alleyway sandwiched between two multi-storied buildings as they were, that was as much information as he could glean with a quick scan of their environment. He glanced down at his watch. Pivoting, Caitlyn stopped a few steps away from him. “Gelato!? We just finished a three-course meal with appetizers and a bunch of wine! You can’t possibly be hungry!” He flashed her one of his beaming smiles. “Oh, I could,” he assured her, his grin growing broader as the implication of his words and the way his green eyes roved her body drew yet another of her fetching blushes. “Come on, darlin’. We’re in Italy!” He turned around once in place, his arms open. “When in Italy, you eat gelato. Besides, our meal took almost three hours. In my world, that’s time for a snack.” She snorted, shaking her head in astonishment. “I’ve no idea where you put it all.”
“How the hell am I supposed to know where she is, Rachel?” Dex shouted into his phone, frustrated and frankly scared beyond his capacity to stand any longer. “After what happened on the plane, it’s not like I can follow her! And I sure as hell can’t leave her a message.” “Why not?” “For pity’s sake, he’s weaseled himself into her room now!” At the other end of the line, Rachel froze, rooted to her spot as she paced her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning. “Wait—what happened on the plane?” “He happened.” Wiping a frustrated palm over his countenance, he continued. “That fake Duke? He’s the one who stole my seat next to her. As it happened, my new seat was still close, and since my entire reason for being on that damn flight was otherwise occupied, I had time to observe him. He’s good, Rachel. Damn good. He knows shit about her—personal shit even we didn’t know. I’m telling you, whatever is happening here, it’s bigger than us. It’s not something I
Duke wasn’t certain what it was that he’d said that afternoon that had upset Caitlyn, but he was smart enough to know that he didn’t want it to happen again. Focusing his attention on her, he pulled out the stops on his best west-Texan charms and concentrated on showing her a good time. In the end, it was nothing that he did that distracted her. Well, aside from making the suggestion to tour the Doge’s Palace on St. Mark’s Square. As their boat pulled away from the dock that evening, carrying them towards the rendezvous point for their tour at their bus, he took a seat next to her and casually but deliberately rested his arm behind her shoulders. “What kind did you get this time?” he asked, nodding towards the meager little cup of gelato in her hand. “Apricot.” Caitlyn dug the tiny plastic spoon into the cold creamy treat and scooped some out, obediently depositing it in his opened mouth like a mother bird. “I was going to get lemon, but that woman in line be