Secret Agent Boyfriend. Addison Fox
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to her small, pixie-like build.
Shaking off memories of his ex-fiancée—memories that belonged in the locked box where he’d shoved them six months ago—he refocused on the here and now.
And the very real fact that he needed to convince Landry Adair that it was in her best interest not only to cooperate with him, but to work with him, too.
She brushed past him with her plate of food and took a seat at the large patio table. The morning sun beat down on her still-wet hair and he guessed at the shade he’d seen only in photographs. Dark layers, mixed with a refined blond.
The fresh scents of citrus from the groves below enveloped him while something more potent mingled underneath. Lush and erotic with the lightest touch of honeysuckle.
Landry.
Heat still sparked under his skin where she’d brushed his arm, and he lifted his coffee mug for a sip, taking a moment to right himself.
Focus on the job.
It should have been easy, Derek knew. He’d been the job for so long he didn’t even remember how to be anything else.
“Surely you’re not immune to what’s happened here. Your father’s killer is still on the loose.”
Pain flashed in her eyes, electrifying those blue depths, before she laid down her fork. “You think to come into my home and scare me?”
“I’m here to protect you.”
She reached for a pair of sunglasses lying on the middle of the table and twirled the frame as she kept her gaze steady on his. “I’m a big girl, Mr. Winchester. I haven’t needed protecting for a long time.”
A wholly inappropriate thought sliced through his midsection at her words. She was all grown-up, with a woman’s curves and a woman’s beauty. Although she’d put on a wrap, the swells of her breasts were visible through the dark V-neck, a greater temptation than when she’d worn only her swimsuit.
Steeling himself against the temptation, Derek focused on why he was here. Whatever arguments she attempted to push his way, he’d deflect.
For Kate.
And for the very real chance to earn back a bit of the self-respect he’d lost over the past six months. He needed this job. And he needed some damn sense of purpose again.
“You may want to rethink that, since you’ve never been up against a nameless killer or a missing-person’s case.”
“Ah yes, family drama worthy of a nighttime soap.” She eyed him over the rim of her coffee mug, more amusement in her gaze than any trace of fear, before leaning forward. “Does my aunt Kate think my mother killed my father, too? That’s the prevailing wisdom, you know.”
The urge to hold back was strong, but he went with honesty. For her own protection, Landry deserved at least that much. But on a deeper level, he sensed he’d gain far more by appealing to her inherent intelligence than placating her as he suspected too many others did. “She hasn’t ruled anything out. And your mother’s mad dash to Europe hasn’t put suspicious minds to rest.”
“She’s also an easy target. Kate has never cared for my mother.”
“From what little I’ve gathered, I’d say that’s a sport around here.”
Derek saw the moment his words registered, her eyes going round in her face before the first genuine smile curved her lips. “Now that’s one you don’t hear every day.”
“I’m not here to placate anyone. And I suspect I’d be rather bad at it if I tried.”
Her smile faded, their moment of connection lost. “What else did my aunt say?”
“She believes you’re all in danger, you especially. And she believes that danger won’t pass until the identity of your brother Jackson is discovered.”
Landry settled back in her seat, the aggression fading from her shoulders. “Ah yes, the missing Adair heir. It’s all anyone can talk about.”
If the past few days had shown him anything, it was that the Adairs knew how to keep to themselves. Yes, they had a legion of staff at their disposal, but they were a family that lived at the highest echelons of society. Babbling about their family business wasn’t in their nature. And he suspected that what conversation had gone on was done behind closed doors so even the servants couldn’t hear all the details.
“No, it’s all you and your family can talk about. And it’s the real reason Kate asked me to come.”
Her gaze roamed over his face, and he fought the urge to shift in his seat under that direct stare. Before she could say anything, he pressed on. “My expertise is missing-persons cases. It’s what I do for the FBI and I’m damn good at it.”
Until recently.
That admonition whispered like smoke through his mind, and he ignored it. Ignored that pervasive sense of failure that had dogged his heels like the hounds of hell since his last case went unsolved. Ignored the resulting sense of loss at his failure to protect an innocent young girl.
Landry Adair wasn’t Rena.
And he wouldn’t fail again.
“So that’s the gig? You pose as my new boyfriend so you can nose around here and dig into the past?”
“Pretty much.”
Landry slipped on her sunglasses, the shielding of her eyes as clear a message as simply standing up and walking away. “I’ll consider it on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re partners on your little investigation.”
“I work better alone.”
“Then you can head right back the way you came. Despite what she may think, my aunt doesn’t have a say in what goes on in this house. Neither do my brothers. And while I may love all of them to pieces, I’m not going to follow along like some frightened puppy.”
“I’m a trained professional.”
“And I live here. You’ll do far better as my ally than my enemy.”
Derek knew he had a stubborn streak a mile wide and twice as deep. He also knew when it made sense to step back and let the target think they had the lead. He’d give Landry Adair her head for a few days. From all the intel he had, it was easy to assume she’d get bored in less time, anyway.
“No one can know what I’m after.”
“Of course.”
“Not even your mother.”
“Then it won’t be a change from how we usually get on. I don’t tell my mother anything. And as you so succinctly mentioned, she’s out of the country right now anyway.”
With her eyes shaded, he couldn’t see any hint of emotion deep in her expressive gaze, but even sunglasses couldn’t hide the subtle tightening of her slim shoulders. “So we’re agreed?”
“Agreed.”
She extended her hand across the table and Derek hesitated, the implied contract not lost on him. When she only waited, he slid his fingers over hers, her delicate skin soft under his calloused palm.
It didn’t make sense, nor was it rational, but in that moment he knew his world had reordered itself. And he knew with even greater certainty that nothing would ever be the same again.
Her hand slipped from his as she stood, her breakfast untouched. “Well, then. You’d better get ready.”
“For what?”
“We’ve got a governor to go meet.”
* * *
Landry slipped her cell phone into her caramel-colored clutch purse and