Page 83 of Close Pursuit

First, he took her to a crowded shopping mall only a few miles from where he lived—another ploy to throw off his pursuers…spies never returned to home base or anywhere near it if they got burned. The two of them needed to pick up yet another emergency wardrobe.

Katie laughed a little as he led her into a posh Georgetown Mall. “Let me guess. More clothes? My credit card is never going to recover from this adventure.”

“No worries. This one’s my treat. Go to town.” His credit cards were pre-loaded burner cards no one could trace to him.

She glanced around the designer boutiques. “I dunno. I think I could bankrupt you in here.”

He laughed. “You’d have to spend a whole lot of money to do that. And if even you did manage to blow through all my cash, you wouldn’t be able to touch the trust fund.”

“You have a trust fund?”

His eyes darkened. “My father had his lawyer transfer all his assets into trust funds for me and my brothers just before he was arrested.”

Katie did an odd thing. She put a hand on his arm and murmured sympathetically, “He must have loved you a lot to have arranged for something like that.”

Doubtful. His father had been a hard man in a hard business and was simply good at covering all the bases. It hadn’t been anything personal. He would bet his father fully intended to take the money back if he managed to beat the espionage and treason charges.

“That’s me,” he said lightly. “Daddy’s little financial safe haven.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” she said indignantly. “You’re lovable no matter what you seem to think.”

“Why would I want to be loveable? Love is for normal people.”

“Love is for everyone,” she retorted. “And furthermore, I’m going to prove it to you, tonight.”

His libido perked up at that. “Really?” he drawled aloud.

“Yes. Really. Now go buy yourself some clothes. I’m going to slip in here and pick up a little something to help me prove my point.”

He smirked as he realized they were standing in front of a high-end lingerie boutique.

Bags in hand three hours later—how in the hell did it take women three hours to pick out a few outfits and some clean underwear? —he grabbed a cab and had it take them to a hotel near the Capitol that was known for its discretion and privacy. Not only would the staff carry no tales, but he suspected the rooms were heavily sound-proofed. It was a favorite rendezvous spot for politicians and their…extra-curricular constituents.

They checked in and ordered room service while he eyed the glossy bag from that lingerie store. Whathadshe picked up? She’d refused to give him a sneak preview.

He was amused when Katie insisted on ordering a surprise supper for two. If plotting something harmless kept her happy and not asking difficult questions, particularly if it culminated in torrid sex, he could put up with it.

It was a strange sensation to have a woman fussing over him like this. He’d certainly had women pamper him over the years. Some did it for money, and some did it in pursuit of their own ulterior motives. But none had ever done it in the name of demonstrating love.

What was her real agenda, anyway? He had yet to solve the puzzle that was Katie McCloud. Hard to believe that a man of his intellect and education could be so stymied by a simple nurse. But then, very little about her was turning out to be simple.

“You pick,” Katie announced, handing him the TV remote.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Pick what you want to watch. You spoiled me last night, so tonight, I’m spoiling you.”

She thought he’d been spoiling her last night? Well, maybe in the literal sense. He’d been attempting to spoil her innocence, not to make her think he was trying to please her and cherish her. Strange girl. She could turn anything at all into a happy shiny thing.

“I usually watch financial channels or news channels.”

“Go for it,” she declared. “This is your night.”

He channel-surfed until Katie piped up, “Do you ever watch sports? Or manly shows that involve heavy construction equipment or repossessing stuff? My brothers like to watch cop shows and crime solving shows or anything involving men and balls.”

He couldn’t help grinning at the double entendre. “I did develop a fondness for basketball in prison. The inmates played a lot of it.”

She plopped down on the end of the bed closest to the armchair he sprawled in. “What were you in jail for? You don’t strike me as a felon.”

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