Page 34 of Seductive Secrets

He turned to Marco. “You and Chloe are…?”

Marco chuckled, winking at Rosalee as she peeked at him, before he turned his attention to Dash. “We’re hitting the various banks. We know what to ask. If any of them recognize DuBreck or the key, they’ll tell us.”

Dash nodded. “Good. Questions coming from you are more effective than random people walking into the bank. So, if the banks were what triggered the alert yesterday, you’ll recognize the signs.”

“Absolutely,” Chloe replied, her tone confident. Not many people would realize that the soft spoken, southern belle was actually excellent at discovering businesses worth investing in. She had a soft, incredibly effective way of ferreting information out of most people. And Marco…well, he was just mean when it came to business. And he could read people far better than the average person. The pair working the banks that Angela and James had visited yesterday would definitely narrow down the suspects.

Dash finally turned to Callum. “You and I are going to hit the other business.”

Callum nodded in confirmation. “The key or DuBreck’s picture must have been recognized in your quadrant,” he told Angela. “Dash’s plan is good. We’ll figure it out.”

Dash turned to Angela. “If you do go out, stay within a two or three mile radius of the house. I doubt anyone would find us here, but that’s no reason to take chances.”

“Will do, boss,” she said, saluting him. Then she laughed when James bent down to nip at her earlobe as punishment.

“Ow!” she hissed, trying to pull away. But he tightened his hold with a chuckle. When Marco and Kasim turned to glare, Angela stilled, feigning an innocent expression until their wives nudged the men out of the room.

Ten minutes later, Angela and James were alone.

She turned to look up at him, fluttering her eyelashes playfully. “Whatwillwe do with all of this extra time on our hands?” she whispered, sliding her hands along his chest.

He looked down at her and growled. A moment later, he’d scooped her up and flung her over his shoulder, her hair covering her face. Angela squealed in surprise, then laughed as he hauled her up the stairs.

A few hours later, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and tee shirts, they wandered back downstairs. It was oddly silent after the chaos of breakfast.

“What do we do now?” she asked, spinning around. “I never have any free time. I’m always so busy.”

His lips curled into yet another lustful grin but she laughed and backed away. “Besides that!” she yelped.

James chuckled and pulled her into the circle of his arms, then buried his face in her wild curls as his chest pressed against her back. “Why don’t we hit the grocery store and buy ingredients? We could make something for dinner tonight.”

She peered hopefully over her shoulder. “Cookies?” she asked.

He laughed and nodded. “Sure, we can make some cookies. What’s your favorite kind?”

She bit her lip as she considered all the options. “Oatmeal raisin.”

They headed to the grocery store to grab ingredients. They didn’t stop at the ingredients for cookies. They loaded the cart up with all the fixings for a gourmet Italian meal as well as salad. They grabbed several bottles of wine as well and beer, just in case.

The afternoon was one of the best she’d ever experienced. Cooking with James was fun. Their only “argument” was whether to make the cookies first, or the sauce for the pasta. In the end, James won since Angela didn’t know how to make either. She was at his mercy and he knew it.

But she got back at him by stealing tastes of whatever he was cooking, especially the cookie dough.

When she “stole” yet another warm cookie just out of the oven, James had had enough and he growled as he tossed her into the air and carried her back up the stairs. There, he “punished” her for her thieving ways until she laughingly begged for mercy. They were both satisfied and smiling by the time everyone returned from their missions that evening.

Dinner was a raucous affair, since James had chosen the wine. It was an excellent vintage and everyone enjoyed the meal. However, because of the wine and the laughter while everyone ate, there was very little discussed about the investigation.

Chapter 8

“What’s wrong?’ Angela asked when she rolled over in bed the following morning. It was still early and she didn’t hear anyone moving about.

“Mike texted me. He wants to talk to me.”

His words pushed the last bit of sleepiness out of her brain and she sat up, trying to peer at the small screen of his cell phone. “When?”

“As soon as possible,” he replied. He started texting and Angela jumped out of bed, heading for the shower. It took her less than fifteen minutes to shower and dress, and she took a few more minutes to put on a touch of makeup since James had to shave.

While they stood side by side in the bathroom getting ready for the day, Angela wondered what it would be like to be like this forever.

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