Page 50 of Fire and Ice

"Can we leave out the jealous-boyfriend act?" Maia suggested dryly.

"Sorry, babe that's part of the deal."

"I won't discuss my past liaisons with you."

"Now, who's cold? Is that what I am to you, a liaison?"

"It's a more mature term than boyfriend or girlfriend. And it sounds illicit and exciting."

"Semantics?" Jack threw her own word back at her.

Maia knew Jack was going to be pig-headed about this. It was typical male behavior, acting irrationally possessive even if the relationship was temporary.

"What I had the first time with Lee was beautiful," Maia explained. "He had the typical rocker appeal, I was in a gorgeous island getaway, the setting was perfect. He crooned to me under bright moonlit nights. What girl wouldn't like that?" She sighed. "It was supposed to be a one time thing. But he kept in touch—very infrequently—like an odd phone call every month. I should have nipped it in the bud, but I told myself I didn't see any harm. They were getting big in Philly, he was busy with his gig with groupies following him everywhere. And then the second time, he tempted me by booking a villa in the same exclusive resort where we had previously stayed."

Jack muttered a string of curses. Maia stopped talking and raised a delicately-arched eyebrow at him.

"Go on," he grunted.

"I knew it was a bad idea," Maia continued. "The second time was as perfect as the first, too perfect that it made me wary. We let ourselves get lost in each other. Then we parted ways same as last time. He called me again making plans for our third getaway. I turned him down twice. The third time he just made the bookings and told me he was going with or without me. Derek warned me I was facing a train-wreck but I didn't listen." Maia released a deep breath. "I was addicted in some way. When Lee told me he had fallen in love with me, I realized how selfish I was. The life I led, it wasn't fair. I should have known by the second rendezvous that it had developed into something more and just cut him loose."

"And you, did you love him?" Jack asked quietly, his face a blank mask.

Maia chewed her bottom lip, contemplating his question. "I was in love with the idea of him," she answered honestly. "If circumstances weren't the way they were, I might have loved him. But then would he be in love with me? Or was my unavailability the appeal for him?"

"You seem to be familiar with the male psyche," Jack said sardonically.

"I'm surrounded with testosterone where I work."

"So what's Lee got to do with the Russian now?"

"Jack, please don't push me on this," Maia said in earnest. "It has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Rick Tanner being DEA. I should have told you that much seeing how that impacts your standing in this community."

Jack stared at her. His face was calm but, his eyes held an underlying anger in them, a frustration.

"I'll let it go for now," Jack relented, and then changed the subject. "So what does my girlfriend want to do for the rest of the day?" He was smiling affectionately at her, his eyes losing their shadows and warming up.

Maia winced at the termgirlfriend. "Right now I'm hungry."

Jack gave her that look.

Maia rolled her eyes. "For food. Jeez!"

***

The upscale restaurant was a softly lit, white-linen-covered table, opulent extravaganza. It specialized in modern European cuisine and was always packed with the local gentry or the affluent vacationers who owned million-dollar ocean-front mansions. The Maitre d' led Jack and Maia to a secluded table in one of the numerous rooms that comprised the dining area.

It was Thursday, three days after the detective's visit and Jack figured it was time to take Maia out on a real date. They had settled into an easy routine at the stonehouse. They ran on the beach in the mornings, then Jack hit the gym while Maia practiced some yoga. They would shower together—sometimes having sex in the shower—and then they would do their separate thing. He would check in at work and she would check in with Viktor or do more remote surveillance and analysis of the data coming in from AGS. If their schedules worked out, they would have lunch together but sometimes she would get too engrossed in the control room and wouldn't come out for air until Grace sent some food down to her.

Usually by 3pm they'd both be free and they would go to the weapons room and fire a couple of rounds at the firing range. Then they would hang out on the patio and chat or hang out in the kitchen to talk to Grace. The moment the housekeeper left, they'd be on top of each other.

Jack couldn't deny he had a combustible chemistry with Maia. The sex was incredible. Every time he thought it could not get any better, it did. She was like a drug: every time he took her it sated him momentarily only to stoke his hunger for the next time. There was no end in sight.

He had a little more than a week left with her. He hadn't exactly been eavesdropping on her conversations with Viktor but he occasionally used the control room the same time she was there. He had picked up on enough specifics to conclude that whatever was going down in Baltimore was happening in nine days.

Chaining her to his bed sounded like a brilliant plan, but somehow his housekeeper might not approve. He had to let her go.

Maia had not wanted to go out to dinner tonight, but Jack was able to lure her with the idea of butter-soaked dishes. One thing he had discovered about her was that her stomach was her weakness and the richer the food, the farther she fell. She was so different from most of the women he had dated who wouldn't order past the salad menu.

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