Chapter 5: Chapter 5

When she took a step towards the men, none of them moved. She had changed into dress pants and sensible boots, but she was still wearing heels. Man, would she like the dig one of them on the foot to get a reaction? She had never been treated this way before, and she planned to speak much later.

Apparently she had the green light to enter the house alone.she looked from one man to the other. "You mean I don't need him to hold my hand?"

The tanned watchdog answered. He knows you are here.

She didn't ask how, didn't want to know. She just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

Without another word, Anna grabbed the doorknob. The hinges squeaked as she opened it, almost as if warning the occupant of the house.

"Hello? she yelled as she continued through a narrow door.

No answer.

Inside, she found herself in what appeared to be a living room. She quickly took in her surroundings, noting the sparse and rustic furnishings. A sofa, a chair and a table were the extension of the decoration. There were no photos, no trinkets that people collect and display all their lives. Any.

Either no one really lived in the house, or the occupants generally cared little about life. Probably nobody lived here. After all, it was a kind of safe house.As she continued her inspection, her eyes drifted to a massive stone fireplace, the centerpiece of the room. A strange feeling made her stomach flutter. Her eyes wandered instinctively to a corner window.

Then she saw him. The man called Sandro.she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. It wasn't that the room was huge or the man was small. It kind of blended in or hid or something to make itself invisible. He was so still, so completely still, it was like he was part of the room. He had his back to her, but she knew with absolute certainty that he was 100% aware of her every move.He looked out the window and seemed to survey the view beyond the glass.

Her stomach clenched as the emotion that had drawn her gaze seemed to intensify. A carnal awareness swept through her body, her skin heated, her heart beating like a drum in her chest.

She knew him.

No.

That can't be.

She swallowed hard and found it difficult to mentally process what her physical self was telling her. How could the stranger from the bar be here?But he was. She knew it with every fiber of her being. If he were here now, and he'd been at the bar too... A sick flutter ran through her stomach as possibilities tumbled through her mind. A combination of anger and shame began to stir in her stomach, and she pushed worthless feelings aside as premature. Maybe it wasn't him, the man from the bar. May be her mind was playing tricks on her. She looked at the man from behind and hoped it wasn't Jerome. She prayed that she hadn't been betrayed, trapped by someone using her

wish as a weapon. The same thing that had destroyed her life before.

Then, as if in answer to her silent question, he turned and gave her a glimpse of the real man.The realization came to her mind, confirming what her body senses already knew. That was the man from the bar.

images from Friday night of him touching her played in her head. She saw it in his eyes too.The memories. Maybe a touch of guilt. The knowledge he had taken from her without being honest.

He gave her a quick nod. "Hello Anna.The way he said her name with that sexy Spanish accent sent chills down her spine. And she hated him for having that effect on her. no She hated herself for allowing this stranger to deceive her. For being weak enough to be the victim of a man with an agenda."That's my name," she said, stiffening. "What's yours? Jerome? Sandro? Where do the lies begin and end?

He leaned against the wall and crossed one boot foot over the other. The soft denim nestled against his muscular thighs, drawing her gaze and reminding her that she had touched him.

being touched by him. Though he made no effort to close the distance between them on a physical level, his eyes seemed to touch her more deeply. Her fists clenched at her sides as she fought the urge to lunge at him and smack his face to make him pay for what he had taken from her: her control, her self-esteem.

She took a deep breath and carefully hid her discomfort behind an unreadable mask reserved for the court trial. This man had only gotten to where he was with her because she had let him. He would not get pass her guard again.

"Well?" She demanded. He studied her for a few seconds, his eyes too questioning for Anna's comfort. She felt as if he knew her secrets and she wondered if he did. How much of her life had he researched before seducing her?

"Jerome" she then said, confirming his name. At least one thing about that night had been true."Agent Jerome Sandro." He paused as if to give her time to digest his words. "I can give you the conviction you seek, Ms. Steve." A conviction and an orgasm, she thought bitterly.How perfectly efficient of you. And tortuous. He had been after something. What? Her eyes narrowed, suspicion replacing her anger.Agent Jack had given no indication that he knew she had met Agent Sandro before today. If she didn't know, then Sandro had acted on his own. Agent Jack trusted this man, which reinforced his credibility. Still...could one or both of them work for Pedro? Had she been seduced by an Enemy ? "You know what," Anna said, beginning to back away. "That was a bad idea." She turned and went to the door. She managed to take all three steps when she found herself twisting and being pressed against a long, hard body. Her breath caught in her throat, fear and excitement mingling and radiating through her limbs. Her hands pressed against his chest, her legs and hips aligned with his. "Let me go," she whispered hoarsely, wishing with all her might that she didn't love him yet, wondering why she did it when he had used her like this and knowing she couldn't believe what she said.

"Not until you listen to me," he replied in a low, dangerous voice. "I'm not an angel, but I'm not an enemy either. I had no choice but to check it out before introducing myself. I trust my gut, not a file with your name and stats in it. Until I knew I had an idea of who you are, I didn't want to introduce myself." This bothered her, and some of her fear vanished.

"How exactly did it convince you that you could trust me?" An icy one Tone chilled his words. "What happened between us shouldn't have happened. I didn't intend to love you, nor did I intend for you to love me. I am sorry? I should be, but I'm not. My only regret is that I left before we finished what we started. But that moment was bound to come anyway.”

Call him for his audacity, Anna told herself, and demand an apology. She has to do that. As she should be outraged, appalled. Instead, Anna savored his seductive affirmation of a shared secret and remembered the bliss of his hands caressing her skin, seducing her until it nearly melted. Angered at herself for how he had betrayed her, she grabbed that ripe anger that still burned inside her and let it swell in her chest. The man led her down a passionate path toward trouble, awakening a dangerously erotic part of her that had once ruled her life. She should go away. But she couldn't. Not when the stakes are so high. Not when Jerome really could be the key to Pedro's conviction. "I'll listen to what you have to say," she said because it was her only option. "On one condition." Jerome raised an eyebrow questioningly. She squeezed her chest. "Let go of me and never touch me again. Her body might still remember the pleasure he had given her, but she wasn't a fool. This man was a problem. And now he had the audacity to use his large body to force her to listen. She didn't like it. It was about time he knew he was no longer in charge. No seductive performance would change that, she promised.

Anna came to him in great style, in a manner which no woman has remembered in too long a time. So much so that his anger challenged him, made him want to kiss her into submission.

Let go or kiss? A difficult call. Her lips were full and red, seductive lips that he already knew tasted sinfully sweet. Yes, kissing her would be a delicious distraction from the hell he just called life. But then again, it wouldn't help earn her trust, nor would it help his efforts to see Pedro into permanent retirement.