news quiet, because doing so places your brother in jeopardy.”
“Who knows what he thinks?” Reed dismissed.
“I am more concerned with what you are thinking. I admit to being surprised that you are here. Moreso than I am that he is not.”
“This goes far beyond the North American firm. The development of an Infernal mask places everyone in jeopardy.”
“So what do you want me to do?” Her fingers stroked sensuously along the length of her tie.
Behind Sara, Reed could see the Eiffel Tower glittering with lights in the darkness. Odd that the backdrop would be so similar to the one he’d seen behind Raguel just a short time past. Two archangels, two continents, same view. They had more in common than that; they were both ambitious and frighteningly competitive.
“I want you to lend me the team of Marks you sent to California,” he said.
Sara laughed. “You do not ask for much, do you?”
“Nothing you can’t afford.”
“The question is: can you afford it?” The glint in her eye confirmed his earlier suspicions about what she’d want from him.
“You ask that as if it were a hardship,” he drawled. He deliberately focused on not betraying his growing tension. “Don’t forget how much you stand to gain beyond the immediate. To have your team outwit Raguel’s would be quite a coup for you.”
“I know how this benefits me, but what does it do for you?” Her blue eyes narrowed. “In addition to incurring Raguel’s wrath, you are also foregoing the possibility of humiliation for your brother.”
Reed stared through his drinking glass to the cubes of ice within. He rattled them absently before casting Sara a sidelong glance. “Forego Cain’s humiliation? Darling, you wound me. What could be more perfect than being the instrument of his deliverance and the tool by which he is rescued?”
He didn’t say that Jehovah might find his initiative pleasing, especially considering the possible consequences of failing to act. Pleasing God would only increase his chances of gaining a firm of his own.
But Sara was aware of some omission, as evidenced by the doubtful humming noise she made.
Setting his glass on the gilded coffee table, Reed stood. It was time to move in for the kill.
She held up one hand. “Did I not say that you would come back to me . . .on your knees?”
A smile curved his mouth. “But it’s so much more fun for both of us when you are on yours.”
Her lips parted and she backed up a step.
Reed moved toward her with deliberate leisure, his fingers on the buttons of his waistcoat. If he didn’t see to his own undressing, Sara would tear his garments from him. She took such pleasure in ripping into his outer shell, as if that would somehow expose the man he was within.
He could see the anticipation race over her skin and knew her nipples would be tight and hard, her sex hot and slick. Two weeks had passed since he’d indulged in Eve. Two weeks of celibacy that should have left him hungry for the hard screwing Sara relished. He hadn’t gone this long without a woman in centuries.
Shrugging out of his coat and waistcoat, Reed tossed them over the back of one of the chairs facing Sara’s desk. He tugged off his tie and belt, adding them to the pile. With every article of clothing he shed, Sara’s excitement grew. He could smell her lust, see it in the brightness of her eyes and the nervous licking of her lips. She reached into his pocket, withdrew his cell phone, and turned it off. Then she tossed it over to the chaise.
Reed reached for his fly. Her gaze dropped. He thought of stairwells and cameras and thickly lashed slanted eyes. His cock finally cooperated with his intentions, hardening from the heated memory.
“Before we get distracted,” he murmured, “I want you to tell your team in California to get ready for a mission.”
“I need them,” she retorted. “I’ll send another.”
His hands dropped to his sides. “They may not get there in time. That isn’t a chance I’m willing to take.”
Sara’s jaw tightened when she realized he’d leave if he didn’t get what he wanted. “You drive a hard bargain, mon chéri.”
“Isn’t that why you like me so much?”
CHAPTER 17
Eve pulled into the parking lot of a Motel 6 just off the highway in Upland. There was a convenience store adjacent and a grocer’s up the street. Turning off the ignition, she glanced at Alec before opening the door. He hadn’t said