Page 4 of Wait for You
Imogen.
He’d never expected to see her again.
They’d separated five years ago and didn’t exactly run in the same circles. “Gen.” Her name seared its way up his throat, coming out in a hoarse croak.
Her eyes widened with surprise, but she recovered faster than him. At the nickname, she jerked her arms free of his grasp and stepped back a pace. Her face shuttered, and her voice held the chill of a winter wind when she spoke. “Mateo.”
In the past, she’d always called him Mat. The use of his full name felt as deliberate as the way she managed to look down her nose at him.
Guess some things ain’t changed.
The truth of that stung him with the reminder of why he’d walked away. With a sigh, Mat reached for the cleaning tool she’d dropped, using the gesture to pull himself together and leave the past where it belonged.
When he rose, he offered it to her with the apology he’d started earlier. “Didn’t mean to bowl you over.”
She muttered something in Spanish he didn’t catch before she took the duster with a clipped, “You didn’t.”
The shock was slowly wearing off. Enough that he had to wonder at her being a maid. How had she gone from being a society princess to scrubbing floors? “What are you doin’ here?”
She gave him a deliberate dressing down with her gaze before crossing her arms and cocking out a hip. “I could ask you the same,po-li.” She dragged out the word, making every muscle in Mat’s body tense.
His senses went on high alert. She’d just referred to him as a lawman, and everything he’d forgotten when he’d run into her—about being on assignment—came screaming back. Beingan orphan had made him the perfect man for undercover work because he had no outside or family ties to mess it up.
Except her…
Imogen could blow his cover.
Mat barely resisted the urge to glance around to make sure no one had overheard her. It was a surefire way to look guilty.
They were out of the lieutenant’s quarters, which meant a camera tracked their every move.El Jaguarhad guards watching all the cameras in his home, but he refused to be monitored himself. His arrogance meant there was no surveillance in his private wing. The “big brother” situation was reserved for everyone else.
As far as Mat could see, there were two ways to play this. Take her arm and drag her to his room where he could explain everythingorget close enough right here to tell her what a policeman was doing inside the lieutenant’s home. Knowing Imogen, she’d likely put up a fight if he attempted the former. That would draw more attention than he wanted or needed, but the frost dripping from her eyes said the other option wouldn’t guarantee her cooperation either.
Her back was to the camera watching the hall, so Mat let a slow smile spread across his lips. He planned to give it quite a show. Stepping into Imogen’s space, he herded her until she was pressed up against the wall. Her chocolate eyes grew wary, while the squinch of her nose hinted at her confusion.
When he braced a forearm against the wall, her candy eyes narrowed at him. Her mouth opened, ready to protest, but he leaned down, crowding her to whisper in her ear, “I’m undercover. You can’t call me that here.”
She didn’t say anything, but he could almost hear her pulse, where it pounded at her throat. Did it race with outrage over his handling of her or something else . . . like excitement?
If wishes were fishes . . .
Mat tilted his head, lingering in her warmth. Her perfume filled his nose, and the familiar coffee and vanilla scent awoke a need he had to fight to control.
Black Opium.
The fragrance’s name was a little too apt. He felt drugged breathing it in.
Anyone watching the camera would think he attempted to seduce one of the maids when, in actuality, she was seducing him.
Lips hovering over hers, he murmured, “I need you to pretend you don’t know me. Can you do that, Gen?”
Her dark pupils bled into the chocolate of her irises. When she gave him a hazy nod, he pressed his advantage. “Tell me why you’re here.”
With a blink, her gaze cleared. Though soft, her voice was laced with steel determination. “Emil.” She snapped her spine straight and pushed against Mat’s chest. “I have to find my brother.”
Despite her shove, he didn’t budge. A frown darkened Mat’s brow. He hadn’t seen or heard from Emiliano since they parted ways. If her brother had any dealings with the lieutenant within the past year, Mat would’ve known about it. It seemed to him she was barking up the wrong tree. A tree guarded by venomous snakes waiting for any excuse to strike.
CHAPTER 2
