Page 11 of Hawkeye

Josie gathered her bag and notes while I sent Cipher the surveillance instructions. I wanted a Black Castle vehicle covering the boutique and rear alley overnight, with Nomad tracking the estate-company owner’s movements before the man reached his yard. The request had barely gone through when Josie noticed the address on my screen.

“You don’t have proof he knows where I live.”

“He noticed you.” I slipped the phone into my pocket and took her bag from the table before she could reach it. “That’s enough for me not to wait.”

“You decided that very quickly.”

“It wasn’t difficult.” I held the door for her, meeting the narrow look she sent me. “He looked at you like a problem.”

Josie rolled her eyes, but the color warming her face and the small curve tugging at her mouth gave away the reaction beneath the irritation. “You know normal security companies usually discuss surveillance with the client first.”

“You’re not the client, baby doll.”

“That is not comforting.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” I guided her through the doorway with one hand at her lower back. “You can complain while I drive you home.”

“What about my car?”

“My brothers will get it home.”

She complained twice on the way to the boutique, although neither objection carried enough force to require a change in plans. The surveillance vehicle was already parked down the block when I pulled up beside the boutique.

Josie spotted one of my field men behind the wheel and shook her head as we crossed the sidewalk. “You work alarmingly fast.”

“I do when it matters.”

I walked her to the private stairs, my attention moving once over the alley and upper windows before settling on her. Josie turned on the first step, putting us nearly level, and looked at the knot of my tie with open curiosity. “You look very different in a suit.”

“Better or worse?”

Her fingers caught my lapels, smoothing fabric that did not need help. “Unfairly good.”

That was all the invitation I needed. I closed one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into me, my other palm settling heavily over her hip as my mouth took hers. Josie laughed softly against my lips before the sound turned into a breathless moan, her fists tightening in my jacket while I kissed her harder.

Her body came against mine willingly, her breasts pressed to my chest and soft stomach brushing the erection straining beneath my trousers. I angled her head and opened her mouth beneath mine.

Josie’s fingers slipped beneath my jacket and spread against my sides. The eager touch sent a rough pulse through my cock, and my hand tightened over her hip, then slid around until the rounded curve of her ass filled my palm. “You drive me fucking crazy, baby doll.”

Her laugh returned when I pressed closer, as though she enjoyed knowing exactly what she did to my control.

The upstairs door remained closed, but her mother was inside, and I still had a surveillance meeting waiting at Black Castle. I lifted my head reluctantly, keeping my hand around Josie’s neck while her lips stayed parted and flushed. Her eyes had turned almost gold, and the sensual daze in them made leaving feel like a tactical error.

I brushed my thumb beneath her ear. “You need to go inside.”

“You’re the one holding me against the stairs.”

“I’m aware,” I grunted.

Her dimple appeared. “That seems counterproductive.”

“It is.” I kissed her once more, shorter but no less possessive. “Go before I decide the meeting can happen without me.”

Josie smoothed my lapels again, making no attempt to hide her smile. “I thought you ran operations.”

“I do. That’s why they’ll wait until I get there.”

She laughed as she climbed the stairs, and I remained below until the door closed behind her. Only then did I return to my SUV, already irritated by the stretch of road separating us. The estate-company owner had made one useful decision that afternoon—he had looked at Josie long enough to put himself directly in my sights.