"I did," came an unfamiliar voice from behind her.

She spun around to see an attractive guy about the same age as Hugh, dressed in khaki pants and a collared polo shirt. Neat. Clean. Tame.

"It's about time you showed your face around here," he said to Hugh. "I was starting to forget what your ugly mug looked like."

Hugh came out from behind the desk and fist b.u.mped him. "Thanks for holding down the fort. Gavin, this is Tess. Tess, this is Gavin Rhoades, my partner."

A smile a mile wide played across Gavin's face. He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Tess."

"You too," she said, taking the time to register everything she could about Gavin Rhoades. His shake was firm, but his hands soft. His clean-shaven face was nice enough, but a little too pretty-boy. And his eyes were the dullest shade of brown she'd seen in awhile.

Not a Night Runner.

"Would you wipe that smirk off your face?" Hugh returned to the other side of the desk and rifled through some papers. "Any emergencies I should know about?"

"Sorry. It's just when you called and said you'd be gone for a few days to take care of a problem, I didn't imagine the problem would be blonde with blue eyes. I mean, as long as I've known you, you've never had trouble like this."

Tess's stomach lurched. She liked that last bit of information.

"You've got a problem, huh? Hmm. Here, I thought I'd been sweet as pie. But you know, I can be a major pain in the a.s.s with the right provocation."

One side of his kissable mouth lifted when he glanced up from the desk. "You mean you haven't been already?"

"You sure weren't complaining when I-"

"Stop right there," Gavin said, holding up a hand. "That's more information than I need to know. I didn't even realize Hugh here had a sense of humor. I say keep doing what you're doing, Tess." He turned his attention back to Hugh. "You should take her on vacation with you."

"Vacation?" she and Hugh said in unison.

She beat him to the follow-up. "You're going on vacation?"

Hugh got sidetracked with a piece of paper he lifted off the desk, his eyes scanning the contents.

"He was supposed to leave days ago. The poor guy hasn't had a vacation in, what, five years?"

Hugh answered the question with a shrug and kept reading.

Gavin returned the conversation to her direction and added, "No one works harder than my partner. He puts me to shame every day. He's found more lost hikers, rescued more oil rig workers and probably saved more stupid teenagers than any other rescue operation in the state. Anyway, he's long overdue for some R and R."

Hugh put the paper down. "Shut up, Gavin."

"That's the Hugh I know and love," he shot back.

"You've rescued that many people?" Her admiration for him grew, and she wished like h.e.l.l he'd do something, anything, to prove it was all a facade and he really was a good for nothing wolfen. It would make her life so much easier. She didn't want to think that beneath his tough exterior lived a man who put others-humans-before himself.

"Hugh, you keeping secrets from this lovely lady?"

No, not secrets, Tess thought. He just isn't comfortable talking about himself.

"Some things are better left unsaid," he answered, splitting his attention between them.

Like the fact you're a wolfen. Tess sensed Gavin had no idea Hugh was a Night Runner. Gavin didn't look at Hugh the same way Trey or Dane did. He seemed genuinely attached to Hugh in a business relationship sort of way that indicated there was familiarity, but also some reservation. Their professional lives were closely intertwined, personal not so much.

"I agree." She plopped down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.

"What are the two of you doing here?" Gavin joined her on the couch.

"We're taking one of the choppers to San Diego." Hugh came around the desk. "Tess has got some business there."

"Tonight? In case you haven't noticed, there's a pretty thick cloud cover right now."

"Along with some precipitation," Tess added, just because she thought it might get on Hugh's nerves, her conversing so easily with Gavin.

He didn't even flinch. "I noticed. I think it's moving pretty quickly, though. We'll wait it out."

"Must be important business." Gavin put his elbows on his knees. "Anything I can help you with?" He waggled his eyebrows and Tess almost laughed.

She smiled instead. The kind of smile that leads to an answer the guy doesn't want to hear. "Thanks, Gavin. But Hugh's all the help I can handle."

"I get it," Gavin said with a wink.

"What the h.e.l.l does that mean?" Hugh crossed the reception area and stood in front of the coffee table, finally looking a little hot and bothered.

Don't let his hot and bothered make you hot and bothered.

"It means-"

"Never mind," he said, interrupting Gavin. "I don't give a s.h.i.t what it means. Isn't it time for you to go home?"

"I could do that. Or I could-"

"Go home, Gavin. I know you've been putting in extra time."

Gavin glanced at his watch and stood. "Am I to a.s.sume it'll be that way for a couple more days?"

Hugh shifted his weight looking a wee bit uncomfortable at Gavin's remark. She knew Hugh hated needing help, so leaving Gavin with extra responsibilities probably killed him. The fact made her that much more smitten with him. He could have easily walked away from her tonight. Instead, he'd kept his word, put her before Langston Aviation.

"Yeah."

"Tess, it was great meeting you." Gavin gave her a farewell nod. "I hope we see each other again. And Hugh..." He paused for a moment until he had Hugh's attention. "Don't worry about anything. I've got it covered. And this doesn't mean you're excused from your vacation, so don't even think about forgetting it. As soon as you finish with Tess, I'm kicking your a.s.s to the Rockies whether you like it or not."

Hugh gave some sort of gurgled response that appeased Gavin enough. The preppy partner waved a hand and headed out into the hangar.

Finish with Tess. Gavin's words rolled around in her head like the tiny metal ball in the plastic mazes she'd loved to play as a kid. Once Hugh fulfilled his obligation, would they be finished? Would she be able to fulfill her obligation to P.I.E.? If there was one thing she'd learned tonight, it was not all humans are created equal. The Wolf Seekers were not operating by a code of ethics. And if that were the case, didn't it reinforce that not all Veilers were created equal either?

The man standing in front of her certainly blew her notion of Veilers out of the water.

Their eyes locked for the hundredth time. A comfortable yet static silence pa.s.sed, as if speaking would snap the electricity in the air between them. Whenever she was alone with him, she was torn between uncertainty and desire. Want and apprehension. He watched her like a caged animal willing to do anything to escape.

When he inched closer, his gaze never wavering, a nervous sigh almost slipped from her lips. She backed up as far as she could into the corner of the couch. He moved without making a sound, convincing her he could hear every wild d.a.m.n beat of her heart.

She had to prove his innocence. Because with every second that ticked by, she lost the urge to fight. He sat down, the gravity in the room changing, her willpower weakening. Just looking at him made her tremble and no matter the exorbitant fee P.I.E. received for eliminations, the man in front of her was worth more.

A ring and vibration interrupted her thoughts. She jumped and broke eye contact to rummage in her purse for her phone. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Tess, it's Francesca."

"Francesca. Hi. Hold on a second." She covered the receiver with her hand and whispered to Hugh, "Could you give me a minute?"

His eyes darkened, narrowed. She looked away and inhaled slowly. Lord, his gaze made her nervous. He let a second pa.s.s before standing and heading into the hangar.

"I'm back. What's going on?"

When Francesca called, it always meant business. She made the no-nonsense side of the P.I.E. roommate triangle and paid little attention to anything that wasn't work-related unless Kensie dragged her into it.

"Christian wants to see you."

"Did you tell him I'm working on my a.s.signment?" And h.e.l.l if I know what I'll say to him if I see him now.

"Of course. He's in a G.o.d-awful mood. Says you need to come in as soon as you safely can."

Tess choked. "Yeah, right. Safely to him means before he takes his next target practice. Which is what, every six hours?"

"Like clockwork. You've never had trouble coming in before when you're on a.s.signment. Is something wrong? Do you need some-"

"No, Francesca. You know I don't need help. Nothing's wrong." She watched through the gla.s.s wall as Hugh closed up the hangar, locking them inside. Just the two of them. Alone. "I'll be in tomorrow. I'm in the middle of something now that could prove valuable to my investigation."

Or her libido. The two were intertwined, weren't they?

"Don't screw up again, Tess. I'm afraid of what will happen if you do."

"Thanks for that. Your vote of confidence is awesome. Do I sound like I'm going to do something foolish? I'm handling my mark just fine. Tell Christian to chill and I'll be there when I can."

"Tess-"

"Tomorrow. I promise tomorrow morning." So much for flying the friendly skies with Hugh.

"Fine. Stay safe."

"I always do." She stowed the phone back in her bag just as Hugh's broad shoulders filled the doorway to the reception area.

"Finished?" he asked, a rascally look on his face.

Dammit. She'd forgotten about that hearing of his. Had he listened in? She decided to play it like he hadn't. "Yep. Why'd you close up the hangar? I thought we were flying out as soon as the weather improved."

He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself. Sit on the couch? The coffee table? Keep standing? Move behind the desk? "We are. It's easy to open up when we're ready to leave. I closed it for security reasons."

"You afraid someone might steal me?" A week ago the idea of Hugh-of anyone- keeping her safe would have riled her. Now the thought didn't bother her so much.

"Something like that."

"What are we going to do until it's time to go?" The memory of what they'd started earlier ambushed her. Being alone with him, she ached for his touch all over again. For those few minutes in his bedroom, he'd made her forget her job, their agenda, everything. And she so wanted to stop thinking. She got up from the couch, letting her purse fall to the floor, and moved around the coffee table to check out the reception area. "How about a tour of your office and a lesson in aviation?"

Translation: do me in every room and take me higher than I've ever felt before.

Her cheeks flushed. The dirty things going on in her mind were new to her. Hugh was new to her. Feeling a tug so strong, a desire so fervent, was new to her. The steady feet she'd had when she stood started to fail. Probably because all the blood in her body was rushing to certain parts of her anatomy that she didn't want to think about, but couldn't stop thinking about.

She held herself up by putting her hands atop the reception desk with her back to Hugh.

"We could do that," he said coming up behind her. He braced his arms on either side of her sensitive body and rested his palms on the desk.

And once again, she found herself in the delightful position of being tucked into him.

"Or we could do this." He kissed the side of her neck and sparks, yes sparks-the kind at the end of the sparkler sticks she used to light on the Fourth of July-went off in her body.

Then he kissed her earlobe, tugged on it with his teeth. Went back down to her neck and dropped achingly soft kisses there.

"What do you say?" His whisper sounded better than her favorite song.

"This." The word came out breathy. "I say we do this."

For one night, she planned to let herself go. Forget about investigations, about her past, about revenge. She'd relinquish the control she so carefully maintained. Overlook the vulnerability that scared the s.h.i.t out of her. Tonight she'd be a woman who took what she wanted.

She'd never been just that before.

What she did for a living, the job, had always defined her. Always been the reason, the foundation, for the person everybody saw. Even alone with Jason all those years ago, she wasn't the person he'd met in foster care. She'd hidden from him too and he'd never questioned her, never seemed to see any change in her after they'd reconnected. How disconcerting that he'd been in love with a woman who wasn't at all what she appeared to be, and he hadn't noticed.

Hugh knew more about her than anyone else. Knew she'd killed.

And still he wanted her.

The urge to get physical with him, to shed everything and wrap herself bare around him, made everything inside her come alive with bone-melting mania. She spun around and kissed him. Hard.

By now, they knew each other's mouths well and the kiss quickly escalated to tongue and lip locks that made her heart pound in double time. She gripped the back of his shirt and yanked him closer. Nestled his thigh between her legs and shamelessly rubbed against him. Tingle after tingle rushed to the juncture there. She remembered his fingers and how he'd stroked and grazed her sensitive skin over her panties.

He pulled back, sucking, then lightly nibbling her lower lip just like he'd done earlier. "If you don't slow down this is going to take all of two minutes."

"I don't want to go slow this first time." She nibbled back.

"First time?" He lifted her hand to his mouth and dropped kisses on each of her knuckles.

"I want this all night. I want you all night. Now stop talking and get my clothes off me."

The hunger in his eyes stripped her of any misgivings. She put her hands on his face and lavished him with kisses that fueled cravings she didn't know she had. She wanted to crawl inside him. Wanted so much more of him.

Pressed up against the tall reception desk, she felt his hands reach for the b.u.t.ton of her jeans and excitement stormed through her. His fingers moved with dexterity and her pants slid down her legs. She marched in place to a.s.sist in their removal, eager to get beyond where they'd been earlier. It made kissing more difficult and they b.u.mped teeth. A giggle escaped her mouth. His lips curled up in a smile she felt pressed against her own happy face.

When the jeans reached her ankles, she remembered she still had her shoes on. Without breaking the ridiculously hot, heart-stopping lip connection, she let go of his face and tried to reach down. But with her pants that low, it was impossible to lift a leg to meet her outstretched arm. Hugh sucked, nibbled and tasted the whole of her mouth one more time before pulling away to lift her in the air.