Hiding in Plain Sight

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Mallory wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when the knock came at her hotel room door. Although she’d been subtle, simply scrawling her room number on an old receipt she’d fished from her handbag and leaving it on the table in the bar, it had still been a blatant invitation. Particularly since her drink had been on the house, therefore giving no reason for it to be charged to her room.

She’d figured if Erasmus was smart enough to get the hint, then he deserved to get laid. If not, well then it was his loss, wasn’t it? A man wasn’t a necessity for her. If she felt the need to get off, then her right hand would serve the purpose perfectly well.

Moving from her position by the window, where she’d been standing admiring the view of the city, she headed for the door. She made sure her silky robe was in position as she walked. Just because she’d basically issued an invitation for him to visit her room for s*x, didn’t mean she wanted to look desperate, or as though she’d been waiting for him.

Peeping through the spy-hole—someone in her profession could never be too careful—she smiled when she saw her visitor was, in fact, the very one she’d been expecting. Keeping the smile on her face, she opened the door and immediately stood back to let him in. It wouldn’t do for him to be seen loitering outside. She wanted to screw him, not get him into trouble for consorting with the guests.

Clearly getting her drift, Erasmus glanced up and down the corridor before stepping over the threshold into her room. Apparently he was smart, because he’d brought a bottle of champagne and two glasses with him, having the twin bonuses of being his excuse for his presence in her room if anyone had seen him, and also… well, champagne was just always a good idea.

“Hi,” she said in his native language, closing the door behind him. “I’m glad you made it.”

He was halfway across the room when he tossed his reply over his shoulder. “Hi. Yes, me too. It’s been an… interesting day.” Placing the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table, he then turned to face her, the s****l interest obvious on his face as he took in her appearance. “I was very glad to find your… invitation.”

“And I’m pleased you accepted it.”

“You…” His expression turned uncomfortable, much to Mallory’s confusion, and he fixed his attention on the plush carpet. “You will forgive me… it seems silly in the circumstances, but… I don’t know your name.”

Mallory clapped a hand over her mouth, hoping he’d see it as a gesture of surprise, rather than her covering up her amusement at her faux pas. She’d been so focused on the task at hand, spying on the gang she was here to infiltrate, that she hadn’t been fully concentrating on her flirtation with the handsome waiter.

Hoping she’d rearranged her features into an appropriate expression, she removed her hand from her mouth and took a step towards him. “I’m so sorry, Erasmus. It completely slipped my mind. My name is Bea Winchester.” The lie tripped off her tongue so easily that she was sure even a fellow intelligence officer would believe her. But as much as she disliked lying to Erasmus—he was, after all, nothing to do with her reason for being here; rather a pleasant diversion along the way—it was essential to maintain her cover. Plus, if curiosity got the better of him at any point, he’d easily be able to check the hotel’s computer system and discover what name she had checked in under.

He closed the gap between them still further, and held out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bea Winchester.”

She took his hand, then was surprised when, instead of shaking, he gently twisted her wrist and bent to place a kiss on her knuckles. His lips were warm and dry, and her astonishment at his action swiftly gave way to arousal as he lingered there for a few moments, before releasing her.

“A-and you,” she forced out, fighting to get a grip on her emotions. It wasn’t at all like her to be so affected by someone, but in a bizarre twist of fate, the very fact that he’d surprised her, had surprised her. During her years in the service, she’d seen so many things, so many facets to human nature, that it was nigh on impossible to surprise, shock or faze her. She made a mental note to watch this man carefully. She hadn’t got any vibes from him to indicate that he was anything other than an attractive barman and waiter, but it was entirely possible she wasn’t the only intelligence officer watching the gang. Their activities were widespread, after all. Any number of countries could be keeping an eye on them, trying to bring them down. And not all of them would necessarily want to team up with the British in order to do so. The Brits had as many enemies as they did allies.

“So!” she said brightly, crossing over to the sofa, deliberately exaggerating the wiggle of her hips and bottom as she walked, hoping to distract him from her moment of being flustered. “It was very good of you to bring champagne. Shall we?”

Erasmus had followed her over to the seating area, and inclined his head, then reached for the bottle. With finesse born of frequent practice, or possibly he was an exceptional actor, he opened the bottle, snagged a glass and filled it, before handing it to her with a grin.

“Thank you.” She smiled back, waiting until he’d poured his own drink before even thinking of taking a sip. There was a chance the bubbly could be poisoned, or drugged. It irritated her immensely that she had to even take such precautions, to consider that everyone she met could be out to get her, but it was an instinct that had saved her life on more than one occasion. Besides, it was ingrained so deeply within her that she’d never shake it. She’d probably still be looking over her shoulder when she was old and grey, and long-retired from the intelligence game.

Fortunately, Erasmus didn’t seem to find anything odd in this behaviour. Instead, after filling his champagne flute, he took the seat opposite her, then leaned forward, holding out his glass. “To new friends,” he said, tipping her a wink.

They carefully clinked the flutes, smiling at each other, before settling back into their respective seats. Mallory crossed her legs, then made a fuss of tugging the hem of her robe down. She was biding her time. As she fidgeted, she watched Erasmus in her peripheral vision, but saw nothing untoward. He was completely relaxed—or as relaxed as a man who’d come to a practical stranger’s hotel room for s*x could be, anyway—as he took a sip of his drink, and swallowed it.

Deciding that it was safe, she took a drink. She hummed with pleasure as the bubbles burst on her tongue and the flavour exploded over her taste buds. She swallowed, then smiled at Erasmus. “Mmm. This is very nice champagne, Erasmus. Nice choice. What is it?”

Leaning forward, she then reached for the bottle and twisted it on the table so the label faced her. She pursed her lips thoughtfully and nodded. It wasn’t really her area, but it seemed to be a mid-range champagne, which was precisely what she’d expect from someone in Erasmus’ salary range. He might work in an exclusive hotel, so his wage was probably higher than the equivalent job in a less expensive place, but he was hardly going to be rolling in cash. If he’d brought a top-of-the-range bottle with him, she’d have found it very suspicious. It would have indicated that either he wasn’t who he said he was; that he’d stolen it; or that he’d charged it to her room.

Filing the information away in her mind, Mallory decided she’d scrutinised him enough. If he was there to harm her, he’d have made his move by now.

As she released the bottle and straightened, she looked up and caught his eye. Her heart skipped a beat at the expression on his face. It was blatantly obvious that the last thing on Erasmus’ mind was hurting her.

He grinned widely, making his appreciation of her abundantly clear without being lecherous. And she could hardly chastise him, in any case. A glance told her that he’d been treated to an almighty fine view down the front of her robe as she’d bent to examine the bottle, and, despite all her tugging and fidgeting, the silky garment wasn’t exactly designed to cover her modesty.

The arousal that had flickered into life at the unexpected gentlemanly kiss on the hand and had continued to smoulder ever since, now flared up powerfully. She returned his smile, appraising him right back, then proceeded to down the contents of her glass. It was still relatively early, so there was plenty of time to finish the bottle between what would hopefully be multiple sessions of s*x. Neither of them had any illusions that he was here for anything else, therefore small talk was unnecessary. Beyond names, what more did they need to know? And, if she was being totally honest with herself, the names part was only a social nicety.

Wordlessly, she got up, still holding her glass. With her free hand, she collected the bottle and headed for the bedroom, knowing without a doubt that he would follow her. She entered the room and kept walking right up to the nightstand on one side of the bed, where she put down the glass and bottle. Then, mentally crossing her fingers, she opened the top drawer of the nightstand. She gave a mental fist pump as she spotted the array of condoms in there, though she’d have been more surprised at their absence. This was a top-of-the-range hotel in Amsterdam—they liked s*x here. The city had a shop called the Condomerie, for heaven’s sake!

Smirking, she reached in and grabbed a handful of the foil packages, placed them beside the champagne, then closed the drawer.

A light snort made her turn. Erasmus stood on the other side of the bed, and had also put down his glass. He shifted his gaze from the pile of condoms to her face, and raised his eyebrows. “You have high expectations, Bea.”

She shrugged. “What’s that saying? ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’”

Chuckling, he walked around the bed. Stepping up close to her, he then paused, as if awaiting permission to proceed.

Mallory reached out and grasped his wrists, tugging him towards her to close the space between them. Looking up into his eyes, she murmured, “I’m sure you will not disappoint, Erasmus.”

Pulling his wrists free from her grip, he slipped one hand around her waist, and the other into her long, blonde hair. He leaned his forehead against hers, and said, “I will do my very best to impress, beautiful Bea.” Then he kissed her.

Allowing her desires to take over; and her brain, if not to switch off, to at least go into standby mode, Mallory relaxed into the embrace. If his kissing technique was anything to go by, then she was confident he would indeed impress. His lips moved sensually against hers, rapidly adding fuel to the flames of her arousal. A moment later, as his hand shifted from her back to her buttocks, hauling her up against his erection, his tongue sought entrance to her mouth. She opened up willingly, happily, tangling her tongue with his in an erotic dance that soon had them both breathing heavily and grasping roughly at each other.

Pulling away with a deep inhalation, filling her lungs with much-needed air, Mallory blinked.

Erasmus looked equally dazed, but seemed to recover more quickly than she. Gently releasing her, he shifted his hands to her waist and undid the sash fastening the sides of her gown together. Then, giving the material a little nudge, he grinned wickedly as it slid off her shoulders, down her arms and tumbled to the carpet. Taking in her lingerie, he raised an eyebrow. “Nice. But it’ll be even nicer when it’s off.”