“Nothing but yourself and, crazy as it sounds, I want you more than those gems.”
“Oh, come on,” she said with a snort. “Get out of here, or I’m calling the police.”
“Go ahead. Call Hunter. He’s my partner in this operation.” He watched as she straightened things on her desk into neat lines. “I’m an undercover cop, Iris.”
Her breath caught for a second, then she burst out with a bitter laugh. “Of all the lies you’ve told, do you think I’m going to buy that one?”
“It’s the truth. I transferred here from Boston temporarily because they needed an unknown for this job. I’ve been living as Mickey the thief for months, but Hunter’s my contact. He’s taken the gems to have them authenticated.”
Doubt clouded her eyes, but he could tell she didn’t yet believe him.
“Who do you think got me the information on you and your sisters? How do you think I walked out of your apartment past Foote this morning?” Mickey took a tentative step toward her. “Hunter told me you broke up with David.”
She vented an animal growl of frustration as she slipped away from him. “That sadistic son of a bitch let me spill my guts and never told me you were a cop.” She shook her head, sending her hair into disarray.
The wayward curls reminded Mickey of how she’d looked, sleepy-eyed and sated, her head reclining on his shoulder after they’d made love mere hours ago. He swallowed hard at the memory and, worse, how he wanted to repeat it. “Why did you break up with him?”
“What do you care? It has nothing to do with you.”
His hand snaked out to grip her arm. “The hell it doesn’t. The only reason I agreed to no promises was because you were already engaged.”
“Ha! You expect me to believe anything you say now?” She jerked free and smacked his upper arm with enough force to make him wince. “You son of a bitch! Lying, cheating-”
He grabbed her to him and held her close. “I never cheated.”
“What do you call taking the collar?”
“I call that stealing. Not cheating.”
She stared at him, her mouth open in a seductive moue.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he whispered.
Still staring, she whispered back, “What are you going to do about it?”
“This.” He lowered his head and captured her lips.
Mickey’s heart swelled as she melted into him. He twined his arms around her and pulled her closer. His blood stirred as soon as her hips made contact with his. Cupping her bottom, he fed from her lips with an insatiable hunger. He wanted her again with an intensity that still shocked him. Last night, he’d been surprised by how much he wanted a woman, but now he knew it wasn’t just a woman-it was this woman.
She tore her mouth from his and pushed him away. Retreating a few steps, she touched her lips as if ashamed of what they’d done. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a cop or a thief, this isn’t right.” She spoke with dead calm. “You said a guy who loved me would stick around and put up a fight for me.”
Mickey released a heavy breath. Those weren’t the words of a woman who’d planned to disappear. But his relief was short-lived. He’d screwed up royally, though his intentions at the time had been the best. “Honest to God, Iris, I didn’t know that’s what you wanted. You were the one who said no commitments. How was I supposed to know you didn’t mean it?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I meant it.”
Her rejection stung him. “Oh yeah? Then why did you break up with David?”
“For God’s sake, I lied to the man-cheated on him-how was I supposed to marry him? What kind of woman do you think I am?”
Mickey couldn’t help himself-he grinned.
But instead of drawing a responsive smile from her, Iris’s face crumpled. She pursed her lips and sniffed heavily. “Don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter anyway. I wasn’t myself last night.”
“I liked who you were.”
“Yeah, I bet you did. That’s why you bolted this morning.”
“And I like who you are, Iris Fortune. That’s why I’m back.”
She shook her head. “It’s no use, Mickey. I’m not the kind of woman who holds a man’s interest, I know that.” With a harsh laugh, she added, “You’re back because it’s your job.”
“That’s not true.” He hesitated to reach for her, fearing another rebuff. Instead, he massaged the knot tensing the back of his neck, searching for the expected headache, but it remained absent. “I’m back because of you, because I wanted to tell you the truth.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that last night. Somewhere around that pretty ‘no secrets from each other in bed’ speech.”
“Seems to me you were keeping ten secrets of your own, tiger.”
Her eyes narrowed into a glare. Before she could reply, a knock at the door interrupted them. “Yes?” Iris called out.
Ginny cracked the door open. “Sorry, Iris, but there are a couple of gentlemen here, and I think they’re speaking Russian. I can’t seem to help them, and I thought-”
“I’ll be right there.” Iris turned to him after Ginny left. “I want that collar back.”
Mickey settled onto her stool. “Go talk to your clients. We can continue this when you’re free.”
“You don’t need to keep an eye on me.”
He raised a brow at her. “You’re still in danger. And I’m still your best protection.”
She glared at him. “Fine. Sit here and talk to Edgar. I may be awhile.”
“I’ll wait,” he said calmly.
She yanked the door open and walked out to the sales floor without another word. From the angry shake of her head as she exited, he was going to have to save her life again to get her to give him another chance.
Marko pretended to study the jewelry case as the young woman knocked on the back door. He and Viktor had come into the shop together, their suits implying they were serious customers and not tourists. It had been Marko’s notion not to speak English to the shop girl. He hadn’t bothered to say anything to Viktor-his brother wasn’t much of a talker. He was glad, though, they’d decided not to bring Sergei. If the boy were here, he wouldn’t have resisted chatting the girl up.
The shop girl hurried over to help a young Asian couple. Marko kept his eyes trained on the door to the back, eager to see his cousin’s daughter emerge.
He wasn’t disappointed. Iris Fortune was petite and fine-boned like her mother had been, though her hair was a more fiery russet than he remembered Irina’s being. She wore a tailored suit jacket in a golden shade, with a matching skirt cut above the knee that revealed shapely bare legs in heeled sandals. Marko pursed his lips. In his day, women had always worn stockings. These younger generations were surrendering more and more traditions.
Beyond the first glimpse, he quickly surmised she was irritated with something. She threw a look toward the back office with an angry toss of her head. He tried to make out what was in that room off the sales floor, but the interior was too dark to share its secrets.
Approaching, Iris granted him a businesslike smile, impersonal but welcoming, as befitted a potential client. Clearly, she had no idea who he was. That didn’t surprise him. It would be just like Cosmo not to tell Irina’s daughter about her extended family being in town.
“Good morning,” she said in Russian. “Are you looking for something special today?”
Marko shared a look with his brother. “We’re looking for the daughter of Irina Nikolaevsky. Are you her?”
Her mouth opened in surprise before she gathered her composure. “Yes. I’m Iris Fortune, and Irina was my mother.”
“This is my brother, Viktor Gorseyev. I am Marko.”
“Gorseyev?” The name prompted her to appraise him more fully.