Surrender to Temptation (Agent Lovers Series Book 1) (12 page)

Liz looked gloomily at the large, two-story house built out of solid stone; next to it was a three-car garage. These stood in the center of an enormous green space surrounded by forest on three sides. Liz couldn’t see any other houses in the area. As far as she could see, there were only woods, lush green meadows and colorful blooming bushes. She concluded that the entire property belonged to Gray, and her first impression was that it must be about the size of a Texas ranch. Except, she wasn’t in Texas, but in Florida.

Great!
In the coming weeks she and Jennifer would have to live completely cut off from the rest of civilization. It seemed that Gray had plenty of money. Just what her father was waiting for! It was a miracle that he hadn’t yet tried to put her in a wedding dress and serve her up to Gray a silver platter.

It wasn’t Gray’s money, itself, that would influence her father, but his unavoidable conclusion that if she was with Gray, she would be taken care of. Plenty of times he’d made it clear that he didn’t see her as being able to take care of herself, so he would make it his business to find someone who would. Her father would be beside himself for joy if he knew where Liz was at this very moment. He would never learn about it from Liz. She hoped with all her heart that Gray would keep quiet too.

“Where did we end up? In Timbuktu?”

“Quit griping, Liz. This is your home for the next few weeks, so you might as well get used to it.” Gray gave a chuckle.

“Great. We won’t even be able to slip away now and then,” she grumbled.

“Of course you can. You can go for a walk, read, swim, or just do what you came here to do: rest!”

“I was talking about going out to a nightclub or a bar.” Liz glared at him, apparently for being so slow-witted.

“That’s not an option at this time.”

“Fantastic!” Jennifer chimed in. “I’ve always wanted to vegetate in solitude.” The women looked around briefly before climbing out of the car. They slammed the car doors shut behind them, stomped to the house and stood waiting at the front door. Gray raised his eyebrows at Chris. “You still want to stay here?”

“Of course! They’ll calm down pretty soon and then we can devote ourselves to living the good life.”

“You are an incurable optimist.”

***

They had barely stepped into the house when Liz and Jennifer were greeted wildly by their pets. Dumbfounded, the women watched as the two animals also welcomed Gray and Chris. When Gray picked up Furball and walked into the kitchen with him, Liz whispered, “You greedy little traitor!” and shot daggers at the cat. Brutus followed Chris into the kitchen as if he were connected to his shoes, causing Jennifer to mutter, “Ungrateful animal!”

When the men returned, they found the living room empty. The double doors leading out to the patio and into the carefully-tended garden, stood wide open. Gray and Chris watched Liz and Jennifer as they curiously explored their surroundings. They walked around the wide elongated pool, which was the centerpiece of this green oasis, and spoke quietly with one another.

“Think they’re looking for an escape route?” Chris asked.

“Quite possibly. Why don’t you talk to them while I get the steaks ready for grilling? See if you can soothe them a little.”

“You want me to deal with both of them? As if one weren’t hard enough! Thanks for throwing me into the snake pit.” Chris gave his friend a look of feigned resignation and rolled his eyes theatrically. Then he gave an impish smile and walked toward the women with an acquiescent sigh.

***

Throughout the evening the women maintained an icy silence, ignoring Gray and Chris as completely as possible, though occasional eye contact couldn’t be entirely avoided.

Gray didn’t let their hostile attitude get to him. After they’d finished eating, he stacked up the plates at the table and was just about to stand and clear things away when Liz suddenly jumped up and reached for the dishes. To his great surprise, she also gave him a dazzling smile.

“We’ll do that, won’t we Jenny?” Jennifer agreed and stood up to follow her friend. “After all, we have to show our gratitude for your hospitality somehow.” Liz tossed a mischievous smile over her shoulder and disappeared through the large glass door that led into the kitchen.

“What was that about? Was I hallucinating, or did they just smile nicely?” Chris asked. “During the meal they looked like they’d rather drown us in the pool than eat with us. What’s changed?”

“I have no idea. Maybe they realized that it won’t do any good to pout. That’s a possibility, isn’t it?” But somehow Gray didn’t believe his own words. He already understood these two better than that. His suspicions were confirmed when a loud clattering resounded from the kitchen. He jumped up and ran into the room.

Liz stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by shards of broken plates, while Jennifer stood at the sink, a look of exaggerated shock on her face. .

“Oh my goodness! They just slipped out of my hands.” Wearing an angelic air of innocence, Liz looked wide-eyed at Gray, who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed calmly over his chest.

“Of course. Why don’t you just sweep up the pieces? It happens.” He gave her a friendly smile. Gray knew full well that Liz had dropped the plates on purpose, but he also knew he wasn’t going to let her beat him at this little game. He was going to put an end to this silliness. “It looks like you’re still really weak. I think it would be best if you went to bed. Good night, you two. We’ll see you in the morning.” Gray threw a smug smile in Liz’s direction, then turned around and joined Chris.

“It sounds like they just got themselves out of washing the dishes,” said Chris.

“That’s exactly what they did. From now on, we’re only using paper plates. If we don’t, I’m not going to have a single dish left.”

***

“He didn’t really just say that. I mean, he didn’t seriously mean it, did he?” Jennifer was shocked; surely she’d heard wrong. Had Gray just sent them to bed like little children?

“I think he did.” Liz stared thoughtfully at the door through which Gray had just disappeared. She had assumed that if she deliberately broke his plates, he would have bellowed like a wounded lion and thrown them out. But no! He’d just laughed about it. Somehow, she had to get him to kick her out. She brooded as she swept up the shards and considered how they could goad him further, so that he would finally forget himself and lose his composure. As Liz dumped the shards in the garbage, she was struck by a brilliant idea. She put down the whisk broom and the dustpan, leaned against the fancy, white marbled work surface and turned to her friend.

“You know what I just thought of, Jenny?”

“What?”

“Our anticipated stay in this house is set for three or four weeks, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. So?”

“So if we’re going to be stuck here for so long, I’m going to need a few things that Gray definitely won’t have thought of. You too?”

“You want to write some sort of a shopping list for him?” Jenny gave her a look of confusion. Until now she’d assumed that Liz wanted exactly what she did: to get out of this place as quickly as possible. Had she somehow changed her mind? But when Liz gave her a devious smile, nodded and stroked the impressive polished countertop with the palm of her hand, it occurred to her what Liz might have in mind. Looking around, Jennifer opened and closed drawers until she found a pen, which she then pressed it into Liz’s hand. “Go ahead! Okay, I need…” Jennifer dictated her list as her friend diligently wrote everything down.

***

“Is it just me, or are you starting to get the feeling that something isn’t right?” Gray looked again toward the door that led into the kitchen. For some reason, an uneasy feeling had gripped him a few minutes earlier. He wanted to know why.

“That’s quite possible. Maybe we should go into the kitchen and see if they’ve done any more damage.” They stood quickly and walked into the spacious, brightly decorated kitchen on whose countertops stood a variety of chrome kitchen appliances and in whose center was an island with a cooktop and a chopping block on it. Colorful, blooming potted plants were positioned around the room, giving the kitchen a fresh yet cozy atmosphere. A round wooden table and four chairs with decorative apple-green pillows on them added to the tasteful ambience.

Gray and Chris looked around, but they didn’t see anything that the women had maliciously destroyed. Then Gray’s glance dropped from the cooktop to the countertop across from it. He let out a groan of horror. Chris saw what had grabbed Gray’s attention. They walked around the island to the countertop to get a closer look.

Dear Gray! You are completely right in saying that we are not yet completely fit and should stay in bed. Since we’re planning to sleep in tomorrow morning, could you please pick up the following things for us? Oreo cookies, peanut butter cups (large package), a family-size bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips, body lotion with aloe vera, ten bottles of Evian, disposable razors, vanilla and rose-scented bath pearls, the Elizabeth Arden gingko skin care set, two latex pillows with ergonomic neck support, and tampons. Thanks a lot and good night! PS: Sorry we couldn’t find any paper.

“And they think that’s a good reason to ruin the counter?” Gray asked out loud even though he knew he wouldn’t get an answer—at least, not from Liz. He rubbed the black writing with the tip of his index finger and gave a morose snort. Of course! Permanent marker. Although, a pencil would have ruined the counter, too. He needed to use a special cleaner on the surface of this countertop to keep it from getting damaged. And of course he’d run out and didn’t have any of it in the house.

Gray looked at Chris, whose mouth was twitching suspiciously. Chris cleared his throat once, and then twice—but then still laughed, anyway.

“I’m so glad that their behavior meets with your approval.” Gray went to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of beer. After he’d opened them, he handed one to his friend, who had gotten his laughing fit under control by then, and left the kitchen. Still grinning, Chris followed him onto the deck and sat next to him as he stared out into space.

“Don’t take it so hard, buddy. It could have been worse. Imagine if they’d dumped the broken pieces of plate into the garbage disposal and turned it on! The damage would have been even worse.”

“Good thing they’re in bed and can’t hear your idea.”

“You have to hand it to them, they really are pretty creative.” Chris took another sip from his bottle.

“If by creative you mean childish, then I’ll admit you’re right.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. Is that all you think that was? I don’t. They’re starting out small, like mosquitoes buzzing around your head that you try to hit, but can’t get. But at some point they'll jab you and get you. That business with the countertop is just a taste of what’s to come.”

“You think I don’t know that they’re trying to get to me? Liz and Jennifer figure that if they can get me to throw them out, Townsend will suspend the order. But it’ll never come to that. They’d have to take my whole house down first.”

“So what are you planning? Are you going to let them get away with this?”

“Of course not! Their tempers desperately need to get cooled down. And I’ve got an idea about how to do it. Are you in?”

“As long as no one gets hurt, then I’m in.”

“Don’t worry about that. Do you think I’ve forgotten why they’re here? All that’s going to get hurt is their egos.” Gray stood and walked back into the kitchen. There he picked up first Jennifer’s, then Liz’s packages of medications and examined the quantities. He rejoined his friend and smiled.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“The pills the doctor prescribed should make them very sleepy. They’ll be sleeping like logs pretty soon and they won’t realize what we’re doing.” Gray went on to describe his plan in detail. Chris’s eyes grew wide and he laughed softly.

“Well,
that
should certainly cool off their tempers!”

They waited a long time, until they were sure that the women were really asleep, and then they slipped noiselessly into their rooms. They gave each other a satisfied look and grinned. Gray went to Liz’s bed, tapped her lightly on the shoulder and spoke to her, but she didn’t react. Just as he had hoped.

Carefully he picked her up in his arms and stepped to one side. Chris picked up her mattress and followed Gray, who had already gone downstairs and was on his way into the yard. When they reached the side of the pool Chris set the mattress down and Gray lay Liz back on it again. Then they got Jennifer and her mattress. Once they were done, they looked down at the sleeping women with satisfaction.

“What happens if one of them rolls over and falls into the pool before the medication’s side effect wears off?” Chris sounded uneasy.

“The pills aren’t that strong. Anyway, we’ll stay out here to make sure that doesn’t happen. You want another beer?”

“Please.”

Gray grabbed two more bottles and switched on the outside lights, which bathed the patio in a soft light. Then he put a deck of cards on the table and sat across from Chris for a game of poker. Every now and then they looked over at Liz and Jennifer to see if they were still sleeping and to make sure they hadn’t rolled into the pool.

***

It was already light when Gray and Chris noticed that the women were beginning to stir. Quickly the men got up from the table and took up positions next to them. Liz and Jennifer opened their eyes and scanned their surroundings, which didn’t look at all like a bedroom. Liz was the first to grasp the situation. A look of understanding came over her face, but before she could call out a warning, Gray and Chris grabbed the sheet that was stretched tightly over each mattress and wrenched it upwards. Screaming loudly, Liz and Jennifer sailed through the air and disappeared into the pool with a loud splash. The women popped back up out of the water, swept their hair out of their faces and started yelling.

“Are you nuts?” Liz shouted. “What’s the big idea? Is that your idea of us resting?”