Page 70 of Maneater (The Mavens #1)
FORTY-SEVEN
ROWAN
I wake with Josie in my arms and take in a deep breath, reveling in the relaxation that comes with being with her.
After all these years.
All those missed opportunities.
All those stupid fucking assumptions I made.
And yet, somehow, she’s here in my arms. Somehow, she gave me a shot, and now she’s mine. She’s so worried about what will happen once we leave here, and I know there’s nothing I can say that will ease those nerves, but I can try. And I can show her, long term, just what she means to me.
Josie’s body starts to awaken, and her drowsy eyes open slowly before she smiles at me.
“Morning,” she says, all sweet and sleepy. I smile at her.
“Morning.”
“What time is it?” she asks with a soft yawn.
I look over her shoulder and check the bedside clock. “Seven ten.”
She groans, then moves to press a kiss to the underside of my jaw before rolling out of my arms and out of bed.
She stands and stretches, and my eyes track her every move, roaming over her naked body.
She smiles at the clear intent in my face, but shakes her head. “No time. I’m officially on the clock.”
I glare, then begin my own effort of rolling out of the bed, and I miss how she has to fight her own urge to watch me.
I can work with that.
“How does this clock determine time?” I ask, my voice low. My cock is already hardening as I move toward her.
“It’s self-appointed. I make my own hours,” she says softly.
I pull her into me with an arm around her waist, and the feeling of her skin on mine is phenomenal.
“What about a shower? Everyone has to shower,” I murmur, my morning stubble grazing the skin of her neck and making her shiver. “We should just…do it together.”
She breaks just like I knew she would.
“A great idea,” she murmurs. “Honestly, it’s just responsible. Save the fish and whatnot.”
And then my lips are on hers, and I’m dragging her into the bathroom to get our day started with the distinct thought that I wouldn’t mind doing this every morning for the foreseeable future.
“So, can you explain how this works again? Because I trust you guys, but it kind of feels like we’re setting things up so this guy can potentially hurt a lot of people,” I ask that afternoon as she gets ready in a slinky dress and full makeup.
She looks over at me and smiles. “You gotta trust the process, babe. That’s the key.”
She bends over, roughing up the roots of her hair in a way I know is to make her have full, sexy hair I’ll think about wrapping around my hand all night, and despite myself, despite the serious topic, I can’t help but stare at her ass.
From this angle, wrapped in her fire-engine red dress, it looks practically diabolical, and instantly, I remember her bent over my office chair the other day.
She keeps talking as if I’m not over here thinking completely filthy things about her and her ass.
“We have three more days here, though I have high hopes about tonight. An opportunity like this is almost a sure thing for a guy like this.”
We spent the morning with the girls as they placed the final dominoes for the plan. Before I had to run off and do my part, which included greeting our guests and attending a huge staff meeting, I emphasized to everyone how vital it was that everything go perfectly tonight.
Harper and Wes Holden arrive this morning, a year after their original honeymoon stay, and for one night, we will be allowing paparazzi in to take photos of them together and squash the newest rumors that Harper is already pregnant with the rock star’s baby.
Somehow, we were able to convince Leo and his clients to participate in a setup, with extra undercover security from Wilde Security on site posing as paparazzi.
While tomorrow is the actual day for the paparazzi to come and snap some shots of the couple, we’ve informed nearly everyone at the resort that the couple is arriving today, and the paparazzi will be capturing their every move.
Staff have been instructed to prepare for the guests to attend a large party we’re hosting tonight.
Rory and Josie are convinced the news will reach our suspect quickly, and he won’t be able to resist trying to sabotage something there.
Rory and a few of the Wilde Security team members will be carefully monitoring both our cameras and the ones the girls have planted, while Josie moves around and does her thing on the ground.
I was a bit shocked when Leo agreed so quickly, despite his owing me about a dozen favors at this point, but it seemed the rock star’s fashion designer wife loves drama.
Our hope is that throughout the night, there will be at least a handful of situations where we can catch Randy in the act.
Rory spent last night connecting to the video feeds for the boat that takes staff from the mainland to the island every day, as well as planting her own cameras on the docks, so we’ll know the moment he sets foot on the property.
She’s going to stay in the room, where she has created what looks like a security headquarters, with four different screens showcasing four different cameras at any given moment, as well as a fifth computer that is scanning the hotel’s security for any unusual changes that might indicate Carter is accessing the feeds.
It’s all very detailed and a bit over my head, but the Mavens seem convinced it will work, and I trust that they know exactly what they’re doing.
“You seem absolutely giddy about this,” I say, looking over at Josie, who is, in fact, nearly jumping with unreleased energy.
“This is the best part of any mission,” she says, moving across the room to sit on my bed, heels in hand.
She starts to put them on, her tight red dress absolutely stunning, and I notice then that she’s wearing light-colored thigh-high stockings and fucking garters.
It takes everything in me not to stalk over to her right there and fall to my knees. Instead, I try and focus.
“What part?” I ask as she slips on her second black heel, then stands, brushing her dress down with her hands before striking a pose I think is supposed to be a spy pose.
“Threat level midnight,” she says, her voice low.
I burst out laughing. “Threat level midnight?”
She nods and smiles. “Yeah. You wouldn’t get it; it’s a super hot spy girl thing.”
That’s what does it, what has me moving toward her and tugging her into me. My hand moves to twine in her hair, to angle her face how I want before placing a kiss to her lips, careful not to mess up the makeup she just did so studiously.
“All right, super hot spy girl, are you ready to get this thing going?”
That smile goes absolutely devious before she nods. “Let’s go.”
“Any updates?” I ask two hours later, sidling up to Josie as she stares at the party, a bit of an annoyed look on her face.
“No. I’m starting to think tonight isn’t going to be the night.”
“No?”
She shakes her head and sighs heavily. “Rory’s watching the feeds of his apartment driveway, and his car has been parked there all day. From what she sees, he hasn’t gotten on the boat in at least three days, which is how far back we’ve been able to see with their system.”
Since we outsource the operation of the boat that transports employees to and from the island, their security footage is not stored on our cloud. However, Rory was able to hack into it remotely last night for this reason.
“So he’s not here.”
She shakes her head. The frown between her eyebrows is so fucking cute, the disappointment that she won’t be able to enact her big plan tonight is plain.
“I think we might be clear tonight. We’re still staying vigilant, but…” She shrugs like this is a huge disappointment to her. “I think we’ll have to reconvene and try to figure out a new plan.”
I look around the room, watching all of the guests enjoy themselves, including Wes and Harper, who are dancing to a slow song together, her head on his chest, and the most serene look on his face, like he has his entire world in his arms at that very moment.
Up until recently, I didn’t understand that, at the very least, your entire world can shift to be about one person and their happiness, especially when you can have such a seemingly fulfilling life from just your career. But since Josie entered my life, I understand.
Looking around, I take note that no eyes are on us, and I step back, pulling her into my arms and walking with her. She doesn’t hesitate, wrapping her arms around my neck and melting into my body, letting me sway her and following my lead.
My whole world is in my arms. What a wild one-eighty from when I first got on this island, thinking my world was this resort, this job.
“Sorry, we didn’t catch him tonight,” she mumbles. When I shift a hand to tip her head up to me, I catch sight of the nearly indiscernible earpiece she’s wearing that looks like a piece of glittering jewelry, and a nervous look on her face.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“I wanted to get this done and solve the case, so you have one less thing on your plate, finally. Sorry, it’s not going to happen tonight.”
I shake my head, then dip to press my lips softly to hers.
“It’s going to happen, Josie. I know you and Rory have about a dozen ideas of how to get this guy to show himself so we can nab him,” I say, and she smiles softly, confirming my thoughts.
“If we don’t get him today, it just means I get another day of watching you do your thing. Midnight Spy Girl or whatever.”
She lets out a laugh and shakes her head. “Threat level midnight,”
“Ah, yes, of course. I wouldn’t get it. I’m not a super-hot spy girl.”
Her smile widens, the disappointment melting from her eyes, if only temporarily.
“Exactly,” she whispers, then moves to her toes to press a kiss to my lips. “I’m still annoyed that tonight isn’t the night.”