Page 7 of Recovering Ivy (Red Team #4)

Zane

“Yo. You gotta minute?” Declan asked as I was closing my laptop down for the day. I was too high strung to be in the office any longer. I needed a drink and I didn’t want to end up sleeping here on the couch again. I’d been making too much of a habit of it, favoring my small office to my penthouse.

Maybe I was having a midlife crisis. I seemed to hate everything these days, which my team would say wasn’t too far off from normal, but the relentless twisting in my gut was getting old. I’d even considered putting my penthouse on the market and downsizing, something I swore I’d never do.

“Whatcha got?” I asked and motioned for him to take a seat in front of my desk.

Declan was the newest addition to the team and he’d proven his worth.

He was all too eager to leave the CIA and settle down - a luxury that now afforded him time to get to know his twin sister, Violet, better.

There were some in the agency that didn’t take his departure well, but who the fuck cared.

They didn’t sign the contracts I worked under and they certainly didn’t sign the checks.

If Declan didn’t care, I could give two fucks about them.

I’d had enough of the Agency’s bullshit to last a lifetime.

“I met with Forester today,” he started.

“I already gave Garrett the picture I took of his PA, Susan Black. Hopefully, he’ll get a hit on her real identity.

I hope to God she’s clean because the woman is smoking hot.

After we put Forester out on his ass, I’d like to go back and see if she’d be up for a roll. ”

“Are there any women in the greater Annapolis area you don’t want to fuck?” I asked.

“Man, I’ve been trapped in the jungle with filth for the past year. Before that I was lucky to make it stateside once every six months. Just making up for lost time. And you’re one to talk. I’m afraid I’m picking up your seconds.”

“People need to keep their fucking mouths shut,” I grouched, and Declan chuckled. “Anything stand out?”

“Other than her being sexy as fuck? No. She was pleasant but kept her distance. There didn’t seem to be any familiarity or signs they are working together.

I have drinks scheduled with Forester tonight.

He’d suggested Susan tag along to take notes.

She was less than pleased and reluctantly agreed.

It’s my night to tail him anyway, so drinks before he meets with his hooker works.

You wanna come with me? I’d like your take on him, if you’re not busy. ”

Was I busy? No. I’d planned on going home, drinking myself into oblivion, and catching up on much-needed sleep.

“I got nothing tonight.” I looked at Declan’s suit and was rethinking my acceptance. “Where are you going?” I looked at my tee and cargo pants and didn’t think I was properly dressed for a night out.

“Swanks. ”

Definitely needed a suit.

“Give me ten minutes to change and I’ll follow you over.”

With a lift of his chin he left my office, leaving me alone to change. I pulled my navy Cesare Attolini suit out of the hide-a-way closet in my private ensuite and quickly stripped down. Before I could button my dress shirt, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror.

Marks.

Ivy had branded my skin with her nails and mouth.

Before I understood what I was doing, my hand was on my chest rubbing the hickey she’d left.

I hated marks. If I even felt the pull of a woman’s mouth on my skin, I stopped her.

I normally extended the same courtesy to a woman.

She was not mine to mark. However, last night, I’d marked Ivy.

There would be no forgetting our night together, not for many days to come.

The thought gave me a twinge of excitement.

She may have snuck out, but she wouldn’t forget me.

Thirty minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of Swanks and exited my Rover.

Tonight was going to be easy, an hour feeling out Forester then home to my bed.

Corporate espionage was so much fucking easier than strapping on my kit and tracking terrorists.

I’d take these gigs any day of the week.

The thrill of the chase was gone. If I was honest, the adrenaline rush had vanished a long time ago.

Yet another reason I thought I was having a midlife crisis.

I never thought hunting and killing bad guys would get old.

Declan met me at the car and we walked in together.

I scanned the room, checking exits and potential risks.

Just because I thought tonight was going to be easy didn’t mean I was stupid.

Shit could go sideways on a dime. Not that I thought this low-level dickweed was going to give us trouble, but old habits die hard.

I clocked Forester before he approached but made no indication I knew who he was when he stopped in front of us.

“Mr. Gold, pleased you could join us tonight. Declan wasn’t sure you’d be free,” Forester offered his hand.

“Zane, please.” I shook his hand noting his palm was clammy and his pupils were dilated. Definitely high.

“I got us a table; Susan will be right back.”

We followed him back to the table and before I could sit, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I scanned the patrons again and saw nothing. I learned a long time ago not to dismiss my gut, and my gut was screaming shit was going bad.

“Ah. There she is.”

“Sorry.”

That voice.

I turned and came face-to-face with the woman who’d plagued damn near my every thought today. She rocked back on her heel and her eyes widened. I grabbed her arm before she could take a header and pulled her close to me.

“Thank… you,” she stuttered.

“Susan, this is Mr. Gold. This is my assistant, Susan Black.” Forester made the introduction.

“Nice to meet you, Susan. Please call me Zane.” Ivy’s cheeks pinkened and relief washed over her.

What the actual fuck was going on?

Did Ivy play me?

“Please, let’s sit,” Forester suggested and pulled his own seat out and sat. Douche.

I released Ivy and pulled the chair to my left for her to sit first.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

She had on a sexy red wrap dress. I knew if I peeled it back I’d find my bite marks on her perfect tits, shoulders, and stomach.

I felt my cock stiffen and my anger spike.

I fucking hated not knowing all the intel before I walked into a situation.

I was kicking my own ass for not asking Declan to see the picture of the hot PA he’d hoped was clean so he could bang her.

Fuck.

Why did I want to kick Declan’s teeth down his throat for thinking about fucking Ivy? Never, not once in my life, had I ever been possessive over a woman. My Knob Creek, sure. My 35-year sherry cask Bowmore whisky from Islay, abso-fucking-lutely. A woman I had fucked once? No. It was laughable.

The waiter came, and we ordered our drinks.

Small talk was made and the entire time I was seething.

Declan was right, I didn’t see any indication Ivy was anything more than Forester’s assistant.

She was distant, and her interactions were forced.

If I had to guess, I’d say she wasn’t a fan.

I excused myself from the table under the pretense I had a call.

Once I was outside, I pulled my phone out and called Garrett.

“I need you to email Forester Grant from his office. I don’t much give a shit what you say, just so long as he has to leave the bar and go back to the office,” I told Garrett.

“No problem. It will take two minutes.”

“One more thing, clear the conference room. Susan Black’s real name is Ivy. I don’t have a last name.”

“Her name is Ivy Daly, twenty-seven. No priors.”

Twenty-seven, fuck. I was ten years older than her. I’d practically robbed the cradle. Maybe it was time I started checking IDs and running background checks before I bedded a woman.

“Who does she work for?” I asked .

“No one. No work history for the last year. Before that she worked as a real estate agent.”

“Is she married?” The thought of Ivy fucking me while married made me want to punch a wall.

“Negative. No husband, no kids.”

“Anything I should know?” I asked.

“She’s boring. I can’t find any ties to any organization. The only thing I found was she is a smoking hot, single, out of work real estate agent. Just to say, I’d buy a house from her. I bet the men who attended her showings were buying the fantasy, not a house.”

“I’m aware of what she looks like,” I growled. Intimately aware; I’d tasted and touched every part of her. “Get Forester gone and I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”

I disconnected, not wanting to hear any more about how hot my friends thought my woman was.

What. The. Fuck.

She was not my woman. The woman. A woman I’d fucked, that was all she was.

The violence I’d felt when I heard Declan and Garrett talk about her was only because she’d been the one to walk.

Besides, I liked redheads, feisty women who drove me crazy.

Not sweet, doe-eyed brunettes who hid behind a mask and a happy-go-lucky smile.

The mere fact I was giving Ivy a second thought pissed me right the hell off.

This ended, tonight.

I walked back into the bar, navigating my way through the throngs of beautiful women.

I looked around wondering what Ivy would say if I brought one back to the table with me.

Would her eyes flash in anger, would her cheeks pinken, would she even give a shit?

Fucking her again was not going to solve my problem but fucking someone else could.

Wall to wall well-dressed stunning women and I couldn’t find a single one that stirred my interest. The appreciative glances my way hadn’t gone unnoticed and yesterday more than a few would’ve had my cock throbbing in my pants.

But tonight? Nothing. Ivy was fucking with my head.

“Sorry about that,” I said and took my seat.