Addison Fox - Secret Agent Boyfriend

Fool. Liar. And freaking Lone Ranger wannabe.

She’d made a deal with Derek Winchester, and a mere twenty-four hours later he’d already disregarded their agreement.

Toad.

Pete’s powerful body moved and shifted underneath her, sinewy grace and unleashed speed. The ride matched her mood—wild and untamed—and she hoped like hell Derek Winchester had put on a hazmat suit this morning, because she was about to unleash a rain of fire on his too-fine ass.

She caught sight of Derek and Diego, just where Noah had promised they’d be. The horse grazed in his favorite alfalfa pasture and Derek held lightly to his reins, walking beside the horse at a leisurely pace, bridle in hand.

She applied subtle pressure to Pete’s back and he slowed instantly, the hard race over the grounds calming to a swift gallop. His ears perked up and she could have sworn she felt him begin to prance beneath her as he realized their destination.

Every resident of the Adair Acres barn loved the rich field that lay at the south end of the property. Her father had planted it for the thoroughbred he loved—Pete’s brother—and it had become a sort of tradition on the property.

She slowed Pete down even more as they grew closer before bringing him to a halt a few yards from Diego and his traitorous rider.

“Good morning.”

“Save it.” She dismounted and held up her free hand. “I do not want to hear it.”

“Isn’t exercise supposed to make you less grumpy? You swam God knows how many laps this morning and just rode hell for leather over the grounds. Where are all your endorphins?”

Whatever she’d been about to say sputtered to a halt at the jovial fellow who stared at her. Where was the pensive bodyguard? Or the FBI agent with hidden, troubled depths? Or even the frustrated playboy wannabe who had to demonstrate a decided lack of ambition to the governor?

She’d seen all those personas yesterday, and wondered how they’d given way to the happy fellow standing in the middle of an alfalfa patch.

“I have plenty of endorphins.”

“Could have fooled me.”

She felt Pete’s tug on his reins and stepped back, unwilling to tease him so close to his treat. She made quick work of removing his bridle, leaving only his halter so he could graze properly.

Or gorge, if he had his way.

As soon as she had him situated, she turned back to Derek. “We made a deal yesterday. I’d do this with you if we were equal partners. And first thing this morning you run away when you knew I wouldn’t be looking to come talk to Noah.”

“Yes, I did.”

She was so taken aback by his words she simply stood there. Did he really think she’d calm down in the face of his honesty?

“Look, Landry. What would it look like if you were with me the first time I tried to get to know the guy?”

“It would look like I was introducing my supposed new boyfriend to my cousin.”

“And it would have been polite chitchat before he turned tail and ran to avoid being in the company of the new lovers, in the throes of new, unbridled passion.”

She swallowed hard at the image he painted, her mind quickly filling in the heated detail of what unbridled passion actually looked like.

And felt like.

Shaking off the bold images, she forced as wry a tone as she could muster into her voice. “Right. Because I can’t keep my hands off you.”

“Hey. You said it.”

The sheer lunacy of their conversation struck her at the same moment she registered his shockingly huge sex appeal. A worn gray T-shirt stretched over his shoulders and chest, molded to the perfection of his body. Faded jeans followed as she worked her gaze down his body, covering his slim hips and long, long legs.

The man was a vision, and she was increasingly helpless to ignore that fact.

She’d been around the block, and hadn’t lived a completely chaste life in her first twenty-six years. She wasn’t promiscuous, but she wasn’t innocent, either.

And no man she’d ever met made her as aware as Derek Winchester.

Energy flowed between them, swift as a raging river, as they stood there in the middle of the pasture. Pete tugged on his lead, pulling her back to the fact that more than a thousand pounds of horse stood behind her.

“Want me to take him?”

“No.” She took a step back, the lead once again going slack in her hands. “I’ve got him. Focus on Diego. He’s liable to race off if you don’t keep watch.”

“Right. Because he’s found the equine equivalent of heaven and he’s going to race off without getting his fill and then some.”

“Just—” She broke off, not sure of what to say. The self-righteous anger that had carried her across the grounds faded in the reality of his words. Her presence would have stood in the way of Derek’s initial introduction to Noah.

But it still stung.

She was more than everyone’s expectations of her. And for some strange reason she’d thought Derek Winchester had understood that.

Derek moved closer, letting the length of Diego’s lead out as he moved. “This field has some pretty fantastic properties for humans, too.”

“Oh?”

He took another step closer, one hand closing over her hip while the other held the full extension of Diego’s lead. “I’d say it’s pretty amazing, actually.”

“It’s just a grazing pasture.”

“No. It’s more than that.”

She tried to keep up, but the heat of his body was wreaking havoc on her ability to form a coherent thought. “More? I don’t think so.”

“It’s a pasture with Landry Adair standing smack in the middle of it.” That lone hand on her waist pulled her until she was flush with his body. The hard lines of his chest pressed against the sensitive curves of her breasts, and a hard tug pooled low in her belly.

“And if I play my cards right, she might even kiss me.”

A question formed on her lips, then vanished as his mouth came down over hers and answered it.

Chapter 4

Landry felt the rigid boundaries of her self-control slipping as Derek’s arms wrapped tight around her. Long, luscious moments spun out, one more glorious than the next, as his mouth plundered hers, his hand drifting over her spine until it settled low on her back.

She leaned into the kiss—and the hard man who held her as though she was something precious—and let herself go in the moment.

The long months of fear and worry faded away in the press of a hard male body against hers. The featherlight aromas of citrus and alfalfa mixed with the more potent scents of sweat and leather, all imprinting themselves on her senses.

Life.

It was the one word that kept running through her mind as she leaned into Derek, as taken with the kiss as he was.

This was life.

Raw and needy. Necessary, even.

She vaguely registered Pete’s lead in her palm before using her other hand to settle low on Derek’s hip. Thick muscles bunched under her fingertips, proof the body she’d sensed lay under his clothes was as taut and well honed as it appeared.

A smile worked its way to her lips, vanishing the moment he reached out with his teeth, drawing the sensitive skin into his mouth. Hot need swirled through her, settling itself low in her stomach, tightening the muscles a few inches below.

The hand at his hips fisted in the material of his T-shirt, and she was about to drag a handful over his stomach to get to the warm skin beneath when his strong hand snapped to her shoulder.

His movements were firm—final—as the moment jolted to a harsh stop and the sensual exploration vanished as if it had never been.

Their connection lost, Landry could only stare up into the dark orbs of his eyes. She didn’t miss how his pupils had gone wide with need and arousal, despite the bright sun that shone down on them both.