Shadows and Silk Read online

  Darcy didn’t wait for an answer as she slammed into the bathroom and changed clothes. She brushed out her wet hair and decided to let it air dry, and she creamed on moisturizer. Makeup would be wasted on her today. Declan would have to live with looking at the dark circles under her eyes for a while.

  When she came back out, he was still in the same spot, but he’d poured her a cup of coffee. She noticed breakfast had also magically arrived, and he took the liberty of removing the silver covers from the tray.

  “That food is the only thing saving you right now,” she said, sitting across from him and taking a long drink of coffee. The caffeine flowed through her veins, and she decided she might let him live to see another day after the stunt he’d pulled the night before.

  “It’s a good thing I know you so well,” Declan said.

  She looked up quickly, wondering how well he really knew her. It was one thing to grow up in a house full of boys who did their best to irritate you at every turn. It was another thing entirely when you grew to adulthood.

  “You didn’t tell me you were bringing him in for this?” she said, dropping her gaze to her plate so he wouldn’t see what that decision had done to her.

  Declan had changed over the years. She missed the precocious kid and the devil-may-care teenager he’d been. He’d barely been twenty-one when he’d come home with that jagged scar on his face, and he’d never really been the same since.

  She and Declan and Cade looked the most alike of the five MacKenzie siblings—from the black of their hair to the dark gypsy gold of their skin. But none of them shared the same eye color. Hers were bright blue like her dad’s, Cade’s were almost black like their mother’s, and Declan’s were an eerie gray he’d inherited from Grandfather MacKenzie.

  “You seemed to handle yourself okay without the knowledge.” His gaze was probing, and she busied herself by salting her eggs. “Why should it matter if he’s here or not? You agreed to do the job. Is he a deal breaker for you?”

  She cut into the omelet on her plate with controlled viciousness so she wouldn’t be tempted to stab her brother with her fork. “I’ll do the damned job. It just would have been nice to have some information. I don’t like going into situations blind. I’m sure you can relate.”

  “Fine. Next time I need to bring you both in on the same job, I’ll make sure to send out a memo.”

  Darcy all but growled at his highhandedness and stuffed more food into her mouth.

  “I don’t suppose you want to tell me why the two of you are so hell bent on staying away from each other?” he asked, starting on his own breakfast.

  “Not really.”

  “Darcy—” he warned.

  “I’m twenty-eight years old, Dec. You’re not my father, and you have no business poking your nose into my personal life.”

  “Sure I do,” he said, cheerily. “It’s in the brothers handbook. For instance, is there a reason you’re not wearing that giant rock you had on last night? Are congratulations in order for you and Kenneth?”

  “You can go now,” she said, pushing back from the table. “I’ve got things to do this morning before I have to start preparing for the honeymoon you so thoughtfully arranged.”

  Declan’s lips quirked in a half smile, and he just stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles, telling her he was going to stay however long he wanted.

  “It’s probably for the best. Kenneth would’ve bored you to tears in a month. You dodged a bullet there.”

  “Mom should have drowned you at birth.”

  “I’m sure she feels differently. I’m her favorite you know.”

  She didn’t hear him get up and move in behind her, but she was used to the silent way her brothers moved. When his hand touched her shoulder, she let out a sigh and dropped her head.

  “Tell me now, Darcy. Can you work with Brant? I’ll kill him if you ask me to, but it’d be a shame to waste a damned good agent.”

  “I’m sure you think this is funny. All you adrenaline junkie hot shots stick together anyway.” She tried to shrug off his hand, but he held tighter and pulled her around to face him. Her head fell to his shoulder, and she realized she’d missed her family over the past few years. She only went home once or twice a year because she was always afraid she’d have to face Brant. She was a coward. And she was tired of running.

  “Baby, you’re a MacKenzie. There’s no one else I’d rather kill for. We stick together. Always.”

  “I know.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

  “In all seriousness, Darcy. I need you to tell me if working with Brant is going to be a problem. I’m not stupid. I know something happened between the two of you four years ago. I won’t ask for details, but this job is important. And it’s dangerous. I trust him with your life. But you’ve got to trust him with it as well.”

  This was her chance. She could put that ring back on her finger and call Kenneth, agreeing to a lifetime of safety and monotony. Or she could tell Declan she’d spend the next few weeks agreeing to play Brant Scott’s wife, sharing his bed and letting the thrill of the hunt feed her need for adventure. Her brothers weren’t the only ones who needed that adrenaline rush.

  And then she realized maybe Brant wasn’t the only reason to take or decline this job. She needed to do it for herself. She’d been living a half-life for the past few years. She’d focused on her career and building her reputation, but she’d changed as abruptly as Declan had once he’d gotten that scar. The only difference was her scars were on the inside. And it was time to reclaim the woman she’d been before she and Brant had shared more than their bodies.

  She took a step back and faced her brother eye to eye. “I can do it,” she said. “I want to do it.”

  Dec sighed and nodded. “You know I would have gotten anyone else if I could have,” he said. “I looked for months after we’d gotten the intel for someone who fit the description. I’m putting you in danger, and I’m sorry for it.”

  “I can handle myself.”

  “Most of the time, I’d agree with that statement. We taught you well. But there are times when you’ll need help, and Brant’s going to be there to give it to you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, Darcy. Shane and I have already come to blows over your involvement. He’s really pissed at me right now.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know. He’s always the one to throw the first punch.”

  “In his line of work, that’s a good thing. Believe me.”

  “I’m a big girl. I know what I’m getting into.”

  “You love Brant.” He wasn’t asking her a question, but she could hear the worry in his voice.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “There are things you don’t know about him, Darcy. Things that make him the way he is.”

  “So he tells me,” she said. “But that doesn’t make the feeling go away. Because I know he cares about me too.”

  “Then you have two choices. You can fight for him and try to change his mind. Or you can enjoy the time you have and be prepared when he walks away.”

  She paused and looked at him carefully. “You think he’ll walk away,” she said, the truth like a slap in the face.

  “Yeah,” he sighed. “I think he’ll walk away.”

  Darcy felt herself go cold inside and she lifted her chin against the pain. “I can handle it. Like I said, I’m a big girl. I’ve got my own life, and what Brant Scott decides to do with his is none of my business.”

  Dec looked at her long and steady—the same look he got on his face whenever he was trying to untangle a puzzle in his head. “I could be wrong. Maybe it is your business. You’re not the only one who’s changed over the past four years. Brant needs stability in his life. The missions he’s leading are getting more and more dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before he doesn’t come back from one. If you decide to fight for him, then my money is on you.”

  “There’s such a thing as self p
reservation, Dec. Some things can’t be fought for.”

  “The best things are.” The regret in his eyes made her wonder if he knew what he was talking about from firsthand experience.

  Darcy nodded and turned around so he wouldn’t see the tears that filled her eyes. The expensive luggage and boxes with designer names in the corner of the room caught her attention. She hadn’t noticed them before, which told her exactly how far away her mind was. She needed to keep her head in the game. She wasn’t in covert ops like her brothers were, but they’d trained her for her own protection. She knew she needed to have her head a hundred percent in the game.

  “What’s all that?” she asked.

  “Brant’s been busy. That’s your new wardrobe, and a few other things all honeymooners need.”

  “Fast work,” she commented.

  “We have all kinds of little tricks up our sleeves. You’ll also be armed. Brant said you’ve been practicing with a Sig instead of the Beretta you used to carry.”

  “I guess it’s stupid to ask how he knows that,” Darcy said.

  “Probably. You’ve also got an assortment of ammunition and fun gadgets to play with. Try not to lose anything. The expense report for this op is ridiculous.”

  “Not a problem. And maybe when it’s all over I’ll get to shoot Brant.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Dec said, slapping her on the shoulder. “I’ve got a briefing in an hour. You might not see us down there, Darce, but Shane and I will both be close by. We’ll keep you safe. Watch your six, little sister.”

  “Same to you.”

  Declan left her suite without a sound, and she went to put the deadbolt on behind him. Not that a deadbolt had kept him out earlier, but she figured most people weren’t her brother.

  She walked back over to the pile of boxes and saw the small envelope. It was attached to the smallest box—black and glossy with silver scrollwork and a name she didn’t recognize.

  Brant’s handwriting was a bold slash against the creamy envelope, and she pulled it away from the box and then carried them both over to the bed. She had a feeling she’d need to sit down for whatever it was he had to say. With that thought in mind, she decided it might be better to open the box first.

  She tossed the envelope aside and lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a smaller box that had her heart catching in her throat. It was a black square jewelry box, and she lifted it out with trembling hands.

  Darcy flipped open the lid and gasped at the sight of the wedding rings inside. The wedding ring was a wide band of platinum, simplistic in its beauty. But it was the engagement ring that had her cursing Brant. It’s exactly what she’d have picked if it had been her choice. The ring Kenneth had given her was flashy and expensive, but it wasn’t her. Leave it to Brant to know her that well and make the wound a little deeper.

  The engagement ring was a delicate design of small diamonds surrounding a square sapphire. It was old fashioned and unique, and she knew as soon as she put it on her finger that it would seem like it should’ve always been there. She stubbornly left them in the box and picked up the letter, sliding her finger beneath the sealed flap.

  She pulled out the folded sheet of paper and read the short message from her soon to be fake husband, and she wondered if he realized how much of a tactical error it had been to provide her with weapons for this trip.

  Darcy,

  You’ll not wear another man’s ring while you belong to me.

  ~B

  A slow death was too good for him. He thought this was a game. Darcy crumpled the note and tossed it into the wastebasket across the room with a shot that would have made Michael Jordan proud. She slipped the rings onto her fingers and wondered if this was what Cinderella had felt like when the slipper fit perfectly.

  Brant didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into. By the time she was through tying him in knots, he’d know she always played to win. It was never a good idea to underestimate a MacKenzie.

  Chapter Six

  “If you keep glaring at me like that, no one is ever going to believe we’re on our honeymoon,” Darcy said, tossing the file she’d been reading into the empty seat next to her.

  The back of Brant’s neck had been itching and his cock straining since they’d boarded the little private jet back in DC. He didn’t have a good feeling about this mission. His mind was so clouded with thoughts of the things he wanted to do to Darcy that he wasn’t sure if she was the reason for his unease or some other unknown danger. Either way, he was starting to regret that he hadn’t pushed Declan harder to find someone else. Not that Declan would have changed his mind. He could be a single-minded son of a bitch if the circumstances called for it.

  “Sure they will, sugar. Everyone looking at us is going to know that you fit me like a glove. Want to try me on for size?”

  She’d been driving him crazy for the past hour, seated across from him in jeans and a black sweater. Her hair was piled up on top of her head with little tendrils escaping, and the moment she’d slipped on those black-framed glasses his mouth had started watering. She looked like a sexy librarian.

  His dick flexed behind his zipper as she licked her lips and her gaze lowered to his obvious arousal. The only thing that had kept him from taking her on the plane had been the two-man cabin crew joining them on the flight. He knew damned good and well they’d been hand selected by Declan for a little extra protection. Whether it was protection from him or in case they met with trouble, he wasn’t sure.

  “Been there, done that—sugar,” she drawled, making his dick spike even harder. That sassy mouth was going to get her in a whole heap of trouble. “You’re a big talker, Brant Scott. But if I remember right, it was me that had to make all the moves four years ago. Maybe you should put your money where your mouth is for once.”

  Brant laughed softly and leaned back in the leather seat to ease the ache some. He’d always enjoyed sparring with Darcy, and he wasn’t going to let her get away with teasing him a second more. But he was also on guard, because damned if that was the response he’d been expecting. She was up to something, no doubt about it. But he was more than willing to take full advantage of her agreeability for the time being.

  He’d made a decision the night before. She was going to belong to him no matter what, and he’d give her everything she wanted—marriage and children—as long as she understood he couldn’t give her anything more. He didn’t believe in love, but he was willing to let her have her illusions. And he couldn’t afford to let it break his concentration when he was on a mission. His job was dangerous, and he had no intention of stopping the work he did. It was too important. But going home to Darcy every night was starting to sound better and better.

  “My mouth is going to be everywhere,” he said, his voice low and laced with warning. “And I’ll make you beg for mercy before I stop.”

  Her mouth opened on a soundless gasp, and he glanced to the front of the plane to make sure the cabin crew was out of sight. He was past the point of caring whether or not they’d run back to Declan and tattle. He moved quickly, unfastening her seatbelt and jerking her so she ended up in his lap.

  Before she could protest, her legs straddled his hips and he pushed his erection against the heat of her. His fingers tangled in her hair and he forced her head lower, so he could bite at the sensitive spot at her neck. She moaned loudly, and he soothed the bite with his tongue, tasting her, sipping at her skin like the finest wine.

  “Quiet, sugar. Your brother’s spies will know what we’re doing back here.”

  Her teeth nipped at his earlobe, and his eyes almost rolled back at the pleasure. He tightened his grip in her hair and pulled her back so they were eye to eye.

  “Let’s get one thing straight, baby. As far as you making the moves four years ago, I figured at least one of us needed to show some common sense, so don’t get cocky. Considering common sense is something I’ve never heard of you possessing, it was left to me to try to be the voice of reason.”

>   “Yes, I can see that now,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “Nothing but common sense would’ve had you fucking me on a front porch in the dead of winter that had just been shot to shit.”

  His eyes narrowed at the way she so casually tossed off what had happened between them. He’d known from the moment he’d picked her up at the hotel that morning she’d made some kind of decision regarding their current circumstances. She hadn’t protested at his touch, and she’d been tempting him like crazy, but she hadn’t let him get too personal either. That was going to change. By this time tomorrow, he planned to get as personal as two people could.

  “Then taking you on a beach under the hot sun should be a nice change of pace for the both of us. Don’t think you can play me, Darcy. When I take you, I’ll have all of you. No holding back, sugar.”

  “Don’t think you can play me, Brant. When I give myself to you, I’ll give exactly what I want you to have and no more. We’ll both walk away satisfied. I’m no longer the naïve girl I once was. Now either finish what you started, or I’ll do it myself.”

  Brant took hold of her wrists and kept them bound behind her back with one hand. She pulled and struggled against him, but it was a subtle reminder that she couldn’t wrap him around her little finger like she did everyone else. He was the one in control.

  “Don’t threaten me, baby,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ll tie you to my bed and pleasure you for hours before I let you get off.”

  The tension skyrocketed between them, and the plane felt very cramped all of a sudden. He needed her. Desperately.

  Darcy melted against him, and she nipped at his bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth. She kissed her way around to the corner of his mouth and up his jaw, her hot little tongue teasing him to the point that he swore he felt every stroke along his cock.

  “I didn’t get to taste you last time,” she purred in his ear.

  Come boiled in his balls at the thought, and he squeezed his eyes closed and tried to think of anything else so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

  “I wanted to so badly,” she said. “To wrap my mouth around you. To lick and stroke and suck until you spilled down my throat.”