Hands On

That wasn’t fair. She didn’t really know him. But he had manhandled her.

“Cassie, are you there?”

“I was just thinking about how good this is going to look for the agency when we help catch someone the Feds apparently have been after for a long time.”

Silence, and then Jen sighed. “What do you know about this Dalton guy? I assume you saw his identification?”

“Of course. I also checked him out. He was recruited out of college eight years ago. He’s earned numerous citations and two commendations for bravery and going beyond the call of duty.”

“Hmm, this seems like an odd case for someone of his caliber to be assigned to.”

Jen was too damn smart. Cassie leaned a hip on the kitchen counter and took a sip of water. She’d decided to skip the part about the reprimands Dalton had received for being a maverick, and for bending the rules as casually as you’d bend a straw. Jen didn’t need to worry.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Jen continued. “Bask isn’t supposed to be dangerous, is he?”

“No. He’s a snake who swindles lonely, vulnerable women out of money, but he has no history of violence.”

“Tell me again about this plan you and Dalton devised.”

“We’re going to pretend we’re married and go for marriage counseling at Bask’s retreat.”

“How will that expose him?” Jen was obviously holding the baby. Gurgling noises came across the line.

“Dalton thinks that Bask sniffs out a weak marriage where the woman would be vulnerable to him, and then manipulates the couple to split them up while getting the wife to become more and more dependent on him.”

“Yeah, okay. I can see that.” Jen paused to whisper something to the baby who was beginning to fuss. “Your message said something about possibly being gone for a week?”

Cassie briefly explained the encounter week, carefully editing out the parts that would put her and Dalton into intimate contact. The more she tried to leave out, the more she realized she was crazy for agreeing to this ruse. Not just crazy, terrified.

She would be stuck out in the middle of nowhere for a week with a man she couldn’t stand. A man whose kiss made her want to wrap her legs around his waist and not come up for air for a month.

Oh, God, this was not good.

“Cassie, I’m going to have to call you later. Annie needs to be changed.”

“Sure.” She hung up the phone with a shaky hand, her thoughts already elsewhere. It wasn’t too late. She could call Dalton and cancel. He was a resourceful guy. He could make his case without her.

She picked up the phone again and called the Marriott where he was staying, growing impatient when it rang too many times.

She wouldn’t let him talk her out of changing her mind. If he thought he could, he had another think coming. When Cassie York made up her mind, that was that.

“ARE YOU SURE you wrote these directions down correctly?” She stared at the scribble on the pad of Marriott paper. “Or maybe you just can’t read your own handwriting.”

“I can read it fine.” Dalton made a U-turn, their third of the afternoon. At this rate they’d be lucky to find the place by dark. “Obviously you don’t know a map from a grocery list.”

“That was a very sexist remark.”

“What? Men don’t shop?”

Cassie picked up her water bottle and uncapped it. “You can’t blame this on me. I wanted to stop at that gas station five miles back to ask for directions. But nooo…you don’t need to ask for help. You know exactly where you’re going. Ha!”

She tipped the bottle up to her lips, tempting him to slam on the brakes and watch her get drenched. If she was practicing her role as a wife, she was doing a damn fine job. She hadn’t stopped annoying him since they’d left Midland two hours ago.

“Do you want some water?”

He looked over at her. Damn, but she had pretty eyes. “Is that a trick question?”

Her sandy-colored brows dipped in a confused frown.

He was pretty sure she was a natural blonde. He was good at knowing that kind of stuff. “Why are you suddenly being so nice?”

Her confusion turned to surprise. “Suddenly being nice? I’ve been nothing but gracious and patient.”

He laughed.

“I’m serious.”

“You’ve criticized my driving. Steered us in the wrong direction twice. Took too friggin’ long at the convenience store just to irritate me—”

“Right. Everything I do is about you. You have saturated my thoughts. Taking too long in the store had nothing to do with the cash register jamming. It was all part of my master plan to irritate you.”

“And you talk too much. I don’t need a dissertation.”

“Screw you. Is that succinct enough?”

He smiled. “When?”

“That is so juvenile. I haven’t heard that comeback since junior high.”

“When was that? Last year?”

“Gee, another original.”

He shook his head with disgust. God help the man who ended up marrying her.

“Now, would you like some water, or not?” She reached into the small cooler she’d brought and got out another bottle of water.

“Yeah, I’ll have some.”

She surprised him by uncapping it before she handed the bottle to him. “You’re welcome.”

“Jeez, give me a chance. I was gonna say thanks.”

“Oh, wait.” She waved a hand excitedly, and he jammed on the brakes. “You’re missing the turn again.”

“What the hell are you doing? Don’t yell like that.” He took his foot off the brakes. “I thought I was about to hit something.”

“I didn’t yell.”

No way was he going to respond. She was a nut, three French fries short of a Happy Meal. “By the way, I didn’t miss the turn the first time. You forgot to tell me to turn, if you recall.”

“But you knew where you were going, remember? You didn’t need to ask directions.”

He glanced over at her just as she folded her arms across her chest. She had on another one of those scooped neck T-shirts like she wore the other day, only this one was a peach color that matched her jeans.

With her arms crossed as they were, the tops of her breasts plumped up above her neckline. She didn’t have a really big chest, but she was nicely rounded and perky. Just enough to make him crazy.

He forced his attention back to the road where it belonged, but then after a couple of seconds took one more look.

Cassie made a prissy sound. “What are you looking at?”

“I was thinking…maybe we ought to pull over and neck for a while.”

Her lips parted in disbelief and she shifted closer to her door.

“You know, just to get used to each other so we’ll be convincing once we get there.”

“Are you insane?”

He smiled. “Come on. Admit it. You want me.”

“How often does the government give their employees psychological tests?”

He laughed and then took a sip of water.

“You are one sick puppy.” She relieved him of the bottle.

He saw a sign for Bedrock and got serious. “We should be there in about twenty minutes. Let’s review our story.”

She nodded. “We’ve been married for only six months after meeting on a Caribbean cruise.”

“That was good thinking on the short time span for knowing each other. That’ll give us some leeway in case we botch our stories.”

Her lips curved in a pleased smile. “And thank you for thinking about the luggage. I’ll keep it in as good condition as possible.”

“No problem. It’s yours to keep for your help.”

“But it’s so expensive. I can’t keep it. No way.”

Dalton slid her a surprised glance. She meant it. She was willing to return a no-strings-attached gift. “Let’s get back to our story. I’m from Chicago, went off to Princeton and stayed in the East for a while, got married, divorced…we met on the cruise and after we got married I moved back to Texas at your insistence.”

She laughed. “At my insistence, huh?”

“You’re the one who’s from here. Why else would a born and bred Chicago boy move to Texas?”

She gave him a dry look. “You don’t have any sort of accent. Maybe we should say you’re from Dallas.”

“Better to stick as close to the truth as possible. That way we won’t get tripped up.”

“I suppose…”

“Why would it be important that I’m from Dallas?”

“You did say that I’d probably get the most grilling from the others, and I agree. Women talk about that kind of stuff, and men usually don’t. So since I would never marry someone from Chicago I’m just trying to customize the situation to what’s comfortable.”

He frowned. Surely he’d heard wrong. “You would never marry anyone from Chicago?”

“That’s right.”

“Dare I ask why?”

She straightened and pointed. “There’s our turn.”

He saw the Back to Basics sign just in time to steer the rented Jag down the long winding drive. “You have your story straight?”

“Like you said, I’m sticking to the truth, mostly anyway. I lived in Midland until I went to college. I graduated from Texas A&M two years ago with a degree in psychology. I’ve had a few different jobs, nothing substantial. I was still finding myself when I met you.”

He wondered which was the mostly true part. Was she still trying to find herself? He knew so little about her. Although he’d had one of his buddies back at the bureau pull a profile on her, he’d carefully stuck to general information, only asking about anything that pertained to the case and her ability to contribute.

About a quarter mile down the drive, a stately white mansion sprung up out of nowhere. Made sense that it was a home Bask had rented and called a resort. Easy to get out and hit the road when the time came.

“Are we in the right place?” Cassie squinted at the three-story house. “That looks more like a southern plantation home, certainly a private residence.”

The small discrete sign came into view informing them they were just where they were supposed to be. The front lawn stretched beyond the sign, the entire area loaded with flowers in reds and purples and golds. Dalton didn’t much care about flowers one way or the other, but it was a pretty awesome sight.

He glanced at Cassie. “Are you nervous?”

She shook her head, but her wide-eyed gaze and the way she wrung her hands concerned him. “This is the best-case scenario for a sting. Bask came to us.”

“I know. Anyway, this is going to be a piece of cake. I don’t even have to pretend I like you.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

She seemed too distracted to notice. “Can you believe the size of those lavender roses? And the hedges of heather, my goodness.” She finally looked at him.

“Another thing you should know about me, I love to garden. I’m already itching to stick my fingers in the dirt and swipe some clippings.”

Now, this was a surprise. He hadn’t figured her for the hands-in-the-dirt type.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not going to really swipe clippings.”

“I don’t even know what a clipping is.” He steered the car into the circular drive. The garages were probably around the back but this seemed like the logical thing to do so they could unload their luggage. Besides, having to move the car later would give him the opportunity to nose around.

Shrill laughter came from somewhere on the side of the house. They both twisted around for a look. A tall redhead opened the white trellis gate and ran through the garden in a tiny bikini bottom, no top, her enormous breasts bouncing with her laughter. Behind her a bare-chested man gave chase.

“Oh, boy,” Cassie swung around to look straight ahead. “Okay, now I’m nervous.”

4

“IS THERE SOMETHING you forgot to tell me?” Cassie glared at Dalton. “I’m not getting out of this car until you explain to me what just happened. And then, frankly, I probably still won’t get out.”

He watched the couple disappear on the other side of the house. “I have no idea.” He looked at Cassie, his expression one of such surprise that she believed him. “I swear to God I don’t.”

She hunched down in the seat. “This looks more like a swing club.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“What’s there to jump to? She was naked. Outside for anyone to see.”

“She was topless, not naked.”

“Oh, excuse me. That makes a difference. I’m not getting out of this car.”

“Cassie, come on, you can’t quit now.”

“This has nothing to do with quitting.” She folded her arms across her chest. The woman probably had implants. Nobody was that big for real. Were they?

“Guess you just don’t have what it takes to be an investigator. My mistake.”

Her heart plummeted, and then she realized what he was doing. “Nice try, Styles. Psychology 101 has nothing on you.”

A knock on the car window drew both their attention.

A young blond woman, about Cassie’s age, motioned for Dalton to put his window down.

The woman then stood back, waiting for him to comply. She wore short shorts and a tucked-in pink T-shirt that showed off another pair of large breasts. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Styles?”

Cassie glanced down at her own B-cups while Dalton replied.

They were perfectly nice breasts. Just not very large.

“My name is Mary Jane.” Smiling, with a flawless set of white, straight teeth, she opened his door. “I’m Mr. Blankenship’s assistant. Welcome to Back to Basics.”

“So we are at the right place,” Dalton said as he got out, and Cassie stayed put.

Mary Jane glanced over her shoulder toward where the couple had disappeared, and then made a face when she looked back at Dalton. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll have a word with Simone. She’s European and insists on sunbathing and swimming topless, which is fine, but she shouldn’t have left the pool area like that.”

Dalton ducked his head to meet Cassie’s eyes. He gave her a meaningful look. “Honey, are you getting out?”

Swimming and sun bathing topless was fine? Right.

She started when her door opened. Mary Jane had come around the car and opened it.

“We have a very special room set up for you and Mr. Styles. I’ll take you both inside and then I’ll get your luggage.”

“Call me Cassie.”

“Of course, whatever you prefer.” Mary Jane had never stopped smiling, reminding her of a Stepford wife. She stepped back to give Cassie room.

Cassie got out of the car and gave Dalton a look that said, This better not be weird.

“If you follow me I’ll give you a tour of the house, point out the common areas where we socialize. Some of the rooms are used for private business, of course. But I’m sure that’s of no interest to you.”

Cassie and Dalton exchanged looks. Wrong. The private quarters were of far more interest. Excitement began to simmer inside Cassie. This was a real case. Big enough that it had attracted the attention of the government. And she’d landed right smack-dab in the middle of the action.

Dalton was right. Why jump to conclusions about this place? Why let a topless woman derail her?

Mary Jane came up alongside Cassie and hooked an arm through hers, and then hooked her other arm around Dalton’s. She flashed a grin at both of them. “Are we ready?”

“Lead on,” Dalton said, and winked at Cassie.

It was a very intimate wink, a kind of shared joke, giving Cassie a funny feeling.

“You’re gonna love it here. I promise. We have hot tubs and saunas and an Olympic-size pool.” Mary Jane chattered all the way up the stairs and into the beautiful hardwood foyer. “All your meals will be healthy and nutritious and prepared on the premises.”

Dalton grunted and disengaged himself from Mary Jane. “We better not be talking sprouts and wheat germ.”

Mary Jane laughed and lightly jabbed him with her elbow. “You’re so funny.” And then she pranced on ahead of them.

Dalton frowned at Cassie. “Was that a yes or a no?”

She shrugged.

“I eat meat. I like meat.”

“Healthy doesn’t mean fanatic.” She smiled and followed Mary Jane, but tossed over her shoulder, “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

He muttered something she couldn’t hear. Didn’t want to hear. Instead, she listened to Mary Jane point out the parlor where everyone gathered before dinner.

“Cocktails are usually served around six.” She glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch. “Which is in about fifteen minutes. Perfect. You can meet everyone then.”

“You mean real cocktails?” Dalton asked with narrowed-eyed suspicion. “Not like carrot juice or anything like that?”

Mary Jane giggled and glanced at Cassie. “He’s so funny.”

Cassie couldn’t help laughing herself. She didn’t dare look at the expression on Dalton’s face, or she’d really lose it. Her nerves were taut, her emotions running high and she knew herself. She was likely to break out into hysterics.

“Over here is the dining room where you’ll have your meals, or sometimes we eat on the patio. We’ll even send you room service if there’s, you know, something special going on you’d rather not interrupt.”

“Great.” Cassie forced a smile, and refused to look at Dalton. “Can we see our room now?”

He came up alongside her and captured her hand. “Anxious, honey?”

She rolled her eyes, and realized Mary Jane saw her. “Dalton has been sleeping on the couch for the past week. I’d like to maintain that arrangement.”

Mary Jane shook her finger. “Now, now. That’s why we’re all here. To smooth out our differences.”

Cassie pursed her lips in thought, and then said, “Tell me, Mary Jane. Have you ever been married?”

The woman laughed. “You’re funny, too. Now, we’re going upstairs. Follow me.”

Dalton put his lips close to Cassie’s ear. “I guess we’re both just hilarious.”

His warm breath tickled the sensitive skin on the side of her neck and she shivered. He gripped her hand tighter. She hadn’t realized he still held it.

She pulled away, just as Mary Jane stopped midway up the stairs and turned around. “You’ll have to hurry if you want to make the cocktail hour and meet the others.”

Cassie moved ahead of Dalton. “They’ll be wearing clothes, I trust.”

Mary Jane smiled. “I promise,” she said, and resumed climbing the stairs.

Her shorts were so short they left nothing to the imagination. In fact, Cassie caught glimpses of a naked cheek, which meant Mary Jane was wearing no underwear or a thong. Dalton had the same view. She wanted to turn around to see his reaction, but she didn’t dare. He’d probably think she was jealous.

After making it up to the midpoint herself, she realized he hadn’t followed. She looked over her shoulder to find him still standing at the bottom of the stairs. Staring at her butt.

He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I’m going to get the bags from the car and meet you up there.”

Mary Jane stood on the landing and leaned over the rail. “I’ll take care of that.”

“The bags are heavy. I’ll only be minute.”

“Well, okay…” Mary Jane made a face. “But leave the keys in the car so I can move it to the garage later.”

He shook his head. “Nobody drives that baby but me.”

Mary Jane gave him one of her toothy grins. “I’ll only be behind the wheel for a minute. The garages are directly in back.”

“Then I’ll just go ahead and do it myself before I bring in the bags.” Dalton dug the keys out of his pocket. “I’ll find you.”

Clearly displeased, Mary Jane watched Dalton retrace their steps. With the sunny disposition gone, she looked a little hard, older, too. She realized Cassie was staring at her and she immediately flashed a smile.

“He’s very stubborn,” Cassie said as she met her on the landing. “That’s why we have so many problems.”

“Well, that’s exactly what you’re here for. Hopefully, by the end of the week, you’ll have a better understanding of each other. Robert, uh, Mr. Blankenship is very good at pinpointing problem areas in the marriage.”

“Hell, I can do that. I knew this trip was a waste of time. Maybe I ought to tell Dalton to leave those bags right in the car.” Cassie folded her arms across her chest and pretended to look out the window for Dalton. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched Mary Jane’s expression get ugly. Oh, she was in on Bask’s scheme, all right.

“Now, you’re being hasty. Isn’t saving your marriage worth one week of your time?” She was all smiles again when Cassie turned to her.

“I suppose.” Cassie sighed in her best put-upon wife imitation. “Let’s go see our room.”

“Right this way.” Mary Jane threw one final look toward the front door and then led Cassie down to the end of the hall. “You have a corner room with a view of the pool and gardens,” she said, opening the door. “It’s the best one, in my opinion.”

She stood aside while Cassie preceded her. The room was large, really large, with lots of windows and French doors that led to a verandah. Two large vases of fresh flowers had been set out on the antique mahogany desk nestled in the corner of the sitting area, and the white vanity table and chair close to the window. The queen-size sleigh bed was antique, as were the cherry nightstands and armoire.

The burgundy and cream décor was plush and gorgeous, like a suite at the Ritz, and Cassie caught herself just in time. Her mouth had nearly dropped open. But she was supposed to be rich. This should be no big deal to her.

She tried to look bored. “Don’t we have a small fridge or something to keep bottled water cold?”

“Right here.” She went to the corner and pulled back a folding panel that looked to be made of raw silk. “You have an entire wet bar, fully stocked.”

“Fine.” Cassie ducked her head into the bathroom. Under a skylight was an enormous tub surrounded by a blue marble floor.

Mary Jane came up behind her. “The tub is also a whirlpool bath. And of course there’s a glass shower stall over there.”

“Very nice.” Cassie fingered the emerald green velour towels and asked casually, “Does Mr. Blankenship own this house?”

“He leases it.”

“It’s a lovely home.”

“Yes, elegant but homey. Perfect for our clientele. Oh, and did I tell you there’s a large walk-in closet?” Mary Jane opened a narrow door and gestured inside. “It’s stocked with plenty of hangers, but let me know if you need more.”

Cassie looked inside as she was expected to. “Has Mr. Blankenship been running this place long?”

The other woman’s brows pulled together in a slight frown and she seemed to briefly assess Cassie. “I don’t know. I’ve only been with him for a few months. Your husband seems to be taking a long time.”

Cassie waved a dismissive hand, privately wondering about Dalton himself. “He’s probably wiping down his new toy. His mother just bought him the Jag.” She sighed dramatically. “I’m a little nervous about being here.”

Mary Jane’s expression softened. “Everyone is nervous at first.”

“Frankly, even though I was the one who pushed Dalton into this, I don’t know anything about Mr. Blankenship. Like how long he’s been doing this…his success rate…or anything.”

Understanding registered in Mary Jane’s eyes. If Cassie’s questions had made her suspicious, the crisis was over. “Don’t worry. Really.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t quote statistics, but I know that most couples leave here with renewed interest in each other. Of the repeats, four out of five marriages remain intact.”

“Repeats?”

“You know, after a month or so, most couples come back for a refresher course.”

Oh, brother. Cassie’s stomach flipped flopped. One week here was bad enough.

Mary Jane started for the door. “Where is that husband of yours?”

“Here I am.” Dalton appeared in the doorway suddenly. “You girls miss me?”

“Girls?” Cassie gave him an arched look.

“What? Is that politically incorrect?” He shrugged, directing a wink at Mary Jane as he set down their two suitcases.

Cassie made a sound of exasperation. “See why I need a couch for him?”

He gave her a private warning look. “Come on now, honey, you aren’t going to start that again.”