The Monte Carlo Affair: Across A Crowded Room (IATO Series Book 2) Read Online Free

home, while intending to proceed slowly enough to keep her out of his bed.
    The following day, when he took her to lunch, she took a bite of her salad, and broached the subject of Jason. “Jason DesJardin has offered to take me to a club dancing this evening. He’s very charming.”
    Mosel’s mouth twitched with irritation, but he said nothing. What would have been flattering under normal circumstances was actually only exhausting. Jason's act was trying to force Mosel to step up his game, and she knew Mosel’s interest would rise to the competition. They made her feel like the ball in a tennis match.
    The plan seemed to be working. Jason’s behavior still confused her. Mosel’s interest escalated nicely. Apparently, too fast for Jason’s taste, and not fast enough for Emily’s. Jason was afraid Mosel wouldn’t take no for an answer, but she wanted to get Mosel back to Washington, DC, and find out about his contacts.
    They figured Mosel would meet his US contacts once he was back in DC. And she needed Mosel to trust her enough to invite her to his estate. She could get the pictures of his contacts and forward them to Jason’s contact in the CIA and cross-reference them with their IDs.
    The more interest Jason showed in her, the more interested Mosel seemed. His attention remained professional, although he seemed truly concerned about Jason. Emily’s conscience twinged a bit when Mosel showed protective signs toward her, especially when he tactfully tried to advise her about Jason's reputation. While trying to remain discreet, Mosel commented carefully. He apparently didn’t want Emily to mistake his concern for jealousy. At least she understood his motivation.
    Jason’s, on the other hand, had her baffled. His motivations kept her guessing. He seemed to have no problem appearing jealous privately, although he tried to pass it off as protective concern.
    The sexual chess match going on between the two men appeared to be at an impasse. They both walked that same fine line between concern for her and jealousy. She dreaded looking any deeper into either of the men’s motives. The game they played with each other just gave her a headache.
    She took two aspirin and prepared to meet Mosel at the dock. If he insisted they go out on his yacht, Jason would blow a gasket. He was already steaming.
    * * * *
    Jason’s eyes focused on the reconnaissance monitor when the Mediterranean seemed to explode, spitting an exquisite, familiar looking mermaid into the air. Emily emerged from the depths of the Mediterranean and climbed the ladder onto the yacht deck, her skin shimmering with droplets, the turquoise blue of her string bikini almost matching the water below. Her excited smile reflected her sheer joy of living. When she flipped her waist length hair, the result produced an arc of fine mist, shooting a sparkling diamond spray into the sunlit sky. Caught up in the pleasure of the moment, she dripped water from her sea-drenched body, forming a small puddle beneath her feet, a bubble on the waxed wooden deck of the luxurious yacht. She grabbed a towel and dried a silky-looking tanned leg, then completed the ritual on the other before she plopped unceremoniously into the chaise.
    Emily basked in the heat of the sun, lazing about until a large shadow interrupted the light. She pulled her sunglasses from where they sat on her head like a headband, dragged them down over her eyes and grinned up at the man standing over her in shadow.
    Jason wanted to kill someone.
    * * * *
    Mosel stood over Emily, looming like a mountain, forcing her breath to catch in her chest as he stared down at her. She shielded her face with her hand to block the bright sun beaming behind him and couldn’t miss how his thick, muscled legs stood merely inches from her like tree trunks. His broad tan chest rippled when he reached out to hand her one of the two glasses he held, and then he sat down, straddling the chaise. Facing her, his long graceful fingers