Epilogue

A few weeks later.

“Have you finished the layout of the museum yet?”

Allison looked away from her computer screen to the man asking the question. Sloan Cartland entered the room like he owned it. Watching him through lowered lashes, she tried—and failed—to ignore his approach.

Brown eyes and sun-streaked, light-brown hair complemented his deep tan, contradicting the cold March weather that refused to release the nation’s capital to springtime. A charcoal-gray, expensive suit graced his six-foot, four-inch frame, not the casual jeans look he wore after work. However, in the office, Allison couldn’t imagine Sloan wearing anything other than a business suit.

Their exclusive status had morphed into Sloan spending more and more time at her apartment, making it feel a lot like home. But he still made a point of wandering through the lab at least once a day, and she looked forward to the interruption. It was going to be another couple of weeks before she was cleared for agent training. In the meantime, she spent her days behind the computer, or going over case details to prepare the agents with the best advantages she could give them.

Sloan strolled over to her desk, and hitched a well-muscled thigh on the corner.

His familiar scent wafted toward her, reminding her of cloves. Her heart beat a sequence faster whenever he was near. She savored the feeling for a moment, then looked pointedly at the files he’d displaced as he sat on her desk, before favoring him with a patient stare.

A raised brow over one of his coffee-brown eyes was the only indication he’d noticed her irritation. She opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted, then quickly shut it as a shaft of raw desire shot straight to her belly. She could actually taste him. Only ingrained discipline kept her from allowing the warmth to travel lower. Work was not the place to give in to the rush of need that overtook her whenever he looked at her like that.

She pulled herself together, and used her best professional tone. “The data file on the museum, along with the blueprints, is on your desk. But I’m sure that’s not the reason you’re here.”

“Oh? You can read minds now?” His voice rolled from his throat in that deep, cultured timbre. She could listen to him talk all day long.

“I can read yours.”

His brow rose even higher.

Allison shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“Well, I’m thinking about asking you to a party tonight. Would you like to go?”

She thought about the last party, a fund-raiser sponsored by Sloan’s father, and wrinkled her nose. “Did you really enjoy that last one?”

“This one will be different, I promise.”

“Why?”

“It’s Riley and Chip’s secret. I can’t tell you.”

Allison sat up in surprise and delight. “Is she…are they… ? Byron is going to be over the moon!”

Sloan touched his fingers to her lips. “Shh…it’s a surprise.”

The shock of contact was instantaneous. Waves of desire shot through her as she grinned back at Sloan. “I’d be delighted to go with you to a party tonight.”

“Thank you.” He leaned forward to replace his finger with his lips. When he lifted his head, his dark eyes glittered in the lab’s stark overhead lighting. “And afterward, we’ll have our own celebration.”

“Oh? What are we celebrating?”

He gave her a smile and she couldn’t suppress the thrill of knowing it was meant only for her. “That’s an even bigger surprise.”