“So Molina just one day decided to see the world?” Liam asked. It was odd. Liam had read a couple of reports that hinted Molina was agoraphobic.
“I guess so,” Avery replied. “He seems to really love it here in England. We go for walks in St. James’s Park, and he has this place he loves to eat at. It’s got a view of the Thames and St Paul’s Cathedral. He meets a friend there every now and then. It’s all very mysterious. I keep his appointment book, but he never asks me to put down a name. Just that he’s having lunch there and shouldn’t be disturbed. I kind of think it’s a woman. I have to admit I’m a little curious.”
It wasn’t a woman Molina was meeting. It was Eli Nelson. And he would love to know when that next meeting was going to take place. The booth they were in was small. Liam decided to make it a little smaller by taking up more space. He put an arm around the back of the booth and scooted close to her, his fingers brushing her shoulders.
She leaned into him, accepting the affection. But his move had shoved her hips right up against her purse.
“Why don’t you put that monstrosity over on Ian’s side of the booth? He isn’t doing anything interesting with half his seat.”
Ian grimaced. “Well we can’t all get to London and find a girl in a matter of days. I’ve been here for years, and I’m still bloody alone. Some of us work more slowly.”
From what Liam had heard from Alex last night, Ian had already slept with a couple of subs. He was plowing his way through The Garden the way he did back at Sanctum. Always with a contract, never for more than a night or two. “Yeah, buddy, you’re going to die alone the way you’re going.”
Ian shrugged. “At least it’s peaceful. And hey, I can now say I’m dating Avery’s bag.”
Avery handed it over. Ian settled it to the side, giving the big black bag plenty of space, and the minute Avery turned her head, Liam watched him palm her cell phone. It was buried in his pocket before Avery could look back.
Ian slid from the booth and stretched. “I’m hitting the loo. Be back in a minute.”
Copying and tagging her phone was the first line of business today. They would pull down all the data she had and then place a small tracking device in it so they could locate her. They would dupe the phone and the number so when Avery received a call, they could listen in. Liam didn’t have a single reservation about doing it. It was a clear invasion of her privacy, but it was also the best way to protect her if her boss was dirty.
But it required that the subject not realize her phone had ever been taken.
“Maybe I should follow Ian’s lead. I think I’ll try to find the bathroom and fix my hair. I got a little windblown,” Avery said.
And naturally she would take her purse and check her phone. She was a creature of habit. She routinely checked her phone for messages. He had to break that routine.
He turned slightly in his seat, his arm curling around her shoulders. “Stay with me for a minute. I haven’t gotten you alone all day. I’m glad you came to find me today, Avery.”
Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him, but he watched her make a decision. She forced herself to relax, letting her body cuddle close to his. “I almost didn’t. I was afraid you wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Somehow I think I would have been back at your doorstep in a day or two. I was a little miffed that you thought I was a hustler, but when I calmed down, I realized I hadn’t told you the whole truth about myself. I came on strong. It’s kind of a part of my personality. I thought about it all last night. Maybe you were picking up some clues I was giving you, but you came to the wrong conclusion.” Honesty worked at times. Honesty would keep her sitting right where she was until Ian had found Alex and they’d gotten the job done. Alex had been shadowing them all day, waiting for a chance. “I’m certainly not a hustler, but I do have some…proclivities you might want to know about before you make the decision to become involved with me.”
She bit into that gorgeous bottom lip, the sight going straight to his cock. “Proclivities? What do you mean? Are you bi?”
He shook his head. “I’m one hundred percent hetero, sweetheart. But I do like to spank my partners from time to time. Nothing harsh. Maybe a little flogger play. I like to be in charge of the sexual side of my relationships.”
Her whole body flushed, the blush rushing across her like a tidal wave. Yeah, he had her attention now. “You’re a sadist?”
Ah, the uneducated. He’d been around Grace and Serena for too long. He’d forgotten there were women who didn’t understand BDSM. It seemed they all read the novels these days. “No. I’m not a sadist. Well, there’s a tiny bit of it in there, but I never cause my submissives more pain than they want. I’m a Dom. Do you know what that means?”