No.
It would never be that simple.
Hennessey would have to risk his life to get close enough to the devils behind this to take them out.
One was a woman.
A woman who would undoubtedly expect him to make love to her as David likely had. And then she would know that Hennessey was an imposter.
Heat rushed through Elizabeth in spite of her troubling thoughts. She just couldn’t help the reaction. She needed him—wanted him.
But that would be yet another monumental mistake on her part. She didn’t need to make any more mistakes far more than she needed to indulge in heart-pounding sex with Hennessey.
But she could dream about him. And how it would feel to have him kiss her and hold her close.
There was no rule against fantasies.
She remembered that night three months ago when he’d held her against him in the darkness. His body had felt strong, powerful. His muscles hard from years of disciplined physical activity and maybe from the feel of her backside rubbing against him.
When she’d touched him tonight…felt the size of him against her palm, she’d wanted to rip off his clothes and look at all of him for a very long time. Just look. Then she wanted to learn all there was to know about him on a physical level.
How he tasted…how his hands would feel gliding over her skin…
She drifted off to sleep with that thought hovering so close she could have sworn it was real.
Chapter 9
Director Calder remained seated at the table but Joe was far too restless to stay in one place. He poured himself a fourth cup of coffee and grimaced at the bitter taste.
“You’re absolutely certain you’re ready to do this?” Calder asked once more. “Any further delay could be detrimental to our chances, but I’m not willing to run the risk of sending you in too soon.”
“Do I look ready?”
Joe faced the man the president him self had chosen to oversee one of the nation’s most important security agencies and let him look long and hard. He’d put the colored contacts in this morning. He’d wanted to try them out while Elizabeth was preoccupied going over dates with Dawson.
Calder moved his head slowly from side to side. “You look just like him.” He blew out a breath. “It’s uncanny, Hennessey.”
Joe nodded. “I know.” Even he had been shaken this morning. As he’d gone about the morning ritual of going to the john, he’d caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and done a double take. His tousled hair had looked like it always did first thing in the morning, but his face…well, suffice to say it wasn’t his.
The swelling and redness was gone entirely—at least as far as he could tell. It was as if he’d gone to bed last night with a little of both and then this morning poof.
He’d gone back to his room and called Dawson. He needed a distraction for Elizabeth until he could get used to the change him self.
She’d mentioned a day or so ago that some times this sort of abrupt change happened, but he wasn’t prepared. He seriously doubted that she would be either.
Once he’d put the contacts in he’d had to brace himself on the counter to keep from staggering back from the mirror. The transformation had been incredible.
He, for all intents and purposes, was David Maddox.
“We knew Elizabeth was good,” Calder went on, “but this is be yond our greatest expectations.”
Joe had been watching this new face emerge from the aftermath of surgery and he’d known the transformation would get him by, but this was far more than that. This was almost scary.
He thought about Elizabeth and the way she’d sneaked back to her home the other night. He’d wanted to comfort her. To hold her until she came to terms with the way Maddox had used her. But he’d held back. She hadn’t needed any more confusion. She’d needed someone who understood…someone to listen and he’d done both those things.
In the three days since she’d been distant. Not that he could blame her. She’d just learned that the man she’d loved had cheated on her, used her. Had likely never really cared about her. That was a hard pill to swallow, even for a fiercely intelligent woman who was also a skilled surgeon.
Learning the truth had, in a way, facilitated what had to be done. Elizabeth had focused more intently on their work and so had he. A lot had been accomplished.
He was ready for this mission.
“Where is she now?”
“She’s with Dawson. He’s going over significant dates with her to see if she recalls any thing relevant.”
Calder frowned. “Haven’t we already done that?”
“I needed her distracted for this meeting.” Joe leaned against the counter and forced down more of the coffee.