Page 12 of Jonesing for a Spy

“Same, Hambone. Same.” She lifts her glass. “Stupid fucking knee.”

Jamie doesn’t respond. Davie hangs his head for a brief moment, and Charlie drinks deeply from his beer.

“Never would’ve thought,” Charlie pipes in. “That all six of us would stay in this silly little town.”

“It’s not little anymore,” Jamie puts in.

“The growth is noticeable,” I add.

“Delicious poison,” Charlie replies. “But the point still remains. How did we all end up here?”

It’s Davie who answers. After this little time knowing him, that isn’t a surprise. It’s expected. “Good weather. Good food. Good people. Good family. Why would we leave?”

“You know what I meant.”

“The pros outweigh the cons, Skipper. You know that or you wouldn’t still be here either.”

“My job is here.”

“Only because you want it to be,” Mirren puts in quietly.

He nods and looks at his beer as if it holds the answers.

And let’s be real. So much of the time, it does.

Mirren

Strider removes his glasses, wipes the corner of his eyes with thumb and forefinger, and replaces them where they belong. Those sexy dark glasses. Is it wrong that I want to see him read in them, perhaps in bed with the sheet only up to his waist?

This has bad written all over it.

Or it has one night written all over it. Or maybe a couple of nights. I could handle something raunchy, physical, and exhausting. And I bet Strider Anderson could keep up.

It’s been forever. Well, long enough I’ve forgotten what a non-self-induced orgasm feels like. I’m good with my hands. I’m good with tools. But I’m predictable. The idea of not knowing, of the edging, of someone else having the control for once has me clenching my thighs and wiggling in my seat.

His eyes track the movement. I know because they dilate when I sneak a peek at him.

Busted twice in a single day is two times more than I’ve been caught out since I left the service and joined the agency. Seriously, I’m a better operative than this.

But the look on his face, the heat in his eyes, the slight lean of his body toward mine says not only have I been caught, but he wants to catch me.

Yeah, this has bad written all over it.

A change of topic should help. “What do you do that you worked with Charlie after Samantha?”

“I own an electrical contracting firm. Co-own, really. My sisters have ownership, too, but neither are involved in the business, so I’m the owner plus everything else.”

The way he corrects himself about his family reminds me of mine. There’s a kindness, a humility, in it that’s rare.

“How many sisters do you have?”

“Two. And they’re complete opposites. One’s a watercolor artist and the other is a biochemist.”

Rookie cuts into our conversation. “And here I was thinking we were different.” He looks around the room. “We’re practically twins.”

“Speak for yourself.” Jamie tosses back the rest of his water.

My brothers break the spell, all right, but that doesn’t change what’s happening in my panties.