Her job done, she went to bed and tried not to think about how hard Tim had made her come, how much she’d enjoyed it, or the girl he’d screwed, and how much that had hurt.
The following morning, an instruction waited from Joss. Find the shipment, and destroy it. He’d placed satellite surveillance on the pink house where Tim had visited Ilano, but it was empty. Ilano and his men had already moved.
Dressed in her bikini under yoga pants and a T-shirt, Maya went out early for a jog along the beach. The sun rose over the jungle when she arrived at Tim’s condo. Guards patrolled the garden. One of them lifted his microphone to his mouth and spoke into it when he saw her. Ignoring them, she jogged up to Tim’s door. She was about to knock when Lee, dressed only in cargo pants, opened it. Lee was bulkier than Tim, but his muscles were less defined.
“Miss Martin.” He pulled a hand over his shaved head. “What are you doing here so early?”
She gave him a perky smile. “I came to drag Tim from bed for an early morning swim.”
Lee glanced over his shoulder, and then stepped outside and shut the door. “Uh, he’s sleeping.”
“I know that, Lee.” She shot him a duh look. “I came to wake him up.”
“Miss Martin…” Lee averted his eyes.
“Call me Maya.”
She took a step forward, but he laid his hand on her arm.
“Miss Martin, don’t.”
There was more than a warning in his voice. There was something that bordered too much on pity for her liking.
“What is it?” she asked, shaking off his touch.
Even as he shook his head, she pushed past him and opened the door.
“Miss Martin,” Lee called, but she walked down the hallway and headed for the stairs.
A movement in the lounge caught her eye. She turned and stopped in her tracks. Felicity sat on the couch in nothing but a see-through black bra and thong. Cesar sat next to her, dressed in boxer shorts and a T-shirt. A blanket was discarded on one end.
Lee followed hot on her heels and paused behind her. Everyone looked at her, the air tense with silence. Under her hard stare, Felicity scrambled onto Cesar’s lap, who draped a protective arm around the girl. Cesar wasn’t joking about sharing. This shouldn’t matter. Seeing Tim’s bed partner from last night in his house wasn’t an abnormal sight. People who had sex slept over all the time. Except for Maya.
The focus on her shifted to Tim coming down the stairs wearing only a pair of jeans. Judging by the top button that was still unfastened, the pants had been hastily thrown on. She expected his displeasure for barging in uninvited and steeled herself for an outburst, but he smiled, a warm light in his dark eyes.
“Maya.” He pulled her close and kissed her neck.
His body was warm from sleep and his hair a sexy mess. Despite the fact that she felt like kicking him in the groin, her skin broke out in goosebumps.
“This is an early surprise,” Tim said.
Lee stared at his feet, and Felicity pressed her nose against Cesar’s neck. Cesar’s face was expressionless.
“I’m going for a swim,” Maya said. “I thought you’d like to come.”
Tim cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over the sensitive skin under her eye. “That’s sweet.”
She turned her gaze to the girl who Tim hadn’t yet introduced. It was going to be interesting to hear what explanation he came up with, if any, not that he owed her one.
Following her gaze, Tim said, “This is Felicity. She spent the night.”
At least he was honest. Maya felt like leaving. An irrational emotion had everything inside her protesting to the sight of the near-naked Felicity on Tim’s couch. If she hadn’t seen Tim and Felicity together herself last night, she would’ve assumed Felicity was with Cesar, but then why had she slept on the couch, and not in Cesar’s bed? Or in Tim’s? Her whole being begged to run, to walk through the door and slam it in Tim’s face. Instead, she stayed put, reminding herself she had a job to do.
“Hi, Maya,” Felicity said meekly.
“Hey, Felicity. Long night?”
She even managed to smile at the girl. Felicity relaxed a bit, her tense shoulders slumping as Cesar stroked her back.
“I guess,” Felicity said with a blush spreading over her cheeks. “Tim was kind enough to bring me here.”
Maya looked back at Tim. “I caught you at a bad time. We can take a rain check on that swim.”
When she took a step in the direction of the door, Tim moved quickly, grabbing her hand. “I’d love an early morning swim. Give me a minute to change.”
He left her with that, making his way to his room, and she didn’t follow. She went back outside to stare at the ocean from the patio. Don’t let anyone in. What she needed was a few minutes to compose herself.
Cesar’s voice at her back almost made her jump.
“It’s not like that,” he said.
She put her mask in place before she turned to face him. “Not like what?”
He studied her for a second. “Don’t pretend to be unfazed. I can see you’re upset.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I feel.”
His eyes only softened at her attack. “Tim’s a good man.”
“I’m sure he is,” she bit out. “Must be hell of a good man in bed.”
She nearly bit her tongue off for that unwarranted comment. She was acting like a jealous girlfriend.
Before either of them could say more, Tim stepped out of the house, dressed in blue swimming shorts and a beige T-shirt.
“Take care of Felicity, Cesar. Frida’s making her breakfast.”
Cesar nodded. With a last glance at Maya, he ducked his head and walked back inside.
“Let’s go,” Tim said brightly.
The breath she pulled into her lungs were meant to calm her, but it was a shaky intake of air that made her realize just how affected she was. She turned away from him quickly and made her way to the beach. At the edge of the water, they stripped down to their swimwear. The water would calm her and bring her back to her senses. This was about a job, not about her feelings.
Not waiting to see if Tim was following, she walked into the sea and started swimming with fast, strong strokes. She put effort into it, needing the exercise like a boxer would use a punching bag. It wasn’t until several minutes later that she stopped to see Tim close behind, near enough for his arm to wrap around her. With a swift movement, he pulled her close.
“I’m happy you came this morning,” he said, kissing her nose.
“Really?” She pushed away. “I thought walking in on Felicity may not have been the most pleasant of all moments for you.” Double shit. Why couldn’t she keep her big mouth shut?
He stilled, regarding her thoughtfully. “You think I’ve been with her.”
He was going to lie to her, and she didn’t want to hear it. The rational voice that said they were both lying to each other didn’t matter in that moment. It was her heart that thudded painfully. Even as she told it to stop, to stop this madness, she got no compliance in return. Nothing in the way her heart beat changed.
She turned on her back and kicked away from him. “It doesn’t matter what I think. It’s not my business.”