Page 24 of Shadowed Agenda
Regan carried the artfully arranged bouquet of pink tulips in varying shades to the dining table on one side of the room. The vase was crystal. Impressive.
There wasn’t a card. No surprise. Only one person would know the significance behind the tulips. Nicholas. The bouquet could have been mistaken for her bridal bouquet. Regan clenched her hands into tight balls, fingernails digging into her palms.
The arrogant bastard assumed she wouldn’t fight him. Nicholas believed she would crumble and give in to his offer to remarry her so she didn’t lose custody of Emmeline. As she stared at the bouquet, Regan’s anger slowly built into a scalding fury. She wouldn’t return to the role of dutiful wife while he whored his way around New York City.
Regan grabbed the vase and flung it onto the hardwood floor. Broken chunks of crystal, flowers, and crystal shards scattered everywhere. She looked down at the mess. Nicholas needed to change florists. They didn’t bother to water the flowers before delivering them. She’d have to mention it to him the next time she saw him.
Regan pressed her palms into her eyes. She was letting Nicholas get to her. Not unexpected, considering the past two days. A person can only handle so much. Regan was nearing her breaking point and was struggling to keep it together.
She gave herself a mental shake. This was no time for a one-person pity party. It wouldn’t help her protect Emmeline. Her lawyer had passed her file onto his friend, a top litigator in New York City. She could fall apart after she’d kicked Nicholas’ ass legally. The smug bastard wouldn’t be smiling then.
Regan looked down at the mess on the floor. A slip of paper stuck out from under a tulip, and she bent to pick it up. She’d missed it when she’d first looked at the flowers.
It had been torn from a book—one of her books.
Regan read the paragraph on the torn strip. The antagonist was threatening to kill the heroine’s bodyguard.
Four words in the paragraph had been highlighted in yellow.Get rid of him.
The Senator’s followers were threatening Pavlo.
There was a knock on the door. It had to be Pavlo. Regan looked at the mess strewn across the hardwood. She’d clean it up when she returned.
“I just need to grab my cell phone and purse,” Regan said as she opened the door. Pavlo entered the suite as she hurried over to the coffee table to stuff the slip of paper into her purse and grab her things.
“You have something against flowers?” Pavlo asked, and she turned toward him. He pointed to the once gorgeous bouquet now splattered across the floor.
“They’re from Nicholas,” Regan replied, throwing her cell phone into her purse. At least, she thought they were from Nicholas.
She wondered again how he was caught up in the Senator’s plans.
Pavlo glanced at his watch. “We can be fashionably late. I’ll help you clean it up.”
He bent down and picked up a hunk of crystal. Regan laid her hand on his shoulder. “I made the mess. I’ll clean it when we get back from the banquet.”
“We can be fashionably late. I’ll remember never to give you tulips.” Pavlo stood, looked at her, and his eyes narrowed.
He reached out and ran his finger across her cheek. Startled, Regan stepped back.
“There’s a yellow smudge. It’s probably pollen from the tulips,” Pavlo explained. She raised her hand to wipe it away, and he caught her wrist. “You’ll ruin your makeup.”
She could feel her pulse beat erratically against his fingers.
He released her and caught her face between his hands. “Stay still so I don’t make it worse.”
Pavlo dragged his calloused thumb lightly over her cheek. Her body tingled in response.
This wasn’t a good idea. Regan raised her eyes to tell him she’d run to the bathroom and quickly wipe it off. His intense gaze held hers, and her voice caught in her throat.
“I got it,” he said and slowly ran a finger along her face. A ripple of heat rolled through Regan’s body.
Pavlo’s gaze dropped to her lips. He bent his head.
The kiss was gentle, sending spirals of ecstasy through her. The voice in her head that kept repeatingbad idea, bad ideafaded as Pavlo recaptured her mouth, more demanding this time. She gave herself freely to his passion, her tiny remnant of awareness shocked by her boldness as his demanding lips caressed hers.
Regan parted her lips, and Pavlo growled. His tongue swept inside her mouth, meeting hers. A current of desire surged as he pressed her closer to his hard, muscled body.
Pavlo threaded his fingers through her hair, gently tilting her head back. He trailed kisses along her neck, then nipped at her earlobe.