No Regrets Page 2

  him like he is beneath me. I whip my ponytail around as I walk past him and his entourage. It is a bold move, but if the hairs on the back of my neck are any indication, he is still watching me.

  “The target has eyes on me.” I say under my breath, knowing my very small ear piece designed into my earring will let the other agents know.

  I sit down at an empty table that is in the line of vision of my target. I slowly cross my legs, letting the slit of my dress show some skin. I take a slow sip of my champagne and nonchalantly look for Jackson. While I’m scanning the dance floor, my breath catches at the sight of Jackson. Damn, he looks hot! He is dressed in a black tuxedo. His hair is slicked back showing off his aristocratic good looks and chiseled features. God, I love him. I don’t love the woman in his arms. They are dancing to a slow song and the woman is a red headed trollop with her hands roaming all over Jackson.

  I can tell Jackson is a little uncomfortable with the woman, so what should a friend do? Swigging the rest of the champagne down and passing it to another waiter, I make my way to Jackson. I am aware that the target is watching. I know this is going against protocol, but oh well. Jackson spots me and I get the reaction I was wanting. His eyes go wide in amazement, at least I hope, and then something else, lust, maybe? Then suddenly, they go to disapproval. Of course, the icy blue eyes come out. I don’t care though. I walk straight up to him and his partner, tapping her, none to gently on the shoulder.

  “May I cut in?” I ask politely with a sweet smile on my face. The fake red head gives me a perusal from head to toe. I can tell by her eyes that she is wasted.

  “I don’t think so sweetie, this one is mine.” She says, running a hand down the front of Jackson’s jacket. Before she can go lower, Jackson stops her hand, chuckling.

  “Well, sweetie, I thought you would like to know that you are being checked out by a multi-millionaire.” I say, enthusiastically. She pulls away from Jackson quickly and leans in to whisper, “Which one?” I back away from the smell of alcohol on her breath.

  “Ummm, that one over there,” I point to some random guy. He is a chubby, bald man in a tuxedo that is straining to hold him in.

  “Ooooh, thanks honey!” She takes off after the poor man.

  “Anytime.” I say, turning back to Jackson. His eyes are icicles. I ignore the look and pull him to me, making him wrap his arms around me.

  “Oh stop. Smile. I saved you from unwanted groping, which you will do for me soon.” His eyes catch mine, back to their normal clear blue.

  “Nervous?” He asks with a small smile. I shrug.

  “Are you kidding, I’m so ready for this.” I can tell he can see through my fake bravado.

  “It will be fine. I’m right here, watching. You are doing excellent. He is intrigued by you. But who wouldn’t be, you are by far the most gorgeous woman here.” I note the sincerity in his voice, and he must have seen the question on the tip of my lips, because he quickly interrupts me.

  “Speaking of which…. we definitely have the attention of the target and it looks like he is coming this way.” He says, his tone now tense and businesslike. His gaze hits mine and I think he can see the panic in them.

  “Breathe.” He demands quietly. He smiles at me, and then glances back behind me. “He has been stopped and is talking to someone.”

  He looks back down at me. He caresses my cheek. “It will be okay.” I nod, taking deep breaths.

  “Remember he likes girls that play hard to get. Be careful, once he has you, rumor has it, he likes to break his girls.” He grimaces on that note. “I’m going to flirt with you, and you are going slap me. You need to become a challenge. Got it.” I nod in agreement. I’m surprised when he tilts my face up with his knuckles.

  “By the way, I meant what I said, you look absolutely gorgeous.” He says, my eyes going wide. He gives me a sexy smile and winks. I can tell he is trying to calm my nerves, but all it does is cause more butterflies. I want to explore these new emotions he suddenly has for me, but now is not the time. Instead, I just smile at him in gratitude. His arms start to pull me closer, bringing his face close to mine. He goes in for a kiss, but I turn my head away, giving a flirty laugh. He grabs me again, a bit more roughly and I slap him across the face. As he brings a hand up to his cheek, I mouth sorry and pull myself away from him. I strode confidently away, leaving Jackson on the dance floor with a forlorn look. I know it is all an act. But, with Jackson’s comments about how I look tonight, it just makes me want to stay in the safety of his arms…. but I have a job to do.

  I walk, swaying my hips slightly, to the open bar, off to the side of the dance floor. I know Jackson has eyes on me and with a peek, I see someone has already taken my place. This time it is a short, buxom brunette. I hate her. I lean my elbow on the bar and proceed to flirt with the bartender. I feel a presence behind me. This is it. I turn and face Nicholas Senzski for the first time in person. His photograph doesn’t do his looks justice. Up close, he is extremely handsome. His short blond hair stands out against his sun kissed skin. He has hazel eyes and a great smile. If I didn’t know he was a slime ball, I would totally hit on him for real. I guess it makes my job easier tonight. It would suck if he was ugly. When reading the reports about him, I found that his looks were used on unsuspecting females. They would trust the good looks and be blinded by the wealth. Before they knew it, bam, they are sold as sex slaves. What a douche bag!

  I paste on a purposeful fake smile. Nicholas smiles back and I’m blinded by the perfect white teeth.

  “Hello.” I say in a bored tone, and then I look back at the bartender, who is handing me a shot of tequila. I must play it cool. He likes the chase. I try to continue my flirtation that I had going on with the bartender, but since his boss is standing there, he is not responding. I act miffed at the bartender and turn back to Nicholas.

  “Hello.” Nicholas says with traces of a Russian accent. I look him in the eyes and throw back my shot. Never taking his eyes off me, he takes the empty shot glass and places it on the bar. I follow his movements. He grabs my hand and starts to lead me onto the dance floor. His hands are rough and all I want to do is jerk my hand away. I restrain myself and let him escort me to the floor.

  I see his gaze traveling down my body and I give him a cool smile. When we reach the middle of the dance floor, he takes his hands, placing them softly on my bare shoulders and then slowly takes them down my arms. When he reaches my hands, he takes them and places them on his shoulders, and pulls me in close. I glance over his shoulder and see Jackson looking at me. He gives me an encouraging wink and continues dancing with the brunette. Focus, Carter.

  “You know you could have asked me to dance instead of just dragging me out here.” I say with a teasing smile.

  “Hmm, yes, I could have, but I think you are the type of woman that like men that take control.”

  I laugh and I receive a smile in return. Over his shoulder, I see Jackson maneuvering his way near to where we are.

  “I am Nicholas and you are very beautiful.” He says, taking my attention away from Jackson. I laugh again. He looks at me questioningly.

  “How many girls does that work on?” I respond, playing indifferent. His eyebrows rise on that one.

  “I hope on only one.” He says with a smirk.

  “Your funny, but I’m pretty sure you’re not my type.” I look away from him and I feel his hot gaze on me. I catch a glimpse of Jackson again.

  “I already told you what your type is. But humor me, what do you think you want in a man?” He asks, moving his head so he is in my view again. I can tell he doesn’t like that he doesn’t have my full attention.

  “I like to play games.” I say with a secretive smile. His eyes widen only a fraction, but it is enough to know I’ve got him.

  “Well, that is a coincidence because I love to play games too.” He says his accent more prominent and has a harder edge to the tone.

  “Well, this party kind of blows. You want to get out of here
?” I say, knowing full well that this is his party. I hope I’m not rushing this. He gives me an amused look.

  “Well, since this is my party and it is my duty to make sure my guests are having a good time, please come with me. We can go somewhere more… private.” I carefully place an appropriately embarrassed look on my face.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” I hesitate and then give him a seductive perusal. One of his guards interrupts our exchange, whispering something into Nicholas’s ear. I start to panic. Shit, it looks like he has business to attend too. My eyes meet Jackson and he gestures to me to keep going on with the charade. I have a mission to complete and dang it, this dude is not ruining it for me.

  The man leaves. Nicholas turns back to me and I can tell he is getting ready to blow me off. Boldly, I step forward and walk my fingers up his chest, then straightening his tuxedo’s bow tie, I say, “What about that private party? Do you have some games we could play?” I can plainly see the lust in his eyes. Now, I’ve had boyfriends before and we kissed and touched, but I can’t say I have a ton of experience, so I’m hoping I sound convincing. I don’t even know what games I’m talking about.

  He moves out of my way, gesturing for me to go ahead of him.

  He pauses me with a hand, I stop while he gestures to one of his men.

  “Take care of that for me and no interruptions, I will be occupied.” He demands. The man nods and backs away.

  “This way, please.” I note the look he gives his security as we pass. He is making it clear that he wants complete privacy with me. Awesome! Part one of the mission is almost over. 1) Get him alone 2) Seduce him 3) Let Jackson kill him. It sounds simple enough.

  I follow him through the party. He stops a few times, greeting other guests. We pass right by Jackson and I glance at him with the corner of my eye. He gives me a small nod and I notice him put his hand to his earpiece, obviously telling them I’m on the move. My earpiece had been particularly silent. I was not to make contact again until I was alone with the target. As the noise of the party fades away, I take note of where we are going. I know Jackson is going to follow, but his security looks tough. I send a quick prayer for his safety and put my concentration on the man now in front of me. He has a tight grip on my hand. I want to jerk free so bad. He is giving me lustful looks and I hope I am doing the same. I’m praying I look sexy and not constipated or something.

  We come to a long hallway and he opens a door on the left. The lights are off, but he gestures for me to go ahead into the room. I hear him speaking to his security just outside the door. Here we go Carter, keep it together.

  “We are not to be disturbed.” He commands and they nod with affirmation. He shuts the door behind him, putting us in complete darkness. My fear rises when I hear the lock click. Oh shit, shit, shit, what do I do now? I take some deep breaths trying to control the panic when suddenly, I’m blinded by light. When my eyes finally adjust, I wish he would turn the lights back off. The sight before me looks like a torture chamber.

  “Wow, you are into some kinky stuff.” I say, trying to mask the fear in my voice.

  “You could say that.” He says. I turn to look at him, but he places his hands on both sides of my head, moving it back to facing forward. Fear knots in my stomach. I know every conversation is being heard through my ear piece. All I need to say is the code word and Jackson will be in here with guns blazing. But that could bring unwanted attention to the agency. Plus, I want to prove I can do this. I have to play this out a little longer. Suddenly, he starts unzipping the back of my dress. Holy hell, he moves fast. I laughingly turn around to face him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He lets me this time.

  “Slow down, buddy. We got a few minutes.” I say informing my co-workers that he is ready to go.

  “Why wait, you want me, and I want you.” He whispers in my ear. “I thought you wanted to play.” He grabs me and pulls me close, and then his lips are crushing mine. I kiss him back enthusiastically, trying to imagine kissing Jackson instead. He keeps moving us backward and it puts me at a disadvantage. I can’t see where we are going. Suddenly, he stops moving and kissing me. He takes my wrists and jerks them up, hard over my head. I flinch at the pain. This shit just got real. I try to break free of them, but he clasps them down in handcuffs that are attached from the ceiling. WHAT THE…. Breathe. Jackson will be here. You are not alone.

  “You have been a very naughty girl.” Nicholas’s voice is deeper now. Crap, does he know who I am? Is my cover blown? With that he walks away from me. My panicked eyes follow him to the left corner of the room where he is pressing down on a button. Music flows out. The music is rock, and it sucks so bad, just like my situation. He pushes another button and I start being lifted from the ground. Oh, not good. My toes are barely touching the ground when he stops. I’m gripping the chain links of the handcuffs to relieve the stress on my wrists. He comes stalking towards me like I’m the prey to his predator. I’m starting to hate this guy. He slowly takes my stilettos off.

  “Why am I hanging from the ceiling?” I ask, more for the benefit of the agents listening in then for me. I have to let them know I’m temporarily tied up, literally.

  “Sparks, I’m on my way.” I want to sigh with relief when I hear Jackson’s voice.

  “Shut up, you naughty girl. You do not speak unless I tell you too.” Nicholas demands. Gulp. At least, I now know he is play acting. Who knew he was into this kind of stuff? Oh yeah, the file said he liked to break his women. So, I think to myself, situation recap. I am hanging in the middle of a pain room, waiting to be saved. Ugh, this sucks.

  I’m staring as Nicholas takes his coat off, unbuttons his shirt and unties his bow tie. Normally, his casual formal appearance would be a total turn on, but I can honestly say, I’m so not into BDSM and creeps. He comes toward me and I prepare myself for him to touch me. His hands reach around and finish unzipping my dress. He pulls the strapless top down to my waist. Ugh, great, now I’m only in a black strapless bra. Well, I will definitely get Jackson’s attention now when he gets here. Nicholas’s gaze falls upon the top of my breasts that are plumped up from the bra. Do not throw up. Do not throw up. I chant in my head. I hope I am distracting him enough.

  Suddenly, I hear some movement outside the door. Nicholas glances back to the closed door, but I pull my legs up and wrap them around his waist. He turns back to me and I start to move against him. His eyes close at the motion. He grabs my butt, pulling me closer. He starts to move against me. Do not throw up! With one hand on my butt cheek, he reaches up with the other and yanks down my bra. SHIT! My goodies are exposed. He starts to massage one breast while grinding against me. I throw back my head, so it looks like I’m in ecstasy, but I’m just trying to find my happy place. Jackson…think about Jackson… it’s so not working. I’m so over my head in this.

  In a split second, pain shoots across my cheek. The bastard just slapped me. I look at him in shock.

  “Look at me. Look into my eyes when I fuck you.” He yells, his eyes are cold and distant. He starts pushing my dress up over my legs, scrunching it at my waist. He is pulling at my underwear. Oh my god, he is going to rape me! Where the hell are you? JACKSON! I squeeze my eyes shut, against his brutal hands. My lips are getting ready to yell the code word, when my head feels like it is going to explode. This time he used his fist. My lip is bleeding and my mouth is filling up with blood from my teeth scraping against the inside of my cheek. He grips my neck like a vice. He is squeezing and I can see in his eyes the pleasure he gets from hurting women. The diamonds are cutting into my skin. This guy is so getting his ass kicked for that!

  “WHAT DID I SAY! LOOK AT ME!” He screams, letting go of my neck. I can’t take it anymore and I look him straight in the eyes.

  “Go to hell!” I rasp out, spitting blood in his face. Wild rage fills his eyes and I’m staring at a monster. He wipes my blood off his face, and then rips my underwear off me. He is furiously unbuttoning his pants. Oh shit… I’m so sc
rewed…. please, god, please…

  Chapter Three

  I’m done for. I’m wallowing in my despair when I notice the door slowly opening and there is my guardian angel. He moves with the grace of a black panther. Jackson quickly takes in the scene and when his eyes fall on my predicament, murder is written all over his face. Nicholas hasn’t noticed him yet, he is too busy positioning himself to my entry. I whimper which catches Nicholas’s attention. In that second, Nicholas becomes aware that we are no longer alone. He glances behind us and while he is distracted, he loosens his grip and I break my legs away. I jerk my body back swinging into him again, but this time my feet are connecting to his groin. I launch myself off him while he is bent over in pain. Swinging from the handcuffs, I kick him in his shocked face with all the momentum I can muster. He stumbles back but doesn’t fall. Before he can regain his balance, Jackson is there. He grabs Nicholas from behind and as quick as lightening, slices Nicholas’s throat. Jackson’s eyes never leave mine.

  It took less than two seconds to kill him. He slowly lets Nicholas’s body fall to the ground. He stands there for a brief minute still staring at me. I’m breathing hard from my exertions, but Jackson looks calm and collected. We continue to stare at each other. His icy blue eyes stare intensely into mine. I hate how pathetic I look right now. My body is bare to my waist, my skirt is ripped, my face and neck are a mess, my wrists are burning, and I’m handcuffed from a freaking ceiling. This really wasn’t how I wanted to prove myself as a capable agent. I look away with shame and tears in my eyes.