All the Queen's Men by Linda Howard Page A

weighing risks and benefits. He decided to go for it.
    "Delta Flight 183 was sabotaged. The FBI labs have turned up traces of explosive, but no detonator. The stuff seems to be a new, self-detonating compound, probably based on RDX and developed in Europe."
    She put her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear this."
    John moved around the island and took her hands down, holding her with his fingers wrapped around her slender wrists. "Anything in Europe goes through an arms dealer named Louis Ronsard. He lives in the south of France."
    "No," she said.
    "I need you to help me get into his files and find out where the stuff is made and who has already gotten a shipment of it."
    "No," she said again, but with a touch of desperation in her voice. She didn't try to pull away from him.
    "Ronsard is susceptible to a pretty face-"
    "Good God, you want me to
whore
for you?" she asked incredulously, dark eyes narrowing in dangerous warning.
    "Of course not," he snapped. No way in hell would he let Ronsard, or anyone else, have her. "I want you to get an invitation to his villa so you can put a bug in his office."
    "There are probably a thousand people in this city alone who could do that. You don't need me."
    "I need
you
. Of those thousand people who could do the work, how many of them are women, because I can guarantee you no guy is going to catch Ronsard's interest and get invited to his villa. How many? Twenty, maybe? Say a hundred. Ronsard is thirty-five; how many women out of that hundred are roughly his age? And out of that number, how many of them are as attractive as you?"
    She jerked on her wrists. John merely tightened his hold, while taking care not to hurt her. She was so close he could see the velvety texture of her skin. "You speak French-"
    "I'm rusty."
    "You'd pick it up again in no time. I need someone who's young, pretty, speaks the language, and has the skill. You meet all the qualifications."
    "Get someone else!" she said furiously. "Don't try to tell me you couldn't find a contract agent who met all your criteria, someone who wouldn't know your real name. You make it sound like I'm some Mata Hari, but I've never done any undercover work at all. I'd probably get us both killed-"
    "No you wouldn't. You've been on other ops-"
    "Five years ago. And I just did technical stuff, not any role-playing." She added coldly, "That's your forte."
    He let the slam roll off his back. After all, she was right. "I need you," he repeated. "Just this once."
    "This once until something else comes up and you decide you 'need' me again."
    "Niema..." He rubbed his thumbs over the insides of her wrists in a subtle caress, then released her and stepped away to pick up his coffee cup. He had pushed her enough physically; now was the time to back off and give her back control of herself, so she wouldn't feel as threatened. "I've seen you work. You're fast, you're good, and you can build a transmitter from pieces of junk. You're perfect for the job."
    "I went to pieces on the last job."
    "You had just heard your husband die." He didn't mince words and saw her flinch. "You're allowed to be a little shell-shocked. And you kept up anyway, we didn't have to carry you."
    She turned away, absently rubbing her wrists.
    "Please."
    Of all the words he could have used, that was the least expected. He saw her spine stiffen. "Don't try to sweet-talk me."
    "I wouldn't dream of it," he murmured.
    "You're so damn sneaky. I knew it the first time I saw you. You maneuver and manipulate and-" She stopped, and turned back to face him. Her throat worked, and her big dark eyes looked haunted. "Damn you," she whispered.
    He was silent, letting the lure entice her. Danger was as addictive as any drug. Firemen, cops, special forces personnel, field operatives, even the emergency department staff in hospitals-they all knew the rush, the incredible thrill when your senses are heightened and your skin feels as if it won't be able to contain all the energy pulsing