A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire, #1) Read online

  The click of heels across the marble floor stopped Garrett’s pacing, and his head turned in the direction of the sound.

  “Fuck me,” Garrett muttered to himself as he stood there watching his friend saunter across the room towards him.

  Parker was dressed in a red, Carolina Herrera floor-length, satin evening gown. The material clung to her body and the slit up the front, ending almost at the top of her thigh, showed off one leg between the split in the fabric with each step she took. The dress was cut low in the front, and her cleavage was highlighted by the silver crystals that lined the edge of the bodice.

  Garrett scanned her body, starting at the top of her head where her thick, chestnut hair was loosely pinned up in soft curls that cascaded down to frame her face. Her long bangs were swept off to the side seductively shading one eye.

  He moved his eyes slowly over the swell of her breasts covered by the rich, red fabric and sparkling jewels, then they followed the curves of her hips draped in the sleek satin, and then lingered on her long, toned legs that shined with smoothness under the lights of the lobby as she walked. Her small feet were encased in four-inch crystal-covered peep toe Louboutin heels that showed off her amazing legs.

  Garrett tugged at his collar as he watched her stalk towards him exuding confidence and sex. It felt like his throat was closing up and his heart was going to burst out of his chest. He felt himself harden as he thought about running his palms up the silky skin of her thighs and sliding her dress up to her hips to see if her underwear matched. Garrett had a weakness for red underwear. Frankly, Garrett had a weakness for anything involving Parker.

  Parker summoned all of the courage and confidence she had ever possessed as she walked across the floor towards Garrett. She’d been there when Conrad picked out the suit and had loved it then, but nothing compared to seeing it on him now. Parker would rather see him out of it, but she figured this would have to do for the time being.

  Parker stopped when she was toe to toe with Garrett and looked up into his face while she breathed in the smell of his cologne that always made her want to press her body up against his so she could keep the smell on her skin long after he was gone.

  “Hi,” Garrett said softly.

  Parker smiled at him, trying to convey with her eyes everything she was feeling. She spun slowly in front of him so Garrett could get the full affect.

  The one inch satin straps that held up the dress crisscrossed in the back, right between her shoulder blades, and was held together with a crystal jeweled clip. The straps continued down off to the sides, leaving most of her back bare with a diamond-shaped cutout. The bottom of the diamond outline ended right where her butt began and the v-shaped crystals attached there held a satin train in place.

  Parker completed the turn, facing Garrett again.

  It took all of his self-control not to reach out and run his fingertips along the smooth skin of her back while she turned. He couldn’t help but notice that there was no way she could be wearing any underwear with that dress. The sleek fabric clung to the curves of her, showing everything. The satin texture of the dress made him want to run his hands all the way down the sides of her body to feel the cool silky material and her warm skin underneath.

  “You look stunning A…uh, Park.”

  Garrett needed to put his feelings in check, and instead of letting her first name slip out, he resorted to using Milo’s nickname for her to keep the wall in place. He only spoke her name when he was alone dreaming about her and wishing it was her hand sliding up and down his length, bringing him to climax. Last night he was caught up in the moment, and he hadn’t even realized he’d said it. If he did so now, out in the open, with her body mere inches from him, he’d lose every last thread of control he had, and he'd take her back to their room and show her once and for all what she did to him.

  Parker took the compliment for what it was, watching Garrett’s face as it morphed back into that of a man in complete control of the situation. She had a moment of regret before she closed her mind off from the fantasy and got ready to face reality.

  “The limo just pulled up,” Parker stated, looking beyond Garrett’s shoulder to the turn-around drive in front of the lobby. “We better get moving.”

  Parker was all business on the ride over to the palace. She asked Garrett to fill her in on the teleconference he had with Risner and inquired about Brady’s luck at finding an address to The Target Agency. She told him she ran into a few dead ends trying to locate it herself after she got home from shopping and hoped Brady had better luck. Garrett and Parker both knew the scouting of the buildings the guys were doing that night would pull up nothing of interest, but it was still necessary. The key was finding out about this temp agency. The coinciding dates of when this business started and when Parker was recruited to the CIA set off a lot of red flags. In this line of work, nothing was a coincidence. Things happened for a reason.

  The limo pulled up to the gate of the palace right on time. Both sides of the limo were flanked with armed guards. Garrett rolled down his window and handed one of the guards their invitation, along with their press passes and fake IDs. After passing the first checkpoint, the gates slid open and the limo was directed through and was sent to the next guard house two-hundred yards down the drive. There, Parker and Garrett were required to exit the limo as their IDs were checked and a guard crawled under the limo to look around while another guard searched inside the trunk. When they were satisfied Garrett and Parker didn't pose any threat, they motioned them on.

  They were ushered through yet another set of gates and the limo eased around the circular drop-off and stopped in front of the palace steps behind several other limos. Garrett and Parker got out and stared up at the building.

  The National Palace was over one hundred and ninety-three thousand square feet of elegance. It was easily twice the size of the White House. The white marble building was three stories tall, the front expanse showcasing forty windows. The top of the building was graced with a dome resting on a windowed drum, sustained by eighteen pillars.

  Garrett rounded the front of the limo and came to stand in front of Parker, taking both of her hands in his and leaning in to her ear.

  "Don't forget your wedding ring, Mrs. Miller," Garrett whispered as Parker felt something slide onto the third finger of her left hand.

  She pulled away from him and glanced down at her hand, expecting to see a boring silver band that matched the one he had covertly slid onto his own finger.

  Instead, her gaze fell to a beautiful platinum band encrusted with eight princess cut stones: five diamonds with three sapphires, one nestled in between each diamond.

  "Garrett," she whispered on a gasp.

  Parker knew for a fact the military would never spring for something like this. They also wouldn't have known the significance of this exact ring, something only Garrett was privy to during an evening of shopping a few years ago.

  Parker had leaned over the glass case, gazing at the rings and hoping something would pop out at her as being "the one”.

  She looked up at the sound of laughter and watched Garrett and Milo perusing the men's section. Garrett wanted to pick something up for his mom's birthday so he tagged along with Parker and Milo while they shopped for wedding bands.

  Parker sighed and looked back down at all of the plain bands. She didn't want plain. She wanted something that was more her. Parker made her way down the case, stopping suddenly when something caught her eyes.

  It had diamonds and sapphires, her favorite gem and favorite color, all wrapped up in one ring. It was beautiful and simple at the same time without being extravagant or flashy.

  Sapphire had always been her favorite color because it reminded her of the color of her mother's eyes. This was it. This was her ring.

  "It's beautiful." Garrett’s voice spoke from over her shoulder as he looked down into the case with her.

  Parker's fingertips traced the glass over the case that housed the ring.
r />   "It's definitely you. You're not a plain wedding band kind of girl," he told her.

  Milo walked over to her other side at that moment to see what she was looking at.

  "That one?" he had asked in surprise, pointing to her ring. "I think that's a bit much, don't you? And who gets blue stones on a wedding band? Come on, babe, I found some plain silver ones over here. And they're on sale."

  The memory faded from Parker's mind as she blinked back tears.

  "Garrett...this is..."

  Garrett looked away, unable to handle the emotion in her eyes. He should have just stuck with the plain silver bands he got from Risner, but it didn't feel right.

  Garrett turned from her gaze and held out his elbow for her to take.

  "It's nothing, Parker. This has to look real, remember? No one would ever mistake you for plain,” he said softly.

  Garrett felt uncomfortable under Parker’s scrutiny and the intense look on her face. He needed to do something to lighten the situation before it got uncomfortable.

  “And besides, I don’t want them thinking I’m a cheap bastard," he said with his usual smirk.

  Parker slid her hand around Garrett's elbow as they made their way up the gradual staircase leading to the doors of the palace.

  She couldn't help but wonder if this ring held more meaning for him than just trying to make their fake marriage more believable.

  Chapter Ten

  Garrett was mentally kicking himself for pulling that ring out of his pocket and slipping it on Parker’s finger at the last minute. He’d felt the plain silver band in his left pocket as he looked down at Parker standing there under the moonlight, looking more beautiful than ever, and he just couldn’t bear to put that plain, meaningless ring on her finger.

  Instead, he’d quickly reached into the opposite pocket and pulled out the sparkling diamond and sapphire band he carried with him wherever he went ever since the day he bought it over a year ago. The same ring that made Parker get a dreamy, romantic look in her eyes that day in the jewelry store.

  Garrett had bought that ring to give to his mother for her birthday. At least that was what he kept telling himself when he returned to the store by himself the next day and purchased it. He never ended up giving the ring to his mother. The only jewelry she ever wore was her wedding ring and she’d hinted that a plane ticket for her to come out and visit him would make her very happy. So Garrett bought her the ticket and kept the ring with him wherever he went over the last year, pulling it out of his pocket to stare at it and remind himself what a fool he was.

  Garrett and Parker reached the top of the palace stairs and had to stop for another security check. The guards ghosted metal detector wands all around them and once satisfied, they bid them a good evening and Parker and Garrett walked through the palace doors.

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t bring my gun,” Parker whispered with a laugh, her lips grazing Garrett's earlobe causing him to shiver.

  “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have been able to find a hiding place wearing that dress.”

  Garrett’s eyes raked over her body and Parker’s heart sped up as she watched him absentmindedly lick his lips.

  As they entered the lobby and got in the receiving line to greet President Fernandez and his wife, Parker leaned her body against Garrett’s and held her lips close to his ear again.

  “You’d be surprised the places I can hide a gun, Garrett. A garter placed high up on my leg with the gun secured inside of my thigh is a great spot,” she whispered before turning away from him to greet someone from Fernandez’s administration.

  As Garrett walked behind Parker, he watched her turn, smile, and socialize with the Chief of Staff. She introduced him as her husband and a natural smile lit up his face. Garrett’s eyes roamed over Parker’s back side while she was busy talking and zeroed in on the slit up the side of her dress that showed off one perfectly toned leg. Garrett imagined a translucent, red lace garter hugging her thigh and his tongue snaking out to lick the skin above it. He thought about sliding his hand up the inside of her thigh and removing the Glock she most likely carried under normal circumstances from the elastic holding it in place and sliding the cool metal down the length of her leg.

  Parker played her part, wondering why Garrett was so quiet next to her. She introduced herself and her “husband” and explained who they were and what news station they worked for. As they made their way down the receiving line, Parker couldn’t help but glance down every few seconds at the ring on her left hand. Garrett brushed it off as no big deal, but Parker knew better. She knew his CO would have given Garrett wedding bands for them to use on this mission and those bands would have been generic and plain.

  Garrett had no idea Parker was coming to the Dominican until they were getting ready to leave. Parker didn’t understand how he could have possibly had the ring with him―the ring that reminded her of her mother, the ring she adored, and the one that Parker felt was meant just for her.

  Before Parker had a chance to wonder further about the ring, they were at the front of the line and Garrett was making the introductions.

  “Good evening, Mr. President,” Garrett greeted as he shook the man’s hand. “My name is Garrett Miller and this is my wife, Anna,” Garrett gestured towards Parker.

  Her heart skipped a beat with how easily the word “wife” rolled off his tongue and felt a warmth in her belly at how natural it sounded to her.

  “We’re with Fox News. Thank you so much for the invitation,” Garrett said graciously.

  Fernandez nodded his head at Garrett and then turned to Parker, taking her hands in his as she placed a kiss to each of his cheeks.

  Parker knew the protocol and remained quiet while Garrett and the President spoke. As a woman, she was there as eye candy for the most part. She had to tone down her take-charge attitude and pushy nature when she was in the company of this man and the people who worked for him.

  “It’s a pleasure to have you in my home,” Fernandez spoke in beautifully accented English. “And may I say, Mr. Miller, your wife is a stunning creature.”

  Parker smiled in appreciation, allowing Garrett to accept the compliment for her.

  “Thank you, sir. I’m a lucky man,” Garrett said with a smile as he slid his hand across Parker’s lower back and pulled her close to his side.

  “Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Margarita,” Fernandez said as he gestured to the beautiful, dark-haired woman in her mid-forties standing next to him. “I apologize, but my wife does not speak English.”

  Fernandez turned to his wife and spoke in rapid Spanish, introducing Garrett and Parker.

  “Gracias por invitarnos,” Parker spoke softly to the woman, thanking her for the invitation.

  “Please, follow the other guests down the hall to the elevator. It will take you to the third floor ballroom and dining area. Help yourselves to drinks before dinner begins,” Fernandez instructed them with a smile.

  As Garrett and Parker walked away and followed another couple down the hall, Parker leaned in towards Garrett and spoke softly.

  “You notice how his wife barely looked us in the eye and never spoke?”

  Garrett nodded his head.

  “Fernandez is very protective of her,” Parker whispered. “She’s twenty-years his junior and according to our intel, showed up one day out of the blue fifteen years ago as his wife. No one had ever heard of her before and there were rumors she was a prostitute. Nothing could ever be confirmed though.”

  Parker stopped talking as they got on the elevator with the other couple. Everyone smiled and nodded politely at one another as the doors closed.

  Garrett hadn’t removed his hand from Parker’s hip and pretended not to notice that it was still there resting dangerously close to the curve of her behind. .

  They stepped off of the elevator into the largest ballroom they had ever set eyes on. A guard standing by the elevator pointed them in the direction of the bar where several other guests had
gathered.

  “So Fernandez marries a hooker and turns her into the First Lady? That doesn’t explain why she doesn’t speak though. Shouldn’t he have molded her into a typical First Lady so she could assist him with campaigns and policies and do a little public speaking on the side?” Garrett asked quietly.

  Parker shrugged.

  “You would think so. That’s typically what other presidents have done who married outside of their social circle. Margarita is never seen in public and the only time anyone is permitted to meet her is during a dinner like this one. She’s never given an interview alone or with the president for that matter. The only thing anyone knows about her is what Fernandez has told them. On paper, Margarita didn’t exist before she became his wife,” Parker explained as they approached the bar.

  Garrett grabbed them each a glass of champagne, and they made their way to the other end of the room, walking through one of the red curtained doorways and into a more intimate dining room, intimate at least in palace standards considering the size of the place.

  A long table that seated forty ran the length of the room and was covered in a white table cloth. The ceiling above the table was arched and Garrett assumed was where the dome on top of the building was located. There were ornate, crystal chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling every few feet throughout the room. Everywhere you looked there was gold, artwork, and lavishness.

  Most of the guests were already seated so Garrett and Parker had no trouble finding their place cards. Garrett pulled out Parker’s chair for her and took his seat next to her once she was situated.

  The President and his wife made their entrance a few minutes later and the wait staff began bringing out the first course. Luckily, Garrett and Parker were seated directly across from Fernandez.

  Everyone made small talk for a while, getting to know one another.

  Between the first and second course, Fernandez was in a deep, quiet discussion with his Vice President seated next to him. Garrett was waiting for a break in the conversation and was beginning to get impatient. He just wanted to ask the guy a few questions. They were here for an interview; Fernandez knew that. Garrett couldn’t figure out why in the hell he’d invited them to a huge dinner with a ton of people for something like that.