Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] by Seduction Is Forever

growl, Emily drew Grant’s watch from her pocket and crossed the room to drop it into Ana’s lap. Her friend’s brown eyes flickered down, then widened at the sight of the piece she had personally designed. She flinched like it would burn her if she touched it.
    Emily knew exactly how she felt.
    “It’s a watch, Emily.”
    With a shake of her head, Emily let out a burst of unladylike laughter. “Oh, yes. It is a watch. A watch you designed. A watch that was only given to the most decorated members of His Majesty’s male spies. I believe your husband has one.”
    “And is this my husband’s watch?” Ana asked, her voice bland and face benign now that she’d had a moment to regain her composure.
    “No.” Emily wanted to scream, but she managed to rein in her emotions. Barely. “I found it in Grant Ashbury’s pocket tonight.”
    Ana swept the watch up and got to her feet. “You picked Grant Ashbury’s pocket?”
    Emily froze. She hadn’t thought about how she was going to say how she found the watch. She certainly wasn’t going to explain to Ana how she had discovered it in the pile of Grant’s clothing after they made love.
    “You’re changing the subject. It doesn’t matter how I found it.” She folded her arms. “That watch proves a point you already know. He’s a spy.”
    Ana swallowed hard. “Emily…”
    The pleading in her voice gave Emily the answer she sought. It seemed like everything she knew had been yanked out from under her. And now she was lost. She could no longer trust even her closest friends. And everything she believed about Grant was changed, too.
    “How could you do it?” she whispered, hating how her voice broke a little. Hating the tears that stung her eyes. “How could you lie to me when you know how hard it is for me to have faith?”
    Ana handed the watch, the hated watch, back to Emily. When her friend tried to touch her, she flinched away.
    “Oh, Emily. You wanted to work in the field so desperately,” Ana admitted softly. “We weren’t certain you were ready. You’ve changed since you were attacked, though you won’t acknowledge it. We were frightened your drive could force you to put yourself in very dangerous positions. That you might make errors in your blind attempts to prove you could do your work again.”
    Emily shut her eyes. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her friends had been right on some of those counts. Tonight had proven that without question. Her panic when she was nearly caught by Leary could have cost her the secret she had uncovered, or even her own life.
    “And Grant, I assume he knows the truth, as well. That he has been laughing at my ineptitude for the last week?” Emily whispered.
    Why did it matter what Grant thought of her?
    It just did.
    “No!” Ana stepped forward and this time Emily let her friend touch her arm. “I promise you, Grant knows nothing about your true position. Something…happened to him a year ago. Merry and I don’t know what it was, Charlie wouldn’t say. But he is in a similar position to you. He’s been taking reckless chances. Putting himself in danger. His superiors thought if he followed you for a while, it might give him a chance to recover, to calm.”
    A burst of relief relaxed every muscle in Emily’s body. So, he hadn’t known. He was just as much a pawn in this ill-conceived scheme as she. He wasn’t party to her humiliation.
    And he hadn’t made love to her under false pretenses.
    Only she had done that by not revealing her true identity, even after she realized Grant was a spy. A little niggling voice of guilt taunted her, but she shoved it aside.
    “I am sorry,” Ana continued and her fingers tightened on Emily’s forearm. “We weren’t doing this out of spite or malice or as some kind of game. It was truly for your protection.”
    Emily yanked her hand away. “I don’t desire protection! Six months ago you wouldn’t have dared do this. Six months ago, I was protecting you from