Keeping Thyme (Thyme Trilogy) by TJ Hamilton

to be here with you,” I whisper into his ear, and kiss my way back to his lips.
    He grips onto me and pulls me to him. I love the way he feels so much that I hate it. He softly grinds against me. Yep, definitely hate it . I throw myself back into his mouth and let him just consume me, despite the audience around us. I smile as he softly bites on my lip. I feel his eyes on me again so my smile breaks into a grin and I chuckle. My eyes open to his coffee-coloured panty dropper’s up close. Definitely hate it , I convince myself. Finally we pull out of our embrace and make our way over to the two-seater couch left spare, especially for us. I take my hat off and another man dressed in a structured coat with gold trim approaches me from the doorway to the right of the room.
    “Would you like me to hang your coat, Miss?” The man politely says.
    We have our own butler here. Of course we do. Why wouldn’t we? I remove my hat and quickly look towards Tench.
    “Can I take this to the bedroom please? I can barely bring myself to leave it out of my sight for even a moment. Plus, it will give me a quick moment to freshen up after our long flight over here.” I bat my lashes.
    “Of course, gorgeous.” Tench almost waves me away.
    He was a little too eager to get rid of me then. Is there more to his eagerness? Damn, I need to get to some bugs ASAP. Where are our bags already?
    “When will our luggage be arriving?” I ask the butler.
    “Please see to that immediately,” Tench adds from behind me. “I’d expect it to be here by now.”
    The butler scurries back through the door he entered the room from and I wait patiently beside the foyer door for the arrival of our luggage. I look at the various portraits of Pavarotti around the suite as I listen to Tench and the others talk to one another in Russian. I need to find my old roommate, Kira, immediately if I’m going to stand a chance at understanding what they’re all saying to one another.

     
    CHAPTER ELEVEN
     
     
     
    I follow the trolley full of designer luggage through a series of grand sitting rooms to the bedroom. I can’t act too eager, so I stroll behind the attendants. No one I meet through Tench, can be trusted, Mei-Mei included. I really need to play this as casually as possible. I can’t allow any of them to suspect a thing.
    I walk into the bedroom and spot a closet on the far side of the room. I make a beeline for it and hang my coat up delicately. Reaching for the note within the pocket, I slide it down the front of my bra in one fluid movement. I glance behind me and check the busboy, who is still looking the other way. No one even noticed me. I grab my handbag and make my way into the bathroom and immediately lock the door behind me. I make a quick scan around the room, which I’m hoping to pass off as excitedly checking a room out, and quickly reach for the note within my bra the moment I know I’m alone. I open it up and read the address.
     
    The House Of Books, Dom Knigi
    The Bronze Horseman , A. Pushkin
     
    I study the words for a moment. The Bronze Horseman was a famous poem written by Alexander Pushkin. I’m gathering The House Of Books is a bookstore. I lay the note in the sparkling water of the toilet bowl and watch as the words disintegrate in front of me. Then I flush the toilet and watch it disappear.
    By the time I’m out of the bathroom, the members of staff have disappeared. Once again, I check around the room for anyone left behind. When I’ve cleared the room, I get my toiletries bag and race around, placing the odd black circle bug in unassuming points within the room. I need to place them where hotel staff won’t find them. I slide a draw out in the dresser and stick a bug underneath the draw and slide the draw back in, and put another one under the base of a lamp.
    I dart through to the bathroom, strip off and jump into the shower, which instantly wakes me up from my jetlag. I pull on a body-hugging long-sleeved red dress.