Devotion

Chapter One

Yawning loudly, Tara stretched behind her computer screen. The quiet of the bullpen was peaceful and despite the lateness of the hour she'd managed to get a great deal accomplished. She was sadly proud of herself as she glanced around the empty office until the feeling of pride vanished.

She was pathetic.

It was Friday night and she was still at work? Is this was her life had come down to? Avoiding all possibilities of dating the last bit of pond scum to grace the shores of the Potomac by burying herself in her work?

Well, it's better than sitting home alone, watching TV Land until I fall asleep to 'I Love Lucy' reruns, she concluded from within. As if that was supposed to be some sort of consolation prize!

It wouldn't be so bad if she could find a guy who enjoyed being with her and wouldn't get sick of her "overactive perkiness". As if that was an excuse, she snorted in an unladylike manner—as if it really mattered.

She and Max had been broken up for months now and it had not been an amicable split. She'd felt like she'd been falling for him and he ended up pulling the rug out from underneath her Eeyore-slippered feet.

The worst part about it was that she hadn't been as devastated as she'd thought she'd be. He'd hurt her, yes, but this time she hadn't fallen asleep in tears or drowned her sorrows in a pint of Rocky Road. Of course, it had helped a great deal that Danni had been furious at him and had been able to at least get him to apologize for the things he'd said.

It was a poor attempt at an apology and it caused him to have a cup of hot coffee poured in his lap. But at least he'd made an attempt.

Right?

A heavy sigh escaped her as her monitor went black. Why did she have to be the only one to not find Mr. Right?

Danni and Bobby were happily—and, sometimes, sickeningly so—married, as were Jack and Sue. Lucy and Myles had started over the right way this time and Myles was even planning to propose on Lucy's birthday next month. And Tara only knew that because she was stowing the ring away in her desk drawer in case Lucy got into that sneaking mood she had when she knew Myles was up to something.

She felt so out of the loop. Cupid's arrows had struck true with her friends, but why was his aim so bad with her?

The longest relationship she'd had was with Stanley, but that didn't even count to her because they'd been off more than they were on, since he was never in DC more than a few weeks at a time.

Swearing off men sounded like a great idea at the moment, but once her eyes set upon the happy couples around her, she couldn't help but want what they had. That's why she'd buried herself in work. She couldn't bear to think about all of the things she was missing out on.

Pulling her coat over her shoulders, she rolled her eyes again. It wasn't just the emotional aspect she was missing, but the physical as well. The closeness, the touching, the kissing; they were the parts she missed the most.

Sure the men she dated wanted those things too, but it was usually right after she introduced herself when they figured it was appropriate for them to try to shove their tongues down her throat.

She cringed as she slung her bag over her shoulder. The last guy who did that wouldn't exactly take no for an answer and she'd had to use force to pry him away. Luckily for her, she had her Quantico training to fall back on or she would have ended up in a worse boat. All it had taken was one well-aimed knee and she'd walked away, leaving him to writhe in pain.

Served him right!

Switching off her desk lamp, she exited her home away from home. She was fishing through her pockets for her car keys, never realizing that she would need to watch where she was going. Continuing on, she walked head first into a brick wall.

At least, that's what it'd felt like.

Her keys slipped from her grasp as she stood stunned and stared at not what—but whom—she'd walked into. It hadn't been a wall at all, but a fellow agent… a handsome one at that.

Her eyes trailed over his features. He was shocked just as much as she was to find her in the hallway. A small smirk was curled at the corner of his mouth, his one nostril flaring in a surprisingly enticing manner.

A lump formed in her throat when her eyes set on his. Green like a sprig of mint looked down at her, a sparkle of humor glittering his irises. His blonde hair was styled in an unruly manner, strands sticking up in every which way. It looked like he'd just climbed out of bed and squirted a dab of hair gel into his palm before running his fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry," he finally said when he could find his voice. He'd expected to find the corridor empty, but running into a stunning beauty like her had been well worth the trip up here. "Are you okay? No damage done?"

"Er…" Words… she needed some words to say, but she couldn't think of any. What were words again, anyway?

His lips curled into a full smile and her breath was completely taken away. This man was absolutely gorgeous!

A stupid giggle escaped her and her cheeks instantly flamed red.

Nodding dumbly, she hoped that would be a sufficient answer. She heard a squeak come from somewhere, her eyes instantly going wide in fear when his shoulders began to shake with laughter.

She was certain her face closely resembled that of a tomato, now.

"You're sure?" he asked, fighting to contain his laughter and failing. Did this stunning pixie of a blonde before him speak or did she just make those adorable incoherent squeaking noises?

Tara opened her mouth, but no sound came out as she tried to fight back against the next squeak that was ready to pass her lips. Clearing her throat, she tested her vocal chords again. "Yes, I'm fine."

Another smile graced his handsome face and her lungs refused to function properly. She couldn't remember ever seeing this one around the Hoover Building, so he must have been one of the new "special" recruits coming in fresh from Quantico. After all, she would remember seeing those eyes and that smile before.

"I'm Tara." She held her hand out tentatively, her mouth going dry when his much larger one reached out and engulfed hers. He squeezed, but not enough to hurt her.

"I'm Matt," he replied with a crooked little smile.

"You're new here, aren't you?" Stupid question, she scolded herself with a roll of her eyes. But what woman could think properly in this man's presence?

"Is it that obvious?" He casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, but it was to hide the fact that his palms were sweating. He hadn't been with the Bureau for very long and already he'd met a beautiful woman. How lucky was he?

"Erm… It's just that I think I would remember meeting you before." Horrified at the way that sounded, she cringed. Why, oh why, would her brain and tongue not cooperate proudly so she wouldn't look like such an idiot?

Licking his lips, he fought back the blush he felt rising to the surface. "I know the feeling," he admitted as he felt the telltale heat of embarrassment creep up around the shells of his ears. Had he really just admitted that?

Tara blushed. How was she supposed to respond to that? A quirky little comment? Tell him "thank you"?

"So what are you doing here so late?" A pretty girl like her should have been having a fun night out on the town.

She sent a silent prayer heavenward for the change of topic. "I was just finishing up a few last minute details for some reports. No doubt Randy will be up bright and early Monday morning to collect whatever's due."

"Pitts, right?" he asked and he noticed her nod of acknowledgement. He'd heard all about the Vice President of Office Services from his team and how snarky the wannabe-librarian could be. "We've met." Once.

Tara smiled. Obviously the newbies out of Quantico were not so whet behind the ears that they'd allow Randy to waltz all over them. Good. "But what about you? What are you doing here so late?"

"I'm still trying to get the feel of everything. This is so different than just being a detective in New York." He looked in awe that he'd actually become part of the FBI.

"You're from New York?"

He nodded. "Born and bred."

"Wow." She was sure she'd just fallen even more in love with this man.

He studied her for a good long moment. She looked like she had a million questions running through her mind but wasn't sure which one she wanted to ask first. He felt his grin grow wider. He'd just met this Tara and already he wanted to know more about her. It had been a long time since a woman had sparked this much interested in him. Not since…

Better to just not think about it, he reminded himself and pretended to look at his watch. The time registered in his mind on a five-second delay. Was it really that late already?

"Am I keeping you from something?" Tara asked and he couldn't help but notice how disappointed she sounded at that very moment.

He shook his head. "No. I just can't believe how late it is already." And yet he didn't want to go home right this moment. He wanted to stay here and talk some more with Tara.

Tara checked her own watch. "Wow. It really is late." And yet she didn't seem to mind one bit.

"Erm… I know we just met and all, but I was wondering… if you didn't have anything else planned for tonight, if you would like to grab a cup of coffee or something… with me."

Tara's smile widened with renewed vigor. "I'd like that very much," she nodded and then fished around for her car keys. Unfortunately, both pockets were empty. Frowning, she tried to remember where they'd gone. "Where…" she wondered aloud right before Matt stooped down, her key ring in hand. Blushing, she accepted it from him and slipped a finger through the ring to make sure she didn't drop them again. "Thanks."

He smiled back at her and merely shrugged. "Anytime."