Magic of Three

by Jenna Castille

  He shook his head, not taking the bait, as his thumb caressed her palm. “Don’t worry about that. My company’s been around for a while. We make a good profit. I think we can afford to take a hit on one assignment for a friend.”

  Friend? Right. “Planning on giving me the horizontal discount?” she asked, half joking as she stared down at where he still touched her hand.

  When she glanced back up a scowl crossed Julian’s face, quick to disappear. She could almost imagine he was insulted. Still he didn’t let go. “I wouldn’t ask that of any woman, especially not one I’m interested in. I thought we’d already worked this out?”

  Lisa snorted, freeing herself with a quick jerk. “I barely know you,” she snapped, glaring at him. “I’m going out with you…and Tim…tonight to get to know you. Now I’m forced to let you invade my home. You’ll have to excuse me if that makes me a little uncomfortable.”

  Julian’s lips twitched but his gaze remained serious and somber. “I’m glad to hear we’re still on for tonight. I wouldn’t push it if you didn’t feel like going out after what happened. You don’t have to worry. We’ll take it slow. And this situation is separate from anything else. Wanting to make certain you’re safe has nothing to do with my desire to do other, less innocent things to your body.” He let his eyes rove her form. Even with her sweats on, hair sticking out in different directions and nails chewed to the quick she could feel the heat in his gaze. “I’m not going to pretend I don’t want you. I’m not going to be completely professional. And if you want to go to another company for your protection I’d understand. I can even give you some names. You’d be making a mistake but I’d understand.”

  “I’d be making a mistake?”

  He nodded. “Triad is one of the best security companies in the business. We handle all aspects of protection from self-defense and security systems to private investigations. As a friend you’d get even more attention than our usual accounts, as well as the discount.” Finally Julian smiled, comforting light breaking through a cloud of worry. “If anything I’m the one being taken advantage of.”

  Lisa stood her ground for a moment longer. Letting him so far into her world felt almost as dangerous as facing her stalker alone. But, ignoring that little voice of warning in favor of the smaller voice of hope, she stepped to the side. Julian nodded, moving through the doorway.

  He walked into the middle of her living room, turning a slow circle in the low beige carpet. His sharp eyes scanned, missing not the slightest detail of the stark white cavern she called home. Basic bargain furniture in bland colors. The beige and white broken by bright prints and fresh-cut flowers. Small space with few personal touches. Anally uncluttered. “Not too bad. Shouldn’t be too hard to set up. Not much here we have to work around. Second story helps. No other entrance than the one door and the balcony. How many windows?”

  “Two in each bedroom. A tiny one in the bathroom,” she listed, hating that the openness and light that had attracted her to the condo in the first place had become a risk. “I doubt a cat could squeeze through that one. And there’s another one covering most of the wall in the kitchen area.”

  He nodded and pulled paper and pen from a side pocket of his briefcase. His face lost expression, his mind focusing on business as he took notes. “Okay, that’ll be priority. Wiring windows and doors.” He glanced out the living room window, checking windowsills. He scribbled again. “I’ll see about putting in braces on these windows as well. A quick-fix delay tactic against the truly inspired. Later we’ll look at shutters or security screens. We also need to talk about your normal schedule. If last night wasn’t a crime of opportunity we have to assume that your attacker’s been watching you and has a good idea of your routine. It might be wise to have some of my people keep an eye on you, at least for the next few weeks.”

  “I can’t live with people following me around all the time. I’m not some pop star with goons at her side.” She flinched at the whining tone in her voice but she couldn’t stop the anxiety-filled words. “I feel like someone’s following me around all the time now. Can you imagine how paranoid I’d get if I actually have someone following me?”

  Julian turned back to her, dropping his pad of paper on her coffee table and taking her hands again. Such strong hands, calloused and work worn. Hands a woman could put her trust in. Hands a woman could imagine doing many naughty, erotic things to her body. “I know it’s an adjustment,” he murmured, reaching up to tuck one silky if mussed lock of her hair behind her ear before holding both hands again. “No one wants to go through a situation like this. But it happens, to normal people, more often than you’d think. If not my company wouldn’t be doing half as well. The trick’s to deal with it in a quick strategic strike, not to dwell on morbid possibilities. And you don’t need to worry. If they’re doing their job right you won’t even notice them.”

  Lisa stopped short of rolling her eyes. Right, paranoid woman not noticing a tail. “Not likely but I’ll play along.”

  Sympathy filled Julian’s gaze. “Ramirez scared you,” he murmured, seeing more than she felt comfortable with. How did this man she barely knew look into her so deeply? Why did she feel like she stood in a familiar embrace?

  Lisa gave a humorless laugh. “Ramirez’s a big teddy bear. I wish he was my problem. The guy in the business suit did more than just scare me.”

  Her words took a moment to sink in. Julian’s mouth opened, his hands grasping hers tighter as he gaped at her. “Business suit? I thought you said he was behind you and you didn’t see him.”

  Her body tightened as she lost herself in the adrenaline-filled memory. Slideshow pictures, emotions, sensations all flew past her mind’s eye. The damned shakes threatened, building deep in her bones. “Not during the attack, no. But I did see his briefcase. I remembered it from earlier.”

  “Earlier?”

  “He ate dinner at my place.” She closed her eyes, bringing his image into focus, trying to put a finger on what it was about the man that rang wrong. At the same time she struggled for distance. “He gave me the chills but I wasn’t sure why. I kept an eye on him but he left hours before the attack so I can’t be sure it’s the same guy.”

  “You can’t?” Julian asked, his disbelief easy to read.

  “Not for certain,” she answered, but she knew what he was really asking. “But in my gut, yeah, it was the same guy.”

  He put his hands on his hips, eyeing her intently, as though he could see into her soul. “Anything else you didn’t tell the police that you’d like to tell me?”

  Lisa cringed internally at his authoritative tone but managed to keep her face blank. Part of her wanted to bow to his dominant stance but resisted. She based her new life on not being dependent, not letting people disappoint her and definitely not letting them order her around. But if she planned on paying the man to help her he needed all the information she could give. “I think I may have seen him earlier too. At breakfast. He was at the same café Janice and I ate at but I don’t think she noticed him. Maybe that was where he picked me?”

  A strange pensive look passed over his face, quickly gone. “It’s possible. Or he may have already targeted you and was stalking you, looking for an opportunity.”

  “Gee, you’re already making me feel so much better,” Lisa muttered as she sank down on her couch, arms cradling her upset stomach. “I’m glad I called a professional security service.”

  Julian smirked at her sarcasm. “I’m not going to lie to you, sugarcoat your situation like some people would. You’re in danger. You’ll continue to be in danger until the guy’s caught. End of story.”

  She gave a soft snort, lips twitching with dark humor. “After what I did to him, I don’t see how. I mean, he sure can’t see. I’m surprised he hasn’t been found already, in the hospital.”

  “Obviously you didn’t do any permanent damage or they would have. Which is another reason for the extra protection. He’s going to be angry. Hell, fucking furious. That coul
d send him after you again.”

  The picture of an eyeless, half-crazed maniac beating at her door froze the blood in her veins. “Okay, okay. No more shades of horror movies past. You’ve convinced me. Stick with the devil you know. I’ll hire your company. Show me the contract and give me the quotes.”

  Julian nodded, walking around her couch and plopping his briefcase on her glass coffee table. He smirked at the shiny surface.

  “What?” she asked as he sat close next to her.

  “Let’s finish business first.” He pulled out several papers and started throwing out numbers. Low numbers. Too low to be true, but he faithfully wrote each one into the contract. It really did seem that he was trying to help her, not take advantage of her situation.

  When he finished his pitch she signed.

  Julian gave her the bottom pink copy of each page and then stuffed all the papers back into his case. With a decisive snap of a lock, business ended. He closed his eyes, sighing and stretching.

  “So that’s it?” she asked, staring at sleek muscles working under a thin layer of cotton.

  “Not quite. That was the easy part. Now I have to work.” Julian wrapped his arm around her, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. “I have equipment in my truck. The locks need changing and I can put metal braces in the windows. I’ll set up a temporary alarm system, something that’ll hold the fort until my electricians can come in and put in the permanent system. You should be wired by tomorrow afternoon. It’ll take a little longer to get the security shutters and screens in place.”

  Lisa shook off the feeling of safety that single touch filled her with. “That’s fast.”

  His smile widened, giving his strong features an internal glow. “Yes, but I think you’re worth it.”

  His absolute belief only served to make her feel more nervous. No one thought that much of her, not even her ex. Especially not her ex. Hell, her own father walked out on her the day after her mom died. “And what happens if you find out I’m not worth it?”

  “Not gonna happen,” Julian quickly replied, taking no time for thought. A gut reaction, one Lisa wanted to trust, desperately wanted to trust. “But on the extreme off chance, nothing will happen. I won’t ask you out again or you won’t agree to come.” A quirky grin sliced his face with perverse humor. “That would be a tragedy. I so look forward to you coming.”

  Lisa felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle and her cheeks heat. But she kept her eyes locked on him. “That’s what I’m talking about. What if that doesn’t work? You’re still stuck doing all this work for pennies and no other ‘compensation’. How will you react?”

  How would any man react?

  Julian shrugged but he honestly didn’t look worried at all. “True, it might not work out the way I’d like but I’d help you no matter what. Whatever else happens, Lisa, I do like you. I care about your safety. A bad date won’t change that, sure as hell won’t make me wish you dead. I just want a chance to see if I can do more than like you.”

  “And Tim?”

  “Oh, I more than like Tim already,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows and laughing.

  Lisa groaned but Julian kept up the comedy. “Oh, you mean you and Tim. Now that’s an image I could enjoy.” He scooted down in his seat and closed his eyes. “Let me bask in my imagination for a moment.”

  Lisa took a swipe at his arm. He chuckled, ducking under the swing and using her momentum to pull her across his lap. Lisa’s stomach dropped at the contact with hardened flesh. Damned if the man wasn’t already aroused, cock hard and ready for action. “Now see, here’s another thing we need to work on,” he whispered, the feel of his breath sliding over her neck setting off a round of goose bumps. “Self-defense. Your reaction time could use some help.”

  “It worked last night,” she huffed, struggling to free herself while fighting her desire to sink into his embrace.

  “True,” he answered, pulling her back to nestle against his cock. His chest rumbled against her but he didn’t stop talking. “But few attackers would have expected you to go for the eyes. It takes courage to blind a person.”

  “No, just stark, terrified desperation.” Lisa relaxed as Julian didn’t make another move.

  “But it worked. Most attackers expect some clawing, maybe a groin shot. The eyes, not so much. But that’s the kind of thing we’d teach you.”

  “How much more is that going to cost me?” she asked, moving her ass against him. How far could she push before he broke and took what he wanted? And did she really want him to?

  Julian held tight, pursing his lips as he considered. “Let me think. You’d be rolling around on the floor with the person, right? Hmm. If I volunteered my services we could waive the fee.”

  He gave her an expectant look bordering on puppy dog. She had a hard time keeping a straight face. “You’re a goof,” she accused him. “I wouldn’t have thought it to look at you but you’re a complete goof.”

  Julian ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. “If you’d accused me of that before Tim came into my life I’d have laughed in your face. I’ve lived with Tim for two years now. He told me I had to develop a sense of humor for my own sanity, made it his personal mission. He was right.”

  Lisa gave a put-upon sigh but wrapped her arms around his neck. He was distracting her. She knew exactly what he was doing. And she snuggled closer, taking advantage. She wanted to forget. If she couldn’t she wanted to laugh. “Great, I’m going to have a threesome with two goofs.”

  A slow smile spread across Julian’s face, his playful look turning devilish.

  “What?” she asked, holding her ground when she wanted to take a step back.

  “You said it,” he replied, voice filled with half shock, half determination. He pulled her even closer, giving her a quick bear hug. “We’re having a threesome. I prefer the term ménage à trois but you admitted it. I’m holding you to it.”

  Lisa looked into his eyes. She’d joked about it with Janice. She’d played with the thought, the idea. It would be the ultimate escape, a memory to hold tight to when she was old and wrinkly. But was she really going there? And with this man, who held her cradled in his arms?

  Her heart stuttered in her chest and her mouth trembled. Laughter faded from his expression, his eyes darkening with hunger.

  She licked her lips nervously. His eyes followed the movement, predatory. A shot of pure yearning flew like lightning through her body, spiking outward in unpredictable jags of sensation. She trembled, bone deep, but not from terror this time. She couldn’t stop herself from repeating the motion, watching him watch her tongue slide across her still-damp lips.

  Julian groaned, lacing his fingers in her hair. Lisa could’ve resisted. She knew that all she had to do was push away, turn her head, anything. He wouldn’t push her. But she couldn’t deny the draw, the need to feel his lips on hers again. She had to feel something, feel alive.

  She braced herself for the invasion of his tongue, prepared to be claimed, overwhelmed by a powerful man. She could feel the heat of his body and the flesh growing even harder against her thigh.

  But he surprised her.

  Mad ravaging became gentle seduction. His teeth nibbled at her lower lip, pulling it in his mouth where he sucked on her lush flesh. Each pull sent another wave of desire surging down to her eager core. A wet hot ache pooled deep in her core, pulsing in time with the suction.

  “Sweet, so fucking sweet,” he murmured against her mouth. “Wanna eat you up, each honeyed bite, swallow you whole.” Then his tongue came into play, flicking at her lips and coasting the edges of her teeth. She growled, thrusting into his embrace. She shifted her weight, twisting in his arms until she straddled his hips, rocking against his erection. Not even the layers of cloth could distract her from the pressure of his hard cock against her hungry pussy.

  Oh god. Please. She pitched forward. Playtime over. The world tilted and spun. Julian lifted and pushed her down, his hard body pressing her into the c
ouch cushions as her ankles crossed around his lower back.

  His mouth slammed across hers, tongue demanding entrance. She opened, her hands locking around his neck, weaving through his short hair. So hungry, so needy. The crisp clean scent of his cologne surrounded her. His delicious mouth and tongue poured liquid fire through her body, heating the deepest corners.

  More. Please more.

  Her desperate fingers slid down, tearing at his shirt. With a growl he pushed up, jerking the offending cloth over his head. “No,” she cried, grabbing his hard, flexing arms, trying to pull him back down to her. “Want you here. Want to feel your weight on me.”

  “I’ll give you what you want. Just need to feel your bare skin next to mine.” He pulled her sweatshirt over her head and fumbled with the front clasp on her bra.