by Leah Brooke
Held in Nick’s arms, she trembled as his hands moved over her body, moaning into Steve’s mouth as he kissed her. When his strokes slowed on her clit, Julianna could literally feel her defenses crumble around her.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep this on a physical level. Her emotions kept getting involved.
The way they held her now had nothing to do with sex. At least, to her, it didn’t feel that way.
Nothing had ever scared her more.
Steve patted her bottom. “Just a little reminder of who you belong to, sweetheart. If you didn’t have to run out of here to take care of those tiles, I’d…we’d spend the next couple of hours reinforcing that.”
It took several seconds before Julianna could fight her way through the sensual fog surrounding her to make sense of his words. When they sank in, so did her embarrassment, and she pushed Steve away. Fighting her way out of Nick’s arms, she nearly tripped on the pants that had now fallen down around her ankles.
She was furious that while she’d been falling apart in their arms, they’d only been jealous and intent to make her forget all about David’s visit.
Struggling with her pants and her embarrassment, Julianna managed to yank them back up, fastening them as she moved away from them. “So you touched me to prove a point. Well, congratulations. I fell for it.”
She eyed the large bulges in their pants. “But the joke’s on you. I never had any intention of betraying you.”
* * * *
Steve’s smile fell at the sad vulnerability in her voice as he watched her race to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Turning to meet Nick’s sardonic stare, he shrugged and adjusted his jeans that had become way too tight in the crotch. “Don’t look at me like that. I was jealous, okay?” He moved across the room and sank into the chair closest to the bathroom door with the intention of tumbling Julianna onto his lap as soon as she emerged. “You should have seen the guy in the elevator eyeing her up and down. He looked like he wanted to eat her alive.”
Nick adjusted his own jeans and moved to the door. “I can’t say I blame him for that. I’d say you showed considerable restraint.” He opened the door to admit Adam and Ron. “Don’t you need to tell your friends what’s happened?”
Steve shot a glance at the bathroom door. “Shit. Yeah, I do. Christ, she’s got me frazzled.”
Adam leaned back against the door, his eyes full of sympathy and concern. “Don’t worry about it, boss. That’s what we’re here for. What’s going on?”
Steve quickly ran down the incidents that had occurred at the hotel, his gaze frequently sliding to the bathroom door. “I want you to start checking IDs. Painters, plumbers, electricians…everybody. Tell the others. I want you to be alert, and I don’t want anyone like that David asshole to get anywhere near Julianna again. Everyone who wants to see her has to be checked out.”
Nick moved to the sofa and pulled a folder out of his briefcase. “Here’s the report on David, and the one on Ken.”
Ron stepped forward and accepted both. “I’ll hang on to these, but we’ve all read them already. We’ll guard Julianna in shifts, but what do you want us to do about her home? Do you want one of us to rent an apartment close to her or—”
Steve shook his head before his friend even finished. “No. She’ll be staying here with us until we move into the hotel.”
Adam smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Does she know that yet?”
“She will.”
Ron scowled, holding up the folders. “You really don’t think it’s either one of these guys, do you? You think Paul Munson has something to do with this.”
Steve dropped back into his chair, running a hand through his hair. “We haven’t seen or heard anything from him in over a year. All of a sudden, Nitro gets a glimpse of him around the hotel and we have someone trying to sabotage our project. Yeah, I think he’s around. But something as petty as messing with paint or changing tile orders isn’t his style.”
Adam straightened and moved further into the room and to the window. “He won’t rest until you’re dead. You’re the only one of us who saw that he was the one shooting at us. Your testimony would put him away for life.”
Ron nodded. “And you’re the one who got him kicked out of the Army. He’s got it in for you the most. But don’t worry, boss. We’ve got your back.” He looked up and smiled when the bathroom door opened and Julianna appeared, looking distracted. “And we’ll watch your lady’s back. He may be using her to get to you.”
Steve held out a hand to Julianna, clenching his jaw when she ignored it and walked past him. He stood, determined not to let her leave until she smiled at him again. The woman already had him tied up in knots. Although well experienced with women, he’d never shared one before and that put him more on edge. The thought that someone may hurt her to get even with him nearly drove him over it.
“Who may be using me?”
Steve stood with his arms crossed, watching her move warily around the room. He hid a smile at the way she put as much distance as she could between herself and him and kept glancing at Nick out of the corner of her eye. “Munson. I don’t know yet if he’s the one doing anything to the hotel, but you’re moving in here tonight until the upper floor of the hotel is ready. It’ll make it easier for my men to keep an eye on you.”
Julianna’s eyes went wide. “What? No way! I’m not—”
“Again, not negotiable, Julianna.” Nick glanced up from the papers on the table, his eyes hard. “Don’t push us on this. You’ll lose.” He looked down at the papers again and jotted notes in the margins.
Not that Steve minded a woman with a temper, on the contrary, he loved it, but right now he wanted to diffuse Julianna’s. “It’ll give us a chance to pick your brain about some things about the new resort.” Shooting a look at Nick, he hid a smile and used the cold, businesslike tone he’d heard from Nick hundreds of times over the years. “We’ll be going there this weekend. It might be a good idea for you to come with us. It’ll give you an idea of the kind of job ahead.”
The look of shock on her face almost had him bursting out in laughter. “The resort? You really want me to look at your plans for the resort?” Her eyes narrowed, her full lips pursing and making him want to capture them with his own.
Or see them wrapped around his cock again.
“Are you just saying that to get me out of town? I don’t understand why one of your men has to stay with me or why I have to move in here. He’s your enemy, not mine.”
Steve closed the distance between them and swooped down to capture those lips in a brief kiss. Tapping the underside of her chin, he waited for her to meet his eyes. “He may want to use you to get to me. I can’t allow that, Julianna. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to stop him, including fighting with you in order to keep you safe, no matter how much you don’t think you need it.”
Did she need his protection?
He leaned close, hoping to hell she proved to be innocent in all this. “I love a good fight, but you should know before getting into it that it’s one you’ll lose.” Straightening, he stood over her, hoping that, if she was in on this with Munson, he’d made it clear that she wouldn’t be the one to come out on top. “Now, do you want to fight about it now, or do you want to go take care of your problem with the tiles?”
“Damn it!” She lifted her chin, her eyes shooting sparks. “I need to go take care of the tiles and check on the other supplies, but this conversation isn’t finished.”
Steve inclined his head. “Good. That’ll give us something to talk about over dinner.”
She spun, her cheeks still flushed from coming and anger. The hair around her face was damp, as though she’d splashed cold water on her face while she’d been in the bathroom. “Dinner? But I have a lot to do—”
Raising a brow, he tried not to smile at her raised hackles. Christ, she was a lot of fun.
If only he could be sure about her.
Blowing out a breath
, he nodded. “So do I. Adam will call me when you’re done for the day.” He knew by then they’d have a lot more to argue about and was actually looking forward to it.
“Fine, but I’m not moving in here.”
Steve watched her storm to the door, enjoying the sway of her ass as she crossed the room. Her temper fired his blood, and he’d have liked nothing more than to spend the rest of the afternoon fucking her senseless.
Hell, he’d have to jerk off again.
He laughed softly at the amusement on Adam’s face. “Good luck, Snake. I think she’s a little pissed.”
Adam nodded, soberly. “She’s in a fine temper now. Don’t worry. I won’t lose her again. I don’t like this at all. I agree that Munson wouldn’t bother with the paint. I really don’t think he’s involved in this at all.”
Steve blinked. “I do.”
Nick looked up, looking from one to the other. “In which case we have two potential threats. I don’t want her to get so much as a scratch, and I want to know everyone she talks to.”
Steve waited until Adam left to join Julianna and turned to Ron. “I want to know every call in and out of the hotel.”
“You got it, boss. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of your lady.”
Steve waited until he left and sat, lifting his feet onto the coffee table. “Munson’s gonna come after her because he thinks she’s mine.”
Nick’s brow went up. “Agreed. She is yours. Ours. Anyone watching us would know we’ve been to her apartment and that she not only came to Miami with us, but stayed in our suite. They’ll be watching to see how important she is to us. Or to you, if it’s Munson.”
Steve stood, his mind racing. “I think it would be better if you went to the island this weekend with her. They’re already working on security in the hotel, and I think it would be better if I was here to oversee things this weekend.”
Nick eyed him dubiously. “Are you sure you’re all right with that?”
Steve shrugged, trying to ignore the knot in his stomach. “Like you said, she belongs to both of us.”
“She does. For now, at least.” To Steve’s amazement, Nick swiped his hand over the table, knocking everything to the floor before shooting to his feet in a rare show of anger. “For as long as it lasts.”
Watching his friend, Steve scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck, for the first time feeling as if he and Nick shared Julianna equally. Not just sharing her body for sex, but sharing their worry for her, their frustration. Now was as good a time as any to ask the question that plagued him.
“Do you think you and Rico could have kept sharing Debra if he hadn’t died?”
“No.” Nick answered immediately and turned from where he looked out the window. “I’ve thought about that a time or two since we met Julianna.” Sighing, he moved back to the sofa and dropped onto it. “No. We wouldn’t have. Neither one of us cared enough for her to stay in that for long. We also didn’t trust each other enough.”
Dropping back into the chair, Steve let his head fall back to stare at the ceiling. “Yesterday, I wouldn’t have understood that. Do you really think we could share Julianna, I mean, even after the hotel is finished? Do you really think a relationship like this has a chance at surviving long-term? Christ, what am I saying? We don’t even know her that well.”
Not wanting to argue right now, he didn’t bring up his suspicions.
Nick sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. “We haven’t known her for long, but I think we’re both starting to understand her. I’d like to spend some time alone with her. I’ll get everything ready to take her to the island this weekend.” He started gathering the papers he’d scattered, pausing to pick up his vibrating cell phone. He read the screen and sighed. “In the meantime, I’ve got to go to Los Angeles tonight, and it looks like it’ll take a while.”
If he hadn’t been friends with Nick for so long, he probably wouldn’t have caught the slight inflection in his voice. “What is it?”
Nick started to answer, only to snap his mouth closed when a knock sounded at the door. “I believe that’s your answer now.”
Ron rushed into the room, with Mike right behind him. “There’s a bomb threat at the hotel in Los Angeles. Victor’s already on his way to the scene.”
Nick stood. “And they need one of the owners on site. Victor just sent me a message.”
Steve came to his feet. “I’ll go. Wheels, you, Snake, and Doc stay here to help security with Nick and Julianna.”
Nick was already heading toward his bedroom. “No. I’m going. You stay here. The jet’s already waiting.” Glancing over his shoulder, he nodded. “You’re in Army Ranger mode again. Leave Mike, Adam, and Jay here with you. I want Julianna well protected.”
Steve snapped. “This is my turf, if you remember correctly. You deal with business, and I deal with security. I’m doing my fucking job, whether you like it or not. Take Nitro and Sniper, hell, Craig and Ron with you. Craig can deactivate any bomb known to man.” Steve waited until Nick left the room and turned toward the others.
“Beef up security at all the hotels. Put everyone in every hotel on alert. Since I’ll be here, I’ll start contacting the people we’re hiring for security here and get them on the job.”
Mike nodded, running a hand through his short-cropped hair. “I agree. We’re spreading ourselves too thin this way. I don’t like it. He’s separating us. We’ve got to be on the lookout for trouble at the other hotels.”
Ron paced. “It’s just like Munson to spread us this way. He’ll either go after Julianna or Nick, depending on which one he can get to. If she’s in on this, maybe it’s better to keep them separated.”
Shifting uncomfortably, Steve changed the subject. “I’ve got to double-check security at the island.” Steve jerked his thumb in the direction of Nick’s room. “Watch him. If it looks like there really is a bomb, you’ll have to drag him out of that hotel. Knock him out if you have to.”
Nick reappeared, carrying a leather suitcase. “That won’t be as easy as you think. It’s my hotel, Steve. It’s my responsibility.”
“It’s our hotel, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by while you get yourself blown up. Hell, then I’ll have to do those damned parties.”
Nick paused at the doorway. “Take care of our Julianna while I’m gone.”
It hit Steve hard, the feeling of responsibility, of trust. He’d protected many people in his life, saved the lives of many more. But this was personal.
Nick depended on him to keep their woman safe, a woman who meant a great deal to both of them. Not only to keep her safe, but take care of her in the thousands of ways a man cared for his woman. “I’ll take care of her. Good luck.”
“Give Julianna a kiss for me. I’ll call her tomorrow.”
Steve nodded and watched him go before picking up the phone and spending the next several minutes arranging to have Julianna moved out of her apartment and in with them. Hanging up, he leaned back and smiled, thinking about what her reaction would be when she found out what he’d done.
He only allowed himself a minute before coming to his feet to make even more calls, turning his mind back to the job at hand.
Paul Munson was a deadly man and would stop at nothing to make Steve and the others pay for fucking up his attempt to kill the man responsible for his wife and unborn son’s deaths.
Steve just had to make sure the price wasn’t his best friend, or his woman.
* * * *
“So you couldn’t snatch her?”
“No, there was a man waiting in the lobby, and Vanguard was there waiting for us with another man as soon as we stepped out of the elevator. But, sir, you were right. Julianna Lovette is more than just his decorator.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. He’s really possessive of her. Nearly bit my head off for asking her to dinner. They looked really intimate. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”
“But is it just sex? He goes thr
ough women all over the country. Are you sure she matters?”
“I’d bet what you’re paying me on it. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her, but also with…I guess, tenderness. He pulled her away from me before I could even touch her arm, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and whispered in her ear. He’s got his men protecting her, too.”
“Excellent. Stay out of sight now.”
“Don’t worry. None of them paid very much attention to me. Miss Lovette and Steve Vanguard appeared to be having some sort of a lovers’ quarrel.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know. Something to do with the hotel.”
“Which hotel?”
“This one. It had to do with her falling behind. Would you like me to find out more?”
“No. It doesn’t matter. Stay out of sight. I may need you again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t ever wear that fucking cologne again.”
Chapter Twelve
Julianna hung up from her last phone call and slumped back in her chair. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back, willing the pounding at her temple to go away. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d missed lunch. Opening one eye, she looked at the clock on her wall and saw that it was already past eight.
She’d have to eat something soon or this headache would never go away.
Since teams had started working around the clock to finish the hotel, she figured she should check with the contractor one last time before she left. If her luck held out, the upper floor would be done by this weekend.
Gathering what little energy she had left, she came to her feet and gathered her things so she didn’t have to come back to her office again before she left. She walked down the hall, slipping into the jacket she’d brought against the cool night air as she started into the lobby, shaking her head when Mike turned from the front door and came toward her, eyeing her coldly.
