She lifted her gaze to his, smiled an unspoken thank you and picked up a rib.
He picked up his own rib and dove in.
“She’s pretty,” Viv muttered low beside him.
Pretty was an understatement. Her eyes alone were the kind of shit people wrote poems about, a mixture of ice and a clear spring day. Added to her winter-blonde hair, she was nothing short of otherworld regal. “She’s smart. Driven.”
“Mmm hmm,” Viv said. “I’m sure it’s the smart and driven part that’s got you watching her like a hawk, too.”
Fuck.
He tore his attention away from Darya and wiped his fingers. “Just trying to get a handle on how she ticks. I’ll teach her better if I understand her.”
Jace swiveled his head and cocked a shit-eating grin. He might not have actually joined in on the conversation, but his look said he’d heard every word and was crying bullshit foul right along with Vivienne.
Danny barked a resounding laugh and Darya stood, a tiny smile playing on her lips as she scanned everyone around the table. “I’m making a drink run. Anyone need a refill?”
“Me.”
“Me, too.”
“I could use another scotch.”
This from Beckett, Danny and Axel as they stood and reached for their wallets like synchronized swimmers. In the space of ten seconds, all three had bills outstretched and wavering in the soft summer breeze.
Gaze moving from one hand to the next, Darya giggled. “I think I can cover the expense of four drinks.”
Vivienne propped one elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. “You’re sitting at a table overloaded with testosterone. If you don’t let them pay, you’ll wound their male egos.”
“She’s right,” Nat said. “Take the money. You have no idea how bad these guys can pout.”
Darya rolled her eyes, eyeballed Axel’s, Beckett’s and Danny’s outstretched hands, then snagged Axel’s hundred-dollar bill. With a playful mew aimed at Beckett and Danny she said, “You two can pick up the tab next time.”
Axel snickered, reclined against his seat back and crossed his arms like he’d just trounced his brothers in a world class debate. “The lass has taste.”
“Hardly.” Gabe curled her hand around Zeke’s bicep and grinned. “More like she figured out you’d pout the longest.”
With a quick woman-to-woman smile, Darya side-stepped between Beckett and the table and headed toward the bar. “Something like that.”
Zeke waited only long enough for Darya to make it out of earshot before he shifted into serious mode. “Big play, her sharing her real name. If she’s runnin’ like you think she is, that’s a huge vulnerability. Takes guts. I like her.”
Trevor nodded. “Me, too.”
Axel and Danny chimed right behind him.
“Yep.”
“Agreed.”
Beckett shrugged in a classic I-told-you-so move and pinned Knox with a superior look. “I never misread people. I told you she was good.”
Jace shifted enough to give Knox his full attention. “You wanna take her on, you’ve got the all clear from us.”
“And if that past of hers comes calling,” Axel added, “you let us know that, too. She might not be one of us yet, but we’re not lettin’ her swing alone.”
With his focus squarely centered on Darya’s swaying ass as she made her way to the bar, Knox’s brain lagged at least five seconds before Axel’s quip registered. “What do you mean she’s not one of us yet?”
Trevor grinned over the rim of his longneck. “He means the way you’ve been eye-fucking her all night, he thinks it’s only a matter of time before you’re callin’ rally and throwin’ down.”
He opened his mouth to tell Trevor to stop with the bullshit then promptly lost his train of thought.
At the bar, Seth ambled up beside Darya and leaned his elbows atop the makeshift surface as if settling in for a long chat.
Cock sucking no good son of a bitch. Which part of she deserves better did the asshole not get?
Darya ducked her head at something Seth said, laughed and tucked her beautiful blonde hair behind her ear to reveal a pretty blush. A blush another man had put there.
Beckett’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts. “Knox?”
He whipped his head around to face his best friend. “What?”
Smirking, Beckett cocked his head. “Asked when you’re gonna put her to work. We need to get her prints scanned in if she’s spending time in the office.”
Knox let his gaze slide back to Darya. She’d put some distance between her and Seth while she placed her order, but what little she’d created, Seth gobbled up with a sly advance.
Beckett chuckled. “I’m so winning this bet.”
“Calm the fuck down. I’m lookin’ out for her. Nothing else.” Only taking his attention off Seth long enough to cast Beckett an annoyed scowl, Knox chin-lifted toward the play going down not thirty feet away. “She’s not into him. You think I’m gonna leave her without an out if she needs one?”
Trevor swiveled in his seat to check things out for himself. Grinning, he spun back around, wrapped his woman up in the crook of his arm and zeroed in on Beck. “Any chance I can get in on this action?”
“Jesus.” Knox snatched his beer off the tabletop and planted his foot on the rung of the empty chair next to him. “Stop thinkin’ with your dicks and look at her. She’s tried to head back this way twice and he’s cut her off.”
“I don’t know.” Vivienne pursed her mouth in a considering way, but it didn’t do enough to hide the smile behind it. “She seems like a sharp girl to me. Pretty sure she can shut Seth down if she wants to.”
Darya handed Axel’s hundred dollar bill to the bartender, but Seth wrapped his big paw around her wrist, pulled it back and offered his own cash.
Motherfucker.
He stood, slammed back the rest of his beer and plunked the empty bottle on the tabletop. “She wants to go for it, that’s fine, but if she wants an out, she’s getting one.”
“Oh, I’m thinking she’s getting something,” Zeke said as Knox walked away.
Not to be left out, Axel’s and Jace’s razing comments trailed right behind it.
“Probably has a mind to show her his oversize hard drive.”
“Go get her, tiger.”
Knox flipped them all the bird without looking back and kept moving. He stepped in behind Darya and laid a possessive hand on her shoulder. This close, her scent hit him hard, barely there roses and crisp winter even while the summer heat pressed around them.
She shivered beneath his touch, her body going from relaxed to full scale alert in a second.
He squeezed in what he hoped she’d process as a comforting gesture. “Everything okay?”
Seth turned from the counter and tucked the change in his pocket, open annoyance written all over his face.
Darya twisted as much as she could with him crowding so close, her gaze resting briefly on his hand before she lifted it to his face. It was a look, nothing more, but he’d swear it sparked with an electric current. But was that for Seth, or for him? “I was just talking with your friend,” she said to Knox before she faced forward again. “Seth, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Seth’s gaze dropped to Knox’s hand then shot Knox a knowing smile. “There a problem?”
“Nope.” At least not one he was willing to analyze. Not now, tomorrow or any day after that. “JJ just looked like she could use a hand with the drinks.”
Fuck, he hated that name. Now that he knew the real one, it felt wrong on his tongue, but risking the bogus identity with anyone outside of family wasn’t an option either.
“You didn’t need to do that,” Seth said. “I’ll give her all the help she needs.”
Yeah, Knox knew exactly what kind of help Seth had in mind. “No need.” He forced himself to release his grip and handed two drinks off to Darya. “You grab these, and I’ll follow you with the rest.”
She hesitated only long enough to study his face, way too much scrutiny moving behind her stunning blue eyes before she turned back to Seth, all poised politeness. “Thank you for the drinks.”
Seth moved in close, cupped the side of her face with a gentleness that shocked the shit out of Knox. “Darlin’, anything you want, I’m happy to give. You just say the word.”
Not going to happen.
Knox cleared his throat.
Darya took a big step backward. “Right. Well, thank you.” With one last piercing glance at Knox, she wove her way back to the table, Seth’s stare rooted on her ass the whole way.
“How much are you out for the drinks?” Knox asked.
“My treat.” Slow, like he didn’t have a care in the world, Seth leaned one arm against the bar. “Any chance any of those are for you?”
Knox snatched the last two drinks off the bar. “Nope. You just shucked out a handful of cash for a no-go and drinks for Axel, Beckett and Danny.”
“Too bad.”
“I know. Sucks when you crash and burn.”
“Not what I meant.” Seth pushed upright, his holier-than-thou smirk firmly anchored in place. “Meant it was too bad one of the drinks wasn’t for you. You’re gonna need something strong when reality kicks in and you realize you’re a goner.” He jerked his chin up in a manly see-ya-around. “You got a good thing with that one, Torren. Try not to fuck it up.”
Chapter Ten
Darya hurried up the steps to her apartment, Knox’s heavier footsteps sounding on the concrete pads behind her with the same driving punch as her heart. God, what a night. Four glorious hours of comfortable interaction with wonderful people, fantastic music and enough delicious food to make her belly ache. Not since before she’d left Russia had she had so much fun. Simply let loose without fear of who might see her. But with Knox’s family it was easy. As if within their presence, her past couldn’t penetrate and sully the moment.
Pausing outside her door, she dug in her purse for her keys.
Knox slid up beside her, slipped them from between her fingers and wedged himself between her and the door. Unerringly, he flipped to the right key and slid it into the deadbolt. “You have plans for tomorrow?”
Her heart tripped at the question, the same staggering response as when he’d intervened between her and Seth and all but claimed her with a touch. For a man who verbally insisted anything sexual was off-limits, his actions from the moment she’d opened the door to him had conveyed an entirely different desire. “No.”
He pushed the door wide, handed her back her keys and stole inside ahead of her, sharply assessing her living room. “Good. I’m sending Danny over before noon to change out your deadbolts.” He held up a hand for her to wait. “Stay here. Let me check the rest of the place.”
“Why?”
He stopped long enough to frown back at her. “You might not have said it outright, but it’s clear you’re running from something or someone. I’m not bringing you home and leaving you here without making sure you’re safe before I go.”
Well, damn. She’d hoped him following her inside meant he’d decided to waver his no-sex-with-employees policy. And while she appreciated him looking out for her, she needed help taking the edge off the burn he’d created with his heated looks and casual touches way more than she needed a security team. “No, I meant the locks. They’re perfectly fine. Why change them?”
He flipped on the light in her bathroom and strode inside. The swish of her metal shower curtain rings echoed out of the tiny space. “They’re not fine. You need bumpless locks at least.” He reappeared, flicked his attention to her briefly before moving to her bedroom door. “You could use a security system, too, but I’ll have to sweet-talk your landlord before I can make that happen.”
“Bumpless?”
He disappeared into her room without answering and a second later light from her bedside lamp spilled out of the opening.
Ignoring his command to stay put, she padded across her living room, too drawn by the promise of seeing him in her private space to do as she was told. She rounded the corner in time to find him on the far side of the room staring down at her bed, his mouth clenched in a firm line and his hand fisted at his side.
His gaze sliced to hers. “Thought I told you to wait.”
She shrugged. “I was curious. Besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve come home alone and it won’t be the last. I can take care of myself.”
He cocked his head and prowled a few steps toward her. “Curiosity can be a dangerous thing. Leads you into places and tempts you with things you shouldn’t know.”
“Like?”
“Like knowing what you keep under your bed and being all too capable of picturing you splayed on those sheets and using them to get off.”
She gasped and took a jagged step back, one hand pressed against her chest to still the jackrabbit rhythm of her heart. No way had he had enough time to see what she kept stored in her box. To see it, yes. But to take inventory, no. “How did you—”
“Like I said. Bumpless locks. You need some. Bad.”
The Post-its.
He’d been the one to move them. And if he’d been at her desk then that meant... “You broke into my place. Looked at everything.”
His mouth curled in a wicked smile, not the least bit repentant. “No one gets close to my family without me knowing everything there is to know about them. You came clean with my brothers tonight, so I’m returning the favor now. And before you get too fired up about me invading your privacy, there’s not one person on mine or the brotherhood’s payroll with the potential of getting close to our records who doesn’t get the same sweep. The only difference between you and them, is you actually know it happened.”
She swallowed, her mouth too dry to do the job properly. “Then why tell me?”
“Because you’re vulnerable. How much so, I’m still waiting for you to share, but the best way I can help you is to lay it out so you’ll be more inclined to let me help you fix it.”
Her files. She had to have at least a dozen articles solely about him. “You knew I’d been researching you.”
“I knew you had a lot of stories with me in them, yeah. Why you had them, I didn’t have a clue.”
“And JJ?”
“I knew you weren’t her and that you had some kind of relationship with the real person before you assumed her name. Other than that, I figure you’ll share when you’re ready.” He paused, his mouth hardening to the point a muscle near his jaw twitched. “You don’t like the way we operate, then now’s your chance to bail.”
And there it was. The honor she’d sensed in him from the beginning. Laying out who he was in the simplest terms. Take it or leave it. Maybe for someone else it would have been frightening, but after her years with Yefim—living and working with insanely powerful men capable of staring down a gun without so much as a wince—it was strangely comforting. A way of life she not only understood, but navigated easily. “Knowledge is power.”
“Knowledge is everything. Especially when it comes to keeping the people I love safe.”
She took a cautious step forward, anchoring herself in the moment with a loose grip on the doorjamb beside her. “Then you’ll understand my question.”
A wariness moved across his face, but he squared his shoulders just the same. “What question?”
She licked her lower lip. Need blossomed through her and blood rushed wild and frantic through her veins. To cover it, she stepped fully into the room and leaned her shoulders against the wall, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. “Why won’t you let yourself go
with me?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Don’t go there.”
“Why not? You’re attracted to me. I felt it. You intercepted another man’s advances, not just with words but with touch.”
“I wasn’t stopping him.”
“Really? In Russia, a man only intercedes and lays his hands on a woman as both a challenge and a claim.”
“I was giving you a choice.”
“And I made it. I want you.” She pushed off the wall and strolled toward him, channeling all the longing and desire she’d fought from the first day she’d seen him into the gentle sway of her hips. Excitement and certainty sparked hot beneath her skin.
“No, you don’t. As choices go, I’m a worse bet than Seth.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t do monogamy and I damned sure don’t do relationships.”
“What do you do?”
He held his ground, the gray of his eyes deepening with every step. “I fuck and make sure the women I’m with get off as much or more than I do.”
She stopped just an arm’s reach away, the impact of his carnal claim slicing straight to her core. Her answer came out ragged and breathless. “Okay.”
Tension radiated off him, bonfire quality heat pouring into her and stoking her courage. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do.” She pressed her shoulders back, drawing his attention to her breasts. Beneath his ravenous gaze they grew heavier, craving his touch. “Relationships aren’t a good idea for me either.”
“Because you’re running.”
“Was running. For now, I’m living. Every moment to the fullest.”
His gaze shot to hers, the keen awareness behind his eyes piercing through her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I made someone a promise. Promised them I’d live enough for both of us.”
“You mean JJ.”
Darya nodded, a slow confirmation and reaffirmation of her vow all at once. She took his hand and guided it to her heart. Beneath his palm her heart thrummed a demanding beat. “Any day—in a second—that rhythm could stop. I want to live. To feel. I don’t want a single regret chasing me into the grave. Especially not this one.”
Tempted & Taken Page 9
