“Yeah, absolutely,” I gush, “I can’t wait to start. Thank you, guys.”
“Thank you for being the perfect candidate,” Kelly says. “We really need another set of hands around here. The site is doing really well, far too well for a team of two to manage, that’s for sure.”
“We’ll get you started tomorrow. Can you bring your laptop and work from here?” Kassie asks me.
“Absolutely,” I tell her, “that’ll be great.”
“And in case you haven’t noticed,” Kelly says, gesturing to her jeans and tee shirt, “we like to keep it casual around here.”
“It beats the uniform from the last place I worked,” I reply unthinkingly.
“I didn’t realize marketing firms had strict dress codes,” Kassie says, cocking her head.
Shit. I was totally talking about the FBI. I need to go home and study my new life story some more before I really slip up.
“Yeah, they were strange birds in New York,” I say quickly, grabbing my purse. The three of us stand, and with that the interview is over. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better first meeting in my life. I felt confident, capable, totally in my element. Maybe Keira’s a better people person than I am.
Unruly male laughter catches my ear from the penthouse landing. I whip around toward the source of the sound, hand twitching at once to the place where I usually keep my gun. Agents are required to be armed at all times. But right now my handgun is stashed in a concealed pocket of my purse, not at my hip as per usual. Just as I remind myself that it’s not polite to point guns at people, the front door swings open.
Two men stride across the threshold, their black leather cuts all but gleaming. The first man locks eyes with Kassie and goes to her at once. I recognize him as Declan Tiberi, the new Vice President of Dante’s Nine. A red-hot jolt of contempt lights me up from the inside out as Declan scoops Kassie up into his arms and kisses her. I’m amazed by how visceral my reaction is, seeing these guys in the flesh. But I’ve got to keep it together.
“Honey, I’m home,” Tiberi grins, “and I brought company.”
I swing my gaze back to the second man. He leans against the doorway, hands shoved roughly into the pockets of his dark wash jeans. The second my eyes alight on him, the simmering heat inside of me skyrockets. And I don’t think it’s anger that’s making my temperature rise, this time. Bafflingly, I feel my heart quicken with something like...interest.
Desire.
He’s easily over six feet tall, about 180 pounds of what looks like pure muscle. His body is broad and balanced, and you can tell just by looking at him that this guy earned his physique through physical labor and fast living, not hours spent toiling away at the gym. Thick black lines are inked across his chest and arms, and there are probably even more tattoos hidden beneath his perfectly fitted jeans, black tee, steel toed boots, and leather cut.
But as powerful and impressive as his body is, it’s his face that truly captivates me. His features are strong and sculpted, but utterly unique. A razor sharp jaw, straight nose, and high cheekbones are offset by the perfect amount of scruff. Dark chestnut curls fall across his forehead, and his firm, full lips are fixed in a knowing half-smile. A two-inch scar cuts across his right eyebrow, and his skin boasts a healthy, sunbaked tan. But the one feature that stands out above all, rooting me to the ground in his presence, is his eyes. They’re such a bright shade of emerald green that they practically glow.
And even more arresting is the fact that those gemlike orbs are fixed hard on me. Our eyes lock firmly, and I’m struck dumb by the depth of his gaze. I’ve never met this person before in my life, so how can it feel like he knows something hidden about me that even I have yet to discover?
“Oh. Sorry. Are you guys in the middle of something?” Tiberi asks, looking at me with vague curiosity.
“We were just finishing up an interview,” Kassie says, wrapping her arm around his waist. “This is Keira. She’s going to be working for CrowdedNest from now on.”
“You already hired her?” he asks, as if I’m not standing five feet away. “You didn’t consult me on this.”
“We all hit it off,” Kelly shrugs, “why wait?”
“Shouldn’t you be calling references, running a background check?” Tiberi insists.
Between this mysterious stranger’s gaze and Declan Tiberi’s scrutiny, my pulse is quickening out of control. He can’t possibly suspect me of anything, can he?
“Excuse my man, here,” Kassie says to me. “His club had a bit of a...hiring snafu recently. He’s just being paranoid.”
“We’ve already checked her out, Dec,” Kelly adds. “She’s perfect.”
“Damn right,” murmurs the man in the doorway. My cheeks blaze at his unexpected utterance. I can’t tell if I’m flattered or furious. Or both.
“Who’s this?” Kassie asks, nodding toward the green-eyed god.
“Ladies, let me introduce you to Caleb Brooks,” Declan says.
“‘Brooks’ will do just fine,” the man corrects, his smile widening as he rakes his eyes along my body.
“Brooks is...” Declan begins, but he shuts his mouth when he remembers I’m in the room, “Uh, maybe I should wait to go into it—”
“Oh, relax,” Kelly says, rolling here eyes. “I’m sure Keira doesn’t mind hearing about MC business. Something tells me she doesn’t scare easy. Do you, Keira?”
“I’m not exactly sure what MC business is,” I reply, “but I’m sure it’s cool in my book.”
“Declan’s part of a local motorcycle club, is all,” Kassie says, totally composed. Guess these people are pretty comfortable with their life choices, then.
“Sounds like a cool hobby,” I smile, laying the lighthearted ignorance on thick. I can’t help but be satisfied as Declan winces at my word choice.
“It’s not a hobby,” he corrects me, “it’s a way of life.”
“Oh. Got it,” I chirp, shooting him an amiable grin. Really, I want to roll my eyes. It’s a way of life? Seriously? Out of the corner of my eye I catch Brooks still looking at me intently, his scarred eyebrow raised. Crap. Is he not buying my “oh, shucks” act?
“This is a real nice place you’ve got here, Dec,” Brooks says, reaching into the pocket of his cut. My fingers twitch again, but I tamp down the impulse to produce my gun. And good thing, too. Turns out the gorgeous guy was just reaching for a pack of cigarettes. Marlboros. My favorite, when I used to smoke in college. I haven’t craved a cigarette in years, but watching Brooks loose a smoke from his pack and place it between his perfect lips...I feel a pang of wanting for something, all right.
“You can’t smoke in here,” Kelly objects, planting her hands on her hips. “This is Kassie’s home, too. Not just your buddy’s bachelor pad.”
“Well, actually,” Tiberi starts, tugging Kassie tighter against his side, “I was thinking we could let Brooks call this place home for a while, too.”
“What?!” Kassie and Kelly exclaim in unison.
“Didn’t think of mentioning that before now, Dec?” Brooks laughs.
“I’m sorry, I don’t even know who you are,” Kassie says to Brooks.
“I’m one of the family,” he smiles, gesturing to his cut.
“Brooks is our newest member,” Tiberi explains.
Of course. There was one blank space in the Dante’s Nine ranks on the FBI wall. Mitchell told me that this club always needs nine members. Part of the original charter, laid out by the current president and the first nine members. Guess they’ve filled that final spot. And damn, if they didn’t choose well.
Stop it, I chide myself, Sure he’s hot, but he’s a criminal. Get it together.
“I don’t understand,” Kassie says, “how is he a member, just like that? He didn’t prospect or anything.”
“Not every member has to be a prospect first,” Tiberi shrugs. From what I understand, being a prospect is like being a trial member of an MC. There can be a fair amount of hazing that goes into it,
too. But something tells me that none of the other members will be messing with the likes of Brooks.
“So, what, you guys just hit it off at the bar, and now he’s a member that we’re supposed to put up?” Kelly goes on, a frown twisting her pretty mouth.
“I’ve known Brooks for years,” Tiberi snaps. From his steely glare, I can tell there’s a little bit of tension between Kelly and the Dante’s Nine VP. Totally understandable, of course. Best friends and significant others often lock horns. Unless this conflict goes deeper...?
“We were in the Navy together,” Brooks offers, tucking the cigarette behind his ear for the moment. “Or at least, near each other. I was a mechanic. Fixed all those fancy planes and got ‘em flying again.”
“We put Brooks’ membership to a vote right away,” Tiberi goes on. “I would trust this man with my life any day.”
“From what I recall, you already have,” Brooks grins. “One loose screw and that pretty plane of yours would have gone down like a lead balloon.”
“Is that your standard for membership now, Dec?” Kelly murmurs. “Just as long as there are no loose screws—?”
“The vote was unanimous,” Tiberi says, ignoring her. “Brooks is a man of Dante’s Nine now. And he needs a place to stay until he sets down roots here in Vegas.”
“Dec, you know we’ve been using this suite as our CrowdedNest offices,” Kassie says pointedly. “We need the space. Especially now that there are three of us.”
“I don’t mean to cause any trouble,” Brooks says, holding up his hard, capable hands. I, for one, don’t believe that for a second. Something tells me that causing trouble is what this man does best.
“You’re not causing trouble, Brooks,” Tiberi says, turning his stormy gaze on Kassie. “I seem to remember a time we housed a friend of yours here, Kass. You didn’t have a problem with an extra occupant then. Kelly moved right on in—”
“We weren’t using the space then,” Kassie replies. “Why didn’t you talk to me about this before promising—”
“Why didn’t you talk to me before hiring some girl we’ve never met,” Tiberi shoots back.
Tiberi, Kassie, and Kelly fall into surly silence, looking back and forth between me and Brooks—the problematic newcomers. My heart is balled into a tight, panicked fist. Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe I should turn on my heel, run out of here, and never look back.
But before I can move a muscle, Brooks pushes himself away from the door and strides across the room to me. I stifle a gasp as his heavy, muscled arm falls across my shoulders. He peers down at me with those blazing emerald eyes, and I swear it’s like he’s seeing straight through me. The way he looks at me feels like an unspoken secret between us. Like we understand each other. But that’s ridiculous. I’ve never met this man before in my life.
“Tough being the new kid, huh?” Brooks grins at me, totally at ease with having his arm thrown around me.
I gape back at him, disarmed by his nerve. But as annoyed as I am by this (or any) unexpected physical contact...I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also love it, just a bit. I can feel my very cells rallying at his touch. I want to sink against his side, trail my fingers along the rippling muscles barely obscured by his tee shirt. Slip my hands beneath that leather cut, and—
That leather cut. Decorated with the patches of a MC member. This is no innocently cavalier bad boy. This is just another thug. Why the hell am I having so much trouble remembering that?
“Ever hear of personal space?” I say to Brooks, slipping out from under his arm.
“Nah, what’s that?” he replies, eyes wide with mock intrigue.
Goddammit. Of course he has to share my wry sense of humor, too. Hot and funny with an I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude? The repressed rebel in me is yanking at her leash. I never end up with guys like Brooks. I settle for the safe ones, the smart ones, the whiny ones with pasty faces and droopy personalities. But some part of me wonders what it would be like, to be with a guy like this.
Too bad I’ll never find out. I haven’t read the FBI undercover handbook cover-to-cover, but I’m pretty sure that hooking up with suspected criminals is a big no-no.
“Look,” Tiberi sighs, rubbing his strong jaw, “this suite is plenty big enough to house your offices and my friend, too. Brooks is going to be working at the auto shop most of the time anyway, until he saves up enough to rent a place of his own. It’s not like he’s going to be hanging around here, staring into space all day.”
“Though the view is pretty fucking amazing,” Brooks says. I expect to find his gaze aimed at the enormous windows overlooking the strip, but instead he’s staring at me.
Pinpricks of heat light up along my body wherever his eyes roam. I’m totally unused to this kind of attention. Since I started my FBI training at Quantico, men have looked at me with envy, disdain, or indifference. Before that, I was just a skinny little redhead with big glasses and scraped-up knees. But the way Brooks looks at me you’d think I was the sexiest woman to have ever walked the earth.
Surely, he has this effect on all the women he meets. All but Kassie and Kelly, that is. They’re less than thrilled about this turn of events, and making no effort to hide it. Good for them.
“Is this going to be a short term thing, Brooks?” Kassie sighs.
“Sure,” he shrugs, “I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
“Keira,” Kelly says, “will you be comfortable working here if Brooks is also staying?”
I give the staggering man a good, long once-over. Let him see how it feels to be scrutinized. Of course, he doesn’t really seem to mind. In fact, I think he loves the attention. He shoots me a devilish wink that sends a trill of sensation down my spine. Damn him to hell.
“It’s fine,” I finally say, “if he tries to burn the place down, I’ll just start working from home, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit!” Brooks grins, plucking the cigarette from behind his ear. In a heartbeat, he’s whipped out a zippo lighter. Before anyone can protest, he’s lit up the cigarette, looking perfectly at home.
“Jesus,” Kelly grumbles, “I thought Leo was incorrigible.”
“I guess I’d better be going,” I chime in. “Let everybody get settled around here...”
“You’re leaving already, Red?” Brooks exclaims, leveling that green gaze at me once more. “But I only just got here!”
“My name is not Red,” I say coolly. “It’s Keira.”
“Pretty, but I like Red better,” Brooks grins. “Stay for a while. Call it a house warming.”
“This house is plenty warm,” Kassie says curtly. “Go ahead, Keira. We’ll see you tomorrow, OK?”
“OK. See you guys tomorrow,” I reply, making a beeline for the front door at last.
“Looking forward to it, Red,” Brooks smiles knowingly, a thin tendril of smoke rising from his Marlboro.
I rip my eyes from his sculpted face, hurrying away before he can bewitch me any further. My blush is red hot as I skirt through the door. I’m flustered and speechless in the wake of meeting this man. I need to take my mind off of him, right away. But as I step back into the elevator and close my eyes, it’s his face I see, lighting up the darkness. What in the hell is going on with me?
“This is some rookie shit, Collins,” I mutter, as the elevator brings me back down to earth. Guess there’s always tomorrow to start acting like a professional.
Chapter Six
His strong fingers tangle in my hair as he draws me hard against him. I gasp as he tugs my head back, exposing the sensitive skin of my neck. With one hand firmly on the small of my back, holding me tight against his pulsating desire, he brings his full lips to my throat. I let a low, raspy moan escape my throat as he kisses me deeply. Each brush of his perfect mouth against my skin sends a shockwave of pleasure through my eager body. Urgent, throbbing need radiates from the very core of me as I run my hands over the hard rise in his jeans. I have to know what it feels like, taking so powerful a man
all the way inside...
“You’ve never really been fucked, have you?” he growls in my ear, snapping open the clasp of my bra with a flick of his wrist.
“I-I don’t know. I guess?” I stammer, unable to concentrate on anything but his hands, sliding up my lean torso. His cock, hard and throbbing beneath my trembling fingers.
“That’s a no, then,” he laughs roughly, cupping my breasts in his rugged hands. I suck in a breath as he takes my nipples between his fingers, pinching just hard enough, mixing pleasure with pain as only he can do.
“Are you going to change that?” I ask, tracing the outline of his staggering member.
“You want me to,” he says. It’s more of a statement than a question.
“Yes,” I breathe, as he pushes me back against the soft leather couch, “I need you to.”
“You have no idea what you need,” he rasps, ripping my shirt over my head, “but I do.”
I bury my fingers in his dark curls as he kisses along my naked chest, taking my hard nipple in his mouth before moving down, down, down. His broad, cut body encompasses my slight form, pinning me there beneath him. I reach and pull the black tee shirt off his brawny torso, entranced by the snaking lines of ink covering each and every defined muscle.
“You’re incredible,” I breathe, as he trails his lips along the valley of my stomach.
His vibrant green eyes flick up to mine, his crooked grin wide and devilish.
“Red, you have no idea,” he growls, pushing up my black pencil skirt. My head falls back against the couch as he tugs down my lacy thong. “Did you put this on for me?” he asks.
“You know I did,” I admit, biting my lip.
“I love that,” he moans. “I love knowing how much you want me to fuck you.” I close my eyes in bliss as he trails two fingers along the length of my slick sex. “I love feeling how much you want me to fuck you. You’re so goddamn wet...”
“That feels so good,” I whisper, as he slides two strong fingers inside of me, flexing against that delicious spot. Words fail me as he strokes my most intimate flesh, sending waves of pleasure to the very edges of me.
Impulsively (Dante's Nine MC) Page 5
