Deanna Lee

by Barenaked Jane (lit)

  “Put her on the watch list and let Mr. Wilkes know that she caused a scene.”

  “Of course.”

  I watched him walk away and then glanced around the room. I’d yet to spot the new cameras. The placements had been clever, and I appreciated the thoughtfulness Mathias had put into the arrangement. Though, for real, I was pretty sure hiding them was part of some elaborate spy game he was playing with the rest of security team.

  “One is on your immediate left above the unfortunate ficus tree, and there are four more near the entrance. In total, there are fifteen cameras in this room.”

  Turning, I met Mathias’s gaze and raised an eyebrow. “Fifteen?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what have you learned so far?”

  “The sales staff does an excellent job of guiding those who will buy through the gallery. The browsers, and there are plenty, who come in for peace and quiet are left alone unless they seek out someone with a question.”

  “But?”

  He laughed softly and shrugged. “They dismiss some people too easily. Maybe they know they aren’t here to buy, but someone who was casing the place wouldn’t be here to buy. Giving everyone equal attention in that respect, at least with a cursory stop, lets everyone who comes into the gallery know that they’ve been seen.”

  “How is the testing going?”

  “We’re almost done. I’ve asked for a full workup to avoid mistakes with cold medicine, approved medications, and food. I’ll have the results in about a week.”

  “I see.” I glanced around the main floor and then focused on the ficus tree. “What’s wrong with my tree?”

  “A certain member of staff perpetrates acts of environmental terrorism against it daily. I can’t even count on one hand how many cold coffees that tree has absorbed today.”

  “It’s a perfectly lovely tree.”

  “Apparently she doesn’t agree.” He laughed softly and walked away.

  Disgruntled, I went to the tree and peered down into the pot. It seemed that I was going to have a little investigation of my own. I glanced toward the receptionist desk, and the three women standing there immediately averted their gaze.

  “Again.”

  Tempted to ball up my fist, I forced my body to relax and then swung my leg around and struck his padded arm with as much force as I could.

  “Good. Good. Use that hostility.” He moved around me and pushed at me with one of the pads. “Again.”

  “Did I thank you for working out with me?”

  Ken Banks laughed softly. “Come on now, again.”

  I punched at his chest padding solidly and followed it up with a kick that sent him sprawling across the mat. “How was that?”

  He sat up and coughed. “Excellent.”

  I watched him roll to his feet and shake his white blond hair back. He was one of the few men in the apartment building who I trusted enough to work out with. The others left me with the feeling that they would be rougher with me than necessary to prove a point.

  “I saw that you have a new man.”

  “Oh yeah?” I jabbed and bounced on my feet as he took position.

  “Yeah, looks like the likable sort. Much better than that stuck-up lawyer you used to hook up with.” He motioned me forward. “Come on, you haven’t even broken a sweat. You’re turning into a real pansy, Janie-girl.”

  “You really don’t have to carry me.”

  Ken laughed. “It’s my fault you hurt yourself.”

  “I really didn’t mean to kick you so hard.”

  “Well, if you broke your toe you have only yourself to blame.”

  I glanced down at my sneaker-clad foot and wrinkled my nose. I did not look forward to taking it off. “You shouldn’t have called me Janie-girl. You know how I hate that.”

  “Yeah, but you get this really cute look on your face. It’s really much too charming to pass up.” He stopped in front of my apartment. I shoved the key into the lock and turned it.

  “Do you have ice?”

  “Probably.”

  He shoved open the door and carried me inside like I weighed about ten pounds. It was funny, but when he carried me around I sort of felt like a sack of potatoes. The difference was startling, and it made me realize that I was getting in way too deep with Mathias.

  Ken carried me into the living room and came to a dead stop at the sight of Mathias on the couch with remote in hand. “Looks like you got company.”

  “Hey.” I smiled and then frowned when he looked pointedly at Ken. “Mathias Montgomery, this is Ken Banks. Ken is my downstairs neighbor.”

  Ken set me down carefully on the couch and tucked his hands behind his back. “She hurt her foot and probably needs some ice.”

  I glanced between the two of them. Men can be so unbelievably stupid.

  “How did she hurt her foot?”

  It was like I wasn’t even sitting there.

  Ken glanced at me and then laughed; I guess my expression said everything he needed to know. “She can explain. See ya later, Janie-girl.”

  He dodged the pillow I threw at him and left with a little wave. I swung my injured foot up onto my knee and pulled my shoe off gently. Easing off my sock took more willpower than courage, and when I was finished, I sighed with relief. With the pressure removed, the toe didn’t hurt nearly as bad.

  “Who is he?”

  “I told you.”

  “Yes, Ken Banks.”

  I looked toward him and raised one eyebrow in question. “So, there, you know who he is.”

  “Jane.”

  “He’s my neighbor and a kickboxing instructor professionally. I worked out with him in the gym and I kicked him too hard and hurt my foot.” Exasperated, I stood from the couch. “Of all the things you could get bent out of shape about, this doesn’t even rate in the top twenty.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He’s very married for one thing.” I hobbled into the kitchen and slapped at his hands when he tried to help. “I don’t need any help from you.”

  “But you let him carry you around like it was no big deal.”

  “It wasn’t a big deal!” I pulled out a clean plastic bag and opened up the freezer for ice. “He’s a friend. A married friend, and I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you.” I shoved ice into the bag and tried vainly to ignore him. “And to be frank, even if he was more than my friend you wouldn’t have anything to say about it.”

  “You think so?”

  “I fucking know so!” I jerked my bag up off the counter, slammed the freezer door, and tried to move around him. He cut me off and, despite my efforts to evade him, picked me up and carried me toward the couch. “Put me on the bed, jerk.”

  “You know something?”

  “I happen to know plenty of somethings,” I snapped in response.

  He dropped me on the bed and then stepped back, mostly because I tried to hit him with the bag of ice. “Are you angry with me because I was jealous or because you like it?”

  As if I liked a man being jealous over me! Okay, maybe a little. I put the ice on my foot and reached for the TV remote. “You officially suck.”

  “Do you need anything besides the ice?”

  I turned to look at him. “Why?”

  “Because I thought I’d go out and get us dinner.”

  “Who says I’m going to eat with you?”

  He leaned down until we were eye level and spoke softly. “Jane, you are officially the biggest pain in the ass ever known to mortal man.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Fuck you back.” He kissed my mouth hard and stood. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  I watched him leave the bedroom and scooted down on my pillow. The jerk hadn’t even asked me what I wanted to eat. My foot hurt, my lover was a jerk, and I wasn’t even going to get the comfort food I wanted. Still, he was certainly a pretty jerk. Even mad he looked good enough to eat.

  Jealousy is a petty emotion I’d promised myself a very long time ago
that I wouldn’t indulge in. To be honest, there hadn’t been a man in my life in recent memory in whom I had been so invested that I had reason to be jealous.

  Would I be jealous if I saw Mathias with another woman? Okay, that was irritating to even think about. Yes, I would be jealous. Stark-raving-mad jealous.

  Disgusted with myself, I flipped through the channels until I heard the door to my apartment being opened and closed. There was the clang of keys in the lock, and then he came into the bedroom empty handed.

  Frowning, I put down the remote. “Food?”

  Mathias laughed softly. “I came in here, Your Highness, to ask you if you wanted to eat in here or at the table.”

  “What did you get?”

  “Pizza.”

  “In here.” I crossed my arms over my breasts and glared at him as he pulled off his jacket and tossed it on my blue chair. “I have some bottled water in the frig.”

  He left the room with a nod and left me there. I wondered what he was thinking about and what I should do about my own feelings. It had been a long time since I’d been emotionally invested in a man. It also rankled a bit that I hadn’t meant to get so invested in Mathias. Though I had doubts that I could’ve planned on meeting a man like him.

  His re-entry jerked me free of those thoughts. I watched him arrange the tray and shove off his shoes so that he could join me on the bed.

  “I’m sorry that I was irritated over your friend.” He glared at me as he said it. “But it would help if your friends could be unattractive trolls.”

  “You think Ken is hot?” I asked, amused.

  “Hell no.” He opened up a bottle of water and handed it to me. “But I could understand how some women might find him appealing.”

  “Uh-huh.” I took the bottle and laughed at the outraged expression on his face. “Okay, so maybe he does look like he stepped off the cover of a Viking romance novel. You should see his wife; she could be on the cover with him. All tits, ass, and big pouty lips.”

  “You think his wife is attractive?”

  “Yep, I’d fuck her if I were a man.” I snagged a piece of pizza.

  He shook his head and laughed softly. “Christ, Jane, I wouldn’t trade you for anything.”

  “That’s because I’m awesome.”

  “Indeed.” Mathias plucked his own plate from the tray and rested against the headboard of the bed. “How’s your toe?”

  “So cold that I don’t think I would feel it if someone sawed it off right now.” I took a healthy bite of pizza and looked at my foot. “In fact, my whole foot is sort of numb at this point.”

  “How did you hurt it?”

  “The fucker called me Janie-girl. You know I hate that.”

  “And you overextended, missed the body shield, and actually connected with that big Viking’s body.”

  “What’s a body shield?”

  “The piece of padding he should’ve been putting between you and whatever he might value.”

  “Then, yeah, that’s what happened.” I took another bite of pizza and chewed slowly.

  “So, let’s talk about Charles Wallace.”

  I shook my head and grabbed my water. Tipping it up, I drank deeply and considered how I was going to dissuade him from his current line of conversation. Seriously doubting that I would get far, I cleared my throat and put the bottle down.

  “There is nothing to talk about.”

  “The man entered your home and spent God knows how long watching you sleep. That is seriously depraved behavior, and I don’t care what excuse he offered.” He grabbed my water bottle when I reached for it. “Jane. I’m serious.”

  “I honestly don’t think he’ll be around again.”

  “Yeah, you say that. What happens when you have to choose between killing him and letting him do what he wants with you? Do you honestly think you’re up to pulling the trigger again?”

  I closed my eyes and looked away from him. “I don’t know.”

  “I know the damn thing isn’t even loaded.”

  “You shouldn’t have messed with it!” I picked the bag up off my foot and started to leave the bed. He grabbed my arm, and I stilled briefly. “Let me go, Mathias.” A chill ran down my back as his fingers slid down my arm and away. “I don’t even have bullets for it, to be honest.”

  “It was your off-duty weapon.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, it isn’t the gun you used…” He took a deep breath and sighed. “Jane, baby, I’m only trying to look out for you.”

  “I’m a grown woman.” I stood from the bed and walked to the bathroom despite the fact that the feeling returned to my toe the moment I put weight on it. The stinging pain wasn’t nearly distracting enough. “I don’t need anyone to look out for me.”

  “You’ve proved that.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I tossed the bag of ice in the bathroom sink and turned to face him.

  He stood from the bed and walked to me. “You moved here, to Boston, to prove to your brothers that you could live on your own. You didn’t want them to think you were weak.”

  “I’m not weak.”

  “And they know it. They’ve known it since the day your parents brought you home.” He touched my face and shook his head. “Stan called me this afternoon and told me that if I was fucking around with his baby sister he was going to kick my ass.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him you were fucking around with me and that I was in way over my head with you.” He touched my face and rubbed his thumb across my lips. “The fact is, Jane, I’m not sure what I’m going to do about you.”

  “What do you want to do about me?”

  “I don’t even know.” He moved closer and brushed his lips across mine in the softest of kisses and then sighed. “All I do know is that I want you. I want everything you have, and I can’t even think about a day when I can’t have you.”

  “Mathias.”

  “I know.” He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me.

  It felt so right and perfect in his arms. The heat of him was soothing and exciting in the same instant. I’d never known the kind of intimacy I had with him, and it had nothing to do with sex.

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and used my towel to rub briskly at my hair. Showering with Mathias wasn’t exactly efficient, but it was fun. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him leave the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

  He gathered up the remnants of our dinner and took it into the kitchen. A part of me knew that whatever was happening between us, it was too fast. Suddenly he’d become the most important thing in my life, and I hated the way it made me feel. Desperate. Needy. Love had too many risks attached to it, and I couldn’t afford to fall into that trap.

  I dropped my towel and laid back on the bed in defeat. Was I falling in love with him? Mathias ran his hands up my legs as he crawled onto the bed and came down on top of me with a rush of heat and gentle hands. I moaned against his mouth and spread my legs wide for his body.

  He settled between my legs briefly and then lifted away long enough to get rid of the towel. “Tell me what you want.”

  Pushing my feet flat against the bed, I thrust upward against him and sighed when he slid his cock against me in return. I rocked against him, my clit suddenly throbbing from the intense stimulation. “Mathias.”

  “Say it.”

  I lay beneath him shuddering at the intense pleasure of his body moving against mine. His mouth left mine and then moved downward until he could take one hard nipple into his mouth. I arched against him and clung with all of my strength.

  He lifted away and pushed the head of his cock against the entrance of my pussy. I cried out at the contact and lifted my hips in an effort to take him in.

  “Say it.”

  “Fuck.” I curled my hands into the blanket beneath me and closed my eyes against the torment of physical and emotional sensations inside me. “Fuck me. Put your
cock in me, now.”

  “Tell me how you want it.”