She shot Asher a reproving glance. Not only was her father aware Asher was in her apartment, but he had also told his brother he had been asleep in her apartment when the call came through. “You should have woken me anyway.”
“Your father said not to,” he reminded her.
She snorted. “And we all know you always do everything you’re told to do.”
“I—”
“Forget it, Asher, I’ll call Jack back shortly and explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She turned to Gabriel. “Maybe we should introduce ourselves, Mr. Knight, as your brother seems to have forgotten his manners. As usual.” She stepped farther into her sitting room, hand outstretched toward the slightly older man. “I’m Lissa Forsythe.”
Her hand was taken briefly in the man’s strong, dry grasp. “Please call me Gabriel.” He looked as if he was having trouble holding back a smile, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he glanced at his brother. “You obviously know Ash too well.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself.” She gave Asher another scathing glance.
Ash had absolutely no idea what he had done to earn Lissa’s sarcasm. Or the saccharine-sweet smiles and insults. Or those scornful glances. He’d driven her home from the hospital earlier today. Run her a shower. Okay, so she’d fallen asleep before she’d taken it, but the thought had been there, damn it.
I also spanked her bottom in a public car park before doing any of those things.
Well, yes, because she was being pissy again, making accusations and then refusing to apologize for them.
I threatened to spank her again even after she apologized.
Because her apology hadn’t been sincere. She had merely been paying him lip service in the hope of avoiding another spanking.
A spanking Ash knew he had enjoyed far too much.
Oh fuck.
“Ash?”
He gave a shake of his head to clear it before snapping at his brother. “What?”
Gabriel raised dark brows at his tone. “Miss Forsythe asked us both a question.”
He narrowed his eyes on her. “Yes?”
“I asked if I could get either of you some coffee or orange juice?”
“I’d just made a pot of coffee when Gabriel arrived.”
Her eyes widened as she turned and saw the full pot of coffee on the breakfast bar. “Make yourself at home, why don’t you!”
“You were sleeping, damn it,” Ash defended. “What was I supposed to do, wake you up to ask if it was okay if I made myself coffee?”
“In the same way you woke me up to take Jack’s call!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake…”
“You weren’t supposed to be in my apartment to take the call or make coffee,” she came back tartly. “Your place is outside my apartment, not inside.”
“My place?” Ash’s voice was dangerously soft.
She nodded. “And what have you done with my cat?”
“I didn’t touch your damned cat— Well, I touched him so I could move him off the bed, but otherwise I didn’t lay a finger on him. He let himself out of some sort of cat flap you have in the kitchen window earlier. Which, incidentally, is a security hazard. Anyone could—”
“Ash.”
He glared at his brother’s interruption. “What?”
Gabriel steadily returned his gaze. “I think you both need to take a breath, step back, and calm down.”
“She—”
“He—”
“For God’s sake!” Gabriel raised his voice over both of them. “When I got up this morning, I never for one moment thought I was going to have to be forced into the role of a schoolteacher separating two people who are both old enough to know better.”
Lissa felt the warmth in her cheeks at the reprimand, knowing Gabriel was right. She and Asher were behaving like two schoolchildren fighting in the playground. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I get cranky before I’ve had my first cup of coffee.”
“And when she’s tired. And when she isn’t tired. And every minute in between—”
“Ash, shut the fuck up!”
Lissa’s eyes widened at Gabriel’s growled command. She was even more surprised when Asher took notice of his older brother, albeit with an angry tightening of his jaw.
“I apologize for my language, Miss Forsythe.” Gabriel gave his brother a frustrated glare.
“Asher has that effect on everyone,” she dismissed. “I really need to learn how you did that.” She mocked Asher’s silence as she moved through to the kitchen area to take three mugs from a cupboard and pour coffee into them.
Gabriel gave a rueful smile. “It doesn’t always work.”
“Fifty percent of the time would be enough.”
“When the two of you have quite finished discussing me as if I’m not here…?” Asher put in pointedly.
“Oh, there’s no mistaking your presence, Asher.” Lissa handed the mugs of coffee to the two men before taking a sip of her own brew. Just as she liked it, hot and strong. “I’m more interested in why you’re here, Mr. Knight?” she prompted the older man shrewdly.
“Gabriel,” he repeated evenly. “And obviously Ash didn’t exaggerate your intelligence.” He gave her an approving inclination of his head.
Her eyes were wide as she turned to look at Asher. “You said something nice about me to your brother?”
“Don’t get too excited, I also told him you’re stubborn and impossible to reason with.” Ash dropped down into one of the armchairs, legs sprawled out in front of him. “And shouldn’t you go and put on a robe or something before we have this conversation?” he added irritably. Personally, he was more than happy to continue looking at Lissa dressed only in a thin cotton nightgown, but he wasn’t as happy with Gabriel seeing her like that too.
Ash knew damn well she was naked beneath that nightgown, because he had undressed her and then put her in it. That nakedness was pretty obvious too, her breasts pert and full beneath the low neckline, a darker vee between her legs. Her tousled hair added to that disheveled intimacy.
“No,” she answered him challengingly.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure Gabriel would feel more comfortable if you did.”
“I’m fine with the way Lissa is dressed,” his brother dismissed infuriatingly.
Deliberately so, Ash was sure. Gabriel knew damn well Ash was the one who wasn’t comfortable with Lissa’s lack of clothing in his presence. Come to think of it, Ash should just have sold tickets so all his brothers could see Lissa in her nightclothes! Ethan and now Gabriel; Caleb was the only one missing out.
“I’ll go and get the damned robe myself.” Ash rose abruptly to march down the hallway and collect Lissa’s robe from where he had seen it hanging on the back of the bathroom door. “Here.” He stepped back into the sitting room to thrust the garment at her.
“Stop being such an obnoxious asshole.” She glared as she took the robe from him and slipped it on before fastening it about her waist. “Satisfied?”
“Nowhere near,” he said gruffly. “And watch your mouth,” he reminded her pointedly. “Or I’ll add ten more to the twelve already outstanding, for continued foul language.”
“Ten more what?” Gabriel frowned his curiosity.
“Never mind.” Lissa was the one to answer quickly, the blossoming color in her cheeks telling Ash she, at least, knew exactly what he was referring to. “Could we get this conversation over with?” She settled in one of the armchairs, her legs tucked up beneath her. “I need a shower, and then I have some phone calls I need to make before I go back to the hospital to sit with my father.”
“Who do you need to call?” Ash heard himself ask before he had a chance to recognize how possessive his behavior must appear to both Lissa and Gabriel.
Probably because he felt possessive. Bad-tempered too, from only having had a couple of hours sleep in twenty-four hours. He was also annoyed with Lissa’s a
ttitude since she’d come out of the bedroom. As soon as the two of them were alone together, she was going to know exactly how pissed off he was.
“Mind your own damned business,” she answered predictably. “You were saying, Gabriel?” She turned to his brother.
Ash continued to scowl at her, as for the first time, it occurred to him he hadn’t considered the fact Lissa might already be involved with someone. She’d said she wasn’t married, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a boyfriend. A boyfriend who might be one of the phone calls she had to make.
That possibility should have occurred to him before now. Lissa was a beautiful and desirable woman. Just because his own sex life had been a barren wasteland for months didn’t mean hers had.
Would she tell this other man about the intimacies she’d shared with Ash the past couple of days? Knowing Lissa’s blunt honesty, the answer to that would be yes.
“What are you smiling about?” Lissa eyed him suspiciously as he smiled. “I don’t see anything funny about Claudia having received another threatening text.”
Ash instantly sobered, realizing that instead of listening to the conversation, he had allowed his thoughts to wander to the possibility of Lissa’s boyfriend dumping her because of her involvement with him. He had obviously completely missed Gabriel filling Lissa in on the reason he was here.
This latest text to Claudia had simply read: Who will it be next?
An obvious threat to everyone around Claudia Reynolds.
Which had caused Gabriel and Ash to question whether the shooting of Harvey Stein and Jack Forsythe had been meant for Claudia at all.
Shooting Claudia’s bodyguard dead and injuring her ex-lover was certainly a way to make the woman suffer before she too was taken down.
If Claudia had a heart to suffer with, that is. Which, considering her attitude toward her daughter, Ash wasn’t a hundred percent certain she had.
Which didn’t change the fact Lissa was Claudia’s biological daughter and could possibly be the next person targeted for being close to the older woman.
“Do I take it from this conversation that Knight Security is still employed by my mother?” Lissa prompted.
“I think the arrival of the text message shortly before I got to her apartment may have helped to convince her,” Gabriel acknowledged dryly.
“You didn’t send it, did you?” Lissa teased.
He smiled ruefully. “I didn’t think of it.”
“Maybe next time.”
To Ash’s irritation, Gabriel chuckled. An honest-to-God fucking chuckle. When his big brother was known far and wide for his lack of humor.
Which could only mean Gabriel liked Lissa.
Damn it, this jealousy thing was getting out of hand. Way out of hand if Ash was going to react to something as trivial as Gabriel laughing at something Lissa had said. Humor that Gabriel probably welcomed after the last twelve hours.
Ash knew that Gabriel was taking this latest threat very seriously. Even that fawning idiot Malcolm Arnold, Claudia’s assistant and lover, now had his own separate protection detail.
Lissa sobered. “Is there no way to trace where these text messages are coming from?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Whoever it is, they’re using burner phones. One-time use only before being turned off and then disposed of.”
“What about the e-mails?”
“There were only two, at the start of the threats. Our tech team has established they were both sent from different untraceable e-mail addresses that are now defunct.”
“But can’t they— I think I’ve watched too many forensic science programs on television.” Lissa grimaced self-derisively. “They always seem to get their man by tracing phones records and e-mail addresses.”
“I think our killer must have watched the same programs,” Gabriel drawled, “because he or she knows exactly what to do to avoid detection. Hello, who’s this?” He raised dark brows as the tricolor cat strolled into the room before jumping up onto Lissa’s lap, purring loudly.
“Meet Sherlock.” Lissa cradled the cat in her arms. “This is only cupboard love because he wants feeding again,” she said affectionately as the cat’s head bumped her gently beneath the chin.
“Hm,” Asher murmured. “I’ll have to remember that.”
She shot him a scathing glance as she stood up. “It only works if you purr and have four legs.”
“I could manage the purr.”
Lissa was very aware Gabriel was in the room listening to their conversation. A conversation in which so far neither of them had shown themselves in a good light. Asher’s comment just now had definitely been suggestive.
“If you gentlemen will both excuse me?” She looked at them pointedly. “I have a lot to do before I go to the hospital.”
Gabriel rose politely to his feet. “There will be two men assigned to you now at all times. I’ve put Ethan and Ian on duty here tonight. Ash and Zander will take over again in the morning. I would appreciate it if you could let them know when you want to go out and where you’re going. I take it you’ll want to go to your travel agency tomorrow?”
She nodded. “At least for some of the time.”
Gabriel nodded. “A thorough check will be made of the premises and your employees before tomorrow morning.”
Her arms tightened about Sherlock’s warm body. “This is all very real, isn’t it?” She gave a shiver. “Harvey’s dead. Jack’s shot. My mother in danger.”
“As real as it gets,” Gabriel confirmed. “And as annoying as I know my baby brother can be,” he added mockingly, “I nevertheless advise that you listen without arguing if he issues an order.”
She gave the ghost of a smile. “I’ll try.”
“You’ll do more than try,” Ash growled.
“Ash?” Gabriel prompted.
He knew his brother was expecting him to leave with him. After all, Ethan and Ian should be arriving any minute now.
Not going to happen. Ash wasn’t leaving. At least, not yet. “I want to have a word with Lissa before I go.”
Gabriel gave him a searching glance before giving a barely perceptible nod. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Lissa.” His voice warmed. “Let’s hope next time it’s under pleasanter circumstances.”
And what the fuck did his brother mean by that?
If Gabe thought for one minute—
“Get your shit together, little bro,” Gabriel warned softly, his usual scowl back on his face. “Or you’ll leave me with no choice but to remove you from this assignment after all,” he added before letting himself out of the apartment.
Ash waited only long enough for the door to close behind his brother before speaking. “Put the cat down.”
Lissa blinked at the hardness of his tone. “Why?”
“We have unfinished business. Put the cat down now,” he repeated when Lissa stared back at him.
Chapter 8
“Unfinished business…?” Lissa repeated slowly, half in outrage, half with butterflies of anticipation fluttering in her stomach as Asher stepped closer to her.
She couldn’t seriously want him to resume spanking her, which he was obviously implying he intended doing?
The man was nothing but an arrogant bully.
But he’s a sexy arrogant bully, a traitorous voice inside her head argued back.
Besides, she wasn’t exactly Miss Charm when the two of them were together. She had deliberately bated Asher, several times, in the company of his brother.
Even so… “No.”
“Sure about that?” His lazily confident smile was unnerving to say the least.
Her chin rose stubbornly. “Positive.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “You aren’t wearing stiletto-heeled boots tonight.”
She wasn’t wearing anything but the nightgown and robe she had insisted was sufficient cover for her conversation with the two Knight brothers. “I have a cat, and I’m not afraid to use him.” She held Sherlock defensively
in front of her.
Asher’s lips twitched in a half smile. “Sherlock and I have called a truce. Haven’t we, buddy?” He stroked the cat under the chin.
A caress the treasonous cat arched into as purrs of pleasure rumbled through his body. “Traitor,” Lissa muttered under her breath. “I took you in, I feed you, buy you treats and that ridiculous Christmas stocking you enjoyed ripping to pieces, and this is how you repay me?”
“I found a tin of salmon and fed it to him earlier.” Ash shrugged without apology.
“In other words, you used bribery.”
“And corruption.” He nodded with satisfaction. “Works like a charm.”
“Not on me it doesn’t.” Lissa put the cat down, her gaze avoiding meeting Ash’s as she straightened. “I really need to take a shower, have something to eat, and then get back to the hospital.”
“Taking a shower was my immediate plan too.”
She looked at him uncertainly. “That’s what you meant by unfinished business?”
Ash deliberately widened innocent eyes. “What did you think I meant?”
“I… Well…” Her cheeks became flushed.
Ash grinned openly now. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you were looking forward to being spanked again.”
The moisture suddenly dampening Lissa’s nether lips from merely talking about being spanked would seem to confirm that supposition. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Asher stepped in closer still. So close Lissa could now feel the heat of his body through the thinness of her clothing. “I might be willing to spank you if you were to ask me nicely,” he invited huskily.
“Go fuck yourself!”
He gave a reproving shake of his head. “That definitely merits another ten being added to the original twelve.”
Her eyes flickered up to his and then quickly down again as she saw the angry glitter in those dark jade-flecked depths. “I said don’t be ridiculous.”
“But your body is saying something else entirely. Here, for instance.” One of his hands moved up to cup beneath the fullness of her breast. “Your nipples are hard and begging to be touched.” He stroked the soft pad of his thumb over that turgid flesh. “And you’re wet between your thighs… Don’t attempt to deny it, Lissa,” he warned as she would have done exactly that. “Not when the smell of your arousal is driving me insane. So which is it to be? Shall we take a shower together, or do you want me to resume spanking you? Or maybe both?” he speculated. “I could spank you first and then…soothe your stinging flesh while we’re in the shower together.”
Defying Asher (Knight Security 1) Page 8
