“If you want to sit by a beautiful woman, go into the woods and find your own.”
Milton took a sip of his drink, holding my gaze. His was hungry and dark like I might be a condiment on his normal buffet.
Harlon leaned into Milton. “Quit the commentary in your head.”
“That’s kind of hard to do.” Milton’s smile grew as his gaze slowly traveled to my breasts in the too-tight top that Ruby had brought me when I was at the mansion.
“My eyes are up here, Romeo,” I said, snapping my fingers.
Quinton nudged his brother. “She’s got your number, and she just met you. You should think about that.”
Milton winked. “Save me a dance tonight, honey, and I’ll give you all my numbers.”
Harlon rested his hand over mine on the table. The move didn’t go unnoticed. Milton met Harlon’s gaze. He tilted his head in understanding before he turned his attention to Ruby. “Ruby will dance with me, won’t you darlin’?”
Ruby rose and rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, I see Senator Henderson. I’d like to go say hello.”
She disappeared again, and Quinton rose, too, nudging his brother in the shoulder. “I think we’ll go say hello too. We’re still negotiating security for his daughter’s wedding. Come on, Romeo. Maybe you can turn off the charm and put your business head back to work.”
Harlon and I remained at the table. His warm palm lay over mine when our waiter returned with my drink and brought one for Harlon that he hadn’t ordered. The waiter’s gaze landed on our joined hands, and he smiled as if realizing his tip probably had just quadrupled.
“Did you buy a dress?”
“She bought me three,” I said, slipping my hand free and taking a sip of my water. “And shoes and jeans and purses and lingerie. The woman is like a tornado blowing in and out of stores.”
“Listen,” he said, retaking my hand. “I’m sorry about the warehouse. That…situation…just caught me off guard.”
“I get it,” I said as he lifted my wrist to his mouth and placed a tender kiss on my pulse point. His heated gaze held mine, dripping with promises yet to come.
“Two days,” I whispered, trying to stop the heat claiming my cheeks. “Speaking of…” I said, slipping my hand free again and flipping through my sketchbook.
Without my fingers to hold, Harlon slid his hand onto my knee beneath the table, as if not touching me pained him.
I swallowed hard and licked my lips without meeting his eyes. I knew my desire would be staring back at me.
I slid his hand off my leg. “You keep touching me and we won’t make it till our entree arrives, and I need food.”
He chuckled but clasped his hands on the table. “What were you going to show me?”
I flipped the book open to the page I’d been drawing and flipped it around. “This.”
His sister was in some type of horse stable. Hay was lying around the floor. Suzie’s back was against the wall as she held up her hand to stop the man pointing a gun at her.
“Did you see his face?”
I shook my head. “No, but I think touching the football that Suzie made triggered this drawing
Harlon
Chapter 19
He couldn’t eat. Not after seeing the picture of Suzie. Whoever she was running from was going to catch up to her. The drugs caught him off guard, but that picture…that picture made him ready to kill.
Harlon’s gaze went to the closed sketchbook sitting on Nina’s lap beneath the table. He was an idiot to think Suzie might be hiding and laying in wait.
The drugs didn’t make sense. Neither did Manny’s mauling. None of it did, not even Nina.
“Just because I drew it doesn’t mean that it’s happened yet. I can hear the wheels turning in your head.” Nina leaned in to whisper, her breath tickling his ear as she placed her palm on his thigh as if to make sure she had his attention. She did. “We’ll find her.”
She was right. He would find his sister. The outcome had been seen. “How long before that happens?”
Nina shrugged. “The pictures I draw don’t come with a countdown clock.”
“The boy in the woods?”
“The search date was already set. I only knew I’d find him before it got dark and before the bear showed up. Otherwise I would have drawn the moon in the sky instead of the sun.”
He kissed her temple and frowned. There was nothing in her sketch to tell him when. Only that if he didn’t find his sister first, Suzie would be looking down the barrel of the gun.
Harlon rested his hand on the back of Nina’s chair and lifted his gaze to the others as they returned at the table. Their mood was carefree. Quinton, was the lone holdout. He was sipping his bourbon and staring toward the entry.
Harlon had built this life surrounded by these people, and he’d never felt more alone. How could they not care that his sister was missing and alone? How could they know things were ever going to be all right again?
“We’ve got incoming,” Quinton said and nudged his brother.
Riley Wilcox was crossing the room. Harlon didn’t need this today. Not now.
Riley rested his hand on Ruby’s chair.
“The ostentatious three.” His voice dripped with disdain. There was no love lost between Riley and his group.
“Why don’t you crawl back into the hole you emerged from,” Milton said.
Riley’s family had been cut out of Watch Guard Industries. He’d been caught selling dogs to the mob, who then used the trained animals as weapons. Manny and Mr. Fields had a hand in destroying the Wilcox name.
“Riley, now’s not the time for this,” Quinton said, moving his napkin from his lap to the table.
The air around the table filled with tension. Even Milton had quit flirting with the woman at the next table. They all knew how volatile this situation would get.
All eyes were on the threat, just like they’d been trained.
Riley’s gaze landed on Harlon’s arm, resting on Nina’s chair, before he even lifted his gaze to her face.
One wrong word, one wrong move, and Riley would regret coming over to this table. Harlon stared back at him. There was no running commentary in his head. Nothing short of that Nina was too beautiful for Harlon. He already knew that.
Riley’s eye twitched as his mind shifted. A black mist settled over his thoughts, clouding them.
“I heard what happened to Manny. It’s a shame he’s lost his touch on controlling those dogs.”
Harlon shoved out of his chair, and Nina rose with him. She rested her hand on his arm.
“Introduce me,” Nina said, using the sweet tone he’d come to notice she only used on those she was about to toy with. She’d used it on him in the woods and again in the cabin.
“No. There’s no reason to taint you,” Harlon said.
Riley chuckled before meeting Nina’s gaze. “I’m Riley Wilcox. My father helped establish the company that Manny and the Fields stole away.”
“Riley, I think you should leave,” Ruby whispered, earning Riley’s attention.
“In due time, after I finish my story, Ruby,” he said with a sadistic smile before meeting Nina’s gaze again. “The woman needs to know what kind of company she’s keeping.”
“You assume I don’t,” Nina asked.
“Both of their families ruined the Wilcox name. They had my father blackballed from the industry because Manny and Mr. Fields spread their lies that we were in bed with the mob.”
“The sins of the parents are not the sins of their children. But you should really do something about the anger you carry. It can eat you alive if you don’t.”
His eye twitched. “What the hell do you know? You’re just the latest of a long line of women he’s ruined. Ask him how many clients he’s slept with.”
“I don’t need to,” Nina answered. “I don’t care about his past.”
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
“None of your business,” Quinton said, rising from hi
s seat.
“Nina Bennett,” she answered and lifted her chin.
“She didn’t even bat an eye.” Riley chuckled and turned his attention to Nina. “What street corner did you find this one on, Harlon?”
Harlon had taken a step to round the table when Nina touched his arm. “I’ve got this. Let me show you how a southern woman gets things done.”
Harlon dropped his gaze to hers. “This isn’t your fight, Nina.”
“You two have a seat. I’ll see him out.” Quinton shoved the chair farther away and rounded the table, grabbing Riley’s arm. The people at the tables around them stopped talking.
Management was watching, and the clients that Harlon had been trying to land had quit their conversation. Harlon didn’t even care. Harlon clenched and unclenched his fist.
“Riley, isn’t it?” Nina said, stepping around the table to where Quinton had a grip on Riley. She threaded her arm around Riley’s elbow and led him from the table.
She was going to kill Riley with kindness. Maybe she wasn’t his future wife.
“I’m not ready to leave,” Riley started to protest.
“If you know what’s good for you, then yes you are,” she said still in earshot. She gestured around the room as she led him to the door. They spoke just outside the entrance, but Harlon refused to tear his gaze away or retake his seat.
Did she know him?
“They look awful chummy,” Quinton observed.
“Harlon, your future is talking to your past. Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Milton asked.
Ruby was turned in her seat watching Nina and Riley talk outside.
Nina held her arms folded across her chest and had her head tilted as if listening intently. It was Riley who was shifting from one foot to another, pointing an accusatory finger in their direction.
Nina glanced their way. A frown marred her face before she turned back to Riley. Riley handed her something that looked like a business card.
“That’s enough,” Harlon said, stepping around the table and heading for the door. Nina saw him coming and stepped back inside the entryway, blocking his path.
He watched over Nina’s head as Riley walked away.
“What the hell was that about?” Harlon asked through gritted teeth.
“No one knows you better than an arch-nemesis. I thought maybe he could help,” Nina said.
“You’re joking, right?” Harlon growled. “Everything he said about Manny and Mr. Fields running him off is true, except for when he called them liars.”
“I believe you,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “You said it yourself,” Nina said, pulling Harlon into a little alcove and out of earshot from people coming and going from the restaurant. “The drugs weren’t normal. Who better to try and throw your family under the bus? First Manny is mauled by someone he knew who made that tape. They knew the right words to set the dogs off. Then Suzie vanishes and leaves you a clue. Harlon.” She met his gaze. “It has to be someone in your inner circle. Someone who could get close enough to pull this off, whether that means friends or enemies.”
Harlon shook his head. Anger coiled like a snake in his stomach. “No one has more of a reason to hurt my family than that bastard and his dad.”
“I know,” Nina said. “That’s why I wanted to make sure I got a good look at his face. You know, in case he ends up in a sketch.”
Harlon dropped his gaze to hers. “You did that so you’d know for sure.”
“Of course,” she said as her lips tilted up in a smile. “Why else would I even bother? Although your future clients were watching with interest.”
Harlon rested his palm on Nina’s neck and slowly lowered his head as he pulled her near. Every minute spent with this woman was changing him. Making him need her. Crave her.
He kissed her long and hard, not caring who saw. He pulled back. “I’m starving. Are you ready to go?”
“Your food is probably cold.”
His lips twisted into a grin. “It’s not food that I’m hungry for.”
“I just need to grab my sketchpad. All of my bags are already in the car.”
Harlon slipped his fingers through hers and led her back inside to the table. “Nina and I are leaving. Quinton, please give Ruby a ride,” Harlon announced, meeting Ruby’s gaze. “I’ll have your bags delivered to your house.”
“But we weren’t done shopping,” Ruby said. “There were five more places I wanted to take her and then to the spa.”
“A spa—” Nina said.
“Will have to wait,” Harlon announced. “She has another engagement.”
“Right,” Nina said and rounded the table. She picked up her pencil case and sketchpad. “Thanks, Ruby. Maybe if I ever visit, we can do it again some time.”
“Of course,” Ruby said as Harlon slipped his fingers through Nina’s and guided her through the restaurant.
He waited until they were in the back of the Town Car before he spoke. “Ruby likes you.”
“Really, how can you tell?”
“I can read her mind, and hers was stuck on seeing you in the new lingerie. She really likes you.”
Nina’s eyes widened, and her cheeks pinkened. “I had no idea.”
“She doesn’t advertise it. No one knows. Hell I wouldn’t if it weren’t for me being able to read her mind,” Harlon said just as he pulled Nina close and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her for days.
“While you were shopping, did she buy you a gun?”
“What? No,” Nina said.
“That’s just as well,” Harlon said and pulled the blue Tiffany bag off the floorboard. “I did.”
“I don’t need a gun,” Nina said, shoving the bag back in his direction.
“Everyone needs a gun,” Harlon said, pushing it back.
“I don’t want a gun,” Nina said.
“You need protection,” he demanded.
“I have protection,” she said, leaning into him and claiming his lips again.
She was right, and something told him this wouldn’t be the last time she was right. Still, once she was his wife, he’d train her how to fight, how to shoot, and everything else he could to keep her safe. Hell, he’d even pick her out the perfect dog to keep her and Peanut safe.
“You’re thinking too much,” she whispered against his lips.
Chapter 20
The kiss was hard and punishing as we stepped into the elevator. Heated beyond words. His desire spurred mine higher as he picked me up, nestling his shaft against my heat and pressed me against the cold metal walls. He tasted of bourbon and steak as I kissed him back.
“Where have you been all my life?” His voice was a whisper against my skin as he trailed his kisses down my neck.
His hands clutched my ass, and my legs wrapped tightly around his waist. The elevator doors opened and he carried me out.
The sketchbook fell from my hands, and he lifted his heated lips from my dampened skin. His smoldering eyes held mine. The rise and fall of his chest matched mine, and we barely made it to the bedroom before we became engulfed in flames.
I knew I should stop him. Point out the obvious. In tangled sheets, we weren’t helping anyone, but I was lost in the spell he had over me. The feel of his touch and the taste of his skin. He was an addiction I craved.
Gently I slid down his body. My heart raced. I was done waiting for life to find me. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head, only breaking eye contact for a mere second. The color of his eyes deepened with desire before his gaze dropped to my chest, caressing me.
I dropped my shirt to the floor.
I reached behind my back and unhooked my bra, letting it slide down my arms to the floor next to my shirt.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” I said, reaching for the button of my jeans.
He rested his hand over mine, stilling the movement, and gave me a wickedly sexy grin. “I can take it from here.”
And he did. Several times until I was
left sated with tingles all over my body.
I lay in his arms. Comfortable like I’d known him forever. When nothing could be further from the truth.
“Was Riley being honest?”
Harlon exhaled hard and turned to kiss my temple. “Yes. Although Derek Fields and Manny didn’t have to make up lies.”
I caressed his stomach, drawing circles over the hard planes.
“Do you think Riley is behind all this?”
There was a brief pause before he answered. “I don’t know if he’s got the smarts to pull it off,” Harlon said, staring at the ceiling. “Riley and his dad were opposites. His dad was looking for ways to exploit the business, or, as he would say, take it into a more lucrative place. Riley was more comfortable in the creation aspect. He holds several patents to some ingenious dog harnesses and other things. I don’t see him street smart enough to pull this off, much less having the stomach for it. I would never peg him for attempted murder, no matter our history.”
I went to slide out of the bed when he pulled me back in and rolled until I was on top of him. “We need to get ready for the party.”
“We will, but first there’s something we need to talk about.”
I raised a brow.
“Even if my sister shows up at the party, stay with me. Don’t go back.”
“Harlon, you hardly know me.”
“I know what makes you tick without even reading your mind. I think I just proved that.”
I licked my lips. “What’s my favorite color?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many sisters do I have?”
“I know what you’re trying to do. I’ll learn those details over time. Just give us a chance.”
“You don’t even know me,” I said, meeting his determined gaze.
“I know enough.”
“No, you don’t.” I sighed. “I bet I could drive you crazy within a month. I’ve done it before.”
“Not possible,” he said as his lips turned up at the corners.
“It is possible, and I have the track record to prove it.” I pressed a slow and tender kiss to his lips. “My life is there, and yours is here.” My eyes searched his for understanding. “But I’ll make a deal. Whenever you’re in town and want to play lumberjack, I’m sure I can find my way back to the house in the woods.”
Hard to Hold (Bennett Dynasty Book 4) Page 8
