by Susan Stoker
“Be smart in there, Lex,” Blake warned in a low tone, reaching over and placing his palm on her upper back as she prepared to get out of his Mustang.
Alexis could feel the warmth from his hand seep into her skin and caught herself before she leaned into him. How embarrassing would it be if she did and he pulled away with a look of horror on his face?
She looked over at him and barely glanced at his forearm before bringing her eyes up to his face. “I will,” she said quickly. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She nodded at him and opened the door, breaking their physical contact, and climbed out before she said something sappy that she’d definitely regret. What she really wanted to do was tell him how nervous and scared she was, but if she did, she had a feeling Blake would call the whole thing off. He’d told her several times if she wanted to back out of the meeting with Kelly he wouldn’t think less of her. That he and his brothers would find a way to get the information about the Inca Boyz without having to put her in harm’s way.
Over the past couple of weeks, ever since the job down in Colorado Springs, when she’d opened up to Blake about her motivations behind working at Ace Security, she’d sensed that Blake was treating her differently, but she’d convinced herself that it was nothing more than wishful thinking. He seemed more protective, asking her to text him when she got home and to drive safe. He’d even called and chatted on the phone a few times, and almost every conversation ended with them talking about nothing in particular, and nothing that had to do with Ace Security and the job. It was weird and wonderful at the same time.
Alexis had no idea what to do with a man like Blake. She’d kept men in general at arm’s length for so long she probably wouldn’t even realize if someone wanted more than just a roll in the sheets. Between her diminutive size and average looks, men tended to treat her like their little sister or a buddy more than anything else, unless they were trying to get in her pants. Her jovial mannerisms and tough demeanor didn’t help. And up until Blake, that had been just fine with her.
But for the first time in her life, Alexis wished she knew what to say or what to do to encourage a man to want her. And not just any man, but Blake Anderson. She wanted him to look at her as more than just the friendly chick he worked with. She longed for it.
Trying to block the morose thoughts swirling through her brain, Alexis took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to lust over Blake or to wish for something she had no idea how to get. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Without looking back at the car, or Blake, and ignoring the way the tape pulled on the microphone against the sensitive skin between her breasts with every step, Alexis walked quickly toward the entrance of the store. She had an idea about how to casually approach Kelly, but timing was everything.
Blake watched Lex walk toward the store, and he ground his teeth together in frustration. She looked sexy as fuck, and it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself when she’d folded herself into the seat next to him. Her legs looked miles longer than usual in the heels she was wearing, and the silky material of her shirt made his palms itch to run his hands up her sides to cup her breasts. Not to mention the glimpse he’d gotten of her shapely thigh as she’d eased herself into the seat of the Mustang. He’d never seen her as dolled up as she was this morning. Even though it seemed like a costume, and she bore little resemblance to the real woman he’d gotten to know, Blake couldn’t lie and tell himself he didn’t like the way she looked. Her outfit screamed money and class, but to him, it only made him want to hike her up against the nearest wall and muss her up. The dichotomy of the woman he knew, the one who had no problem letting him know when he was being overbearing and obnoxious, and the way she looked sitting prim and proper next to him made his cock spring to attention faster than it had ever done in his life.
It was getting harder and harder to keep his feelings to himself. Most of his life he’d had women throw themselves at him. He hadn’t had to pursue a woman in so long he’d almost forgotten how. No, that wasn’t true. He’d forgotten the feelings of anticipation, frustration, and excitement that being the aggressor in a relationship made him feel. Too many women thought nothing of pressing their phone number into his hand, leaning into him, pressing their tits against his arm, and even playing with the hair at the nape of his neck without his approval or encouragement.
They took flirting to an obnoxious level to let him know they would approve of, and accept, his advances. And in the past, he’d taken advantage of their actions. He’d had a couple of one-night stands and had met a few of his girlfriends because they’d made the first move. But after he got out of the army and moved back to Castle Rock, the games had gotten old. He wanted to be the pursuer, not the pursued. And for the first time in a fuck of a long time, he’d found a woman he wanted to pursue.
But the hell of it was that Lex wasn’t giving him any cues that she’d be receptive of his advances. She didn’t flirt. It was as if she didn’t even know how. And that was intriguing as all get-out. No matter how many times he oh-so-casually touched her, she never seemed to reciprocate. Didn’t lean into him, didn’t seem to even notice he was touching her. At least outwardly. But she couldn’t hide her unconscious physical reactions: The tightening of her nipples when he did touch her. The way her eyes followed his arms when he moved. The look of longing in her beautiful brown eyes.
For the first time in his life, Blake was unsure how to proceed. He wanted Alexis Grant and was fairly confident that she wanted him back. But he was kind of her boss, and now he was putting her smack-dab in the middle of a volatile situation, and she was relying on him for backup. It wasn’t exactly conducive to starting, or continuing, a relationship.
But watching Lex walk into the store, and listening through the headphones to her quicker-than-normal breathing as she looked for Kelly, Blake realized that he was done playing games. He didn’t want another day to go by without telling Lex that she meant something to him. That he wanted to go on a date with her. That he wanted to see if the chemistry he felt around her was returned. Alexis’s bravery was almost as attractive to him as her outward appearance. Whatever it was about her, Blake wasn’t willing to let one more hour go by without her knowing what he felt.
“Found her.”
The husky whispered voice came through the earpiece loud and clear and almost made Blake jump. He was so into his head about what he wanted to say to Alexis he’d almost lost track of what he was there for.
Knowing she couldn’t hear him, he mumbled, “Good girl,” anyway.
For twenty minutes he heard nothing but Alexis’s deep breathing as she followed Kelly around the store. Blake knew she was pretending to shop as she tried to find a way to approach the other woman.
Another agonizing five minutes went by before he finally heard Lex speak again.
“Kelly? Kelly White? Is that you?”
“Who wants to know?” Kelly’s voice was rough, as if she smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes a day. And she sounded pissed off.
“It is you!” Lex said in a chirpy voice that Blake had never heard come from her before. It was weird and made her sound years younger. “It’s me! Alexis Grant! You remember me, right? We went to middle and high school together.”
“Oh yeah, sure, I remember you. You still loaded?” Kelly sneered rudely.
Jesus, Blake hated the woman, and she hadn’t said more than a dozen words yet.
Lex giggled, another odd sound he hadn’t heard from her before.
“Yeah. Well, my parents are at least. You still live around here?”
“Yup. Wouldn’t be shopping at this fucking Walmart if I didn’t,” Kelly retorted acidly.
“Right, silly me,” Lex replied, sounding like an airhead and not at all put out by the chilly reception Kelly was giving her. “We had some fun times in middle school, didn’t we? Remember when we used to go to the mall? You were always so forgetful. I can’t even remember how many times you forgot your purse and I had to pay. It was so funny.”
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br /> Subtle, she wasn’t, but Blake knew immediately what Lex was doing. They’d discussed the best way to approach Kelly. They’d decided not to beat around the bush but to get right to the point. Alexis was doing exactly as they’d talked about. He held his breath as she continued.
“It always used to bug me, you know,” Alexis said in what he assumed was supposed to be a nostalgic tone, “that my parents could easily afford things for me that my friends couldn’t. The world is definitely not a fair place. I’m sorry we didn’t get to hang out more in high school. I missed our friendship. It looks like you’re doing well for yourself now. I love that blouse.”
Kelly snorted and simply said, “Yeah.”
Lex continued on as if she wasn’t hearing the ice in the other woman’s voice. “My parents still give me a monthly allowance, if you can believe that. It’s crazy. I don’t even have to work, but I found an easy part-time job. I get bored laying around the house or shopping all day.”
“You don’t live around here, do you?” Kelly asked.
“Here? Oh no!” Lex said, sounding appalled. “I live downtown in one of those remodeled apartment buildings. You know, the kind with the pool on the roof, the security desk when you go in, and the elevator that takes a key card to get to the correct floor.”
“What are you doing here then?”
Blake tensed. Kelly sounded intrigued and skeptical all at the same time. He wasn’t sure their cover story would hold.
Lex giggled again before saying airily, “Oh, there’s a bar near here that I like to go to. My parents don’t like it when I go to establishments that are ‘beneath our station.’” Blake could just imagine Lex using air quotes when she said that last bit. She continued. “Sometimes I get the hankering for something more exciting than a martini, if you know what I mean.”
Blake held his breath. Would Kelly take the bait?
“Really? You like to hang out in bars in this neighborhood?”
“Well, yeah. They’re exciting. The men are just so much more . . . manly, if you know what I mean. I find a guy sexy who doesn’t give a crap about what other people think about him. I’m not a violent person, but there’s just something about a man who pulls out a knife or a gun if someone says something rude to him. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be with a man who can protect you? The last guy I dated was from around here and had all sorts of crazy tattoos and insisted on only wearing certain colors.” Alexis’s ditzy giggle sounded loud in Blake’s ear through the microphone. He wondered if she was overdoing it, but she continued. “But wait . . . is there something wrong with the bars around here? Are they dangerous?” Alexis whispered the last word as if it was something dirty that she shouldn’t be saying in public.
“No. Not at all,” Kelly said in a tone slightly warmer than the polar-ice-cap tone she’d been using earlier. It was a good sign. “They’re great. And I agree with you about the kind of men here. I had no idea you were into that sort of thing. I had you pegged as someone who would be dating a lawyer or maybe one of those fancy architects who work for your parents. Maybe we should get together sometime. I could introduce you to some of my friends.”
Hook. Line. And freaking sinker. Blake should’ve felt better about it, but he didn’t. The last thing he wanted was to prolong this entire situation. He’d agreed to involving Alexis, but now that it looked like the plan was working and things would progress, he hated it. To sit outside of some seedy gangbanger-infested bar and listen, helpless to do anything if Lex got in trouble, was not something he wanted to do in this lifetime, especially considering the epiphany he’d had about Alexis as she’d walked away from his car. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to lock Lex inside her expensive, but safe, apartment and never let her out again.
“Awesome! I’d love that!” Lex said in a voice that mimicked the chirpiest, happiest teenybopper on the planet. “We could catch up! I’d love to meet your friends. I could buy a round for old times’ sake.” And cue the ridiculous fake giggle again.
Blake heard a muffled voice through the mic but couldn’t understand what was said. Then he heard Kelly say in a fake tone, “Oh shit, I can’t find my credit card.”
Then Alexis said in the perky voice he was quickly becoming to hate, “Really? Wow, it’s just like when we were in middle school. No problem, Kelly! Let me pay for your stuff. It would suck for you to have to leave it now when it’s all bagged up. I’m so happy I ran into you. What a coincidence.”
“Yeah, me too,” Kelly drawled.
“I can’t wait to meet your friends. Should we exchange numbers then? So we can make plans to get together?” Alexis asked.
Blake heard more scratching against the mic as Alexis pulled the burner phone they’d bought a few days ago out of her pocket for just this purpose.
“Sure, although I don’t have mine with me. Why don’t you just give me your number, and I’ll text you.”
“Great!”
Red flags were popping up all over for Blake, but he wasn’t surprised. Kelly was obviously street savvy and wasn’t going to hand over her phone number to Alexis.
There was more scratching over the microphone as Alexis dug for a business card, complete with hearts and flowers on it. She handed it over to her new “friend” Kelly and said, “Here’s my card with my cell number, e-mail, and Facebook page. Make sure you friend! I can’t wait to hear from you! Have a good day, Kelly!”
“Later,” the other woman mumbled.
Blake listened to Lex chirp to the checkout girl about nothing in particular as he watched the entrance of the store. He clocked Kelly the instant she exited the automatic doors. She looked exactly like Lex had described. Long, thin blonde hair that was dyed purple on the ends. Skinny. Unhealthy-looking. Tall, wearing high heels, a short denim skirt, and a T-shirt tight enough to belong to a child rather than an adult. At least it looked like she was wearing a bra today. Lex had said when she’d seen her during her last surveillance, her boobs were practically falling out of the crop top she’d been wearing.
The second Kelly cleared the automatic doors, she pulled a phone out of the large bag on her shoulder. Blake would’ve given anything to hear what she was saying, but he could imagine. She was probably calling someone from her posse, reporting that she’d just talked to a “long-lost friend” and they’d all be drinking, if not more, for free very soon.
Kelly didn’t wait around. As soon as she’d loaded her purchases that she didn’t have to pay for, thanks to Lex, into the backseat of her piece-of-shit Saturn, she peeled out of the parking lot, the phone still stuck to her ear.
Blake heard Lex thanking the cashier, and moments later she said softly, “I’m coming out . . . I hope the coast is clear.”
It was. They’d made arrangements that if Kelly was still in the parking lot, he’d move the car to let her know. Alexis would then pretend to have “lost” her car and would go back inside. But since Kelly was long gone, Blake stayed right where he was, watching as Lex walked back to him.
Not back to the car. Back to him.
That’s how it felt. That she’d gone up against the devil and had come through to the other side unscathed. To him.
Blake stayed seated but popped the trunk so Lex could put whatever crap she’d bought as a decoy away. He watched in the rearview mirror as she put the couple of plastic bags inside and slammed the trunk shut. Then she walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and sat, turning to smile at him.
It was open and friendly. A bit triumphant. And exuberant.
Lex’s smile was the last straw. Between his feelings of lust from the second he’d picked her up, to his anxiety about the situation she was putting herself in, to his relief when it had actually worked, back to lust when he’d seen her skirt ride up her thigh as she once again sat in his car, it was all too much.
Blake reached for Lex the second the door closed behind her, putting one hand behind her neck to pull her into him and turning her shoulder to face him with the other.
His mouth crashed onto hers and she gasped at his actions. He took advantage and surged inside her mouth like a man possessed. Blake knew he wasn’t acting rationally, but he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to show her how much she meant to him. That she was his.
He ate at Lex’s mouth, relieved when he felt her tongue come out to tangle with his own. She was hesitant, and it was obvious she was acting more on instinct than actual experience, but she was with him, not pushing against him or freezing in his arms. It was all the encouragement he needed to continue.
Moving his hand from her shoulder to the other side of her neck, Blake used both hands to turn her head to just the right angle for his mouth. As he devoured her, he felt Lex’s hands come up and grip his forearms, digging her slight fingernails into his skin as he continued their kiss. He hoped she was leaving marks on his skin. He wanted her to claim him right back.
She made little noises as he wrapped his tongue around hers and sucked. When he drew back only far enough to nip her bottom lip, she groaned, which in turn made him growl low in his throat and thrust into her mouth again. What sounds would she make when he pushed inside her? When she came? He couldn’t wait to find out. In the meantime, Blake couldn’t get enough of her. She tasted like the mint she’d popped in her mouth before she’d gone into the store. Mint and Lex. It was a lethal combination.
Knowing he had to pull back, before he moved them both into the miniscule back seat and threw their backs out or, more likely, got them arrested, Blake eased away, thrilled beyond belief when Lex whimpered in protest when she lost his mouth. She leaned toward him, and he rested his forehead on hers, keeping his hands where they were so as not to give in to the temptation to explore.