Becca nodded in the general direction of Bast’s regular table. “I see you brought Elijah.”
“Is that a problem?” Bast knew all about Elijah and Becca’s rough history. He’d heard them yell at each other more than once, but that hadn’t happened in weeks.
“Not for me, though I think he still hates me.” Her smile didn’t falter as she said it. “I’m impressed with how you cleaned him up. The dress pants and blazer are nice touches. He no longer looks ready to kill someone every second. That’s progress of a sort.”
“If you say so.”
Word was Becca and Elijah butted heads even when they worked together at the CIA. Then there was a day more than a month ago when Bast walked in to find them locked in battle, with Elijah pulling a gun on Jarrett and Becca pulling a few weapons of her own. The whole scene still made Bast chuckle, but only because Jarrett defused it and no one actually got shot. Which was nothing short of a miracle.
Bast watched now as Elijah tried not to look over at the bar and the man behind it. Eli paged through a folder and glanced at his phone. Did everything to look disinterested in his surroundings, which Bast knew not to be true.
After a short time working together, Bast realized Eli constantly soaked in information. Probably part of his training but a really helpful gift. Bast doubted Eli could turn that off just because he sat in the club.
It was a real shame none of those skills Elijah collected had to do with being a people pleaser. “I’ve discovered Eli is not a big fan of humans in general.”
“Except Wade.”
Bast’s gaze shot over to the man in question, the same man sneaking peeks in Elijah’s direction. The two men went to great lengths not to notice each other. Never mind that each had stopped cold when their gazes met a few minutes ago. No way had that attraction died.
Bast exhaled. “Right, except Wade. Not that Elijah admits to his feelings on that score.”
“The lovesick staring gives him away.” Becca leaned forward and looked around Bast at Wade. “Both of them. They’re making me nuts with this.”
“Is this why you called me here? Are you matchmaking?” Not really his expertise, but if she wanted to try, Bast figured he could help. If only to stop the pathetic displays of masculine stupidity.
“Actually, I wanted to talk about club security,” she said.
Now that subject sat well within Bast’s comfort zone. “Did something happen?”
“This is more of a coverage question.”
He listened but his gaze kept sweeping the room for any sign of the sexy blonde who had his nuts in a grinder. “Go ahead.”
“You know how I wanted to make sure the staff was protected as much as possible from the wandering hands of members and any potential problems leaving the club at night.” Becca had insisted on greater protections for the women who worked at the club, the same ones who already thought Jarrett did a good job watching over them. Making them an even bigger priority won the immediate loyalty of all. Becca then insisted Jarrett cough up the funds to do whatever she wanted.
Bast doubted the convincing was all that hard. “Sure.”
“We increased security and added the locked walkway to the employee parking lot to prevent run-ins with drunks stumbling out of nearby bars.” She turned so she faced Bast. “See, the thing I forgot to share with you is how I installed all of these extra cameras. Some you wouldn’t even notice if you were looking at them because they’re hidden. One of those tricks from my old job.”
He was smart enough to listen to the alarm bells ringing in his head and treaded carefully. “Okay.”
“I’m wondering if, as a result of these cameras, I have a problem.”
“How so?”
“Liability.”
Not what he expected her to say. Then again, he wasn’t totally sure where she was going with this. Becca didn’t rush into anything and talked all of her plans over with him and Jarrett first. So, whatever she was poking around here involved something else and Bast didn’t know what. “You lost me.”
“Well, there’s no warning to people that they’re being taped.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “So, let’s say a member with access to the staff parking lot stops one of our female attendants and kisses her. Shoves her up against the wall and basically climbs all over her.”
Son of a bitch. “Listen, I think—”
“Nuh-uh.” Becca waved a finger in front of his face. “Interrupting me right now is not a good idea.”
It was the way she said it that had his jaw snapping shut. “Go ahead.”
“You know the type of touching I mean. Complete with putting his hands up her skirt and only stopping a short step away from carrying her to his car and screwing her there.”
This time he didn’t wait. She might carry a gun, but he had limits on how much of his personal life he wanted batted around. “I know what you think you saw.”
“I saw you stick your tongue down Kyra’s throat as your hands disappeared in her underwear.” When he started to talk, Becca cut him off with a slice of her hand through the air. “I can only assume from that behavior that you’ve forgotten I used to kill for a living and that Wade will rip through you like paper.”
“Trust me I am aware of all those possibilities.” And was kind of sick of hearing and thinking about them.
“Then what’s with the sudden bout of idiocy?”
The nasty words rushed up on him. The biting retort about the choices she’d made in her love life and how much she’d fucked up her relationship with Jarrett before she set it right.
But he skipped the personal jab and reined in the anger threatening to explode inside him. Because that’s what he did. That’s how he operated. He maintained his control and generally won his arguments. “Frankly, this isn’t your business.”
“I disagree.”
“We’re not debating the point.”
“Interesting approach.” Becca eyed him up. “The tough talk. Not how I thought you’d handle this.”
“What did you think I’d say?”
Her stance relaxed a bit. “Denial, whining. It’s amazing what some men do when cornered.”
“None of that is my style.” This time he cut Becca off before she started talking again. “And Kyra is a grown-up.”
“One I happen to like very much.”
“Me, too.”
Becca snorted. “Obviously.”
The conversation had passed the point of annoying him. “I mean as a friend.”
“You tongue all your female friends?”
He decided to ignore that since it was a legitimate shot in light of the parking lot kiss. “Admittedly, what happened shouldn’t have happened in public, or at least not in direct line of a camera. For that I apologize. But when it comes to my love life, to whatever role Kyra plays in it, this conversation is over.”
“Maybe I disagree.”
“Unlike my ex, I do not kiss and tell. Ever.”
“Don’t mess with her, Bast.” Becca’s shoulders fell as she rested a hand on his arm. “If you play around and string Kyra along, even Jarrett is going to come down on your head.”
“Did you tell him what you saw?” Not that it mattered. Bast didn’t need to run his love life by Jarrett for permission, but he did want to be the one to tell his best friend before any gossip reached him.
Problem was Bast didn’t even know if there was something to talk about yet. Becca rammed into the middle of what amounted to one kiss. A fucking spectacular kiss, but that was all. Bast could still turn this around and walk away.
Not that he intended to do that. Not after a long night thinking about Kyra.
“Jarrett’s been busy dealing with a member who’s on the verge of bankruptcy and wants to throw around what little money he has here instead of on his fa
mily.” Becca rolled her eyes as she said it. She worked with Jarrett and Wade and managed many of the business’s aspects now, but she’d been clear that she found many of the members to be hypocritical windbags.
Bast didn’t disagree.
“People make bad decisions all the time. That’s what pays my fees.” If people started acting smarter, he’d have to find a new career, and he had zero interest in that.
“Which brings us back to the Kyra situation.”
Not in Bast’s mind. He glanced around, making sure Wade and Eli stayed locked in a non-staring contest rather than noticing him. “Like I said, that subject is closed.”
Becca squeezed Bast’s arm then let go. “I admire the fact you’re sticking up to me. It’s a little stupid since I could kill you in about two seconds, but you haven’t cut me any slack from the beginning. I’ve always liked that about you. That and your loyalty to Jarrett.”
With that Bast could feel the tension leave the room. The tightness winding around them eased and they returned to the relaxed conversation he’d grown to enjoy with her. “Is that all it took to win you over?”
“Who says you have?”
For the first time in a few minutes, he felt like smiling. “I think you’re softening. It’s the glasses, right?”
“More like the big brain.”
“Thank you.”
“Your don’t-mess-with-my-sex-life position gives me hope you’re not playing games with Kyra.”
He sobered. “I’m not.”
“Whether you are or not, Wade is going to kill you.”
Bast looked over in time to see some man approach Wade at the bar. The guy looked familiar and Wade sure seemed happy to see him. Or as happy as Wade ever looked. “Absolutely, yes. I’m sure that’s going to happen.”
“Thanks to your swift negotiating skills I’m alive and not on the run. I’m here with Jarrett at the club and in his bed instead of in witness protection somewhere. I get that you helped save me from a life in hiding and appreciate all of your work. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be breathing right now.”
This was the Becca Bast had come to know. The woman Jarrett loved—smart, independent and fierce. “It’s always good to reach an understanding.”
“But now I’m wondering if what everyone says about you is correct.”
He almost hated to ask. “And that is?”
“That you’re almost always the smartest man in the room.”
Overeducated people ran all around DC. Those first few times with those early clients, he’d been in the right place at the right time with the right degree to take advantage of career opportunities. Since then he learned how to stay in the fray and be there to clean up the mess. And DC’s powerful did like to make a mess.
“That’s a vast overstatement.” Bast had heard the comment often enough and always ignored it.
“For your sake, let’s hope not.” She winked at him then disappeared into the private hallway.
FIVE
Breaking in a new pair of stockings qualified as one of Kyra’s less favorite things. She stood in front of her wood-paneled locker at the club and smoothed her hands up her calf to her knee, straightening the seam up the back of her leg. With her right foot balanced on the bench, she pushed the hem of her skirt high on her thighs and slipped her thumb under the elastic band at the top.
“If I had known you were wearing those last night, I would have stripped them off you with my teeth.”
At the sound of Bast’s voice, she spun around and shoved her skirt down at the same time. “What are you doing back here?”
“I believe you said the next move was mine.”
The words turned her body into a trembling mess. Her temperature spiked even as a tremor shook her. Every nerve ending sparked to life right when she needed to concentrate on getting through a shift.
With her already running a few minutes late, his timing needed work, but then again, she suspected this was a calculated move. One to make sure she knew who was in charge. “Now?”
“Belonging to me means all the time. On my schedule. In any way I want.”
It was a good thing she had both feet on the floor because the room bobbled a bit. If he hoped to shake her up or scare her, he failed. His comment started a revving deep inside her that she longed to satisfy.
Gathering her control, she peeked around the corner into the next locker bay. Running late meant she was alone or had been until five seconds ago. “Becca will strangle you if she finds you in here.”
Bast pushed off from the door and walked toward her. “Becca and I have come to an understanding.”
“About?”
“Her place in my sex life.” Bast stopped right in front of Kyra. Didn’t reach out or touch but stood there with his presence filling every open inch of the room. “For the record, she does not have one.”
The man talked in sentences she couldn’t always decipher. This time she thought she knew. “And you had some sort of discussion with her that made that clear?”
“I’ll explain later.”
But he wasn’t the only intelligent one in the room. She didn’t claim his killer IQ, but street smarts had helped her survive this far. “I’m guessing she saw us on the security cameras and confronted you.”
His head pushed back. “You knew she could see us?”
“I forgot about the added layers of protection until after.” Kyra put a hand on his arm and let her fingers rest against the expensive fabric of his suit jacket. She guessed the gesture looked loving but she’d really planted her body there in case he bolted after her admission. “What exactly did she say to you? No threats, I hope.”
“I can handle her.”
Kyra assumed that meant threats. “Tell me.”
“The usual ‘I’ll spill your blood and hide the body’ stuff.” Instead of running, he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her in tight against him.
This close Kyra could see the bright green of his eyes and smell the soap on his skin. “Are you upset?”
“About?”
“Becca knowing.”
One of his hands slid over Kyra’s skirt to cup her ass. “I’d rather talk about your choice of undergarments.”
She was two seconds from stripping them off. “Someone could walk in.”
“I’m a problem solver, so let me fix that issue before it consumes you.”
The second he backed away, a rush of air hit her skin and punched her lungs. She didn’t know she’d been holding her breath until she ended up with empty arms. She wanted to call him back but the sound of squeaky wheels broke her concentration.
As she watched, he rolled over the towel cart and tucked the metal edge under the door handle. Also did a quick look around the shower area in the back.
“Yeah, jamming the door won’t bring attention to you being in here. Not suspect at all.” But the man was on a mission and since getting to her seemed to be the end goal she did not argue. If he wanted to take the risk, she would stand right by his side . . . or wrap her body around his and ride it out.
His gaze zipped back to hers. “Want me to leave?”
“No.”
“Good.” He took off his black jacket and draped it over one of the benches. “Then stop talking.”
The man still had the tie and shirt on, every inch of skin stayed covered, but being one layer closer made her breath hitch. She’d probably have a heart attack when he finally stripped down to nothing.
“This is how it will be between us.” His hands came around her and settled on her lower back with his mouth dancing around the edges of hers.
“With you in charge?”
“You won’t be able to hide from me,” he whispered between delicate kisses.
“And you want secrecy.” Her fingernails dug into his crisp white shirt until she hit the m
uscles of his forearms.
“Compliance and discretion, yes.”
“I’m not balking at those terms.”
His lips went to her neck, lightly grazing until every nerve ending inside her tingled. She tried to pull him in and bring his mouth back to hers but he seduced her with firm hands and soft caresses.
“But you’re still talking.” His hot mouth moved behind her ear. “I would rather have your mouth on mine.”
She started to agree but he shifted and his lips covered hers. This kiss rivaled then surpassed the one from last night. Hot and deep, flaming through her and driving out every other thought. With his hands on her ass, he pulled her lower body tight against him as his mouth branded her.
Her balance teetered and her skin heated. Through the waves of aching need pummeling her, she held on, gripping his broad shoulders as she balanced on tiptoes. The kiss continued with his head moving from side to side and no inch of her mouth going untasted.
But he didn’t stop there. Her skirt slid up the back of her legs and she broke off the kiss. Safe in the circle of his arms, she stared at his flushed face. Ran a fingertip over that sexy mouth.
He walked his fingers down the back of her thighs as he slipped to the bench and sat down almost beneath her. “Are you wearing underwear, Kyra?”
“Yes.” She didn’t recognize the breathy sound as her voice.
Brushing his hands up this time, he lifted her slim skirt. Clothing rustled as the material slid against her stockings. He bunched the hem in his fist and gathered the bulk near her waist. The move left her lower body open to his gaze and his appreciation of her body on full display.
He smiled as he ran the fingertips of his free hand over the front of her black bikini bottoms. “Pretty.”
“I thought of you when I picked them out tonight.” Which was the truth. She’d hit the end of the week and the choices came down to practical or sexy. Picturing him, she went with the black and planned on spending a little time this evening imagining him peeling them down her legs.
“Take them off.”
She shook her head, sure she missed something. “What?”
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