King of Clubs (Aces & Eights Book 2)

by Sandra Owens

  He stared at the photo he held, the one of her he’d taken their last night together when they’d walked down to the beach to watch the sun set. “You were the last thing I expected. I hadn’t planned on staying more than two or three days, but then there you were in that sexy green bikini, laughing as you spit sand out of your mouth.” He captured her gaze. “I was a goner right then. Knew it and didn’t care.”

  “Court . . .”

  “You crushed me, G.G., tore my heart out without a word of explanation. For six years, I thought it’d all been a game to you, and I hated you for it.” He put the photo back into the box.

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  “I get why you thought you were doing the right thing.” He stood, stared down at her for a moment, and then moved away. “It wasn’t, but it’s done.” Her window faced Collins Avenue, and he leaned against the frame, putting his back to her as he stared down at the street.

  “It was the right thing to do. I have to believe that, otherwise I lost you for nothing.” She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks. “You had school, finals coming up. You lived what? Five hundred miles away in Tallahassee? It wasn’t like you could just pop in from next door and save me. He wanted your name, but I refused to give it to him because I knew what he was capable of. I loved you too much to make you a target.”

  He turned then, his eyes shimmering with anger. “I saw the photos of what he did to you. You almost died because of me, because you didn’t trust that I could protect you. Even worse, you still don’t think so or you wouldn’t keep talking about doing a disappearing act. How do you think that makes me feel?”

  She had no answer for that. At least not one he’d want to hear. He would never understand that nothing was more important to her back then than knowing he was safe. Not even her own happiness. Today, because of his job and his brothers, she did believe he was capable of going up against Stephan. But there were no guarantees that he wouldn’t be hurt, and that was still her fear.

  “Nothing to say?”

  “I’ve told you I was sorry. I am, Court. If nothing else, believe that.”

  The anger in his eyes faded. “So am I. But know this. I’m not going to hide from Stephan Kozlov. And more importantly, I’ll never let him touch you again.”

  “I don’t even understand why he’s focusing on me. Except for one letter shortly after he went to prison, I haven’t heard a word from him.”

  He returned to sit beside her. “Do you still have the letter?”

  She shook her head. “I shredded it without opening it. After that, I heard nothing from him until Peter showed up saying Stephan expected me to be at home when he arrived. Like that would ever happen.”

  “I think he was being cagey, letting you think you weren’t on his radar so you wouldn’t take off. But Peter showing up tells me they’ve kept tabs on you all this time.”

  She shivered. “That’s creeping me out.” When he put his arm around her shoulders, she let herself lean into him. Everything was so confusing. It wasn’t fair to him that she was bringing her troubles to his door, but he was so big and strong, so very confident of his abilities. The thought of leaving, taking off on her own, made her both sad and scared.

  “Let’s go get some lunch, then we’ll head back to my place, talk about what we’re going to do.”

  “Okay. Let me pack up a few things.” She was ready to be out of this room. The clutch she’d been using was too small to carry her Kindle, so she changed purses.

  Court grinned. “It’s fascinating, the stuff women haul around with them,” he said as she put her wallet, hairbrush, lipstick, a mirror, pens, a notepad, a sunglasses case, tissues, her phone, her Kindle, and a charger into the bigger purse.

  She grinned back. “How do men exist with only a wallet in their pockets?”

  “The fingerprint tech’s here,” Alex said, stopping in the doorway. “They’ll need to print you, Lauren, so they can eliminate yours from the ones they find.”

  After getting her fingers inked, she went to find Madison. “I guess I’ll see you in the evenings since I won’t be back to the store this week.” She still felt guilty for not telling her friend that she might never be back. And when had she put a might in front of her plan to leave?

  Madison gave her a hug. “Just trust Court and his brothers, and everything will be okay.”

  “Whatever’s going to happen, I want it over and done with.” Maybe then she could return to the life she’d created for herself.

  “Why don’t the four of us grab an early dinner tonight?” Alex asked, walking up to them.

  “Can’t,” Court said. “I’ve got a meeting with Nate before he goes to the bar. How about picking up Lauren and taking her to dinner with you and Madison.”

  Alex smiled at her. “That okay with you?”

  “I don’t want to be a bother.” It was funny how his smile was so much like Court’s, yet Alex’s didn’t make her stomach twitchy.

  “Don’t be silly,” Madison said. “I’ll call you when we’re on the way.”

  “Okay. Catch you later.” She followed Court to his car. “I don’t have a problem staying in and making a sandwich or something. I don’t like everyone feeling like they have to take care of me.”

  He opened the passenger door, but put his hand on her arm, stopping her from getting in. “No one thinks that. Alex and Madison are your friends. They care about you. The invitation wasn’t because they feel obligated, so stop overthinking it, okay?”

  Something behind her caught his attention, but before she could glance back to see what, he cupped her jaw, lifted her face, and then kissed her. He’d caught her by surprise, and her mind said he wasn’t kissing her because he’d suddenly felt like it. When he deepened the kiss, though, the thought evaporated.

  Through hooded eyes, Court watched Peter Kozlov. The man stood on the corner, making no effort to stay out of sight. How long had he been watching the bookstore? Court didn’t doubt that it was Peter who had broken into Lauren’s apartment, probably sometime last night.

  To give Kozlov something to take back to his brother, Court dropped the suitcase Lauren had packed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him.

  “Court?” she whispered.

  “Hmm?” He leaned back, staring down at her.

  “Why are you kissing me?”

  “It just seemed like something I needed to do.” He didn’t want her to see Peter. She was upset enough already. “Get in the car before I decide I need to do it again.” And although he’d done it to taunt Stephan, since he was sure Peter would tell him, he really had wanted to kiss her.

  After closing her door, he walked around the back of his car, giving Peter a smirk when their eyes met. The man showed no emotion, only stared back. Court hummed with satisfaction. The hook had been baited, the first step in his plan to catch a big fish or two.

  It was something of a surprise that Peter didn’t try to follow them, but he only stood on the sidewalk, watching as they pulled away. Did he have someone else tracking them? Court made a few turns until he was certain they didn’t have a tail.

  He glanced at Lauren. She was looking out the window, and he wondered what she was thinking. When she trailed a finger over her kiss-swollen bottom lip, unconsciously signaling her thoughts, he smiled to himself.

  Kissing Lauren Montgomery was what he imagined it would be like to shoot crack straight into his veins. Instant addiction. He could spend a lifetime having her mouth available to kiss anytime he wanted. Did he still want that?

  There’d been a time, however briefly, that he’d thought he had a future with her. He glanced at her again. Whatever it was about her that called to him was still there. No matter how much he might wish otherwise, he couldn’t deny that. All he could do for now was continue with his plan and see how things played out.

  “Remind me to give you a key when we get home in case I’m not there when you get back from dinner.” As he turned into his complex, he made a
mental note to show her his safe room should the time come when she needed to hide.

  “I’ve been thinking,” she said, finally looking at him.

  He comically widened his eyes. “Uh-oh.”

  “Yeah, scary.”

  It was good to see her smiling. “Why don’t you hold that thought until we get upstairs? Then we’ll talk.”

  Once upstairs, he said, “We have a few hours before Alex and Madison pick you up for dinner. Let’s sit out on the balcony. Beer?” he asked, heading for the kitchen.

  “No, I’m just going to have some water.”

  He grabbed a glass from the cabinet, and handed it to her, then got a beer from the fridge. After getting ice, she went to the sink, filling the glass with water. His gaze roamed over her from the back of her neck down.

  If he’d met her for the first time today, he would be just as attracted, even though she wasn’t wearing a sexy green bikini. He smiled as he eyed her pink-tipped spiky hair—for some strange reason a close second to her ass on his list of favorite things about her. And that was before he got to all the other parts of her that were damn near amazing. Even her sassy mouth—a new development—was a turn-on.

  He walked up behind her, set his beer down, and then put his hands on the counter, trapping her. “I don’t know what to do about you, Gorgeous Girl. One minute I’m so angry with you that I wish we’d never met.” He nuzzled her neck. “The next, I want to handcuff you to my side and never let you go. Why do you think that is? I’d really like an answer because I sure as hell don’t know.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t have an answer for you.”

  “This is what you do to me.” He rocked his hips against her, letting her feel his erection. “All I have to do is think about you, and I get hard. I smell your scent and I want to bury my nose against your skin and inhale you.” He pressed his nose into her hair, breathing her in. “You walk into the room and all I want to do is strip you naked and spend hours exploring every inch of you.”

  A shiver rippled through her, one he could feel as it traveled down her spine. “Don’t try to tell me it’s not the same for you.”

  “You know it is, but . . .” She bowed her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Not the right answer.” Why did he keep hoping that she’d decide he was worth fighting for? He got that she was afraid, both for him and herself, but if she really wanted him, she wouldn’t run. Obviously, even after learning who and what he was, she still didn’t believe he could protect her.

  He picked up his beer, then headed for the balcony. What had he been expecting? That she’d declare her undying love? She was a runner. She’d done it once, and she’d do it again. Until she was willing to stand and fight, he wasn’t going to put his heart out there for her to trample on again. Yet, like a whipped dog, he kept coming back for more.

  The sea was calm today. He preferred it angry and crashing onshore. It would match his mood. Putting his feet on the railing, he balanced his chair on the back two legs. He drank his beer, breathing in the salty air as he watched the ocean. It usually brought him peace, sitting out here, but not today. He snorted. Peace and Lauren in the same sentence was laughable. Except he wasn’t laughing.

  He’d always been a decisive man, so this vacillating between thinking the best thing he could do for his peace of mind was to let her go and wanting to never let go of her was damn irritating. Did he still love her? When he’d told her that he belonged to her, that hadn’t been a lie, even though he’d spent six years trying to rid his system of her. He’d believed he had, at least until the night he’d waited for Madison’s roommate to arrive and in had walked his Gorgeous Girl. Life was a real bitch sometimes.

  The glass door opened behind him, and Lauren stepped in front of him. “I’m sorry.”

  “For?”

  “Everything.”

  “I guess that about covers it all.” She flinched. Yeah, he was being a jerk, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Her eyes were red and swollen, which added guilt to his assholeness.

  He lowered his chair, removing his feet from the railing so she could pass by. “Have a seat.” Once she was settled, he resumed his position of feet on the railing and chair tilted back. “That’s the last time I want to hear you say you’re sorry. What’s done is done.”

  “I just wanted you to know that.”

  “And now I do.” He swallowed the last of his beer, then peered over at her. “Even though I disagree with your decision, I get why you thought you had to cut me out of your life six years ago. What I don’t understand is why you’re so anxious to do it again.” He held up a hand when she started to respond. “And don’t say it’s to protect me because that just pisses me off.”

  Her mouth snapped closed. “Thought so,” he said. He sighed, turning his attention back to the ocean. “One of the things I adored about you was your love of life. You let him take that away from you then, and you’re willing to let him do it again by running.”

  “I don’t want to run, but every time I think of what he might do to you . . . I couldn’t bear it, Court, if you were hurt, or worse, because of me.”

  “Since you don’t have faith that I can protect you, I guess that means I’ll put you on a plane as promised.” He shouldn’t be disappointed. It was what he’d expected from her.

  “No.”

  Surprised, he looked at her. “No?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “No,” Lauren answered. The decision to stay and stand up to Stephan once and for all had been brewing ever since the Gentry brothers had told her they were FBI agents. When Court had walked away from her in the kitchen, she’d understood that he was giving her a choice. Get on that plane and lose any chance she had with him. Trust him and maybe they could find their way to each other again. If she had the right to risk her life for him, how could she deny him the same?

  She knew she’d hurt him badly and that she was gambling on an unsure thing, but she had to try. If she didn’t, she would regret it for the rest of her life, and she was tired of regrets. And he was right. It was time to stand up to Stephan no matter what would or wouldn’t happen between her and Court.

  “If I disappear, leaving my family, my friends, and the bookstore, he wins.”

  “He does.”

  “You have to promise me one thing, though.” She moved to the edge of her seat and reached for his hand. “You won’t let him hurt you.” That was a stupid promise to ask for. He couldn’t guarantee it, but she still needed to hear him say it.

  “Trust me, Lauren. He’s the one who needs to worry about getting hurt.” He turned his hand palm up, lacing their fingers. “I’ll admit, you just surprised me, but it’s the right thing to do.”

  She stared at their joined hands, loving the feel of her skin pressed against his. Although Court seemed to think otherwise, she’d only been intimate with one man since him. That had been Nelson Lopez and look at how that had turned out. Not so good when the FBI, which she now understood had been the Gentry brothers, had arrested him along with Madison’s uncle. It was all just too weird. People should have to wear a sign identifying themselves. Something like, “Bad guy here” or “Good guy here.”

  She’d once been a simple girl, sheltered by her religious parents. Then she’d had an accidental meeting with a pro hockey star, and nothing had been the same since. As much as she might regret walking into that waiting room where Stephan sat, it had, in a way, led her to Court.

  “I know we have work to do if I’m going to face Stephan, but how much would it surprise you if I said I want you to make love to me before I have to start worrying about him?”

  He squeezed her hand, his eyes turning as black as a midnight sky. “I’ve suddenly decided I like surprises.”

  Before she could reply, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to his bedroom. This close to him, she could smell his spicy scent, could feel his body heat, and desire spread through her like warm syrup, soft and thick.

 
Stopping next to his bed, he let go of her legs, letting her slide down his body. When she reached for the hem of her T-shirt he brushed her hands away.

  “Let me.”

  She saluted him. “Yes, sir.”

  “I sense a bit of sarcasm there, Ms. Montgomery. Careful or I might have to punish you.” He froze. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, not after what happened to you. I swear, I was only playing with you.”

  “You’re not him.” She put her hand on his cheek. “You’re not him,” she said again, whispering the words.

  “No, I’m not. I’d never hurt you, G.G. Not intentionally.”

  “I know.” She sat on the bed, leaned back on her elbows, and then smiled at him the way she had six years ago. “Take my clothes off.”

  His heart tripped over itself. “I can absolutely do that.” When all that was left were her matching pink panties and bra, he stilled, staring down at her. “A man could forget his name at the sight of you all pretty in pink.”

  Lord, the heat in his eyes could start a bonfire. That or melt her on the spot. “Have you forgotten your name then?”

  “I have a name?” he asked as he shed his clothes with astonishing speed. He grabbed a condom out of the drawer, dropped it on the nightstand, then grinned as he toppled over her, catching himself on his elbows. “You really are a witch, Lauren Montgomery. I should lock you up for casting spells on a federal agent.”

  She wished she could cast spells. If so, she’d take them back six years and do everything differently, beginning with telling him the truth. But as she looked into his eyes, the pupils dilated and darkened to the deepest black with desire, she knew that wasn’t true. She’d do everything the same if it meant keeping him safe.

  “Love me, Court.” She wasn’t sure exactly what she was asking—for Court to make love to her or for him to love her? Both, if she was honest with herself. She scraped her fingers over the bristles of a beard trying to grow back. He was a man who needed to shave twice a day if he wanted his face to stay smooth. She loved him both ways, scruffy and clean-shaven.