Hot Louisiana Knight

by Em Petrova

  She’d been a fool.

  She pushed away from him and put air between them. Folding her arms, she glared at him. “Stop looking at me like I’m being accused of something. The only thing I’m guilty of is serving my customers and making a sale.”

  His eyelid twitched and then his mask broke away, leaving the man she recognized standing in front of her. “Athena, someone planted this. It wasn’t Knight Ops or any other OFFSUS unit.”

  He waved a hand sharply through the air. “Look, that device? It can see and hear everything that takes place in that dressing room. It’s possible that one woman planted it to pick up intel on the next client or the third. We need to find out—now. And you’re in danger. As soon as I get the clear from Chaz, I’m taking you out of here.”

  “What? I can’t leave in the middle of the day. I have appointments, people coming in for wedding tuxes and—”

  “Your day is finished.”

  Her throat closed on whatever she’d been about to say. Besides the cold terror gripping her, was it horrible to think of how damn hot Dylan was when making these decisions about her life?

  She must be bonkers, because she liked being in control.

  Except when he was stroking her skin, his cock moving inside her…

  His phone blipped.

  “That’s Chaz,” he said without looking. “Let’s go.”

  “But the money in the register. I take it out every time.”

  “It’s only three hundred dollars. If it’s stolen, I’ll replace it. We don’t have time.” He caught her by the hand and dragged her out the office door. He strode too fast for her shorter legs to keep up with and she had to double her pace across the showroom to the back door.

  Chaz slipped in, gave his brother a chin nod and then walked to the front door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lock up as Dylan towed her out the back. The vehicle was parked so close to the door that she only had to take one step before she was lifted inside. Dylan’s bulk followed her in and then he slammed the door. A second later, Chaz hopped behind the wheel.

  The car took off, and she couldn’t even focus on the blurs of color flying past the windows. She didn’t need to ask to know Dylan was taking her to the safe house. Once again, she felt like someone far more important—a political figure or celebrity facing a threat. But she was just Athena, daughter of hardworking parents, granddaughter of an immigrant who wanted more for his family in America.

  She glanced at Dylan from the corner of her eye to see him looking at her feet. She looked down too, wondering what could hold his attention.

  He met her gaze. “At least you’re wearing shoes this time.”

  * * * * *

  When Athena emerged from the safe house’s bedroom, she stopped dead, probably because the whole Knight Ops team was crowded in the living room. They all swung their attention to her, and Dylan pushed down a territorial growl.

  Her gaze shifted past each guy as if seeking him. As her eyes met his, a shiver of relief washed over her beautiful features, and dammit, what magic did she have over him?

  He stepped forward and took her hand. “Athena, you haven’t formally met the guys, but they’re setting up here for the time being. That’s Ben, Sean, Rocko…” The latter gave her a salute accompanied by a broad smile. “My youngest brother Roades, and you know Chaz.”

  She nodded to each, but her fingers tightened around Dylan’s. The action punched a hole right through him. God, the thought that she’d lean on him… He couldn’t imagine how or why he’d been awarded her trust, but it seemed he had it.

  “We’ve brought some pizzas, and we were about to go into the kitchen and eat. Are you hungry?” Dylan asked her.

  She shrugged. After the upset back in her store with finding somebody had planted a device in her dressing room, she was shaken.

  “C’mon. You guys go ahead but leave me six pieces with sausage and peppers.” He led her back into her room and closed the door.

  “Six pieces?” she asked.

  Okay, maybe she wasn’t as stunned as he’d first thought. He grinned. “One thing you learn in my line of work is when there’s food, you eat. Maybe you should take my advice.” He studied her eyes. “Athena, we’re going to find out what happened. I promise you.”

  “And you’re finished thinking I’m the terrorist who planted a device in my own dressing room?”

  “I haven’t thought that for a while.” Actually, today pounded home the belief that she’d become a target. While the thought made him want to grab his rifle and hunt down the bastards responsible, he kept a neutral expression.

  “Is this ever going to end?” she asked.

  He pushed out a sigh and stepped closer to cup her delicate jaw. “Abso-fucking-lutely. And then—” He cut off, about to say he’d take her home to meet his family. And then on a week-long vacation to Manchu Piccu. He wondered if she’d ever visited the Mayan site, but he’d like to buy her a bunch of textiles for souvenirs.

  She lifted a hand to cover his, the slender digits so small in comparison. “Then what?”

  He shook his head. He couldn’t tell her those things and risk her tucking tail and running. The last thing he wanted was for Athena to feel he was heaping more pressure on her.

  “Then you can return to your normal life.”

  Was that a flicker of disappointment in her eyes? He must be imagining it.

  “Are you okay to sit with the guys and eat? If you’re uncomfortable—”

  “It’s okay. I’ve seen them all before, even if I’ve only just now formally met them.”

  “Sorry, you can imagine we have a bad habit of invading a place and not introducing ourselves.” He grinned, and she gave a soft chuckle that went straight to his heart. Unable to help himself, he drew her near and brushed his lips across hers. Once, twice. The growl of need was rising inside him, and he had to step back before he threw her on the very close bed and changed the sadness in her eyes to a look of pure bliss.

  Stepping back, he slid his hand from her cheek to her shoulder and all the way to her wrist. She turned her hand into his grasp and threaded their fingers. Warmth spread through him.

  “Let’s see if they saved me that pizza.”

  In the kitchen, Rocko and Roades had taken over the stools. Ben and Sean leaned against the countertop, boots crossed, stuffing slices of pepperoni pizza with extra cheese into their mouths. And Chaz was seated on the bar top, heavy boots dangling. Pizza boxes lay open, and by the looks of it, they’d already been feasting.

  “Do you want a plate?” Dylan asked Athena. “You don’t have to eat like a caveman like my team.”

  “I’m good without one.” She walked into the middle of the group and pulled out a slice of sausage and peppers. When she raised her gaze to his, her eyes twinkled. She took a bite.

  After that, the ice was broken. Rocko struck up a conversation with her about Mardi Gras, which launched a conversation that had nothing to do with the mission or her boutique. Dylan was relieved by the guys’ instincts.

  He found an open spot on the counter to lean on. When Athena came to stand next to him, Ben arched a brow as if to say I told you so. Dylan shot him a warning glance.

  They quickly emptied the pizza boxes, and Dylan lifted the last slice of sausage and pepper. He held it up to Athena. “You want it?”

  She shook her head. “Two is plenty for me.”

  He skimmed his gaze over her figure. She could stand to gain a couple pounds, and if he had his way, he’d have a whopping plate of shrimp and grits in front of her along with his maman’s strawberry pie.

  He looked up at a scuffling noise to see Rocko and Sean elbowing each other over the last slice.

  “You had six slices, Rocko,” Sean said.

  “Pretty sure you did too,” he drawled.

  “I’m bigger, and I need the calories to keep going.” Sean straightened his shoulders to prove it.

  Ben grinned around the bite he’d just taken. “You guys are matched in
size and strength. It’s anybody’s guess who’d win a fight.”

  “I’ll bet ten dollars on Rocko.” Chaz’s words were met with a glare from Sean.

  Roades slapped the countertop. “I’ll float ten bucks on Sean.”

  “Guys, you can’t throw down in the kitchen over a slice of pizza,” Dylan said.

  “We’ll take it outside.” Sean didn’t look away from Rocko, whose grin hadn’t wavered once.

  “Remember that time you and Sean wrestled for an hour over the last donut?” Chaz tossed out to Dylan.

  He slanted a look at Athena, who was watching the exchange with wide eyes. He said to her, “Maman’s donuts are the best. They’d start a war, they’re so good.”

  “They did start a war. Sean didn’t speak to you for what—a month?” Ben asked.

  “A week.” Dylan’s voice held a note of annoyance. Each time the story was recounted, the time period that his brother didn’t talk to him bumped by a week.

  “I think it was longer than that,” Chaz said.

  “Then there was that fight over that girl in Dylan’s class. What was her name?” Ben looked around for someone to answer him.

  “Haley,” Rocko said.

  Dylan gaped at him. “How the hell would you know? You didn’t even grow up with us.”

  Rocko waved a hand. “I’ve heard it all.”

  “From who?” Dylan asked.

  Blotches of red climbed his throat and spread over the stubble on his jaw until it reached his cheeks.

  “Oh fuck.” Dylan had that oh-shit feeling he always got when a guy was fucking with one of his sisters. He took a step toward Rocko. “Which sister is it?”

  “What the hell? Sister?” Chaz hopped off the counter and faced Rocko. “You fucking with one of our sisters?”

  “Can’t be Tyler—she’s safe in basic training,” Sean interjected.

  A groan sounded from Ben. “It better not be Lexi or you’re gonna see the bad side of the Knights, buddy.”

  His warning hit Rocko, who threw up his hands. “Okay, guys, calm down. I only talk to your sisters at your family’s gatherings. All innocent.”

  “Then why are you blushing?” Dylan demanded.

  Rocko ran a hand over his face as if to erase the color. “Dude, nothing’s going on. I swear. You know how both sisters get to talking and don’t quit until you’ve heard every story in history.”

  Dylan looked to Ben, and they shared a nod. Yeah, the twins were definitely talkers. Even from the time they were little kids, they’d tell all the neighbors who visited their lemonade stand every word that had been exchanged in their house the previous day. That fact had even gotten their parents some phone calls from teachers at school.

  “Okay, we’ll buy that,” Dylan said. He pointed at Rocko’s chest. “But if we hear one word that you’ve been fucking around with either Tyler or Lexi, we’ll each take a limb to break.”

  “I’m good at snapping femurs,” Chaz added with a cheery tone that had Athena’s head snapping to look at him.

  “Chaz already claimed one of your femurs. Don’t make us act on this threat, Rocko.”

  “Hell, you guys know how to ruin a man’s appetite.” Rocko pointed to the lone pizza slice. “It’s yours, Sean.”

  Suddenly, Athena stepped up, grabbed the pizza and bit the point off it.

  Everybody stared at her, jaws dropped. She smiled as she chewed. “There—I’ve ended the argument. Go back to being friends.”

  The chuckle started from Dylan and soon the guys were all laughing over the argument that had escalated to threats of bodily harm, even though the Knights were dead serious about Rocko staying away from their sisters. They’d had enough problems over the years that each brother took that shit seriously.

  He wrapped an arm around Athena and drew her back to stand next to him. She continued to polish off the last piece of pizza, and Dylan noticed the room had grown quiet.

  All the guys stared at them.

  Damn, had he shown his feelings for Athena? Fact was, he wasn’t sure he cared. Hell, he might already be too deep in her to climb out. If he had his way, he wasn’t letting her go at all but in the event she decided otherwise, it would take him a long time to get over her.

  She stood close, her shoulder against his arm for everybody to see.

  Ben caught his eye. “Can I speak to the guys alone, Athena? Would you mind going into the other room?”

  Dylan stiffened, and she stood straight. “Oh… sure.” She glanced up at Dylan before heading into the living room.

  Dylan leveled his stare at his oldest brother. “What crawled up your ass?”

  Ben raised a brow, giving him a look he could only take seriously from a commander. Coming from a brother, Dylan would ignore anything he had to say.

  “You can’t fuck around with her, man,” Ben said.

  There was no point in denying he had taken her to bed and given her many delicious, screaming orgasms. “Whatever happens between Athena and me is none of your business.”

  Ben waved a hand. “It is my business—all of our business. Don’t you see that if a threat walked into this room right now, you wouldn’t stand here and fight with your team—you’d be running into the other room to protect your woman.”

  His woman. He liked the sound of that.

  But Ben was wrong.

  “You know Knight Ops comes first to me—always. Guts and glory, man.”

  “Guts and glory,” Rocko echoed.

  Dylan and Ben stared at each other a long minute. Finally, Dylan glanced at the rest of the group. “Anybody else feel the same way, speak up now.”

  Sean looked away and Chaz picked up an abandoned crust and stuffed it in his mouth. Roades and Rocko gave no indication of whose side they were on.

  “If you’re done accusing me of being a weak link in this team, then I’m going to check on Athena. I’m sure she overheard every word.”

  * * * * *

  She had, and the pizza in her hand felt too heavy and cold. She set it on the end table, for lack of a better place to put it. She turned for her room, but Dylan stalked in, his gaze pinning her in place.

  He moved to her, his jaw set. “It’s none of their business.”

  “Dylan—”

  He slammed his mouth over hers, shutting off any response. She gasped at the feel of his hard lips, and he slid his tongue into her mouth. Bending her over his arm, he kissed her like a man on a mission. Was he trying to prove something to her or to his team?

  She pressed on his chest and he lifted his head. Eyes glazed, expression intense. “Dylan, your brother’s right. We shouldn’t—”

  He kissed her again, drawing her onto tiptoe, swirling his tongue across hers until heat seeped low between her thighs and dampened her thong. She had no control over her arms when they wrapped around his neck and clung.

  After several dizzying seconds, Dylan tore away from the kiss. “This isn’t their business, Athena. It would be the same between us if we’d met at a dinner party or in line for a ride on the Ferris wheel in Cajun Field.” He flattened his palm to her spine and dragged her an inch closer until she knew nothing but his extreme body heat. “I want you, Athena, and that doesn’t change a thing about this mission, and therefore is none of Knight Ops’ business.”

  She didn’t know how to respond to that, because her head and heart were racing. What was he telling her? She dared not let herself think too long about his words, yet…

  “Speaking of the Ferris wheel. Do you have a coat? It’s not storming right now, but it’s good to be prepared.”

  “I— Where are we going?” She stared up at him, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. Whatever was happening between her and Dylan might be real—or it might not. She needed to stay indifferent, and she was in limbo no matter what she did.

  His eyes softened as he gazed down at her. “Get your coat, cher. We’re going out.”

  Chapter Seven

  Lights blurred past Athena’s visi
on, and the scents of street foods filled her head. But all she could focus on was Dylan’s hand in hers. Solid, warm. She was glad for the comfortable jeans, T-shirt and sneakers she’d thrown on after coming back to the safe house, because she planned to eat one of those caramel apples once they got off the Ferris wheel and would never have room in one of her fitted skirts.

  She tugged on Dylan’s hand, and he slowed, throwing a look over his shoulder. “I’m a little leery of heights.”

  “How leery?”

  “Well,” she looked up, up, up at the huge wheel lit with colored lights that seemed to soar into the sky, “I haven’t been on one since I was fourteen, but I ended up practically sitting in my friend’s lap.”

  “That’s okay with me.” He threw her a grin, and then concern drew his brows together. “If you don’t want to go on the ride, we don’t have to, cher.”

  “Can we just walk around a bit first?” To get her gumption up. She didn’t want to disappoint him since the idea had been his in the first place. And getting out of the safe house was exactly what she needed. After that argument between him and his brother, she was feeling punchy.

  Dylan drew her through the crowd to a more open area. He kept glancing around, and she knew he was watching for threats.

  “Nobody is going to find us in this crowd,” she said.

  His lips tipped slightly on one side. “Can’t be too careful.”

  A few feet away, the orange of fire streaked through the darkening sky as three performers began to show off their skills, twirling flaming poles like batons and catching them. One exotic-looking female leaned backward and swallowed the flame. People cheered, and Athena found herself gripped with the excitement of Mardi Gras as she’d once experienced it as a little girl.

  “My parents used to bring me every year,” she said loud enough for Dylan to hear above the applause.

  “Mine too. When we were old enough, they admitted they liked to stay away from the crowds and dropped off us boys with threats to behave.”