by Lexi Blake
“And you haven’t seen that perfect combo yet?” The trouble was she couldn’t force Josh to choose her. If he wasn’t into Asian-American chicks with wicked-dark senses of humor, she might be shit out of luck.
“Not that I could tell,” Shane replied. “I think if he doesn’t pick you, he’ll go with the former Israeli Army guard. She’s the closest to what he’s looking for.”
“And what do you think he’s looking for?”
Shane glanced over at Declan. “He’s kind of hard to read. You get anything off him?”
Dec pushed off the desk and started pacing. “I would say there’s a lot of shit going on under his calm demeanor. He’s very controlled, but he wasn’t always.”
“Yeah, I got that, too,” Shane agreed. “I would bet a lot that he hasn’t always been as clean as he is now. Probably drugs or alcohol since he is careful about what he drinks. One Scotch is all he’ll do, and I don’t know how much he enjoys it.”
“He’s pretty cold,” Dec continued. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I guess I kind of admire it. Not a lot seems to get to the guy. But I don’t know how much of that is front, you know what I mean? He’s polite, but cool to everyone around him. We haven’t seen him with a sub. I don’t think he’s had a regular sub for a long time.”
“But one of his girlfriends was a member?” Sometimes knowing how another person had fucked up led to the way in.
Shane grimaced. “Yes, and let me tell you these guys don’t like it when you try to go public with their business. She was immediately kicked out of the club, and from what I can tell, she left LA because she couldn’t find a job. They blackballed her. Not all the members here work in entertainment, but they’ve got enough power to screw with a person’s career.”
In an industry like this one, someone always knew someone who could help a brother out.
“Okay, so he enjoys his revenge when the time comes. I can get that. But he’s friends with Jared,” she began, trying to get a handle on this guy. “Jared is a piece of sunshine according to the subs who met him at Sanctum. Kai tells me his brother is nothing more than walking abs and a smile. Hardly sounds like besties material for Mr. Broody.”
“A guy’s personality can change when he’s actually topping a sub,” Dec pointed out. “Again, never seen him top a sub, but I’ve heard Jared is someone the other Doms look up to. Those hardcore guys out there like the hell out of him. Speaking of, Riley’s around somewhere. If you can get a word with him, it could help. We’ve had to stay away. I don’t even want text conversations between us in case the boss decides to do a phone check, and yes, that will be part of your contract. Be careful how you use that phone.”
She barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes. She’d tricked China’s best operatives for years. She could handle her own cell phone. “I’ll try. I’m on a new line but most of my friends from work know how to get in contact with me. Tucker has it. He needs to text me spoilers on films and TV shows that have been out for twenty years. Are you worried Hunt won’t like me having contact with other men?”
She couldn’t leave Tucker high and dry. He would need to talk about what happened in The X-Files. When she’d left him, he’d been binging, and no one else would listen to his crazy theories.
Shane shrugged the anxiety off. “I think Hunt’s pretty dark. He could definitely be the possessive type, but he knows you work for McKay-Taggart. You can safely talk to coworkers. Speaking of, Hunt also knows you were raised out here. Have you thought about seeing your parents?”
“No.” Now she was the one who sounded a bit cold. She dismissed it all with what she hoped was a sunny smile. “I’m working. The last thing we want is my dads in here. Trust me. I’ll call and let them know I’m working. Otherwise…well, one dad will give the man a lecture on all the ways his films spit on science and history and the other will be planning a wedding, if you know what I mean.”
Shane held his hand up, obviously letting go of the fight. “I wanted to let you know that if you get some time to see them, you can take it. One of us will be on Hunt at all times. I know it’s been a while since you saw them.”
Seven months and three days, and they’d had to come out to her. She’d seen her fathers three times in the years since she’d left MSS, and every single time they’d come to find her. Why was she afraid of going home?
“Good to know.”
There was a brief knock on the door and Riley Blade strode through. Once a technical consultant here in Hollywood, he now worked for McKay-Taggart. He had a lean frame and a California chic vibe one only got when raised on the West Coast.
He closed the door behind him. “They’re ready for you. I’ll take you to Mr. Hunt. Kay, he’s deeper than he looks. It’s easy to see him as a superficial actor, but those still waters might be dangerous. I’ve been watching him for weeks and I think he’s looking for someone who can connect to him. He’s a little desperate for it, but he needs to be in control. He needs to think he can handle you. Does that make sense?”
He didn’t want to fight her for power. He wanted some peace.
She could do that. Cool. Calm. A motherfucking oasis of peace. That was her.
“And Kay,” Riley said, his hand on the door. “I know we’re here for the Agency, but this man has real trouble. I’ve read through some of the incidents that led him to hire round-the-clock bodyguards and these are credible threats.”
“How sure are we that the Agency didn’t make those incidents happen?” Not that Levi or Ezra would admit to it. It was possible they didn’t know. Sometimes the Agency’s left hand didn’t know who the right hand was stabbing.
“I hate the CIA shit,” Dec said with a shake of his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” Riley replied firmly. “He’s got three people following him I would call serious and present threats. I doubt the Agency is playing all three of them. We have to protect this man and that means taking the threats against him seriously. He’s trusting us with his life. I know you’ve got a job to do, but the three of us…we have to take care of our client.”
“Because we hate the Agency shit,” Dec reiterated. “And Big Tag’ll kill us if this turns into a FUBAR situation.”
“I won’t let anything happen to him.” She hated the fact that they didn’t trust her implicitly, but she understood why. She was the Agency’s tool in this case. She wasn’t one of the boys. “I’ll do my job, but I can keep him alive at the same time.”
“Let us know what you need. Show time.” Riley opened the door, his face going bland again. “Through here, Ms. Summers. Mr. Hunt will see you in the dungeon. Let me show you the way.”
She followed him out, ready to get to the job.
* * * *
Josh sat back, perfectly unimpressed with the women he’d seen. Yes, they were lovely, with perfect faces and bodies, and not one of them had moved him.
He might need to rethink his plan. He might have gotten to a point where he could no longer be moved.
The last time he’d felt anything at all had been the night he’d lost Tina.
She’d been the only person in his life he’d been able to count on and he’d disappointed her. He’d gotten so involved in being Josh Hunt that he hadn’t seen the signs that she was sick, hadn’t forced her to get treatment. Hadn’t treated her like the odd mom/boss she’d become to him.
And yet she’d held his hand as she was dying. Don’t let the past screw up your future, my Josh. The past is a burden you can let go of.
God, he hadn’t let go yet. He likely never would. And he’d never told Tina his secrets.
But someone knew.
“She was hot.” Jared watched as the door closed and they were left alone again.
The redhead was hot, and yet she somehow left him utterly cold. Then again, Jared thought every woman was hot in her own way. He should have known Jared wouldn’t be much help. Despite his recent trouble, the man was endlessly optimistic, and sometimes Josh wondered if Jared could see the darke
r side at all. “She doesn’t have as much experience as she says she does.”
Jared frowned. “I don’t know. Her form was perfect. She didn’t get stuck on the idea of a contract.”
“I wasn’t talking about her being submissive. I’m sure she’s been in the lifestyle, but the vetting notes from McKay-Taggart questioned her job experience. They can prove she was employed by a bodyguard firm, but no one would confirm her field experience. I asked her about a specific weapon and how easy she thought the safety was to use.”
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“That pistol has no safety,” Josh returned. “She doesn’t know firearms.”
If she didn’t know firearms, then she likely hadn’t spent much time in the field. She would likely be excellent in bed, but how long would he enjoy her before they all got murdered?
He was going to have to give up his house on the beach. Tina had left it to him. He was going to be forced to move into the canyon, far away from the one fucking place that made him feel like he might make it through another day.
Unfortunately for him, all California beaches were public beaches. He couldn’t keep people away. If he had proper security, he could stay. That meant sleeping with a weapon in his house, and he wasn’t talking about a Glock.
“Damn.” Jared sat back. “That’s not fair.”
Life wasn’t fair, but then he’d figured that out a long time ago. “Maybe we should cancel the whole thing.”
How much time did he get to spend here anyway? In a few months he’d be back on a set somewhere working his ass off and living in a trailer. Wasn’t hard to guard a trailer no matter how big it was. He would shove his needs down. He didn’t want vanilla sex. He could get that anywhere. All he had to do to get a woman in LA to drop her panties for him was to smile her way.
He wanted something more.
Click clack. Click clack. He sighed at the sound. Another one was coming, her heels making that sound on the floor that should get his blood pumping. Should. Didn’t.
“Come on.” Jared stood up. “We have to try harder. Not everyone lies. I get it. Some of the women weren’t as forthcoming as they should have been, but we can still find someone. You know no one ever tells the whole truth.”
A lovely woman with pitch black hair stepped through into the room, and Joshua couldn’t help but give her his full attention. She was in a black sheath dress that molded to her every curve. He tended to prefer taller women, but she was perfectly formed. Her long raven-black hair came down to her waist, showing shades of navy blue. Everything about her was perfect and pristine, like nothing had ever touched her in a negative fashion.
He was both deeply attracted and utterly revolted. She disturbed him on a basic level.
But that was feeling, too, so he sat up straighter and gave her his full attention.
Her dark eyes met his briefly and then she lowered them in a perfectly submissive fashion that led him to believe she knew something about the lifestyle. “Hello, Sir. If you would prefer another nomenclature, please let me know.”
This told him two things. She knew how to greet him before she knew what to call him and she considered herself a submissive who required a name. She’d asked him what to call him and told him what to call her. Not “this one” or “creature” but “me.” She played but kept her identity.
It was good to know. The rest hadn’t been as forward.
“Sir is fine for now. I’ll be honest, I prefer Joshua to Master, but there’s time enough to go into it.” He liked his name. He’d spent far too long without it. There was power in claiming his own name.
“As you wish, Sir,” she replied.
She stood in the middle of the dungeon, paying no attention to the chair that had been set up for her. She stood, her body relaxed.
Her body. She was petite, graceful. Her hair was brushed back, falling off her shoulder and revealing the pretty line of her neck. Even her hands were small. He looked at her and the word that came to mind was delicate. Exquisite. Peaceful.
Far too good to be true.
Because there was something simmering under her surface. Something dark and nasty. Maybe it was his imagination, but her stillness didn’t feel like peace to him. Her stillness almost felt like that of a predator waiting to attack.
And yeah, that did something for him, too.
“You’re a bodyguard?” He wanted to push her. Despite the darkness he sensed, it was still hard to believe that tiny thing could protect anyone. It was definitely hard to believe she could take what he would want to give her.
Her lips curled slightly. “Yes, Sir. I believe I detailed my experience in my résumé, but I’m more than willing to go over it all with you. The last few years I’ve been employed by McKay-Taggart and Knight in London.”
“As a bodyguard,” he prompted.
“I handled many aspects of the business for my bosses. Besides working corporate security, I also did close cover work. I was on a long-term detail for Mia Lawless. She’s one of my references.”
“Yes, the sister of Drew Lawless.” He looked down at her résumé. It was impressive. It could also be total fiction. She really looked more like a reporter than a bodyguard. The connection to Mia Lawless worried him. The only Lawless sister was a reporter, and wouldn’t this make a great story? Undercover—literally. Under his covers. Reporting from close proximity of his penis to tell all the nasty, dirty stories about him everyone had only thought were rumors.
Still, she’d come from the same company as Shane and Declan and they were working out. He leaned over and whispered to Jared, who immediately nodded and walked out of the dungeon to do his bidding.
She didn’t move from her spot.
It was obvious she was waiting for him to offer her a seat, but he rather liked having her stand. A little discomfort was good for the soul.
“Tell me how you got into the lifestyle.”
“When I started my job in London, a membership at The Garden was one of the perks of the job. I discovered I liked it and I play a few nights a week. I find it relaxing.”
The words rolled smoothly off her tongue and he didn’t believe a single one. Either she was lying to him about how she found the lifestyle or about finding it relaxing. He wasn’t sure which, but something about the easy way she spoke about it made him uneasy. He knew “dialogue” when he heard it. Well-rehearsed dialogue.
It disappointed him immensely because of all the women he’d seen this afternoon, only this one moved him in any way.
Even if it was mostly his dick moving. Hell, he was happy the thing wanted to play at all, but he wasn’t about to let it lead him astray again. Especially when it was likely she was lying about far more than how much she truly enjoyed submitting sexually.
“Before you came on at McKay-Taggart, you claim to have worked with the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“Yes, though most of my work there is classified.” She didn’t react at all to the taunts in his words.
Of course it was. “You’re young for an agent. Especially a retired one.”
“I’m thirty-two. I became an agent at the age of nineteen by necessity. I didn’t have a typical Agency career, and I’ve found you either get out young or die there. I chose the former. Tennessee Smith is my reference for my CIA work, though again, he can only speak about me in general terms. I had another mentor while I was there, but he wasn’t as lucky as me.”
How could she sound so charming talking about death? She could be talking about a lovely garden for all the warmth in her tone. Again. It felt like she was playing a part. She was doing it well. If he hadn’t spent much of his life trying to figure out who was being true and who was lying, he would buy her story hook, line, and sinker. He was sure Jared would. The minute she walked out, Jared would be all over him, telling him how amazing she was, how good she would be for the job.
Jared was far too much an optimist.
Footsteps fell, warning him that someone was coming. One of the things
he liked about the dungeon was the concrete floors and the echoing sounds. No one could sneak up on him. He could hear them coming. Except he only heard one set of footsteps.
And yet three men strode into the dungeon.
Yeah. He needed to get Shane and Dec to teach him how they did that. It might never come up in a movie, but he was a man who liked to learn. It was how he knew about firearms. His brain was a veritable pool of somewhat useless knowledge.
He noticed that Ms. Summers hadn’t turned. Merely kept her eyes on him. Most people would instinctively look back, calling it curiosity. Josh knew it was something deeper. It was the lizard part of the brain, always watching its back. Kayla Summers wasn’t worried about hers.
“You asked for us, Mr. Hunt?” Shane’s deep voice rumbled through the room.
“Yes, I wanted to know if you have any experience with Ms. Summers since you all work for the same company.”
“We work in different offices,” Shane explained. “I’m in Dallas. She’s been in London since she hired on. We’ve met before, but I haven’t worked formally with her. Hey, Kay.”
Kayla turned her head and gave Shane and Declan a friendly nod. “It’s nice to see you both.”
Dec’s mouth quirked up in a smirk, though Josh rather thought that was simply how the man smiled. Anything that seemed to amuse the big fucker brought that arrogant smirk out. “I think he’s wondering about Kay’s experience, Shane. I believe the boss here wants to know if she’s padding her résumé with some skills she doesn’t have.”
Though her face didn’t change at all, he practically felt the chill roll off her.
That woman was pissed. Was she pissed because he was about to call her bluff?
Shane’s brows rose. “Oh. Shit. Uhm, she’s really good at her job, Mr. Hunt. I might not have worked with her, but I’ve read her file and heard plenty of stories. I would not fuck with her. Not at all.”
“She weighs maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet,” he pointed out.
Though she had curves in all the right places. Still, he had to know. His life was on the line. Hers, too. He couldn’t pick a bodyguard because he wanted her in bed.