by Sybil Bartel
With his arm securely around me, Talon led us to a new black Dodge Challenger and opened the door for me. I got in and the scent of beach and coconuts multiplied by a thousand. He slid behind the wheel as a gust of rain practically swamped the car.
“I didn’t know about the storm,” I admitted.
“Most people didn’t.” He started the engine then ran his hands over his hair. “Dirty devil snuck up on Florida. Only good news is that it’s supposed to pass quickly.”
I watched palm trees sway drastically in the wind. “You think it will hit hard?”
“No tellin’. I reckon it’ll do exactly as it pleases.”
“Where are you from?” His accent wasn’t quite Southern but it wasn’t quite Texan either.
“Little bit of everywhere, darlin’. You?”
“Florida, born and raised. Texas?”
He nodded. “I’ve lived there.”
“Ah, the source of the twang.”
He pulled onto the empty road but glanced at me and grinned. “You don’t like my twang, firefly?”
Talon was all charm but he didn’t have dark silky hair or a deep blue gaze that took me in and left no room to breathe. I changed the subject. “How do you know Jesse?”
“Same way I know Vegas.”
I nodded. “The Marines.”
Something clouded his expression but then it was quickly gone. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”
“So you knew Jesse and Alex, but they didn’t know each other?”
“Nope.”
“But you served together.”
“Yep.”
I fought from sighing. “Are you being cagey on purpose?”
“Are you gonna tell me what you were doin’ with Vegas? Besides the obvious?”
Heat flamed my cheeks. “What obvious?”
“Oh, darlin’,” he chuckled. “All that defensiveness? You just told me everythin’ I wanted to know.”
I crossed my arms. “I didn’t pay him.”
His expression turned serious. “Didn’t think you did.”
“Don’t tell Jesse.”
“I won’t, darlin’, but you gotta understand how men think. The second he saw Vegas gunnin’ for you, he already knew ’bout it. You’ve got him so worked up, he couldn’t wait two hours to get you away from him.”
“I wasn’t with Alex when I called Jesse. And what does it matter anyway? Jesse and I are just friends.”
“That isn’t how he sees it.”
Fucking hell. “So he sent you to get me only because he thought I was with Alex?”
Talon smiled like this was funny as hell to him. “Yep.”
“And you just happened to be sitting around waiting for something to do?”
“Oh,” he chuckled. “I was busy.” He glanced at my dress then back at me and winked. “But I thought you’d be more fun.” He grinned. “I was right.”
Oh my God. “Are you flirting with me?”
“Darlin’, if you have to ask, then I’m doin’ a shit job of it.”
“Your job isn’t to flirt with me.”
“No, that’s just the icin’, firefly. By the way, the whole no underwear thing?” He dropped his gaze to my tits, then my lap. “Sexy, darlin’.”
Oh my God, I hated Alex for making me wear this dress. And myself for agreeing to it. And Talon, because he was here and Alex wasn’t. “Go ahead, rub it in.”
Talon laughed. “Don’t worry, firefly, I’m sure Vegas loved every minute of it.”
“I’m sure he did.” I turned toward the window and realized I’d never told Talon where I lived. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Gotcha covered.” He drove too fast through the rain. “So what happened tonight?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
“Fifty bucks says you didn’t wind up at that bar on purpose.”
I sighed. I must have had a fucked-up psychological condition, something about dumping my inner shit on strangers, because my mouth opened and out it came. “I was on a date with Alex.”
Talon looked affronted. “He took you to that dump?”
“No, Pietra’s. We had a… disagreement.” To say the least. “I left.”
“What’d you argue ’bout?”
“Some guy came in with two women. The women seemed to….” My traitorous voice cracked. “They knew Alex.” Heart-crushing jealousy reared up, and I hated Alex all over again. “Let’s just say they really knew him.”
“You ever dated a man with a past?” Talon asked casually.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not a prude.”
“Never said you were. But what’s the difference between sleepin’ with some frat prick who’s been with a hundred different women and sleepin’ with a man who keeps a dozen or so women happy on a regular basis?”
A dozen? All the time? Like, weekly? My heart crushed just thinking about it. And the fear that’d been bubbling since he’d told me what he did for a living became a full boil. “I’m sure it’s a lot more than a dozen.” How the hell would he ever be satisfied with one woman? He had the stamina of a damn warrior.
“You sure ’bout that? You talk to him?”
“I’m not talking to him.” He’d lied to me.
“So, you’re judgin’ him. How many men have you slept with?”
“That’s none of your business,” I snapped.
“Me?” He ignored my attitude. “I lost count a long time ago. But every one left happy.” He glanced at me and grinned. “Am I any different because I never got compensated?”
“Seriously?” Was I really having this conversation? “You’re justifying prostitution?”
He shrugged. “Oldest profession in the business.”
“And what business is that?” Soul sucking?
“The business of life, darlin’.”
I kinda hated him.
I circled her block twice but no lights were on in her place. The wind was kicking up, rain was fucking dumping, and I knew cabs weren’t running. Where the fuck was she?
I called Neil. That Bob the Builder fuck Olivia called a best friend said he’d built my condo, but he didn’t fucking build it, Neil Christensen had. But maybe Bob worked for him.
Neil picked up on the first ring. “Ja.”
I’d met Neil, who’s ex-Danish Military Special Ops, in Afghanistan when our units had worked together to take down a terrorist cell. He was fucking brutal in combat, and lethally quiet under every other circumstance. If his presence didn’t scare the fuck out of you, there was something wrong with you. But he’d been more than decent to me. He came to the States after his service and became a commercial contractor. He’d given me a steal on my penthouse and five other units in the building during preconstruction. I’d sat on them for a year, and when I’d sold the first one, I’d made one-point-two million. I’d already told him I wanted in on his next project.
“It’s Alex. I need a favor.”
“I do not do favors.” Despite being in the States for years, his accent was still thick.
“Bullshit, you sold me six condos at cost. But this isn’t that kind of favor. The blond jarhead you and Talon were talking to at the fundraiser, he work for you?”
Silence.
“Come on, I don’t have a beef with him. I just need his number.”
“I am not getting involved for a female.”
Omniscient fuck. Leave it to him to know this was about Olivia. “I just want to ask him a question.” And fucking punch him. “Is he your foreman or something? You must have his number.”
“Project Manager. He built out your units. If you paid attention, you would already have his number.”
Goddamn it. “Name?” I probably had his number in my contacts. Neil had given me a number to call with any issues during construction, but I’d never needed to use it.
“The female is too good for you.” He hung up.
“Fuck.” I pounded on the steering wheel and dialed her again but this time I left a me
ssage. “I don’t give a shit what you think about me right now. You’re out in a goddamn hurricane. Call me.” I hung up and my cell rang. I didn’t look at the caller ID. “Where are you?” I barked.
Talon laughed. “You miss me?”
I should’ve called him first. “I want the number of the jarhead you were talking to at the fundraiser.”
“Fixer?”
Goddamn it. “You and your fucking nicknames. I don’t give a shit what you call him. Give me his number.”
“How ’bout I do one better?”
“I don’t have time for this right now,” I warned.
He chuckled. “If you don’t have time for a hot brunette with a slammin’ body—”
I pulled over. “You have Olivia?” How the fuck did that happen?
“Firefly’s got a mouth on her.”
The rage was instant. “If you fucking touched her, you’re dead.”
He howled with laughter. “Pretty sure she’s not into surfers.”
“Quit fucking with me,” I growled. “Where is she?”
“A kennel in south Miami.”
What the fuck? “There’s a hurricane coming and you took her to goddamn kennel?”
“That’s where she wanted to go.”
“And you thought that was fucking safe?”
“She ain’t mine, bro. Not gonna tell your woman what to do.”
Fuck. “Give me the address.” I didn’t tell him she wasn’t mine.
He rattled off an address that was twenty-five minutes away. “I told you this would come back to bite you.”
Distracted by the pounding rain, I spun the car around. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“The women.”
Fuck him. “Not all of us are born with a silver spoon in our mouths, bro.”
His tone sharpened. “You think I came from money?”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard him pissed but it was the first time he’d ever said shit about his past. “What difference does it make? You have money. I didn’t. So I fucking earned it.” I didn’t know why the hell I was justifying my shit to him, except a blue-eyed gaze slayed with hurt was stuck on fucking repeat in my head and it was killing me.
“Earn it another way.”
“Did I ask you for advice, you fucking manwhore? At least I get paid for that shit.”
He ignored me. “She’s classy, Vegas.” He chuckled. “Even if she doesn’t wear underwear.”
If I ever saw him checking her out, I was going to pound his fucking face in. “Fuck you, Talerco.”
“I’m all good.” He drew the word all out then hung up.
The McLaren hydroplaned, and I cursed myself for not running back home to get my SUV, but I was mission intent. Seventeen minutes later, I pulled up to a piece-of-shit old bunker-style concrete block building. Half the parking lot was already flooded and the old slat windows looked like they’d break in a strong wind, let alone a hurricane. That was if they didn’t become death projectiles first.
I parked as close as I could and stood under what was left of the awning as I pounded on the glass front door. Lights were on in back but there wasn’t a single other car in the lot.
“Olivia!” I pounded harder to be heard over the wind but there was no response.
Goddamn it.
I ran back to the car and hit the horn several times until a light came on in the front. I rushed back under the awning and she came toward the door with two small dogs trailing her.
I took my first full breath since she’d walked out of the restaurant.
She stopped a foot short and crossed her arms. “What do you want?”
Was she fucking serious? “Open the goddamn door.”
“I don’t open doors for liars.” Her voice muffled, she glanced down as one of the dogs sat at her feet.
Seeing her jeans and tank top, I belatedly noticed she’d changed clothes and irrational jealousy hit. Hard. “Did you let that fucker Talon into your apartment?” He didn’t care who he fucked.
She glanced at the dogs, said something I couldn’t hear and turned to walk away.
I slammed my fist into the doorframe. “You open this fucking door right now.”
She stopped and glared. “Or what?”
I kicked at the piece of shit lock and the door popped open. Furious, desperate, I surged toward her.
She jumped back and one of the dogs rushed me. Ten pounds of barking, growling fury let loose. “Call him off,” I warned.
“You broke the door!”
I didn’t see it when she first appeared but I saw it now. Her eyes were red rimmed, her makeup smeared, her nose pink—my heart fucking sank. “You were crying.”
She scooped up the canine menace and rushed around me to close the door. “I can’t even secure it now.” Her voice hitched up a notch. “How the hell am I going to keep the rain out?”
I stepped behind her and threw a top bolt she couldn’t reach. Her scent hit me and I couldn’t stop myself. I reached for her. “Olivia—”
Panic-laced hurt flooded her voice. “Don’t you dare touch me.” She held the small dog to her chest while the other circled her feet. Her hair damp, her lip trembling, she looked scared as fuck.
It was a reality check and I softened my tone. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You already did,” she threw back.
Fuck this. I grasped the sides of her face, sank my fingers into her hair and threw down the one play I had. “I’m done.” I didn’t care about the money anymore. I didn’t care about my five-year plan. I stared at the one woman who made me want more and I gave what I had to give. “I’m out.” I didn’t have one second of reservation. This moment had been coming. I could find another way to make money but I wouldn’t find another her. I didn’t give two fucks about any of those other women. I just wanted her.
She sucked in a breath. “I said. Don’t touch me.”
Low and controlled, her words took a moment to sink in. But when they did, it hit. Hard. Shit stabbed at my chest, my jaw ticked, but then my training kicked in. My back military straight, I shut down my expression and dropped my hands. “You’re not staying here.”
She nervously stepped back. “The dogs need me. They’re scared.”
I bent and picked up the pathetic mutt at her feet. “Bring them with you.” I turned toward the door.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
I spun and got in her face. I used my height as a weapon and my tone as ammunition. “The wind’s picking up and these fucking windows won’t hold past the hour.” No way in hell was she staying here. “You have one minute to walk out of this shithole or I’m carrying you out.” Whatever I had to do.
“You’re not carrying me anywhere. And there’s not just these two dogs.”
God-fucking-dammit. “You think I’m going to let dogs come between you and your safety? How many?” I demanded.
She flinched and her attitude slipped. “One more. The other assistant spent all afternoon getting the other dogs out but Charlie’s still in back. I can’t move him.”
I saw her fear. I saw she was worried about staying here, but I was still too pissed at her to do anything except storm past. I pushed the swinging door she’d come out of earlier and almost tripped on a mess of blankets at my feet.
Scarred, half shaved, a beast of an animal lay prone on the makeshift bed. Panting, looking like he was laboring to breathe, giant brown eyes looked up at me like he knew he was fucked. “Jesus Christ. What the hell happened to him?”
She squatted next to him and gently stroked his head. “Don’t yell. He was hit by a car and left for dead.” She kissed the mangy fur by his ear. “You’re okay, sweet boy.” He didn’t even pick his head up.
People were fucking assholes. “Get these two.” I set down the dog I was still holding. “I’ll get him.”
“You can’t move him right now. He’s in pain.”
Motherfucker. “Either he comes with us or you leave
him here. Decide right now because the parking lot’s almost submerged and there’s no way I’m letting you stay here.”
“Oceanfront isn’t any safer,” she argued, but her tone said she wasn’t going to push it.
“Reinforced steel, impact-resistant glass and shutters.” I ticked off the list of hurricane countermeasures my penthouse boasted like a fucking selling agent. “It’s a hell of a lot safer than this place. Take the two dogs and get in the car.” I tipped my chin at the beast. “I’ll put this one on your lap.” I couldn’t believe I was going to put three fucking dogs in my car.
“We won’t all fit.”
Another gust of wind roared outside and rattled the windows. “We’ll make it work. Let’s go.”
She cupped the wounded animal’s head. “Be a brave boy for me, Charlie. We’re going for a ride.” She gently wrapped the blankets around him, carefully tucking him in, then she glanced at me as she stood. “Don’t let him get too wet.”
The storm, our fight, all the bullshit in my head, it went silent and I stared at her.
The mouthy vixen with lush curves was there, but now there was also someone else. A woman beyond the grief of a lost brother, she stood and put a bottle of pills from the counter in her back pocket before scooping up two dogs. Adeptly holding them against her chest, she pulled an oversized raincoat off the back of the chair and threw it over all three of them. Determined and competent, she looked expectantly at me. “Ready?”
She was so fucking beautiful, my chest hurt.
“Yeah,” I answered, my voice rough. I carefully picked up the beast and he let out a pathetic cry. “Shh, old boy, I got you.”
Olivia hit the lights and held the swinging door open. “He’s only two.”
The damn dog looked like he was a hundred.
He was here.
My heart in my throat, my hands shaking, I held Merry and Sparks to my chest and told myself not to stare.
His jaw set with determination, his hair wet, his shirt half-soaked and sticking to his huge biceps, Alex was the sexiest, most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes on. The ache in my heart made me want to cry, but when he picked up Charlie like he was an infant, I wanted to forget what he did for a living.