Tempted by Love

by Jennifer Ryan

  Noel lost it and grabbed Brian by the front of his shirt. “You touch her, this all goes away.”

  Brian slammed his hands into Noel’s chest. He lost his grip and fell backward and onto his ass on the ground. Brian stood over him and pointed a finger in his face. “You’ve got more to lose than any of us. This is a simple arrangement. Don’t make it hard.”

  Noel rolled up to his feet and glared at Brian. “Then don’t be stupid.” If he let Brian walk all over him, this would unravel and he’d lose everything. “You knew going in this would take patience. It wouldn’t be a big score but a steady stream. You’ll get what you need when I tell you it’s time.”

  “You’ve got two days. I’m not a patient man.” Brian waved at Davy to get into the beat-up truck. Brian started the engine and revved it. He leaned out the window, his arm draped down the scarred door. “She’s already seen us with you. That’s a problem I don’t need.” Brian sped off, sending a cloud of dust up in the empty parking lot outside a deserted antique store on the outskirts of town.

  Noel stood immobilized, not believing the threat underlying Brian’s parting shot.

  Brian wouldn’t do anything stupid. They had too much to lose. Noel had to believe Brian wouldn’t go after Alina, but the fear of being wrong sent a blaze of acid eating his insides.

  Sweet Alina. Yes, she always asked after his wife, but her concern for him, his well-being, touched him deeply.

  If something happened to Alina . . . he couldn’t bear thinking about it.

  Chapter Seven

  The last few days dragged as Jay looked forward to seeing Alina again. Something about her tugged at him. The want to see her had turned into a gnawing need. Memories of her took up all his limited free time and then some the last few days. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but her.

  He didn’t get it. The smart and logical thing meant staying away. But his brain kept circling back to her, and the desire to see her again increased with every passing second.

  If he could pinpoint the one thing about her that drew him in, maybe he could let it go, but it seemed to be the sum of so many things he knew about her and the millions of things he didn’t but wanted to discover.

  Alina was a complication he didn’t need but wanted in his life all the same.

  He had no idea if she wanted to see him again. They’d spent two amazing nights together. She had to feel some kind of connection to him, right?

  Go find out if there’s something there. He’d been sitting outside her condo for nearly five minutes staring at the tan building with white trim. She had the end unit with a wide garden area bordering her patio enclosed by a short lattice fence.

  Shit security if you asked him. Anyone could hop that flimsy barrier that offered little privacy and break the glass sliding door and be inside her house in seconds. They could be in and out in minutes. With the back exit to her complex diagonally across from her place, the getaway car could speed away before any of her neighbors noticed because her place blocked their view.

  He couldn’t help it. Security, knowing the ins and outs of a place, potential threats; those things came as natural as breathing.

  You’re procrastinating.

  The clock read five-thirty straight up. Right on time, even if he arrived early. He slipped out of his car and walked up the short path to her front door tucked along the side of her place, facing her neighbors. Anyone could blitz attack her here and no one from the street or other homes would see.

  He shook his head and knocked.

  “Jay!” Adam yelled inside.

  “It’s open,” Alina called.

  Sure enough, the door wasn’t locked. He walked right in and glared at the beauty pulling her purse strap up her shoulder. “Are you crazy?”

  She stopped fussing with her bag and stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  “You leave your door wide open. Anyone could walk right in.”

  “I left it open, so you could walk right in.”

  “You’ve got no security here.”

  Alina rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I know. My brothers have said as much in a million different ways.”

  Jay planted his hands on his hips. “Why don’t you do something about it?”

  “Because no one in the complex has ever been robbed. It’s a safe neighborhood. The facility has a security guard who patrols the place.”

  “One guy for a place this big. All the bad guys need to do is post a lookout to keep an eye on him and rob every place on the opposite side of where he’s patrolling.”

  “If I ever want to take up a life of crime, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Jay dropped his gaze to Adam standing between him and Alina, his head bouncing back and forth as they talked.

  Adam’s gaze found him. He waited for Jay’s reply to Alina’s ornery comment. Jay knew better than to keep this up, especially when she’d already had the argument with her brothers.

  “Hi.” Adam held up his hands to be picked up.

  Jay scooped up the little boy and held him close. “Ready to have some fun?”

  Adam’s eyes beamed with excitement. “Yes. Pizza.”

  “First thing on the list, buddy. I missed lunch. I’m starving.”

  “Why’d you miss lunch?” Alina cocked her head to the side as her gaze dropped from his face and scanned all the way to his feet, then back up.

  He liked that she worried something might have happened to him. “I’m okay, Alina. With your brothers out, I’m covering for both of them which adds up to a lot more paperwork and a meeting with an informant that wasn’t happy to see me instead of Beck.”

  “Everything turned out okay, though?”

  “Great.” He lied to protect her from the hard truth that he’d been slammed into a wall with a gun pointed at his head before Jay could identify himself to the shithead low-level drug dealer Beck used as an informant. Jay took it in stride. Beck warned him the guy tended to act like big shit, but was all bluster. To give the guy an ego boost, he hadn’t laid the dumbass out flat when he caught his attack out of the corner of his eye. The second Jay jabbed him in the gut with his elbow, he buckled under and backed off. Good thing he expected Jay, or he might have actually found the balls to pull the trigger. Jay believed the gun was all for show, but he never underestimated anyone who thought they had something to prove.

  Alina didn’t need to know. He didn’t want to give her another reason not to want to see him.

  “If you’re swamped, I can pick Adam up later at your place instead of you keeping him for the night.”

  Jay shook his head. “I’m looking forward to some guy time.” He poked Adam in the tummy and made him laugh. “Where are you going anyway? A date?” Since he came to take the kid, it seemed the easiest way to find out if he had competition.

  Alina frowned. “The last date ended with the guy asking me to pay my share of our coffee order, then telling me he had his van outside if I wanted to spend a little more time with him before I headed home.”

  “What the f . . . hell?”

  Alina smiled at his almost swearing in front of Adam. “Careful.”

  “What kind of men are you dating?”

  “None right now. For obvious reasons. His profile said he was a marketing executive. Turns out he worked at a copy place and got fired a few weeks before our date. Hence the reason our six o’clock date was coffee and not drinks.”

  “Couldn’t afford to buy you a glass of wine,” Jay guessed.

  “He didn’t have the decency to buy my coffee. He took the half muffin I didn’t finish when he left.”

  Jay couldn’t help the laugh. “Oh man. That’s not right.”

  “I hate liars. He admitted to using the app to hook up. When I told him that’s not what I was looking for, he said, ‘What a waste of time and a grade A . . .’ bottom?”

  Jay tried to hold back the laugh, but when Alina chuckled over the disastrous date, he joined in with her. “I can attest to his loss.”

  The
smile on her lips slipped, but her eyes warmed, which encouraged him to do what he’d spent the better part of the last few days mulling over, only to come to one conclusion: he didn’t want this thing between them to end. Her brothers would definitely kill him for hooking up with their sister, but the chances of that decreased if he dated her with the intention of truly getting to know her better. Because two nights wasn’t enough. He wanted more. Of everything.

  He’d prove to her and her brothers that he could be a good guy. He wanted to be for Alina.

  “Let me make up for all mankind and take you out on a proper date. You name the day and where you want to go, and I’ll prove to you at least one guy doesn’t suck.”

  The heat in her eyes turned molten. “If memory serves, yes, you do.”

  He took a step closer. “Happy to do it again.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment until Adam called out, “Pizza.”

  Jay fought to tuck away the raging desire burning through him. For now. Damn hard to do when Alina wore a pretty, short-sleeved black knit shirt that molded to her breasts and trim body, with a wide, silky, black skirt that flared out and swished back and forth with every tiny movement.

  “About that date?” He wasn’t leaving without one.

  It took her a second to decide with one side of her mouth scrunched in a thoughtful pout that drove him crazy wild to kiss her. “Sunday?”

  “That works,” he confirmed. He’d have to shift some things around, but he’d make it work.

  “McGee’s downtown at seven?”

  Beer and burgers. His kind of place. Definitely his preferred kind of date. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty.”

  “I can meet you there.”

  He shook his head. “Proper date. I pick you up, we eat, share some conversation and laughs, I see you back to your door.”

  And by the look in her eyes, he’d have her in her bed one more time.

  Sunday seemed like a long few days to endure to get to, but being alone with Alina again was worth the wait.

  Jay bounced Adam in his arms. “We should be off. Where are you going?” She still hadn’t answered him on that front.

  “I’m giving a talk on prescription drug abuse at the community center for parents of at-risk teens.”

  “Wow. You should have told me. I’d have come with you, given the DEA perspective and all.”

  “I grilled Beck and Caden for information to add to my speech.” She pressed her hand to her belly. “Still, I’m nervous. Public speaking isn’t really my thing. I hope they ask a lot of questions. Making it a conversation makes it more comfortable.”

  “You’ll do great.”

  “I wish Noel hadn’t pushed it on me, but he wants me to become more active in the community.” She waved him toward the door. “Sorry to rush, but I don’t want to be late.”

  “What time does your thing end?”

  “I’m not the only speaker, so it goes to eight-thirty. Noel told me to expect people to want to chat afterward, more of a one-on-one thing, so I hope to get out of there by nine. Why?”

  “Call me when you get home, so I know you’re safe. You can tell me how it went.”

  “Jay, that’s not necessary.”

  “It is to me. Downtown late at night, not the kind of place for a single woman to be alone. Call me, or I’ll call you.”

  “I’m perfectly capable on my own, you know. I don’t need another worried brother.”

  Jay closed the distance between them and kissed her before she knew his intention. Their lips met and he held the kiss until he had her attention and she leaned into him. He kept the kiss tame—for Adam’s sake—and pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. “I’m not your brother.”

  Dazed, she shook her head. “Nope.” The p popped out of her mouth. “Definitely not.” She pushed him back, keeping her hands on his chest, and backed him toward the door. “Gotta go. I’ll call you later.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  She stopped and dropped her hands. “This is still a bad idea.”

  He cupped her cheek in his palm. Her soft hair brushed his skin. He wanted to sink his fingers into the dark, silky mass but held back. They didn’t have time for all he wanted right now.

  “We’re amazing at bad ideas. All I’m asking for is a chance to see if there’s more than heat between us. I want a chance to know you better, because I want there to be more between us.” He’d never been that open and honest with another woman. With Alina, it came naturally.

  Alina pressed her cheek to his palm. “I want to get to know you better, too.”

  “Pizza,” Adam demanded.

  Jay shared a smile and laugh with Alina, reluctantly released her, and picked up the race car duffel bag by the door. “You and me, buddy, and a pepperoni pizza.”

  “Bacon.”

  Jay hugged Adam close. “Even better.”

  Alina followed him and Adam out the front door carrying Adam’s car seat. He walked down the path to the parking area. He unlocked the door with his key fob and waited while Alina secured the booster seat. He tossed the duffel on the empty seat and set Adam inside and buckled him. A soft poke to the belly made Adam laugh. Jay loved the bright, carefree sound of it.

  He closed the car door and turned to Alina. “Your place has shit security. I don’t like it.”

  “My security is not your concern. I can take care of myself.”

  “In a very short time, you have become my concern.”

  Alina held her hands out wide, then let them fall to her sides. “Jay, I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “That you’ll call and get a security system installed in your place. You’ll ask the property manager to install another light at this end of the lot. Tell him it’s for your security and your neighbors. Get them on board if the manager balks. Or I’ll talk to him and convince him.”

  She took his fisted hand, unfolded his fingers, and linked her hand with his. “You’re sweet. I know you mean well—”

  “I mean what I say. Do it, or I’ll do it for you.” He cut off any spunky retort from her lips with a searing kiss. He didn’t understand where all this protect-my-woman caveman attitude came from, but he couldn’t contain it when it came to her.

  Why look for threats where there were none? She didn’t live the kind of life he did. She wasn’t like the people he dealt with at work.

  She led a simple, quiet life.

  And he wanted to keep it that way. He never wanted the darker side of life to touch her.

  He gave in to need and took the kiss deeper, sliding his tongue along hers, tasting the temptation that always swept through him when he had her this close. He wished they were going out, that instead of some hotel room, she’d be in his bed tonight.

  “Pizza,” Adam called from inside the SUV.

  Jay broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to Alina’s. She kept her eyes closed and sighed.

  “He’s single-minded in his wants. I can think of a hundred things I’d like to do with you.”

  Alina’s eyes flew open. “This is crazy.”

  “I’m okay with that.” He kissed her softly. “Call me later.” He stared at her for one long moment, then made himself climb into his SUV. He looked over his shoulder at Adam. “Where are we going?”

  “Pizza!” they shouted in unison.

  Jay smiled out the passenger window at Alina. She laughed and shook her head as he pulled out. He kept his eyes on her in the rearview mirror. She watched them drive away. The happy, confused look on her face made his chest tingle.

  The two of them together might not sound like a good idea, but it felt too right to walk away. He didn’t like sneaking around, but it did add a thrill and a level of danger that made it all the more exciting.

  He set aside the possibility of discovery and the repercussions when her brothers returned from their honeymoons.

  Right now, he’d enjoy the fact that he had a date with Alina on Sunday and another chance to kiss her in
to doing wild and crazy things with him again.

  Chapter Eight

  Alina breathed a sigh of relief when the last group of people left the community center. She’d worried about her speech and conveying the information while still showing compassion. She never expected talking with parents and friends of people addicted to prescription drugs to be so personal and sad. So many lives affected. So many stories with the threads of lies, heartbreak, worry, sadness, feeling useless, frustration, expectation, disappointment, and hope running through them.

  She was glad to discuss the prescription drug abuse epidemic, but meeting the families cranked up her compassion while leaving her drained and wanting to help even more.

  Maybe she could put together a program to present at local middle and high schools to kids and parents. After all, many of the young people found the drugs in their parents’ medicine cabinets.

  The DEA held an annual Drug Take Back Day. She’d talk to Caden and Beck and see if she could sponsor an event in town at the pharmacy.

  Jay would be a great speaker. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. With his direct manner and air of authority, he’d get the kids’ attention. He’d keep their attention with his wit and humor, just like the way he teased and played with Adam. He liked kids.

  Yes, he took Adam to help her and Beck out, but the guys were close. They covered for each other at work and in their private lives. They hung out because they weren’t just colleagues, they were friends.

  Which made dating Jay tricky. She didn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with Caden and Beck. And the other guys on their team. If one went against the bro-code, the others might cut him out. In their line of work, they needed to function as a team. Animosity and rivalry could be a threat they didn’t need on the job facing an even deadlier threat from the cartels and local drug dealers, suppliers, and producers.

  The nightmare of Beck shot and lying near death in a hospital bed with tubes and wires coming off him blazed to life in her mind. Jay’s face replaced Beck’s and her heart clenched tight.