Ready for King's Seduction

by Maureen Child

  Lucas could look at his old friend and see what that confession had cost him. He could even understand now, why Dave had done what he had. After all, there weren’t many things Lucas wouldn’t be willing to do to protect his brothers. So now that he knew the truth, how could he hold it against the man?

  “You should’ve told me,” he said finally. “We were friends. I could have helped you out, and you wouldn’t have had to do what you did.”

  “Sounds good now.” Dave laughed shortly and shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you, Lucas. Pride’s the one thing you and I always had in common. And that pride made me steal from a friend rather than admit that I was about to lose the company my grandfather built. Hell, I didn’t even want to admit the truth to myself.”

  Rain slapped at the window behind him, the only sound in the room as the two men looked at each other and each tried to finally put the past behind them. Absently, Lucas wondered if fate hadn’t taken a hand in the weather lately. If not for this new storm, Lucas would have been out inspecting the latest job site, talking to the crews. But with the weather delay, he had spent all afternoon in the office, catching up on paperwork. So he’d been here to hash this out with Dave.

  Maybe this was fate’s way of telling him just what his brothers had. Let it go.

  “I was sorry to hear it when your dad died,” he said quietly, offering the olive branch that they both needed.

  “Thanks.” Dave met his gaze and nodded. “I appreciate that. And I know that this doesn’t mean we’re friends again or anything.”

  “Not yet,” Lucas admitted, though he was willing to scratch Dave off his active enemies list.

  “What I came here to say isn’t going to help that any, either,” Dave told him. “You shouldn’t have used my sister, Lucas. You had problems with me, I get that. But you and I both know you went after her to stick it to me.”

  “Rose isn’t up for discussion,” Lucas said shortly. He was willing to forgive Dave for the stealing and the betrayal. But he wasn’t going to stand here and talk about the woman he’d slept with to her brother.

  Which struck him as odd, since telling Dave about sleeping with Rose had been the whole point of this exercise.

  “The hell she’s not,” Dave countered, leaning both hands on Lucas’s desk. “She’s not like the women you usually hook up with.”

  “What do you know about that? I haven’t even spoken to you in two years.”

  “Some things don’t change.”

  Lucas gritted his teeth to keep from saying something he’d regret. Instead, he just stared into Dave’s eyes, not giving an inch.

  “Or do they?” Dave asked, a half smile on his face. “She got to you, didn’t she? You thought you’d use Rose and walk away without a backward glance, but it wasn’t as easy as you thought it would be, was it?”

  He was right, damn it. About all of it. Lucas hadn’t been able to slice Rose out of his mind or his soul. She was in there, deep, whether he wanted it or not. But he wasn’t going to tell Dave that. “Stop now. I’m not talking about her with you.”

  “Fine, then just listen.” Dave pushed off the desk. “Don’t mess with her head, Lucas. If you’re really finished then stay the hell away from her. Because if you hurt her again…you and I are going to go a few rounds.”

  With that, Dave walked out of his office. Alone, Lucas stared blindly at the closed door. He didn’t like taking orders. Never had. But he couldn’t blame Dave for this one.

  Lucas didn’t know what to feel anymore. For two years, he’d been carrying around what felt like a boulder, and now it was gone. A simple, five-minute conversation with Dave Clancy and he had a truce of sorts with his former friend.

  All it had cost him was Rose.

  Bull, his mind corrected instantly. Rose had never been his and so he couldn’t have lost her. But even as he thought that, an image of her face as she stared him down that last night at her house loomed in his mind, taunting him. Even when her eyes had been spitting fire at him, he’d wanted her. Even now, he wanted her, he admitted.

  Which meant exactly nothing, he assured himself.

  Rose had been a temporary thing. Sure, she was still in his mind and his body was still fantasizing about her. But that was only because she was new. In a few weeks, he’d be over her. And as long as she wasn’t pregnant, they’d never have to see each other.

  She had been a means to an end and that end had now been completed. Story over.

  Absently, he rubbed one hand over his chest, trying to soothe the heavy feeling centered there. But it didn’t help. Nothing helped.

  “All right, enough,” he muttered and stalked to the closet to grab the battered, brown leather jacket hanging inside. He shrugged it on, threw his office door open and walked out. “I’m leaving, Evelyn.”

  “Wow, and before seven, too,” she said, but Lucas just kept walking.

  There were far too many clever women in his life.

  Eleven

  It had finally stopped raining. Rose was cold. And wet. What she wanted to do was be home, curled up on her couch with a cup of hot tea in her hands and a mindless program on TV shattering the silence.

  But she was determined to stay put until Lucas finally showed up at his house. For what had to be the tenth time, Rose checked her wristwatch again. A little after six. Why was he late?

  When they had their cooking lessons together he was always here before now. Irritation gave way to worry.

  Her gaze fixed on the rain-slicked surface of Ocean Boulevard and the cars flying past, fan-tails of water flying out behind them. Californians were notorious for forgetting how to drive on rainy streets from one year to the next. There were always more accidents during a storm.

  Sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs on Lucas’s porch, she gripped her hands together in her lap and tried not to imagine his car as a twisted hunk of metal.

  “Okay, don’t be crazy,” she murmured. “He’s fine. He’s just not home. Probably on a date or something. With some rich, gorgeous…”

  Nope, don’t go there, either, she told herself firmly.

  She shouldn’t care. Rose knew that. Lucas had lied to her, used her and then tossed her aside as soon as he was finished. She couldn’t really blame him for seducing her, since she was pretty much in on that as well. But for the rest…she patted her shoulder bag, where his check was tucked away, and that alone stiffened her spine. “Who’re you?”

  A deep voice splintered her thoughts and she looked up to see a bald, burly man with a full red beard standing in the middle of the lawn. He looked big, angry and, if she wasn’t mistaken, very drunk. His eyes were narrowed on her. He was soaking wet and swaying on his feet.

  A trickle of fear spilled down her spine.

  Carefully, she reached into her purse and pulled her phone out.

  “Where’s Lucas?” the man demanded, taking a halting step toward her.

  She couldn’t tell him Lucas wasn’t there. She didn’t want the man to know she was alone. And she was alone. A quick glance next door to the Robertsons’ didn’t make her feel better. The big house was dark and there were no cars out front. And because the rain had only just stopped, no one was out walking their dog or enjoying the ocean view.

  She really was alone in the dark with a man who didn’t look very stable. If she called 911, she couldn’t report a crime…he hadn’t done anything. But if she didn’t call and he did do something threatening, how stupid would she feel?

  “Um, Lucas is in the backyard,” she blurted.

  “Fine,” the man said and took another slow step, as if lifting each of his feet was taking every ounce of his strength. His words slurred as he vowed, “I’ll jus’ go she him.”

  Rose kept her gaze fixed on him but for a brief glance out to her car, parked at the curb. She decided she’d run out to it as soon as the man rounded the corner of the house. Once she was away, she’d call Lucas to tell him what was happening. She didn’t want him to show up unaware of the man who
clearly was looking for some kind of trouble.

  Her stomach churned as she stood up, slowly. He didn’t seem to notice her while he looked around as if trying to remember where he was and why. The heavy, cloying scent of too much beer hit her like a wave on the next breeze.

  Suddenly, his bleary gaze shot to her and he demanded again, “Who’re you?”

  “A friend of Lucas’s,” she said, keeping her voice low as she moved carefully toward the steps.

  The man snorted. “He don’t have friends. No-good bastard…”

  Instinctively, Rose wanted to defend Lucas, which would clearly be a mistake, since the man obviously was furious with him. She had to clamp her lips shut to keep from speaking, though.

  So maybe she shouldn’t wait to get to her car, Rose thought, and eased down the few steps to the paved walkway. He watched every move she made, and Rose almost wished it would start raining again. She would take every distraction she could get. “Well, I’ve got to leave now, so…”

  She stepped off the walkway into the still-sodden grass, trying to keep distance between them. But for a swaying, unsteady drunk, the man moved quickly. He was suddenly at her side, holding on to her arm with an iron grip.

  “Jus’ wait a damn minute here, girly. You know Lucas.”

  “Yes,” she said, holding her breath as much as possible. The stench of alcohol was much harsher now. And his breath was horrifying. As was his tight hold on her arm.

  He was big and angry and drunk.

  Not a good combination.

  “You could talk to him. Tell him to not fire me.” He leaned in closer, lost his balance and almost took them both down before somehow finding his footing again.

  Rose’s arm hurt where he held her, and her nerves jangled like sleigh bells. She tried to pull away, but the man was so much stronger than she was, she didn’t have a hope. She still clutched her phone and as unobtrusively as she could, lifted it so she could see the dial pad.

  “Hey! No phonin’ him,” the drunk told her and knocked the phone from her hand.

  She glanced down at her phone, lying on the wet grass, and felt her heart slide down into the pit of her stomach.

  “Let me call Lucas. He’ll come talk to you,” she urged, her voice as placating as she could make it, despite the fear. “Straighten all this out.”

  “Yeah?” He looked hopeful for a moment, but then his fingers tightened around her upper arm until she winced with a fresh wave of pain.

  Then he shook his head. “No. He won’t. Damn Kings. Once they make up their minds…”

  “I can help.” She tried again because really, what choice did she have? “Just let me try.”

  He thought about it for a long minute. Frowning, he staggered in place, caught himself, then finally nodded and released his grip on her arm. The pain of release was almost as sharp as it had been when he held her.

  As soon as she was free, Rose bolted, leaving her phone on the grass. All she could think about was getting away. Getting help. Something. As she ran, she fumbled in her purse for her car keys.

  Behind her, she heard the man shout “Hey!” and then the heavy pounding of his footsteps as he came after her. He was too drunk, too unsteady to move fast, though, she told herself. She had the advantage, if only she could—

  Headlights flashed in her eyes and she threw one arm up in defense. A car screeched up to the curb behind hers and a moment later, Lucas was jumping out of his SUV.

  “Rose? What’s wrong?” His gaze shifted to the man coming after her. Instantly, Lucas pulled Rose to stand behind him, placing his body between her and any danger. “Warren, what are you doing here?”

  “Came to talk,” the man shouted. “Your lady there was helping me.”

  Even in the glare of the bright lights, Rose saw Lucas’s features tighten into a mask of pure rage.

  “Damn fool,” he muttered, then looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you all right, Rose? Did he hurt you?”

  “No. I’m fine.”

  He took a breath and released it as he nodded. “Good. That’s good. Go to the house. Wait for me on the porch.”

  “No. I just want to go home, Lucas. I’m leaving.”

  He checked on Warren again, then took one moment to cup her cheek briefly. “Please. The porch.”

  Rose looked from him to Warren and then back again. She saw anger in Lucas’s face, but she also saw worry, so she nodded. Heck, she was too shaken to drive anyway. Rose walked a wide circle around Warren and then hurried to the porch, pausing only long enough to snatch up her phone. From her safe vantage point, she watched Lucas with the other man.

  Fisting his hands on his hips, Lucas said, “Warren, you shouldn’t have come here.”

  The man scraped one hand across his face and to Rose’s mind, he suddenly looked more miserable than scary. “Din’t have choice. I can’t lose my job,” he said and dropped to the grass, cupping his head in his hands.

  Lucas still looked furious, but there was also something of pity in his face as he looked down at the man. “If you were looking for a second chance, coming to my home, drunk, and threatening my woman aren’t the ways to get it.”

  His woman?

  Those two little words punched at her heart. Rose shivered, then before she could make too much of it, told herself it meant nothing. He was talking to a drunk. Making a point. And still those two words reverberated inside her like a shout into an echoing canyon.

  “Din’t hurt her,” Warren muttered. “Wouldn’t hurt a woman.”

  “That makes this your lucky night,” Lucas told him and pulled out his phone. He glanced up at Rose as if satisfying himself that she was safe, then he made a brief call before tucking the phone back into his pocket.

  “You stay right there, Warren,” he ordered. “I swear, if you move from that spot…”

  Warren didn’t even flinch. Just sat on the wet grass cradling his head and murmuring to himself.

  Clearly disgusted, Lucas walked to Rose, pulled her into his arms, then set her back from him and held her face between his palms. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. He didn’t really hurt me. Just seriously creeped me out.” She gave a quick look to the now-moaning man on the lawn. “Who is he?”

  Lucas glanced back at the man. “He worked for me. Until recently. I fired him. And by the smell of him, he’s spent the past few days in a bar.”

  “Did you call the police?”

  He looked back at her and sighed. “No. I called Sean. He’ll drive Warren home. I don’t want him arrested. He’s got enough problems. But if he had hurt you…”

  She shook her head. “He didn’t.”

  Nodding, Lucas pulled out his keys, opened the front door and said, “Will you just wait for me inside? I’ve got to stay with Warren until Sean gets here.”

  She should go, Rose knew it. After all, she had only gone to his house to throw his check back in his face. But looking up at him how, she knew she wasn’t leaving. At least, not yet. “I’ll wait.”

  He gave her a smile, then turned back to the yard. He walked to Warren’s side, then went down in a crouch beside the man. His words were too low for her to overhear, so Rose did as he asked and went into the house.

  A half hour later, Sean had come and gone and Warren was on his way home. Lucas smiled grimly at the memory of Sean’s disgust as they loaded Warren into his car. Lucas had no doubt that Warren was getting an earful on the drive home. Sean was as easygoing as they came, but tell him that a woman had been scared or hurt or in any way bothered, and Sean went coldly ballistic.

  He wouldn’t do anything to the man, but Lucas was willing to bet that after having Sean give him the shout-down of the century, Warren would accept being fired and disappear from their lives.

  Walking into the house, Lucas could smell fresh coffee brewing, and he followed the scent straight back to the kitchen. He’d been avoiding that room, unable to even so much as enter it without Rose’s memory rising up and nearly choking
him.

  So when he pushed the door open and saw her standing in the brilliantly lit room, she took his breath away. She’d draped her coat over a chair. She was wearing dark blue jeans, a red, wide-necked sweater and her long blond hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of silk.

  His fingers itched to touch her again. To feel the smooth slide of her skin. And because the urge was so strong, he jammed his hands into his pockets to keep from doing just that.

  She turned when he entered and the edge of her sweater dipped low over one shoulder. That’s when he saw the marks on her arm. Furious all over again, he was at her side in two long strides. “Lucas?”

  “You said he didn’t hurt you,” he muttered, pulling the sweater down far enough on her arm that he could see the prints of Warren’s hard fingers on her pale skin. “He left marks, Rose. You’ll be bruised by tomorrow.”

  “He didn’t mean to,” she said, wincing a little as Lucas’s fingers moved over her arm.

  “I should have had him arrested,” Lucas muttered, lifting his gaze to hers.

  “No, Lucas. He was just drunk and sad and scared…”

  “He put his hands on you.”

  She reached up and touched his face, and Lucas felt the warmth of her slide down into that cold, empty pit he’d been carrying around in his stomach for days.

  “I’m okay. Really.”

  He pulled in a breath, looked into her eyes and said, “When I saw you there. With him chasing you—”

  “I was really glad you showed up when you did,” she admitted.

  “Me, too.” His gaze moved over her face. Her scent filled him and Lucas gave into the need that had been plaguing him for days.

  It was over. He knew that. Accepted it. But she was here and his body was hard and thirsting for her so badly he could hardly draw a breath. “Rose…”

  She shook her head even as she leaned into him. “Lucas, this isn’t why I came here.”

  “I don’t care,” he admitted. “I just need to taste you again. To hold you again.”