Conned

by Jessica Wilde

  I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and grumbled under my breath. That would help. Maybe. It would at least relieve this ache in my chest I couldn't seem to get rid of and that was the worst part. I could avert my eyes when necessary and my head would benefit from the distraction, but this tight grip around what could only be my heart… I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

  I liked her.

  Really liked her.

  I knew this was going to be trouble. I didn't have time for this crap.

  "Yeah. Too bad, Con. Never thought I'd see the day that my big brother would get his ass handed to him by a dress."

  "Did you see that thing? Luke, look me in the eye and tell me that if Ash wore that-"

  "Whoa there," Luke stopped me with a laugh. "Ash has worn that to try it on and I have to be honest, she was gorgeous but she's right. She didn't pull it off the same way Emily has. Plus, she's my fiancé, I'm allowed to pull her aside and kiss her senseless. You're on your own, buddy."

  "Asshole," I growled.

  "If you want, I can be her date tonight," Gus suggested.

  If my father hadn't walked in at that moment, I don't know what I would have done to my little brother. The thought of him with his hands on her made me feel like I was suffocating.

  This is getting ridiculous.

  "We ready to get this thing over with?" Dad said cheerily, then noticed me still holding onto the bottle that was only used in emergencies and smirked. "I take it you saw Emily."

  I nodded and put the bottle back on the shelf before I closed the cabinet door and turned away from all of them. I didn't have to hear it to know what Dad was thinking. I could see it every time he looked at Emily. He had gotten to know her better than any of us really, with the exception of Ash. He liked her, too. For me. But it didn't matter.

  "Son."

  I stopped just before the door that led outside and the tone of my father's voice made me turn around. I needed fresh air and I needed it fast.

  "Yeah?"

  "She's a sweet girl. I know you don't know her very well…"

  "It doesn't matter. I've got a job to do."

  "Yes. That you do," he nodded solemnly.

  I turned back to the door and out into the cool evening air. Without looking, I knew exactly where Emily and Ash were standing; I still had to force myself not to turn their way. I strolled to the back of the yard and saw the bench Gus and I made for Mom sitting in the shadows. The effect of the alcohol was climbing, but I still felt Emily's eyes on my back and the burn in my body knowing she was watching me.

  "Doesn't matter," I whispered to no one. Saying it out loud didn't make it any truer.

  She had only been around for a few days and I was having a hard time keeping my head straight. She was different than the other women I had only ever hooked up with. She was loyal; her brother didn't deserve it, but she was loyal to him. She was intriguing and funny and smart. I didn't get bored after talking to her for five minutes like I had with others and I found myself wanting to ask her more.

  This isn't part of the plan, Con.

  I'm not sure how long I sat there, but the sound of laughing voices that I didn't recognize told me it was time to return. Emily was safe with Luke, Gus, and my dad looking out for her, but I was in charge of her and the only reason my family was involved as deeply as they were was because there was no way around it. She was Emily Moore - my mother's maiden name - the girl who I am supposed to have lost my heart to.

  Easy enough.

  "Conall?"

  I looked up to see her standing a few feet away from me in that damn dress and my blood ran hot. I stood slowly and took a few deep breaths so I wouldn't do anything stupid like bury my fingers in her hair and pull all the pins out to see it fall across her shoulders. Or trail my fingers along her collar bone to see if her skin was really as soft as it looked.

  "Um, Ash told me to come find you. Guests are arriving and already asking questions."

  Sighing, I straightened my tie and stepped toward her. They would be asking questions. No one had seen me bring a woman around my family for years now. Not since Sarah and she had been certain to make it known. I'd felt proud at the time, knowing my girlfriend wanted people to know we were together. Now I knew it was just the image she was after. She wanted to be known as the one who tied me down.

  After what she did, I'd made it known that such a thing wasn't possible.

  Emily and our story was going to cause quite the stir. I hadn't really considered that, but it didn't matter. Time to do my job.

  "Let's go answer them, shall we?" I bent my elbow and offered it to her. She wrapped her fingers around my upper arm and I ignored the warmth that her touch sent through me even through my jacket.

  "Do you really think we need to do this? I'm not the best liar and we barely know each other. How are we supposed to convince people we are in a relationship?" She was watching her feet as she walked across the grass and stumbled every couple steps when the heels of those shoes sank into the soft ground. I wanted to scoop her up and carry her, but instead, I just walked a little slower and let her use my arm for support.

  "This is the only way to explain why I'm going to be with you all the time and to keep people from getting too nosy about you. "

  "Okay," she replied firmly. "I can do this. I just hate that your family is being forced to lie for me."

  I stopped and put my hand on her bare shoulder to steady her. There were people sitting at tables around the patio already and I could feel a few of them watching us while others were still greeting my father and sister.

  "They aren't being forced. It was their idea and a damn good one. No one is going to suspect that my girlfriend is actually a woman who is under witness protection." I kept my voice soft and reassuring because she looked more nervous than I had seen her in the few days she'd spent in my father's home. "In fact, not knowing everything about each other actually makes it more believable. A long distance friendship doesn't exactly clue in to all of our deepest darkest secrets," I teased and winked at her.

  Her shoulders relaxed and that was my cue to remove my hand, but the message wasn't getting there and instead, my thumb started caressing the area around her collar bone as if it had a mind of its own. Her skin was as soft as it looked, that message definitely made it back to my brain.

  "My family will only make this easier on you. They're loyal and surprisingly efficient, so no worries. Now come on, let's go cause some trouble," my voice was rougher than I had intended and her green eyes flickered with heat just before I was finally able to remove my hand.

  "That ought to be easy," she said and damn if the rough in her voice didn't do the same to me.

  ***

  "Red alert, six o'clock," Gus mumbled as he sidled up to the food table next to me.

  Emily was on my other side talking with Ash about the apartment we went and looked at. I had been smiling because she couldn't say enough about it, but the tone in my brother's voice made me tense.

  "Who is it?" I asked in an almost whisper.

  "Kara."

  I groaned. Kara Silver was a piece of work. She had tried to dig her claws into me shortly after things ended with Sarah, but I kept telling her I wasn't interested. Either she was just that evil or just that dumb because she still caused problems even though I didn't live here. Long story short, I couldn't deal with her right now.

  "She's coming over, better grab Emily before she starts up," Gus muttered, then walked away quickly. He was terrified of the woman and for good reason. He may be a player and have a similar reputation to me, but he was smart about it. He chose carefully and never in the same circles as me. After we moved to different states, he got less picky. Still didn't mean he couldn't spot a crazy from a mile away and Kara was a crazy.

  She somehow got the idea in her head that if she couldn't have me, no one could, and she would do whatever it took to keep it that way. Didn't worry me too much before because I had never been looking for anything serious after Sarah
. I wasn't going to force Emily to listen to her bullshit, though.

  I dropped my plate of food on the table and leaned into Emily who was telling Ash about the bathtub she had drooled over. I forced the image of her naked and under a mountain of bubbles out of my mind and concentrated on the task at hand. I wrapped my arm around her waist and locked eyes with Ash as I leaned over her shoulder.

  When I shifted my eyes to the side, Ash followed my gesture and I knew the second her eyes found Kara because she paled and her mouth fell open. She must be wondering the same thing as me. Why the hell was she even here?

  Emily jumped a little when my hand came to a rest on her hip, but she didn't resist when I pulled her into my side. Her softness against me was a direct shot of awareness that ran through my blood, but now wasn't the time to get aroused.

  "Get that shield of yours up, this isn't going to be pretty," I whispered into her ear.

  From an outsiders point of view, it would look like I was whispering sweet nothings to her and sharing an intimate moment with my girlfriend and she kept a smile plastered on her face. It's what I wanted and hoped would have an effect on the situation that was going to escalate quickly.

  Kara stopped just behind me in the spot Gus had vacated and her voice grated on my ears in her attempt to make it sound seductive.

  "Conall, I didn't think I would see you here."

  Of all the stupid things she could say, that was the best she could come up with. It was my father's party after all. Like I said before, the women I used to see weren't all that great and most of them thought playing dumb would get them somewhere. It had, but it hadn't gotten them all the way to where they wanted to be and that included Kara.

  I waited a moment until Emily melted into me, letting me know she was ready, then turned with her to face the one thing I hadn't planned on happening tonight. Especially after the party had only been in full swing for an hour.

  The woman was grinning knowingly and it would have been pretty if not for all the bright red lipstick that she had caked on. Her hair was black as night and pin straight, just like her figure. She didn't have curves and was one of those women who thought men liked to hold onto a stick when they were with a woman. Her eyes were an amber color that at one time had appealed to me, but her attitude more than negated her attractiveness.

  "Kara, I could say the same," I said kindly.

  She waved her hand dismissively and batted her eyelashes which I noted had clumped together with the entire tube of mascara she was wearing, "Derrick brought me, but he's not the reason I came."

  It took everything to stifle the urge to roll my eyes, but I succeeded only to hear Ash snort behind me. She usually hated all the girls my brother and I 'dated', but Kara had been one that she would never tolerate. The woman made her fair share of cutting remarks to my sister over the years which is one of the reasons I wasn't interested in her. I had made the mistake of sleeping with her back when Gus, Luke, and I were living it up shortly before we each graduated from the academy. It was after that when she started in on Ash and there was never a second time.

  Didn't surprise me that she was with Derrick either, one of the rookies in my father's department. The kid came from a rich family and was more of a player than I ever was. Just right for her.

  Kara scowled at Ash who was still snorting behind me and I tried to diffuse the situation before they could start a fight that I knew wouldn't end well. "Well, I appreciate your support of my father's career then."

  She didn't hear me, however, because her focus moved to Emily who had wrapped her arm around my back and slipped her other hand inside my jacket to rest on my stomach. This was doing all kinds of things to my control, but I smiled at her boldness. She was playing the part better than I thought she would. She was also absently tracing the lines of my abs that had flexed under her touch. Images of her hands on my skin were flashing through my mind, not helping the situation at all.

  "Who's this?" Kara asked snidely.

  I tightened my hold on Emily, readying for the bullshit that was going to come spewing out of the devil's mouth. Why is it that women use the past to try and make a point? Sure, it works a lot of the time, but the past is in the past. Leave it there for God's sake.

  "This is my girlfriend, Emily Moore."

  Emily reluctantly pulled her hand away from my stomach and held it out politely, offering it to Kara who just looked down at it like it was a dead animal. When she realized her offer was being refused, she pulled her hand back and slipped it back inside my jacket. Where it belongs, I thought to myself.

  The sneer on Kara's face anything but friendly and Emily went solid against my side. I wanted to drag her out of there and hide her somewhere safe because she didn't need this.

  I moved my hand back and forth on her hip, hoping it would relax her even though it was making me crazy and it worked for a second before Kara opened her mouth again.

  "Hmm, Emily Moore. You aren't from around here are you?" Kara pointed out and put her hand on her hip as if such a thing was offensive.

  "No, I'm from Los Angeles," she answered carefully.

  "Figures. Conall always did have a thing for blonde bimbos."

  I could practically hear Ash's jaw hit the floor and felt her presence behind me. She was getting ready to cut in and put Kara in her place, but I couldn't let that happen. She worked too hard to make this night special for Dad and she would hate herself for causing a scene.

  I opened my mouth to reprimand the bitch, but it was Emily who beat me to it. "Well then, I'm glad I'm his thing," she said with a smile and I looked down at her to see the twinkle in her eyes as she added, "Unfortunately for you, that hair of yours is as black as your heart and awfully dry. You should change products if you don't want it to fall out, but then again, maybe bald would better suit you."

  Silence.

  I could guarantee that Kara's eyes were filled with pure hatred, but I didn't look to see. Mine were locked on Emily and my heart thundered against my chest when she turned her head to look up at me. We were practically molded together and her face was mere inches from mine.

  I never thought I would be turned on watching her tear someone down with words, but I was. Without thinking, I bent forward and touched my lips to hers. I'd like to think I would have pulled away after a second, just putting on a show, but the hitch in her breath was all it took to make it a trivial thought. I moved my lips on hers for just a second before pressing harder and she pressed back.

  Everything around us just disappeared during that kiss.

  The only thing I could feel was Emily. Her lips on mine, her hands on me, gripping my shirt in her fingers. My fingers tightening around her waist and smoothing over the curve of her hip. The heat of her skin beneath the fabric of that dress. Everything else was insignificant.

  It wasn't a passionate kiss to anyone watching, but it was enough to scramble my brain and knock me on my ass all over again.

  I pulled back to see her eyes closed, her lashes fanning across her now glowing cheeks. The sound of Kara huffing like a rodeo bull brought me back to where we were standing and I leaned in to kiss Emily's forehead before I turned to face the woman once again.

  "I think it's time for you to walk away, Kara. You ruin my father's party and I'll-"

  "I hope you have fun while you can, bitch!" Kara growled as if she didn't even hear me talking. Her eyes were on the woman in my arms and I tensed. "He may be a good lay, but he gets bored fast and with you, I don't see it lasting much longer."

  Where the fuck did that come from?

  Ash stepped in front of us a half second later with Luke by her side and the two of them began herding the evil witch away. I didn't care enough to make sure they showed her the door and I looked back to Emily who was looking down at her feet once more.

  "Hey," I unwrapped my arms, but kept her close to me and held her chin between my thumb and finger, lifting her face so she would look at me. "You okay?"

  She blinked up at me and nod
ded, her lips parted and begging for mine again. But I couldn't let that happen. I kept telling myself the whole thing had been a show, an act. That's all it was.

  "That was awesome, by the way. I don't even think Ash could have told her off that drastically," I chuckled and it earned me a soft smile.

  "I would have liked to see that. Ash doesn't need a shield to protect her from people like that, she has all of you."

  I wasn't sure what to say, so I just stood there staring at her.

  "I feel sorry for her," she mumbled and tried to look away but I held her chin so she couldn't.

  "For who?"

  "Kara."

  "Don't. She's always been that way and she'll never change. I'm sorry you had to deal with her. I honestly didn't think anyone like that would be here tonight. If I did, I would have probably tried to prepare you."

  She laughed and the uncertainty in her green eyes started to fade, "I don't think anyone can be prepared for that. She wants you bad, she just doesn't know how to go about getting you."

  There was no reason for me to say what I did, but something inside of me needed her to know that I may have been an asshole in the past - something I no longer had an excuse for - but I wasn't the same man anymore. We may be pretending, but a small part of me didn't have to. A small part of me was already claiming her as mine and mine alone and that same part of me was completely hers.

  "I'm not available for anyone to get anyway. I'm taken now. And she's got nothing on you."

  She laughed again, thinking I was teasing her, playing along with the act, and that's what I needed her to think. But I was serious. More serious than ever before, but like everything else I was feeling, it didn't matter.

  She stared up at me, freezing the smile on her face and leaning into my hand that had moved to cup her jaw.

  I couldn't be hers and she couldn't be mine. I was only her protector and she was only a witness in need of my protection.

  Mine.

  "God, Emily. I…"

  I wanted to lean in and kiss her again, taste her lips this time and feel her response when I coaxed her to open for me. I wanted it more than I wanted my next breath no matter what my head was telling me.