by Lori Foster
Simon glanced around and saw that every unattached man, and some that weren’t single, watched Dakota with spellbound intensity.
“Not every guy,” Jacki said to Gregor.
“No way, darlin’,” he told his wife. “I’ve got my hands full with you.”
“Damn right,” Jacki said happily.
“Can’t you two take that nauseating marital bliss elsewhere?” Simon asked them.
Jacki slugged him in the shoulder. “Come on, Simon. You know it’s funny.”
It was a novel thing, the way Dean’s sisters treated him like a brother. But Simon liked it. With most women, friendship was out of the question because they wanted intimacy more than anything else.
But with Dean’s sisters and his wife, Eve, he could enjoy the female perspective with no strings attached. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, right.” Jacki hung on Gregor’s enormous shoulder while poking more fun at Simon. “Look around you, Sublime. All the guys might be watching her, but all the women are watching you, hoping to get your attention. And here you are, spellbound like the average Joe with the one woman who’s giving you grief.”
Simon scowled at that. “Who says she’s giving me grief?”
Gregor cleared his throat. “C’mon, darlin’. Let’s go find Eve and Dean. They make better company.”
Simon smiled as he watched them go. For a former wild child, Jacki had really taken to the settled life of a married woman. She and Gregor made a good pair—which was apparently something Gregor had realized right off, given his hot and heavy pursuit of her from jump.
Simon looked at Dakota again. She really was something, but marriage material? He snorted. Not likely. It wasn’t that Bonnie had soured him on marriage; he wasn’t shallow enough or dumb enough to cast every woman in Bonnie’s mold.
But every time he turned around, Dakota had another surprise for him. First her attempts at schooling him, the master, on martial arts. Then that bombshell about his father. And now this incredible onstage persona.
Was she an athlete or a femme fatale? A PI or a performer? Did she really want him, or just his cooperation with Barnaby?
Would the real Dakota please stand up?
Or better still, lie down.
In his bed.
Maybe when he had her soft and sated from an extended sexual marathon, all her defenses would be down and he’d be able to uncover her secrets. That idea appealed to Simon. A lot.
For three more songs, Dakota stayed onstage, dancing, singing, playing different instruments. When she took her last bow, Simon saw that her hair clung to her forehead and throat, and that her cheeks were dewy from her exertions and the bright lights.
He was so turned on that he hurt with it.
She exited off the back of the stage, and Simon circled around to meet her. Mallet had the same idea.
They almost ran into each other.
Mallet halted first. “Hey. What’s up, Sublime?”
Simon cut through his small talk. “You brought Dakota here?”
“She insisted.”
“Twisted your arm, did she?”
Suddenly Mallet’s reserve left him and he planted his big feet in a defiant stance. “Actually, she promised to wear a dress, and I couldn’t resist. Now that I’ve seen her, I have to say I’m glad I agreed.”
Simon was glad, too, but that wasn’t the point. “I told you to stay away from her.”
Mallet shrugged. “Yeah, you did. But then you didn’t exactly follow up with her, so I figured you’d lost interest.”
“I haven’t.”
“Can’t prove it by me.”
Shit. Would every fighter at the gym now want to challenge him for Dakota’s attention? If so, Simon supposed he’d have to cement things with her, and fast, in order to deter the others. “Stay tuned, then. But do it from a distance. Do I make myself clear?”
“I hear ya. But I’ll have to ask Dakota about it.”
Dakota came around the corner just then. With one hand she held a fistful of her hair off her neck, and with the other she straightened the hem of her dress. “Ask me about what?”
Mallet smiled while handing her shoes to her. “Whether or not you want me to keep my distance.”
She released her hair and bent to step into her shoes, but her gaze darted between both men. “We’re friends. No one tells me who I can or can’t be friends with.”
Simon crossed his arms over his chest. “You seem to have a lot of male friends.”
She shrugged. “I haven’t counted, but maybe. Men are easier to get along with than women.” With her heels back on, she sauntered over to him. “Case in point is your little lady friend who kept staring daggers at me. She doesn’t even know me, but she made it clear that she doesn’t like me.”
“Don’t worry about Bonnie.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried. But if you care about her, keep her away from me. I’m not big on putting up with snippy bitches.”
Simon grinned. Acrimony? Jealousy? He hoped so. “She’s probably already left.”
“And you aren’t going with her? That’s not very gallant of you.”
Mallet rolled his eyes. “If you two are all made up now, I think I’ll go scope out the single women.”
Dakota spared him a glance. “Just hang by Simon’s side and women will find you.” Her smile taunted. “Seems like that’s where they all want to be.”
So she’d seen that, too. “Maybe if you keep me company, the rest of them will leave me alone.”
“And that’ll leave more for me,” Mallet added with good humor. “I’ll see what I can do about keeping them happy.”
Dakota nodded to him. “Have fun, Michael. I’m sure we’ll find each other later when it’s time to head home.”
“Why would you?” Simon asked.
She put her shoulders back. “I rode here with Michael.”
Simon towered over her. “But you’ll be leaving with me.”
Dakota patted his chest. “Not unless you plan to give Barnaby a visit.” And with that, she turned on her heel and sashayed away. “I need to visit the ladies’ room to freshen up.”
Mallet stood beside Simon and watched her go. “Hell of a woman.”
What an understatement.
Simon looked down the long hall where Dakota had disappeared. “You’ve been here more than me. Is there any other way out from the ladies’ room?”
“Nope. She’ll have to come back past you to leave.”
“Perfect.” Simon parked himself against the wall to wait for her. “So, Michael, do we understand each other now?”
He laughed. “She’s all yours, Sublime.” Then the humor disappeared. “But only because it’s obvious that’s the way she wants it.”
Was it obvious? “Noted.”
Rather than leave, Mallet took a position on the wall beside Simon. “Can I ask you something?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“Who’s Barnaby?”
Seeing no reason not to tell him, Simon said, “Apparently he’s the man who hired Dakota to find me.”
“Why?”
“She says he’s my father.”
Mallet went still. “You don’t know?”
“Never met the man. I was raised by my stepfather—and he’s Dad. I don’t give a shit about meeting this Barnaby character.”
“But Dakota does?”
It was odd to have Mallet as a confidant, but at least he wasn’t harping on the SBC and fights and training. “From what she’s said, Barnaby has something she wants. The only way she can get it is to trade me to him.” He slanted his gaze at Mallet. “So you see, it’s not my charm that has her here.”
Mallet stared at him. “You think she’s just working a business deal?”
Simon thought Dakota was more involved than that, but he couldn’t be sure. “You heard her. Everything hinges on me meeting her terms.”
Mallet pushed away from the wall, paced a few feet, and
came back. “I don’t know her well—”
“Let’s keep it that way.”
“—but I can’t see Dakota being so mercenary.”
Simon couldn’t either, not really. “She told me about Barnaby herself.”
“Don’t you think there has to be more to it than that?”
“I’ve been considering the possibility,” Simon admitted.
A small group of women came around the corner, led by Dean’s wife, Eve. They spotted Mallet and Simon, and surged forward with new purpose. Eve laughed. Simon groaned.
Mallet leaned closer to whisper, “You better consider it quick, Sublime. I wasn’t the only one with thoughts about Dakota tonight, and I doubt you’ll be able to warn everyone off forever.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I’ll give you a few days.”
Simon stiffened.
The women reached them, and Mallet finished, saying, “After that, I’m going to offer to get her whatever it is she needs from this Barnaby dude. And I don’t give a damn whose dad he is.” Mallet saluted Simon seconds before he allowed himself to be drawn into conversation with one of the women.
Eve went on past with a wave.
That left three other females to circle Simon.
He called out to Eve, “Tell Dakota to get a move on, will you?”
Eve laughed again, and disappeared into the ladies’ room.
DAKOTA dampened a few paper towels and patted her face and neck. Wow, it felt good to work. She loved it.
Simon hadn’t mentioned her performance, but everyone else had shown appreciation, so she wouldn’t let that bother her. Especially when she knew that he’d taken notice of her clothes and makeup.
Her hair looked a little worse for the fun she’d had. “I should have bought a purse,” she said to her reflection.
“Maybe I can be of assistance.” Eve held out a hand. “Hi. I’m Dean’s wife, Eve. I loved your performance.”
Surprised, Dakota accepted her hand. Eve was just about her height, but with dark hair and beautiful blue eyes. “Thank you. It was nice of Barber to include me.”
“He’s a good-looking man.”
“Barber? I suppose so.”
Eve smiled and handed her a comb. “Will this help?”
“Thanks.” As she turned to straighten her hair, Dakota explained. “I’m from out of town, and when I came here, I packed pretty light. I had to run out earlier today for the dress, hose, and shoes. But I didn’t even think about a purse and what I usually carry is big enough to be luggage.”
“Do you plan to be in town much longer?”
“I guess that depends.”
“On Simon?”
Her hair as tidy as she could make it, Dakota turned back to Eve to return her comb. “He told you?”
Eve dug in her own small, stylish purse until she found a pen and a small slip of paper. “Dean told me that you two have been cozy. That’s all I know. Here.” She handed Dakota the paper. “That’s my number. If you need to borrow anything while you’re here—like a purse—just give me a call.” She smiled. “I’d be happy to help out.”
“Hey, thanks.” Dakota took a quick, surreptitious glance at Eve. She was a very fashionable woman, very attractive. “So you’re married to Havoc, huh?”
“Yes.” She gave an exaggerated sigh of pleasure. “He’s incredible. Oh, and you know that he and Simon are best friends?”
“I know that Simon trained him.”
“And was his agent and his manager and…his everything else, I guess. Dean told me that most of the more successful fighters had a whole team working for them, but all he needed was Simon.”
“And now Simon’s going to fight again.” Dakota shook her head. “If I was a betting woman, I’d put all my cash on him.”
“Me, too. But Dean’s a little worried.” Eve touched up her lipstick.
Guilt hit Dakota like a sledgehammer. “Because of me, you mean.”
Eve looked at her in surprise. “No one would blame you. Dean expects Simon to do what he needs to do. Period. I guess this Harley Handleman is a real tough guy. Hungry, Dean says. Simon shouldn’t underestimate him.”
“The fight is still a while off.”
“Plenty of time for us to get better acquainted.” Smiling again, Eve said, “Maybe you and Simon could join us for dinner one night.”
Dakota ducked her head. “I don’t know. I think maybe it’s time for me to move on.” She glanced at Eve, saw her very honest interest, and decided that it couldn’t hurt to trust her. “I saw Simon with someone named Bonnie.”
Eve wrinkled her nose. “She used to be his fiancée. But that’s over.”
“I don’t know.” She recalled the way the other woman had clung to Simon. “Bonnie didn’t seem to think it was over.”
“She cheated on Simon. Trust me, he’s not going back to her.”
A dash of icy water couldn’t have shocked Dakota more. “She cheated? But…why?”
“Exactly.” Eve shook her head. “It’s incredible enough with Simon being so sinfully attractive. But he’s also nice, dependable, hardworking, and very honorable. Add to that the fact that he’s a fighter with a fighter’s ego, and any woman dumb enough to cheat deserves to be dumped.”
Dakota ran all that through her head. “So what was Bonnie doing here then?”
“Just hoping to manipulate him, I think. See, after months of trying to get Simon back, Bonnie is telling anyone who’ll listen that the man she cheated with is Harley Handleman.”
Dakota’s jaw dropped. “Hard-to-Handle? The guy Simon will be fighting in his comeback?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t matter. Bonnie thought it’d make it more personal for Simon, but he’s not that way. He doesn’t fight with emotion. He fights with ability and training.”
Training that she’d interrupted. Dakota closed her eyes. And worse, she’d tried to manipulate him the same way Bonnie had. God, what must he think of her? On every level, she was batting a big fat zero.
It was time to face reality. “I should head home.”
Eve asked, “Where are you staying?”
“At a motel, but I meant home, back to Ohio. I should never have come here.” Her mind made up, she nodded. “In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Eve looked alarmed. “What?”
“I’m going to leave. First thing tomorrow.”
“No. You can’t.” Eve trotted after her as Dakota left the restroom. “I mean, you should talk to Simon about this first.”
“Why?” Resolute, Dakota kept going. “Simon doesn’t want me here.”
“Now, I know you’re wrong about that.”
She shook her head. “I meant that he doesn’t want me here for the reason I came.” And he only planned to use her for sex if she stuck around. Dakota wasn’t sure that was possible, even with her agreement. “And no, I can’t explain my reasons for coming because it’s not my story to tell. Ask Simon.”
“I intend to!” Eve barely kept pace with her. “But I think—”
They rounded the corner and saw Simon waiting.
With other women.
They were all animated and laughing, and one woman was toying with the buttons on the front of his shirt.
Dakota’s temper came to a slow boil. “You see? Simon won’t miss me at all.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “Can’t you tell that he’s trapped? This kind of thing happens to him all the time. He can’t help it that he’s gorgeous and women want him.”
As Eve said that, Simon caught the woman’s hand and moved it away from his chest.
Laughing, she brought it right back.
He sidled out of reach—and bumped into another woman behind him.
“There, you see?” Eve shook her head. “I feel so sorry for him.”
“Yeah,” Dakota said with saccharine sweetness, “he’s suffering badly from all the attention.”
Simon looked up and spotted them. His brows snapped dow
n. “Finally.” Lacking subtlety, he freed himself from the women. The one who’d been clinging to him stumbled as he stepped away.
Dakota started forward, saying, “Don’t break up the private party on my account.”
His long legs carried him quickly to meet her halfway in the hall. “There wouldn’t have been a damned private party if you hadn’t taken a vacation in the john.” He scowled at Eve, who had just caught up. “What the hell did you two do in there? Knit a blanket?”
“Talked about you, mostly,” Eve explained.
His dark gaze locked with Dakota’s. “Is that so?”
Her face went hot. “We talked about how I’m leaving.”
“Not with Mallet, damn it.”
Why Simon persisted in thinking he could give her orders, Dakota couldn’t imagine. “His name is Michael and I’ll leave with anyone I want to leave with.”
Roger stepped into the fray. “I hope you have time to talk with me first.”
Everyone went blank.
“You, too, Roger?” Simon asked. “But you’re married, damn it.”
Eve barked a very unladylike laugh. Dakota frowned, having no idea what Simon meant.
Roger fried him with a look. “Happily married, yes.” He dismissed Simon. “Ms. Dream, I’m Roger Sims, the owner here. Your performance was incredible.”
“Thank you.”
“The guests loved you, and a few have already asked me when you’d be back. I spoke with Barber, and he claims that you might be available for employment. I’d like to discuss that with you, if I could.”
“Oh.” Employment? In Harmony? And she hadn’t even been looking. “Thank you, Mr. Sims—”
“Roger, please.”
“All right, Roger.”
Simon growled.
Dakota glanced at him. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not going to be here much longer.”
“We’re open any night that you are, and I’d be happy to have you here for as long as you are in town.”
“I’m flattered, really I am. But actually, I was planning on leaving tomorrow.”
Simon stiffened. “When the hell did you decide that?”
“While we were in the bathroom,” Eve told him. “Talking about you.”
“Great.” Simon frowned at her. “Thanks for nothing, Eve.”
She shrugged.
“There’s no point in me staying,” Dakota explained. “That’s real clear to me now.”