by Tawny Weber
“Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Simon,” she said, hurrying over to take Simon by the hand and rescue him.
“Boyfriend?” Caleb said, his gaze bouncing between the two of them. Maya scooched closer, pressing herself to Simon’s side. Either not getting the hint, or not willing to use her as a most-likely-necessary shield, Simon didn’t put his arm around her. Instead, the crazy man stepped away, then strode over to offer Caleb his hand.
“Simon Harris. Nice to finally meet Maya’s family.”
“It might be a short meeting if things don’t chill out, fast,” Maya muttered with a glare at her brother.
Caleb did take the hint, and accepted Simon’s hand for a brief shake. Then he jerked his chin toward a bank of red, tufted velvet couches and said, “We’ll talk.”
“You will not,” Maya said, shaking her head. “I’m here to meet your fiancée and hear all about the upcoming wedding. Not to have you bullying my friend. I mean it. Chill. Or we’ll leave.”
Instead of seeming worried by her big brother’s posturing, Simon just stood between the two of them, a slight grin playing about his lips.
Maya narrowed her eyes in consideration. He obviously wasn’t intimidated by Caleb. Her brow arched and her heart sped up just a little. She’d never, that she could remember, met anyone who wasn’t intimidated by a Black man.
Her gaze skimmed Simon’s calm, amused face and she sighed a little.
Nope. Never.
God, that was hot.
“Well, well.”
All thoughts of heat, of amusement and even the joy of seeing Caleb again, they all fled at the sound of that voice.
Her mouth dried and her heart skipped a beat.
Simon must have read the stress on her face, because amusement fled off of his, too. He went poker-faced, his shoulders tightening, his chin lifting just a bit. Like he was preparing for a battle.
She took odd comfort from that.
Stomach churning, she closed her eyes for a second to gather her composure.
Opening her eyes, Maya didn’t know why, but she took Simon’s hand. Neutral territory, maybe? Or so she could grab him and run out the door, probably.
Then, with a deep breath, she turned toward the hallway.
“If it isn’t my little girl, all grown up,” Tobias said, his grin as wide and infectious as always.
He looked older. And he looked exactly the same.
The thick, black hair he’d passed on to his children was graying a little at the temples, but his midnight-blue eyes were still bright and shrewd. He stood tall and strong, his hands shoved in the pockets of his khakis as he looked at her like a man starved for the view.
In those seconds, she remembered every wonderful thing about him. How he’d held her hand on the first day of school. Taught her to ride a bike, and mopped up her tears when Johnny Hanover had broken up with her in first grade. How he’d taught her to stand up for herself, to believe in herself, and to not be afraid to make things happen. How his eyes had filled as he’d watched her go on her first date. And how he’d always tugged on her curls and told her that she was the spitting image of her momma, the most beautiful woman in the world.
Her heart melted. Once a daddy’s girl, always a daddy’s girl, she couldn’t stop the tremulous smile from curving her lips at the sight of him.
She took a single step forward, almost unconsciously. Then stopped like she’d been hit in the face by a brick wall.
“Hey, there, Maya,” Lilah said as she sidled around Tobias, then like a disease, curled herself into his side. “I wasn’t sure you’d show.”
5
SIMON OBSERVED THE DRAMA play out. It was like watching an award-winning performance. One he’d missed the first act of, though. So now he was trying to fill in the blanks.
Not that it was difficult. The redheaded Amazon and her daughter were new to him, but their parts in this drama were pretty easy to figure out. Innocent distractions, with very little clue what kind of person Tobias was.
His eyes shifted to Maya’s brother. About his own age, a few inches taller and a whole lot more menacing. The resemblance between Caleb and Maya was striking. Black hair and gold eyes, with those same intense cheekbones. Simon had researched Caleb Black before this weekend, and came up against a blank wall. The man existed, but his record was suspiciously whitewashed. Simon wasn’t willing to tip his hand to Hunter by pulling any official strings. He’d figured he could rely on his own instincts. Instincts that were telling him that Maya’s brother was nobody to mess with.
And then there was the family patriarch playing his role to the hilt. Simon had spent years studying Tobias Black’s files. He’d seen plenty of photos, even video footage of the man. So he’d thought he was prepared. But there was a charisma about him that was surprising. Like his children, he was tall, with rich black hair that flowed back from a commanding face. His gaze was shrewd, his smile a warm invitation to open your heart, soul and wallet for his perusal.
Simon had to hand it to him, the man pulled off the air of a guy completely at ease, despite the fact that everyone in the room was glaring at him. Except the gal plastered against his side. She looked like the cat who’d gulped down a fish tank.
She was probably the one he should thank for his attendance at this little party. Clearly, there was some sort of competition between the two women.
It must be a girl thing. Despite her sultry air, Maya was pretty modest. The brunette, though, seemed a little more out there. Her clothes were tight, her hair was big and her smile flashed bright white as she wrapped herself around a man old enough to be her daddy.
Maybe he was biased, but Simon figured there was no contest in the looks department. But Lilah seemed nice enough.
“I’m so excited to see you again, Maya,” she gushed, her words bubbling with sweetness. Heavily lined eyes swept the room, her smile bright and happy. “It’s been, oh, just forever. And you brought a friend. Isn’t that sweet. I’ll tell you the truth, I’ve spent plenty of time worrying about you over the years. I mean, you have had some really bad luck at love, haven’t you, Maya?”
Everyone in the room cringed, but the brunette kept rambling on about first loves and Maya’s high-school boyfriend.
“Larry was this total jerk,” Lilah told Simon. “The whole time he was dating Maya, he was seeing me, too. Behind each other’s backs. Can you believe that?”
There seemed to be plenty more to that story if the looks on everyone’s faces were anything to go by. Maya looked like she was going to scream. Caleb’s teeth were set in a grimace and Tobias looked like he knew a bomb was about to explode, but wasn’t sure how to diffuse it.
“Why don’t we all take a seat,” Cassiopeia interrupted, her tone soothingly hypnotic, like she was trying to calm a group of rabid animals, all of whom might attack at any second.
“Drinks?” Pandora, Caleb’s fiancée, offered with a friendly smile that poured an aura of calm over the tense room. “And perhaps some canapés.”
Cassiopeia hurried over to the sideboard to start the appetizer trays moving. But Simon didn’t pay much attention.
All of his focus was directly on Maya.
She looked heartbroken.
His own chest ached a little as her defiant glare shifted between her supposed friend and her father. Betrayal was clear in every line of her body. Now was the time to man up and play his part. He’d promised her distraction and a buffer. With that in mind, he stepped closer and slipped his hand into Maya’s.
After a brief spasm, like she might pull away, her fingers clenched his. She looked up at him with a grateful smile, which did nothing to hide the pain in her eyes.
“Let’s sit,” he suggested, keeping his words low and intimate. To jolt her out of the funk he could see her sliding into, he lifted their joined hands to his lips so he could brush a kiss over the inside of her wrist. Her breath caught. Like before on the front sidewalk, she seemed to forget her nerves in favor of a little love play.
Which c
learly pissed off the men in her life. Too bad. At the moment he didn’t care how it affected his case. Ignoring the twin glares coming at him from opposite ends of the room, Simon wrapped his arm around Maya’s shoulder to lead her to a red velvet couch. They sat, close enough that her thigh was almost on top of his. As soon as he pulled his arm from around her shoulders, she gripped his hand again.
A surge of protective instincts rose to match the ever-growing, and slightly disconcerting, rising lust brought on by the feel of her warm body pressed against his.
The lust was totally inappropriate, especially considering the situation and other people in the room. But, dammit, her thigh felt so good against his. She was so close, he could smell the flowery spice of her perfume and the sweet apple of her shampoo.
Breathing deep, mentally breaking down an AK-47 to try and distract his body from embarrassing him, Simon leaned back into the couch cushion. He wasn’t sure if he was pleased or just tormented when Maya followed, her body curving into his.
“So what’s the deal?” Caleb snapped, his words shooting across the room with the speed and velocity of a bullet. “Where’d you two meet? How long have you been a…thing?”
“The length of my things are none of your business, big brother,” Maya returned, offering him a saccharine smile. She sounded more amused than irritated, though. “I’d think you’d remember that, even after all these years.”
Brow arched, Simon’s gaze shifted from brother to sister. They were too busy grinning at each other to clarify the memory for the rest of the room, though.
“Caleb and Gabriel used to think big brother status gave them some say in Maya’s dating life,” Tobias offered, untangling himself from the brunette’s clutches and coming into the room to take his own seat. “She let them get away with it when it served her purpose. Like getting rid of too-ardent admirers. But mostly she kept their noses out of her business.”
“How do you keep Caleb out of anything?” Pandora wondered. True love or a bad case of hero worship, Simon wondered. Then she continued with a cute little laugh. “He’s so bossy and pushy. I might need a few tips, Maya.”
“A solid right hook, plenty of blackmail material and when necessary, a talent for sneaking down the trellis after dark,” Maya told her future sister-in-law. Her tone was amused, her words easy and light. But her fingers still gripped Simon’s like he was a lifeline.
“You were so mean to Caleb and Gabriel,” Lilah said as she curled up on the arm of Tobias’s chair. “Two of the sexiest boys at Black Oak High and you made their lives hell.”
“Don’t be silly, Lilah,” Maya said, her words so sweet they dripped sugar. “It wasn’t me that made their lives hell in high school. It was the girls who were always hanging out, pretending to be my friend so they could hit on my brothers.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lilah said stiffly. After a brief glare, she lifted her chin and shifted her attention to Tobias. “Sugar Bear, you should tell Maya our news.”
There was enough tension in the room that Simon was surprised nobody grabbed a hold of it and beat the woman upside her smirking face.
“This is Pandora and Caleb’s moment,” Tobias said, giving the younger woman a swift, silencing look. “I think we should all toast the happy couple. And then, of course, we can get back to Caleb’s earlier question.”
Tobias waited a beat while everyone frowned in confusion, then he arched one dark brow and said, “Maya is going to tell us all about her relationship with this fine young man. A man that must be pretty amazing, given that she’d bring him home for her first visit in years.”
The room’s energy shifted yet again as all eyes focused on Maya and Simon.
“I think I’ll skip the personal rundown,” Maya said, her words tight. “I’d say we’ve done pretty well staying out of each other’s lives for the last little while. Let’s not ruin our record.”
Simon had been in standoffs with vicious criminals that had less intensity than the stare off between father and daughter.
Cassiopeia, the intrepid hostess, interrupted the paternal moment with a deceptively comfortable laugh. “So, this is going to be a mystery relationship. Won’t it be fun to see what kind of tidbits we can get from you two this week?”
“Not so much a mystery as just private,” Maya dismissed, her smile softening for the older woman. “And definitely not why I came home. Really, this week is all about Pandora and Caleb. Nothing else could have brought me home, just like nothing could keep me away from celebrating my big brother’s happiness.”
She pointedly shifted her body, angling it away from her father, resting her gaze on the happy couple. “So Pandora, did you come with endless patience and a big whip or will you be putting them on your wedding registry?”
Probably thrilled to stave off a potentially ugly confrontation, Pandora launched into the romantic story of her courtship.
Despite himself, Simon was drawn in by the tale. From the fact that her fingers no longer crushed his and because she relaxed enough to give the occasional giggle, he figured Maya was, too.
“And then I found out Caleb was actually here undercover, to bust a drug ring,” she said, giving her fiancé an arch look. “A ring, I might add, that he thought I was a part of.”
“Nope,” Caleb interrupted, speaking for the first time since Pandora had started her history report. “Despite the intel, I always knew you were innocent. Or, I should say, not involved in a crime.”
“Undercover?” Simon asked before he realized the word was out of his mouth. Stunned, he froze. He’d never broken cover. Never blurted out any thought, any words, that weren’t sanctioned by the image he represented.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Then Maya shifted, her denim-clad leg sliding against his thigh in a way that made him desperately regret that they were in a roomful of suspects.
Aha. Maya was what was wrong with him.
“I guess it’s okay to share now that it’s over,” she said after a quick glance to her brother for confirmation. “Caleb just retired from the DEA. He’s temporarily taking over as Black Oak’s sheriff until elections are held and he officially wins the position.”
No wonder Simon had hit a blank wall when researching Maya’s brother. His gaze shifted to Tobias. How’d that sit with dear ole dad? It looked like Maya wasn’t the only Black kid to have father issues.
“Sounds exciting,” he said, slipping back into character by infusing his words with just a hint of awe. “You must have some great stories to tell.”
“What kind of stories do you have to tell?” Caleb asked with a chilly smile. “We still haven’t heard much about you. What do you do, Simon?”
Simon hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, considering his options. If Caleb had government connections, he might have Simon checked out. If it were him, he would. But many others had tried, and none yet had broken his cover.
So…
“I’m an investment broker. I have a degree in macroeconomics, business management and speak three languages.”
Only one of which was a lie.
Before Caleb could dive into his cross examination, there was a loud ring.
Tobias looked at the readout on his cell phone, pushed a button to silence it and slid the device back in his pocket. “I hate to miss out, but it seems there’s a problem at the motorcycle shop that needs my attention. Besides, I’m sure Maya would like a little time to relax with Caleb without having to split her attention between that and her anger toward me.”
“Oh, but I was hoping to spend time with Maya,” Lilah pouted. “Or I could just wait here, get to know her friend. You can pick me up later? Or Simon can give me a ride home.”
He debated for all of two seconds. Sure, the brunette would have info on Tobias and she was clearly the chatterbox type. But he could feel the angst emanating from Maya and figured she’d explode if he agreed.
“Nope, sorry. Maya and I were going to tour the town an
d see all her favorite hangouts after dinner,” Simon lied with a bland smile. Smart casework, he told himself. It had nothing to do with wanting to protect Maya’s feelings.
Still, he felt about ten feet tall when Maya sighed and gave his hand a warm squeeze.
“C’mon, Lilah,” Tobias urged. The concerned look on his face told Simon that he, too, was aware of how stressful this was for his daughter. “The shop is only five minutes away but I’ve got to drop you first, so we need to get going.”
Lilah didn’t leave quietly. She tossed out a few more flirty innuendos and snarky comments on her way out. Then, finally, with an air-kiss for Maya and barely a word to the other women, she wrapped herself around Tobias and swayed out the door with her hips swinging like a pendulum.
Apparently not needing any more comfort, Maya released her death grip on Simon’s hand and shifted so there was easily room for another person between them. Oh, she did it subtly enough, making a show of poking her brother in the shoulder and asking him how he liked being the law in town. But Simon got the message.
He’d served his purpose.
He tried to ignore how much he missed the warmth of her body against his.
“So, Simon, you’re an investor?” Cassiopeia asked him as she offered a tray of prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears. She’d said they were special, so he took three. Tension made him hungry. “I’m surprised. I’d have guessed you did something dangerous or exciting. I’m sensing a lot of undercurrents and secrets in your aura.”
“Leave his aura alone, mother,” the sweet-faced Pandora chided. She gave Simon an amused look of apology. “She doesn’t mean to poke and pry. She just can’t help herself.”
“Nothing wrong with a little curiosity,” Simon said with a smile, biting into a tasty bit of asparagus. He watched Maya as she talked to her brother; words spilling out of her lush lips at about a mile a minute. Simon would love to be sitting closer, to hear what had her so animated and happy.
But the other women, obviously big on running interference for Caleb, kept his attention until Pandora announced it was dinnertime.