Layers Crossed

by Lacey Silks

  “Still mad?” Tristan sat down in the leather chair in front of my desk. “Come on, Em, you were at a strip club. And thank God we didn’t come earlier to see exactly what you were doing.”

  “It’s my business what I do with my body. It’s my business where I go or whom I see. IT’S. MY. BUSINESS.” I bared my teeth at them both like a hyena with mad cow disease.

  Julian stepped closer to my desk and folding his arms across his chest sat at its corner. “The problem is, Em, that you are our business. You’re our sister and a great partner at this firm. Your intuition is one of the best assets we have, and we’re simply at fault for loving you.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Don’t roll your eyes, Em. It’s not polite.”

  “Well, you keep pulling that love crap and give me no choices. You can’t control me. You can’t keep scaring guys away by showing your gun collection. Daddy’s never done half the things you two have. And I swear, if things don’t change, I’m out of here. I’m a grown woman. I need to experience life on my own terms, not yours.”

  “Em, you know you mean the world to us.” Tristan leaned his elbows on my desk. “And we may be a bit over-protective, but we would love for you to find someone worthy. I swear, I don’t know where you find these guys you’re seeing! It’s as if you wanted to sabotage any possible relationship yourself before you even go out. They’re not real. They only date you for your name. They’re not David – and we don’t want them to be – but it’s time you gave yourself a true chance, Em. Besides, the things we’ve seen in this business – you know very well what can happen to a woman.”

  “And you know very well I can take care of myself. You made sure of it.” The years I’d spent in the boxing ring, training in jiu-jitsu, and learning about the Cross Enterprises business had definitely paid off. There was no way a man could overpower me with his strength. I knew nerve spots on a neck that could immobilize a person with one pinch.

  Julian shifted by a fraction, drawing my attention back to him. “We know you’re strong, and could use a bit more independence and rebuild your hope in love.”

  I lowered my head, thinking about David again. “All I need is time and freedom.”

  “That’s why we’d like you off these cheater cases.”

  “What? What will you have me do? Bring your morning coffee?” I rolled my eyes again.

  “If you don’t stop rolling your eyes, we’ll reconsider giving you this new case that came in.”

  “Seriously? You’re lying.” I shot off my chair.

  “We’re not lying, and yes, it’s time to give you what you want. Now, from what the client had said, there isn’t yet much to go on, so you’d have to do all the work.”

  “So you’re saying that he’s a safe bet. Nothing dangerous.” I slouched.

  “Honestly, Em, we don’t know because we haven’t done the preliminary work… which we trust you’ll do great at.”

  “Really? So this could be big, right? I mean, who is this guy, part of a gang? Is he looking for a kidnapped victim? Or does he need protection from pimps or the mafia? Is he a Congressman in trouble?”

  My mind was spinning. Within seconds of this news, I was already feeling like a secret agent.

  This time Tristan was the one to roll his eyes. And they said I was the bad one.

  “Em, slow down. He’s in the conference room, so if you’re ready to meet your next case, it’s all yours.”

  I threw my arms around Julian, squeezing tightly. “Thank you. I love you so much. I promise to do a good job and be the best that I can be.” I didn’t even care I’d just quoted a military slogan. Julian held me against him in the brotherly hug I’d adored since I was little, and then I jumped right into Tristan’s arms.

  Lifting my head up high, I picked up my iPad, saying, “Wish me luck. I am so gonna rock this!”

  “You don’t need luck, Em. You’ve got all the smarts.” They gave me a synchronized wink and I chuckled. Even though they were in their late thirties, my brothers still held the charm they’d had in their youth. If I could only find someone as strong, resourceful, and as kind as they were, my life would be set. And if this was true, if they honestly trusted me with a serious case, I’d owe them big time. In fact, I’d babysit whenever they wanted and would make every effort not to roll my eyes again – ever. Ok, maybe I was exaggerating – that was something I had no control over.

  Squaring my shoulders, I stepped out of my office, heading toward my first serious case at Cross Enterprises.

  CHAPTER 4

  Eric

  I nearly fell off my chair when the door to the conference room swung open.

  “You!” she said.

  “What the…” I immediately stood up. I would have for any woman who had walked into the room, as I was expecting Julian and Tristan’s sister to do at any moment. Wait, was she their sister? Was Emma the frivolous and rebellious girl I had been told about? Was she the spoiled little brat? She sure hadn’t given me that impression three nights ago. If this was her, this could be complicated, and I seriously didn’t want to mess this up.

  And then the door slammed shut. Was she mad? Why? Standing there in her slick business suit, cut specifically for her beautiful shape, she looked so hot, I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming. Had the room gotten hotter and my pants tighter? Her yellow blouse underneath the black suit matched her beautiful hair, which was up in a bun. Emma had that ‘hot office chick’ look patented without even trying. And why was she standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, frowning at me? What had I done? She was the one who hadn’t come back like she’d promised. I’d been worried about her for days. Dreaming about her every night since the evening we’d met, about caressing her body, kissing her skin, savoring every piece of her flesh she had to offer with my mouth, including the dampness between her legs that drove me to relieve myself every night that she invaded my dreams. Shit! I was getting hard already, and she’d barely spoken to me.

  Emma lifted her head up and walked forward with a stone-cold face. She pulled her hand out saying, “Emma Cross. I’ll be working on your case, Mr.?”

  “Waters. Eric Waters. It’s nice to formally meet you, Emma.”

  Fuck! It was as if we’d just seen each other for the very first time. Had she swum in a pool of liquid nitrogen this morning and had ice cubes for breakfast? She was acting as if I hadn’t seen her nearly naked, or made a connection with the few words we’d spoken. She couldn’t have dismissed me that quickly, could she? I’d felt it, and I knew she had too. We were like two souls who’d found each other in weird circumstances. Yet she was acting as if the connection we’d had never existed. As she stood there, shaking my hand for longer than necessary, the tightness in her neck and stiff shoulders told me she was trying to hide her emotions from me. Was she actually feeling something? Was there any way I could matter to her as much as she mattered to me? I swear, if anyone ever found out this woman brought me down to the level of a love-struck puppy, I’d never live this down.

  “Please sit down,” she said.

  I waited until she took her seat across the table before lowering to my chair.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Waters?”

  “Emma, I’ve been worried about you,” I said.

  She paused for a moment, obviously surprised by my statement.

  “You were supposed to come back and let me walk you to your car.”

  “Mr. Waters.”

  “Eric.”

  “Eric, I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”

  “I didn’t mean to insinuate you’re not, but the place we were in… a lot of bad stuff happens there.”

  “I’ve seen bad, and I can handle even worse, including whatever business you have with Cross Enterprises, which I’m assuming can’t be good since you’re here.” Her reply nearly iced my veins.

  “I’m sorry, I just wish you’d let me know. I was worried.”

  She considered my statement for a moment, and I sa
w her guard lower for a split second.

  “You weren’t there when I came out. I left you a note at the bar.”

  My eyes widened. “I had to use the washroom, and I never got a note. Only your name from the waitress.”

  Her face softened. She drummed her fingers on the table, waiting patiently as if contemplating whether she should cross the business line we would sign on today and venture into the personal territory I so desperately needed her to be in. “Would you have called if you’d gotten it?” she finally asked. The vulnerable side of her was unreal – definitely not the way she’d presented herself the night we met. I was important to her. Allowing herself to ask this question had to mean that she thought I was special. I was now certain I was the only one capable of breaking through the sheet of ice she’d covered herself with.

  I leaned forward, saying, “Over and over again, until you’d agree to see me. When I realized at the bar I had no way of contacting you, it was like getting stabbed – actually, worse than that. I felt like I’d just had a bomb explode yards away, making me numb and dead for seconds before I realized that I’d live but would never know how to go on without seeing you again.”

  A shiver of goose bumps appeared along her neck, and I imagined kissing each one away. God, what was she doing to me? And how? Sitting here all the way across the table, I might as well have been behind bars. The urge to touch her and just be close to her was becoming more like an unbearable itch you had under a cast and couldn’t scratch.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Waters?” she asked, bringing me back to the conference room.

  “You’ll be working on my case?” Of course I knew she’d be working on my case. That’s why I was here. The irony of my situation was that she was now my case as well. This couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. And hopefully I wouldn’t screw this up.

  “I’m one of the best,” she said with confidence.

  And I had no doubt that she was. My only fear would be her safety. I’d been thinking about finding the bastard who ruined my and my sister’s childhoods and haunted my parents for years. When I was approached by Hunter and given details about taking a girl out of the city and onto my ranch, I knew her background could only be a bonus. But the man I was looking for was vicious; and honestly, now that I knew it would be Emma searching for him, I didn’t want her anywhere near him.

  “Julian and Tristan…”

  “They’re my brothers.”

  “I don’t think they’d give you the case if they knew all the details.” I was backtracking, but the urgency I now felt to keep her a bit further away from my case couldn’t be denied.

  Her eyes only sparked with curiosity at my words – that was not my intention.

  “Why don’t you tell some of the details then, and let me decide, Mr. Waters?”

  “Eric.”

  “Eric. I can assure you I’m quite capable of being professional and handling you.”

  The way she said that zapped through me, collecting like a drug at the bottom of my spine.

  “I have a slew of bodyguards and resources, even more than my brothers. And if you want the job done, there’s no one better than me, so why don’t you tell me what you need?”

  What I need is to hold you in my arms, center you on top of me, and feel you contract around my cock. I need to feel and kiss your silky skin and make you detonate with pleasure like dynamite.

  “Urgm.” I cleared my throat, grateful that the table was covering how hard I’d gotten for Emma. I had to stop this nonsense. This girl needed to be treated with the respect she deserved, and if I didn’t get a hold of my need to have her, I could lose her before I even got a chance to know her.

  “I’m looking for this man.” I pulled out a photograph of the shaggy-bearded bastard. She took the photo from me, studying it for a moment before she asked. “Why?”

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes, I need to know everything about this case. How you’re connected to him, why you’re looking for him, and what you expect to do when I find him.”

  She didn’t say if she found him but when. I adored her confidence.

  “Number one, I’m not gonna let you get within a mile of this bastard. Numb…”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Please don't roll your eyes, Emma.”

  “What is it with you men and me rolling my eyes?”

  “It takes away from your beauty and intelligence,” I answered.

  “Oh.”

  For the first time since I’d met her, Emma was speechless, blinking, while her beautiful long lashes fluttered like fans, outlining her cat-like eyes. Finally she said, “I will try to stop, but it’s a habit, and I can’t promise I will. What I was going to say was, please don’t say ‘number two.’ I can’t stand people listing out their thoughts. Look, I’m the lead on this case. The more information you give me, the safer we’ll both be. I can’t help you if you withhold information from me or treat me like a helpless woman. That’s the last thing I want or need. If you’re going to hire Cross Enterprises, you need to trust that we don’t fail. I don’t fail. I will find this man you’re looking for. Now, from the way the pulse in your neck speeds up when you mention him, this guy’s dangerous, right?”

  “Extremely. Does that scare you?”

  She smirked. “There isn’t much in this world that scares me. Why do you want to find him?”

  I took in a deep breath. It was time to share my story with Emma. This was a piece of me not many knew about. The idea of retelling one of the worst weeks of my life to Emma wasn’t as daunting as I’d thought it would be, though.

  “He kidnapped my sister when she was young. She’s fine now, but I don’t think she’s ever been able to go on in peace knowing he’s out there. I want to put him behind bars for what he did, which means finding evidence that I’ve never been able to.” That was only half the truth. I wasn’t ready to share with her about the coward that I was and how I was connected to him as well. Deep inside, I knew that if I ever found him, I’d never be able to let the bastard live. Sending him to spend the rest of his life behind bars wouldn’t be enough.

  “You’re not looking for revenge?” She lifted her gaze, studying me. Boy, was she ever good.

  “I just want justice,” I lied. “He used to live in our town and disappeared just after my parents found out he was the one to kidnap Annabelle. This is the file I have on him.” I passed her the folder full of newspaper articles, clippings, police reports, and the investigation that was dropped too soon due to lack of evidence and a cold trail.

  Emma studied the papers for over twenty minutes while I watched her with intent. At times when I knew she’d hit a spot where she wished there was a greater lead, her lips pursed. When she read over what he’d done, at least the part I wanted her to know about, her lips formed a straight line. At the time she was shocked, her mouth opened slightly, giving me the chance to see that perfect gap and her tongue that skimmed her lips as they dried.

  And all I could think about was how much I wanted to taste each curve of those lips as their shape changed. I wanted to feel every single emotion she expressed with them right underneath my tongue. Fuck! I had to stop this, so I’d have some time for my dick to return to its resting state.

  “Your sister has gone through a lot,” she finally said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. Do you think you can help me?”

  “I can do more than help you, Cowboy.” That vixen smile of hers was back on her face. “I can nearly guarantee you that I’ll find him.”

  I wasn’t sure if that should make me happy or afraid. The thought of what it would mean to find the bastard could scare the living crap out of a corpse.

  “Then I guess I’m your next project.”

  She eyed me from the bottom up before saying, “You certainly are.” Emma reached forward over the table for a handshake. “Congratulations, Cowboy. You’ve just hired the best investigator in the country.”

  I
stood up, taking her little hand into mine and squeezing it gently, quite grateful that my erection had gone down. Touching her for the first time, even if it was just through a handshake, was so rewarding that if I died now I’d be a very happy man. Who was I kidding? I could never get enough of Emma. There would never be enough of her simple touch, her beautiful lips, and sinful body.

  I made my way around the conference room table and followed Emma as she led me toward the door. She turned suddenly, nearly bumping into me. I held my breath because if I inhaled any more of her sweet scent I wouldn’t be held responsible for throwing her down to the ground and having my way with her the way I’d imagined.

  “I’d like to ask you a question that’s not business related.”

  “Go ahead,” I smiled. Her eyes danced with happiness in response.

  “You called me ‘smart’ back at the club. How did you know? And please, I don’t mean to sound conceited – I’m just curious.”

  “I asked the security guard your friends were flirting with. He told me you’re from the city, and that this was a one-time thing.”

  “It was. I lost a bet.” She shrugged as if she was already regretting her actions.

  “You should reconsider your choice of friends. But for what it’s worth, you were amazing on that stage. You could have turned a gay man straight and put Viagra completely out of business.”

  A flush of pink covered her cheeks, and I fought the urge to smooth my hand over her skin to feel how its temperature had changed.

  “Thank you.”

  “Now can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Have dinner with me?”

  “Is this personal or business?”

  “I’d like to think personal.”

  She paused for a moment while considering my offer. Her mouth slowly curved up into a beautiful smile. “All right. I’ll have dinner with you.”

  “I’ll need your address so I can pick you up.” I paused. “If that’s all right with you.” Knowing the forward thinking kind of woman that she was, I hoped she’d appreciate the gesture. I still wanted to do everything for her, including spoiling her rotten and treating her like she was a princess worthy of the best. But I knew better than that, and given that Emma had grown up in New York, she was likely a modern kind of woman more than the country girls I was used to.