God, I hoped he was nothing like Jonas. The man gave me the creeps on more levels than one.
Picking up the glass, I went to drink down the alcohol when my gaze landed on the man standing outside the bar windows.
Baz.
His dark, almost black eyes studied me. Immediately, I felt my skin tingle. What was it about this man that made my body react so strongly?
It wasn’t just his dark good looks or the body that looked like he’d walked off the pages of a fashion magazine, or the hint of tattoos that peeked from the collar of his shirt. He affected me in a way that made me want to let him do anything and everything to me.
He shook his head, glancing at the glass in my hand.
I lifted a brow and downed the drink.
Baz moved to the door of the bar, pulled it open, and walked in, heading straight for me.
When he was less than a foot from me, he pulled the glass from my hand, set it on the bar top, and said, “As a friend, I believe it’s safe to say drinking your troubles away isn’t the best idea.”
6
Sebastian
“And how would you know about my troubles?” The irritation on Isa’s beautiful face told me she was ready for a fight.
If we were alone and I wasn’t getting glares from the man behind the counter or the giant I knew was her security, I’d have given her the challenge she was throwing down.
Everything told me she was dealing with the aftermath of whatever Jonas had said at lunch.
Fucker had set up the brunch as a way to emphasize his influence on the situation he’d put both families in. The bastard hadn’t expected me to show up, or that I’d make it very clear to Benz that I took orders from no one, especially not Jonas.
Then, when one of my spies had sent me a text informing me that Isa had walked out of the lunch angry, I knew I had to find her. Jonas was an asshole. Well, I was one too, but in a different way.
I was lying to the woman I was going to marry. Technically, I wasn’t lying, I just wasn’t revealing who I was, but I highly doubted she’d view it from my angle.
“After last night, I’m pretty sure I know exactly what troubles you.”
“Then you understand why whiskey is definitely called for.”
“How’s that?”
“I just had the pleasure of dealing with my future father-in-law.”
I could only imagine how he’d treated her. He thought himself superior to everyone, and his view of women as a whole was low.
I took her hand and pulled her from the bar. “Have coffee with me.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be at Emma’s? That’s across town.”
I ran a thumb over the pulse point on her wrist, causing her to shiver. She was definitely not immune to me.
“I was about to head there when I saw you throwing back a thousand-dollar-an-ounce whiskey.”
That was both a truth and a lie. I’d known she wouldn’t have shown up. Her honesty about her life made me realize she wasn’t anything like the woman I expected her to be. Her loyalty to her family trumped her personal needs.
When I’d gone looking for her after my call, the last place I expected to find her was drinking her troubles away at a neighborhood bar.
“Well, if I’m going to drink, it might as well be something worth the effort or the possible hangover.”
“I doubt you ever let yourself get to that point.” The woman had a need to control everything.
I’d gauged that last night, and the unhappiness she felt at not having any say in the course of her life.
“Why are you in my neighborhood, Baz?”
“Your neighborhood?”
“Yes, I grew up here.”
“I had business in the area.” I guided her to a table away from the bartender and her security who seemed way too interested in Isa’s reaction to me.
I knew her bodyguard had seen me dance with her at the club last night, but the bartender was also giving a protective vibe. I couldn’t fault him. I’d be the same way.
I was positive she didn’t want anyone to know the details on how we met, and already knew she kept her nightclub activities as quiet as possible.
I took a seat across the table from her, not saying anything. Her piercing dark blue eyes were a storm of emotions. He hands were flat on the table, pulling at the urge in me to give her comfort.
Maybe it was the combination of strength and vulnerability that she emanated.
“Stop staring at me like that.” The temper in her tone made me want to laugh. She’d let me guide her to the table without a word and now she was trying to take control of her body’s reaction to me.
“As I said, drinking your troubles away isn’t the best way to let go.”
She didn’t seem the type to drown her worries in alcohol. But then again, any encounter with Jonas could push a person to measures they’d never think of doing in other circumstances.
“I wasn’t drinking my troubles away. I was calming my temper. I’d have to drink half the bottle to get a good buzz. Those three shots did nothing to me.”
“Built up a high tolerance?”
“You could say that. The owner of Firewater, Penny, is my close friend’s cousin. I had to learn to keep up with the pint-sized genius. Plus, I don’t like to be out of control, so I refuse to get to the point where I am.”
Figured she would have some ties to the Lykaios family.
All of a sudden, it hit me that Isa had mentioned Penny’s cousin. Fuck, it had to be Ana. Ana had just married my ex-partner, Adrian, and we’d shared her not so long ago. It had been during an assignment, but that wouldn’t matter to Isa. I’d slept with one of her friends.
I couldn’t fault her if she wanted to shoot me when she found out. It would piss me off if she’d slept with someone I knew, let alone a friend.
“You’re doing that stare thing again. Stop it.”
Ignoring her order, I gave one of my own. “Lay your hands on the table, palms up.”
Fuck, what was I doing? I’d met her less than twenty-four hours ago and I was ready to push her in a direction I probably should wait to go.
She narrowed her gaze at me. “Why?”
“Just do it. If what I do makes you uncomfortable then I’ll stop.”
She licked her lips and then followed my order. Some of her compliance was curiosity but the other part was her response to me.
The second the backs of her hands touched the table, I set mine over hers, holding her wrists under each palm. Immediately, her breath grew unsteady and her eyes dilated.
Her response mixed with touching her in this way had my cock jumping. She had no idea what she was. No. It was more likely she ignored that part of herself, not wanting to entertain the idea she wanted to give up control.
“What are you doing?” Her words were unsteady.
I gave a slight squeeze of pressure causing her to shift in her seat.
“I’m in charge now. You can’t leave unless I let you go. Everything pressing has to wait.”
I knew as well as she did that with one word, her security would be over here and putting me in a headlock.
“We shouldn’t be touching like this.”
“Then tell me to let you go.” I held her gaze. “All you have to do is say stop.”
The indecision warring in her eyes made me realize how much she needed this.
“Look at me, Isa.”
Her blue gaze shifted from where I held her wrists to my face.
A crease formed between her brows. “I don’t understand why I listened to you. It makes no sense.”
“Have you ever let any of the men you’ve taken to bed be in charge?”
A twinge of irritation entered my mind at the thought of anyone having ever touched her.
Yes, it was irrational, but knowing this was the woman who was going to be my wife and the intense pull we had to each other brought out the caveman in me.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Her response was all I needed to confirm my suspicions and ease my annoyance.
“Did you leave feeling unsatisfied, feeling like you were missing something?”
She opened her mouth to deny my claim but shut it.
She knew the truth as well as I did.
“Tell me, Isa, if a man took all the control, bent you to his will, and gave your mind and body unimaginable pleasure, would you let him?”
Her breathing grew ragged and she swallowed to ease the arousal I saw flushing over her skin.
“I can’t do this. I’m going to marry someone else,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s…it’s… I have to go.”
My fingers tightened before she could pull free.
Isa closed her eyes. “Baz, don’t make me want things I can’t have. It’s cruel.”
“Why is it cruel? You should admit, at least to yourself, the true nature of your desire.”
“And do what with it?” The anger in her voice surprised me. “I’m about to marry a man I don’t know or love. Who knows what he’ll be like?”
I studied her, not releasing my hold on her.
Fuck. I was going to fuck this up. Hell, I’d already screwed up beyond repair. I was lying to my fiancée. I was…God, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that when everything came out, she’d hate me.
I wasn’t supposed to have this need for her.
“What if you react to him the way you do to me?”
“It doesn’t matter how I react to you. Nothing can come of it. I’m marrying another man.” This time she managed to pull free of my hold. “I can’t throw away my family’s future for whatever this attraction is.”
I remained quiet, not knowing how to get out of the hole I’d dug for myself.
“I offered friendship. I still stand by it.”
“It won’t work.”
“Try it, Isa. Friendship.”
Maybe if she saw the real me then she’d accept me when she learned the truth.
Who was I kidding? I was fucked beyond repair.
“Friends. No expectation for anything else. No touching me. And no more conversations like the one we just had, or I won’t see you again.”
“Done.”
At that moment, Isa’s security approached.
“We have to get you home so you’re rested,” the man said.
“I guess it’s hard to balance a daytime life and a secret nighttime one.”
Her lips curved slightly. “You could say that.”
“When do you get up after a long night?”
“It depends on the day and if I have an antiquities project. Tonight, I won’t go to bed until at least seven in the morning so I’ll sleep until noon.”
“Then meet me at Emma’s for coffee.”
“You’re serious about this friendship thing, aren’t you?”
“Why are you surprised? I mean what I say.”
She sighed. “Fine. We’ll give this friendship thing a try.”
Isa
I yawned as I walked the street leading to Emma’s. I wasn’t sure why I was doing this. Maybe it had to do with wanting to rebel against my family, the Webers, the world.
I knew nothing would come of anything with Baz. Hell, I didn’t even know his last name. Well, I guessed he didn’t know mine either.
How would he react when he learned it? Would he know I was the daughter of the man who ran most of the streets of Berlin? Would it matter?
I wasn’t planning on hiding it. There was no point. Papa was too much of a public fixture. Luckily, Papa did everything to keep me out of the spotlight. And if anyone managed to link us, I’d act as if it were no big deal. I guessed it also helped that I’d spent years living in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
My phone beeped with an incoming text. It was from my best friend, Lilly.
Lilly Lennox was the daughter of one of my father’s associates, though we hadn’t known it at the time we’d met in graduate school. We ended up working on a research project together and became fast friends. Now three years later, we ran an antiquities company together.
Lilly was not only my partner but the only person who understood the world I lived in. She knew all my secrets, from the clubs to my relationships with groups our fathers would lose their shit over if they ever found out. I never gave her details on said groups, but she was a smart girl and probably had some inkling. Besides, it was better to keep her out of the nitty-gritty details. All she needed to know was that anonymous clients hired us to appraise art pieces and verify authenticity.
We both got to play sleuths without actually leaving our office. Plus, Lilly was a free spirit and viewed the world through rose-tinted glasses. She wanted to believe the best in people. She kept me from getting lost in my businesses. The last thing I’d ever do was put her in any form of danger.
Her father knew his daughter didn’t fit the typical princess role. Lilly with her whimsical clothes and wild hair would fit more into a hippy colony than the streets of Berlin.
Lilly: I finished the appraisal. The fee is in our account. Ana sent notice that she isn’t going to be our auction house contact anymore.
I wasn’t happy about the change. Hopefully, whoever replaced her was easy to work with.
Ana was the one who’d pushed me into working for her “company,” in a consultant capacity. The company, also known as Solon, was more than an average business. It was one that required security clearance and an intense background check. The fact I had ties to the “unsavory” elements of society had been a positive instead of a negative to Ana’s boss, Bri, who had hired me for my first project.
Being a mobster’s daughter had its benefits, especially when working as an informant/appraiser for various secret agencies from Interpol and the CIA to underground ones like Solon. They had no qualms associating with me, and it was understood, for my assistance, they would keep any and all operations managing my father’s business dealings far away from me.
I crossed the street and typed out my response.
Ana leaving was something I’d expected after talking to her and reading a report giving a general case analysis of Ana’s last assignment.
She’d been part of a multi-agency case that had taken a turn no one expected. The sex traffickers they were targeting had kidnapped her and put her up for sale. If it wasn’t for her now-husband, Adrian, a CIA agent, and his Interpol partner, she would have been sold to God only knew who.
She’d had to play the role of sex slave for Adrian and his partner. Whatever she’d experienced had changed her plans for her career in Solon. Now she was back in Las Vegas, helping run her family’s businesses.
Isa: She just got married and has a baby on the way. I think she has other priorities on her mind than working with us.
Lilly: Does this mean you’re going to follow in her footsteps? After all, you’re getting married in a few months.
Isa: Hell, no. My work isn’t going to suffer because of decisions made by my family.
Lilly: Good luck with that. I’m sure your new husband is going to be fine with you running nightclubs, appraising artwork for clients with no names, and consulting for “the company” while being his arm candy.
I scowled at the phone.
Isa: I’m no one’s eye candy.
Lilly: Hate to tell you this, but that’s exactly what you’ll become.
Isa: I’ll figure something out. I refuse to let anyone control my life.
Lilly: Want to meet me for coffee?
Isa: I can’t. I have plans.
Lilly: With who?
I could totally lie to her but Lilly was my ride or die and would keep a secret.
Isa: A VIP I met at Verberne Schutzer.
Lilly: No fucking way. Who is he? Give me his name, I’ll have everything you need to know about him within the hour.
Lilly was not only an art expert but a secret hacker who could find anything about anyone.
Isa: It’s better you know as little as possible
.
Lilly: I don’t like it.
Isa: It’s just friendship.
Lilly: Right, friendship with a hot guy that you met at one of your clubs. Isa, you’re playing with fire.
Isa: Stop worrying. It’s completely innocent. Besides, I never said he was hot.
Lilly: I hope you know what you’re doing. I’ve never known a man and woman to only be friends.
Isa: Got to go. I’m at the shop.
Lilly: This conversation isn’t over.
I had no doubt she was going to hound me for information until I relented.
I tucked my phone back into my handbag and pulled open the door.
My eyes immediately landed on Baz. He sat in the corner reading a paper.
Fuck, he was beyond gorgeous.
I wasn’t sure it was possible for a man to have this level of appeal. He wore a fitted green sweater and a pair of dark denim jeans. The tattoos around his wrist peeked out from the long sleeves, giving him a sophisticated yet dangerous edge.
His manner was eerily similar to the way Papa and his men carried themselves. He even sat in a position that kept anyone from coming up behind him.
As if sensing my study of him, he lifted his dark eyes to mine. My knees went weak, and I felt a flutter deep in my stomach.
No, Isa. This is friendship. Put any other thoughts away.
“Isa. You look beautiful.” Baz stood as I approached and gestured to the chair across from him.
He glanced behind me. “No security?”
“Oh, they’re here. The only reason you’d know they were around is if they wanted you to know.” I took my seat and waited for Baz to take his.
“Good to know.”
A waitress came up to us, and I ordered a coffee and a pastry.
“What’s your last name?”
Baz lifted a brow. “Does it matter?”
“Friends usually know these things.”
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 91