Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Where are my panties?
Marley straightened her dress for what had to be the tenth time as she stood—okay, hid —in the lush, private bathroom attached to Declan’s office. She’d rushed in there after what had truly been a phenomenal fucking.
I think I came three times. An absolute record for her. Usually, she was lucky if she managed to come once. So much for nice sex. She was done with that, thanks very much. She much preferred Declan’s style.
She preferred Declan.
A rap sounded at the door, making her jump. Marley whirled around and flipped the lock before she opened the door. Declan was waiting for her. Fully dressed because—right, he’d never taken off his clothes as he made love to her on the desk.
An eyebrow quirked as he lifted a bit of black silk and let it dangle from one finger. “Missing this?”
She snatched her panties and fisted them.
A rumble of laughter broke from him. “Hate to break it to you, love, but those are unwearable. Some bastard ripped them in his haste to get them off you.”
She stared, with her mouth open.
“I’ll buy you more,” he promised, voice going gruff. “I’ll buy you any damn thing you want.”
Marley shook her head. “Your laugh.”
A line appeared between his eyebrows.
“You have a really nice laugh, Declan.” Heat stained her cheeks when he stared at her as if she’d just grown a second head. She hadn’t. “You should laugh more.” She peered down at her hand. Unfisted her fingers. Yep. Ripped. Sighing, she tossed the panties into the trash. “Is this routine?” Marley had to ask. Really had to say the words. The gnawing in the pit of her gut made her do it. The absolute fear that while the whole universe might have just realigned for her, the encounter had just been a typical night for him. “Do you normally have sex with women in your office and have them toss their panties in your trash when it’s over?”
His hand curled under her chin. He lifted her head and turned it at the same time, so that she was staring straight at him. “There has been nothing routine about you from the moment we met.”
The gnawing tried to change into a glow. But… “You had condoms in your desk.” That meant he’d had sex with other women in the same office. Her shoulders straightened. “Your life. Your business. I don’t know why I’m getting all jealous and weird and—” She stopped. Mostly because he’d been shaking his head.
No.
“Didn’t have them in my desk, sweetheart. I pulled the condom from my wallet. It’s the only one I had in there.” His thumb brushed along her lower lip. “If I had more, I’d be in you right now.”
Oh. Oh.
Another slow, sensual brush over her lip with his thumb.
Her lips parted. Her tongue just decided—totally on its own, without her permission—to lick at his thumb.
His eyes heated with intent. “I haven’t fucked anyone else in this office. I don’t normally bring any…acquaintances here.”
Her breath whispered over his thumb. “You didn’t bring me here. I invited myself.”
“You mean you barged that sexy ass in, plowing right past my assistant?”
Yes, that was what she’d meant.
His hand fell away from her. “Let me just be very clear.”
That would be wonderful. The clearer, the better.
“Wherever I am, you are welcome to be. Consider that an open invitation. You aren’t an acquaintance. You aren’t a quick fuck.”
“What am I?” Oh, no. Why had she even asked the question? Marley shook her head and brushed by him. With every step, she was acutely conscious of the fact that she wore no underwear. A little quiver shot through her.
His steps followed behind her. “You’re my?—”
“PI?” she asked as she turned back toward him.
“My Marley.”
His voice had gone extra deep and rumbly. And it poured over her in all the wrong and right ways.
“And, for the record, I don’t typically laugh much.” His hand sawed over his face. His fingers brushed against his scar. Lingered for just a moment. “Hasn’t been a whole lot in my life to laugh about.”
No, she didn’t imagine there had been. “Maybe we can change that.”
He advanced toward her. His slow, stalking steps eliminated the distance she’d created. “Marley.” He spoke her name like a caress. “I will never be the guy who is the life of the party. I won’t be telling jokes. I won’t be laughing and fitting in with all the BS that is tossed around in life. I don’t fit in. I’m not like everyone else. I don’t feel like everyone else.” His lips curled down. “You—above all others—know that monsters can pretend to blend in. I don’t give a fuck about blending. I am what I am.”
“I like what you are.”
A muscle flexed along his jaw. “You can’t.”
This time, she was the one to touch him. Her hand rose. Pressed to his cheek. “I do.”
She didn’t know how to describe the expression in his eyes. His gaze glittered. Lit with so much unnamed emotion that the gold in his hazel eyes blazed at her. “I like you,” she said softly.
“Fuck.”
Her lips curled. “Does that mean you like me, too?”
His hand took hers. His fingers threaded with hers. “ Like doesn’t enter the equation.”
Oh. Her smile faded.
He hauled her out of his office. Turned off the lights. Locked it. Paused a moment to tap something into his phone and then used the secure elevator entrance—the one that needed a special code to get up to his level. She’d gotten that code after badgering James forever.
The elevator doors closed, sealing them inside as the elevator began its descent.
Declan pushed her against the elevator wall. He caged her there with his body. “ Like is far too tame a word. I want to own you. Possess you completely.” His mouth took hers. His tongue swept inside. Tasted and teased and consumed. “ And fucking keep you. ”
He’d let go of her hand when he caged her against the wall. So her happy hands curled around his neck. One even moved to sink into the softness of his hair. When his mouth took hers again, she was so ready. He kissed her with a consuming focus that swept away everything else. As if she was truly the only thing that mattered in his world.
Her heart drummed. Her body tightened. And her sex got way eager and wet for him again. Not wearing panties. He could lift me up against this wall. Shove the dress out of the way. Take me right here the way he took me in his ? —
Ding.
His head lifted.
It took a slow moment for that ding to register. And then the elevator doors were sliding open. She couldn’t see them, but she could hear the faint rumble as they parted.
“Ahem.” A throat cleared.
Declan let her go. Turned toward the now open elevator doors.
She saw the deadly duo waiting for her. Cade Grimm and Hunter McQueen stood a few feet from the elevator. Hunter—such a fitting name. She’d gotten to know the two former special ops men pretty well over the last few days. Apparently, getting that wee graze from the bullet had made them respect her. Whatever. Now they were being all nice and concerned—almost suffocating, in fact.
They’d been tailing her when she made her way to the high-rise. A total waste of their time because they should have been with Declan. She’d told them that fact. On multiple occasions. They needed to stop tailing her and go protect Declan. But Cade had been adamant—they’d been given orders. They would follow them. And their number one order was to make sure she stayed safe.
When she’d demanded to know who was keeping Declan safe, he’d assured her that Declan had plenty of protection when he was at his office. After she’d gotten a look at the security staff there, she’d agreed.
“Guess we’re calling it a night, huh?” Cade asked, a faint smile tilting at the corners of his mouth.
Declan took her hand again. “You could’ve given me a warning that she was coming.”
Hunter grimaced. “I told him to.”
Cade rocked back on the heels of his feet. “Thought you might appreciate the surprise.”
Declan grunted. He tugged her out of the elevator.
Can they tell we had sex? Jeez. They can. She caught the knowing glint in Cade’s eyes. If he said anything…
“Don’t,” Declan snapped.
Cade nodded. “Not even thinking it.” He turned to the right. “This way, sir. The limo is waiting.”
“Smartass, you know you aren’t supposed to do that bullshit and call me ‘sir.’”
Cade just laughed. He took up a position leading them out, and Hunter fell in at the rear of their little group. They swept past the security guards at the front desk, and then Cade opened the glass doors that would take them out into the night.
Car horns blared and voices drifted in the air. Laughter. Distant music. People rushed by on the sidewalks, most not so much as giving them a double-glance. But there were two men in black suits who waited near the limo. More security, she was sure. They made certain to clear a path for Declan and her. But Declan ducked back, indicating she should go in the open door of the limo first. She bent to enter?—
“Declan!” An angry shout.
She whirled around.
A tall man in a battered, leather coat rushed toward the limo.
Cade sprang forward. “Buddy, you need to back up, now!” His hand went to his own coat. No, to his waist. Was he reaching for a weapon? He had to be.
“Get in the car!” Declan barked at her. “Now!”
She grabbed his shirt, ready to pull him in with her even as Hunter closed in on the shouting man and?—
“I’m his fucking brother!” A bellow from the stranger as he stepped under a streetlight. The light hit his face, and Marley sucked in a sharp breath at the stunning resemblance. If Declan hadn’t currently been attempting to shove her into the limo…
I would have thought this guy was Declan. They could be twins. Except for one very important difference.
No scar snaked down the stranger’s cheek.
“Bullshit,” Cade said, but he sounded uncertain. Probably because of the freaking near perfect resemblance. “My boss doesn’t have a brother!”
“Uh, yes,” from Marley because Declan had gone statue still and wasn’t talking at all. “He does. Declan told me about him.”
Cade sent her a questioning frown.
She was half-in, half-out of the limo, and they were attracting too much attention. “Let’s go for a ride, shall we?” She pointed at Declan’s brother. “Hop in.” But she bit her lower lip as her gaze flickered to Declan. “Unless there’s a problem I need to know about with him?” Because if this man was a problem for Declan, she’d let Hunter and Cade go right back to their tough guy routine with him.
But I heard the longing in Declan’s voice when he talked about his brother. I know how much he missed him. Now the long-lost brother was showing up, practically on Declan’s doorstep. His business doorstep, anyway.
Can we trust him? She trusted her brothers, one hundred percent. But what did she know about Declan’s brother?
“No problem.” Declan’s flat voice. “Get in the car, Royal.”
The man he’d just identified as Royal bobbed his head in a nod but shot an angry glance toward Cade. “Want to get the hell out of my way or should I move you myself?”
“I’d like to see you try.” A low taunt from Cade. But he backed away. Well, backed away just so he could sidle close to Declan and demand, “Boss, are you sure it’s safe to be in the limo with him? You’ll have Marley in there, and I know she’s priority one.”
Her brows shot up. She was priority one? “Uh, no. Declan being safe is priority one.” They should all make a note of that important fact.
“I can ride along,” Cade assured him.
But Declan shook his head. “Royal is no threat to me.” He seemed certain of that.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Cade muttered. Clearly, Cade was not as certain of that fact. And Hunter just silently watched. He did that a lot, took in things. Watched. Weighed. There was always so much seeming to go on behind the intense darkness of his eyes.
Physically, Cade and Hunter were opposites. Both men were tall and strong. Muscled. But Cade had a beach boy, perfect looks thing going on. Wide smile. Commercial model material. Looked friendly as heck, but Marley knew that friendly demeanor was mostly BS. The man was icy on the inside.
As for Hunter…while Cade might be the chattier of the duo, Hunter tended to exude an aura of menace. Golden, tawny skin, dark eyes and hair, and features that never seemed to soften, the Ranger didn’t ever smile. And sometimes, she thought he might just look haunted. That man has painful secrets.
But both Cade and Hunter were very serious about their jobs. And, at the moment, they were staring with serious suspicion at the man who wore Declan’s face. Brothers.
“Cade and Hunter, follow us to the house.” Declan’s hands pushed gently on Marley. He was still trying to get her in the limo.
Fine, if getting her in also got him inside…
Marley ducked into the limo.
Declan immediately joined her. He sat down right beside her, his leg and hip against her. The heat of his body reached out to wrap around her. “You okay?” she whispered.
He didn’t get a chance to answer. Royal climbed into the limo. The door slammed shut behind him. Royal took up a seat opposite Declan. Faint light shone near the floor of the limo and around the well-stocked bar in the back. The light let her see Royal’s tense expression as he studied Declan.
Immediately, she stiffened. He looks pissed. No wonder Cade didn’t want him getting in the car. “You’d better not even think of hurting him,” she snapped.
Declan put his hand on her thigh.
Royal’s eyes widened and those wide eyes turned to fully assess her. Then he nodded. “Right. The PI. The one who saved him from the torture dungeon.” Then his stare dipped to her thigh. Or, rather, to Declan’s hand as it touched her thigh. “And I think I get why you’re still around my brother.” He cleared his throat. “So…someone want to tell me what the fuck is happening?” His jaw—so very like Declan’s—hardened. “And just who the hell is it that is trying to kill you?”
“I—” Marley began, her voice strained because she did not like the man’s tone with Declan. Not one bit.
Declan squeezed her thigh. “This doesn’t concern you, Royal. You need to go back to Savannah and your family.”
Uh, oh, there had been just the faintest hit of emphasis on your family. As if…as if… as if they weren’t real family, even though this guy is Declan’s brother.
The limo pulled away from the curb.
Royal crossed his arms over his chest. “I saw your story on the news. Big, bad Declan Flynn. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my long-lost brother had nearly been killed not once, but twice…and no one bothered to inform me of the incidents.”
Declan shrugged. “They’re being handled. The perpetrator will be found.”
“Three people are dead.”
Declan shrugged. Again. “Two of those men helped abduct me. As for the third? He most likely helped drug me. They were loose ends that I believe someone was eliminating.”
No change of expression from Royal. “Were you the one cutting those loose ends?”
Her mouth dropped open. Had he seriously just accused Declan of murder? “How dare you!” A fiery eruption. “You don’t climb into his car and start accusing him of killing people!”
Declan’s head turned toward her.
“I don’t?” Royal asked. “Even when I think he might be guilty as sin?”
Guilty as sin.
“He’s innocent,” she snapped back. “Declan did not kill those three men. I know—I’ve been with him the whole time. He’s the victim.”
Soft laughter from Royal. “Victim, huh? That’s a fun word.”
“No, it is not particularly fun.” She didn’t know that she liked this long-lost brother. Not at all. The heat of Declan’s touch warmed her thigh. “Where’s your concern? Where is your ‘I’m-so-glad-my-brother-is-alive’ relief?”
Royal considered her. “She’s interesting.”
Her eyes immediately narrowed. Interesting sounded like an insult to her.
“For the record, I am glad you’re alive, Declan,” Royal said.
She grunted. About time he said those words. Had it killed him to say them? No.
“I’m also pretty damn happy to be alive myself,” Royal continued. “Considering that someone tried to run me down just last week. Seems that you and I have both attracted a sudden enemy.”
She felt the utter stillness of Declan’s body. Stillness and rage. The rage practically vibrated in the air around her.
“What. The. Fuck?” Low. No emotion at all. But Declan’s voice still sent a shiver cascading over her. She’d come to realize that when his voice went low, he was in an extra lethal mood. Not a good sign.
Royal settled back against the lush seat in the limo. “Didn’t quite catch what I said? Then let me repeat…someone tried to run me down last week. The asshole came plowing right for me. I made it out of the way with scratches and bruises that piss me the hell off as I kissed the sidewalk. Figured it was some drunk dick at the time. Then I learned that two attacks have been made on my brother’s life. Got me to being all kinds of suspicious.” He quirked a brow. “So, let’s circle back to the fact that we both may have attracted the same enemy.” He paused. And suddenly, his face looked…darker. Harder. Evil. “Just who the hell is it that wants to kill us both?”