Chapter 2
2
JESSE
J esse Bryant had spent years training in the most dangerous environments, honing his skills in combat, survival, and strategy. He had faced down warlords, infiltrated high-risk zones, and once even neutralized a threat in the middle of a blackout with nothing but a knife and his bare hands.
Yet, nothing in his experience had prepared him for Keely Malone at thirty-five thousand feet. The woman was relentless. She sat next to him with all the grace of a queen on her throne, legs crossed, as she snatched her champagne flute back, taking a sip while she studied him with eyes full of mischief.
“This is nice, don’t you think?” she mused, tipping her glass toward him. “Us, sitting together, enjoying a luxurious flight…just the two of us.”
Jesse let his breath out slowly, forcing himself to focus on the pages of the in-flight magazine he wasn’t really reading. “It’s not just the two of us. There’s a whole damn plane full of people.”
Keely waved a hand dismissively. “Details.”
Jesse gritted his teeth. It had been exactly twenty minutes since she had arranged for him to be moved to first class, and she had been pushing him ever since. She knew exactly what she was doing. And that was the problem. She was too damn good at it.
“I could get used to this,” she continued, her voice full of lazy amusement. “Private jets are nice, but I do love the way the first-class staff treats you. Don’t you, Jesse?”
He flicked his eyes up at her, scanning the slow, deliberate way she sipped her champagne, the way her lips wrapped around the rim of the glass. It wasn’t lost on him that she was performing for him. And damn it, it was working.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Keely?” His voice came out rougher than he intended.
She hummed. “Immensely.”
Jesse let out a slow, controlled breath. “Glad one of us is.”
“Oh, come on.” She nudged his arm lightly, all playfulness, no concern for the way her touch sent a pulse of heat through him. “You can’t tell me you aren’t having fun.”
Jesse turned his head, locking eyes with her. “And what exactly makes you think that?”
Keely tilted her head, considering. “Because you could’ve refused to be moved, but you didn’t.”
Jesse rolled his jaw. Damn it. She was right. He could have asked the flight attendant to move her back to coach, but that probably wouldn’t have worked. People in service industries didn’t tend to listen to people like him. They listened to people like her and her brother Reed. Hell, he could have just ignored her antics completely.
But he hadn’t—because he didn’t want to. And that? That was dangerous.
Jesse forced himself to lean back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?”
Keely leaned in, her voice dropping just enough to make his muscles tighten. “I think you’d like to pretend you’re completely unaffected by me. I’ve seen you watching me when you don’t think Reed or I will notice—dark, hungry, yummy.”
Jesse let out a quiet chuckle, but there wasn’t any amusement behind it. He turned his head, leveling her with a look that had made hardened criminals cower.
“Keely,” His voice was nothing but gravel, “I am not a man you want to play with.”
Something flickered in her eyes, something sharp and knowing. “You’re wrong Jesse. You’re the man I’d love to play with, and therein lies the problem, isn’t it?”
Jesse held her stare, knowing damn well she had no idea what would happen if he ever let go. He wasn’t some wannabe metrosexual Dom—the kind she usually played with and whom she topped from the bottom. No. If he ever stopped pretending that she wasn’t the one woman he wasn’t supposed to want… God help them both.
Keely sat back, satisfied. “See? This is fun. I knew you’d be glad I had you moved up here next to me.”
Jesse ran a hand down his face. “You’re exhausting.”
She just grinned. “And you’re so much fun to rile up.”
Jesse bit his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn’t. She was Reed’s sister, and therefore, off limits. The moment that seatbelt sign dinged after landing, he was getting off this plane and putting some distance between them… before he did something really stupid.
By the time the plane touched down at San Antonio International, Jesse had his plan locked down.
He would get her home, make sure she was secure, and then he’d hand her back over to her big brother or anybody else Reed at Silver Spur Security wanted to assign her to. He’d taken one for the team. The fact was when Reed announced he needed someone to go to Milan; the guys had drawn straws, and Jesse had drawn the short one.
“Thank you for agreeing to watch over my sister,” Reed had said. “I know she can be difficult…”
“Difficult?” Jesse scoffed. “Let me be plain—the only reason I agreed to chase your sister all over Milan is because I drew the short straw.” Reed had looked surprised at the notion that none of them relished the idea of providing protection to Keely, who was uncooperative, to say the least. “The fact is, I’d rather wrangle rattlesnakes than your sister.”
If he spent one more second in Keely’s orbit, he was going to forget why she was off-limits.
The seatbelt sign blinked off, and Keely was already moving, collecting her designer carry-on and standing like she didn’t have a care in the damn world.
“You in a hurry?” he asked.
She tossed him a look over her shoulder. “I’d rather not get stuck behind slow walkers.”
Jesse sighed, standing to his full height, stepped into the aisle so she could exit their row, and followed her off the plane. The second they stepped into the terminal, she was on the move, striding through customs like she owned the place.
And hell—for all he knew, she did. Reed Malone’s baby sister was a complete and total brat and was completely oblivious to that fact.
The agent at the counter barely glanced at her passport before waving her through.
“Welcome home, Miss Malone.”
Jesse wasn’t far behind, but when he reached the same agent, the man actually paused and looked him over.
“Anything to declare?” the agent asked, his gaze dipping to Jesse’s boots like he was hiding contraband in them.
Jesse gritted his teeth. “No.”
The agent gave him one last assessing look before finally waving him through.
Keely stood just beyond the customs area, holding her suitcase, looking entirely too pleased with herself.
“That was easy,” she mused.
Jesse slung his carry-on over his shoulder, eyeing her with suspicion. “They barely looked at you.”
Keely lifted a shoulder. “What can I say? I travel a lot. They know me.”
Jesse let out a slow breath, scanning the baggage claim area. “You ready to go?”
Keely turned, sauntering toward the exit without waiting for him to follow. “Depends, cowboy. Are you?”
Jesse cursed under his breath and moved after her, ignoring the way his body responded to everything she did. This woman was going to kill him. And the worst part was, he was starting to enjoy it.
Jesse stepped into the warm Texas air and let out a slow breath. Home. Finally.
Keely strolled beside him, rolling her suitcase with an effortless grace, oblivious—or maybe just indifferent—to the way his patience was wearing dangerously thin.
He had spent the last several days in her orbit and the last seventeen hours or so in close cover, enduring her teasing, her effortless charm, her mouth. The woman had a way of making his blood heat with nothing more than a well-placed glance, and worse? He was pretty sure she knew it.
He ran his hand down his face, reminding himself why he was here. Not because he wanted to be. Forcing his thoughts away from dangerous territory—wondering what it would be like to see Keely, laced into that sapphire blue corset of hers with the matching booty shorts, on her knees, submitting—not because he forced her, but because she wanted to. If it ever happened, he would replace those booty shorts with a skimpy thong.
Jesse’s groin tightened—his cock hardening and pressing against the fly of his jeans. What might it be like to have her unbutton his fly with her teeth, letting his cock out to play and then using her mouth to get some relief? Jesus, Bryant. Get your head on straight. He shoved the thought down, hard, and focused on the task at hand.
“Your car service on the way?”
Keely stopped, tilting her head at him with the same infuriating amusement she’d carried all damn day. “Excuse me?”
Jesse crossed his arms. “You got two choices, darlin’. Either you call for a town car, and I follow, or you ride with me. Either way, I’m not letting you leave here alone.”
Keely tapped a manicured finger against her chin, considering. “So let me get this straight—you’re giving me the illusion of choice, but really, you’re just bossing me around?”
Jesse arched an eyebrow and grinned. “Pretty much. It seems you’re starting to catch on.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I love when men try to tell me what to do.”
Jesse’s lips twitched. “Funny, because last I checked, you don’t listen worth a damn.”
Keely took a step closer, narrowing the space between them. “That’s because most men say nothing worth listening to, so I ignore them.”
Jesse held her gaze, refusing to let her bait him. She smelled like vanilla and something sweet, something that shouldn’t have been enticing but had his muscles locking tight all the same.
Finally, she sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’ll ride with you.”
“Smart choice.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”
Jesse took her suitcase without asking and led her to his black pickup. If she was going to ride with him, she was going to do it his way. He tossed her bag in the bed of the truck before opening the passenger door for her.
Keely paused, arching an eyebrow of her own. “Are you going to strap me in too?”
Jesse leaned against the door frame, lowering his voice. “You really want me to answer that?”
For the first time since they’d landed, she faltered. Just for a second. Jesse caught the way her pupils dilated, the slight hitch in her breath. He had her. And they both damn well knew it.
Keely cleared her throat and slid inside the truck, crossing her legs like she wasn’t the least bit affected. He wondered what he’d find if he shoved his hands between her legs. Jesse shut the door, shaking his head as he walked around to the driver’s side.
This woman was going to ruin him.
They drove in silence for a while, the city lights flashing past the windows as they made their way through San Antonio.
Keely leaned against the window, fingers tapping idly against her knee, watching the skyline.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” she said eventually.
Jesse didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Do what?”
“Babysit me.”
Jesse let out a short laugh. “This ain’t babysitting, sweetheart. It’s making sure you don’t get yourself into trouble.”
Keely turned her head toward him, her gaze sharp. “And what kind of trouble do you think I get into?”
Jesse glanced at her briefly. That look. That challenge in her eyes. His hands flexed on the wheel.
I know the kind I’d like for you to get into… with me.
Instead, he went with, “The kind that keeps Reed up at night and calling in favors to keep your ass out of a mess.”
Keely sighed. “Reed worries too much.”
Jesse let out a low hum. “Wonder why that is.”
She shot him a look. “You think I need a bodyguard?”
“I don’t know. You’re rich and your brother has enemies. I think you’re reckless,” Jesse said bluntly. “I think you make a damn habit of slipping past security just for fun. I think you don’t take your safety nearly as seriously as you should.”
Keely was quiet for a beat, then shrugged. “I can take care of myself.”
Jesse’s hands gripped the wheel tighter. “Not the point.”
She shifted slightly in her seat, studying him. “Why does it matter to you, Jesse?”
His jaw locked. Because if anything happened to you, it would kill Reed. Because if anything happened to you, it would kill me.
Jesse didn’t answer her.
Keely sighed again, dramatically. “You’re no fun.”
Jesse let out a rough chuckle. “And you’re a brat.”
Keely grinned. “It’s nice to know I’m appreciated for more than my family’s money.”
Jesse shook his head, keeping his focus on the road. He’d spent years keeping his control intact, making sure he never crossed a line he couldn’t walk back from—and then there was Keely, a line-crossing menace.
They pulled up to Keely’s place, a charming single-story Spanish Colonial home, characteristic of San Antonio. It featured white stucco walls and a red clay tile roof, embodying the traditional aesthetic of the region. The arched doorways and wooden beams added to its historic charm, while the shaded porch with its rustic wooden door invited a warm, welcoming atmosphere. A small courtyard enclosed by stucco wall and a wrought-iron gate enhanced the home's curb appeal, complemented by lush native landscaping, including agave and mesquite trees.
It was dark now, but Jesse had seen it before. Reed had no way of knowing, but Jesse had followed his sister home from the club on more than one occasion, only to return to his place just outside of town to take a long, cold shower.
Jesse killed the engine. When Keely started to open the door, he reached across her and pulled it shut. “You wait for me.”
He got out of the truck and grabbed her suitcase from the back. The moment his fingers curled around the handle, something felt off. It was barely perceptible—just a slight shift in the way it moved. A little heavier than a suitcase full of her clothes should be.
He went around to the passenger door and opened it, frowning. “You pack bricks in here?”
Keely stretched her arms over her head, sighing. “Don’t be dramatic.”
Jesse hesitated, then shook his head. I must be imagining things.
He hauled it up the porch steps, held his hand out for her keys and waited until she placed them in his hand and used the app on her phone to switch off the security system. He opened the door and set the suitcase just inside. Before leaving, he would sweep the perimeter to ensure her security for the night. Then he’d call it in and head for home.
Keely breezed past him, already kicking off her heels. “Will you be a dear and bring in my bag? The damn thing weighs a ton,” she called back over her shoulder.
Jesse hesitated. He shouldn’t. But something about the suitcase still nagged at him. Maybe he should check the inside just to be sure. When he knew she was safe, then he’d leave.
Before he could inform her of his decision, Keely turned, stretching up on her toes, pressing a quick, unexpected kiss to his cheek.
“Thanks for the ride, cowboy.”
Jesse went completely still. Her lips were soft. Warm. Just the briefest touch, nothing more than a tease—that was not the kind of ride he’d like to give her. But damn it if it didn’t almost undo him. Before he could make a complete fool of himself—dragging her to him and crushing her lips with his before sweeping her up and taking her to bed, she grinned and stepped back, heading toward the back of her home like she hadn’t just set his world off-kilter.
Jesse let out a slow breath, dragging his fingers through his hair. Keely was going to be an even bigger problem than she had been in the past. Deep down, he already knew—that suitcase wasn’t the only danger waiting for him inside.