He moved us until my back hit the wall of Harrison’s house. He stared down at me with eyes that were too beautiful for a soul like his. His entire physical being was too good for what he was, but somehow, it made him more appealing. A man all the girls wanted to tame.
As a woman, I’d turn into his kind of wild before I expected him to change. Because a tiger never changes its stripes.
“You think I don’t know what you’re up to, archer?” His breath fanned against my lips. “You want me to kiss you, to claim your mouth, so you can mark me, like I’ve already marked you.”
“Hah.” The noise was meant to be a bark, but it came out breathy. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with. I might want to kiss you, but I’ll be damned if Iletyou kiss me. I’m not going to give you what you’ll no doubt try to steal anyway. It’s called work, Kelly. Learn the meaning.”
He moved slow, oh so slow, and went to put his lips to mine but I turned my face. His grin came languorously. “We’ll see.” He released me, going to stand closer to the door, where Harrison stood, watching us.
How long had he been there? It didn’t matter. My entire body was on fire, and I wished I could throw myself into an ocean to put it out. I wasn’t sure if that would even work, though.
This fire felt hotter, deeper—somewhere inside of my bones—than anything I’d ever felt before. It was a mixture of lust and rebellion.
Harrison took a step back to let the marauder through his door, but before Kelly stepped in, he stopped. “A secret for your vault. The real difference between Stone and me? I know when you’re actin’, darlin’. He never did. Remember that.” He winked at me and then went inside.
It took me a minute to compose myself, to pay attention to Harrison, who had called my name.
“What are you doing here so early?” my brother asked.
Shaking off my encounter with Kelly, I stood taller and walked toward the porch, looking out at the street. “We need to talk, Harrison.”
10
Cash
It would take time to gain her family’s approval. She was the only girl—apart from her sister who had been killed at five—in a family with four boys. So it was their job to give me hell before I earned their sister’s heaven. But compared to the animals I ran with, their level of hell served ice water for dessert.
Even though her brothers were a bit cool, most of her family had suspected that she’d been dating someone. Her mother nodded at me in approval, which made the archer scowl. Her father looked me up and down. Quiet for the most part. He would be. He had known my old man, and when his daughter had been killed, he had come to Ronan Kelly for a favor.
We’d get to that later, after I was done dealing with another situation.
Mac “Capo” Macchiavello.
Mari had brought him with her, and upon introductions, Keely had said that Mari was the only one who called him Capo. He was the man Mari was engaged to. Mac was the reason Harry Boy was throwing back more shots of whiskey, eyeing the man with hatred in his eyes. If Harry Boy had any sense at all, though, he’d keep his distance from the man Mari called Capo.
Dangerous animals sense when other dangerous animals are in their territories.
Mac Macchiavello was a hunter, and he was stomping on mine.
Call it a hunch, but I sensed that this Mac was the same Mac that Rocco had mentioned in my office. He was Italian. Part of that world in some way. The tattoo of a wolf on his hand served as a symbol. Or a warning. He was or had been a Scarpone.
It would’ve been a war right in Harry Boy’s backyard if Mac had been anyone else who belonged to that family, but something about him made me curious. Rocco brought me his card for a reason, and if Mac was the one starting the wars between all of the families, and involving me—I’d find out why.
Curiosity sometimes killed the kitty, but not this big fucking cat. I was too smart for a trap.
If this Mac turned out to be as intelligent as I suspected, he knew that and was using it for his own personal gain.
He wasn’t just a savage animal. He was a clever savage animal.
His assessing blue eyes were trained on me while a woman at the party held his fiancé’s hand up to her nose while she silently judged the ring on her third finger. In the darkness, Mac’s eyes almost glowed blue, matching the black wolf’s eyes on his hand.
He whispered something in Mari’s ear, stood up, and then dumped his empty beer bottle in a trashcan. Grabbing another, he came to stand next to me as though we’d been friends our entire life.
He said nothing.
Nah, he wouldn’t. He had come to me.
It was my turn.
