Not that I care who she talks to.
No, the problem is bigger than that.She’s a beautiful girl at a party full of men who steal beautiful girls, and walking around like she owns the joint.This might be her father’s mansion but she knows he’s in on the smuggling ring, so that makes this place dangerous.And yet she’s acting like nothing is going to touch her.I don’t know what sort of life she’s used to up in New York, but down here there is no protection from the men we’re chasing.People will shoot to kill.They won’t care who she’s related to or who’s protecting her.
Hell, her father may have ordered her death if he think she’s down here to make trouble for him.
I just need her to calm down for a moment.Five minutes.An hour.My men are out in the city finding Dom Landry’s men and taking them into our dungeon for questioning.If she’ll sit still for an hour, I’ll be able to add to our bank of knowledge, and we can move through the party with better direction.
She might have a plan–hell, she’s probably in the middle of it right now–but if it includes her going under cover with men who destroy girls for a living, I’m not going to allow it.Not until I have all the information and a way to get her back out again.
A voice in my head tells me firmly that it’s not my call, because she’s no longer my girl and hasn’t shown any willingness to accept me as a protector.She’s also never taken well to being ordered around, so I can’t exactly pull her to the side and tell her to cool it until she gets my permission to carry on.
Though the thought of doing that brings a smile to my lips.
Brooks looks up, catches me smiling, and glares at me like she’s just caught me having inappropriate thoughts about her.
In all fairness, she’d be right.Because half of me knows I don’t have any right to her, but the other half is picturing grabbing her by the hair and dragging her away from that man.Finding a deserted closet and having my way with her.
I turn away from the scene, desperate to get my imagination under control, and catch sight of the man Brooks was talking to when I first arrived.The one who took the girl away from her and returned her to the man dressed like he’s on his way to run a circus.He’s staring at Brooks, his small, dark eyes intent and considering.He tilts his head with interest, and then nods.Seconds later he’s gone, leaving nothing but the stink of a trafficker in his wake.
I don’t like the way he was looking at Brooks.
I like even less that I suspect that to be part of the plan she hasn’t told me about.
***
I shadow Brooks for another half hour, watching her flirt and drink with my fists clenched and my mouth sealed shut.I want to kill every fucking man in this room.Torture the men who’ve spent the night staring at her.I’m ready to outright slaughter the group that stands around Circus Man, watching her move around the room.It’s clear that they’ve clocked her, and even more clear that they want her.
I want to tear their eyes from their heads and stomp them into oblivion.But I don’t have any of my men here and though I’m reckless, I’m smart enough to know I’m only one man against ten.In a house that belongs to one of my many enemies.
So I keep my hands to myself and settle for glaring at Brooks, who is just as responsible for the situation as Captain Circus.Well.Maybe notjustas responsible.The last time I checked, she wasn’t subjecting innocent girls to smuggling and sex rings.But this is her game, now, and I’m not letting her get out of her share of the responsibility.
When she finally gets to the edge of the room, I take my chance and bulldoze through the crowd, grabbing her and pushing her out onto the patio.
“What are you doing?”she hisses, jerking her arm out of my grasp.
I don’t let her put me off, though.I use my body to push her all the way to the railing and then keep going until she’s bent backward over the stone balustrade.
“What are you complaining about?Given how you’ve been acting all night, I figure you must like men who treat you rough.”
The ice in her glare could freeze the blood in my veins, if I were fully human.
“I’m on a job and you know it.And you’re blowing my cover right now.”
I lean in and brush my lips over the column of her neck while my fingertips tickle along the top of her breasts.Her skin is silky and smooth.Hot, like she’s got a furnace burning inside of her.And just like that, I remember what it’s like to be inside her, her body squeezing me like she’s trying to keep me there forever.
She is hot.And tight, and wet.And the memory drives me nearly out of my mind.Especially when she’s putting herself in danger with men who will take advantage of that sort of thing.
“I suspect they just think I’m testing the merchandise,” I breathe, letting my lips dance over her skin.“They probably see a potential buyer.”
“I’m going to kill you,” she says bluntly.
She doesn’t reach for her knife, though, and that calls her bluff.
“Liar,” I whisper.I drag my hand up the outside of her hip, find where she’s stowed her knife, and chuckle.“Good girl.”
I don’t miss the gasp that bursts from her mouth at that, and I grin against her skin.So, Brooks has a good girl kink.I never would have guessed.
But it’s good to know.
