Out of Turn

CHAPTER FOUR

Kade led me to his car and I slid into the passenger seat when he opened the door. My mind was a blank, processing only the physical necessities of putting one foot in front of the other and breathing in and out.

Coincidentally, that hurt like a sonofabitch.

It was the middle of the night and I had no clue where Kade was taking me, not that I cared. If not for Blane, I’d be dead. He’d saved me. Again.

That rankled.

I was grateful for Blane’s extremely timely intervention. But it bothered me that I hadn’t been able to save myself. I’d almost gotten to my gun, but what was it my dad used to say? Oh yeah.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

It was just a few minutes later when Kade stopped the car in a parking garage.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.

“My place.”

Well. That explained how he’d gotten to my apartment so quickly in the middle of the night. He couldn’t live but five miles away. Of course, those five miles traversed the gap between the bad side of town and the nice side.

I got out of the car before he could open the door for me, anxious to show that I was all right. Now that I was snapping out of my panic and terror, I was embarrassed at my meltdown back at my apartment.

Kade again linked our fingers together as we walked to an elevator. Once inside, he punched the button for the top floor. A few moments later, he was unlocking the door to his apartment and I followed him in.

The space looked remarkably similar to his last apartment, prior to when it had gotten blown up. Hardwood floors, comfortable though expensive-looking furniture, all in creams, beiges, and warm ivories. Floor-to-ceiling windows took up one wall and I drifted toward them to look outside.

I heard Kade toss his keys on the countertop in the kitchen, then the more careful sound of him depositing his gun. I turned to watch him. He’d crouched down and lifted the cuffs of his jeans, removing a gun from one leg and a knife from the other.

He looked dangerous and raw. He’d gotten dressed in a hurry, it seemed, pulling on a white tank, dark jeans, and black boots. The muscles in his biceps flexed as he moved, the veins in his forearms—made prominent by pumping iron—stood out in stark relief under his skin. His black hair was tousled like he’d just rolled out of bed, which made him look even more appealing.

Kade stood, glancing my way. “You want a drink?” He took a highball glass out from a cabinet and opened his freezer, pulling out a bottle of vodka.

I shook my head. “No, thanks.” I was still turning over that new leaf.

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He poured a shot of the clear fluid and tossed it back in one swallow. He eyed me, one brow raised, and I suddenly realized I was staring. I flushed and looked away.

“How’s the ribs?”

“Hurts.”

“I bet.” He set the glass down and disappeared into the bathroom I’d noticed near the entryway. When he came back, he was carrying something. “Come in here,” he said, heading across the living room.

I followed him into an expansive bedroom. A king-size bed took up the center of the space and a leather wingback chair sat by a fireplace in an alcove. The colors were darker in here, the wood of the furniture a deep mahogany.

“Did you decorate this?” I asked.

He snorted. “Right. Please. I hire shit like that.”

Of course he did.

“Lie down,” he ordered, opening the jar he held. “Pull up your shirt.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?” I squeaked.

He rolled his eyes. “This will help with the ache,” he said, holding up the jar.

Oh.

I slipped off my shoes and climbed up onto the bed. The covers were turned back and the pillows askew. Obviously, Kade liked to use the whole bed when he slept. The cotton sheets were of a thread count I’d never be able to afford, their color a deep coffee.

The pillow smelled of Kade and I had to resist the urge to bury my nose in it, instead turning to lie half on my back, half on my side. Kade raised my right arm above my head and I rested it on the pillow. His movements were impersonal as he pushed the fabric of my shirt up, exposing my abdomen and back.

Kade gave a low whistle as he examined the bruises. “Nice. They’re even prettier now.”

The gel was ice-cold and I hissed when it touched me, flinching away from him. But his touch was surprisingly gentle as he rubbed the gel into my skin.

We didn’t speak, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable—and I watched him, his gaze intent on his task. The slow swipes of his hand relaxed me, the gel turning from cold to warm against my skin.

I wondered why he was doing this, bringing me here, defying Blane to do so. Kade wasn’t the type of person to be kind just for the sake of kindness.

“You’re being awfully nice to me,” I said after a while.

“Don’t let that shit get around,” he quipped, his gaze flicking to mine, then away.

A smile tugged at my lips. Kade did that a lot, made me smile no matter the circumstances.

The bruising extended down to my hip and Kade pushed the top of my knit shorts lower, his fingers slipping under the cotton.

And abruptly I went from relaxed to… something else.

I didn’t know what possessed me then. Maybe it was the fact that I was in his bed, or maybe it was the slow heat building inside my skin, or maybe it was just that this was Kade and he was touching me in a soft, slow way that made it seem he wasn’t in any hurry to stop. Whatever it was, I found myself reaching for him, my hand and nails trailing a light path from his shoulder, over his biceps, to his forearm.

Kade froze. His piercing blue eyes lifted to mine and I tried to read what he was thinking, but it was impossible.

The moment became heavy and I was acutely aware of his hand, large enough to span the breadth of my side, as it rested just below my breast.

“Don’t,” he said.

The word was unexpected, as was the stiffly curt way in which it was said.

My face flushed hotly and I yanked my hand back, embarrassed to the marrow of my bones. I wanted to crawl under the covers and hide until he went away.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stammered, yanking my shirt down. I couldn’t look at him. I moved to sit up, to get off his bed, but he pushed me back down into the pillows. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of me, his knees braced on either side of my thighs and his hands pinning my arms over my head.

“Do you have any idea what it’s doing to me, seeing you in my bed?” he hissed.

Kade’s anger both frightened and thrilled me. His face was inches away, his eyes boring into mine. I couldn’t blink, could barely breathe. I gave a tiny shake of my head.

“I’ve fantasized about this,” he said. “It’s taking everything I have not to rip your clothes off and make love to you, injured or not.”

His words sent a bolt of heat through me, his body so close to mine that my chest brushed his when I breathed. My gaze dropped to his mouth and I licked my lips, remembering what it had been like when he’d kissed me before. His hold on my wrists tightened almost to the point of pain. My breath came faster and my pulse pounded.

Our eyes locked, the unholy fire burning in his making the blood pound in my veins. “So what’s stopping you?”

“I’m not your rebound guy. You want to get back at Blane, use someone else.”

Well, that was a douse of cold water if I’d ever felt one.

And just like that, he was up and gone from the room.

I wasn’t proud of myself in that moment. As a matter of fact, I felt pretty much like a complete slut. I’d actually made a pass at Kade and been rejected because of my ex-boyfriend.

I groaned and buried my face in the pillow. This all had to be a nightmare and I’d wake up anytime now.

Well, I did wake up, several hours later, but nothing had changed. I was still in Kade’s bed. Alone.

I’d been covered with a blanket and the duvet at some point during the night and now I pushed them aside. There was a master bath in the bedroom and I went in there. It was beautiful and luxurious. Knowing I didn’t want to face Kade yet, I took a shower, taking an inordinately long time to sniff his shampoo before lathering it into my hair. Searching through the drawers turned up some extra toothbrushes, still in their packaging, so I chose one and brushed my teeth.

I wrapped myself in a towel and used Kade’s brush on my hair, carefully cleaning the long strands caught in the bristles once I was finished. When I came out of the bathroom, Kade was sitting on the edge of the bed.

I paused outside the door, and our eyes caught. I felt my face heat as I remembered last night, and I was unsure what to say or do. Maybe he wouldn’t talk about it and we could pretend it never happened. I was all for that.

“I brought you some things,” he said, motioning to a suitcase sitting a few feet away. “And your purse.”

I still didn’t know what to say. Exactly how long did Kade plan on me staying with him?

“I’m leaving town,” he said. “Thought you might want to come with me. Get you out of Indy for a few days until the mess with Gage is… resolved.”

I think Kade’s version of “resolved” included an obituary, but who was I to complain? It seemed it was going to be either Gage or me, the way things had been going the past couple of days.

So a trip, then. With Kade. “Where?” Not that I particularly cared. Getting away from my life for even a short time sounded heavenly.

Kade’s lips twitched in a smirk. “Vegas, baby.”

I’d never been to Las Vegas before. Well, actually, I hadn’t been much of anywhere before. The heat of the Nevada desert took my breath away and I was glad for the AC blowing full blast in the Mercedes that Kade had rented.

I couldn’t conceal my excitement as I peered out the window like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time. The ride from the airport to the hotel was barely long enough for me to get a glimpse of the looming hotels and casinos flanking the Strip.

“We’ll take the tour later,” Kade said as he pulled up to a hotel. I had a glimpse of a huge fountain as we passed by. “It’s better at night.”

A few days of relaxation sounded too good to be true, and I was grateful Scott had said he’d cover my shifts at The Drop. I’d miss a couple of classes but could get caught up without too much of a problem. Mona had happily agreed to watch Tigger for me, and though the trip was last minute, Kade and I had flown on a private jet borrowed from “a friend” of his.

Barely had Kade stopped the car before my door was being opened by a uniformed valet. Another was getting the luggage from the trunk, and I saw Kade hand his keys and a tip to a third and then pocket a ticket. Kade’s hand settled on the small of my back as he guided me inside the hotel.

The moment my eyes adjusted from the brightness outside to the interior, I stopped short, my mouth gaping. The lobby was the most beautiful I’d ever seen, with a huge glass sculpture crafted into the ceiling, every color of the rainbow shown in gorgeous detail.

“Wow,” I breathed, feeling precisely like Dorothy dropping from Kansas into Oz.

“You like that, huh?” Kade asked with a smile, hooking his sunglasses in the neck of his shirt.

“It’s… amazing,” I said. There were no words to adequately describe the sculpture, and I kept craning my neck to look up as Kade led us to the registration desk.

Although we didn’t have a reservation, that didn’t seem to matter once Kade gave his name. The woman behind the desk looked him up in the computer and said, “Welcome back, Mr. Dennon,” then handed us a small packet. “Joseph will show you to your room.”

Kade thanked her and we followed a uniformed man while another pushed our luggage on a cart behind us. Joseph had to insert a key card into a slot in the elevator before we could access the correct floor, and a few minutes later he was opening the door to the kind of hotel suite I’d only ever read about.

There was an honest-to-goodness foyer in the hotel room, and I passed by doorways going to a bedroom on my left and another on my right. Kade had gotten us a two-bedroom suite. I filed that information away for later, my attention completely absorbed now in the view out the curved windows stretching the width of the wall in front of me.

I barely noticed as Joseph mentioned amenities to Kade and the valet placed our luggage in the bedrooms, my nose just inches from the glass as I tried to take it all in. A few minutes later I heard the door click shut and realized they were gone.

It occurred to me that rooms like this didn’t come cheap. I turned to Kade, who was standing nearby, watching me.

“This has to cost a fortune,” I said. “I won’t be able to pay you back.” Which I knew to be true. There was no way I could afford even my share of a place like this.

“No worries,” Kade said with a shrug. “You’re my plus-one. Besides, I don’t pay for this.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I did a favor for a certain friend a year or so ago. He was very grateful, and he offers accommodations when I’m in town.”

“That must have been some favor,” I said, wondering how illegal it had been to deserve free, luxurious accommodations. It must be nice to have “friends” like Kade’s, I mused.

Kade just smirked at my thinly veiled fishing expedition. “It was.”

“So… now what?” I asked.

“Now you’re going to the spa for a while to relax, then you’re going shopping,” he said, heading to a nearby table to pick up the phone.

Alarm shot through me. “Kade, I can’t afford—”

“Yes, can I get a spa appointment for my guest?”

I listened while Kade made spa and salon appointments for me, and when he hung up the phone I was all up in his business.

“Kade, I can’t afford to do any of that and I’m not having you pay for it,” I said. Even though it all sounded divine—a massage, facial, mani/pedi, the works—I wasn’t about to be anyone’s charity case.

Kade barely glanced at me as he fixed two drinks at the wet bar. When he had finished, he walked over and handed me one of them.

“Why not?” he asked, taking a sip of the clear liquid.

“Because,” I insisted, “it’s just… wrong.”

“Consider it a belated birthday present.”

I gave him a look. His lips twisted and he turned to go sit on the couch, an arm stretched along its back.

“I want to. I can afford it. So enough already.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Unless you’re ethically opposed to being pampered?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Good,” he said. “Besides, I wasn’t kidding about the plus-one thing. I need you to look your best.”

“Why?”

Kade smiled. “This is a business trip, princess. You can help enhance the image. Because in Vegas, image is everything.”

He finished his drink and stood. “And get some new clothes. Swimsuits, a dress or two, something for clubbing—whatever you need. Charge it to the room.”

I bristled. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”

“I didn’t bring you any.”

And with that, he disappeared into one of the bedrooms. A few minutes later, I heard the shower running.

Sure enough, when I opened my suitcase I found toiletries, lingerie, and my peacock-blue stilettos. That was all. For a man who’d rejected my tentative advance last night, it was an odd assembly of items.

I chose not to analyze that. It was time to leave for the spa, and I couldn’t help being excited. So I could either ruin my pleasure at the unexpected luxuries Kade wanted me to have by worrying about the cost, or I could just roll with it.

It took only a moment to decide on the latter.

The massage was divine, once I got over the uncomfortably awkward feeling of a complete stranger touching me. Then there was another awkward moment when the woman giving me the massage got an eyeful of the bruises darkening my skin.

“I got hit by a car,” I tried to explain, but my voice was muffled by the headrest and I wasn’t sure she understood me. She said a few words under her breath and carefully skirted the bruised area. The scent of eucalyptus was heavy in the air, the sounds of the ocean drifted over me, and I nearly fell asleep, I became so relaxed.

After I dressed, the woman brought me some water and I thanked her. She nodded politely and then said, “If you’re having problems with your boyfriend, there are places you can go, people who can help you.”

It took me a minute to cotton on to what she was implying. “Oh no, it’s nothing like that,” I said, my face burning as I realized she thought my boyfriend had beat me. “I really did get hit by a car.”

Her smile was a little sad and I could tell she didn’t believe me. “They never mess up the face, you know,” she said. “Certain kind of men. Just where people won’t see.”

I didn’t know what to say, how to convince her, or if it was worth the bother. It made me a little sad, though, to realize she saw enough women with bruises to know that sort of thing.

My mood a little darker, I went next to the salon where I was waxed and buffed and primped to within an inch of my life. Wax was put in places that had never before had it, and after today I was sure I wouldn’t want it there again. I tried to argue with the tiny Japanese lady, but she was firm in her mantra: “Must do. Vegas. Bikini. Everyone do.”

Speaking of bikini, my eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when a selection of swimwear was presented to me. I’d never in my life owned a swimsuit as daring as the ones I now tried on.

“Mr. Dennon said to come to the pool once you are finished shopping,” the lady assisting me said. She’d popped in while I was half-naked, but didn’t bat an eye, just held up the top for me.

“Um, okay, thanks.”

So Kade was at the pool and I was supposed to “enhance” his image. And spend his money doing it. Okay, how did a woman enhance a man’s image while in Vegas? Only one way that I could think of.

“I’ll take that one,” I said, pointing to a suit I’d previously ruled out.

An hour later I’d set Kade back several thousand dollars and was trying to ignore the niggle of guilt I felt. I’d seen some other women in the spa and salon. I figured I could hold my own with any of them, given enough money to dress the part. Lucky for me, Kade had the money. At least, I hoped he did.

When I walked from the hotel to the pool, I held my head high and pulled my shoulders back. I added a little extra sway in my hips and I could see heads turning as I passed. The sky-high stiletto sandals I wore were held to my feet by a thin strap of leather that snaked between my newly painted toes and then inched up to circle my ankles. I had on oversized mirrored sunglasses and my hair was left in expensively tousled waves down my back. But it was the bikini that seemed to seal the deal.

At least losing my day job had left me time to lay out some this summer, so my tanned skin contrasted nicely against the white bikini. The top was a demi-cup bra that pushed my rather ample assets up and together for the best possible display. Two ties kept it in place around my neck and back. The string bikini bottom was tiny and I was glad now for the Japanese lady’s insistence on waxing. I carried a beach bag that held the matching white lace cover-up, a sleeveless dress that came to mid-thigh. I’d had the salon girl smear makeup over my bruises, so they were invisible against my skin.

I spotted Kade from some distance away—it was a big pool—and stiffened. He was sitting on a daybed under an umbrella, which was fine.

It was the topless woman sitting next to him that set my teeth on edge.

Kade didn’t appear to be paying her much attention, which mollified me somewhat as I made my way toward him, my heels click-clacking on the concrete. He lazily sipped the drink in his hand as the woman talked to him, her hand moving to rest on his thigh. My grip tightened on my beach bag.

I moved closer and could tell when Kade spotted me. His body went still for a moment. He slid his glasses down his nose to peer over the tops. Even from a distance, it seemed I could feel the touch of his gaze as it raked me from head to toe. His lips moved as he said something to the woman and he didn’t even glance her way as she abruptly got to her feet and whirled, marching away in an obvious huff.

She spied me and made right for me. I stopped when she blocked my path.

“I guess you are zee something better,” she sneered. Her accent was thick.

“Pardon me?”

“Ee say to ‘beat it,’ ” she huffed. “Zat something better had come along.”

My smile was thin lipped, the green monster digging its claws in deep. “He’s right.”

She cursed fast and fluently in another language. I assumed it was cursing, anyway. I’d heard plenty of cursing in English and thought I could tell when it was being done in another language, especially when I was the target.

I’d had enough by now and interrupted her tirade. “Move along,” I said. “We’re done here.” The steel in my voice shut her up and I stepped around her, dismissing her entirely as I approached Kade.

“This spot taken?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“It is now.”

I hid a satisfied smile as I arranged myself on the daybed. Kade watched me unabashedly as I reclined with a sigh. A beat passed.

“You’re staring,” I said. “Am I not helping to enhance your image?”

“Well, you’ve certainly drawn attention,” he said dryly.

I tipped my head so I could see him. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, but how the fuck am I supposed to concentrate with you wearing that?”

His obvious irritation made me laugh outright. “Just trying to do my job, boss,” I teased. I was rewarded with a half smile, the corner of his lips tipping upward. I took the chance now that my eyes were hidden behind sunglasses to take him in. He’d obviously been in the pool, as his hair was still damp. Kade wore dark blue swim trunks and had thrown on a thin, white linen shirt. The shirt was unbuttoned, with the cuffs rolled up.

Kade raised a hand and signaled a waiter, who hurried over. “What do you want to drink, princess?” he asked.

“Just water,” I said.

The waiter turned to go, but Kade halted him with a word before turning back to me.

“Water? Are you kidding me?”

I hesitated. “I’ve been… trying to watch my carbs.”

Kade made a disgusted noise. “Bring the lady a mai tai,” he said. After the waiter had departed, Kade said, “Spill it. What’s going on?”

I resolutely refused to look at him when I replied. “I’ve just been drinking a lot lately, that’s all. Trying to cut back.” Blane’s condemnations rang in my ears.

A moment passed. “Well, one mai tai isn’t going to knock you on your ass, so I think you’re safe. Now on to more important things.” He grabbed a brown plastic bottle from the nearby table and handed it to me. “I need sunscreen.” His grin was wicked and I couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips.

“Fine,” I said, rearranging so I sat back on my knees. “Turn around and take your shirt off.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Kade’s teasing bothered me. After last night, I didn’t really want to be reminded of the attraction between us, especially when it seemed nothing was going to come of it. I’d been fighting the draw I felt for Kade for months now and the one moment I’d tentatively made a move, he’d shut me down.

My mood worsened as I spread the sunscreen on his back. His nicely muscled, broad-shouldered, naked back. Even the scars from the abuse he’d endured as a child appealed to me. It had been months since I’d had sex and my libido was throwing a cranky fit.

I finished my task and snapped the lid back on the bottle. “Done,” I said curtly, flinging myself back on my side and taking a long gulp of the mai tai the waiter had left for me.

“Your turn,” Kade said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I smiled sweetly. “I can do it myself, thanks anyway.” My tone was pure bitch, but I didn’t care.

Kade’s eyebrow lifted, but he made no comment, simply lying back in the bed and folding his arms behind his head. I couldn’t tell whether his eyes were open or closed behind the sunglasses.

I took my sweet time applying the sunscreen, some not-so-nice part of me wanting to get back at Kade for his unrelenting sexual teasing. And perhaps I achieved my goal because after a good five minutes or so, Kade snapped, “Are you done yet?”

“Don’t want to get burned,” I said breezily, swinging my hair to the side so I could apply the lotion to one shoulder. “The sun here is more potent than back home, you know.”

Kade muttered a curse and abruptly got up, tossed aside his sunglasses, walked to the pool, and dove in.

I smiled.

The sun was hot, even in the shade of the umbrella, and I was glad for my cold drink. I sighed, perfectly content and relaxed, and feeling better than I had in weeks. I didn’t think about Blane. I didn’t think about the bills waiting for me. I didn’t think about Gage wanting to kill me. I didn’t think about anything, and it was wonderful.

“Hi there. May I sit down?”

I opened my eyes to see a very nice-looking man standing next to me. He was holding another mai tai and he offered it to me.

“I thought I might buy you a drink,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling back as I took the drink from him. He sat down next to me.

“I’m Trace,” he said. “And you are?”

“Kathleen.”

Trace was tall, with a nice build, sandy-brown hair, and deep-chocolate eyes. And he was looking at me as though he’d like to eat me up with a spoon, which I decided wasn’t a bad thing. He was also easy to talk to and I found out he was in town on business, that he was from LA but currently lived in Seattle. He was just getting around to asking me to dinner when Kade reappeared.

Trace and I both glanced up at Kade and I sucked in a breath. His face was cold and hard, which I knew signaled dangerous territory on Kade.

“That’s my seat,” Kade said to Trace in a voice that managed to be calm and yet still reek with menace. “And that’s my girl.”

I opened my mouth to object to that last part, but Trace had already jumped to his feet.

“Sorry about that, man, she didn’t say.” Trace shot me an accusing glare before turning and walking away. Kade took his spot and sat back, sliding his sunglasses on again. Water droplets covered his chest and thighs while rivulets ran from his hair, trailing wet paths down his neck.

My jaw was still slack in astonishment at how quickly my potential date had been routed by Kade. Then I went from shocked to supremely pissed off in three seconds flat.

“What the hell, Kade?” I burst out. “He was asking me to dinner and you just scared him off! And for the record, I am not your girl. You made that pretty damn clear last night.” My fists were clenched tightly in anger and my fingernails dug into my palms. “Besides,” I finished snottily, “if you’re not going to be my revenge lay, then stop scaring off other candidates.”

I knew that last one was a low blow, but that didn’t stop me from saying it. A part of me that I used to know was shocked and dismayed at my behavior, how horrible I was being to Kade. But I couldn’t stop. It was as if I was daring him to do what Blane had done, reject me and leave me. Maybe him seeing the very worst of me would speed the process along so I wouldn’t be so devastated when it finally happened.

Kade stared at me, his face serious, though his eyes were still hidden from view. The tension between us grew during our stare-down until I couldn’t take it anymore. I swallowed hard and leaned back in the bed, my eyes stinging behind my sunglasses.

“I think it’s fuckin’ hot out here,” Kade mused.

I jerked my head around. “What?” Where had that come from and what, if anything, did it have to do with what I’d just said? He was talking about the weather?

“You need to cool off.”

Before I could say anything to that, Kade was up and had lifted me in his arms. I realized what he was going to do a split second before he did it.

“Kade, no—!”

He dropped me unceremoniously into the pool. I came up spluttering and spewing obscenities at him. He just laughed and slid into the water.

“You ruined my hair, asshole!” I cupped my hand and sent a spray of water his way. “And my shoes!” I splashed him again, but he just laughed and turned aside, which infuriated me more. I sprang at him, wanting to dunk him and maybe hold him underwater. Not for long, just maybe a minute… or three.

Kade caught me easily, holding my wrists behind my back with one hand and snagging me around the waist with the other.

“Those are four hundred–dollar shoes you just ruined,” I snapped, trying to jerk away from him.

“Worth every penny,” he retorted.

I managed to get free, then abruptly sank. I flailed my arms, realizing he’d moved us into deeper water where I couldn’t touch the bottom. My new sandals made it impossible for me to swim. Kade pulled me up and I clung to his shoulders, coughing.

“Damn you, Kade,” I gasped at last, blinking water out of my eyes. His shoulders were slippery from the sunscreen and I tightened my hold.

He took my sunglasses and perched them on top of my head. I was briefly glad the salon had used waterproof mascara on my lashes. Raccoon eyes was not the look I was going for.

“If you think I’m going to let you throw yourself at any man who buys you a drink, you’re sadly mistaken,” he said.

“What does it matter to you?” I retorted.

“If you want to go all self-destructive, be my guest,” Kade said. “You’re talking to someone who takes self-destruction to an art form. But I didn’t bring you here to watch you implode. You’re here on business, so destroy your life on your own time.”

“So suddenly sleeping with a guy is self-destructive?” I fumed. “Isn’t that a little judgmental, coming from you?”

“Absolutely.”

I stared at him, no quick comeback springing to mind, which was always frustrating around quick-witted Kade. No doubt I’d think of something in about ten minutes, but by then it would be too late.

Kade’s black hair shone like a raven’s wing in the sunlight, the water and my own face reflecting back at me from his sunglasses. I was suddenly acutely aware of our bodies pressed together, my legs drifting next to his. My anger drained away as my pulse quickened. He was hard everywhere. Literally. And I felt an answering ache between my thighs.

Kade turned, moving us to shallower water before lifting me to sit on the side of the pool. I wondered for a moment what he was doing, though it became clear as he lifted an ankle and began undoing the strap that held the sandal in place.

Hormones screaming in frustration, I popped my sunglasses back on and leaned back on my elbows, not bothering to keep my knees together. Two could play this game.

Kade deposited the sandal next to me and went to work on the other.

“How’s the ribs?” he asked.

I glanced down. The water had washed off a lot of the makeup, so the lovely black-and-blue marks were back in all their glory. I sighed.

“Looks like the makeup came off,” I said. “Now more people are probably going to think you beat me.”

“What?” Kade frowned and his hands had stilled on my ankle.

I shrugged. “The massage lady thought my boyfriend hits me. I tried to tell her the truth, but I don’t think she bought it. So I made sure they put makeup on the bruises. I didn’t really want to look like the battered girlfriend.” My tone was wry. I was the battered ex-girlfriend all right, but my wounds weren’t visible.

He resumed work on removing my shoe, placing it next to the first. When he was done, he stood between my spread knees, the water lapping at his waist.

“You realize that swimsuit is slightly see-through now,” Kade said, his hands resting on the backs of my calves. They slid slowly up to the back of my knees, then back down to my ankles, then repeated their journey. The touch was as maddening as it was intoxicating.

“Is it?” I asked. “I hadn’t noticed.” Compared to the scraps of fabric some of the barely clad women around me were wearing, even a see-through white swimsuit was tame. I’d seen enough naked boobs today to last me a lifetime.

“I like this.” Kade touched the thin gold chain the wardrobe lady had added at the last minute. It circled my neck like a loose collar, with a lone strand extending from the circle down between my breasts to stop at my navel, where it formed another loop that hung low around my hips.

His fingers lightly traced the chain as it lay against my skin, stopping just below my breasts. He tugged the chain and the gold strand pressed lightly into my skin. I obeyed the unspoken command and sat up, the collar suddenly having a different feeling to it than merely being pretty. And judging by the sudden rush of blood in my ears, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

I couldn’t look away from Kade, and the rest of the people around us seemed to fade away. His hands closed over my hips and he pulled me closer to him. With me perched on the edge of the pool, our height was about the same and for once I could look him directly in the eyes. My legs automatically circled his ribs.

He leaned forward, one hand brushing my hair back as his mouth settled near my ear. My breath caught somewhere in my throat as his lips grazed my skin.

“In a moment, I want you to look over my left shoulder to two o’clock.”

His whisper made my eyes jerk open and I would have pulled away, but his grip tightened on my neck, stopping me.

“What are you talking about?” I hissed.

“My target,” Kade said. “Do you see him?”

I glanced over where he’d said and sure enough, there was a man inside an open cabana, talking on his cell. He wore drawstring linen pants and a matching button-down shirt, left open at the neck. Two other men were in there with him. As I watched, he lifted his head and looked at me. I closed my eyes and leaned against Kade, running my fingers through his hair.

“I see him,” I breathed in Kade’s ear. My heart was still pounding, but now for another reason. “Are you going to kill him?” I had to force the words out. Yes, I’d always known what Kade did for a living, it had just never been as real to me as it seemed right now.

Kade pulled back until we were practically nose to nose. “What would you say if I said yes?”

I swallowed. “I’d ask you not to.”

“And you think just because it’s you who asks me that I’ll do it?”

“Why would I have any influence over what you do?” It was a valid question. Trying to persuade Kade upon a course of action was like trying to coax a tiger into obedience. He had a mind of his own.

Kade didn’t answer, and after a moment he cocked a half smile.

“He’s paying me to hack him, not kill him.”

“What do you mean?”

Kade’s shoulders lifted in a shrug underneath my hands. “A new business venture I started,” he said. “High-level security penetration testing. They hire me to make sure their business is really secure.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Well if he hired you, isn’t he going to know what you’re here to do?”

“Nope.” Kade’s smirk reminded me of a smug teenage boy who’d managed to steal a girl’s virginity before delivering her back home to her overprotective father. “They don’t know who I am or what I look like. They hire me through a representative, then get notified of the test results.”

“How?”

“If I make it in, I take double my fee.”

“Which is?” Tacky to ask, I know, but I couldn’t help it. Curiosity got the better of my manners.

Kade leaned forward and whispered in my ear a number that made my jaw go slack.

“You like me a little more now, princess?” he said.

I drew back sharply. “It’s been a while since you implied I was a gold digger,” I snapped, hurt.

“What else do I have to offer?”

Kade’s bitter reply made me frown and I wished I could see his eyes behind the dark glasses. His hands seemed to be touching me almost without conscious thought, one grasping the back of my neck while the other settled just above the top of my bikini bottom, his thumb brushing my lower back.

“Why would you say something like that?” I asked. “You’re a good man, Kade.”

“You make me wish that were true.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Kade had discarded his sunglasses and now his mouth was sucking lightly on my neck. My nails dug into his shoulders, his chest brushing against mine and making the blood heat in my veins. My eyes drifted closed at the soft touch of his tongue against my skin.

“Hit me.”

My eyes fluttered open again. “What?” Surely I’d misheard him.

“My target. He’s been keeping an eye on you. The bruises gave me an idea. So in a moment, slap me as hard as you can.” Kade’s words spoken in my ear made me swallow hard.

“I don’t want to hit you,” I said. “I… can’t.”

“You’ve done it before.”

The reminder made me wince.

“Not a whole lotta time, princess,” Kade said. “Let’s fight. Make it look good. I’ll drag you out of here and we’ll make a nice big scene.”

“I’m not hitting you,” I repeated more firmly. I didn’t care if it was playacting. I regretted the times I’d struck Kade and wasn’t about to do it again.

Kade heaved a long-suffering sigh, his breath warm as it fluttered against me.

“Fine,” he said. “Then I promise I’ll pay you well if you make this look good and forgive me later.”

“What—” The word was cut off on a gasp as Kade’s hand fisted in my hair, tugging my head back sharply. It hurt. Not terribly, but it surprised me.

“Now flinch like I’m going to hit you,” Kade hissed.

I did what he said, cringing away from him. He pulled again on my hair and I made a noise this time, a little cry of pain. A quick glance over and I saw Kade’s target was no longer on his phone and was watching us.

Kade jerked me closer and I whimpered. His lips were at my ear. “Nice job. Is he watching?”

“Yes.”

Then Kade was up out of the water and hauling me none too gently to my feet. He’d grabbed his sunglasses and put them back on, and the look of cold fury on his face would have terrified me if I hadn’t known this was a setup. As it was, my hands still shook as he dragged me to the daybed to get my things.

“Put some clothes on, unless you want everyone to see you for the fucking whore you are.”

Kade’s scathing insult was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, including the man in the cabana.

I dug my cover-up from my bag and jerked it on over my head, pretending I was hurriedly obeying out of fear.

“What the fuck is that? I hate it, and it probably cost me way more money than you’re worth.”

Kade reached out, grabbing a fistful of the fragile lace and gave a sharp tug. It ripped easily, parting down my front until it hung limply from my shoulders.

I stood in shock. That had cost a lot of money and Kade had just destroyed it. Granted, it wasn’t my money, but still.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” I exclaimed, anger making my voice shrill.

In a flash, Kade had me by the back of my neck and was in my face.

“Don’t think for a second you can talk to me like that and get away with it,” he threatened. His hold on me was firm and didn’t hurt, but I made noises like it did.

“Everything all right here?”

The voice came from behind and Kade abruptly released me. I turned to see the target had come up to us. No wonder Kade had been laying it on thick.

The man looked me over carefully, his gaze pausing on the bruises decorating my torso, before glancing at Kade.

“Everything’s fine,” Kade said, his voice smooth and cold.

“I wasn’t asking you,” he said, turning back to me. “Miss? You all right?”

“She’s fine, too,” Kade said, and now I could hear danger in his tone. “So fuck off, friend.”

Kade took my elbow and steered me back to the hotel. I glanced back once and saw the man staring after us, a frown on his face.

Once we were walking down the hall to our room, I chanced a question.

“How’d you know you’d get his attention that way?” Not every man cared when a woman was being pushed around.

“He has a daughter about your age,” Kade replied. “It was a hunch.” He unlocked the room and held the door open for me as I passed by him.

“Are you all right?” he asked as the door swung closed.

“Well, you ruined my shoes and my cover-up,” I said with a sigh. “If I’d known you were going to do that, I’d have gone to Walmart for them.” I could’ve bought groceries for months on what those things had cost.

Kade tossed his sunglasses on a table and stepped in front of me. “I don’t give a shit about the clothes,” he said. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

My stomach twisted at the look of concern on his face and I couldn’t answer right away, not that it seemed to matter. He was busy inspecting me himself, circling behind me to lift my hair. I guessed he was checking for marks. His hand brushed the back of my neck and shoulder.

“I wish you wouldn’t be so cavalier with the stuff I bought,” I said, trying not to think about his hands on me.

“I’ll buy you new ones.”

“It’s not that,” I said, turning to face him and forcing him to drop my hair. “It’s a waste of money. Your money. And it bothers me.”

He frowned. “Why are you so hung up on this?”

“I’m not,” I protested, trying to figure out how to put into words the gnawing worry that I felt. “I just know how hard money is to come by and I don’t like seeing you waste what you have.”

Kade’s blue-eyed gaze searched mine. “Until Blane came for me,” he finally said, “I was dirt poor. Food was a luxury I never had enough of. Clothes and shoes that actually fit even more so. I get it, okay? I’ll take care of it. Trust me.”

I gave him a somewhat skeptical look, but the little knot of anxiety in my stomach eased.

“If you’re this consumed with money, I’m guessing you’ve been living pretty close to the bone lately,” he observed.

My face grew hot, my embarrassment acute at his perceptiveness. I shrugged and turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at him. “It is what it is. It wasn’t like I was going to beg Blane for my job back.”

“You shouldn’t have to beg Blane for anything.”

The fierceness of his reply surprised me and I glanced at him.

“I meant what I said at the pool,” he continued more calmly. “I’ll pay you to work this job with me. You did good out there. We’ve gotten his interest and you have his sympathy. We’ll play up the damsel in distress thing, let you distract him while I break into his room.”

“How do we do that?” I asked, somewhat alarmed. Breaking into his room sounded dangerous.

“Let me figure that out,” he said. “In the meantime, go shower and get dressed.” His mouth lifted in a half smile and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “It’s time to party, Vegas style.”