Текст книги "Beautifully Loyal"
Автор книги: Nicole Edwards
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 25 страниц)
“Yes.”
“You want him fucking your sweet ass while I’m plowin’ this pretty pussy?”
“Both of you. I want to feel you both.”
Just thinking about that night made his cock twitch. The idea of fucking Ashlynn’s sexy little ass while Jase filled her pussy had been the exact setting for many of his fantasies since that day. Of course, his thoughts had drifted further, imagining himself and Jase…
Fuck.
Not that any of it mattered.
Fantasies they were. Nothing more than fucking fantasies.
Ashlynn Adorite was off-limits. And by default, so was Jase. Period.
Swallowing hard, Leyton broke eye contact with her and turned his attention back to his boss. There was no sense giving in to Ashlynn’s lure, because Max had already warned Leyton away from his sister.
Oh, and one more thing … second-in-command or not, I better not ever catch you fuckin’ my sister anywhere. Certainly not in my bed or my favorite fucking chair, or anywhere else in my goddamn house. Got it?
That had been Max’s response to Leyton’s rant from the night Max had been shot. The night Leyton had sincerely believed he’d lost the closest thing to family that he had. In a moment of sheer panic, Leyton had threatened to fuck Ashlynn in an attempt to get Max to fight for his life.
It’d worked.
And now, Ashlynn was officially off-limits to Leyton. As far as Leyton was concerned, loyalty to Max came first and foremost.
Thirteen years ago, almost to the day, Max had saved Leyton’s life. Twice.
Sixteen years old, Leyton had been at a point where he no longer cared what happened to him. He’d been attempting to fit in even after four years in a new place, his father had been beating on him every chance he got, and Leyton hadn’t been able to see anything in his future. Max had been his saving grace when he’d first arrived in Dallas, becoming his one and only true friend, but during those dark years, Leyton had felt as though their friendship had become so one-sided he had no idea what he could offer Max. But his entire world had changed when Max had intervened after he’d happened upon Leyton getting ready to take his own life.
That night had ultimately changed the course of Leyton’s life forever.
During the years that had followed, Leyton had learned the true meaning of loyalty. The Adorites … well, the Adorites were a different breed, He’d even known it then. It didn’t take long for Leyton to realize what Max’s family was up to. They were mafia, plain and simple. Ruthless men and women who were both loathed and respected by every person they came in contact with. Their loyalty to one another went above and beyond anything else.
And now, as he sat at the table with the entire family—Max, Courtney, Brent, Ashlynn, Victor, Aidan, Madison, and Genevieve, along with the main enforcers—Leyton accepted that he’d become part of the family.
Which was the very reason Leyton couldn’t entertain the notion of giving in to the temptation that Ashlynn presented.
No matter how fucking much he wanted to.
Chapter Three
Anyone have a cure for boredom?
Ashlynn Adorite listened to the conversation that was taking place around her. She’d been pushing her food around on her plate for the past half hour, wishing the night would end. Or at least the dinner portion of the evening.
She wasn’t hungry.
Not for food, anyway.
She wasn’t interested in conversation.
Not at the moment.
And most importantly, she didn’t want to sit there and pretend she was.
It had been a long day and sitting still was becoming too difficult. She wanted to move around, burn off some of the excess energy that she’d stored up. Her afternoon meeting had gone as she’d expected it to, definitely nothing to write home about, but most of the time that was the case. A little arm-twisting, a few well-placed smiles, and the dumb fuckers she dealt with on a daily basis were eating out of her hands.
But she wasn’t working now. She was supposed to be having a good time.
For the most part, she looked forward to these dinners. Seeing her brothers and sister, even her mother, wasn’t a hardship. They were close-knit, got along well, and when they weren’t talking about business, she could usually enjoy herself.
She just wasn’t feeling it today.
Initially, she’d thought tormenting Leyton would be enough to brighten her day, but as usual, he was doing his best to pretend she wasn’t there. Which annoyed the fuck out of her, because she knew how much he wanted her. He was simply being stubborn.
That didn’t stop her from admiring him. With his dirty-blond hair, those bright, celadon-green eyes, the expensive, tailored suit that covered an impressive body, and the air of confidence he projected, Leyton Matheson was pretty fucking easy on the eyes.
“You okay?” Jase asked, leaning over and speaking directly into her ear.
“Never better,” she said by rote. It was the answer everyone expected from her these days, though it was the furthest from the truth.
“Careful,” Jase teased, his raspy voice low and sensual, “or I’ll tell Walter you don’t like his cookin’. You know how sensitive he is.”
“Do it, and I’ll cut you off for a month,” she mumbled, offering him a sweet smile.
“You wouldn’t last five minutes,” Jase replied, his lips discreetly brushing her ear and sending a shiver down her spine.
The beautiful man who watched her back, gave her advice, and yes, warmed her bed at night, knew her all too well. And he was right; she wouldn’t last one day, much less a month. He’d recently told her she had an addiction to sex. Ashlynn wasn’t sure that was the case, but she could admit she used sex—and sometimes booze—to mask the pain and fill the void that stirred deep inside her. She slid a glance toward her mother and frowned. She’d learned from the best, apparently.
She needed some air.
Just when Ashlynn was getting ready to make an excuse to leave the table, Courtney’s cell phone rang.
“Sorry, I need to get this,” Courtney said, hitting the button and getting up from her seat. She didn’t make it far before she turned back to the table, the phone to her ear. “Yeah, Dom. We’re here. Send ’em over. We’ll be waiting.”
“What’s wrong?” Max inquired as all eyes turned to them.
“RT needs our help. A guy’s been kidnapped, and he’s bein’ held somewhere close to here.”
Aw, wasn’t that fucking cute. They were consorting with the enemy. Again.
Though Ashlynn adored her sister-in-law, she still had reservations about her family getting so involved with Courtney’s. As far as Ashlynn was concerned, the Adorites had a lot to lose, and trusting the Kogans wasn’t something she was all that comfortable with. When she’d mentioned it to Max, he’d assured her that they were on the same page and he would always be careful.
Max nodded at Courtney, then his eyes met Ashlynn’s briefly. “Stick around. We might need your help.”
Great. Fine. She’d stick around, but rather than pretend to be eating any longer, she was going to do something constructive—like have a drink—to pass the time.
Pushing back from her seat, she smiled down at Jase. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Not waiting for anyone to join her, Ashlynn disappeared to the formal living room, helping herself to a glass of Max’s finest brandy, which he kept in a decanter on a table in the corner. After pouring her drink, she wandered over to the windows and stared out into the night. The swimming pool was lit up, the rotating lights causing the water to change colors every fifteen seconds or so. It would’ve been peaceful if not for the voices she could hear coming toward her.
“Did you see the pumpkin on Max’s porch?” Madison asked as she joined Ashlynn a few moments later.
Ashlynn nodded, smiling at the memory of seeing that thing sitting there. Her brother had killed people in cold blood, didn’t bat an eye at forcing someone to do his bidding, and yet he’d softened enough to carve a damn pumpkin for a holiday none of them had ever celebrated.
“I heard Courtney’s niece came over and convinced Max to carve it,” her sister said.
“More like a dare,” Brent offered when he graced them with his presence. “One Courtney masterminded, I’m sure.”
“That makes more sense,” Ashlynn noted, holding her glass with both hands as she turned to face her siblings. “Max isn’t the pumpkin type. At least I didn’t think he was.”
“I think it’s cute,” Madison noted.
“You know I can hear you, right?” Max’s deep voice echoed in the space, bouncing off the windows and the hardwood, as he and Leyton walked into the room, followed closely by Victor. “And for the record, we started by droppin’ pumpkins from the balcony.”
“Of course you did.” Victor chuckled. “After all, you’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
“Damn right I do,” Max grumbled, but a smile tilted the corners of his lips. “I try to remind my wife of that all the damn time.”
Ashlynn tossed back the rest of her drink, then went to pour herself another while the rest of them took a seat on the huge U-shaped sectional that took up most of the room. She preferred to stand, feeling too antsy to sit down. While she sipped her drink, she glanced over at Leyton. He was staring back at her from his position against the opposite wall. Or perhaps glaring was a better way to put it. He didn’t appear happy to see her, yet he wasn’t looking away.
It was during moments like this one that she could sense his interest, practically feel the steady warmth of his hands on her body. The way his eyes perused her from head to toe caused arousal to stir deep inside of her. Before she could confront him, a commotion sounded near the front door, and then several big men wandered by, following Courtney into Max’s office. The Sniper 1 Security team, she assumed.
“They need any help?” Brent asked, his question directed at Max.
“I’ll go find out,” Max told them as he nodded at Leyton.
Ashlynn wanted to come, too, so without waiting to be invited, she followed her brother and Leyton into Max’s office, then kept to the back of the room as the others seated themselves on the black leather sofas.
There was a cell phone sitting on the glass table between them, a deep voice rumbling from it. “Guy’s name is Thurston McElroy.”
“Thurston? Seriously? Who names their kid Thurston?” one of the guys asked.
Ashlynn knew who these people were because she had met them before. Most of them, anyway. The one she recognized most was Courtney’s brother, Trace. Then of course, there was RT and Z. And Courtney. There was only one person she didn’t recognize.
“Anyway,” the voice on the phone continued, “after I identified what account the wire had come from, I was able to get all the information we could ever want on this guy. And it looks like Amit’s GPS is still active, because the address I located for Thurston is, in fact, the same location the signal is coming from. Provided Amit is alive, we should be able to get in and get out, no problems.”
“The guy’s expecting the painting,” RT explained to the others. “I have no intention of handing over the original unless it comes down to life or death. The plan’ll be to use the second fake as a decoy until we can get Amit out of there.”
“Who’s gonna hand it over?” Trace asked.
“I am,” RT said.
Ashlynn’s sister-in-law spoke up. “Alone?”
“No.”
Z’s answer was quite adamant, and Ashlynn got the feeling there were some personal feelings there. Z had a thing for RT? Hmm. She wouldn’t mind watching a little of that action.
“I’m goin’ in with him,” Z continued. “We’ll distract Thurston while the rest of you find a way to get Amit.”
“What if he’s got Amit with him?” Courtney inquired.
Ashlynn had no idea who Amit was, or what trouble he was in, but she assumed he was the guy who’d been kidnapped.
“Doesn’t matter. The objective is still the same. We get Amit out unharmed.” RT was obviously the leader of this group.
“Hold up a minute,” Courtney’s brother said. “What’s to keep this guy from goin’ after Amit again once this is over? We can’t just hand over a fake painting and expect this guy to shrug it off. He paid Amit two mil up front—half of what he’d been intending to pay. That’s a lotta fuckin’ cash.”
Yeah, it was. Two mil for a painting? And that was half?
“And he’s cautious,” the voice on the phone added. “The reason he hadn’t paid Amit the remaining money was because he was having the painting assessed. I hacked his email and found an email thread between him and some expert. One week after taking possession of the painting, Thurston was informed it was a fake. He’s been hunting Amit ever since.”
“That explains why Amit went to his mother’s house.”
“Regardless,” RT inserted, “I’m not handin’ over the original. Four mil ain’t shit compared to what’ll happen if this painting gets in the wrong hands.”
Ashlynn couldn’t help but wonder what the story was there.
“I’ve got an idea.” Courtney waved her hand to get everyone’s attention. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Talk?” the guy Ashlynn didn’t recognize huffed. “You think that’s gonna make him forget the fact he lost two mil?”
Courtney’s eyes narrowed on the unknown guy, but the voice that sounded did not belong to her.
“He will if I talk to him.”
Ashlynn’s attention turned to Max as he moved across the room, coming to stand behind Courtney.
RT shook his head. “Your help always comes with a price.”
Ashlynn couldn’t help but laugh. He was right about that.
“Thanksgiving dinner,” Courtney inserted.
RT frowned, making Ashlynn smile.
“Huh?”
“Thanksgiving dinner. Here. At our house. That’s the price.”
Ashlynn was now looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner, that was for sure. Like a modern-day version of the Montagues and Capulets. Surely she wouldn’t be bored then.
“You want me to spend Thanksgiving at your place? That’s what it’ll cost me?” RT asked.
“Not just you. Everyone,” Courtney clarified.
“Fine,” Trace stated. “Done. Can we get on with this?”
“How do you propose we do this then?” Z asked Max directly.
For the next few minutes, Ashlynn listened to Max explain his plan while she did her best not to focus all her attention on Leyton, who was standing in the corner, thick arms crossed over his massive chest. If she wasn’t mistaken, he was stealing glances of her, as well. Unlike him, she wasn’t trying to hide her interest. Never had.
“You in?” Max asked, and Ashlynn realized he was talking to her.
“What do you need?”
“Jase.”
Ashlynn nodded.
From the sound of things, they were looking for some backup, and she was willing to do whatever her brother needed. Especially if it meant she didn’t have to sit around and do nothing for the rest of the night.
Max turned to Leyton. “If we need Jase to help, I want you to keep an eye on my sister.”
Leyton’s grunt was affirmation, although he didn’t sound too happy about that plan.
No way. Nuh-uh. If Leyton stuck around, she would be twiddling her thumbs while he glared at her from across the room.
“Take him with you,” Ashlynn told Max. “We’ll be fine here. This place is a fortress.”
Her brother didn’t look thrilled with the suggestion, but Ashlynn wasn’t going to back down. “I’ve got Leo and Teddy. I don’t need him, too.”
Ashlynn spared Leyton a look, saw the way his eyes burned with something akin to frustration, possibly anger. When she turned back to Max, she was happy to see his nod of acceptance.
Now that that was over, it was time for another drink.
Chapter Four
Helping the good guys. Can you say ‘ironic’?
“Where the fuck is Max?” Courtney yelled into the communication device she’d been outfitted with before the others had disappeared twenty minutes ago.
Jase had been informed that he would be needed as backup, and though helping out with situations like this weren’t in his job description, he’d learned that when Max said jump, he jumped. Well, technically, when Ashlynn gave the order, he followed. But tonight, Max had been the one needing help, and Ashlynn had offered his assistance.
So here he was.
“I want all four of you to check in right now, dammit,” Courtney declared, looking at no one in particular as she spoke.
Jase had no idea what was happening on the other end of that comm link, but he waited patiently for Courtney to tell him what she needed him to do. Had he been in charge, he would’ve grabbed the M4 hidden in the back panel of the SUV, waltzed right in, and made his presence known. But according to what he’d heard, the S1S team preferred stealth, which meant his plan was out.
So instead of offering a solution, Jase had piled into the back of Max’s armored Escalade along with Sal, Dane, and Leyton a short while ago while Rock got behind the wheel and Courtney joined them in the passenger seat.
“I’m bringin’ backup with me,” Courtney declared. “Be there in two.” Courtney twisted in her seat and glanced back at them. “They’ve got an army of twelve, or so I’m told. Most of them are in the house, so I’m gonna try to distract them.” Courtney looked directly at Jase. “I’m gonna lure them to the Escalade, and I want this done as quietly as possible. So you be ready.”
Jase nodded. Something else he was good at, aside from protecting the life of one of the most wanted women in the state of Texas, was mixed martial arts. It’d been a means of survival in his younger days, something he’d found he was quite good at. Thanks to the teacher he’d had, who had been willing to train a worthless kid with no hope for a future, Jase had come out the other side with a skill he’d honed over the years.
When the Escalade came to a stop, he got out, checked his Sig, then took a spot behind the armored vehicle while Courtney ventured up to the house with Rock in tow. To his surprise, Leyton joined him.
“What’re you doin’?” he asked Leyton, keeping his eyes on Courtney and Rock as they made their way up the intricate walkway toward the front door.
“Backup,” Leyton grumbled.
For whatever reason, Leyton didn’t speak much to Jase these days. Why that was, he couldn’t figure out, other than the man was clearly in denial. It was evident that Leyton was attracted to him, and had been for quite some time. And yes, Jase returned that attraction, had even attempted to get Leyton to see it, to no avail. The man was rather stubborn, that was for damn sure.
Even now, as the two of them stood side by side, shielded from view by the Escalade, Jase got the impression Leyton was trying to keep his distance. Hell, the man should’ve just stayed in the SUV for all the good it was doing to have him there.
Not that Jase had time to worry about Leyton at the moment. He was there for a job, and he took that seriously.
He’d been kept in the dark for most of what this mission was about, but he didn’t really need to know the logistics. He was focused, but mostly because he needed to get back to the house and check on Ashlynn. He hated leaving her, didn’t trust anyone else to keep her safe, but they’d all agreed that bringing her with them would only be an added liability. Which was how she’d ended up staying back with Teddy and Leo.
Before he’d left, Ashlynn had told him how she’d insisted that Leyton go along with them because she didn’t particularly care to have him glaring at her. The thought made him smile, followed by an assortment of dirty thoughts that ran amuck in his oversexed brain. He was surprised that Ashlynn hadn’t taken advantage of the situation and worked her magic on Leyton. The guy was pretending not to be interested, but Jase knew better, knew it was only a matter of time before they cracked that tough exterior and convinced Leyton to take a walk on the wild side.
“It’s in the Escalade,” Courtney said, her voice syrupy sweet and so unlike her Jase had to peer around the corner of the vehicle just to make sure it was really her. He had to assume she was talking about the painting the Sniper 1 team had stashed there before they’d headed out. “I was hopin’ you boys could help me get it. It’s kinda heavy.”
Yep. They had company, all right, and she was luring them right where she wanted them.
Jase waited until Courtney and her newly acquired entourage had made it to the Escalade. When she made her move, he snuck around and helped, taking one of the guys down with a quick blow to the back of the head while Courtney disengaged two others. He had no idea how many more there were, or if there would be more joining them, but he knew, for now, his sole responsibility was to keep an eye on Courtney. Rock had clearly been detained at the house, but that, too, had been the plan.
Most people wouldn’t go up against Rock—due to his sheer size and the menacing look on his face—which also meant they didn’t trust him. Not that Jase blamed them. Going up against Rock was just stupid, unless, of course, you were in the mood to get taken down.
“Three out here,” Courtney noted, her gaze on the house.
Jase wanted to ask her what was happening, but he knew better. She was already a mess, though on the outside, she was just as put together and calm as usual. She was likely worried about Max being inside the house. But Jase knew Max. The guy could take care of himself.
Honing his patience, Jase waited beside Courtney and Leyton. Ready for whatever came next.
Half an hour later, after that relatively uneventful outing, Jase was back at Max’s house with Ashlynn. Max had taken Courtney to the hospital because apparently one of the guys had been shot, the bullet shattering his elbow. Or so Jase had heard during the commotion afterward. Not that he’d stuck around long enough to find out everything that had gone down. When Rock had commanded him to get back in the Escalade, he’d done so without question. Last fucking thing he needed was to have a run-in with the cops. Although the Adorites had some pretty powerful people on their payroll, that didn’t mean he was willing to take any unnecessary risks. So he’d climbed in the backseat while Leyton rode shotgun. For the few minutes it took to get back to Max’s, Jase had spent nearly every second staring at Leyton, wondering just how long it would be before the sexy-as-sin man finally gave in.
“Everything go okay?” Ashlynn asked when he joined her out on the veranda.
Victor, Madison, Aidan, and Brent were standing around, chatting and laughing while Ashlynn appeared to be keeping to herself. Jase wasn’t sure why that was, but she’d been acting strange for most of the day.
“Good, I guess,” he told her.
“Where’s Leyton?” she asked.
“Hiding I’m sure,” he said.
A knowing smile tipped the corners of her succulent mouth. What he wouldn’t give to plant his lips on hers right then. Strip her bare and fuck the shit out of her the way he knew she needed.
That was the thing about Ashlynn. She dealt with her anxiety with either booze or sex. Mostly sex. Sometimes both. In many ways, she was like her mother. That made sense in a morbid way, because Genevieve had been the only female role model Ashlynn had ever had, but from all Jase knew of Genevieve, he didn’t want Ashlynn to end up like her. At all. Although Ashlynn’s mother was cordial to him, Jase knew the hard life Genevieve had lived had jaded her, making her into a shell of the woman she should’ve been.
Not that he had any control over how Ashlynn handled the demons she battled on a daily basis. Ashlynn was as ruthless as Max, sometimes more so. She’d endured a lot in her twenty-six short years and come out on the other side determined and somewhat damaged.
“Need a drink?” he asked.
Ashlynn handed him her empty glass. He was tempted to ask how many she’d had already. He figured at least four or five since she seemed rather subdued. With her, it could go either way. Sometimes the alcohol brought her down; other times it made her frisky.
He preferred frisky.
Before he could go back inside, Brent stopped him, asking for a play-by-play of what had gone down. Jase told him all that he knew, but he wasn’t able to get away from Ashlynn’s brother before he realized she was disappearing inside the house.
“I need to check on her,” Jase informed Brent.
“Sure. She okay? She seems a little out of it today.”
Jase simply shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t know what was going on with Ashlynn, but if he ventured a guess, he’d have to think her mind was on Leyton lately.
Which had been the case for quite some time now.
For both of them.
