Savor the Danger. Lori Foster
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“Her ex-boyfriend. And yeah. He knows me, knows my face and first name.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
Jackson flagged a hand. “I was chasing her, nothing new in that.”
Trace snarled. “And you met him?”
“Yeah. Unless he’s dumber than I think, he felt the chemistry between Alani and me.” Jackson challenged Trace. “It’s there and you know it.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Trace turned to Dare. “Jackson’s been dogging her heels for a while now.”
Dare looked between them. “You knew about this?”
“Yeah.” Letting out a breath, Trace rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew.”
“Wasn’t a secret,” Jackson said. “I told him. But shit’s different now.”
Deadpan, Dare asked, “You think so?”
Everyone kept their voices low.
“Hell, I was just hoping to get her to redo my place for me so I could get closer to her.” Jackson ignored Dare’s raised brows and Trace’s annoyance. “But that didn’t work out, and I figured I was back to square one, and now—”
Trace cut him off. “Jackson was keeping tabs on her, too.”
That sounded bad, so Jackson explained. “With what she’s been through, I didn’t want the financier to do anything to make her uncomfortable.”
“Like chase her?” Dare asked.
The taunt put Jackson on edge. “Like pressuring her. And you can bet he did.” Could the financier have pressured her more than Jackson had just minutes ago? Shit.
“Why do you assume so?” Dare asked.
“Look at her!” This time Jackson thrust his hand toward the kitchen where, hopefully, Alani couldn’t hear them. “She’s so smokin’ hot, most guys wouldn’t be able to help themselves.”
Dare choked. “She’s the smaller, more female version of Trace.”
What an appalling thought. “Not even close,” Jackson denied. “You see her like a kid sister, same as Trace does.” Sure, they had the same coloring of pale hair and bright hazel eyes. That combo might be noticeable on Trace, but on Alani it was outright striking, fascinating every guy who met her. “I see her differently.”
Trace rolled his eyes. “But still you’re noble enough to give her space?”
“Uh…” He’d thought so. When she’d hesitated to be alone with him, shying away from his interest, he’d walked away rather than torture himself. But this morning he had awakened with her naked. And since then, knowing she’d wanted him enough to sleep with him, he’d been on the make big-time.
Trace and Dare waited.
Disgust at his heavy-handed tactics hit Jackson like a ton of bricks. “Butt out, damn it.”
“I should just kill you now and be done with it,” Trace grumbled.
Jackson ran a hand over his face. “Yeah, maybe.”
Dare coughed at that admission. “You trust him, Trace, and you know it.”
“With my back,” Trace snapped. “Not with my sister.”
Shaking his head at them both, Dare said, “Tell me about the meeting you had with the financier.”
“His name is Marc Tobin,” Trace said.
Jackson curled his lip. Even the guy’s name annoyed him. “I dropped in on her, but she was due for a date with the idiot, and I didn’t bow out in time.”
“Probably on purpose,” Trace accused.
Jackson shrugged. So he’d lingered. So what? “He showed up, and you know Alani. Always so polite.”
Dare choked. “She introduced the two of you?”
To Jackson’s mind, Dare’s humor was sadly misplaced. He gave one sharp nod. “Yeah.”
“Did you act like an ass?” Trace asked.
“You mean did I pulverize him? Nah.” But he’d wanted to. “I’m sure I mean-mugged him a little. He’s just so…slick, it was hard not to, you know?”
It surprised Jackson when Trace agreed. “Slick, and too rich.”
“You’re rich,” Jackson reminded him.
Dare reached over to slug him in the shoulder. “Take what you can get, will you?”
He had planned to take Alani—again and again. But now…did she need extended time? Lots of space? God, he hoped not.
He peered into the kitchen and saw her stacking mugs on a tray. His guts twisted. Yeah, he had it bad. No other woman had ever made him feel this way. He didn’t like it.
Having her would be the only cure. Or rather…having her again so he could commit the experience to memory.
“What now?” Ensuring Dare and Trace didn’t misunderstand the situation, Jackson added, “She can’t be alone.”
“I agree.” Dare rubbed his chin. “You did a background check on Tobin?”
“From the get-go.” Trace leaned up against the wall. “Decent enough person, I guess. Privileged, but no criminal record beyond a few speeding tickets.”
Jackson didn’t like that assessment. “Every investment he makes turns to gold. I don’t trust him.”
“She left him,” Dare reminded Jackson. And then, “But if he assumes he was dumped for you, then that could be motive enough for us to do a little more digging.”
“It makes as much sense as anything.” Besides, with nothing else to go on, Jackson wanted Tobin to be responsible. It’d be a quick and easy solution, and it’d permanently remove the competition.
“You think he sent a woman after Jackson, had her drug him…for what reason? To get him in bed so that Alani would walk away?” Trace gave Jackson a verbal kick, saying, “Hell, he always screws everything in sight, and still she went to him.”
Jackson stewed. “Wrong.” He was no more active than any other healthy adult. And since meeting Alani…well, he hadn’t been all that healthy, no matter how a woman looked or how willing she might be.
He wanted Alani.
He’d had her, damn it, and from what she’d said, it was as mind-blowing as he’d always known it would be.
“You know how it is, Trace.” Dare ignored Jackson’s denial. “That just makes him more appealing to some women.”
“Maybe.” Trace gave Jackson an evil grin. “But not to Alani.”
Knowing Trace might be right, Jackson picked up the sandwich and took a healthy bite. She wanted him to eat, so he’d eat.
Done tweaking him, Trace paced. “Doesn’t matter now anyway. Whoever drugged him likely saw Alani at his place.”
“So she’s in the thick of it,” Dare agreed, “no matter how we look at it.”
Around the mouthful of food, Jackson said, “I don’t want to scare her, especially since odds are she’s in the clear.” He swallowed, a plan forming in his mind. “If she lets me stick close, then there’s no reason her life has to be more disrupted than it already has been.”
“You can watch her up close,” Dare said, “while Trace and I start investigating things from the outside.”
“And that being the case, you should have called us right away.” Trace’s temper shot up again. “Christ, was she