Loving Vin (Barretti Security Series, #1) (6 page)

She blushed and turned her head away. “I...I threw them in the water,” she stammered. “I’m sorry, I thought...”

“The dogs have a job to do but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them. Besides my brothers, they’re all I have,” he said.

Mia nodded. “I’ll pay to replace them.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just thought I’d ask before I got new ones.”

They both fell silent as they watched the dog and pig play. Bane was laying quietly next to Mia, his big head on her thigh.

“We need to talk about-” he began.

“The kiss. I know. I shouldn’t have done it,” she said softly, her eyes focused on the gently moving water beyond the house.

“It’s just that-”

“You’re older than me. More experienced. It was my first real kiss and I just got carried away. I’m sorry.”

Jesus, not only was his heart pounding at the admission she’d just made of how innocent she truly was, she was actually apologizing to him?

“Mia,” he tried again.

She finally looked at him. “Can we just forget it, Vin? Please?”

He saw she was embarrassed so he nodded.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked.

“The pig stays outside, Mia.”

She laughed and the sound reverberated through his ears. God, it was so deep and husky. And her eyes fucking lit up when she did it.

“Do you think if I gave an interview to one of the news stations the rest would leave me alone?” she said as she sobered once more.

“Not likely,” he admitted and at her crestfallen look he knew it wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for. “Why? Is that something you want to do?”

“Not really. But I want to start my life over. I want to find a job, get an apartment.”

That was exactly what he wanted too. So why did her saying it actually irritate him?

“I was looking at jobs online today but who’s going to hire me once they find out what my name is? Not to mention the reporters...”

“What about finishing college?”

She shrugged. “Not really on the top of my list of priorities.”

“I could help you out with getting a place, finishing school,” he started to say but at her dark look he didn’t finish his statement. He wasn’t sure why he’d even made the offer. God knew what a disaster it had been the last time he’d tried to help a woman who’d claimed to have fallen on hard times. But Mia wasn’t claiming anything and his heart wasn’t involved this time. It was a pragmatic offer. And sure, it meant getting her out of his house a lot sooner but that hadn’t been the reason he’d suggested it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out. It just might take a couple more days,” she said.

A couple more days? Was she fucking serious?

“So in a couple days you’re somehow going to get the press off your ass, save up enough money for a security deposit on an apartment and secure a job that pays enough to keep a roof over your head?” He knew he sounded like a sarcastic asshole but who did she think she was fooling?

“It’s not your problem,” she bit out, the anger radiating off her. Bane seemed to sense her agitation because he whined and lifted his head. Even Briego came over to investigate as did the pig.

When she went to stand, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. The move had her knee pressing against his thigh and the electricity that went through him was instant and sharp. And he knew she felt it too because he saw her eyes widen.

“Sorry,” he muttered though he refused to release her wrist. She tugged futilely and he could tell she was about to lose it so he blurted out, “We could use some help around the office.”
What the hell?

She stilled but then she was fighting him harder. “I don’t need your pity,” she snapped.

He released her but got up at the same time she did and closed his hands around her upper arms. He briefly wondered if kissing her would buy him the momentary compliance he needed like it had that morning. But he dismissed the idea and said, “It’s not pity. Dom’s assistant had to have knee surgery and is going to be out on leave for a few weeks. He was thinking about hiring a temp but it’s not something you couldn’t learn.” Dom was going to fucking kill him.

Her struggles ceased and she eyed him sharply as if trying to measure if he was telling the truth.

“You’re a terrible liar,” she finally said. “At least about the pity part,” she added as she pulled free of him. “But if he really does need help I’d like to be considered for an interview.”

He couldn’t remember anyone ever calling him a liar and certainly not to his face. It should piss him off but instead he found himself respecting the courage she had to call him on it. And the fact that she wasn’t accepting a handout impressed him as well.

“What the hell?” he muttered when something cold and wet pressed against his ankle. The pig had pushed his pants leg up and was sniffing him. “Can you get her off, please?”

“Him,” Mia said. “Come on, Georgie,” she said as she gained the pig’s attention and then ran her hands all over his back. When she rose again, the pig blessedly ignored Vin and wandered off.

“Have you eaten?” Mia asked. “I was about to make myself some dinner. I could fix you something too.”

The offer surprised him. “Sure,” he said as they began walking back to the house. “How about pork chops?”

Mia laughed that hearty laugh again and gave him a light shove. He didn’t know what he enjoyed more – the throaty laugh or the touch that sent sparks skittering under his skin.

***

“S
o you have to give her the job without her thinking you’re giving her the job,” Vin said impatiently as Dom watched him quietly.

“Who are you?” his brother finally said as Vin paced back and forth in front of his desk.

“Fuck off,” Vin snapped.

Dom smiled and leaned forward so that his hands were resting on the desk. “Why don’t you hire her to be your assistant?” he asked, though his tone had Vin suspecting the bastard already knew why.

“Look asshole, you started this by sticking her in my house. It’s not working and I need her gone but that can’t happen until she gets some cash and she sure as hell isn’t just going to accept it if you hand it to her.”

“Why isn’t it working?” Dom asked. Leave it to his brother to focus on that one part of his statement.

He didn’t answer as he went over to the window. The problem wasn’t that things weren’t working out – they fucking were. At least they had last night. They’d ended up making dinner together and he and Mia had sat out on his patio to eat it. Afterwards she’d brought the kittens down and let them play in the grass while she asked him questions about his and Dom’s company. After that they’d sat in the den and watched a movie – some kind of comedy that had Mia shaking with laughter.

She’d watched the movie, he’d watched her. There hadn’t been anything sexual about any of it but it had been one of the best nights of his life. Yes, he’d still wanted her like hell, but the pleasure of just seeing her smile and laugh had done something strange to him. But when the movie was over she got up, said goodnight and disappeared. It had taken everything in him not to grab her and pull her down for a kiss...or more. And that’s why he needed her gone. Mia may have accepted that they couldn’t have a physical relationship but his brain hadn’t gotten the message.

“Are you going to do this for me, Dom, or not?” he asked as he crossed his arms and studied the view of the mountains and city.

“Do you really need to ask me that?” Dom responded. “Even if I wasn’t doing it for you, I’d do it for her. I just wish I’d thought of it,” Dom muttered. “How are you going to get her past the press each day?”

Vin sighed. Even from his vantage point high above the street, he could still make out the few news trucks sitting outside the building. Things had finally started to settle with the newshounds only to have things go crazy again once the most recent body was discovered.

“She’ll have to ride in with me,” he muttered. The windows of his SUV were tinted and if she stayed in the backseat and they pulled directly into the parking garage they could pull it off. “We’ll have to make sure she stays in this suite,” he said. At least being in the Executive suite would keep her contact with others to a minimum.

“It’s risky,” Dom warned.

Guilt gnawed at him. It
was
risky and it he were a better man he’d figure out a better way to deal with the situation. Maybe he could get her to a point where she’d be more comfortable being around Dom and Logan and then he could stash her with them.

“I know,” was all he said.

He really was a selfish bastard.

M
ia tugged at the kerchief around her neck for the hundredth time as she tried to focus on the computer screen in front of her. She’d bought the pretty little scarf to tie around her neck as a fashionable way to cover the scars, but the snug material was only reminding her of the harsh plastic that had dug into her neck for so long. She definitely should have gone with the high necked blouse instead, especially since it was her first day.

Even after her interview with Dom, which she had blundered her way through since she still wasn’t comfortable around the man, she hadn’t hesitated to accept the temporary job offer even though she was ninety-nine percent sure it was part of the pity package Vin had managed to put together for her. But she was a pragmatist and knew that there wouldn’t be any other opportunities coming her way anytime in the near future. At least this would give her some much needed cash and something to actually put on her résumé. Only now she was spending even more time with Vin and that was a distraction she hadn’t considered. Not only would they be commuting together, he’d already been past her desk more than half a dozen times as he was going to meetings or disappearing into his brother’s office. And it wasn’t even noon yet.

On top of everything else, she was completely overwhelmed by the computer system. The simple task of going through Dom’s emails and extracting information for billing purposes had left her completely confused and feeling quite worthless. She hadn’t been around computers much other than to write the occasional paper or send some emails. If she’d been smart, she would have spent the past couple of months using Vin’s computer to try to teach herself some useful skills but it hadn’t even occurred to her. Not to mention she was terrified of what kind of news she’d find about her father and herself on the Internet. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t watched much TV either. And Vin’s entertainment system had been too complicated to try to figure out how to work the DVD player so she’d spent much of her time reading many of the old books he seemed to collect. As much as she’d enjoyed reading all the literary classics she hadn’t appreciated in high school, none of them were doing her much good now.

She spent the rest of the day muddling through and tried to force a smile to her lips when Dom praised her for the good work she’d done. Vin kept to himself on the ride home after the cursory questions about how her day had gone. It had been like that in the past few days since the night they’d made dinner together and watched a movie. She thought they’d had a good time that night and the brooding, quiet man had actually smiled a time or two when they’d chatted about the company he and his brother had founded.

Her goal had been to get strategic information for her interview but instead she’d been given some valuable insight into her host instead. She wasn’t sure if he’d even realized it, but he’d dropped hints about himself that had left her wanting to ask more questions, including learning more about the two younger brothers who appeared to not be around, as well as what had kept him on such a long hiatus from work the past year. But it had felt like too personal a line to cross, so she’d kept her questions focused on work and nothing more. It was clear he and Dom had built up a reputable and successful firm but she wondered how someone as good looking, successful, and intrinsically decent as Vin was still single at his age. A thought suddenly occurred to her and before she could stop herself it left her mouth.

“Are you like Dom?”

Vin kept his attention on the road but spared her a glance.

“What do you mean?”

Crap. Her question was entirely inappropriate so she tried to backpedal.

“Um, do you like to cook like he does?”

Vin eyed her sharply as he pulled the SUV to a stop at a traffic light. “That’s not what you were going to ask,” he said.

Damn, damn, damn.

“Am I like Dom how?”

Well, what was the worst that could happen? He’d talk to her even less then he already did?

“Do you like men too?”

She thought he’d be pissed but he actually laughed.

“I’ve kissed you twice, Mia. Doesn’t that answer your question?”

“Your brother was married to woman,” she pointed out.

Vin sighed. “True enough. No, I don’t like men.”

“Then why are you still single?”

He laughed again but didn’t answer.

“It’s just that you have so much to offer,” she said.

Something dark passed across his features. “Starting to like the high life, are you?” The venom in his tone and the rude remark stung. Did he actually think she was talking about his money? His house?

“I wasn’t-”

“Don’t worry about it,” he cut in. “Just don’t start to get any ideas in that pretty little head of yours.”

She was so taken aback by the turn their conversation had taken that she kept her mouth shut until they reached the house. The dogs greeted them both as they got out of the car but Vin completely ignored them. By the time she caught up to him just inside the door, he appeared ready to dismiss her completely.

“Vin, I’m sorry-”

“Sorry for what? Sorry for showing your hand so soon or sorry that I’m not buying?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she managed to get out as he suddenly closed the distance between them, his big body forcing hers back against the door.

“You’re good, Mia,” he suddenly said, his voice low and quiet. And frightening. His hand reached up to tuck a stray hair from her French braid behind her ear – the move was gentle, sweet almost and completely incongruous to the cold look in his eyes. “But playing sweet and innocent alone isn’t going to get you a place like this,” he said as glanced around the house. “Or a bottomless bank account.”