Protecting Fate (2 page)

Chapter Two

Sara was just messing with the man, because he couldn’t show up here to ruin her last night of freedom and expect her to be on her best behavior. She’d worked long and hard to actually
have
a best behavior, so she’d be taken seriously, and she hadn’t been able to let off any steam in longer than she cared to think about. Tonight had been important for that alone—especially since it was now her last hurrah before she was shipped off to God knew where.

Plus, she could see the first flickering of desire in those strange green eyes. If this guy worked with Garrett, then he was a master of control. She’d have to be a saint not to try to test him. While she’d been called many things in her life, a saint wasn’t one of them. She tugged the waistband of his jeans, studying his face. He had model cheekbones, though there was something unfinished about his features. It kept him from being pretty, instead shoving him into ruggedly handsome territory. His plain white T-shirt set off his dark skin, another contrast, and she couldn’t help checking out the scars scattered over his left arm. Where had he picked up those?

Then he stepped back, trying to put some distance between them. “It isn’t like that.”

“Why not?” She didn’t
really
want to sleep with this guy. He was friends with her brother and, while that would have been enough to put him in forbidden fruit territory, she liked to think she’d outgrown such childish impulses. Mostly. But she followed him, backing him up another three steps before he seemed to realize he was retreating from a woman half his size.

His eyebrows slammed down over those pale eyes and he straightened, gaining another inch. He was easily as tall as her twin brothers—six-three, at least—and just as wide. The close-cropped haircut pegged him as former military, but she didn’t need the visual clue to know that. It was in every tense muscle and the way he held himself as if ready to spring into motion at any moment. Plus, all of Garrett’s team were former military of one flavor or another.

Sara ran her hands up his chest, silently delighting in how cut he was, and looped them around his neck, bringing them chest-to-chest. “I want you. You
obviously
want me.” She pressed her hips against his, her breath catching in her throat when she found him rock hard.
Holy crap
.

Get a hold of yourself, Reaver. This is just a game.

Right.

“Enough.” He took her wrists, holding her as if she was a poisonous snake, and stepped back again. “We need to talk.”

Uptight, wasn’t he? She glanced back to find the two Doms she’d been chatting up watching with avid interest. It wouldn’t do for them to think she was getting rejected. She liked her image of the untouchable sub who only let a select one or two play with her when the mood struck. If they thought this man was turning her down… Well, her pride wouldn’t stand for it. She flicked the stranger’s lower lip. “Fine. Have it your way. Follow me.”

She turned and headed down the hallway to the private rooms. No doubt the man wanted to take her somewhere that wasn’t Serve, but she wasn’t ready to leave yet. She had a date set with Nolan, and since it was likely the only action she’d get in the foreseeable future, she wasn’t about to miss it. It was blatantly obvious this guy wasn’t going anywhere until they talked, and, as much as she loved the idea of an audience, having him glower at her while she was trying to get lucky was a serious downer.

There was only one open room, and she wasted no time claiming it. It was only when the door was shut and locked that the man seemed to relax a little. He prowled around the room, his dark skin gleaming in the low light. God, he looked good enough to eat. What was Garrett thinking, assigning such a tempting morsel to watch over her? Oh, right. That she was an adult who should know better. She sighed. Responsibility sucked sometimes, but Uncle Rodger wouldn’t have agreed to take her on in the first place if he thought she’d let her impulses get the better of her.

And she hadn’t. Until that bastard, Nord, had gotten busy with that prostitute in the parking garage while someone who was
not
her client had been breaking into a nearby car to steal some files containing delicate information. Everyone around knew Nord was a tough son of a bitch, but she’d been so focused on getting her client cleared, she hadn’t stopped to consider that he might not like her putting his marriage in jeopardy.

In short, she might have been a little naïve there.

Sara dropped onto the bed, well aware how closely the guy watched her, and patted the mattress next to her. “Why don’t you sit and we can get down to business.” His glare was unrelenting, and he took the chair across from the bed. She huffed, even though she really hadn’t expected him to sit on the bed. “God, you’re already a pain in my ass and it’s been a grand total of five minutes.”

“Your brother mentioned that you’re difficult.”

That was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. She was no more difficult than any of the Reaver siblings—even if they didn’t see things that way. But she was supposed to be taking this seriously, so she made an effort to stop eyeballing the impressive bulge in the front of his jeans. “How about we start with introductions. I’m Sara. You are?”

“I know who you are.” When she just waited, he sighed. “I’m Z.”

Z?
The
Z? The godlike leader of Garrett’s squad, who could do no wrong? She sat up straighter. From what she understood, he was typically off leading missions that were on the far side of dangerous, in parts of the world most people had never heard of. While their company did take bodyguard missions from time to time—and Garrett
loved
to bitch about them—Z seemed to delegate those. “Why didn’t you send one of your men instead?”

“I have my reasons.”

Meaning she’d have to dig to find them out. Interesting. At least it would give her something to do while she was in exile—otherwise she was bound to die of boredom. She leaned forward, noting the way his gaze followed the movement. “You wanted to talk?”

“We need to go over the security measures I have in place.” He looked around the room, some unidentifiable expression on his face. “This isn’t where I wanted to have the conversation.”

This isn’t really where she wanted to have this conversation, either. “Tough shit. My uncle told me to be ready tomorrow morning, and I will be. He didn’t say anything about tonight.”

“Your need for protection doesn’t start in the morning.”

It was an effort not to throw her hands up in frustration. She’d done her research on Nord before she approached him—she wasn’t a complete idiot—and he had nothing in his history that indicated he liked to make people disappear. While it was possible he was just that good, she had a hard time giving him so much credit. It was far more likely the man was just spouting bullshit in hopes that she’d get scared and back off. She
hated
giving him what he wanted, even though she had no choice in the matter. “I don’t need protection at all. My uncle is overreacting.”

“All the same.” That was it. As if the matter were already decided.

Which it was, no matter how intensely she disliked the outcome. She could either take it gracefully, or she could throw a tantrum and prove them all right in their belief that she was still a little girl in need of protection. Sara lifted her chin. She sure as hell wasn’t going to do the latter.

Her phone chimed, and she glanced down to find a text from Nolan.
We still on
? She typed out a quick affirmation, shooting a look at Z from the corner of her eye. Nolan wasn’t the insecure type, so
he
must have said something to make the man doubt she still wanted a scene. Apparently nothing was going to go right tonight. Right now, she should be naked and in the middle of some really awesome sex—not talking to this man who was as pissy as he was sexy. There was something about Z that made her want to poke at him, to see how good his control really was.

Since he was there, effectively ruining her night, and providing a really attractive target for all her frustration and anger, it was only fair that she returned the favor. Just a little. She kicked off her heels and slid off the mattress, walking around the bed to the chest situated at the end. Best-case scenario, he got wigged out and left her to Nolan. Worst case… Well, she’d just have to make sure this ended in a best-case scenario.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re interrupting my fun. So while you talk, I’m getting ready.” She glanced over her shoulder, finding his gaze glued on her ass. Something fluttered low in her stomach at the intensity of that look, but she ignored it. She was supposed to be making
him
uncomfortable. “So, talk.”

Z cleared his throat. “There will be three men on duty—myself in the house with you, and two others set up to watch from a distance.”

“Kinky.” She found the cuffs she was looking for and tossed them onto the bed. A second set followed.

“Your uncle picked the location, and we’ll drive out there tomorrow.”

Sara hooked two cuffs to the bottom of the bed frame and moved around to hook the remaining two to the top. “So the four of us are going on a little road trip. Lovely.”

“You won’t have contact with my men.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “Why not?”

“I have my reasons.”

He sounded so uptight, it was enough to make her wonder if he’d shatter into a million pieces if she poked too hard. She wasn’t exactly an expert at bodyguard stuff, but it seemed strange how he was setting things up. “Afraid I’ll corrupt them?”

“No.” Just that. Nothing else.

Another glance at him found him just as stiff and unyielding as before. There was no reason for her to expect any different. Really, a small, stupid part of her found his distance kind of hot—a part she had
no
intention of letting take the reins. She would keep her head down and get through this just like she’d gotten through everything in her life up to that point. The so-called danger would pass and things would get back to normal. It was as simple as that.

But that did nothing to change how things would play out tonight. She needed the release Nolan was sure to provide, if she was going to be able to handle being out of the city for…however long it took for Uncle Rodger to calm things down. Which meant Z had to leave. Now. “Great. Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you in the morning.” When he didn’t move, she realized she was going to have to take extreme measures. With a mental shrug, Sara reached for the strap of her dress.

…

Z was sure she was bluffing right up until the moment the dress hit the floor. He went stock-still, helpless to look away from her body, from the panties that covered a laughably small amount, to the pearls that dripped down between her breasts, framing them more than covering them. Her nipples were the same color as her lips, a rosy pink that drew his attention and threatened to make him forget all the reasons he couldn’t touch her.

For her part, Sara didn’t seem that concerned with being mostly naked in a room with a man she’d just met. She crawled onto the bed, the move giving him an excellent view of her round ass, and then propped up the pillows against the headboard. She cuffed first one ankle, and then the other, leaving her legs splayed open.

Fuck
.

He cleared his throat, but it did nothing to diminish the growing monster in his chest. Images flashed behind his eyes—of moving over her while she was spread eagle and helpless to do anything but take whatever he chose to give her, of ripping those panties off to bare her completely, of putting her over his knee and… He shut that shit down.
No.
He
refused
to go there again. “What are you doing?”

“I have a date in ten minutes.” She reached for the cuff on one side of her head and frowned.

Against his better reason, Z stood and moved closer to the bed. “And this is how you start your dates?”

“Don’t take that Puritan tone with me. You’re in Serve. What did you think people do here—bake cookies and tell bedtime stories?” She laughed. “The only stories we tell are the kinky hot ones.”

He knew that. Of course he knew that. But knowing that and seeing his best friend’s little sister mostly naked and tied to a bed were two different things. He had no business thinking dark thoughts about her, or wondering how she’d taste, or if she’d purr his name in that husky voice when he pushed his cock inside her. Z shook his head, wishing he could shake loose the thoughts so easily. But once they began, they rooted down deep, and he knew from past experience that they’d rise again at the least opportune moment.

“What do you know about this man?” He mentally cursed himself as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Protection or not, he’d just met the woman and had no business prodding at her sex life.

She raised her eyebrows. “Well, I just pulled him off the street because I liked his muscles. Why? Do you think that’s a bad idea?” She snorted. “I wish you could see the look on your face right now.”

He tried to rein himself in. “It’s not my business.”

“You’re right. It’s not. Now, can you help me fasten this last cuff?” She waved her remaining free wrist at him.

Z surveyed the bed, but it was shoved up against the wall, so there was no way he could get within reach of the cuff without climbing up onto the mattress with her. It was unprofessional in the extreme, and a terrible idea in the mix, but he found himself doing just that. She was temptation personified, lying on the bed, her pale body framed by red sheets, her golden hair a tangle around her, her legs spread in open invitation.