Game Of Risk (Risqué #3) (7 page)

But the clack of heels on metal brought him out of his funk in that car, because when he looked up all he’d seen were long, tanned legs, making him momentarily forget the reason why he was there in Miami. He hadn’t bothered to look at the face that belonged to the legs that were hurrying down the external stairs of the apartment building he’d been staking out. The sandals with the skinny heel accentuated the sculpted calf and the svelte thighs he could see under a short, see-through skirt that gave him a clear view of the outline of the rest of those thighs.

‘Hey!’ Layla said and smacked his chest, bringing him out of that memory.

For a few seconds on that stifling day, he’d considered pursuing those legs, but then he’d caught sight of the face attached to them and it was the same one that was pouting up at him now. ‘What?’

‘Move aside, I want to get a drink,’ Layla said.

‘I told you that you couldn’t use your cards.’

‘I have cash in my purse,’ she said.

‘Which you should ration because we don’t know how long it will have to last you. Do you think that booze is the best way to spend your sparse funds?’

‘Drew will get money to me if he has to,’ she said. Opening her fist, which was still on his chest, she pushed her palm into his pectoral muscle. ‘Will you please move aside?’

He had no good reason not to move, not now that she was here. With Blaser and security, it was actually easier to keep her safe here than it was to leave her unprotected at his mother’s.

Doing as she asked, he side-stepped and she wiped away her glare to replace it with a warm smile that bared no resemblance to the harsh, judgemental woman he’d accused her of being. Full of confidence, she sashayed over to the bar, and more than a few of the patrons took their eyes away from the dancers on stage to watch this clothed woman make her way to the bar.

He hated that he was visited by anger at the sight of these men ogling the same legs he could be accused of ogling himself. She went to the bar and slapped a hand onto it, meaning anyone in proximity who hadn’t been looking at her was. She didn’t mind though, Ruger wasn’t sure she realised what she’d done by arriving in the way that she did. She was focused on Blaser who left the order he was filling to cross to her.

Starting toward the bar, he reached Layla’s side in time to hear Blaser laughing at something she had said. ‘Bet you’re glad Bri’s not here now,’ Ruger said and Blaser’s laugh faltered to a frown.

‘What?’ Blaser asked.

‘Nothing,’ Ruger mumbled. He’d been about to berate his brother for flirting with a woman in spite of the girlfriend he had waiting at home.

Blaser and Bri weren’t jealous because they only had eyes for each other. That was the reason Bri could help Blaser run a club full of half-naked women without ever complaining or being insecure. Blaser didn’t notice any other woman when Bri was in the room and no amount of flesh would distract him from his love for Bri.

Ruger knew that and he didn’t really think that Blaser was making a play for Layla, but his instinct to get between her and another man was overwhelming. So much so that he hadn’t recognised that he was going to do something about it until he’d already spoken.

‘Someone missed dinner,’ Layla said to Blaser in explanation of Ruger’s behaviour. Leaning back to put an arm around him, she patted his stomach and pouted at Blaser. ‘If Ruger hadn’t been in such a rush to ditch me then he might have enjoyed his momma’s leftovers. But he was in too much of a hurry to come out and play here.’

‘Playing sounds like Ruger all right,’ Blaser said. ‘But my baby brother has never been accused of being in any kind of a hurry before.’

‘Ah, you’re Blaser,’ Layla said, holding a hand across the bar, Blaser shook it in introduction. ‘I should’ve known. I’m Layla.’

‘I’d figured that out,’ Blaser said, giving her back her hand.

‘Has Ruger been talking about me?’

Blaser’s mouth opened and he inhaled in prelude to speech. Worried about what his brother would say, Ruger was quick to shut him up before he started.

‘Just get the girl her drink, will you?’ Ruger said. Not appreciating the smirk on Blaser’s face as he withdrew to fill Layla’s order, Ruger pulled up a stool beside hers. ‘You could have raided my mother’s liquor cabinet if you had a habit you haven’t clued me in about.’

‘I don’t have a habit,’ she said, closing her hands over her purse on the bar. Blaser brought her drink and she nodded in thanks.

She was too busy trying to catch the straw with her tongue to notice the look he and Blaser exchanged before Blaser went back to filling his waitresses’ orders.  ‘So why did you come?’ Ruger asked. ‘Why here? You could’ve gone to any bar in the city.’

‘Because Lyssa and Suzette said this was sort of a family hang out, for the younger generations at least. Your mom says she’s never been here.’

‘Not while it’s open, no,’ Ruger said, regretting leaving Layla alone with such a wealth of information and women who enjoyed sharing it. ‘You told her you were coming here?’

‘Lyssa dropped me off after she took Suzette home. Colt got his man, so he’s waiting at home for Lyssa. She was eager to get there for the baby making, I guess. Is Colt hot too?’

‘He’s Blaser’s twin,’ Ruger said. ‘They’re not identical, but we all have the same kind of look about us.’ Though Ruger had a couple of extra inches of height on his brothers. ‘You said “too.” You think I’m hot, honey?’

‘I think your brother is,’ she said, widening her smile around that small black straw. Twisting to face him, she held her glass in one hand and the straw between her fingers with the other. ‘This place isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.’

‘It’s not seedy. There are no drugs on the premises and the women make a wad of tips, which they keep. Blaser makes enough in drinks and door admission that he covers his overhead.’

‘They didn’t charge me admission,’ she said.

‘You’re a woman.’

‘I’m glad that they noticed. So can anyone dance here?’

‘You are not getting up to dance,’ he said. It was possible that she’d already raided the liquor cabinet at his mother’s house if she was considering twirling with the pole herself.

‘Not me,’ she said, putting down her glass and taking his hand. ‘Will you dance with me?’

‘Oh no, not a chance,’ he said. She bounced back when she leapt off her stool and tried to make for the centre of the room. He remained on the stool and was happy to wrap their joined hands around to his back, forcing her to stand against him. ‘We’re not dancing.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’s not that kind of place.’

Turning her head, she checked out as much of the room as she could see. ‘I see other people dancing.’

‘Other women, you see other women dancing, and they’re on stage or on tables. This isn’t a nightclub. Have you ever been to a strip joint before?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘Why would I go to a strip joint?’

‘Look,’ he said. Spinning her around, he shifted in his stool and brought her into the vee of his thighs. With his head dipped, he rested his cheek in her hair to talk into her ear. ‘The women dance on stage, they dance on the tables, and if a guy pays enough, they’ll dance in one of the private rooms over there.’ He pointed to the door, which led to the private rooms, then flattened his hand on her abdomen. ‘The men watch. Some toss money onto the stage, some tuck it into a G-string, but do you see any of the men dancing?’

Her hair tickled him and caught on his stubble as she scrutinised the club. ‘No, and they all look…’

‘They’re happy to be watching the women dance, not a single complaint, and no man is itching to get up and join in. The point is to enjoy the view, not partake in the spectacle.’

‘Isn’t that sort of boring for the rest of us?’

‘Does anyone in here look bored?’ There were the usual grumpy men in the room, some of whom didn’t look particularly exuberant, but no one looked bored.

‘No.’

‘This isn’t a nightclub, if you want to go to a nightclub—‘

‘You’ll take me?’ she asked, flipping around so he found himself nose to nose with her.

‘If our road trip is anything to go by then what you’re looking for is a karaoke bar, and you’re not going to find me in one of those any time soon,’ he said. ‘You don’t have the money to spend either.’

‘You know, you keep reminding me that I’m nearly penniless and you keep reminding me that you’re the one who is supposed to be looking after me. Doesn’t that make you responsible for bank rolling me too? Given that you’re telling me I can’t access my own bank accounts.’

‘I only pay women who provide me with a service,’ he said.

‘You pay for company. Ah, right, that makes a lot of sense.’

‘I don’t pay for sex,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean that.’

‘And I didn’t say that,’ she said, her glossed lips tilted closer. ‘I said you pay for company. I imagine with your personality type it’s difficult to find people who will volunteer to be your friend.’

‘You ain’t no picnic yourself, honey,’ he said, struggling to find a purpose for his hands that didn’t involve touching her. ‘I don’t see a line of friends and lovers forming to take care of you in your time of need.’

Her frisky disposition sagged and although she tried to disguise her hurt, he saw it spread throughout her self-conscious form. ‘Well, aren’t you a delight,’ she said, backing off, she snatched her purse from the bar and made for the door.

‘Ah, hell,’ Ruger grumbled. Keeping his back to the bar, he twisted his head to watch her depart.

‘What did you do?’ Blaser asked, coming up behind his brother on his own side of the bar.

‘I took it too far.’

‘Yeah, I guessed that. I’ve never seen a woman run away from you so fast. She didn’t finish her drink.’

Ruger could be ballsy, but usually he got away with his banter because he kept it light-hearted. He never went as far as to say anything personal or malicious that might upset a person, yet he’d done it with Layla.

‘You better go after her,’ Blaser said.

Ruger didn’t need Blaser to say it. Leaving his stool, he headed for the exit and out onto the street. Hurrying to the edge of the sidewalk, Ruger looked one way and then another. Halfway along the block he saw her striding away from the club with purpose, so he quick-stepped it to catch up with her.

‘Lay,’ he called out to her. She didn’t turn around, so he ran up beside her. ‘Layla, I’m sorry.’

‘You don’t have to apologise,’ she said.

‘Will you stop and talk to me?’ His legs were long enough that he could keep up with her without trying too hard, but he’d prefer to look her in the eye when he apologised.

‘The guy at the door said there was a payphone a block over. I’d rather not hang around on the street this late alone.’

She wasn’t alone, he was there with her. But he hadn’t inspired confidence when he blew off her concerns about him being able to keep her safe. His words in Risqué no doubt made her believe that she was an inconvenience to him and that he didn’t really want to protect her.

‘Why do you need a payphone?’

‘I have some change,’ she said. ‘I’m going to call Drew and then I’ll get a taxi to the bus station.’

‘No, look,’ Ruger said, taking her arm and forcing her to stop. ‘I’m sorry, ok? I shouldn’t have said what I did. I want to look after you and I’m glad it’s me doing it and not someone else.’

‘You don’t have to pander to me, Ruger, I’m a big girl. I get it. I do. You’re right. I followed you and let you call the shots because it was easier and I didn’t have to worry about being active in ensuring my safety. It was lazy of me and it was unfair. You’re right, we don’t know each other and I’m not your responsibility. You’re only doing this because you owe Drew a favour.’

She tried to walk away from him, but Ruger kept hold of her and used his grip to guide her into a nearby alleyway. Putting her back to the wall, he penned her in so that she couldn’t run away again.

‘You’re right, that’s how it started…’ If he wanted to keep her here and fulfil his promise then he had to make her understand how important this was to him. ‘I told you I was in sales and that’s not… it’s not entirely accurate.’

Her curiosity eclipsed her rankle. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m a fence. Guys who have goods that they want to move come to me and I find someone who wants those goods.’

‘You’re a criminal?’ she hissed and tried to push his arm away so she could escape, but he didn’t budge—losing her now meant losing her for good.

‘No, not like… Well, yeah, but I’m changing. What I did… I guess you could say what I did was against the law, but—‘

‘You think you can talk yourself into innocence? You’re either law-abiding or you’re not.’

‘The cops didn’t care. I never got in trouble and I never hurt anyone.’ Except that wasn't entirely true. Bri had been hurt. Ruger might not have intended for her to get caught in the crossfire, but she had been and it was because of his mistake, his error in judgement, that it had happened.

‘Why would Drew set me up with a criminal?’ she muttered to herself. ‘Why would he—‘

‘You might be surprised how many of his friends are involved in illegal activities,’ Ruger said, thinking of Rushe and Victor. Though few people could accuse Victor and Jansen of being friends.

‘This isn’t funny,’ she said, inching in the direction of the street, though she couldn’t get there because his arm was still in the way. ‘I’ve shared a bedroom with you. My god, did you touch me while I was sleeping? Drug me or—‘

‘I didn’t have sex with you. Just because I sell knocked off goods doesn't make me a rapist. If I’d screwed you, you would know all about it.’

‘A cocky bastard, aren’t you? You’re just through telling me that you’re a criminal. I’m sorry if my accusations make you feel type cast, but I’m wondering what else you haven’t told me.’

‘There’s a lot that I haven't told you, Lay, and from the way you’re reacting I’d guess that there’s a lot Drew hasn't told you either.’

‘So why confess now? Why tell the truth? I could call the cops or—‘

‘If you call the cops then you’ll upset a lot of people and you'll lead Ashcroft's men straight to you.’

‘Don’t threaten me,’ she said, peering up at him as though she could squish him like a bug despite their disparate heights. ‘If you hurt me then Drew will hunt you down and—‘

‘Drew wouldn’t have entrusted you to me if he didn’t trust me. I’m going to keep you safe, Lay,’ he said, bringing his hand up to her face. ‘Even if you get on a bus and try to run away, I’ll be right there beside you. If I have to keep you in my sight all the time then I’ll do it.’

‘Why bother? If you let me walk away then it’s not your fault, is it? Tell Drew I was unreasonable, that I was awkward and uncooperative, he’ll believe it.’

And with that statement, he realised something else about her. ‘You’re awkward and uncooperative because you want people to walk away from you. If I wash my hands of you now then there’s no chance of us getting close.’

‘Why would I want to be close to you?’ she asked, pushing his hand away from her face. ‘Why would you want to be close to me? We barely know each other. We don't even like each other. We’ve been forced—‘

‘Enough, Lay.’

His curiosity prompted him to lower his mouth while tilting her head back. Those legs brought her to a height of around five eight and with the heels too it wasn't much of a stretch for him to find her lips. Her abrupt inhale drew their kiss deeper and Ruger used the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth.

Denying his attraction to her had made him say that hurtful thing in Risqué. It was easier to tease her than it was to admit the intensity of temptation he was fighting. Leaving his fascination for her unspoken had caused him to jump down Blaser's throat for talking to a customer at his bar, because much as Ruger hated to admit it, seeing his brother laughing with Layla had made him jealous.

With his hand on her cheek, he directed their kiss. Layla tried to link their fingers and pull it down. But after succeeding to move him an inch, he regained his position and kept on kissing her.

The smart lips he’d sparred with were good for more than a verbal exchange. Their plumpness was glossed adding to the ease of their caress. The taste of cherry and strawberry mingled with the spice of alcohol on her tongue.

Snapping her head to the side, Layla managed to end the union. ‘How dare you speak to me like that and kiss me—‘

‘Enough, Lay,’ he said again and curled his thumb around under her jaw to force her mouth back to his.

The legs he'd admired from afar appeared in his minds-eye now. When he’d first sighted them in Miami he'd pictured himself kissing them, touching and caressing them. When he’d tossed her over his shoulder he got his opportunity to experience how they felt under his hands and he wasn't disappointed.
Now his imaginings moved on a step and he thought about wrapping them around his hips as he slid himself into her.

The thud of her purse hitting the ground preceded her breaking their kiss again. He liked the idea that he’d made her lose her senses enough to lose hold of her purse. But she’d kept her hands to herself and so he’d done the same. The kiss had been unexpected enough for both of them and he didn't want to push her too far.

With his newfound admission that he was attracted to her, Ruger resolved himself to having her as soon as he could, but he’d give her some time to adjust to the idea fully before he pushed it.

Bending her knees, Layla crouched to snag her purse from the ground, but she stayed down there and brought her chin up to meet his eye.

‘If I stand up, will you make me kiss you again?’ she asked.

‘If you stay down there I can give you something else to kiss.’ He hadn't given up his wise mouth yet.

‘Ruger,’ she said. Straightening her legs to stand at full height, she looped the strap of her purse around her arm and pressed a hand under the side of his ribs. ‘Kissing me won’t change my mind.’

‘About leaving? Or your opinion of me?’

‘I have no opinion of you.’

‘Sure you do and you’re entitled to air it... Come on, let me have it.’

‘I don't have an opinion of you,’ she sighed. ‘You were right about me though, I am judgemental… I don't mean to be. I don't mean to come across that way. I suppose I've learned to focus on the bad stuff because when you do that, you can’t be disappointed.’

‘I’m disappointed,’ he said.

‘You are?’ Her desperate eyes shone with a need he couldn't quite put his finger on. But she certainly had an expectation, he just hoped that he didn’t disappoint her.

‘If you leave now,’ he said. ‘I'll never get to see where this could go.’

‘This?’

‘Your legs were the first thing I noticed about you. I thought your sass would be a turn off but wow honey, you take it to a whole new level and I love it.’

‘Do you think that flattering me and seducing me will make me stay? That it will stop me from asking Drew why he chose you to watch out for me?’

‘I offered to look out for you, that's why he chose me, and that was before I'd seen you in the flesh.’

‘You said you weren’t interested in me,’ she said, prodding her finger into him.

‘Yeah, well you know what guys are like. Denial is easy. When Drew sent me to look after you I don’t think he had this in mind.’

‘This?’

‘Me, feeling up his little sister in the street in the middle of the night.’

‘You kissed me, you didn’t feel me up.’

Cradling her breast in his palm, he gave it a squeeze. ‘That better?’

‘Probably not as far as Drew is concerned,’ she said, taking his hand from her chest and linking their fingers. ‘I’m sorry that I was so sensitive in there.’

‘You had every right to be. I was a dick—‘

‘I’m apologising and that doesn’t happen often so just appreciate it, will you?’ Sealing his lips, he gave her the time and space she needed to say what she had to. ‘You hit a bit close to home, that’s all. Drew is my brother, I love him, he's the only family I’ve got and I want to hold onto that, but... I’ve only ever had one really good friend and as you know, she slept with my ex. Maybe I’m still smarting about that more than I want to admit to myself. Getting close to people means trusting them not to hurt you and that’s what people tend to do, in my experience.’

His thumb traced across the back of her hand and his tone grew softer. ‘You must have let some guys in. You’ve been proposed to a few times from what Drew says.’

‘Those relationships were supposed to be easy. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. But relationships don’t come back from refused proposals. I tried to salvage things with one guy, but... It just never works out.’

‘Do you still care about any of your exes?’

‘Care about them? Sure. Enough to marry them or sleep with them again? No. But you should know that I don’t do one night stands.’

‘I wouldn’t ask you to,’ he said, hooking an arm around her. His father would tell him that he shouldn’t keep her out on the street in the middle of the night like this. ‘The truck is parked a street over. I’ll take you back to my mom’s. I’m sorry that I ditched you there and ran.’

Leading her out of the alley, they fell into step with each other and she didn’t try to move out of his embrace. ‘Suzette told me how you let her take over your place after her fiancé turned out to be a psycho. That was sweet of you.’

‘I didn’t let her take over the place. I said she could stay there while I was out of town. Now I can’t get her out of the apartment. I’ve had to stay with my mom or in Colt’s office any time I've been back in town.’

‘Maybe it’s time to start looking for a place of your own again, a new place.’

‘I’m not ready to give up on the old one yet. Whether Suzette moves or Bri does, one of them will move on soon.’

‘Bri?’

‘Blaser’s girl.’

‘They don't live together?’

‘Not yet,’ Ruger replied. ‘That’s another long story and we’ve had plenty of those tonight. I’m starving. Let’s go back to my mom’s. I’ll eat, we’ll get some rest and then we’ll tackle tomorrow, tomorrow.’

‘Ok,’ she said. ‘Take me to the truck. I’m exhausted.’

She sagged against him and he bent to scoop her up into his arms again. Instead of throwing her over his shoulder as he had in Miami, he went for a more traditional arrangement this time and although she laughed, she didn’t put up a fight.

Telling Jansen that he would look after Layla was meant to be a repayment of his debt. Except now that he’d blurred the lines of their relationship he might owe Jansen another favour after Ruger was finished protecting Layla’s life.