LaceysGame (3 page)

A bastard was responsible, one by the name of Brogan
Grainger. Rich fucker. Into security. Broke Lacey’s heart. If he came around,
Rocki would appreciate if Lou broke a whiskey bottle over his head—her exact
words.

Armed with that info, he’d done some research and then he’d
asked his own security people to watch in case the guy showed up.

“I think he was here, boss. Scary-looking dude too.” Dugger
handled the cameras, and to him, anybody he had to look at in person was scary.

“Shoot me the feed.” He’d seen a few pictures of Grainger
online. Spinning around in his chair, he flipped on the monitor and then
scowled as he recognized the face.

Yeah, that was him.

Then, eyes narrowing, Lou watched the man walk down the
hall. Studying the timestamp, he murmured, “Man, you got an eyeful, didn’t you?”

Lacey had realized when she left that he hadn’t shut the
door all the way. She’d blushed clear down to the edge of her sexy little
corset, tempting him to strip her right back out of it.

The door had been open—it never shut all that well and
normally he was better about closing it, but earlier, he’d had other things on
his mind. Namely, getting Lacey naked.

Seemed somebody had likely seen things he might not have
wanted to see.

“Boss?”

“Yeah?”

“Should I get Jinks down here? You want us to boot him?” Dugger
asked, his voice nervous.

That was Dugger. Dugger was always nervous. He practically
oozed anxiety. Frowning, Lou continued to study the feed for a few more
minutes, watching the man’s face as he came striding back down the hall a few
minutes later. “Where is he now?”

“Sitting up in the club. In a booth. Just sitting there. No
drinking, not talking. Not causing trouble, just sitting there.”

“Leave him alone. But tell Jinks I want him keeping a close
eye on Lacey tonight—he’s not to leave until Lacey and I are in my car, got it?”
If it was just Lou, he wouldn’t worry—he could go a few rounds with the jerk. He
didn’t mind if the fucker was a bruiser or not. But he wasn’t going to drag
Lacey into it. No way, no how.

Brogan had spent too many years working security not to know
when he was being watched.

He didn’t think Lacey had made him, but somebody sure as
hell had.

There was a big-ass man hanging by the door, although he had
his eyes trained on Lacey.

He had two men watching him.

Decent security, he figured, for a bar.

They managed to keep him in their sights and still watch
their clientele, although if he’d decided to get ugly, what were they going to
do?

Not that he was there to get ugly. He just wanted to talk to
Lacey.

He slid her another look…and saw the big guy shoot him a
narrow one in return. Brogan smiled to himself as he toyed with his straw. He’d
wanted to order whiskey—preferably a gallon of it, but he’d stuck with a soft
drink and it was watered down now.

He’d talk to her. Maybe not tonight, and that might be for
the best. And it might not happen here. But past six weeks had proven something—he
had a hole inside him. A big, ugly hole and it hadn’t existed until he’d fucked
up and lost Lacey.

He wanted her back.

If that didn’t happen, he might as well just dig a real hole
and get it done, because his life was empty without her.

Eyes gritty, heavy, he leaned back in the seat and watched
as she continued to work the bar, side by side with a stocky, redheaded giant.

The two of them were a pair, he mused.

They joked around as if they’d known each other their whole
lives, it looked like.

Broodingly, he noticed that she was laughing…a lot.

He hadn’t given her much cause to smile. To sing. To laugh.

“I’ll make it up to you, Lace,” he murmured.

Jinks was lingering at their back as they headed out to Lou’s
car.

Lacey slid him a look before glancing at Lou.

He shrugged. The big guy was the quiet sort. It had been
nearly two weeks before he’d done anything more than grunt
Hey
in her
direction.

Tonight, though, he was following them out to Lou’s car and
when she reached the door, he had a big hand on it to open it before she even
had a chance. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

Jinks just grunted and headed back into the club. He was a
big dude but he moved as quick and light as a dancer.
Just doesn’t seem
natural
, she thought. As Lou slid into the seat next to hers, she studied
him, waiting for an answer.

“Lou…?”

He gave her a puzzled look.

“Yeah?”

“What was the deal with the escort?”

“Hell, you know Jinks. If he’s decided he needs to follow
people out to their cars, he’s going to do it, and he
might
explain
why…under threat of starvation.” Lou paused, and then added, “Or cats.”

“Cats?”

Turning the key in the ignition, Lou shot her a grin. “Yeah.
Lou doesn’t like cats. Threaten to surround him with cats and he might do just
about anything to avoid it.”

She’d gone home with him.

Brogan sat in his car outside the house, staring up at the
place and keeping himself inside through sheer will alone.

Well, at least he knew why she hadn’t had anything pop for
home rentals when they’d tried to find her.

She was staying with a fucking lover.

It was the only thing that made sense.

It ripped his heart out to think about it.

Sitting there, staring as shadows moved back and forth in
front of the windows, he fought with the monster of rage inside him, the demon
of jealousy, and the beast of grief. He’d had her…and it looked as if he’d lost
her.

All because he was too lost in his own head.

Just leave
, that insidious little voice murmured yet
again. But he ignored it. Any time he listened to
that
voice, he’d
gotten in trouble.

He’d been listening to that voice when he’d been married.

She had been perfect for him, after all. He’d been fresh out
of the military, recovering from an injury and trying to find a way to invest
the money his grandfather had left him. He had the training and the smarts, so
why not security? The lovely wife seemed a fit and she had helped open so many
doors…and then she’d slid a knife in his back. That little voice had told him
there was nothing wrong with all those hushed conversations and that little
voice had told him a million other lies too.

It had been
that
voice that had told him not to get
too involved with Lacey… He couldn’t trust women, right? Steered him to the
wrong woman, then away from the right one. So much for trusting his instincts.

It was time to listen to his gut now. His gut. His heart.

If he wanted any chance at all of winning Lacey back, he
needed to stop worrying about the past and focus on Lacey. And probably cut it
with the stalker shit. He was almost positive that wasn’t going to go over well
with her.

Get a little bit of sleep, shower and change so when he came
back tomorrow, he didn’t look like a fucking zombie.

Maybe he could find a way to throttle down on the rage so
when he saw Mr. Piano Man, he didn’t beat him bloody.

Shoving the key into the ignition, Brogan gave the house one
last, lingering look.

Lacey was in there. It was like ripping out a kidney to
drive away.

But he did it anyway.

It was noon when she finally stumbled out of the shower.

Lou’s hand stroked down her ass, and she shifted, smacked it
away. “Damn it, quit it. You’ll drown me if you pull me back in there,” she
said, laughing at him as he gave a theatrical sigh.

Lou was all sorts of theatrical.

And he was all sorts of good for her too. Her libido. Her
ego. There was no reason she should have waited three weeks to get back with
him. She probably shouldn’t have waited as long as she had to come here period.

It took having her heart ripped out to realize how bad
Brogan had been for her.

Towel-drying her hair, she closed her eyes and let herself
admit some of the things she’d been hiding from. She should have walked away
well before now. Should have come here or even gone to spend a few months in
France with her dad. Anything to get some distance. The ache in her chest was
there, and she knew it was going to be a while before she could think about
Brogan without it hurting, but she’d make the break.

That was the big thing, right?

It gets easier at this point
, she thought.

She hoped.

She prayed.

The water turned off as she finished drying her hair and she
yelped as a pair of hands closed over her hips, drawing her back up against
him. “You’re insatiable, “she sighed.

“Hmmm. Well, I’ve got a woman bent over naked in front of
me, letting me see all sorts of interesting things…” He cupped her in his hand
and pushed one finger inside her pussy. “What do you expect?”

Pleasure shuddered through her. Need was a hot, slippery
little devil that licked at her insides and turned her blood to molten lava. “Are
you trying to kill me?”

“Nope.” He bit her shoulder, twisted his wrist…and then
moved away, slipping his finger into his mouth. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

“You’re about as rotten as you ever were.” Frustration and
humor danced inside her. She’d forgotten that sex could be fun. It had always
been like that with Lou. Nice to see she could find that again. She grabbed her
robe and moved up to him, leaving the robe hanging open as she stroked a hand
down his middle, closed her fingers around his cock, stroked up, then down.
“So…you can’t help yourself.”

His lids drooped under the touch of her hand and she started
to pump as he muttered, “Yeah.” He thrust against her hand.

But when he went to grab her wrist, she pulled back.

“I get that way a lot. Impulsive and all.” She grinned at
him and then said, “So, I’m hungry. Want some breakfast?”

He pressed his hand against his cock, grumbling a little
before reaching for his clothes. “You’re a brat.”

“Yep. Breakfast?”

He sighed. “As long as you’re cooking it.”

“As if you could.” She smiled at him as she tied the robe
around her waist and headed out the door.

I almost…
almost
feel happy
, she thought. Almost.
She wasn’t quite there yet. There would still be a lot of bad days ahead. But
maybe she could get over Brogan. One of these days.

The doorbell rang before she made it to the kitchen. Groaning,
she glanced down at her robe. It was lined—she’d brought her winter one, the
silk one lined with cotton on the inside—she never knew when Lou was going to
have a weird idea for a photo shoot that was going to involve her being naked
and freezing, but she didn’t want to answer the door in her robe.

Sighing, she made her way to the door and punched in her
code before opening it.

If she’d looked through the peephole as Lou was always
nagging her to, she never would have opened it.

By the time she thought about it, it was too late. Her heart
crashed to her feet, and then it started to dance and she wanted to kick
herself, grab her heart and put a leash on it…something, anything, to keep
herself from feeling so happy at that sight of that craggy, not exactly handsome
face.

As her heart gave one hard, bruising knock against her ribs,
she swallowed.

“Good morning, Lacey,” he said quietly. That low, raspy
voice, just barely above a growl, sent shudders coursing through her and she
had to lock her knees just to keeping them from trembling.

“Brogan.”

He glanced down, his gaze lingering on her robe, and then he
lifted his eyes back to her face.

“I’d like to talk with you—”

“We got company, baby?”

Still in shock, Lacey was stiff as Lou came up behind her
and slid his arms around her waist, hauling her back against him. He planted a
playful kiss on her neck before looking up at the man standing in the doorway.

“Hello…” He smiled, all friendly like. Typical Lou. Then,
still being typical Lou, he said, “Dunno if you’re a politician or a salesman,
but we’re not interested. Are we, baby?” As if to reiterate that fact, he
skimmed a hand up her side, up…then down. Up, then down.

“This is a…” Lacey cleared her throat. “An old acquaintance
of mine, Lou.”

“Oh…gotcha.” He nudged the door open. “Come on in. Any
friend of Lacey’s…”

Brogan inclined his head. “Thank you.”

So polite
, Lacey thought. Dazed. So very polite…

Then she wasn’t able to think much at all—Lou had her turned
around, planting a quick kiss on her lips, one hand resting too damn low on her
back, just above her ass. “Why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll make up some
coffee?” he murmured against her lips.

“Get dressed…” She glanced down, scowling.

Then she groaned, feeling a blush creeping up her neck. She
was standing there. In her robe.

Between her current lover and a very recent ex-lover. Of
course, Brogan had probably just now figured out he was an ex-lover.

Glancing at Brogan, she beat a quick retreat.

If she’d bothered to look back, even for a second, she might
have glimpsed the icy look flashing in Lou’s eyes.

“You frequently paw women in front of guests?” Brogan asked
coolly.

Lou shrugged. “Hey, our house…we can do as we see fit.”

“Our?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Lou studied him coolly, and that friendly façade was
gone as if it had never existed. The blue eyes that had smiled so easily were
now brittle, sharp as broken glass. “Our. As in ours. Lacey lives here with me,
has for a few weeks and she’s planning on hanging around a while. That makes it
our
house.”

“I see.”

Lou smirked. “Yes, I bet you do.” He brushed past Brogan. Close.
Close enough that Brogan could have reached out and punched the bastard. Snapped
his neck.

Then the man paused and slid him a narrow look—challenging. The
glint in his eyes seemed to whisper,
Try it
.

Their gazes held for a moment and then Lou headed on into
the kitchen. “So did you get an eyeful last night?”

Brogan tensed.

Over the counter, Lou smiled. Seconds later, the rich scent
of coffee beans filled the air, followed by the whir of the grinder.

“Excuse me?”

“You make decent security systems—one of the branches your
dad owned installed the one I’ve got in my place years ago. My uncle updated
the cameras last year, and let me tell you, they can capture some really clear
images.” Lou braced his elbows on the counter and those blue eyes remained
cool, remained icy. “I saw you down by my office. Bad timing, man. Bad, bad
timing. That couldn’t have been any fun. Well, at least not for you.”

Brogan almost went over the island after him.

Then Lou shifted his gaze to the side, a smile curling his
lips up, and the cool look in his eyes softened.

“Hey, angel,” he murmured.

“What wasn’t any fun?”

Eying the bastard, Brogan crossed his arms over his chest
and waited for the lies.

But to his surprise, Lou chuckled and held out a hand. As
Lacey accepted, Brogan found himself sinking—everything sinking. His heart down
to his knees, any hopes he had of fighting for her.

This fucker was about to screw everything up.

No, you did that.

But if the bastard had lied…

“I think we had an unexpected audience last night, sugar,” Lou
said.

Lacey stiffened.

Brogan clenched his jaw and waited for the shock, the horror
to come across her face.

She just continued to stare at her lover. “Excuse me?”

Lou grimaced. “The door to my office doesn’t always shut
well. After you headed back up to the bar, I got a call from Dugger. Turns out
somebody was in the back hall near my office.” He flicked Brogan a look. “It’s
your boy, there.”

Now
Lacey looked at him. Vivid green eyes narrowed on
his face. “Damn, Brogan. I know you’ve got your kinks, but watching me have
sex, since when did that get on the list?”

“I didn’t go there to watch you have sex,” he bit off. “I
went to talk to you.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Because by the time I found you, you were too busy with
that jackass,” he snarled. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to… Shit, Lacey.” Unable
to even figure out what he wanted to say, what he needed to say, he turned
away. He needed to level out before he could have this conversation. “Can I
call you later?”

“I don’t see why you should bother,” Lacey said quietly.

“Because we need to talk.” Turning back to her, he focused
on her face. Seeing her soothed that raw, ragged ache inside him but at the
same time, it just made it worse because he realized he wasn’t going to be able
to get her back, not as he’d hoped.

He was just now realizing how much he’d needed to get her
back.

He thought he
cared
about her?

It was so much more than that and he hadn’t even seen it.

This was an ache inside him, one that kept him awake at
night, that lived within him constantly.

She was still standing next to Lou but now she reached up,
stroked the hand resting on one shoulder. Then she eased away, coming to stand
a few inches away from him. So close that he could smell the soft scent of her
skin, close enough that he could see the freckles on her nose. Close enough
that he could just lean in and their lips would touch.

Yet miles stood between them.

“Why?” Lacey’s eyes were sad. “What’s there to talk about? You
keep me on the outside, Brogan, and no matter how much I tell you that I want
in, you won’t listen. I tell you what I need, what I want, and you pat me on
the head like I’m a child. You only share the bits and pieces of yourself that
you
think
I can handle. You won’t let me have you.”

She shook her head. “I’m done with that.”

“Lacey…damn it.”

“No.” Tears glinted in her eyes but she blinked them away. “This
has been coming for a long time and what happened at Tracks that night was the
last straw. You want me on your terms…and I guess part of me can understand
that. But your terms aren’t fair. You want the
me
you think you know. And
that woman isn’t
me
. Here are my terms. You take
all
of me, however
you want me, and give me
all
of you. But you won’t do that. So this isn’t
happening.”

All of me…
That echoed through him.
All
of
Lacey. However he wanted her. Possessiveness, need, the emotions that hit him,
so deep and fast, it was more than he could analyze.

Especially considering she had turned away.

Especially considering the little bit she’d added on…
Give
me all of you…

I can’t do that—
Terror gripped him. He couldn’t do
that—couldn’t.