Never Kiss a Bad Boy (22 page)

Tugging at the front of my shirt, I grinned. “How about you let me borrow something of yours?”

I thought he was going to argue. Instead, he walked to his closet and threw open the doors. The array of button-downs and suits stared back at me.

“If you were after something stylish,” he said, grinning at me, “You came to right place.”

****

I
'd picked some grey pants and a black vest, a forest green tie working with my coppery hair. Our suit jackets nearly matched, rich midnight in tone.

I didn't dress like this often, but I knew
how
to.

Opening my front door, Jacob followed me inside. I was halfway to calling for Marina when we both saw her standing in the kitchen.

Fuck.

Every inch of me—all the thickening inches, especially—wanted a piece of that woman.

Marina wore a crimson dress, and it fit her like she'd been born inside of it. It strangled her thighs, enhanced her perfect ass and left me staring openly at her valley of cleavage.

She was gorgeous and alluring, a combination I was sick with.

The sparkling green necklace enhanced the bare, coffee color of her shoulders. She kept touching the jewelry, and I wished her fingers were mine.

I wanted to speak... I wanted to shout. This woman was fantastic, searing into my memory. If I closed my eyes forever, she would be the last thing I'd see.

I was fine with that.

She fidgeted, shooting her gaze between myself and Jacob rapidly. “You two look good—great, even.” There was a long pause. “Uh, so,” she said, tripping on her tongue. “You guys can stop staring at me like that.”

Say something,
I told myself.
Speak the fuck up!

It wasn't to be.

Jacob moved beside me, his voice rich in that slick baritone of his. “Sorry, I don't mean to stare, but... Marina, you're honestly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.”

Her face flushed, and I was furious I hadn't been the one to make it happen. “Stop,” she said quickly, covering her mouth. “Don't say that. It's embarrassing.”

“The truth shouldn't be embarrassing,” Jacob whispered.

Okay. Nope.

No more of this.

Stepping forward, I exposed a smile and eyeballed her up and down. “He's right, you look amazing. Ready to go?” Offering my arm, I waited patiently.

Marina reached for me, setting my heart on overdrive, then stopped. “What about your gun? Won't you need it tonight?”

My face fell. I'd wanted her to touch me so much I was shaking. Recovering, I said, “Right. Let me go get that.”

I was feeling a rush of possessiveness. I'd kissed this woman, I'd buried my cock deep inside of her. Now, the idea of leaving her alone with Jacob so he could flirt and make her blush had my head swimming.

But it wasn't jealousy. It was something else I couldn't grasp.

Ducking into my room, I wrestled the secret panel away from my bed. Gripping my Ruger, checking it over, I realized what was bugging me.

Even if we share her... I still want to make her react to me. I still want to infect her mind and body.

This was going to get complicated. Jacob and I had shared women before, but no one had ever been able to endure our desires. Either one of us was insatiable.

Together, we were a vortex.

Tucking the gun under my coat, I headed into the main room. Marina was hugging her purse, chewing her lip. I was relieved not to find them making out. “Okay, I'm good. We can go.”

“I'll drive,” Jacob said.

“Let me.” I jingled my keys. “I looked up the address, I know the way.”
And Marina can sit up front with me.

Jacob eyed me knowingly, but he nodded. “Fine.”

It was a small win. A tiny, silly, stupid win.

But that was enough for me.

Marina

––––––––

“Y
ou're honestly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.”

I had that phrase trapped in my skull. It refused to wash away, clinging to the curves of my brain and sinking deeper and deeper.

Both of them had gorged themselves on me when they'd entered. Kite had gone speechless. But not Jacob.

No, Jacob had to go and turn me upside down. I was already floundering, didn't they see that? Or was that why they did it in the first place?

I didn't want flattery or compliments. I didn't want to know that these two sexy, well dressed men—killers, call them what they are!—were both keen to get inside my pants.

I was a woman with hot revenge in her pocket, someone who wanted to end a life and attain some closure. Now I was becoming more than that.

Because of these frustrating men, I was now a prize.

A prize to be shared.

Trembling, I tested the seat belt. I was considering jumping out of the moving car. Wouldn't that be a sight.

“Is the music okay?” Kite asked me.

Sitting up straighter, I pulled my jacket around myself. It was useful for hiding my body in this ridiculously revealing gown. “It's fine,” I said, smiling softly. I hadn't even been listening. I kept myself busy between glancing at Kite to my left, and eyeing Jacob in the side mirror.

He was watching me. He hadn't stopped smiling.

“Tonight,” I said, pushing to regain some control, “What do we do? Jacob, you were the one who said my murderer would be there. If I see him, if any of us sees him, what's the plan?” I was having trouble picturing myself doing anything but grabbing Kite's gun and shooting the guy if I
did
lay my eyes on his awful face again.

Jacob leaned forward between the seats. “It'd be better if none of us confronts him directly. I'd prefer he not see our faces until we're about to dispose of him. If you notice him, just tell me. I'll do the rest.”

His underlying message was, “Don't do anything rash, Marina.” I would try not to, but considering how I'd reacted to just seeing that photo...

On impulse, I hugged my purse. The picture was inside, I hadn't let it get away from me since putting it in there. “Can't I just ask him his name? He won't know me, and the next time he'll see me is when I blow his brains out.”

Kite laughed, steering the car down the busy street. “That's not the worst plan.”

My frown tugged at my lips. “I can't tell if that was sarcasm.”

Shrugging, he tossed me a brief smile. “If you're sure you can look him in the eye, imagining what he did and what you
want
to do to him, all while keeping calm...” Kite's smooth voice was making me remember the night he'd put a gun to my temple and fired.

My stomach tore in half at the memory.

“If you can do all that,” he went on, “Then it's fine. But do you really feel like you can keep it together when you face him?”

His dark words from that night rolled through my skull like a war machine.

You will not succeed, and then you will die.

Both of these men had no confidence in me. It frustrated me, but I hadn't proven them wrong yet. Tonight, I'd have a chance to.

If I did see the killer, I was going to cool my head and approach him. I'd ask his name, and then I'd make conversation and leave. I could do it. I could fucking do it.

For now, lying was easier than arguing. “Okay,” I sighed. “You win. If I see him, I'll just go tell one of you two. Speaking of which... if we're not going after him tonight, why
does
Kite have a gun?”

Jacob put his hand on the back of my seat. His perfect nails were inches from my hair, the strands mangled into what I hoped was an elaborate twist over my nape.

His chuckle was lighthearted. “If our target let's himself get into a compromising position, it'd be wise to take advantage of that. Personally, I'd prefer if we kept it to surveillance.” His eyes settled on me, intense as ever. “We have plenty of time to fulfill your wish, Marina.”

Wishes are a funny thing. They aren't sharp or deadly, you can't kill with them. What I needed was a loaded gun and a good, clean shot.

Maybe Kite was right. Maybe I couldn't stay calm in front of that monster after all.

“Here we are,” Jacob said, pointing as the car rolled up a long driveway. The building in front of us was huge, some sort of converted museum. Lamps winked, cameras flashed, and money came off of the place in waves.

People were gathered outside the wide front doors, smiling as if they knew no other expression. They were glamorous, fashionable. Everything here from the lights to the valet was white; pure, innocent white.

Sitting up, I caught my wide eyes in the mirror. “
This
is the charity ball?”
The idea of the murderous creature who had swung his ax and chopped up my happiness being
here
seemed... impossible.

This was a place full of smiles and laughs and, at worse, snobby rich people. He belonged among all of them as much as I did—which is to say, not at all.

Flooding with unease, I twisted to squint at Jacob doubtfully.

I found him staring right back at me.

He was relaxed—a sleeping lion. An animal that could jump up and tear someone to pieces. He was a hunter, but what was he hunting?

Swallowing, I said, “Jacob, are you sure this guy is going to be here?”

His shrug did not ease my nerves. “It's impossible to say. That's why we're looking.”

“It just doesn't seem like the kind of place a murderer would go.”

The two of them chuckled. Kite spoke first, teeth glinting in the bright lights we drove past. “Marina, think about what you just said.”

I already was. “There's a difference between you two and him,” I said sternly.

Jacob said, “Maybe. Don't assume you've seen every angle someone has to offer you. One day, they'll twist and expose another part of who they are. That side might shock you.”

It was cryptic advice. I longed to tear it apart and find the chunks of relevance. I wanted to understand Jacob and Kite more. If they had other facets, what were they?

I already knew the shadowed web they both hid from the public, what else could secret hitmen have in their closets?

The passenger door opened, a man in a white vest offering me a hand. I took it, letting the valet help me out of the car. He reached for my jacket, so I gave it up, but I clung to my purse, refusing to let it out of my sight.

Kite handed one of the men his keys. His hands flexed, veins taut. I got the impression he wasn't comfortable with someone else driving his Mercedes.

We all stood on the walkway, watching the car roll into the distance. “This way, please,” another man in a matching vest said. He waved us toward a set of glass doors. I could see the crowd milling inside.

Was my family's killer really in there?

“Well,” Kite whispered, tickling my left ear. “Let's go and have some fun.” His face was full of mischief, a hand gliding down to coil on my elbow. If I didn't start walking because of him, Jacob picked up the slack. That dark-haired man had his palm on the middle of my back, urging me into the building.

The three of us entered, and with two handsome men at my hips, I felt like some sort of ambassador—someone important that needed guarding.

Their hands were on me, their nearness suffocating me with their lovely scents. It would have been wonderful if I wasn't genuinely terrified of what was on their minds.

Jacob had laid it out so bluntly, pulling the curtain aside and saying, “This is what we want from you. Take us both, or you'll get nothing.”

Knowing that they wanted to sleep with me—fuck me—simultaneously... it was making my knees shake as I moved. I needed to focus.

Ignoring how Kite's fingers felt on my skin was a challenge, but I had to do it. And pretending Jacob and I hadn't kissed mere hours ago and he'd clearly wished for more? That was difficult to shove out of my head.

But I forced myself.

Because I had a murderer to find.

“It'll be easier if we split up,” I said. “I'll go over there, see if I recognize him in the crowd.”

Kite glanced down at me, then shared a look with Jacob. Something went unsaid, but they both released me.

The air between us was a canyon, it surprised me how much I noticed the distance. Had I gotten used to them being this close to me, somehow?

“Alright,” Kite said, adjusting his vest. It fit him tightly, enhanced the shape of his strong shoulders. “I'll wander around. Find me if anything happens, Marina. Got it?”

“Got it.” Sliding forward, I went to start scouting.

A hand closed on my wrist.

Jacob held me back, his grip light, but his stare as good as a vice. “If you need help, I'm here as well.”

The way my heart swam, I imagined it would get lost in the depths of my budding desire. Standing there, faced by both of their concerned expressions, I wished being angry was easier.

Being angry was simple.

Dwelling on their hunger for me was not.

I touched his arm, pulling away gently but firmly. “Relax. I'll be fine. I'm going to do what you guys said, I won't cause any trouble.”

They nodded, smiling as I turned away.

It was good they believed me. It was better for all of us to think I was tamed.

I had no plans to avoid that damn monster. If I saw him, if his face appeared in the crowd?

I would cause all the trouble in the world.

****

A
n hour.

That was how long I spent wandering the building. It was a lovely place, all white marble and golden lamps and colorful art on the walls. Outside there were gardens, lit as if by fireflies on strings of tiny lights. There was food, and drink, and fuzzy music. It was an event built to solidify good moods.

I was miserable.

The man I was chasing wasn't here. Or, I hadn't found him yet. But I'd looked, stomped my way across every foot of the place until my aching feet wished I had shoved them into more comfortable shoes.

I swirled the drink in my hand. It had been hard to turn away every waiter, they swarmed like flies—trying to be helpful, but in the end, making me feel like I'd buckled and given in to their efforts.

At least the wine was tasty.