Glancing up with forced nonchalance, Jodi closed the laptop. “Turbo is conked out on the couch. I figured we’d let him sleep and keep the bedroom to ourselves.”
Past the pounding of his pulse in his ears, Hunter heard the deliberately bold words. The hot way she looked him over felt like a physical stroke.
Above it all, though, he sensed her jittery uncertainty. Didn’t stop him from getting hard, painfully so, but it did force him to collect his wits. This was very unfamiliar territory for her. As usual, Jodi hoped to bluster her way through it with a cocky attitude that would annihilate any insecurity she felt.
This time Hunter wouldn’t let her. Whatever it took, he’d make this good for her, so good that he wouldn’t have to convince her that they were meant to be, because she’d come to that conclusion all on her own.
Very quietly, he closed the bedroom door, then leaned against it and simply looked at her.
* * *
TO REMMY’S SURPRISE, King himself was waiting on him, pacing the massive recreation room in the lower level of his home. Usually, once Remmy was escorted there by one of King’s guards, he was left waiting. It was a power play for King, a way to subtly reinforce that he was boss and everyone else worked for him.
This particular area, down a curving flight of stairs, was where he usually hosted his poker matches. The dark, coffered ceiling—a description Remmy knew only because King had explained it—was high, with inset lights at every square except over the billiard table and a large round mahogany poker table, where heavy chandeliers ensured plenty of light. Leather couches and chairs were arranged in seating groups, and a sizable wet bar with eight stools took up most of the space on the far wall. Floor-to-ceiling windows gave a view of the private backyard, thickly wooded.
At the bar, seated nearby on the closest stool, Danny Giggs drank what looked like whiskey. Huh. So he was not only still alive, he was back in King’s good graces? Remmy wondered what he’d done for King to make that happen.
“Did you fuck her?” King demanded, even before Remmy had secured the door behind him.
“Yeah.” Smiling, he popped his neck, easing knotted muscles while trying to look pleased. “I did.” He wasn’t at all certain of Hunter’s plan, but he’d do whatever was necessary to protect Jodi from a jackal like King.
It’d be better if Jodi took off, but even before she’d refused, he’d known it was a long shot. Jodi Bentley was not the type to tuck tail and run. She was the type to plant her feet and dare you to do your worst.
He couldn’t help admiring her.
All along, though he’d tried to deny it, he’d known it would come to this. Him doing something reckless in an effort to keep safe a woman who looked at him with disdain—and rightfully so. It was so fucking stupid, but for reasons he refused to examine too closely, she did it for him. Made him feel both hot and tender, savage and protective. Damn, how he’d like to get her in a bed...
“Was she willing?” Danny asked.
Fury gathered, sending all Remmy’s muscles to clench again. He stared at Danny, long enough to give the other man pause. Then, in a voice more deadly because of its softness, he said, “I’m not a rapist.”
Giggs snorted a nervous laugh. “Had her begging for it, huh?”
Remmy badly wanted to hit something, and Danny’s face would make a fine target.
King was not amused. He narrowed his eyes in a chilling warning. “Do you actually like the bitch?”
Staring right into the bastard’s eyes, leaving no doubt as to how he felt, Remmy said, “I don’t like anyone.”
Oddly enough, that seemed to pacify King. “Good. Keep it that way.” He thrust his empty glass toward Danny, who jumped up to get him a refill. Once Danny was behind the bar, King approached and asked quietly, “When will you see her again?”
He had zero idea. Pretending King’s nearness didn’t put him on edge, Remmy said, “Don’t know. I told her I’d call.”
From across the room, Danny laughed.
“Giggs is amused by everything tonight.” King’s dark eyes reflected the chandelier lights. Under his breath, he muttered, “He’s become a fucking nuisance.”
“Say the word,” Remmy replied softly. He’d rather dispose of Danny over Jodi any day, but if he got the chance, he could possibly just send the rat scurrying away.
When Danny handed him his drink, King smiled. “See, still so very useful.”
“Want me to visit her?” Danny asked, while cupping a hand over his crotch. “Maybe let her make comparisons.”
Remmy tried to show no reaction, but it wasn’t easy when the thought of Danny getting anywhere near her made his blood boil. Over my dead body. Which, actually, might be how it happened.
He hoped like hell Hunter was as competent as he came off.
“You,” King said to Danny, “would probably fuck her to death. I presume Remmy has a little more finesse?”
Since it was asked as a question, Remmy smiled again. “You already know she’s a bold little thing.” He fashioned a cocky grin. “She knows what she wants, and I gave it to her.”
“Good.” Idly, King clinked the ice in his drink while considering the situation. “Let her wait a few days. Don’t be too accessible.”
Perfect.
“Has she agreed to the job yet?”
Remmy shook his head. “She did, but the storm left everything a mess. She was scrambling all day, and has a lot more to do tomorrow. I think she’s overwhelmed right now. Might be a few days before she can begin.”
“That works,” King said with satisfaction. “Soon her neighbor will be too busy with Worth’s car to lend her a hand.”
Obviously, King didn’t yet know that Worth had jumped the gun on that. Remmy saw no reason to tell him. “That’s how I figured it. You have a good plan. Just need time for the pieces to fall into place.” He looked toward the windows at the immaculate lawn. “Besides, she’s new at this shit. Your place is so perfect, I’m not sure you’d want her mucking it up now, while the ground is soggy from the rain. In a few days, it’ll be dried out and she won’t be able to do much damage.”
After giving him a long, measuring stare, King nodded. “A valid point. I’ve had a three-man crew keeping this place pristine. No woman, for any reason, is worth damaging my image.”
His image, Remmy thought, was a fucking shambles already, but whatever. “Something else occurred to me.” It was a chancy move, the suggestion he’d give, but worth trying anyway. “Jodi lives in a dump. You could fit her entire house three times in this room alone. It’s obvious that’s all she could afford—so why not just buy her out?”