Her lashes lowered to conceal her gaze. Uh, oh. He’d said something that struck a chord with her. A bad chord. Now he needed to go back and figure out what. “Ali and I will be downstairs in a minute,” he assured the others. “We’ll make a grand and dramatic exit, and then I’ll be taking her to our next stop. I’d say odds are good that we might pick up a tail along the way.”
“I’ll keep eyes on you,” Odin assured him. “If you’re followed, I’ll be on your six to back you up.”
He’d figured as much.
“I…thought you all had other cases.” Ali’s voice was halting. “Jinx did say he was the only PI available.”
Yes. That had been a lie. A white lie. Tiny fib. “You know these two, they always hate to be left out. So we shifted things around a bit, and now they’re doing secondary protection and investigation on this one.”
Her brows lifted. “Are they?”
Which was her way of calling bullshit.
Jinx shrugged before looking meaningfully at War. Hadn’t Jinx already said that he and Ali would be down in a minute?
War put his hands on his hips. “You’re kicking me out of my office again?”
“Yes.” It was good of War to notice. “How about you run downstairs and tell the bartender to be less obvious? She’s never going to get good intel if she’s screaming rookie cop at everyone she meets.”
War’s lips almost twitched. Almost. Such a near thing. At the last moment, he nodded and strode for the door. Odin was right on his heels.
“Odin…” Ali’s voice was soft.
Odin stilled.
“When you arranged for me to take this little getaway, why didn’t you mention to me that Jinx was down here?”
The question caught Jinx off-guard. As far as he knew, Odin hadn’t known a damn thing about Jinx’s personal relationship with Ali.
Not looking back, Odin replied, “If I’d told you, you wouldn’t have come.”
What? Well…fuck me. He did know.
Odin shot her a fast glance over his shoulder. “And I could hear the fear in your voice when we talked.”
Ali took a step toward him. “You never said a word.”
“Was waiting on you.”
Odin had known Ali was scared and he hadn’t passed that news on to Jinx? They’d be having a talk about that ASAP.
The door shut behind Odin. Ali frowned after him. Jinx kept his gaze on her. With an effort, he also managed to keep his hands off her. Major effort, though. Because he wanted to yank her close and hold her tight and make absolutely sure she was never hurt by anyone or anything.
She sighed out a long exhale. “I’m sorry.”
Ali was apologizing to him? “What the hell for?”
“I’m one of those people that you mentioned.” She bit her lower lip. Let it go. “I didn’t intend to be. But here I am, using you, for my own gain.”
Ah, so that comment had been the one to make her uncomfortable. Good to know. “Sweets…” he drawled.
Her gaze met his.
He motioned toward his body. “Use me all night long.”
“Jinx…”
He closed in on her. Lifted his hand and lightly slid his knuckles over her cheek.
“I worked for the ‘shady government’ agency.” Her voice was husky. “I’m one of the people using you.”
“And I say to you again, use me all night long.” Did it look like he was complaining? “I wasn’t talking about you earlier.” So she understood completely. “There is more at play. Stuff you don’t know yet.” Stuff he’d worked to keep secret. “Protecting you, pretending to be the lover who is so obsessed that he can’t keep his hands off you…” His hand slid down to her neck. Curled around her nape. “That’s a job I willingly volunteer for.”
She was leaning toward him. Edging up onto her tiptoes. Did she realize it? He sure did.
“Why?” Ali breathed. “Why do this for me?”
“You didn’t ask War and Odin why they were so willing to help.”
She edged up a little higher. “They’re my friends.”
“And I’m not your friend?” He wanted her mouth. He’d be taking it. “That hurts. Wounds me deeply.”
“Jinx, be serious.”
Why was everyone always telling him that? The world was serious enough as it was. Besides, in this instance, he had been speaking honestly. “I can be your friend,” he told her, “and be the man you want to fuck over and over again in the middle of the night.” Or the middle of the day. Or every single moment.
Her eyes widened.
“I’m so willing to help because you need me right now. You need a friend. You need a partner. You need someone who won’t hesitate to get rough and dangerous with the psycho messing with you. You need someone who will do anything necessary to make sure he’s stopped.” Jinx brought his head down. Almost kissed her. Almost. “Like I said…you need me.”
Then he lifted his head.
She was still staring at his mouth. A good sign, he thought. Very promising.
“Jinx?”
He whistled. Reached for the door.
“Jinx, why didn’t you just kiss me?”
His back was to her. The better to hide the big grin that swept over his face. “Because, love, you’ll be the one who kisses me next time.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ll be the one. You’ll kiss me. Madly, frantically, desperately. And for the whole world to see.” He swung open the door. “You’ll know when the moment is right.”
“You just—you want it to be for show?”
No, he wanted everything to be for keeps. But he was getting to that. He was playing a long game. “Isn’t that the point?”
She stormed by him. “Right. Yes, of course.”
His hand shot out and curled around her wrist. “Of course, if you want more than a show…”
Her head turned toward him. Her deep, dark stare met his.
“All you have to do…” I want her mouth. “Is say the magic words.”
Her breathing hitched. “And what would those words be?”
Now he did let her see his smile. “Fuck me.”
Chapter Seven
Armageddon was even busier when Ali headed back downstairs. She was far too conscious of Jinx behind her. When his hand lifted and his fingers pressed against the small of her back, Ali couldn’t help but tense.
She’d wanted him to kiss her upstairs. It hadn’t been about a cover or a show or anything else—she’d just wanted his mouth. But when Jinx kissed her, she tended to kiss her self-control goodbye. Not a good thing when they were dealing with a crazy stalker. A man who had apparently intended to hurt—and possibly kill—both her and Jinx that night.
“Head for the door,” Jinx directed as his breath blew against the shell of her ear. “Time for our big exit.”
A shiver slid over her as she began to maneuver through the crowd and for the door. Jinx shadowed her movements, and his fingers never left her back. She felt the touch like a brand burning through her shirt and sinking into her skin. She’d always been too hyper aware of Jinx.