“Do you think that’s fair, Kayla?”
She thrust her chin out. He recognized it for the stubborn gesture it was. “Yes, I do. It’s temporary. Only until she and Alexei get married. I’ve caused Bailey enough trouble over the years. For once I want to solve my own problems and take care of her, even if it’s just letting her think everything is great for a while. Her knowing the truth won’t change anything, so keeping quiet for another few weeks won’t hurt.”
He wasn’t so sure, but Bailey wasn’t his sister. And he wasn’t getting between them. “Okay, but if I have to tell Camel so he can protect her, then I will. You need to understand that. I don’t keep secrets from my teammates if they need to know something important.”
“He’ll tell her.”
“He might not. He might agree with your reasons not to. Did you ever think of that?”
She shook her head.
“He loves her and wants her happy. Same as you. You need to trust him.”
“Okay.”
The word came out as a whisper and he knew she didn’t like the idea of Camel knowing. He didn’t think Camel needed to know just yet, but if he did, then Neo wasn’t keeping it from him.
“One more thing. If we do this and you don’t want your sister to know why we’re really getting married, then we’ll have to sell it to her. That means we have to pretend to be in love.”
She reddened again. “Agreed.”
He’d never been in love before, but he’d been around enough of his teammates who were that he was sure he could pull it off. Plus, it wasn’t a stretch to physically want her. He’d told Dirty a couple of months ago that he thought of her like a little sister, but that had been a lie.
A big fucking lie. Dirty saw through it, but Neo hadn’t been about to admit what he’d really wanted to do to Kayla Jones. How badly he’d wanted to taste her pussy again. If he married her though?
Yeah, Dirty would give him hell. So what? He’d still be the one who got to strip her naked and make her come every night. Eventually, when they got that far. He wouldn’t push her on that. He wanted her to need his cock as much as he needed to lose himself inside her.
“So you’ll marry me?” she pressed. “Or do you need to think about it some more?”
Neo thought of his sister and her kids again. How would he feel if some guy married her to help her protect the kids? To provide security—and health insurance—as well as do his best to be a dad they could depend on?
He’d be wary, but he’d be glad too. If the guy really cared about her and meant to do the best job he could.
Yeah, Neo’s teammates had found women they were crazy for. They’d fallen hard and fast, but he didn’t think it had to be that way to work. Marrying Kayla didn’t mean he was somehow going to miss out on finding his soulmate, the one who completed him. He wasn’t sure he believed in that bullshit anyway. His sister hadn’t had any luck in that department, and neither had his parents.
What he had with Kayla stood as much of a chance of working as anything. They had chemistry, and he cared about her and Ana. He wanted to protect them, and he was tired of the single scene. Surely that was good enough?
He held his hand out. She took it. He didn’t squeeze, didn’t shake it up and down. Just held her there, his hand engulfing her much smaller one.
He liked touching her. Liked the zip of attraction that hummed through his veins. The current of possessiveness. He took a deep breath. Studied her hazel gaze.
“Yes,” he said solemnly. “I’ll marry you.”
Chapter Four
Relief flooded her. Kayla closed her eyes and bowed her head as the weight of dread lifted from her shoulders. Zach was going to marry her. It was a huge thing, and she knew she could never thank him enough. With him on her side, whoever’d threatened her wasn’t going to win. He would make sure of it.
“Thank you, Zach. Thank you so much.”
His expression was fierce. “I’ve got your back, Kayla. It’s not what I expected would happen when I opened the door, but you can count on me. I won’t let anyone take Ana away from you, and I won’t let them hurt you either.”
He made her tingle inside, and he hadn’t done a thing but vow to protect her. “I know,” she said, her heart hammering. He was so damned gorgeous. Her body was already starting to melt, to prepare for something more. Her pussy grew hot and achy with anticipation. Remembering his touch. Craving it.
She told herself to slow down before she turned this into something it wasn’t. They were only going to pretend to be in love. That didn’t mean they were. Or ever would be. She’d never been lucky in love. She was good at attracting men, especially the wrong kind of men, but she wasn’t good at being the kind of person they loved.
James hadn’t loved her, though she’d thought he did for a while. He’d been different from the guys who normally hit on her. He hadn’t been filled with himself, talking for the good of his own ego. He’d been interested in her. Who she was, what drove her. She knew now that it had all been an elaborate game that men like him played. His job had been finding vulnerable young women to lure into sex trafficking, and the surest way to do that was make them feel heard and valued.
Zach was still sitting close, still studying her. His scrutiny made her self-conscious.
“I don’t know what’s going on in that pretty mind of yours,” Zach said softly. “I’ve seen six different emotions cross your face in the span of moments. You’re scared. I get that. But is it of the guy who threatened you? Or are you scared of me?”
“I’m not scared of you,” she blurted, embarrassed that he’d seen so much of her chaotic thoughts. “I’m grateful.”
“I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Kayla. I hope you know that. We’ll get married to protect you and Ana, and we’ll take the rest a day at a time.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
This man had never been anything but wonderful to her. Even on the single night they’d shared, he’d been concerned with her enjoyment, her pleasure. Yes, it had been wild and dirty and fun, but she’d never had a moment of fear or doubt. He’d pushed her to her limits and she’d loved every exciting moment of it. Then she’d run out of his house like there’d been a serial killer with an axe behind her the next morning.
She thought he might ask her about that night, but he didn’t. She was relieved because she didn’t know what to say in response. How did you tell the man who’d had his tongue all over your body and his cock and fingers deep inside you that you’d run away because you were afraid you’d taken things too far? Or, worse, that you suspected he’d fucked you out of pity?
“How soon do you want to get married?” he asked, all business.
Kayla worked to pull her emotions back from the brink. She had to. She’d gotten what she came for and now they had to make a plan. “As soon as we can? I don’t need a ceremony with friends and family. I don’t care about white dresses or any of that. It’d be ridiculous anyway since I have a baby.”
He frowned. “Anybody who thinks you can’t wear white is an asshole. It’s not about purity anymore. It’s tradition. If you want a white dress, I’ll kick anyone’s ass who says you shouldn’t wear one.”