Sinful Seduction (15 page)

As he entered his place he heard muted voices coming from the direction of the living room. Mina’s and Ivan’s. Blue gritted his teeth, not liking that the other man was here. Ivan was protective of Mina and while Blue appreciated it, he was big enough to admit he didn’t like the camaraderie between the two of them. It was archaic and a little juvenile, but he wasn’t going to deny his feelings when it came to Mina. He loved her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind.

When he stepped into the living room, he was once again reminded of how damn right Mina looked in his place. Sitting on one of his couches wearing one of those flowy summer dresses, her feet tucked under her as she sipped a glass of white wine, the bright lights of the city behind her through the floor to ceiling windows, she looked like home to him.

It was the only way he could describe her. Being with her, coming back to her every night,
was
home. She smiled broadly when she saw him and when her gaze landed on the flowers, she actually flushed pink, clearly pleased. And it made him feel ten feet tall.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured, covering the distance across the hardwood floor in seconds. Before she could rise, he’d taken his place next to her, brushing his lips over hers in a way he meant to be possessive because Ivan was there.

Laughing lightly, because she likely knew what he was doing, she pushed at his chest. “Ivan just stopped by to talk to us.”

Us? More like Mina. Probably wanted to convince her to dump Blue. He’d seen the way the other man looked at him and was well aware Ivan didn’t think he was good enough for her. Well, fuck him.

Blue set the flowers on the table next to her wine then looked at Ivan, keeping his expression blank. “Interesting timing. Did you intentionally plan to stop by when you knew I’d be gone?”

“I did.” The truth of his statement took Blue off guard. Before he could respond, Ivan continued. “But not for the reasons you think. I haven’t been here long so I haven’t had a chance to tell Mina everything. And I’m not going to sugarcoat any of this. I had you thoroughly checked out. If I didn’t, I’d be terrible at my job. You saved Mina more than once and no one could ever doubt your honor, but I still had to be sure about you.” He cleared his throat, looking nervous as he flicked a glance at Mina.

Blue looked down at her to find her lips pulled into a thin line, but she didn’t seem surprised. And if he was being honest, Blue would have lost respect for the guy if he hadn’t checked him out. “And?”

“And…I know you’re not after Mina for her money.” He pointed at a thick manila file on the glass-topped coffee table. “From our brief discussions about you, it doesn’t sound like you’ve told her as much as you should about yourself. I never thought anyone would be good enough for her, but God, you’re like an all-American hero,” he muttered in mock-disgust, drawing out a small smile from Blue. “Give me a call tomorrow. I know what your meeting with the Caldwell brothers was about so once you’ve made a decision, we need to talk specifics if you’re going to be in charge of…” He trailed off, standing. “Just call me.”

Blue was surprised the other man knew about it, but maybe he shouldn’t be. It wasn’t surprising Harrison would have told Ivan, especially if Blue was going to head up Mina’s security detail—which Ivan currently led. Even though Ivan didn’t work for Red Stone, Blue had a feeling that was going to change soon. He wanted to offer the man a job and make his position permanent. His loyalty for the woman Blue loved was unquestionable so even if the guy rubbed him the wrong way sometimes, he didn’t care. Mina’s safety was more important than anything.

Mina nudged Blue in the side. “Are either of you going to tell me what you’re talking about?”

He squeezed her shoulder. “Yeah, in just a minute.”

Taking the cue, Ivan headed for the door. “I’ll let myself out.”

When Mina went to get up to walk him out, Blue tightened his grip around her shoulders. “He’s fine.”

She gave him an annoyed look, but didn’t argue. Just nestled closer to him until he pulled her onto his lap. “All right, start talking. What was all that about?” she asked as soon as Ivan was gone.

“Maybe you should just read the file.”

She tweaked his nose, making him smile, something he did more and more every day. “Or maybe you should just tell me what’s in it.”

“Before I joined the Marines you know I played pro ball.” When she nodded, he continued. “I received a healthy signing bonus—very healthy. I barely touched it, instead I worked with a couple financial advisors and I’ve got a little over ten million in the bank.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Okay, so you’re definitely not after me for my money,” she said teasingly.

Blue slid a hand up under her long dress, skimming along her smooth legs, up her inner thigh until he cupped her mound. Her
bare
mound. “This is what I want from you,” he said, his voice raspy.

“I hope that’s not
all
you want.” She sounded just as unsteady as he felt and when he tweaked her clit, she shuddered.

He shook his head, stilling his hand. “Definitely not. I know it’s too soon and I argued with myself the entire way here, but, shit, okay, I’m just going to say it.”

“I love you, Alex.” Mina bit her bottom lip, her green eyes nervous as she watched him.

Her words rolled over him, wrapping around him like a warm embrace, making it impossible for him to think. He hadn’t known how much he’d wanted her to say that until now.

“Say something,” she whispered, and he realized he’d just been staring. Because he was stunned that this sweet, smart, beautiful woman loved him too.

She shifted against his lap. “It’s okay if you don’t. The last couple weeks have made me realize that life is too short to hold back anything and I just wanted you to know.” But he could hear the nervousness in her voice

He mentally shook himself, feeling like a jackass for just sitting here. “I love you too. So fucking much. More than I ever imagined possible, Mina. I want you to move in with me. I’ve got more than enough space, and we can make any of the rooms your studio. Hell, we can knock down a wall and make you a giant studio.” Anything to make her happy. “But if you want to live in Key West, that’s fine too. I’ll move there with you—if you’ll have me.” He’d tell her about his new job offer later. He didn’t want to affect her decision or for her to think he was trying to use his job offer as a guilt tactic or something. Because he would give it up if she wanted him to move with her.

“Yes.” She smiled widely, her happiness clear as she shifted positions and straddled him.

He immediately pushed her dress up to her thighs, stroking his hands up and down her bare legs. He loved simply touching her. “Yes? Just like that?”

She lifted a dark eyebrow. “You want me to argue?”

Throat tight, he shook his head. “No, I just thought I might have to convince you a little harder.”

At that, her eyes gleamed wickedly. “What kind of method were you planning to use to
convince
me?”

He cupped her mound again, sliding a finger inside her this time, pleased to find her already wet. “How about I show you?”

Letting out a soft moan as he pushed another finger inside her tight sheath, she shakily nodded. “I like the sound of that.”

He planned to show her that he was the man for her every day for the rest of their lives.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading Sinful Seduction! For those of you who have read my Red Stone Security series you’ll be familiar with some of the characters. For those just discovering this series I really hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far and check out the rest of the series. I also hope that you’ll consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books. If you don’t want to miss any future releases, please feel free to join
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Happy reading,

Katie

Excerpt from

Sensual Surrender

Copyright © 2014 Katie Reus

Looking supremely smug, Jay grinned at her as he stroked a hand up and down her bare spine. The tile of the kitchen floor was cool beneath them, but she was still coming down from her climax so nothing could dilute her pleasure.

When he groaned and started to sit up she pushed off him and stood. “All right old man, let me help you up.”

For a moment, he portrayed such a vulnerable expression that she wanted to smack herself. He was in his late thirties whereas she’d just turned twenty-five—though she felt a hundred some days—and recently he’d made a comment that led her to believe the age difference bothered him a little. Even if it wasn’t a big deal to her. Thanks to an apathetic mother and an alcoholic father, she’d grown up with no real childhood to speak of and she’d always felt light years older than she was. With the exception of her deceased sister’s help, Ellie had always taken care of herself. “Jay—”

That brief sense of vulnerability she’d seen disappeared as he smiled and stood. He wrapped his big arms around her and brushed his lips over hers, silencing whatever she’d been about to say. “I’ve gotta head out soon and I’ll have to turn my cell to silent for a few hours once I reach the casino.”

“Okay. I don’t have anything big today. Just joining in two meetings with Wyatt this morning, so if you, want let’s meet for lunch. At the Cloud?” What most employees called Cloud 9.

He nodded and kissed her again, this time a claiming that left her breathless. Once he’d gone upstairs she put the eggs up and snagged some coffee. By the time she’d finished it and made her way up to their bedroom, Jay was dressed and looking impossibly sexy in a black suit and silver and green tie she’d bought him. One of his tattoos peeked out on the top of his left hand, part of an intricate script listing the names of friends he’d lost overseas. When she met his gaze again, she saw that familiar hungry look as he watched her.

“Go,” she said, close to jumping him again. Then they’d truly be late. “Or we’ll both get fired.”

He snorted at that. It would take more than that for their boss to fire them. They’d have to burn down the casino for that to happen. “I’ve got something special planned for tonight, so don’t be late getting home.”

She paused at the unreadable note in his voice, but nodded. His little surprises were always fun—and always sexy. “It looks like it’s going to be a low key kind of week.” Of course by saying that she’d probably just cursed herself for a manic one.

Another kiss and he was gone. Moving into gear she showered and was getting dressed when her cell rang. No one called her this early except her boss. Hell, she probably
had
jinxed herself. When she saw the caller ID she frowned, not recognizing the number. But it was local. “Ellie here.”

“Eleanor
Johansen
,” a familiar, hated voice from her past said with a dripping kind of smugness that made her want to reach through the phone and punch him.

Feeling her blood turn to ice, she collapsed on the edge of the king-sized bed, her knees giving way upon hearing Kevin Murrell on the other end. He wasn’t supposed to be out of prison for another fifteen or twenty years. “How’d you get this number?” she demanded, thankful her voice didn’t shake. She knew she should just hang up on him, but she needed to find out what this creep wanted. And when he’d gotten out of prison, because she didn’t think he could be calling from inside.

He made an obnoxious
tsking
sound. God, how had she ever thought she was in love with this moron? “Taking your mother’s maiden name isn’t enough to hide from me.”

“I’m not trying to hide from anyone.” And she wasn’t. Not truly. She’d just wanted to put distance between her past self and who she’d become. “I take it you’re out. Good behavior?” She couldn’t hide a snort of disbelief.

A long pause before he spoke again and this time he didn’t hide the bite of annoyance in his voice. “You’ve changed.”

“If you mean I’m different than that pathetic seventeen year old who thought you hung the moon, then yeah, I’m very different. Why are you calling me?” Finding her legs again, she went to her bedroom window and slightly pulled the curtains back. She knew she was likely being paranoid, but she wanted to see if this bastard was watching her house. She wouldn’t put it past him. Not when she had something he wanted.

“You know why. I want my belongings.”

Ice settled into a hard ball in her stomach as she had to confess the truth. “I’ve got most of it, but I don’t have all of it.”

Another pause, longer this time. “How short am I?”

She closed her eyes, rubbing her temple. “About fifty.” Meaning fifty thousand dollars. For all she knew he was being monitored by the police or even the criminal he’d stolen from in the first place. “I didn’t expect you to get out for a few more years.” Because she would have replaced the money by then, with him none the wiser. She wasn’t sorry she’d taken it, not when it had given her a path to college and a better life. Kevin had stolen half a million from a low level mobster before getting arrested for something completely unrelated. Since Nevada was a three-strike state and he’d committed his third felony robbery of a residence with a deadly weapon, he’d been locked up and was supposed to have been kept there for a good long time. Looked like the justice system failed again.