Chapter Thirty

 

Half an hour later he was in the front row, watching every move Payton made. His sister and the rest of the women on stage barely registered to him. He had a lot to think about. A lot to plan.

What he was thinking was a hell of a lot more demanding and complicated than an affair. An affair would be far safer for both of them, emotionally, wouldn’t it? No attachments, no expectations?

That was the way Luc had always handled things in the past.

But could he ever end an affair with Payton?

That was the billion dollar question, wasn’t it? He somehow doubted that an affair would end peacefully between them—he couldn’t be involved with her and then watch her just walk away someday. Not him, not with her. And it was time he admitted that to himself. But…

What exactly did he want from her?

Dark thoughts swirled around in his head for most of Payton’s band’s turn on the stage. As she was taking a final bow, her hands clasped tight, one in Paige’s and one in Cody’s, it became perfectly clear to him.

Everything.

He wanted everything. Luc knew he’d spoken the truth to Cody—he did want all that he could get from Payton. With Payton.

Manny had said it would happen that way. That he’d find a woman and he’d get sick with wanting her. He wouldn’t even sleep, eat, or even think without having a part of her in his soul.

And Luc knew that woman was Payton.

He needed to stop being so stupid about it.

He wanted her at his side forever, wanted her sleeping in his bed, wanted his money paying for everything she needed. Wanted her naked with him and no other man for the rest of her life. He wanted her dependent on him for everything—materially, emotionally, all of it.

But how was he to get that from her? He wasn’t even sure she liked him.

And how could he blame her? A guy like him wasn’t what she needed, but damn it, he was what she was going to get.

The evening charity event came to its inevitable conclusion, and Luc watched with pride as his little sister stepped on stage with her friends surrounding her and accepted the symbolic check for the donation to the charity of her choice. Paige was so damned skilled, did she realize that?

Their mother had sung for a living, when she wasn’t drunk or prostituting, and she’d had some serious talent. If alcohol hadn’t taken hold of her so young, she might have made a success of her life.

Instead, she’d thrown everything away.

Payton stayed at the back of her little crowd, along with Carrie Lorcan, the two of them the least comfortable with eyes on them. But he had a hard time looking away from her. She looked out at the crowd and her eyes met his. Heat hit her cheeks.

So sweet, so beautiful.

He could ruin everything about her if he wasn’t careful with her. She’d have to be taken care of. Could he do it?

He damned well better. This wasn’t something he could screw up.

Fifteen minutes later he walked backstage, leaving the security guards to deal with his security team. A benefit of being Davis Lucas—he was free to go wherever he wanted; and the check he’d just finished writing to the organizer of this contest for the winning charity pretty much guaranteed his entrance to any part of the place.

Luc found Payton and the rest of her friends breaking down their equipment and laughing near the back dressing rooms.

He stepped up behind Compton and tapped the other guy on the shoulder. “Can I have a few minutes with Payton, please?”

“Sure. I need to help Kelly, anyway.”

Luc wrapped his hand around Payton’s wrist and dragged her into a secluded nook next to the hallway. “You’ll be coming home with me, tonight. We need to talk.”

“About what? I figured we were finished with everything between us three weeks ago.” The definite bite in her words had him wincing internally. He couldn’t screw this up any more than he already had.

“Someone knows about you and I, and they’re trying to force my hand.”

“In what way?” She kept her tone cool, but he saw the nerves in her eyes. She pulled her wrist free of his hold. Luc wanted to crowd her back against the wall and kiss her with all the emotions running through him right then. The corner they were in was just dark enough no one would ever notice.

“Threats, baby. Threats to you directly if I don’t mind my own business. We need to talk. You’re coming home with me.” And if he had his way, she’d never leave his house again. He just had to find the right way to make that known to her. He needed to think; and he’d do that best with her at his side where she belonged.

“Luc…”

“Do we really have time to debate the inevitable now?” He could hear Paige giving instructions to her friends. “We’ll help you load up. Then you and I can head home.”

 

***

 

After the contest was over and they’d loaded Josh’s truck with all of their equipment and instruments, Payton wanted nothing more than to go home, without talking to Luc.

But that wasn’t about to happen. The man wasn’t letting her out of his sight, and he’d set Chase on her, as well. She’d seen the bodyguard lurking behind her even when she’d slipped off to the restroom. How was she supposed to deal with that?

Luc waited for her with Seth and Sebastian Lorcan. Seth had shown up at Smokey’s a few hours earlier, and from the way he and Al couldn’t keep their eyes off of each other, her friend had something else to celebrate besides their win. It had been so romantic seeing Al’s face when she realized the triplet standing there hadn’t been Sebastian, but his identical brother. The love and raw emotion had had Payton’s eyes watering, as well. She was so happy for Al. Her friend deserved to be happy.

Payton felt a bit wistful when she thought about it all. Al and Seth had been together for only what amounted to a few days, yet the look on both their faces when they saw each other was deep, intense, and beautiful. They’d been together only a few days before she and Luc had…She wasn’t going to think about that.

She wasn’t so certain she’d ever have something like that. And she half didn’t think she wanted it; not anymore. It was too hard, too confusing. Too easy to screw up.

Luc stepped away from the brothers and toward her. He held out his hand for hers and she took it without thinking it through. He had her against him and was kissing her quickly. He pulled away before she could react. “Congratulations, sweetheart. I heard this was the biggest donation ever raised from a Battle of the Bands.”

It was worth it; the proceeds of the entire contest went to the charity choice of the winning band. They’d unanimously agreed that whatever they’d raise if they’d won would go to the runaway and homeless teen-shelters that Carrie and Paige had bankrolled years ago, with proceeds from Carrie’s computer programs.

And one shelter had nearly been destroyed by fire a few months before Payton’s team had transferred from Indianapolis. Paige would officially deliver their winnings in the morning. The Battle was Paige’s baby, her obsession, and everyone had known it. They’d been practicing for months. Luc’s sister had also written most of the songs they’d done, and all of the musical arrangements. Paige was immensely talented, but Payton knew she had little confidence in her skills. A shame, really. If Paige ever left the FBI, she’d make a killing as a songwriter; Payton didn’t doubt it in the least.

Too bad Paige did.

Her friend was remarkably lacking in confidence, at times.

Her brother didn’t seem to be. He pulled away and gave her a look filled with such heat she was surprised she didn’t turn into melted slush at his feet. He’d never looked at her that way before, even when he was trying to intimidate her that first night. Except for that night in his bed…He’d looked at her just like that. And then the next day he’d made it perfectly clear there wouldn’t be a repeat of that night.

What had changed his mind in the weeks since?

Or was it just for the benefit of the people surrounding them?

It sure hadn’t felt like a show.

Paige came running out of the back door and stopped where they stood. “Heading over to Smokey’s to celebrate, Payt. Bring your friend. Big party! Half of PAVAD’s going to be there.”

Payton just nodded, though a party at Smokey’s was the last thing she was really in the mood for. She looked at Luc. He stared at Paige, a brooding expression in the eyes so like Paige’s.

Why did no one else see it? They were both tall and lean, dark-haired and eyed. And the shape of their eyes was so distinctive, not to mention the smiles. Even the small gap in their front teeth was the same!

They looked more alike than Al and her brothers, yet no one missed the Brockmans were related.

“Payton? You want to join your friends before we head…home?”

Why had his tone changed on the last word? She knew he was scheming. She knew him well enough to know when he was plotting something—but what was it? “Luc…I…”

“I have the car waiting.” Chase and Terrance were on duty tonight and he’d given them instructions to have the limo ready; she’d heard him give the orders over his phone. He looked at the rest of the group forming around Payton. “It’s the big one; we have room for several more people, if you’d like to join us.”

“Come on, Paige.” Cody grinned at Luc and Payton before grabbing Paige’s hand, then Kelly’s. “Girls, you’ve got to check this car out. It has purple leather.”

Payton felt trapped and when Luc wrapped one hand around her waist and pulled her closer, she knew that’s exactly what she was. And Cody hadn’t helped the matter by taking up his invitation so easily. Damn her friend.

Cody might not see Luc for the predator that he was, but she did. And she felt like prey, like a puny little antelope being stalked by a leopard. What had changed in him in since she’d seen him last? What had made him suddenly so aggressive? She was sure she didn’t like it, whatever it was. As soon as they were alone she was finding out what he meant by threats, deciding what to do about those threats, and then telling him to stay far, far away from her.

That was what the logical part of her brain was telling her to do.

“Relax…” He bent down and whispered in her ear. “We’ll have plenty of chaperones. Even at the party. The good stuff will happen tonight, when we’re all alone.”

Her breath caught, especially when his hand slipped toward the small of her back. He brushed his fingers over the small strip of skin her t-shirt didn’t cover. Where had she left her sweatshirt? She thought she’d given it to Josh to hold earlier. “That’s not going to happen again. I won’t be used, Luc. Whatever you’re planning, just forget about it. So just forget it. Right now.”

He threw back his head and laughed. Arrogant jerk. “If you’re so sure about that, we’ll just have to see, won’t we, baby?”

“Jerk.” She pulled away from him and followed her friends to the limo, hoping they wouldn’t see the heat that still flooded her cheeks. Damn him. He’d done it on purpose, hadn’t he?

He couldn’t mean what he’d implied, he was just trying to disconcert her in front of her friends. Because he liked knocking her off balance. That was all it was.

He couldn’t mean it; why would he come back to her after he’d already gotten what he’d wanted?

She hadn’t missed the looks he’d gotten inside; he’d been recognized and he’d been wanted. She had no doubt about that. And she wasn’t the type of woman that got those looks herself.

And didn’t like attract like, or something?

What could he really want with her? Truly? What was he playing at? She wouldn’t let him mess with her head again.

 

***

 

Luc acted like the amiable host with Kelly, Paige, and Cody. But he pulled Payton down onto the small seat beside him. Paige crowded in on her other side. Payton tried not to focus on the feel of his thigh pushed up against hers, his arm around her shoulder. His fingers were tangled in her hair and she could feel his fingertips brushing against the back of her neck.

He was trying to seduce her, wasn’t he? Make her forget what had happened when he’d sent her away that day? Was that what he was up to? Why?

This wasn’t any more of his teasing; not like the other times, or even like the times he’d kissed her. Those had been designed to irritate her, to disconcert her, but she’d known on some level that he hadn’t been serious about it. The closest embrace she could compare it to was the moment when he’d pressed both of her hands to his heart, when they’d been standing by his bed.

But it wasn’t completely like that tonight, either. He wanted her, and he was determined that she knew it. But the intensity had changed somehow in him. How did she feel about that?

Payton didn’t do casual affairs, if that was what he was thinking. Didn’t Luc understand that? It had been a long time since she’d slept with someone other than Luc, at least since her last year of college when she and a lab partner had gotten involved. And there’d only been one other guy before that.

Of course, anything with Luc would never be casual.

She looked up at him. His dark eyes were intent and the heat in them had her shifting as much as possible on the seat. What was he thinking? His sister was right there beside her. But then again…he hadn’t touched her inappropriately at all. Not really. Maybe it just was the intent behind his touches?

The ten minute drive to Smokey’s seemed to take a million times as long. Finally Terrance opened the door to the limo and Cody, Paige, and Kelly climbed out. Luc pulled Payton back inside and signaled Terrance to close the door before she could follow the others.

“What are you doing, Luc?”

“I want a few minutes with you, alone, before your friends demand your time.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?” He ran his fingers down the collar of the shirt it was really way too cold to be wearing without a coat, and she shivered. Not from the cold, but from his touch.

“I think you’ve gone crazy. That night…didn’t…”

“That night changed everything.”

“How?” How had it changed so much that he hadn’t bothered to contact her at all?

“It made things very clear to me.”

“How?” She sounded like a parrot, didn’t she? Or stupid. But what was she supposed to do? To say? “And what things? Different things than the ones that had you pushing me away? I haven’t forgotten those things, have you?”

“I want you, Payton. And I always get what I want. No matter what.” He kissed her, long and hard, until her knees felt like rubber and she couldn’t catch her breath. “You might as well just get used to the idea. We’ll talk in a little while. I promise you that.”

She shook her head, more to clear it than to disagree. It didn’t work. “You can’t just declare that I’m going to have sex with you after pushing me away the last time. Why would I risk it again?”

“But you will. We both know you will.” He pulled on the waistband of her t-shirt until it covered her navel. And dipped low in the front. He shocked the heck out of her by swooping down and kissing the small bit of cleavage left exposed. His mouth lingered. She shivered, then berated herself internally. She wouldn’t react to him again. She wouldn’t. “It’s just a matter of time. In fact…we can simply instruct Terrance to drive around for a few hours. And you and I can see if this backseat is big enough…”

“I’m going inside.” Her words were shaky and he laughed. But he let go of her.

“Sure you are, coward.” He slipped out of his coat and wrapped the black leather around her shoulders. “Here, wear this. I think you’ve lost your sweatshirt again.”

 

***

 

His leather coat dwarfed her, but he liked the look of it on her. She was his, wasn’t she? Or she would be. And now any of the guys sniffing around her—and he’d seen several trying to get her attention, though she didn’t seem aware of it—would know that there was a guy waiting in the wings for Payton Asher. And since the coat cost more than some people’s monthly income and was way damned too large for Payton, they’d get the message that the guy waiting was big, bad, and wealthy. Intimidating.

He took a few moments to watch her with her friends. She was so quiet, compared to most of them. Alessandra Brockman was the center of attention, and she seemed comfortable with that. Paige was equally in the center of things, but he doubted she even realized she drew attention—even with her Goth appearance. Cody was sexy and confident, and people talked to her from all over the small cop bar. The rest of the little group—Kelly Reynolds, Carrie Lorcan, and Payton—seemed to fade into the woodwork.

Until a discerning man looked at them closely.

The five women other than his sister were pretty much every hetero male’s fantasy. Gorgeous, intelligent, confident, successful, and talented. Redheads, blondes, brunettes—young, beautiful, and every man wished they were available.

The Lorcan brothers stayed close to Carrie and Alessandra, obviously staking claims. The other four women were fair game, and the crowd of men around them told him he wasn’t the only one who thought that.

It was time to take Payton off the playing field.

He knew she wouldn’t be able to resist a full scale assault. She didn’t have the personality for it, and he was just dick enough to take advantage of that fact.

She’d get a hell of a lot in return from being with him. She’d never want for anything, not for the rest of her life. And he’d be attentive and doting on her forever. He was well-educated, well-spoken, and well-put together. Manny had ensured that. He’d be an adequate—better than adequate—partner for a woman like Payton. He’d just have to convince her of that.

She and the others were pulled on stage for a couple of songs to celebrate tonight’s win. The bar they were in was a small place that catered to the FBI and other members of law enforcement. He’d gotten more than his fair share of once-overs from the cops and those he suspected were FBI. Nothing he hadn’t expected—he knew he’d been investigated a few dozen times by St. Louis’s finest. And now he was there in the midst of their den, panting after one of their own.

He’d always loved irony.

Luc had grabbed a small, intimate table-for-two when he and Payton had come in, and he threw a few bills down on the center of it for the busboy. Payton was stepping off the back left of the stage and he met her there, just as the regular band slipped into a smooth ballad. He grabbed her hand and took the drumsticks from her unresisting fingers. He slipped them into his back pocket. She’d told him earlier they were her brother’s, and he knew she wouldn’t want to lose them. “We’re dancing.”

She shot him an irritated look. “We are?”

“I think that’s the socially acceptable name for it.” He slipped her closer. “Relax; it’s just a few dances. You’re perfectly safe right in the middle of all your little friends. What could I really do to you here?”

“Probably more than I can even imagine. You’re the type to want to try.”

“Am I?” She amused him, more than any woman ever had. She would protest, but when he touched her, she couldn’t hide how she felt. She was just as drawn to him as he was her, or so he’d like to think. “What are you going to do to stop me? I could make quite a scene here in front of your friends. Would you like that?”

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “What are you planning to do?”

He smiled as he turned her into the dance. “I haven’t decided quite yet. Where’s my jacket?”

“Huh? What? Oh…I left it in the back room. It was too hot in here, and I didn’t want to get anything on it.”

He brushed his hand against the back of the shirt. “This shirt draws attention to more than I think you want.”

“I’m covered. You’re the one who keeps mentioning it.”

“That’s because this little shirt teases a man because it covers so much, yet so little.”

“You’ve just got one thing on the mind all of a sudden.”

“I have you on my mind.” To prove it he decided to make good on his threat. He pulled her up on her tiptoes and covered her mouth with his. They stopped dancing. She didn’t fight him, and he wondered if she was just that freaked out over causing a scene.

He finally pulled back and grinned down at her. He spun her around just as the song ended.

“You jerk. What did you hope to accomplish?”

“Nothing. Just have fun.”

“At my expense.” She still didn’t pull away. He finally stepped back and led her over to her friends’ table. “I’m ready to go home.”

“So am I. So am I.”

Just before they reached the table where Cody and Paige sat watching them, she pushed him in the stomach with both of her little hands. “You’re not invited this time. You jerk.”

“And you’re coming home with me.” He pulled her closer, close enough that he could whisper in her ear. “We have things we need to discuss, and it will be safer at my house. You’re coming home with me. Get used to the idea.”

“Go to hell, Luc. Go to hell.”

“Only if you come with me.” He dipped a hand in the back of her waist, and grabbed her ass. “And I know exactly how to make that happen, remember?”

“No. That’s exactly what I’m determined to forget. You can’t just push me away, walk back into my life weeks later, and then demand I give in to you again. Life doesn’t work that way. Relationships don’t work that way.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve not had too many real relationships, especially with women. Come home with me, Payton. Give me a second chance.” He wouldn’t beg; but he wasn’t leaving this bar without her. She’d just have to get used to the idea. If she had a problem with it, he’d just carry her to his car. She would be kept safe, no matter what. “At least let me protect you while I figure out who knows about us…Payton…please.”