“Not ‘even’. Because.” Her cheeks flamed and she looked away.
James tightened his arms, drawing her close. “Do you know why I threw you out?” he murmured. “Because if I hadn’t…”
A stick cracked behind them, cutting him off. “Show time,” he whispered. He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her face up. Lana closed her eyes. She imagined she was with the man who had made her trust again, the man she had thought was her future. She imagined she was Buttercup in The Princess Bride and she had just discovered Westley wasn’t dead after all.
His lips found hers and he teased her mouth open, sweeping his tongue inside. Lana fisted his shirt and pulled him close, kissing him back with a fierce, unexpected hunger. James groaned into her mouth and he deepened the kiss, his tongue tangling with hers, stroking, searching, exploring. Breathless, she opened to him, wrapping her legs around his hips, pulling him closer.
“Thought I might catch a cop out here,” Rex growled. “Maybe another one of Angel’s fucking investigators. I was damn sure we were being watched. Not often I’m wrong.”
Lana jolted. In the back of her mind, she had known that Rex was coming and this show was for his benefit, but for a moment she had lost awareness of anything but James. She dropped her forehead to his shoulder to hide her puffy eyes, and his arm circled protectively around her.
“Told the old lady it was time she met the brothers, but we got distracted, if you know what I mean.” James chuckled. Lana cringed. Although she knew it was a game, a part of her resented the harsh words and the cold, detached tone of his voice. At least he hadn’t punctuated his words with a pelvic thrust.
Rex gave an annoyed grunt. Lana didn’t need to look up to know he was studying her. She could feel his eyes drilling into her head, willing her to meet his gaze. She leaned her forehead against James’s shoulder. She had seen enough of Rex last night, and until she got her photos, she would be forced to see more. James’s shirt held more appeal than staring into Rex’s soulless eyes.
Rex exhaled and his voice turned cold. “Send her home. I’ve called a meeting of the inner circle. She can meet everyone at the barbeque on Saturday.”
Lana’s head jerked up. “Barbeque?”
James shoved her head back down to his shoulder. “She can’t make it. She’s going out of town.”
Lana’s mind whirled. She couldn’t think of a better way to get the pictures she needed. Rex on his home turf, beer in hand, his newest squeeze under his arm, Lana’s camera snapping in the background. But she would have to go into the clubhouse. Her heart protested with a violent thud and her stomach clenched. No clubhouse. Not for her. But the pictures…Angel. Her mind spun in circles. What to do?
As if sensing her indecision, James pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, “You are not going anywhere near the clubhouse. No fucking way. And that’s final.”
The hair on the back of Lana’s neck stood on end. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she growled. “We need to discuss it. Do you know that word? Discuss? Ever thought about using it?”
She looked up at Rex and forced her lips into a smile. “I might be able to change my plans. I’ll discuss it with Ice. I would love to meet everyone. I’ve heard so much about you all.”
A sound erupted from James’s chest, a cross between a snarl and a choke, and the look he shot her was nothing short of…well, icy.
“We’ve heard nothing about you.” Rex gave her a snake-oil salesman smile. “And I’d like to hear how you and Ice hooked up. You’re not his usual type.”
Lana’s face fell. “What type is that?” The question came out before she could run it through her internal censor. As usual.
Rex’s dark eyes glittered with all the warmth of an Antarctic summer. “You come to the barbeque. I’ll tell you all about Ice and you can tell me all about you.” He licked his lips and Lana shuddered. Why did she suddenly feel as if she was prey?
“Wear something very short and very tight,” Rex added in a firm voice.
“My old lady wears what I tell her to wear,” James said, his voice low and even. He turned to face Rex, his body in front of Lana like a shield. “She does what I tell her to do. She goes where I tell her to go. I thought we sorted this out last night.”
James played the old man pretty good, Lana thought. She hoped it wasn’t because he’d had scores of old ladies. He was still breathtakingly gorgeous…and in those leathers… Her throat tightened at the thought of James with other women. If he did have a past littered with old ladies, she didn’t want to know.