Finally, he slips out of me and turns me to face him. He cups my face tenderly in his hands and kisses me gently, but when he pulls back, his eyes are no less fierce.
“Mine.”
Chapter Fourteen
~Dominic~
She’s fucking magnificent.
“I want six men at the parking lot,” Alecia says as she paces back and forth across my back patio. She’s holding every one of the twenty four men’s rapt attention. Her voice is sharp and no-nonsense. Her back straight. Her eyes hard.
I’ve never seen anything like her in my life.
“I was planning on four,” Derek, my head of security, replies. Derek is a former Army ranger, six-foot-five and built like a fucking brick house.
Alecia doesn’t even bat an eye.
“I need six.”
“No one knows where the wedding is being held,” Jason, the head of Alecia’s security, points out logically. “The guests are parking ten miles away and we’re bussing them in.”
“I’m aware,” Alecia replies. “Look, guys, I’m going to be a hard ass on this one. Will Montgomery won the Super Bowl last year, and it’s not just him that the paparazzi are interested in. You’re all aware that we have rock stars coming, movie stars, producers, and other football players. Security can’t be breached. If even one paparazzi follows a bus here, or figures out the location and spreads unauthorized photos, I’ll have all of your dicks on a platter.”
“Montgomery was smart about this,” Derek reminds her. “The guests were simply given an address to park their cars. Even they don’t know where they’re going.”
“I’m aware. I set it up,” she replies.
I lean my shoulder against the wall, cross my arms over my chest, and watch my woman take control over two dozen strong men.
I want to kiss the fuck out of her.
“If we put two more guys on the parking lot, that’s two less that will be here.”
“You’ll have eighteen men here,” she replies with a shake of the head. “Are you being a pain in the ass because I’m a woman, or are you just always this stubborn?”
Derek stands, his jaw ticking and watches Alecia for a long minute. She’s staring him down, and it’s the most amazing bout of chicken I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Fine,” he says at last. “You’ll get your six.”
“Yes, I will. Follow the guest list. I don’t care if someone claims to be a long lost grandma and turns on the big crocodile tears. If they’re not on the list, they don’t get in. Period. If you have questions, talk to me. I’ll have my earpiece in all day.”
“You know, I like a bossy woman.”
This comes from a younger kid, as tall and built as Derek, but clearly too young to know to keep his mouth shut. Alecia stops in her tracks, narrows her eyes and pins him in her glare.
“Do you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replies with a cocky smirk.
Oh, you young idiot.
“What’s your name?” she asks him.
“Stokes,” he replies.
“Stokes.” She crosses to him, props her hand on her hip and smiles sweetly at him. “Do you have mommy issues, Stokes?”
The other men smirk, but Stokes’ eyes go hard as his face sobers.
“No, I just think it’s fucking sexy when a woman has a backbone.”
Alecia tilts her head to the side and then nods. “Good. Because I have one. Don’t fuck this up, Stokes.” She backs away and nods to Derek and Jason. “That’s all. Let me know if there are any issues.”
“There won’t be,” Jason replies, and turns to continue briefing his men as Alecia walks away.
“She should be in the military,” Stokes says with new respect in his voice.
She’s too good for the military.
“Good job, Lieutenant,” I whisper as I fall into step beside her.
“I will cut off someone’s junk if I find out they only put four men out there,” she grumbles.
“You’re awfully angry at the male genitals today, cara.”
She smirks and then lets out a short laugh.
“I’m around a lot of men today.”
“Everything is going to run like clockwork.”
“Don’t say that. You’ll jinx it. I should go see Blake.”
“Blake paid me five thousand dollars to keep you out of the kitchen today.”
She frowns and blinks up at me.
“He did not.”
“He did.” Okay, he didn’t, but she’ll just make them both crazy if she stomps in there and harasses him today. “Everything is set. The food already smells amazing. The tables are set, and the florist is working her magic on the arbor and the tent.”