“Wimp,” she hissed in his ear. “This is all your idea, you know.” She ground her thumbs into his elbows. He bit down on her earlobe hard, increasing the pressure until she backed off. They broke apart for a moment. She was aroused, and hated him for it. Her breath came in short gasps. Suddenly she lunged for him, and grabbed the back of his head so that they could lock lips.
“So what? Everyone and their brother has us under surveillance,” she muttered against his lips, tasting the champagne and feeling her stomach lurch at the taste. This was too dangerous, too close to putting her over the edge. Even that much made her want a drink and she needed to punish him for that, too, for this failure that she hadn’t wanted to be reminded of, though Benny had tried several times to get her to drink a toast to the couple, despite her protests.
Her fingernails tore into Luke’s scalp as he picked her up and slammed her into the wall, never breaking off the kiss.
“All right, you two... No need for the honeymoon display now,” Benny said, sounding like a proud, indulgent parent. His voice seemed to come from a million miles away. When had pain become so exquisite?
“I need to get that USB stick back,” Luke said against her skin, his own breath seeming a little ragged.
Dani’s arms traced down his back; her knee rose between his legs and nailed his crotch. She altered the movement to wrap her foot around his leg, and shifted her grip to hold him upright as he gasped and tried to double over. “That was my USB stick! You took it from me.”
His thumbs drove in under her ribcage and she gasped. He covered it with another kiss. “You dropped it, I took it. Right now, it might be the only thing that can save us. I need it back; I have to get it to...”
“Enough,” Benny said, laughing, from somewhere too close. Right behind him. He was right behind them, and she needed to think, but she couldn’t.
“I get your point; you need some time together like the little love birds, but not now.”
Benny was an idiot. How could he not see what this encounter meant to her, to Luke? Why didn’t he see that they were plotting right under his nose?
Maybe because the passion is there. Much as you want to deny it, you’re positively dripping with arousal. You left ‘blushing bride’ at the altar eons ago.
Luke pulled away, his eyes alight, but she doubted it was from passion. It was probably trying to keep them in their sockets. He’d taken a pretty solid blow to his groin. He stepped back and looked at Benny and smiled. “As you say.” He made a little half-bow. It gave her some satisfaction to see that his face was a little pale. “But it is a wedding, and she just couldn’t restrain herself. You know how some women are.”
Dani felt the heat rising to her face. At that moment, she could have kicked him till he stopped moving. “You...” She looked at Uncle Benny and smiled, the outrage coming out in a heavy whoosh of breath. This was a man who could kill her. Who would kill them both in an instant. She needed to remember that. “You know how it is.” She smiled, but the grin fled her face when she turned her attention to Luke. “There’s just something about him I can’t seem to control.”
The rest of the day dragged on tediously. So the cops were watching. Benny still didn’t realize who he’d kidnapped. If he had, he’d have had a heart attack. Despite Luke’s complaints about his boss, he was a cop and they didn’t leave their own. They looked out for each other.
Dani envied that just now.
She’d always been the one who looked after others. While it was true that the work she’d done had necessitated a team, the men and very few women who were part of that were loners. They were a special breed, those who were attracted to that kind of work. People who preferred to be isolated, alone. It made for fewer complications, less chance of losing someone that means something to you.
Several times over the past days she’d wished she could call some former friends, but in her world things didn’t work that way. In Luke’s world, having backup was apparently as normal as breath or water. She envied that. There were those who would have come, some for loyalty. Most for a price. Business was business after all, and even friends didn’t work for free.
She thought she’d had Luke, though. Maybe she was wrong about that as well.
The rest of the measurements taken, the cakes and décor ordered, flowers arranged, and the caterers chosen, they headed for the cars again. This time David rode with Dani, Luke, and Benny.
Normally, a girl would’ve had to run all over town to plan a wedding. It would take months to organize and plan. But Benny? They come to him, they wait for his pleasure and they “yes sir” and “no sir.” He’ll do anything to get at Daddy. And worse, he’s willing to kill Luke to get to me. That little display we put on isn’t helping either. Now he’s convinced that Luke is the love of my life, and he’ll use that against me.
Dani watched as the road vanished under their tires.
He’s right.
She stared uneasily out the window the entire way home. Benny tried to engage her in conversation but, really, there was nothing left to say. Whatever happened now, she didn’t care about risking her own life. But no one was going to hurt Luke. She just had to figure out how to get him out of this.
CHAPTER FIVE
Dani stripped out of the dress as soon as the bedroom door closed behind her. It flew, flapping like a red flag across the room, to collapse in a corner. What the hell had she been thinking? A dress? She grabbed for her comfort clothing: cut-off jeans, t-shirt, her comfortable boots. The clothing she wore traveling, stuff that fit her.
The dress had looked cute, and Luke had liked the way it showed her legs, but he wasn’t really all that interested in looking anymore. He was angry, consumed by hatred for her and, truth be told, she couldn’t really blame him. The whole sham about the wedding, the trap for her father, all of it... of course, he blamed her. This whole mess was her fault.
I never should have gotten involved with him in the first place.
She grabbed the laces of the boot and pulled hard, hearing the cords creak and stretch as she pulled the boot tighter than she should. She backed off a bit so as not to impede her blood flow, and laced it up.
Slowly she was beginning to feel more like herself, less like someone’s doll. Damn it, why couldn’t he realize that she’d dressed like that exclusively for him? He was supposed to be captivated by her beauty, or at least interested. However, except for the one time she’d caught him staring at her legs, he’d shown a bulwark of indifference to her dress.
Maybe he never loved you at all. Have you ever considered that?
She didn’t want to go there. That kissing/wrestling match they’d had was nothing more than cover for him to talk to her. That wasn’t safe, not with Benny in the room with them and only a few feet away. If he was going to reject her she was going to be in her real clothing, and to hell with primping and fussing.