I reached my hand out and cupped his cheek. “But I do worry. I worry about you.” The truth of it shuddered through me, and I trembled as I took my next breath.
He found the sides of my dress and pulled them together. “Now that is something I don’t expect from you,” he said as he zipped me up.
“It doesn’t change that I do.”
“It’s my job to worry about you.” He took my hand and tugged me up from the couch. “Not the other way around.” He bent to pull my panties up.
“Why can’t we worry about each other?”
He gave me a skeptical look as he drew my underwear up and over my hips. “We’re about to land.”
The change of subject pissed me off. His attitude pissed me off. His refusal to let me in pissed me off. “You are such a pain in the ass. It’s not going to diminish your manhood if someone shows you a little bit of concern. And even if it did, you have more than enough to make up for it. So would you just tell me if you’re okay?”
For the first time since I’d broached this topic, he looked at me. His expression was stony, but in the dark of his eyes, I saw him battling. Finally, he softened. He put his arm around my waist and drew me to him. His mouth inches from mine, he said, “I wasn’t okay. But I am now.”
He kissed me, molding my lips to the shape he desired, his tongue instructing mine as he stroked inside with affection and tender command. It was a kiss that backed up his words, a demonstration of just how I’d made him okay.
Something told me he wasn’t just talking about the conversation he’d walked away from, which made it that much easier to lose myself in his kiss. Lose myself in him. If he asked me the same question, I could almost give him the same answer – I wasn’t okay, but I am now. Since him.
Almost.
Just, there was Amber.
CHAPTER 23
Reeve’s private driver from the ranch met us at the Jackson airport. It was too late for dinner at the main house so we and his staff went out to a restaurant in town. I’d never been in public with Reeve, and I was somewhat surprised to see both guards sit at the bar instead of with us, not that I minded. Actually, I wasn’t sure how his security functioned at all. When I asked, Reeve told me Anatolios accompanied him everywhere and that was usually the extent of his detail.
“So why did the other one come too?” I wasn’t the paranoid type, but if there was a reason for extra guards, I wanted to know.
“Tabor’s here for you,” Reeve answered. “When I leave, Anatolios will come with me and Tabor will stay to look after you.”
To protect me? Or protect Reeve from me? I didn’t have the balls to ask, but it would have been nice to know if I should be offended or flattered.
We lingered after our meal, drinking and enjoying some friendly banter. Reeve, I learned, was happy with a beer but preferred bourbon if the bar had a good brand, which it did. I also discovered he had a real camaraderie with his men, jesting and poking fun at them with ease. He’d been like this occasionally with me, but I hadn’t expected it with the staff members of one of his many properties. I made a note to ask about that later.
Parker was the youngest, just a little older than me, and was a regular comedian. Charlie, though quieter, had a laugh that made it impossible not to join in with. Brent had fifteen years on Reeve and was the storyteller of the group. He provided most of the entertainment, flirting with the waitresses, recalling how things were in the good old days. He’d worked the ranch since he was a teenager, I learned, when Reeve’s father was still alive. A few times I’d tried to lead him to talk about the Sallis family or about more recent times – the months that Amber had stayed there, for example – but he never took the bait. He dodged so artfully, I almost didn’t realize he’d been coached.
Until the end of the night when I asked if foxes often got in the henhouse, and I caught a look that passed from Reeve to Brent, a look that could only be taken as a warning.
If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have been able to tell from Brent. He scooted his chair closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, then leaned in close to say, “There’s always foxes, darling. Whether they’re in the henhouse scalping your chickens or the river eating all your fish, you can never be off your guard.”
I laughed, hiding my disappointment as easily as he’d hid his cover. I’d hoped to learn things from him, but though he might be more likely to give me information when Reeve wasn’t around, I had a feeling he’d be just as tight-lipped. He seemed pretty loyal. It didn’t mean I wouldn’t try.
Reeve took my hand as he added, “Sometimes they’re even in your bed.” His smile was amicable, but his tone felt off. He was moody after that, and I regretted trying to dig.
It was dark when we made it to Kaya. We stopped first at a security gate much like the one at Reeve’s house, but this one was manned with two guards packing firearms.
After we drove through, the driver parked so that Reeve could run into the large building next to the gate.
“Security office,” Brent said in explanation. “Cameras from the ranch feed in there. The guns are all housed there as well. Reeve also keeps his personal set of keys for the house in the safe there. He’s getting those.”
The keys made sense – I wouldn’t expect Reeve to keep all his resort keys with him in LA. The security, on the other hand, seemed a little excessive. “Lots of security for a ranch. Is that typical?” Or were there additional measures because of the Sallis connections to mafia?