A Little Harmless Lie 4 (3 page)

Chapter Two

Micah grumbled as he let himself into his office. Three days. Three days since he’d dealt with being in Dee’s presence. He knew it had been a mistake to touch her. From the moment he’d hired her, he’d been attracted. That had never been a problem before. Even now, knowing she wasn’t into the life, or at least claiming she wasn’t, there would be no chance with her. She had been pretty emphatic about that. It didn’t matter that he’d been lusting after her, or that it was getting worse by the day. He needed to control, needed to be the Dom. It wasn’t something he merely desired in the bedroom, it was something he needed to be complete.

He turned on his coffee maker, thankful that Freddy was a good assistant and had gotten it ready for him. It was early for Micah, just past noon, but he had an idea of getting work done and taking the night off. Evan had been right. He needed some time away and he would start with tonight. The night Dee was scheduled to work.

With a sigh, he sat behind his desk and turned on his monitors without looking at them. He had some paperwork to get done and the schedule for the bouncers needed to be set up. Every section of his club, from the bartenders to the waitresses to the DJs had a supervisor. All of them except the bouncers. Charles was his head bouncer, but Micah couldn’t let him do the scheduling. He had tried that once, and it had blown up in his face. Thinking of the infighting he’d dealt with and all the work- related issues had him chuckling. Most people thought his job would be exciting and titillating. It was, to an extent. Working up schedules, dealing with taxes, publicity and safety codes dimmed some of the glow of being a Dom in his very own BDSM club.

When he and Evan had decided to open the club five years earlier, Micah had been happy to take over the managing. Evan had a say in everything, but Micah ran the place for the most part. He had a mind for numbers and marketing, so it worked.

His coffee beeped and he went to retrieve a cup. When he sat back down, he noticed someone was in the gym they had built for their employees. Most people didn’t show up until right before their shifts, and none of them were slated until seven that night. He zoomed in, but even before he saw her face, he knew who it was.

She was boxing. He’d never seen her do it, but he had heard from others that she did a lot of it in the gym. Just as when she worked behind the bar, she was fluid in her movements. She lifted her leg for a kick and then punched the bag. Her muscles contracted, eased, contracted again.

Damn, she was a thing of beauty. He’d fought in the ring and he knew he hadn’t been as good. Hell, he wasn’t sure with her moves that he could take her easily. He could tell from the way she pointed her toes that she had danced at one time. What woman trained to be a ballerina then turned to boxing and bartending?

The clothing she wore clung to her, curved over that tight ass. The top was little more than a sports bra. The flesh rose above the fabric. He licked his lips. She pivoted on her foot for a roundhouse kick and he felt the arousal that had been simmering shoot to boiling. He would have never thought to be turned on by a woman sparring with a bag, but then, he wasn’t sure there was much the woman could do that wouldn’t turn him on.

He didn’t even think when he rose from his chair, not really. The only thing on his mind was going to see her, watch her... touch her.

Dee landed another right against the bag as she tried her damnedest to fight the images that kept coming to her from her dreams the night before. For two nights running, she had dreamt of Micah, what he could do to her in bed. She might be a virgin, but she knew what went on.
Can’t work at a place like Rough ’n Ready and not know
, she thought with a chuckle.

Left, right, left.

But then last night... her sexy dream had morphed into horrific memories. She’d been thrown back into that safe house, glass shattering on top of her, bullets flying around her. This time, though, she didn’t get away. She could still feel the piercing of her skin, the burn of the bullet.

She turned and did another roundhouse kick.

“You’re going to hurt yourself if you push too hard.”

She started, her breath coming out in short, hard chops and looked at the doorway. Damn, the man had to be here today. He never showed up this early. It was one of the reasons she came early, worked out and went home. Plus, no one bothered her when she arrived first thing in the afternoon.

“You have no idea what I can handle.”

One eyebrow rose as he walked into the gym. Shit, he wasn’t going to go away. She wasn’t up to a verbal sparring match. Not today. Not after those dreams she’d had about him. She could still feel his hands moving over her, teasing her, taking her up and over that edge.

She turned away and pulled off a glove to grab a bottle of water. She took a large swallow and faced him. “What are you doing here this early, Micah?”

“I thought to get some work done.”

Which was odd because Micah didn’t do work early in the day. It was one of things she envied about him. He had no problems living his hedonistic lifestyle. He intertwined it with being a very successful business man, but he seemed to revel in the fact that he slept until two in the afternoon every day.

“Well, I’m trying to get my workout done so I can go home to shower, so... ”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “So, what?”

She knew he wasn’t dense. He knew she wanted to be alone and he was taking pleasure in denying her wish.

“I have a feeling you have better things to do than watch me work out.”

He chuckled and the sound had every hormone in her body jumping to attention. Wet heat slipped through her body, over her nerve endings. “I doubt that. How long did you train in ballet?”

“Jazz,” she said, and then silently cursed herself for allowing that information to slip out.

“I knew you had some training in dance from the way you move behind the bar.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He paused. “Well, there’s just something in the way you move that speaks of some kind of dance training.”

Crap. She thought she kept that hidden away, had for years. “I didn’t know you paid that much attention to your employees.”

His smile widened. “I don’t usually. But you intrigue me.”

Just hearing him speak the words had her heart whacking against her ribs. She turned and grabbed her towel to wipe herself down. If he wasn’t going to leave, she would at least clean herself up.

“So, you’re stalking my every move.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“It’s that obvious that I used to dance?”

Her nerves were jumping and not just with arousal. Maybe she’d been here too long. She had grown comfortable in her surroundings and that was never a good thing. But she had fallen in love with Oahu, the people and her job.

“No, not really. But since I used to fight, I pick up on things like that.”

“Oh, I forgot you used to do those ultimate fight things.”

“Things? I guess you could call it that. It definitely shouldn’t be considered anything but a means to an end.”

“Did you get hurt?”

He shrugged. “It was worth it. Helped me open Rough ’n Ready.”

She nodded. “Well, I’m on my way home.”

But when she tried to step around him, he moved into her path. Every nerve in her body sizzled.

“Why are you rushing out? People say that your workouts last at least an hour.”

“Ross, back off. That
does
sound like stalking.”

“If I wanted to stalk you, you’d have no idea, that’s for sure. After my stint in the ring, you know I was a bounty hunter?”

She did, but only after she had taken the job. Since she rarely saw bounty hunters in the bar, she figured she was safe. Considering the six- foot- plus mountain of gorgeous muscle looming in front of her, that might have been a mistake.

“Okay, so you can stalk me. Gotcha.”

She turned to leave, but apparently Micah wasn’t ready for that.

“I didn’t say you could leave.”

She stopped in her tracks. Not because he ordered her. Not really. It was the tone of his voice. It had changed. Subtly. There was an edge to it that wasn’t there before. Worse was her reaction to it. The dark order sent a tsunami of need flowing through her. She didn’t need this, didn’t want it. Hunger surged, battered at her defenses.

“I didn’t ask.”

He drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring slightly.
Even that turns me on
, she thought. Her blood pounded through her, her heart turning over at the fierce look he gave her. God, she needed to get away from him, away from this crazy longing he pulled from her.

She moved to get around him, but he wrapped his hand around her upper arm. She didn’t feel threatened. If she told him to take his hands off her, Micah would do it. There was a deep core of goodness in him, the type of thing that made him dangerous to a woman like her. He was dangerous in a completely different area. She wanted him. More than she had ever wanted another man. It was something she had avoided by keeping her interactions with men very superficial. She dated men who did absolutely nothing for her, so she wouldn’t be tempted. Unfortunately, this man would tempt the most pious of virgins.

She looked down at his hand then back up at him. The heat she saw flicker in his eyes flared deep in her belly, shot straight to her sex. Dammit, he barely touched her and she was quivering, waiting.
Wanting.

“What?”

He turned her, slowly, until they faced each other, so close that her breasts rubbed against him each time she drew in a breath. Her nipples were hard, her mouth dry. Her body was one big hormone begging for relief.

“I don’t know what the hell it is about you, but... ” He groaned, and before she knew what he was doing, he dipped his head and moved his mouth over hers. She didn’t respond at first. She tried her best to resist, pretending it didn’t affect her. But he pulled her closer and her breasts pressed against him. His hands skimmed down her spine to her ass. She could feel his arousal through their layers of clothing and she couldn’t stop herself, or the hunger he seemed to wrench from her.

His tongue slipped over the seam in her mouth and she opened, willingly, craving this connection. Longing welled up in her, surged through her blood. She slipped her hands up his shoulders, behind his neck, and then she plunged her fingers into his long silky strands.

He groaned again and deepened the kiss while he lifted her off the ground. Everything in her body screamed for relief, one that she knew only Micah could give her. She pressed closer, wrapping her legs around his waist. Liquid heat pooled between her thighs. All her nerve endings seemed to shimmer. Every thought dissolved at the feel of his tongue sliding against hers, the way his heart pounded against hers, and how much she burned to feel his flesh against hers.

The sound of a door slamming in the distance brought them both back to their senses. They pulled apart, their breathing choppy. He eased her down, grimacing when she slid against his erection. Both of them groaned.

“That should not have happened,” she said between gasps.

“It was just a matter of time, Dee.”

She shook her head. “You live a lifestyle I don’t.”

It wasn’t exactly true. Secretly, she read BDSM and had a thing for big, bad Doms as the heroes, but she definitely would never admit it. Not to the big, bad Dom standing in front of her.

He eyed her with suspicion. “You don’t know until you try it.”

She shook her head. His face was flushed with arousal, his breathing still unsteady, and she was sure without letting her gaze dip, wonderfully aroused. She squeezed her thighs together to try and diminish the pulse of need between her legs. It just made it worse.

“I can’t.” She could hear the regret in her voice. For the first time in her life, she realized what she was missing out on with her personal agreement for no sex. “I need to go.”

She grabbed her back pack, eased on her slippers, and walked to the door.

“Dee.” She stopped but didn’t look back. “You don’t have to come in tonight.”

She glanced back over her shoulder at him and swallowed. She could see desire for her in his expression, and it made her heart tremble, her body yearn. In all her twenty- seven years there had never been a man who tempted her as this one had.

“No. I can do my job. Unless you would rather I wouldn’t?”

He shook his head and offered her a small smile. “You’re the best. And you know how Thursday nights can be busy.”

She hesitated, then nodded. She hurried out of the club, glad that she hadn’t run into anyone. As quickly as possible, she slipped into her car and started on her way home. By the time she was on Pali highway, she drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, shouldn’t have touched, been touched, but she had been. Never before had a man gotten that close, mainly because she never let them, hadn’t until today.

Damn, she didn’t want to leave, but maybe she should start thinking about it. She had come to love Hawaii and the way of life there. The moment she stepped off the plane over two years earlier, she had felt some kind of connection as if she were coming home.

She smiled. Who would have thought a girl raised in New York City would think that? But she did. It stirred something in her blood every day she saw a rainbow, watched the sun rise, or smelled Plumeria and salt in the air.

And then there was the man. She wanted him, more than was good for her health. She couldn’t, wouldn’t put either of them at risk. There was still a price on her head, although she hadn’t heard anything lately. It didn’t matter. Not safe for either of them. She’d have to keep her hands to herself.

And for the first time in ten years she felt regret because she was sure Micah Ross would be a man who knew just how to handle her. Dee just couldn’t take a chance. With another sigh, she hit the gas and let the Hawaiian wind fly through her hair. She was going to enjoy Hawaii as long as she could.

Chapter Three

Dee smiled when she saw Kai Aiona step up to her bar.