Burned Hearts (35 page)

After I explained everything to her, she said, “I don't have to leave.”

“Rosa, it's too dangerous for you to stay. Maybe once this is all over and done with—if it all works out the way it's supposed to and we're safe again—then, naturally, we'd want you back. That's if you're not too enamored with the margaritas, sunshine, and gorgeous tanned men on the beach.”

Not buying into my levity, she stood and paced her bedroom. “I don't scare so easily,
chica,
” she told me in her thick accent.

“We've already discovered that. And, believe me, we all admire how devoted and coolheaded you are. But this is so much more than anyone should have to endure.”

“So Kyle is leaving, too?”

“No. Kyle is staying.”

“Then I stay.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Pinned me with a look. Really dug in her heels.

“Rosa.”

“I grew up in Juárez, Mexico. Drug wars, shoot-outs, border attacks. I've seen it all. I can handle this.”

“You shouldn't
have
to handle this, Rosa,” I insisted. “It's not normal. It's not right. And if anything were to happen to you, we—”

“Ari,” she said, finality in her tone. “I stay.”

The backs of my eyes burned once again. How could Dane and I be so unfortunate when it came to external forces threatening our lives and yet so damn blessed by the circle we'd built around us?

Still, as much as Rosa's determination and commitment to our family touched me, it worried me incessantly. The fewer heads on the chopping block, the better. But at the moment, I didn't have the heart or the wherewithal to argue with her.

So I said, “I appreciate your honor.” I hugged her. “But Dane will want to speak with you as well.”

“My decision will still be the same,” she said with her steely resolve.

I swiped at a wayward tear. “You could give my mother a few lessons in loyalty. But I wouldn't subject you to her any more than I want you subjected to the rest of this.”

“I agree that it's not right that this isn't finally over,” she concurred. “Eventually, though, it will be. Dane will see to it.”

I was grateful for her faith in my husband. “Just stick close to Kyle, okay? He's on baby detail.”

“We'll be fine,” she assured me.

I left her room, somewhat tormented. As I chewed on our latest precarious situation, I came across Amano in the great room. He had two iPads and his phone spread out on the table of the Parisian bistro set Dane had picked up at auction in Paris. Apparently, Marie Antoinette had sipped tea at that table.

I would have laughed at Dane's eccentricity, but I didn't have it in me. I had one more tense conversation to have. I didn't look forward to it.

Joining Amano, I asked, “Mind if I take a seat?”

He made a vague gesture toward the chair opposite him.

“Monitoring the property?”

“That and downloading the programs for each of the GoPros Kyle mounted in all of the vehicles.”

“What are GoPros?”

“Video cameras. We can live-stream them on our wireless devices and the TV. There's audio, too.”

“Clever.”

“Just keep in mind that sneaking off is no longer plausible, since I control the on/off switches. You and Kyle can't take your joyrides without me knowing about them.”

Our gazes locked across the table. I didn't have to ask him to elaborate. He'd be alerted the second Kyle and I took off if we did anything crazy again, as we'd done when going after a confession from Wayne Horton. Or taking Dane's Mercedes McLaren up the treacherous switchbacks in hopes of evading Wayne when he'd baited and trapped us.

Swallowing my pride, I said, “Point taken.”

“Are you sure?”

I accepted Amano's anger over what he obviously considered our carelessness. I knew he was furious because we'd gone behind his back too many times and opened ourselves up to even more danger, well out of his reach.

Not to mention, the fact that he'd used the term
joyride
told me he was additionally upset with our actions because Dane had once done the same. To Mikaela's detriment.

With a nod, I told my bodyguard, “I assure you, we won't be out of your sight without you knowing about it.”

“I've seen that you take precautions, and I'm not saying you haven't done a good job. But my responsibility is to protect you. I can't do that when you run off with Kyle.”

“I understand,” I said, contrite. “And I'm sorry. I know we worried you—pissed you off—when we went after Wayne's confession. That was never our intention. Never my intention. I was feeling hopeless, Amano. Worthless, even. Like all of this stuff was happening around us and I couldn't do a damn thing about it. Then this opportunity presented itself, and I needed to step up. Can you at least accept that?”

“The way this arrangement works,” he said in a stern tone, “is you stay put and I keep you safe.”

I shoved back my chair and stood. “Maybe I'm not the stay-put type. Maybe it'd be okay if I were a bit more proactive than reactive.”

He set aside his iPad. “What do you want?”

That was a bit too point-blank. I didn't have an answer. Except to say, “You didn't tell Dane about my plans for the Lux.”

Amano simply stared at me.

“Come on, I know you know what I've been up to. You keep giving me phones.”

“I'm glad you want to rebuild the hotel. I knew Dane would be happy about it, too. You're managing it remotely, not putting yourself in any danger. I don't have any problems with the way you've handled the project. So I didn't feel the need to tell him.”

“And you wanted him to be surprised, didn't you?”

“He deserves some good news.”

“Yes, he does.”

I sank back onto the cushioned seat. “I'm sorry I caused you trouble and worry. It won't happen again. And I apologize for asking you to not call Dane when I was about to have the baby. I didn't want him freaking out because I was delivering early. Nor did I want him to know—” I shook my head. This confession was even harder to make. “I was concerned about having Amsel prematurely. It scared me. For all the obvious reasons—his health and well-being. But also because I considered it a shortcoming that I couldn't carry Dane's baby all the way to term.”

“Ari.” Amano gave me a firm look. “That is
not
a shortcoming.”

Tears stung my eyes. I was having quite the emotional night. “Are
you
married to an overachiever?”

He actually cracked a smile. “Thankfully, no.”

My tension didn't abate. “Does make for difficult times on occasion.”

He regarded me a few moments, then said, “Maybe you shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself.”

“And if someone were to say that to you?”

With a smirk, he said, “I'd ignore them.”

“Hmph.”

Perhaps that was one of the reasons we got along so well. We shared the same fabric.

We sat in silence a little while longer. Eventually, he asked, “Do you want to learn how to stream the GoPros?”

“Oh, hell, yes.”

*   *   *

“Where have you been?” Dane asked when I finally retired to our bedroom.

“Making the rounds,” I said as I changed into my nightgown. “We have quite the loyal crew. I couldn't scare them off.”

“That's funny. I couldn't
pay
them off.”

“Neither Kyle nor Rosa?”

“I tried. Lots of zeroes on the checks I wrote.”

I settled under the covers with him and said, “It's just money I guess is the way they think of it. Not a family. Not a purpose.”

“We'll see how they feel in the morning. Give them both some time to sleep on it.”

“That's exactly what I said.”

We exchanged a look.

Dane told me, “They won't change their minds.”

I was grateful for the strong ties. But also wary of anything happening to the people I cared so much about.

Dane said, “Rosa was more than happy to move in when Amano and I approached her with the full-time gig when we all came back to this house. It was for her protection as well, but what it all boiled down to was that she used to go home to an empty house at the end of the day—now she's got a family, with us. Nonstop activity.”

“And danger,” I reminded him.

“We'll deal with that. Ethan won't win.”

I cuddled against Dane's side and rested my palm on his cut abs. “What about Qadir and Nikolai?”

“When I finally share all of this with them, I think they're going to be as shocked as I am.”

“As equally betrayed?”

“Not as equally.” Ethan had been Dane's mentor and best friend since he was nineteen, after all. “But it'll be a cold, hard slap in the face, nonetheless.”

I gave this some thought, then offered, “So it'd be okay to keep the two of them on as investors in 10,000 Lux? They really took a personal interest when it was being sabotaged. It was more than just the money, right? It was because they supported your vision, your project.”

He didn't speak for some time. I didn't press.

For a little while, anyway.

After a couple of minutes of silence, I took a guess at what he might be stewing over. “You want to keep them onboard because of your relationships with them, and because it makes good business sense.”

“Naturally.”

“But you can't afford another stab in the back.” I wasn't talking monetarily.

He reached for the bedside lamp and switched it off. The moonlight filtered between thick branches on the trees and streamed through the unadorned floor-to-ceiling windows. That, along with Amsel's night-light, provided enough illumination that I could see the hard set of Dane's jaw.

I said, “I understand how you feel. For something like this to come out of the blue with no warning. From such an unexpected source.”

“Kind of like what your mother did to you?”

“And what she's doing to my dad.”

Dane's arm tightened around my shoulders. “So that problem hasn't gone away.”

“It's the least of our worries.”

“Not if it affects your father. I know that'll eat at you. I'll speak with Jackson. We'll resolve this once and for all. Safely, I promise.”

“My dad doesn't deserve this attack.” I kissed Dane's cheek. “Any more than you deserve everything that's happened to you.”

Dane pulled me closer to him. My lips glided along his jaw, then brushed over his mouth.

He swept hair from my face as he engaged me in slow, sexy, tongueless kisses that made me burn for him.

His hand moved downward and he gathered the nightgown on one side, while his other arm kept me anchored to him as I eased on top of him. I felt his erection between my legs and I guided him inside me.

“You always feel so good,” I whispered against his lips.

“Mm. This is my favorite spot.”

I smiled. “Mine, too.”

We moved together, languidly, in no particular hurry. He palmed an ass cheek and pressed me firmly against him as my hips rolled leisurely and he thrust deeper into me.

He kissed my chin, then his warm lips skimmed along my neck. His breath teased my skin as he murmured, “I love you so much.”

Then he sat up and I felt him even thicker, fuller, deeper within me.

“Dane.” My head fell back on my shoulders as he lightly nipped at my throat, working his way down to my collarbone and across the tops of my breasts. His head dipped farther and his mouth closed over my hard nipple, suckling through the satin covering me.

My fingers threaded through his lush hair. My eyelids fluttered closed. Erotic sensations blossomed in my core, ignited my nerve endings.

I rocked against him, feeling him swell in my pussy. We found an exciting yet sensuous rhythm that had us both breathing heavy and gripping each other tightly as the electricity arced between us and the sensations intensified.

His lips blazed a trail back up to my neck and he suckled the erogenous zone below my ear.

“I'm going to come,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

His arm around my waist kept our bodies pressed together as I rocked faster and the tension mounted.

“Dane,” I repeated.

“Now.”

“Yes.”
Everything inside me pulled tight, then exploded in a heated wave that rushed through my veins.

“Ah, Ari,” he said on a low growl. “Just like that.”

I milked his cock as my climax radiated, bright and beautiful. Then I felt him convulse and erupt as he came hard and fast, still holding me tight.

*   *   *

Dane's heat and muscles surrounded me as he embraced me, his chest to my back, our bodies melded together. I lingered in a blissful state, all warm and cozy in our intimate cocoon.

It hadn't taken more than a few minutes after Dane had made love to me and I'd fallen into a peaceful slumber, thankfully devoid of menacing thoughts and haunting images.

Around 3:00 a.m., I wasn't quite as deep in sleep and heard Amsel stir. I listened carefully, but seconds later he went back to making his cute little cooing sounds as he drifted off again.

Still wanting Dane, I was tempted to wake him.

I didn't have to.

Kyle did it for me.

“Dane! Ari!”

I heard Kyle's booming voice down the hallway. The sharp edge to it wasn't necessary. He'd only once come this far back in the house, to our master suite—when he and my dad had brought me home from the hospital, following the Lux explosion and the news Dane and Amano hadn't made it out. Kyle had needed to collect my necessities, because I hadn't been able to bring myself to enter this room at that time.

So now I was instantly alarmed.

“Breach!” was all Kyle had to shout out and my blood turned to ice.