Danger Next Door (Red Stone Security Series) (15 page)
Sitting up, she grasped his shoulders and tugged him to her mouth. Hungrily, he kissed her as she grappled with his belt and pants. Helping her, he shoved at them, but he’d barely gotten them down his legs before she grasped his waist.
Her fingers dug into him as she pulled him to her. As his cock pushed deep inside her wet heat, he stilled, enjoying the feel of her clenching around him. Burying his head against her neck, he inhaled her sweet scent. That raspberries and vanilla scent was subtle now, but it wrapped around him with a soothing purity.
“I love you,” he whispered, unable to look at her face as he said it.
Belle sucked in a deep breath so before she could respond he pulled his head back then crushed his mouth over hers. He didn’t want to hear her response if she didn’t feel the same and there was no way in hell he was pulling out of her.
Feeling a little out of control he thrust into her over and over as their mouths tangled with each other. He felt frantic as he slammed into her, but was unable to control his need and hunger. With her, he lost all sense of restraint.
When she dug her fingers into his ass, raking her fingernails along his skin, he came. His orgasm was as uncontrolled as hers had been. With her name on his lips he emptied himself inside her in long, hot strokes. Even when he’d spent everything he had in her, his hips still blindly rocked against her until she wrapped her arms tight around him, pulling him impossibly close.
“I love you, too, in case you’re wondering,” she said, slightly giggling. When she did, her inner walls tightened on his half-hard cock, making him shudder.
He pulled his head back so he could fully look at her. The love and trust he saw took his breath away. After shoving off the rest of his clothes he lifted her off the counter and headed for the stairs. He might need a short break but he didn’t plan on leaving his bed for a long time.
Balancing three beers in her hands, Belle nudged open the door that led to Grant’s backyard. His patio was packed with his brothers, their significant others, his father and of course her own giant family. She couldn’t even attempt to count how many of her relatives were there. There were so many cousins, aunts and uncles—but no members of the Balis family which would have been odd under other circumstances but her mother was still enraged at Paulos for trying to manhandle her. Considering everything else that had happened in the last couple weeks—that was just a blip on her radar now.
Her family was so loud she wanted to be a little embarrassed but she couldn’t muster up anything. She loved all of them. And Grant didn’t care and that was all that mattered. Weaving through the laughing, talking people she made her way to Grant who was by his massive grill—where her father and brothers all hovered, staring at it with envy. She handed a beer to Grant and her father and kept the last for herself.
“Hey, where’s mine?” Alek, one of her brother’s grumbled. At twenty-nine he was the youngest of her three brothers but still five years older than her.
She smiled sweetly. “Your legs aren’t broken.”
Her father snorted in agreement. “What’s the matter with you? Your sister shouldn’t be doing anything. Get your own drink and grab her a chair while you’re at it.” Then he looked at her admonishingly as Alek hurried away. “You shouldn’t be doing anything, least of all getting me a drink. I thought you were by the pool resting.”
Odell and Dennis, her other brothers, both nodded in agreement. “I’ll grab you a lounge chair,” Odell murmured, hurrying off.
She contemplated protesting but knew it would be futile. She was used to their over protectiveness.
Grant shot her a sideways glance and she could tell he was fighting a smile. But he wisely didn’t tell her she needed to rest. While she might not have gone back to work yet—the hospital had forced her to take two weeks off with full pay—she wasn’t an invalid and she needed to keep moving. If she didn’t, her mother and aunts would descend on her wanting to know when Grant would be proposing.
Belle snorted to herself. Her mother had certainly gotten over her demand that Belle marry someone Greek once she met Grant. He’d actually surprised her with his ability to charm her formidable mother. Or course it probably had more to do with the fact that he’d saved Belle’s life from a serial killer. Her mother had been cooking like a madwoman the past two weeks. A covered dish for Belle and one for Grant every single day. As if either of them could eat that much. And Grant didn’t just tolerate her family; he seemed to genuinely adore them, which was icing on the cake.
Shaking her head, Belle kissed her father on the cheek then hurried away, blending into the crowd. It was amazing so many people fit in Grant’s backyard, but a few of her cousins had taken up residence in the pool and definitely weren’t leaving anytime soon. Those same cousins were flirting mercilessly with Vincent and Travis. Vincent was eating it up but Travis looked uncomfortable and a little scared. A six foot plus giant of a man with too many tattoos and piercings to count should not be intimidated by her petite cousins. She might have felt sorry for him, but her cousins were all gorgeous and there were worse ways to be tortured.
After stopping to talk to half a dozen people, she found herself in the kitchen again grabbing two more bottles of wine. As she set them on the counter she eyed the contents of the fridge, debating if she should bring out another platter of the cheese eggplant rolls her mom had brought. Grant would be done grilling soon but she didn’t think it was possible to have too much food tonight. Not with this crowd. Grabbing it, she started to nudge the door shut when large hands closed on her waist from behind.
Instinctively she jumped then recognized that masculine, very familiar spicy scent of Grant. Grinning, she leaned back into him. “Why aren’t you manning the grill?”
“Our dads have taken over. I decided to let them fight for it so I could find you,” he murmured close to her ear, the heat of his breath dancing across her skin. “I’ve barely seen you all day.” He almost sounded pouty, which she found incredibly adorable.
Setting the platter down on the closest counter, she turned and wrapped her arms around him, linking her fingers behind his neck. “I’ve got to be the hostess while you’re cooking.”
“You
should
be sitting somewhere with your feet up,” he murmured, but there wasn’t much heat in his voice.
“Hush. You know I’m fine.” They’d had enough sex the past couple weeks that she knew he wasn’t worried about her being physically fragile.
His grip on her waist tightened as he pulled her flush against his body and bent to feather kisses along her jaw. “I wonder if anyone would miss us for about half an hour.”
She chuckled, her own hold on him increasing. “Ah, the
real
reason you were looking for me.”
He gently tugged one of her earlobes between his teeth but froze at the sound of the door opening and slamming. Belle leaned back to find her mom fighting a grin. Eirene Manikas was simply an older version of Belle and had the intimidating look down to an art, though she wasn’t using it now. She just clicked her tongue at them and picked up the wine bottles. “If I were you, Grant, I’d hurry back to that grill. I think my husband might be doing some permanent damage.”
Fighting her own smile, Belle took Grant’s hand in hers and tugged him outside, ignoring his groan of displeasure. The man was insatiable and in a few hours they’d have the house back to themselves and plenty of uninterrupted bedroom time. For now, she was enjoying being with her family and the man she loved.
And she was desperately trying to pretend she hadn’t accidentally seen the two-carat princess cut, flawless diamond engagement ring she’d found in one of Grant’s drawers days ago—that he was currently carrying around. She’d felt it earlier and realized what it was.
A few times that morning he’d acted all nervous and patted his pants leg as if he was afraid he’d lost it. She couldn’t even imagine when he’d had time to buy it, but she was glad they were on the same page. She certainly hadn’t expected him to buy a ring this soon, but it didn’t surprise her. When Grant decided on something, that was that.
Most people would say it was too soon, but she knew she loved him more than anything. When he finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry him, her answer would be a definite yes. She’d already basically moved in to his place. Eventually she’d worry about renting out her house or even selling it, or maybe they’d move into hers and sell his—but all that stuff was just extraneous crap she couldn’t even focus on at the moment. Considering she’d survived being stalked then almost tortured and killed by a serial killer—everything else was completely manageable. Well, as long as Grant was in her life.
Thank you for reading Danger Next Door! I really hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please consider leaving a review at one of the major sites such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books!
Danger Next Door is the second book in my Red Stone Security series. Each story is completely able to stand alone, but if you liked this one and would like to read the first book, turn the page for a sneak peek of No One to Trust.
Red Stone Security Series, Book 1
© 2012 Katie Reus
Secrets are what keep a family strong. United.
Elizabeth Martinez could still hear her father’s words echoing in the recesses of her memories. Over a decade had passed and not a day went by that she didn’t wish she could rewrite history. Some secrets had a way of eating a person alive. From the inside out, one giant bite at a time. Gnawing until she couldn’t stand it. If her father hadn’t forced them all to keep the family’s dirty little secret, maybe she’d be at home enjoying a nice glass of wine and a bubble bath. She wouldn’t be picking up her brother from a drug dealer’s house on a chilly Tuesday evening.
Lizzy put her BMW into park and slid from the vehicle. This particular mansion in Keystone Island was the last place in the world she wanted to be. Unfortunately her brother had called begging for help. Again.
Everyone else in the family had turned their back on Benny but she simply couldn’t say no when he needed her. Not when he’d always been there for her.
While she wasn’t sure what Benny was doing at the recently deceased Alberto Salas’s home, she knew it couldn’t be good. Salas had been infamous for running drugs up and down the entire East Coast. She’d heard his son, Orlando, had taken over his operation. She’d briefly interacted with Orlando at a few charity functions around Miami and he’d always been perfectly polite, but the man gave her the creeps. There were some things an Armani suit simply couldn’t hide.
Self-consciously, Lizzy tugged at her dress as if she could somehow make it grow a couple inches longer. The bright turquoise halter-style dress and black cardigan sweater she wore were completely respectable, but as she walked down the stone driveway toward the front door, she could feel several sets of eyes on her. Considering Orlando Salas was rumored to be in the same business his father had been, she guessed that even though she couldn’t see them, he had plenty of scary looking security guys milling around. They were nothing more than thugs in suits and ties. She worked for one of the best security firms in the nation and the guys she worked with—they sure weren’t thugs. No, they were highly trained, mostly ex-military, and didn’t deal with scum like Salas. They protected uber wealthy clients and government dignitaries and everyone they worked for got a detailed military level background check—courtesy of her computer skills—and if it appeared they were into anything like drugs, Red Stone Security didn’t take them on. With how much money their company made, they could afford to be picky.
Before she could knock on the bright red door, it swung open and a man carrying an assault rifle looked her up and down.
A cold chill slithered through her, mainly because of the look on his face, rather than the gun. She’d known the guards here would be armed, but
yuck
, this guy made her feel like she was naked. Clutching her purse tighter against her side—as if that could somehow save her—she started to tell him why she was there, but he beat her to it.
With a lecherous grin on his face, he stepped back and allowed her to enter. “Your brother’s out back.” He pointed down the tile hallway. “Just follow until you reach the French doors.”
Fighting back the growing panic humming through her, she nodded and did just as he said. Yeah, maybe she should have called her boss and told him what she was doing but she didn’t want to drag anyone she knew into Benny’s problems. Then everyone would know how messed up her family really was. It was too embarrassing. She’d take care of it just like she always had.
Chin up
, she ordered herself.
As she neared the doors she could see her brother stretched out on an Adirondack chair. She yanked the door open and hurried to his still form. “Benny!”
When he didn’t stir, an icy fist clasped around her heart. He looked like a corpse. His normally bronze face was a grayish color. She touched his wrist and a sharp burst of relief popped inside her. At least his pulse was strong. But his face…tears blurred her vision for a moment. A garish purple bruise covered his left cheek and one of his eyes was swollen almost all the way shut. A light trail of blood had trickled from his nostril and dried on his upper lip. Had they broke his nose? Her throat tightened with raw grief. He’d sounded bad on the phone but she hadn’t expected
this
. She wanted to touch him, comfort him somehow, but was afraid she’d only hurt him more.
