grip no one would mistake for anything but possessive. "Seems like most everyone's here already. No stragglers this time?"
"Everyone arrived promptly." Cerys gestured behind her to the long table set for dinner. "No business, as usual. There's plenty of time for that. Tonight, we enjoy ourselves."
"Always do." Spotting a familiar figure leaning against a marble column, Dallas nodded again. "Mind if I go say hello to your neighbor?"
"You're a guest," Cerys murmured. "You do as you please." With that, she turned her attention elsewhere.
"Dismissed," Lex teased quietly. "She has that way about her, doesn't she?"
Dallas snorted and guided Lex past a young girl holding a tray of drinks. She was wearing a simple, gauzy gown that floated around her like a hazy promise, one that drew men's gazes as she passed. That was Sector Two in a nutshell--hazy promise. Never overt, never blunt, but always seething just under the surface of everything, from the decorations to the girls serving punch and champagne.
The man by the column was the only one who seemed oblivious to that promise. Gideon and Mad might have been cousins, but they didn't look much alike. They both had that same relaxed smile, though, the one that made Mad so easy to trust. Dallas had seen wary men and women alike give way to Mad when he flashed that charming grin, and usually he appreciated its effectiveness.
Not so much when it was directed at Lex, though. "Gideon. Quit ogling my woman."
Gideon ignored him completely and kept grinning at Lex. "It's nice to see you, sweetheart. I imagine things will run a lot more smoothly with you around."
"I know my way around Cerys's games." But the sharp look she flashed him belied the tranquil words and triggered a warning instinct in Dallas. She'd gone tense against his side, and there was no reason the leader of Sector One should present a threat to Lex.
Even more unsettling, Gideon seemed to have no trouble interpreting the sudden tension. He sighed, and if Dallas hadn't known better, he'd swear the man looked disappointed. "Still, Lex?" Gideon asked softly. "Even with his collar around your throat?"
She leaned in and kissed the man's cheek. "You talk too much."
"And still manage to avoid the things that truly need saying." Gideon finally turned to acknowledge Dallas. "You're a lucky man, O'Kane. Congratulations."
After a strained moment, Dallas let the odd comments slide. Demanding an explanation would only underscore his ignorance--a weakness he couldn't afford tonight. "Luckier every day, it seems. It's invigorating to have a lady who can keep you on your toes."
She made a soothing noise, but a moment later a booming voice drowned it out. "O'Kane."
Dallas turned to see Mac Fleming bearing down on them, his tailored suit a stark contrast to Gideon's denim and homespun and Dallas's own leather. The man who ran Five moved more illegal drugs than anyone else in a thousand miles, but he liked to play legitimate businessman almost as much as Cerys liked to play well-bred lady.
The games were exhausting, but Dallas knew his own role: thug. Hopefully one they underestimated. "Fleming. Been a while."
"Not nearly long enough, judging from your tone." The man straightened his cuffs. "Introduce me to your lady."
Dallas would eat his own boots if there was anyone in the room who didn't know who Lex was, just like he knew Mac had a long-suffering wife pregnant with her seventh or eighth kid--Mac's way of flaunting his access to the fertility drugs that counteracted the birth control Eden fed into every available water supply. Dallas had met her twice in ten years. Mac was far more likely to show up with a sleepy-eyed mistress on his arm, some pretty, barely grown girl willing to trade her body for a high.
Drawing Lex back to his side, Dallas bared his teeth. "Lex, this is Mac Fleming, head of Sector Five."
Lex offered her hand. "How do you do?"
He smirked at the equally smarmy bodyguard lurking behind him. "Manners, and from Sector Four, no less." Then Fleming stopped short and lifted a hand. "Though you were raised here, yes?"
"Yes." Lex smiled, sweet but somehow icy. "I was Cerys's best pupil, but only in certain subjects. Oral sex and improvised weaponry, for example, though rarely in conjunction."
Dallas damn near choked on his own spit. Fleming's bodyguard spluttered, though Mac only sighed and shook his head. "And there's your rough influence, O'Kane."
Grinning, Dallas smoothed a proprietary hand over Lex's hair. "What can I say. We like our women only mostly tamed.