name had been inked into his skin. "You've collared other women, but you never really wanted to, did you?"
"Sure I did. I wanted sex, and I needed it to be simple." Not quite a lie. Once Lex had pushed him to start accepting women into the gang, he'd had to draw a line to keep applicants off his dick. Nothing killed his hard-on faster than a woman counting the ceiling tiles--or mentally counting the money she hoped to get.
"Simple," Jasper echoed in agreement. "Yeah, that's the last damn word I'd use to describe Lex."
"Guess I got tired of it." He snuffed out the cigarette on the wall and turned to face Jasper. "Gonna have to learn to be flexible again."
"Uh-huh. Your woman doesn't play by anyone else's rules."
She'd play by his, if he was smart enough to keep the game too addictive to quit. And she'd given him a good idea of where to start. "Speaking of playing, I think she misses you and Noelle. Next time we have a night off, we should fix that."
He shrugged. "I'm down for it. Don't think I need to check with Noelle."
"What if it wasn't just the four of us?"
Jasper choked on a lungful of smoke. "You mean, like a party?"
"A little more exclusive than that," Dallas grumbled. Sharing Lex with Noelle was tolerable, and Jas was damn near an extension of her. As for the rest... Well, at least Lex's fantasy included a jealous rampage. That was pretty much a guarantee. "Lex wants something. I wanna give it to her. That's all there is to it."
He nodded slowly. "I'm down," he said again. "Just let us know where and when."
"Soon." The sooner the better. He'd tested plenty of Lex's boundaries, shoving her to the edge of her comfort zone and coaxing her beyond. Time to find out if he could do the same.
A trio of shadows parted from the darkness below, and Dallas put thoughts of Lex and pleasure aside as they approached the building. "At least they're punctual. Now we just have to worry about whether or not they're here to kill us."
"I won't be impressed unless they try."
Grinning, Dallas turned to the propped-open door that led into the abandoned building. They'd already cleared out a room and righted a beat-up old conference table and a few rickety chairs. He'd meet them here, in their territory, and feel out their motivations. If he was lucky, he'd find that same mixture that made Jasper so valuable--greed tempered by sense and a healthy dose of self-preservation.
If he wasn't, he'd stare across that table and see his own suicidal ambition reflected back at him. And he'd grant their death wish.
There was only room for one crazy bastard in his territory.
Chapter Fifteen
Someone was at her door.
Lex heard the latch and saw the door swing open, reflected in the large mirror backing her vanity. It had to be Dallas, a fleeting thought confirmed when he stepped across the threshold, dressed in jeans and a simple dark T-shirt.
Just as presumptuous as before, and she made him wait until she finished sweeping blush across her cheeks before speaking ruefully. "Come on in, O'Kane."
He leaned against the wall behind her and met her eyes in the mirror. "Not gonna throw something at my head and tell me to knock?"
"Have I ever?" She spun around on her stool. "Wait--don't answer that."
"Mmm, best not to." He studied her face for a silent moment as his smile settled into a more serious expression. "I need you to pull off one of your miracles this weekend."
That sounded ominous as hell. "It doesn't involve a trip to another sector, does it?"
"No. But it involves bringing people from another sector here."
It could only be one thing. "A party for the prospects from Three?"
"Yep." Dallas pushed away from the wall and strolled toward her with all the lazy arrogance of a man secure in his welcome. "We'll invite others. Allies and friends of the gang, a few fighters from all over. But they already know what we're about. The guys from Three are the ones who need the right first impression."
The ones who could round out Dallas's power base in their home sector. He could take over in Three and lead with fear alone, but if they could be trusted and useful, bringing some of Trent's former men into the fold would be smarter. "No problem," Lex agreed.
He traced one fingertip along her jaw before sinking his hand into her hair. "I want to close down