snake?”
“Long enough.” He licks his lips. My gaze is immediately drawn to his mouth. “Don’t do this again,” he orders.
“Why do you even care?” I shout, throwing both of my arms up in the air. I get the grand gesticulations from my Russian side of the family. He catches my wrists and holds them lightly. I hate that his touch heats me everywhere.
He takes a step toward me, continuing to hold my arms. “I care.”
I shake my head. “Bullshit. You made it crystal clear that you don’t care.”
The fingers wrapped around my wrist aren’t so gentle anymore. He pulls me close to his body, grabs my waist, leans down, and lightly touches his lips against mine. It’s a kiss, but not really. It says I love you, but not really. It’s everything and nothing. I melt against him. It’s an uncontrollable response that confuses me to no end. I’m his puppet. As quickly as the embrace began, it ends. He steps back and away from me and turns around, facing his back to me.
I hear another voice, one that does not belong here, clearing his throat, and it causes me to jump into the air. My fiancé.
“I knew you’d be here. I read it in your planner when you were on the phone with your mother,” Dax says, standing at the edge of the hallway that attaches to the garage. What did he see? Oh, my God, what did he see? Maybe he saw nothing. Pull your shit together, Lainey. I give myself a mental pep talk.
I walk to him because that’s the proper thing to do if you’re not guilty and flash him my megawatt smile. “Yes. I’m just finishing up. Cody showed up unannounced, so he’s taking care of everything now.” I know he didn’t see anything. He’s assuming. Relief washes over me. I give Cody a contrived smile when he sees us standing together. “I’m finished with the job, happy with everything that’s arrived. I’m sure Cody is as well.” Keeping the professionalism alive when I feel like having a panic attack is difficult, but not something I’m incapable of. And Cody said that returning to my espionage roots was a bad idea. Psh.
“Brother,” Cody says, approaching both of us. He looks like a goddamned panther stalking prey—real, reassuring jerk. Your mouth wasn’t on mine a minute ago. Dax tenses beside me, readying for a fight. I have to shake my head. Sometimes men are so stupid and territorial. Cody and Dax are about the same size, and I’ve always known they look similar, but seeing them together is odd. Same builds, eye color, hair color, bad ass attitude, and they’ve both been inside me. This meeting needs to get nipped in the bud, quickly. Cody extends his hand to Dax. “How are you? Lovely furniture your girl picked out, right?” Dax finally looks somewhere other than my face and Cody’s body.
“Yeah, it’s nice.” He takes Cody’s hand in his and shakes it firmly. “Looks like your deal is finished then, huh?” Dax asks me, but looks at Cody.
I’m confused. “Uh, yeah. Unless Cody sees something he doesn’t like or wants to change.”
“Something I want to change, you say? I think I do see something I want to change,” Cody mutters, Dax’s hand still in his.
“All right. All right. I don’t know what type of pissing contest you’re both engaged in, but I’m hungry. Let’s go get lunch, Dax. I have a million things to do before this weekend, Dax.” I say his name twice in hopes that he’ll pull himself from whatever testosterone driven hate fest is taking place. “And, Cody, you have my email. Send me a message if there’s anything you want to change.”
Dax spins to me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I see Cody over Dax’s shoulder. He’s smiling like a lunatic. “The undertones are so glaring that they are now overtones. I’m not sure what you guys are talking about, but if Cody sees a table, or a piece of artwork, or perhaps an upholstered chair that he finds to be of bad taste, he may email me and I will exchange the said piece for him,” I say slowly. “Does that make sense to you, Dax Redding?”
He nods, looks at Cody, and then returns his gaze to me. “Cody, you’ll let me know?”
“Of course. Hey, do you have the time?” Cody replies, cocking his head to the side. His laser gaze is locked on my face. It’s so fierce and promising that