she hasn’t missed you.” He’d wanted to draw the other man’s attention back to him, and with those words, he got it.
Tim glared.
Dex smiled. “I mean, if my fiancée is missing another man, then I have a real problem on my hands, don’t I?” He brought Lacey’s hand to his mouth. Pressed a kiss to her knuckles. The move was deliberate. He wanted her diamond to flash again.
“When…did you meet?” Tim choked out.
“If you’re trying to ask if I was seeing Dex when we were together, the answer is no.” Once again, her voice was very measured. “My relationship with Dex is a recent development.”
Tim was staring—or, rather, glaring— at the ring once more. “You got swept away, huh? The controlled Lacey Amari fell?”
The guy was way, way hung up on her. A problem.
“You could say that,” Lacey replied. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Dex.
He almost smiled because he could practically read her thoughts. Swept away. Blackmailed. Whatever. Semantics.
A curved blonde made her way to Tim’s side. She slid her arm around his waist. “I was waiting with the bags forever. You just left me there.” Her full lips pulled down in a pout. “I don’t like to wait.”
Tim didn’t look her way. “Congratulations,” he said to Lacey. And only to Lacey. His stare was fixated completely on her once more. “As you can see, I’ve moved on, too. This is Fiona.”
Fiona gave them a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes. Though when her gaze measured Dex, she did lick her lower lip. She ran her long red nails over Tim’s shirt. “I’m starving. Let’s go. I don’t want to eat alone.”
“I was just catching up with an old friend.” Tim pushed her away. “Go have your meal. I’ll join you later.”
“But—”
“We’re leaving,” Dex cut in. This jackass had some serious issues. And the first thing he needed to do…stop eye-fucking Lacey. “Lacey and I have plans, so…” So bye. “Interesting meeting you, Jim.” Not really.
“My name is Tim, not Jim.”
“Right. Sure.” He shrugged. “Good luck with your boy band.”
Tim’s eyes glittered. “It’s not a fucking—”
Dex didn’t bother to listen. He was already walking away with Lacey by his side. He’d put up with enough bullshit already. The last thing he wanted was that dick anywhere near Lacey.
He headed straight for the private elevator that would take them back to their suite. In order to get down to the interrogation area, he’d had to utilize a special, secondary elevator, one equipped with additional security and one accessed only with an agency clearance card. To get back to their suite, they had to go up via the club-level elevator.
Lacey followed him into the elevator. He pressed the button to shut the door, and when he glanced back, he saw Tim watching them.
As the doors closed, Dex lowered his head and took Lacey’s mouth. The kiss was hard, hot, and possessive as all hell. He wanted to send a message, and he needed to be certain that message was received.
She’s mine. Stay the hell away.
Chapter Fifteen
“I don’t think he can see us anymore.” Lacey pushed against Dex’s chest. “But thanks for the show.” She felt shaky and uncertain—two things she hated with a passion. The elevator was already dinging—a sign, of course, that they’d reached their floor—and she realized that she’d kissed him for far too long.
And he didn’t even mean the kiss. It wasn’t real. Just for show. Like everything else.
“Screw him.” Dex’s voice was an angry snarl that she didn’t expect. And then he followed it up with… “Wait, guess you already did.”
She stiffened. Her eyes lifted to meet his. “Yes,” she told him clearly. “I did.”
Dex’s jaw clenched.
The doors were open. Without another word, she strode away from him. She passed the agents in the hallway and jabbed her keycard over the sensor so she could get in the damn suite. She could feel Dex closing in behind her, and whatever else they had to say to each other—they were going to do that shit in private.
She pressed her lips together to hold herself in check until she heard the click of the door shutting behind Dex. Then she whirled. “How dare you act like some kind of jealous—”
“I am.” Guttural.
Also not the response she’d expected. “What?”
His breath heaved out. “I’m fucking jealous.”
“Why?”
He stalked toward her. “Because he had you.”
“Yes. You knew that before.” She threw her hands into the air. “We’ve had this discussion. What does it matter?”
“You loved him.”
The statement had her gaping.