Theirs to Keep - Maya Banks Page 0,24

finger on exactly what she wanted from the two men. Or maybe she knew, and she was too afraid to admit it even to herself.

“Dakota has a car to take you back to the hotel. If you don’t mind, I’m going to catch a ride back with you,” Catherine said. “I’m beat, and as thrilled as I am for Merrick, I don’t have it in me to pull a late nighter tonight.”

“Of course I don’t mind. I’d love the company,” Elle said honestly.

“Dakota is sending two bodyguards with us, and they’ll remain outside your suite until Merrick and Cade return.”

Elle nodded, not bothering to say it was unnecessary. How could she say that with any certainty? She had no idea who’d tried to kill her or where he was now. All she knew was that the only time she felt safe was when she was with Cade and Merrick.

Dallas walked over and bent down to press a perfunctory kiss to Elle’s forehead. It could easily be interpreted as an affectionate kiss from a man to his lover, and Elle knew Dallas did view her affectionately, but it was a pretense.

“You going to be okay with Cathy?” Dallas asked. “I’ll go back to the hotel with you if you want.”

Elle shook her head. “Go and have fun. Enjoy the moment, and make sure Merrick does too. And please don’t let them worry about me. Catherine has been nice enough to ride back to the hotel with me, and I’m going to curl up and get some sleep. I’ll be fine.”

Dallas smiled and then ruffled her hair. “Okay, will do. You two be careful.”

“See ya, Dallas,” Catherine said.

Dakota walked over then with the two mountains who’d escorted her to her seat earlier.

“Elle, this is Carl and Steven, and they’ll be escorting you back to the hotel.”

“I’m going to ride with her, babe,” Catherine spoke up.

Dakota’s brow furrowed. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m tired. You guys go and celebrate.”

Dakota pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was clear the couple cared a lot for each other, and Dakota wasn’t hesitant at all about demonstrating that love for his wife regardless of who was watching.

“See you later then,” he said. Then he nodded at Elle. “They’ll take you out now.”

Elle followed behind Carl while Steven fell in behind her and Catherine. As they walked toward the door, Merrick came out of the shower, his hair still damp. Elle stopped a moment to absorb the image of him standing in the dressing room wearing a T-shirt advertising his training facilities and a pair of jeans that hugged his body in all the right places.

Cade walked over to where she stood, his stance casual. Merrick came up behind him until both men were mere inches away.

“You okay?” Cade asked softly.

She nodded and smiled. “Yep. Congratulations, Merrick. It was an awesome fight.”

The corner of Merrick’s mouth lifted. “You watched? Or did you hide your eyes the entire time?”

She huffed indignantly. “You submitted him with a rear naked choke hold.”

Both men laughed. Cade started to put his hand out to touch her but pulled it back at the last minute.

“We’ll see you later, okay? If you need anything at all, call my cell. I’ll be checking it.”

Elle nodded, and after one last lingering glance, she turned and walked away with the two bodyguards.

Chapter Twelve

ELLE WAS IN A VERY modest pair of pajamas when she heard the slide of a keycard in the door. A moment later, it opened, admitting Cade and Merrick into the suite.

She glanced up from her perch on the couch as they trudged inside.

The room was dark, with only a corner lamp burning. She’d been sitting by the window staring at the Las Vegas strip and the dazzling array of lights that cascaded up and down the boulevard.

“Hey,” Cade said softly. “Why are you still awake?”

“I wanted to wait up for you guys,” she said. “I didn’t get to talk to you earlier. It was frustrating.”

Merrick scowled and then plopped onto the couch beside her, extolling a weary sigh that worried her.

“It was damn frustrating,” he agreed in a low growl. “I didn’t want to go to a fucking party. I just wanted to come back to the room where it was quiet, pop a few pain pills and…see you.”

She got a giddy thrill from the admission, but she latched onto the pain in his voice and the comment about pain medication.

“What’s wrong?” she asked sharply.

She turned, hovering over him on her knees, examining him