"Hang on tight," he said.
Those were the last words Joel spoke as he navigated the bike onto the street, then proceeded to accelerate and took her on the fast, exhilarating ride that he'd promised.
"JUDGING by those come-and-get-me looks Lora keeps throwing your way, I take it she finally fell for the Wilde Man charm, huh?"
Joel glanced at Ben-a good friend and one of Elite's partners-who was sitting with him at a table at Nick's Sports Bar. His two other partners had joined them for the evening, as well. At the moment Jon was flirting with a petite blond woman across the room, and Kevin had whisked Lora off to play a game of pool with him.
Joel shrugged evasively, refusing to let Ben's observation turn into a more personal discussion about his relationship with Lora. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. It makes keeping an eye on her a whole lot easier if she believes we're dating."
Ben leaned his arms on the table and grinned. "And considering the way you're watching her, like you wouldn't mind mixing a bit of pleasure with business, I'm assuming she's gotten under your skin, too."
Annoyed at Ben's persistence, along with his too-accurate presumption of the situation between him and Lora, Joel clenched his jaw. "I'm watching her because it's my job." His tone was clipped with impatience.
Ben held up both of his hands as if to back off. "Okay, if you say so."
Figuring that was the end of their conversation, Joel finished off the last of his beer and turned his gaze to the gaming area of the bar, where Kevin and Lora were playing their second game of pool-this time with a twenty-dollar wager on the table.
Kevin had made the mistake of assuming that Lora didn't know the specifics of the sport, but the sparkle in her eyes was a dead giveaway that she was playing along with Kevin's assumption. Currently, Lora was bent low over the pool table as she lined up a shot, giving Joel and every other guy in the place a mouth-watering view of her rounded breasts pressing tight against her top. Joel's lips pursed and he narrowed his gaze as Kevin moved beside Lora and leaned way too close for Joel's liking as he oh-so-helpfully gave her advice on attempting a combination. She made the shot, not because of Kevin's guidance, but because of her own skill.
"You know, you really don't need to glare at Kevin," Ben said in amusement. "He's just teaching Lora a few shots. He's no threat at all to whatever is going on between the two of you."
Joel had had enough of Ben's ribbing and transferred that dark scowl to his friend. "Shut the fuck up, will you?"
Ben laughed heartily, not the least bit offended by Joel's brusque and rude comment, which was a dead giveaway of just how on edge Joel was over Lora. Instead, Ben picked up a potato skin from the appetizer platter they'd all munched on earlier and took a big bite.
Thankful that Ben's mouth was full, which meant Joel had a few minutes of peace, he redirected his attention to something more productive than the unaccustomed jealousy making itself known. Instead, he gave the filled-to-capacity establishment a quick look around to make sure that there wasn't anyone in the bar that looked suspicious or out of place. This was his turf, a place he was familiar with when it came to the patrons and layout of the bar, and that made him feel far more comfortable and in control than he did at The Electric Blue. And, here he had three other guys keeping an eye on Lora, too.
Joel's gaze slid past Ben, who smirked at him knowingly but didn't say a thing. Joel felt himself bristle all over again. He hated that Ben was able to peg his attraction to Lora when he was trying so damn hard to keep his desire for the woman under wraps.
This entire pretense with Lora was a double-edged sword as far as his libido was concerned, and it had gotten a whole lot sharper and more dangerous with that kiss she'd planted on him in her apartment. Despite how sweet and platonic it had been, he hadn't missed the underlying hunger in the way her lips had pressed against his, and the overwhelming temptation that beckoned him to take the kiss to a hotter, deeper connection. The kind that included open mouths, mating tongues, and wandering hands over warm, smooth flesh.
So far, he'd managed to maintain his physical distance with Lora and hadn't so much as encroached on the hands-off policy he'd sworn himself to when he'd agreed to this favor for Zach. Not only was protecting Lora a job for him, there were other issues that made any kind of affair between them impossible. Without her even knowing it, their relationship was a complex one, based more on deceit than honesty, and he wasn't about to add to his guilt by succumbing to his own lust and the undeniable need to lose himself in her soft, lush body. No matter how much he might wish otherwise.
Lora deserved more than a few nights of sex with him that weren't even grounded in complete honesty. He'd deliberately entrenched himself into her life because he'd promised to keep her safe from her brother's thugs, and carnal pleasure was all he had to offer any woman, because he just didn't do long-term commitments.
Unlike his brothers and cousins, who were all enjoying marital bliss, Joel had come to the conclusion that he wasn't the home and hearth type. After the death of his mother, with Scott and Alex taking over the family responsibilities and making their main focus raising their baby sister, Mia, Joel felt as though he'd gotten lost in the shuffle. He didn't have an important role in the family, as his older brothers did, which had given him the feeling of not quite fitting in.
As a young boy, it had been easier to keep his emotions bottled up inside and just do his own thing, and that rebellious streak had led to a thirst for risk and adventure and the kind of adrenaline rush that kept him on a natural high. He'd become the black sheep of the family, the one who wasn't cut out to be a part of his father's construction business like Scott and Alex. The one who'd always kept women at a distance because he'd rather be on an exciting assignment than tied down.
That's why he'd joined the military, because his only obligation had been to Uncle Sam. And now, with Elite Security Specialists, he was able to take on jobs that satisfied his restless need for something different, yet were temporary and didn't demand anything more than he had to give.
Those were the facts, his lifestyle, and his reality.
The story was rock solid, but it didn't diminish the fact that Lora Marshall tested his honorable intentions in so many ways, with her seductive overtures, flirtatious touches, and bewitching, come-hither eyes, which she'd been using to her advantage all evening long. The woman was determined to drive him to the brink of sexual frustration, and while he'd managed thus far to maintain control of his own aching need to get horizontal with her, he had to admit that his restraint was stretched nearly to the limit.
"What are you doing back here so soon?" Ben asked as Jon returned to the table sooner than any of them would have expected. "Did you strike out with the blonde?"
Jon shook his head as he sat down. "She was definitely a sure thing, but when she started talking about how her biological clock was ticking, then started looking at me as a potential sperm donor, I was so outta there." He shuddered for effect. "The last thing I need to do is hook up with a woman who has me in mind to father her baby. Jeez, an uncomplicated fling is hard to find these days."
Ben chuckled. "Maybe we've just become more discriminating," he suggested philosophically, then sent Joel a sly glance. "Not all of us are lucky enough to find a smart, sexy woman like Lora."
Joel's fingers tightened around the neck of his empty beer bottle, making him wish it was Ben's neck instead. He chose not to reply, knowing that the guys were just giving him shit, as they always did.