None of it made a lick of difference to him. But it was required so he listened with only a quarter of his attention span and waited for the moment he could leave to find Juliette. Frank had already told him she’d arrived and, ever since, his skin had been prickling to go to her. It was the oddest sensation, but one he was quickly becoming accustomed to where she was concerned.
“Why should we offer our planes for your garbage, Lozano?” Theresa Maynard, CEO of Hanmark Corporation by day, gun smuggler by night, curled her pretty red lips in disgust.
As shrewd and evil went, she was probably one of the worst. Cut throat and cold to the core. But maybe one had to be when they put guns in the hands of children. Like Killian, it was a family business. One that had been passed down into her manicured hands. She was the youngest of three, and Killian had met her older brothers, but Theresa was molded in their father’s image, ruthless and cunning. It was no surprise when the company had been put in her name.
Marcus Lozano wasn’t the head of any business or corporation. He was second in command to William Lozano, his father. But William had no patience for the petty back and forth that took place once a month, every month like clockwork. Honestly, if Killian had a second in command, he would do the same thing. But the truth was that he liked knowing where his enemies stood. He liked knowing their game plan, even if they all lied.
Most nights, watching the five squabble and toss around idle threats was mildly entertaining, but Killian couldn’t stand it any longer. The feeling coursing through him, the itchy sensation scuttling beneath his skin made him want to leap up and pace. Hell, it made him want to leave the room and let them sort it out on their own. It wasn’t like they really needed him there. He wasn’t even participating, just sitting there, waiting for someone to say something useful.
“Gentlemen, and ladies,” he added quickly, inclining his head to the only two women in the chat. “I unfortunately have another meeting that requires my attention. Please send me an email when a decision has been made. Goodnight.”
He shut off before anyone could think to protest or attempt to make him stay. The moment the screen went blank, he became profoundly aware of the humming inside his skull. But he ignored it as he got to his feet and made his way to the door. Frank was nowhere in sight, but Killian knew it only took a murmur of his name to summon the man from wherever he was lurking.
Strides quick, he made his way to his room in no time at all. But something made him turn the knob quietly, like a part of him had almost expected to find Juliette curled up on the bed, asleep.
She wore the black skirt with the red blouse. Her bare legs were curled almost to her chest. One hand was loosely curled next to her slightly parted mouth. But it was her hair he was most fascinated with. It was unbound, a chaotic mess of waves spilling across the pillow. In the dim light of the setting sun, the strands shone like spun gold.
Moving to her side, Killian perched on the corner of the mattress and studied the play of colors that only seemed to come out in different lighting. In the approaching hours of dusk, he could just make out hints of auburn and dark brown.
He lightly plucked up a coil that had been resting along the curve of her neck and wound the silky texture around his finger. All blonde with just a hint of brown.
Juliette sighed in her sleep. Her sooty lashes fluttered but remained splayed across the soft contours of her cheeks. She shifted half onto her back, tugging the strand of hair from his grasp when she turned her head away from him.
He let it go, his focus captured by the firm swell of one breast peeking out through the gap in her blouse. The voice in his head wondered if she was wearing that lacy bra she’d bought to torture him with. The one that had held her breasts to their full perfection and had converted his brain to soup upon sight. It was an image that had haunted him all day, scattering his thoughts mid conversation and making him lose hours at a time just reminiscing. But it was her mouth that had enslaved him. The things she had done with just her tongue. Christ.
“Full of surprises,” he murmured quietly to himself as he peered down at the slip of a woman taking up far too much time and space in his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Juliette didn’t answer. He wasn’t expecting one, but he continued to study her, taking note of just how vulnerable she looked in sleep. Such a change from the fierce, passionate woman who claimed his bed or stormed into his office like she’d like nothing better than to take a switch to his ass. The very idea was hilarious, he was twice her size, but in that moment, she seemed capable of just about anything.
Killian chuckled quietly to himself and realized with a start that he’d been doing that a lot lately. Laughing, chuckling … smiling. While he knew he wasn’t incapable, he truly couldn’t recall the last time he’d done any of those things. Maybe not since his mother’s death. There hadn’t been much to be happy about after that.
“Killian?” Juliette opened bleary eyes and squinted up at him. A small smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “Hi.”
Every muscle in his stomach clinched at that simple gesture. His chest cavity seemed to shrink, compressing his lungs and heart until both were struggling to keep him alive.
How did she do that?
“Hi,” he breathed out around the constriction.
She yawned behind her hand and struggled upright. The left side of her face, the one that had been mashed into the pillow, was pink and streaked with lines. It took all his willpower not to reach out and stroke the skin, to feel the warmth of it.
“I must have dozed off,” she murmured, casting a glance over to the window and the navy blue creeping across the heavens. “Is it very late?”
“No.” He rose to his feet, needing a modicum of space to regain some of his composure. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m all right,” she said a bit too fast. “I can wait until I get home.”
Frustration lifted his shoulders in a deep exhale. “Are you hungry?” he repeated, more firmly.
She looked up at him. “I can wait—”
“Christ, woman! It’s a simple enough question. Are you hungry?”
Her lips pursed in an annoyance that all too quickly dissolved into a smile that turned into a laugh.
“If you’re so adamant to feed me, then yes, I’m hungry.”
Glowering without heat, he offered her his hand and helped ease her off the bed. He kept his fingers locked around hers as he led them down towards the kitchen. It wasn’t until they reached the hall of windows that he noticed how short she was walking next to him. Most people usually were compared to him, but she normally came to his shoulders. She was now barely at the center of his chest.
“Where are your shoes?” he asked, realizing she wasn’t wearing any.
Juliette shrugged nonchalantly. “John is probably setting the devils on fire.”
Killian blinked. “What?”
She peered up at him, her eyes shining with mischief. “They hurt my feet. They had to die.”
Maybe it was her sly little grin or the way her nose crinkled just a bit when she said die, but something in him cracked and he was reaching for her before he could stop himself. His hands closed around her arms and he jerked her into his chest. Her gasp was swallowed by the mouth he slanted down hard over hers. His hand closed in her hair to cup the base of her skull. He crushed her to him as he devoured the sweet taste of her like a man starved.
Juliette moaned and melted into him. The sound vibrated against his lips as thin arms wound their way around his shoulders. Firm breasts mashed into his chest, the nipples hard points of arousal stabbing through both their tops. Toned thighs cradled up against his until she was perfectly aligned with every inch of him. Yet it wasn’t even close to being enough.
“Christ!” he groaned, his hold tightening on her.
Slim fingers tangled through his hair, holding his mouth over hers as she nipped lightly on his bottom lip.