Nauti Intentions (43 page)

“Are you going to talk to Natches now?†he asked, a hint of a smile at his lips. “Because we both know, Janey, you’re not leaving my

side.â€

“Ever,†she promised. “Oh, Alex. I’l never leave your side.â€

Four Days Later

Janey was waiting nervously in the office when she heard Natches pul into the back lot. Alex was upstairs overseeing the repair on the apartment; she

suspected he might actual y be helping. He’d come down earlier looking al sexy and sweaty and she hadn’t been able to take advantage of him.

Dammit.

She hated her monthly cycle. She was definitely doing something about this.

But for now, she had a brother to deal with. A stubborn, possessive, sometimes too domineering brother. And one she loved.

A hard knock sounded on the door before it pushed open and he strode into the office dressed in his motorcycle leathers and tugging off black gloves.

He was real y too damned good-looking for his own good. Impossibly charming.

“What’s so important you had to e-mail that little order?†He frowned at her as he threw himself in the chair in front of her desk.

Janey leaned back in her own chair.

“I love you, Natches,†she said softly.

He stared at her for long moments. She could see the emotions in his eyes now, where in the past she had never been able to.

“Yeah.†He nodded. “I love you, too, Janey.†He rubbed his hand over his cheek. “Where’s Alex?â€

Like her, emotion stil had the ability to make him slightly nervous. They’d been raised to hide everything; sometimes that wasn’t so easy.

“You and I have ground rules to settle. We don’t need Alex for that.†She leaned forward, picked up the legal agreement she’d had made,

and pushed it toward him. “Sign it.â€

He looked at the papers, then back to her.

“Was the ‘love you’ stuff to butter me up?†His lips quirked.

“No.†She shook her head. “It was a promise, Natches. We’re family. You’re al the family I have, and I don’t want to lose you. But

I’m not butting heads with you over this restaurant any longer. And I’m not coming to you for permission for everything I need. Alex is my soul, and I

love him more than I thought I’d ever love anyone besides you. But this restaurant has always been my dream. Not yours. Mine. I don’t want your

part of it, but I wil have control of it.â€

He looked around the office somberly before meeting her eyes again. “I hate this fucking place,†he final y said. “I prayed you’d hate it.â€

She sighed at that. “It’s not Dayle’s place any longer, Natches. It’s mine. As far as I’m concerned, Ray has always been the father

we should have had. He’s a Mackay, and he wears his name with pride. I won’t do anything less.â€

He slapped his gloves against his hands and stared at the papers. “Burn the place,†he whispered. “Start fresh.â€

“Why?â€

He looked back up at her, his gaze heavy, fil ed with sadness. “Neither of us would ever have to remember him again if it were gone.â€

She shook her head. “He made us who we are. And, Natches, we’re damned fine people.†She smiled through her tears. “We’re

good people. Chaya and Alex wouldn’t love us if we weren’t. And we wouldn’t have survived otherwise.â€

He sighed heavily. “Stubborn,†he muttered.

“A trait we share.†She pushed the papers to him. “Give me control, Natches. Let’s show Dayle what he missed out on. Mackay’s wil

be the finest restaurant in the state, and one day, no one wil even remember who he was.â€

He pul ed the papers to him and signed them, then pushed them back and stood up. “I promised Alex I’d help him upstairs,†he stated.

“Dawg and Rowdy wil be here in a minute to help, too.â€

Janey stared at the papers, then back at Natches. “You didn’t read them. You should.â€

He shrugged. “They just say you have control, right?â€

She nodded slowly.

“I trust you, Janey.†He stared back at her, and that trust was in his expression, in his eyes. “I always trusted you.â€

“Always?†she whispered. Even when Dayle was beating the hel out of him because she had done something wrong?

He moved around the desk, bending until he was hunkered beside her chair. “Always. Even when you were a black-haired, squal ing, red-faced brat

pissed off with the world. When you were a toddler just realizing what kind of monster sired us, and a young girl trying to be so good so Dayle wouldn’t erupt. Janey. I always loved you. You were always my sister. And you were always right here.â€

He lifted her hand and placed it on his chest. Over his heart. She placed her other hand atop his. “I always loved you, Natches.â€

He nodded and rose to his feet. “I owe you, though,†he promised her.

“For what?†She stared back at him bemused.

“For hoping I have a daughter.†His grin was rueful, but fil ed with laughter. “Chaya keeps throwing out hints. I bet I end up with a black-haired,

green-eyed, wild-assed girl I don’t have a hope in hel of keeping up with.â€

“You should only be so lucky.†She laughed.

At that, he grinned, then nodded. “Yeah. I should only be so lucky. But she might change her mind when I’m running al the boys off.â€

“She’l love you. You’l be a good dad, Natches.â€

“You’re damned right I wil be.†He nodded, determination fil ing his face now. “Now, you be good. Make us money or I’m burning the

place down.â€

But he grinned as he stepped through the door. And Janey sighed deeply. She ached from head to toe; she hated her cycle, but Alex had promised her

a back rub.

She put the papers to the side. She didn’t need them. The lawyer didn’t need them. It was the gesture that mattered to her, because she and

Natches both knew the papers weren’t legal. Not real y. Because she hadn’t signed them herself.

Fuck it. She stuck them in the shredder and listened to them grind away. Hel , she enjoyed the fights with her brother, just as she enjoyed her confrontations with her lover.

Speaking of her lover . . . She stepped from the office into the dining room, where Rogue was directing the staff like a general, dressed in leather, long

red gold curls spil ing around her back.

“Faisal, you’re too damned good to be hiding in the kitchen.†Rogue was arguing with Natches’s adopted son. “I need your ass out

here helping me oversee everything if we’re going to pul off that four-day-a-week lunch crowd.â€

Faisal crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl on his face, and for a moment, just a moment, Janey could see the incredible influence her brother had

on the young man.

“You are like a despot,†Faisal accused her, his black gaze flickering over her expression with a hint of anger. “You order. Order. Order. I

don’t like your orders, Rogue. You do not ask.â€

“But, honey, if I ask, you tel me no,†she drawled before her expression firmed. “So I’m tel ing you. You are official y my assistant. Get

used to it.â€

Faisal turned to Janey furiously, his black eyes snapping. “You do something with her. I like the kitchen.â€

“You hate the kitchen,†Rogue snapped as she turned to Janey. “Tel him he hates the kitchen, Janey.â€

“I’m leaving.†Janey laughed. “You two can fight this one out on your own.â€

Rogue’s eyes narrowed as her lips twitched.

“Go.†Rogue waved her away. “We’re good.â€

And they were. She smiled. Yeah, things were going to work out just fine. And Alex had promised her a back rub. She’d steal him from the

carpenters and Cranston just long enough. And her smile grew brighter. Long enough to touch him, taste him, and get that back rub. Then he could go play

sweaty male games with her brother and cousins.

First, he had fiancé things to take care of.

The diamond on her finger winked. The promise he had made to her fil ed her heart. Yeah, he owned her. And she owned him. And what was more, she

realized as she left the office, she did deserve him. Tal , proud, and dominant. She deserved every inch of him.

Stepping into the apartment she caught his eye. He looked at her, his grin slow, knowing. He looked around. Everyone was working, grumbling,

laughing, and he slipped away from them.

They snuck from the apartment to his truck and back to their home. And spent hours touching, loving. They didn’t have to do more. It wasn’t

about the sex, or the very naughty intentions she knew their relationship had started with. It was about this.

He touched her face, her lips. He held her to him and rubbed her back, her shoulders. She sucked his release from him and felt her own pleasure

detonate inside her from the excitement. It was about this. They were a part of each other. Heart, body, and soul. And that knowledge saw her into the nap

she needed and the gentle kiss he laid to her lips as he held her.

Love didn’t describe it, but it came the closest. They loved beyond love.

Look for

Lora Leigh’s sexy new book

Nauti Deceptions

Coming in 2010 from Berkley Sensation

Lora Leigh
lives in the rol ing hil s of Kentucky and is often found absorbing the ambience of this peaceful setting. She dreams in bright, vivid images of

the characters intent on taking over her writing life, and fights a constant battle to put them on the hard drive of her computer before they can disappear as

fast as they appeared.

Lora’s family and her writing life coexist, if not in harmony, in relative peace with each other. Surrounded by a menagerie of pets, friends, and a

teenage son who keeps her quick wit engaged, Lora’s life is fil ed with joys, aided by her fans, whose hearts remind her daily why she writes.