Solid Steel (Unseen Enemy Book 6) (15 page)

“OK,” she said quietly. She’d been expecting this, after all, and as usual, Dallas just cut to the chase. “Out in the hall?”

“Yeah. Let’s grab a bad coffee and chat.”

Despite her tension, she managed a smile. “Bad coffee, huh?”

“The
worst
, I swear,” Dallas groaned. He was a hardcore coffee-lover and he took the hospital coffee almost as a personal insult.

They walked down the hall to the vending machine and Dallas got them both coffees. Then he led her to the waiting room, settled them down on chairs far away from the others in the space. He sipped his coffee, grimaced.

“I cannot
wait
until Griff is released, so I can stop drinking this crap,” he said. “To call it ‘coffee’ is an insult to sewage.”

She laughed, fell silent. Their eyes met.

“You want me to come right out with it?” Dallas asked.

She nodded. “Please.”

“I know, Selena,” he said abruptly. “I found out when a moron intern shot his mouth off. Mark was there, too.”

“Luke told me.”

“I’m sorry that I found out that way,” Dallas said. “I wish
you’d
told me.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I – I should have.”

“So let’s get this part straight, OK?”

His terse tone startled her. “What part?”

“As your employer, I have no legal right whatsoever to demand that you disclose private medical information to me. You did everything by the book and I have no issues whatsoever about that. You informed me of your need for leave, you informed HR, you recertified your gun license, you came back to work when you said you would. And as this whole fuck-up with Diana shows, you were ready to come back.”

Selena nodded again.

“But as your friend…” Dallas paused, collecting his thoughts. “I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything at all.
Anything
. I’d have pulled down the moon for you, if I thought that’d help you start to cope.”

“I know.”

“I
also
wish you’d told me because maybe you could have talked to me and Olivia together.”

“To you guys? Why?”

“Because she knows all about learning to feel beautiful and desirable while having scars on your body,” Dallas said. “And me? Well, I know all about how if a man really cares about a woman, he looks past those scars, Selena. He doesn’t even
see
the things. All he sees is
her
. Her strength, her spirit, and she’s nothing but pure, perfect beauty, I promise you.” He smiled at her. “She’s the most gorgeous thing he’s ever laid eyes on, and
nothing
changes that.”

Selena stared up at him, stunned. Dallas was a hard man, a tough man, and although she knew he could be a gentle man, she’d never really seen it first-hand. The way he’d just talked about Liv, though, was Dallas at his tender best.

She thought about Luke, about the way that he looked at her naked body. She understood now that Luke didn’t see her scars, not the way that she did. No, Luke looked at her and all he saw was
her
. It was an amazing, humbling thing – and she started to believe it. She started to see her own beauty again. It was a gift that Luke wanted so badly to give her, and it was Dallas who had really shown her that.

“So.” Dallas reverted to tough-as-all-fuck in the blink of an eye. “You can come back to work as soon as you feel well enough, but nothing in the field.”

“Office duty?”

“You know it.” He scowled. “And you need to recertify to carry a gun. Again.”

“I know.” She moved her arm, winced. “I’ll be back at work the day after tomorrow, I think, but I won’t be carrying for a little while.”

“Pulls?”

“Like hell, boss.”

“Fucking stalkers. I hate those bastards, I swear.”

They shared a smile, then he looked away.

“OK.” Dallas got to his feet. “So you see how you feel in a couple of days, yeah? Mark has everything under control at the office, so don’t worry about rushing back. You just take your time, give me a call when you feel like doing stacks of paperwork and research.”

“You
know
I love paperwork.”

“Watch your mouth, Perez, or I’ll put you on photocopying and coffee-making duty.”

She snapped him a quick salute.

“Snarky,” he muttered. “You want to spend some more time with Griff?”

“Yeah, totally.” She stood up too. “I
did
come here to weep all over him, you know.”

“Oh, I know, Selena.” Dallas threw his mostly-full cup in to the garbage. “You sure as hell didn’t come here for the coffee.”

“I also didn’t come here for the pleasure of
your
company.”

He stared at her, his face hard but his blue eyes dancing. “Coffee duty it is, Perez.”

She laughed aloud.

Chapter Thirteen
Two weeks later

Luke gave Selena a final kiss, hard and deep.
Christ
, the last thing he wanted to do was go to work tonight, but he had to. He’d promised Jax he’d take Dante’s shift on short notice, and Luke wasn’t a man who broke his promises easily. Not even if it meant leaving the sweetest, softest bed that he’d ever been in to go to a loud bar full of questionable types.

Selena blinked up at him, sleepy and satisfied. He’d worked her body to its limits that night, coaxing four orgasms out of her with his fingers and his tongue, refusing to let her so much as touch him the whole time. He’d told her that this was about her – that he wanted her exhausted when he left her, so she’d sleep all through the night.

Mission accomplished, Rhodes. I think you damn near killed me.

“You ready to sleep, babe?” he said.

“Ummm-hmmm.”

“Good.” He lowered his head to her throat, licked the sweat there. “You get a good night’s rest and when I get home in the morning, I want you ready for me.”

“Ready how?” she asked.

His eyes flared. “When you wake up, you touch yourself, slow and soft. Make sure you’re nice and wet by the time I get back here.”

Her breath caught. “Why?”

“So I can get naked and just slide right on in to your hot little pussy, beautiful.”

Unable to stop herself, she actually moaned. “You’re going to… we’re going to…”

“Oh, yeah.” He skimmed her lower lips, spread her arousal around her throbbing clit. “You’re ready to take me, babe.”

“
So
ready.” She arched in to his touch. “I want to make love to you
now
, Luke.”

“Yeah, I want that too, believe me.” His fingers slipped inside her aching channel, briefly, pulled out. “But Dante covered my shifts when I took all that time off for you and Griff, and fair’s fair.”

“Yeah,” she grumbled. “I guess so.”

“Sucks, huh?”

“
So
sucks.” She kissed him, her lips lingering on his. “But you’re right.”

Luke stood up with nothing but deep regret and she saw the outline of his erection straining against the front of his jeans. She grinned, knowing that she wasn’t the only one suffering here.

He saw what she was looking at. “Ah-ah. That’s all for you tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me neither. You’re going to feel so damn good, Selena.”

She swallowed hard, knowing that having Luke inside of her at last was going to be the single most exciting, mind-blowing experience of her life.

“Hurry back,” she said.

“I will.” He gave her one last kiss, then headed for the door. “Goodnight, babe. See you around nine o’clock tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Goodnight.”

**

Luke parked his truck, sighed. The next eight or nine hours were going to drag like hell, he knew. The thought of Selena all curled up alone in his bed seemed like a travesty.
No
way
the woman should be there without him.

He sighed again, walked in to Curves. Right away and just inside the door, he was accosted by a glaring Gabriela Torres.

“You dickhead,” she hissed at him. “I really thought you were a good guy, Luke.”

“Huh?” He stared down at Gabi, wondering just what the hell he’d missed. “What are you talking about?”

“I thought you were with Selena now,” Gabi said, almost breathing fire. “Like, exclusively.”

“I am,” he said, startled. “Why?”

“Oh, because of blondie with the boobs practically exploding out of her shirt,” Gabi said, looking like she was seconds away from decking him with her serving tray. “She’s been sitting here for hours, Luke, waiting for you. Says she’s your girlfriend.”

Alarmed, he threw a glance over at the bar.

Oh, my God. It can’t be… she wouldn’t just show up here, would she?

But as it turned out, she most certainly
had
shown up. There Natalie was, in all her Baywatch-body-approved glory, and Luke took his first look at her since she’d walked out of their apartment three years earlier.

Her skirt was barely covering her crotch, her large breasts were almost on full display. When she turned, he got a healthy glimpse of side-boob, complete with nipples. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down her slim back, her legs went on forever, her face was exquisite. She gave him a shining smile, raised her glass to him and every man in the bar mentally licked their lips and slobbered over her. Every man except Luke.

“
Fuck
,” he growled.

“Not happy to see your girlfriend, Luke?” Gabi asked him.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he said, too furious to keep his voice down. “She’s not
anything
.”

Gabi regarded him carefully, totally believing him all of a sudden. “Does
she
know that?”

“Apparently not.”

“She’s your ex?”

“Yeah, but not anything like recently. She dumped me when I came back to the States without a hand.”

Gabi looked over at Natalie, her dislike increasing exponentially. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I kinda hate her,” Gabi announced.

“I understand the sentiment.”

“Does she know about Selena?”

“Not from me.”

“Well, you’d better keep it that way,” Gabi said. “She’s got her battle armor on, man, such as it is, and she looks like she means business. I bet any meeting between her and Selena would end badly.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Luke moved across the bar floor. “I’ll get her ass out of here.”

“Yeah. Good luck with that.” Gabi shook her head, her dark hair flying. “She looks like a woman who’s staying until she gets what she wants. And I
think
what she wants is you.”

“We’ll fucking see about that,” Luke said grimly.

He strode up to her, uncaring that he was glowering and scary. He stopped right in front of Natalie, glared down at her.

“What the fuck do you want?” he demanded.

If she was taken aback at his hostility, she didn’t show it.

“To talk to you.” She gave him a smile. “Can we talk? Somewhere private?”

“Hell to the no.” Luke shifted on his feet. “You talk to me right here, where I have witnesses to your batshit insanity.”

“Luke –”

“
No
, Natalie,” he cut her off. “Let me say a few things, just up-front, OK? Stop calling me and for God’s sake,
stop
sending me those goddamn texts. I’m not even opening the attachments… I just delete everything from you sight unseen.”

She paled. “I –”

“Again,
no
, Natalie.” He was barely containing his fury anymore. “I’m not interested in anything you may be offering. You and me? We’re done. We’ve
been
done for years.”

“But…”

“Nuh-uh. No ‘but’. No ‘please’, no ‘maybe’. No
nothing
.”

“Luke. I need to talk to you.”

“So talk. You’ve got thirty seconds.”

Natalie glanced around the bar, saw that they had an avid audience. “Not here.”

“Then you’re shit out of luck.” He shrugged. “‘Cause here is where I am, and I ain’t going anywhere else with you.”

“OK, OK. Fine.” She paused. “I want to meet you for a drink.”

Luke stared at her, completely astounded and too shocked to roar. “You – what?”

She relaxed a bit. “Yeah. I want to get to know you again.”

“Why?”

“Because.” Her smile was flirtatious, almost horny. “We had something great once, Luke. I want to see if we can have it again.”

“Listen up, princess.” The ice in his tone smacked her between her perfect blue eyes. “It ain’t happening. Not
ever
. I’m with someone now, someone who makes me happier than I ever thought possible. She’s
it
for me, you get me, Nat? She’s the real fucking deal, everything I’ve ever wanted. Nothing you say or do will change that.”

She blinked rapidly and he saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes.

“Can’t we just –” She got to her feet, slow and seductive, moved close enough to rub her breasts against him. “– just start again?”

Luke made a sound in his throat, a grunt of annoyance and disgust. He moved away from her quickly, hating the feel of her curves on his skin. There was only one woman on the planet that he wanted touching him like this, and it wasn’t her.

“No.” His large body was almost shaking with suppressed rage. “We can’t. So stop with the calls, stop with the sexting.
Just
.
Stop
.”

She swallowed hard.

“Now get out of here,” Luke said. “I’ll get Curtis or Dillon to walk you to your car, make sure you get there safe.”

“Oh, there’s no need –”

“There sure as hell is,” Luke said, his voice hard. “I’d really,
really
like to make sure that you get to your car safely, and then that you get in to it and drive away from here.”

“My God.” Her voice trembled. “You really hate me, don’t you?”

He studied her, thought about what she said. “Honestly? I hadn’t thought of you in years until you started calling me a month ago. I’d forgotten you, gotten over you, moved on from you. I certainly had no strong feelings for you either way. But what you’ve been doing, this pathetic little game, even when it’s clear from my lack of response that I’m not interested? Yeah, Natalie. I’d say it’s making me start to hate you.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For all of it. Luke, I’m sorry.”

“And I accept your apology.” He looked over at the pool tables, saw Curtis Manning, one of the bouncers, watching closely. Luke caught his eye and Curtis moved towards them. “Now go and don’t ever come back. Just leave me alone, OK?”

She paused. “I can’t do that, I’m afraid.”

“You can, and you will.” His blue eyes were so cold they were almost gray, and they looked like solid steel in his rugged face. “Because if you ever show up where I work again, next time I won’t be nearly so nice.”

Curtis was beside them now, all bulging muscles and hulking frame. “Everything cool, man?”

“Yep.” Luke nodded at Natalie. “Could you please make sure she gets to her car OK?”

“Sure.” Curtis gazed down at her, not even the slightest flicker of interest in his hard eyes. “You ready, darlin’?”

“I guess so.”

Curtis nodded and ever the gentleman, he held Natalie’s coat for her. “So let’s go.”

Luke watched them walk out the door in to the late-autumn night, then he sighed heavily, wishing for the tenth time that he was with Selena.

Just get through the next few hours, man. Then go to her – and make love to her until she passes out