From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(17)

“Ow and yes, I was an *.” If Jared was seriously offended by her assault, he didn’t show it.

“Hey, do you need help?” A big guy stepped out of the limo, his massive body barely contained in a tight T-shirt.

Jared sighed. “No, I don’t need help taking a punch from a girl.” He looked down at her. “I call you a girl in this case because I know some women who can take me. Once you’ve had your ass handed to you by a female stunt double, you won’t ever discount women again.” His smile turned distinctly sensual and he leaned in. “Of course, if you want to move from girl to woman, I could help you out there. I have a lot of training in that area.”

“We’re about to see how he handles taking a girl’s knee to his dick, Mr. Muscle,” she warned the bodyguard.

Jared held up both hands as the bodyguard started to advance. “Get back in the limo, Bolt. She was pissed off because I explained to her why my brother hates me. I slept with his fiancée.”

Bolt frowned. “You suck, Johns. Give him hell, girl. You need to follow through on your punches. I’ll teach you.”

“Bolt?” Kori asked as the big guy slid back behind the wheel.

“It was his pro wrestling name. I hired him because he told me that Dart was a stupid f*cking show and I needed a serious trainer instead of a pansy ass Hollywood boy. I spar with him at least once a week. What can I say? I like honesty. I don’t get much of it in my real life. It was one of the reasons I always liked you. Why haven’t you told Kai what you used to do? Is it because he can be a judgmental prick?”

She liked honesty, too, and the truth was Kai could be a little prissy sometimes. He had his hang-ups. “I don’t know why. At first I was embarrassed because I’d basically run out of LA with my tail between my legs. Then I guess I thought he wouldn’t like the fact that I’d lied to him. Also, he doesn’t think much of movies or TV. He’s more of a reader. Although now that I think about it, that’s probably your fault.”

Jared shook his head. “Nah, he was always a snob. He was reading psychology textbooks in high school. Although at one point in time he read comic books to me. It was why I was so interested in Dart.”

“I thought it was because you were an actor and you’d do anything to keep working.” It was pretty much the same way all over the entertainment business. You worked so you could continue working, a never-ending cycle of love and hate and joy. She did miss that part.

“Maybe. But some of it was because I knew you were involved with the project and I greatly admired your work. Hey, do you want to grab some dinner? I’m going to this club thing later on tonight. I could tell you about it over a burger or something.”

“You eat burgers?” She was so not going to any club Jared was likely to attend. It would be some superhot dance club where he and his entourage would sit in a roped off VIP section and let the little people oohh and ahh over the celebrity in their midst. Yeah, she would be at Sanctum hopefully getting her ass beat on by some baby Dom. She desperately needed to find some subspace after the day she’d had.

He slapped his very likely rock hard abs. “I work out three hours a day. You better believe I eat a burger from time to time. Or some pasta. We could go and get some Italian. Maybe after we could have some cheesecake. I f*cking love cheesecake.”

So did she. And pasta. Her roommate had been on a total cleanse for the last week. Sarah was the one who did most of the cooking and lately she’d been all about salads. Kori’s tummy rumbled. Maybe she should talk to him. Find out what he was really here for. Who was she to turn down a decadent and very likely free meal?

“Kori!”

She looked over and Kai was stomping out of the building, a frown on his handsome face. He seemed laser focused on one thing. Her.

“Oh no. Caught by big brother. Well, that answers one question I had. I haven’t seen him that jealous since…well, I probably shouldn’t get into that.” Jared held both hands up as he backed away. “I wasn’t touching, Kai. I was only talking to the girl. It was a perfectly polite thing to do.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. Jared wasn’t saying anything for the time being. “What did you need? I was about to head home. I dealt with the Erin situation. Tell Big Tag she’s got an appointment with Dr. Bates in the morning.”

Kai kept on coming. He managed to maneuver himself between her and Jared. “It’s not even three. I have some notes I need you to type up.”

“I can do that at home,” she started. “E-mail them to me.”

“No. I need you here with me.” His hand closed around her arm in a surprisingly possessive manner.

She’d never seen Kai so off-center. He was always centered. Well, except for that time she’d left the window open and the bird had flown in and he’d screamed like a girl when it landed on his head. Apparently birds were nothing but disease infused rats with wings.

He was upset. Kai was the person who talked people down from being on the edge, and yet here he was.

Who talked Kai down? Who helped him and stood by him? So often the man seemed like an island. Lovely for everyone to visit but no one lived there. No one took care of the place.

She moved her hand down, lacing her fingers with his. For a moment she was worried he would reject the affection, but his fingers squeezed around hers and he moved his body closer. Like a big old caveman who didn’t want the newer, younger caveman to take his cavewoman away.