The Dom Who Loved Me (Masters and Mercenaries #1)(87)

His chin firmed, and an ugly glare gleamed in his eyes. “You’re right. I need someone younger, anyway.”

She could feel herself practically glowing. Sean hadn’t let her out of bed until this morning. He’d managed to save his enchiladas, but they’d eaten the decadent meal in bed, in between raucous sessions of sex. Her Master had reveled in their commitment, and she was happy for it. And a little sore. She might need to take up yoga.

“He’s ruined you.” Matt growled and invaded her space a little. “You used to be sweet. Now you act like a slut. My brother is right.”

“Brother?” He must be drunk. He hadn’t mentioned his brother in anything but the past tense for years. Before she could follow the line of thought, though, Adam was at her side.

“Hey, hon, I think the caterers need your help.” Adam’s hand was at her elbow pulling her a good foot away from Matt.

“Are you all right?” Sean was at her other side. Unlike Adam, he didn’t have to pretend. He was her fiancé. He had every right to look concerned. He glared at Matt.

“Of course.” Grace laughed off the whole situation. It was obvious she was safe here. She couldn’t move without one of the agents being on top of her. Even now, she could see Eve dressed in a slinky cocktail dress watching the scene play out. Jake Dean’s eyes were watching the room from his seat at the Blackjack table. She was sure Ian was just waiting for a chance to kick some ass. And somewhere in all of this, Mr. Black watched with his dark eyes, waiting for the chance to take out his old agent.

“I’m fine.” She laced her fingers through Sean’s and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “I was just about to ask Matt here where his buddy Evan is. They seem so close lately. I thought he would be here.”

Sean’s hand tightened around hers in an unmistakable warning to not push it.

Matt laughed, an ugly sound. “Oh, I assure you, he’s here somewhere. I think he’ll seek you out, Grace. I know he wanted to have a word with you. Yeah, don’t worry about Parnell. You’ll see him soon enough.”

Matt turned and started to walk away. Sean released Grace’s hand, and she didn’t like the look in his eyes as he began to follow Matt. Adam put a hand on Sean’s chest.

“Not the time, Sarge.”

“He just threatened her.”

“And he’ll get his,” Adam promised. “She’s got eyes on her. She’ll be fine. Ian is watching, trying to ID the foreign agent. Almost everyone else has eyes on your girl. We’re going to make sure she comes out of this. Now, go calm down, and don’t kill Wright until you have a damn good alibi.”

Adam seemed to get through to Sean. Her Viking leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. She knew better than to pull away. She didn’t even want to. Sean released her, and she could see the worry in his eyes. He still turned to Adam. “Fine. I need to check in with our guest, anyway. He’s getting anxious.”

Sean had not been happy about bringing Black along, but the CIA agent had insisted. As he was paying the bills, Ian had been forced to allow it. Black was in a room on the floor below them, watching the ballroom through security cameras. Ian’s partner, Alexander McKay, who she’d just met a few hours ago, was with him. It was hard for Grace to believe that funny, sweet Eve had been married to that bull of a man. He was just as bleak and uncommunicative as Ian. Sean stalked off to make his contact. Adam watched him, shaking his head.

“You have that poor man in knots, love.”

Grace took a deep breath, coming down from the adrenaline high of having it out with Matt. “I’m surprised he left me with you.”

Adam shrugged. “We’ve come to an agreement. I keep my hands off you, and he lets me live.” Adam’s handsome face twisted in a bit of self-deprecation. “I’m sorry I pushed so hard. I really thought you were attracted to us.”

He said us, and Grace now understood he meant him and Jake. They were a package deal. Sean had told her about their background. She softened a bit. “I was attracted to you two even when I thought you were gay. How could I not be?”

“But you love the Sarge.” It wasn’t a question and required no reply. It was a statement of fact, and it seemed Adam had accepted it. “My only excuse is that I thought you were perfect for us. We’re not getting any younger, you know. We need to find our third so we can get started.”

“Started on what?” She was more than curious. Adam seemed to have a vision of how his life should work out. He didn’t seem to think that sharing a woman with Jake was just for fun.

“The normal stuff. A family, kids, a house, and a dog. I know we’re weird, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want all the normal things.”

Grace looked over at the very darkly handsome Jake Dean. Women were all around him, but he didn’t seem to notice. Jake didn’t seem to be looking for something permanent. And he’d never really looked at her at all. What if Adam and Jake had different tastes in women? That would make finding one woman for the two of them pretty damn hard.

Then Sonja Patton from payroll walked by. She was a brunette with soft curves and an even softer face. She was maybe ten pounds overweight, but there was something lovely about her. Jake’s eyes trailed after her.

“Yes, dear, he has a type.” Adam chuckled as though reading her thoughts. “He was very attracted to you. He’s just better at hiding it than me. Look at the women trying to get his attention. They’re all perfectly model thin and hard as nails. Women. I don’t understand you. You starve yourselves to gain a man’s attention when what most men want is a little softness. Have you looked at a Playboy? Those aren’t the same women you find on the cover of Cosmo. Don’t worry about me and Jake. We’ll find our heavenly bit of femininity. She’ll probably steamroll both of us, just like you did with Sean.”