The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(99)

“Are we getting ready to go?” Serena asked, coming up behind them. She was wearing the dress he’d picked for her, a lovely blue and green wrap dress that hugged her curves and showed off her breasts. It was beautiful, but professional. And her legs looked amazing in the four-and-a-half-inch Louboutin heels. He’d seen her last night in those f*ck-me heels and nothing else.

“Shouldn’t you wear a sweater or something?” Jake asked. The caveman didn’t seem to appreciate Adam’s eye for dressing their gorgeous girl. Jake’s eyes fastened on her chest. “Maybe a turtleneck?”

A slow smile spread across Serena’s face. “You like?”

“He’s worried everyone will like, love.” Adam winked down at her. There was no way he would put her in a turtleneck. “But what he forgets is we have guns. You can look as beautiful as you like. Let everyone look. We’ll just shoot the first guy who touches. And the second. And so on.” He took her hand and led her into the living room where Liam, Sean, and Grace had gathered. “And there’s the first one I’ll kill.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Are we still on that mess, now?”

Sean grinned. “Ah, karma. I love karma.”

“I didn’t kiss Grace.” Adam grimaced. “Well, not much anyway.”

Serena sent him a dirty look. Jake put an arm around her waist.

“I never kissed Grace.” Yep, Jake seemed proud of himself.

Luckily, they had a job to do. “Serena, if you don’t mind keeping Grace and Sean company, we need to talk to Liam before we head out.”

Suspicious eyes stared back at him. “Don’t you mean you need to decide if we’re going at all?”

Jake kissed her forehead and backed away. “Yep. That’s what we mean.”

He walked into the kitchen without another word. Adam followed. He rather hoped Liam’s report on the security details for the event would cause them to call the whole thing off. He knew Serena wanted to do the signing. He’d helped plan the event, but now that he was actually facing the fact that she would be out in public, he was a little nervous.

Sean followed right behind Liam. “You guys are not leaving me out there. They’re going to talk books and sex. And the books are about sex. Who knew women were so damn chatty about sex? Men don’t do that. We just look at a girl, announce we did her, and everyone moves on.”

Yeah, it was simpler that way.

Liam shook his head. “You’re all full of bullshit. In the last couple of months, I’ve had to listen to the three of you talk about your feelings more than a damn talk show. I swear you’ve all grown vaginas.”

Sean didn’t seem to take offense. “Nope. We’re all * whipped. I like being * whipped. It means that * belongs to me. You’ve just spent too much time around college girls in hot pants looking for tips.”

“I like hot pants. No one used to wear hot pants back in Ireland.” He sighed as though thinking of something lovely, probably whatever nineteen-year-old he’d done the previous night. “More women should wear them.”

“Dude, if you’re thinking about Eve in short shorts right now, stop it. You cannot go there. Alex will kill you. He won’t do it fair. He’ll wait until you’ve forgotten all about him and then stab your ass in a back alley one night,” Jake said.

“I’ll have to stay out of alleys then, won’t I?” Liam asked, his back coming up. And then he sighed. “I’m not sleeping with Eve. I’m just spending time with her. It’s innocent.”

But almost nothing was innocent when it came to Liam and women. “You’re playing a dangerous game, man.”

“I’m not playing at all. And f*ck you, you’re trying to pull me into vagina talk. I won’t do it. I don’t have feelings. None at all. And I’m keeping it that way.” He frowned and sat on one of the barstools. “Now, on to actual business. I checked out the security for the toy store. First off, have I mentioned how much I f*cking love America? That place is amazing. It’s like a grocery store except with porn. You can get anything there. I was eyeing a very nice flogger. I met this sub the other night at Hooters…”

“You’re talking about feelings again,” Adam pointed out, deeply wanting to avoid listening in on Liam’s sex life.

“No, I’m talking about being horny. That ain’t a feeling. It’s a simple state of being.”

“It’s his usual state of being,” Sean supplied helpfully.

“Like I was saying, it’s not so bad. There’s two points of entry, both guarded with alarms and cameras. No windows. It really is a box, though a nicely decorated one. The main floor has fairly clean lines of sight. I advised the owner to place the table where she’ll be signing those books in the back, so she’s got a wall behind her. As for the cocktail party, as long as we’re in the same room, we should be fine. We can use metal detectors. The owner sells impact toys. No knives. I’ve already talked to the police, and they’re sending the two detectives and a female plainclothes who’ll join the party. I think your girl’s little party is a go.”

Not what he’d wanted to hear, but at least Liam was thorough. Adam slid a look Sean’s way. “And you’re letting Grace come?”