Beyond Control(17)

Six lunged for her clothes and held them against her chest as she straightened, her gaze locked on Lex. "Is that code for sticking a knife between my ribs?"

"I don't speak in code. If I wanted you to hurt, you'd know it."

After a moment, Six nodded and wiggled into her underwear and pants. She pulled the shirt over her head last, tugging it down to hide her scarred torso. "You've always been pretty upfront about what you'll do to me if I betray Dallas. Guess you wouldn't bother lying now."

"No reason to. Especially since this whole thing?" Lex gestured to the girl's rumpled clothes. "It's not a threat to me."

She stiffened, and the emotion that finally broke through her desperate attempt at a stoic mask wasn't offense or anger, but a dark amusement. "That was going to be my argument. I'm not much competition for someone like you."

The words irritated Lex, and she spun away and stalked to the bar. "It's not funny. O'Kane women don't sell out like that. Lesson number one."

Silence greeted the words, stretching long enough for Lex to pour a drink before Six whispered, "I don't have anything else to sell."

"You look able enough." Lex poured a second drink and held it out. "You saying you can't work?"

"I wasn't--" The girl grabbed the glass and drained a double of Dallas's oldest and best whiskey. "I wasn't expecting to stay in his bed. I just needed something to offer now. I needed a trade."

To a man she'd already assumed didn't really want her. "A trade for what?"

She rubbed her thumb over the inside of her wrist, over unmarked skin, as if she could feel the lack of ink there. "Bren said he's leaving tomorrow."

"He is. We're going to Sector Two."

"I wanna go."

It was Lex's turn to smile in dark amusement. "No, you don't. I grew up in Two. You want to stay your ass right here."

Six stared into her empty glass. "I'm not an O'Kane. I'm not saying that to be a smartass, like I don't have to try'n follow your rules. It's just the truth. You might be safer here, but I don't know if I am. Not without..."

"Without Dallas around." Lex plucked the glass from Six's hand and refilled it. "Or is it Bren?"

That put her on the defensive. She muttered a curse and glared at the floor. "He's the one vouching for me, isn't he?"

"Don't be so touchy. I have a right to ask, especially if you think Bren's the one protecting you."

"Isn't he? None of the other guys have f*cked around with me."

It made sense for the girl to assume that was Bren's influence instead of standard operating procedure on the O'Kane compound. "Is that what things were like with Trent in Three?"

This time Six sipped the whiskey slowly. "If you weren't his piece of ass, you were anyone's toy," she said finally. "Bren's not the leader, but I see how the guys watch him."

Reassurances were just words, and words meant jack shit. Lex drained her own glass. "Jasper'll be handling things while Dallas is gone. If you're not comfortable going to him and Noelle if you have any problems, then stick close to Rachel. Anyone tries to mess with you, she'll bite his dick off. Good enough?"

Six looked up. "When Dallas brought you in to talk to me after I first got here, I thought he was running some sort of stupid game. That he was an idiot, or took me for one. But he really f*cking expected it to work, didn't he? He thought I'd trust you, because all the women trust you."

Lex gave her a slow grin. "Sometimes it takes a while, but yeah."

A flicker of amusement crinkled the corners of Six's eyes before she schooled her features. "You really don't fight over the men? Ever?"

"I didn't say that. People want what they want, even if other people have it." Lex paused to consider her next words. "But we don't lower ourselves. It's beneath you to chase after a man who belongs to someone else."

Six's gaze fixed on Lex's, and she swallowed. "I wasn't chasing him. I just figured--I mean, he's the leader of Four. Even when Trent had a woman, he still took his..." Her lips twisted. "His tax."

"Dallas gets enough ass. He doesn't need to coerce women who don't really want to f*ck him."

The younger woman flinched, but didn't try to deny it. She didn't say anything until she'd finished her second drink and offered the glass back to Lex. "I don't get the rules here, and I don't think Bren can teach me the ones I need to know. Can Rachel?"

The truth was stark and uncomfortable. "You'll probably have to pick them up as you go along. But Rachel can get you started."

"All right." She hesitated. "What about Bren? Do you think--?"

Before she could finish her question, the doorknob rattled and Six's teeth clacked together. Dallas pushed open the door, his frown melting into confusion as he took in both women. After a moment of tense silence, he quirked a brow at Lex. "Everything all right in here?"

"Fine." Lex didn't bother with a smile he would see through anyway. "Six was a little worried about Bren leaving. I told her Rachel'll take care of her."

That cleared Dallas's expression. He patted Six on the shoulder like she was a puppy who needed encouragement before moving to pour himself a drink. "That'll be good. Rachel can put you to work in the bar."

Six glanced from Dallas to Lex and back and barely managed to stammer out her agreement before flying out the door. It swung shut smartly behind her, and Dallas sighed and doubled the amount of liquor in his glass. "Do I want to know?"

"Only if a little useless, impotent rage would make your day complete."

"You okay?"

The covers on one side of the bed were still drawn back and rumpled. Lex busied herself with straightening them. "I'm good. Everything arranged for the trip?"

"Just about." He unzipped his jacket and edged a hand inside. "I got you something."

It made her smile, but she had to ask. "Gift or weapon? With you, I never know."

"Gift." He returned her smile and pulled out a black velvet bag embroidered with a familiar logo.

"Stuart's sister." Lex took the bag and rubbed her thumb over the velvet. Stuart made exquisite leather goods, while his sister worked mainly with metal and jewelry, but sometimes they combined their efforts. "Another collar?"

He grunted as he shrugged out of his jacket, his movements too forcibly casual to be entirely at ease. He seemed nervous, and even more so when he spoke. "Whenever the leaders meet in Two, Cerys makes us all suffer through some fancy f*cking dinner party with the wives and escorts. Stuart said this'll match that fancy corset he made you a few months ago."

She offered him a smile as she undid the strings on the pouch. "I know the one. Don't worry, we'll both look damn good."

Dallas didn't answer, all of his attention fixed on her face as she slipped the choker free of the velvet. It was breathtaking--a wide strip of supple leather edged with lace and set not only with another pendant like the one she already wore, but also with jeweled chains.

"It's beautiful." And it would have taken weeks to craft, if not months. She met his gaze, unable to keep the question out of her eyes. "Dallas?"

"It'll look good on you," he replied as he sprawled out on the bed. Not exactly an answer, but not an invitation to keep asking, either. "Fit for a queen. Isn't that what they used to say?"

"Yes." She glanced at the couch. It had been on the tip of her tongue to mention that afternoon, to open discussion about the things that had changed between them, but he obviously preferred avoidance. "I know how to handle myself at one of Cerys's gatherings."

"I guess you do." His brow furrowed. "You don't expect trouble, do you? I thought you told me you'd made your peace with her."

Paid her off was more like it. Lex had left Sector Two without earning a dime for Orchid House, which meant she owed them for feeding and clothing her for years. But that money could only be collected if you could be found, and Lex had managed to stay off the radar for years.

Until the leader of the O'Kane gang had plucked her off the street and taken her under his wing. It hadn't taken Cerys long to come knocking, looking for payment, a fact that Lex had managed to keep from Dallas. If he'd known, he'd have ponied up the cash, and her pride never would have recovered. She would have become something else then, another bauble he'd bought and paid for, not a woman standing on her own feet.

Dallas had both hands tucked behind his head, but his easy, relaxed posture was a lie. The look in his eyes had turned dangerous. "Lex?"

"Relax." She laid the bag and collar on the bar and crawled onto the bed. "I've got no problems with Cerys."