Sweet Possession (Sweet #5)(11)

There was surprise in his voice. He’d expected her to be late. A quick glance at Connor told her nothing about what he thought or didn’t think. She wasn’t going to admit that she was disappointed. She’d wanted a reaction of some type. Even if it wasn’t a good one. This seeming indifference he showed toward her irritated her.

The older man who’d been sitting next to Phillip also stood, and he made his way to where Lyric stood.

“I’m Pop Malone, Connor’s father,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Jones.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Malone,” she said smoothly as she extended her hand.

“I want you to meet the rest of my staff,” Pop said as he turned in the direction of the seated men. “You’ve already met my daughter, Faith. That’s her husband, Gray Montgomery. Next to him is Nathan Tucker and sitting by Connor is Micah Hudson.”

“Are they going to be my security team?” she asked sweetly.

“Their women would chew you up and spit you out,” Connor said dryly as he stood.

She raised an eyebrow. “Then why are they all here?”

“To see me suffer.”

Color rose in her cheeks. She couldn’t think of a single comeback for that one. She was used to being a veritable circus act. It shouldn’t surprise her that Connor’s coworkers had come to see the train wreck.

She took a seat at the very end of the table so she’d be as far from the others as possible. To her surprise, Connor moved to the chair next to her.

He was way too close and she fidgeted nervously in her seat. He glanced her way once and lifted a brow. Damn, but the man was sexy in a disdainful, you-annoy-me kind of way. She had to be a masochist. It was the only explanation for her bizarre attraction to him. Rejection wasn’t her thing. Neither was hooking up with someone who looked at her like he would dirt on his shoe.

But the truth was, she’d thought a lot about that kiss. It had kept her up the previous night—that and the fact that she was alone, and she hated being alone.

There was some serious chemistry between her and Connor

Malone, and it was a pity, because they could barely stand the sight of each other. He was probably the only man on earth who’d turn her down flat anyway.

“Would you care to offer your opinion, Ms. Jones?” Connor asked dryly.

She blinked and realized that the entire table was looking at her, obviously waiting for her response. She faked a yawn, adopted a bored look and studied her nails.

“Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Connor’s eyes narrowed and she gazed at him with wide eyes, a look she knew to be successful on most men. But then, Connor wasn’t most men. He didn’t look impressed even if the other men at the table looked a little gobsmacked.

“If you’re through wasting our time,” Connor began.

“I’m paying for your time, so it’s mine to do with what I want,” she drawled.

Connor stood and looked down the table at the others. “Would you all excuse us? I believe Ms. Jones and I have things we need to discuss. Privately.”

“The hell—”

The look he gave her stopped the protest before it could be fully launched. For the first time, she felt herself backing down. The man made her nervous, and that pissed her off. Didn’t just piss her off. It made her furious.

When everyone had left, Connor turned and planted his palms on the table in front of her. “Let me get something straight. You didn’t hire me. You can’t fire me. You have nothing I want or need. I don’t give a shit if you like me. I don’t particularly like you. It’s my job to keep you safe, and I’m going to do just that. Which means you’re going to listen to everything I tell you.”

How utterly ridiculous that she flinched when he’d baldly said he didn’t like her. Like that should come as a surprise? Nobody liked her. People tolerated her. They used her. But they didn’t like her. Why should Connor Malone be any different? Why did she want him to be?

“What your idiot of a record label executive hasn’t told you is that they’ve been monitoring threats over your last five shows. Some ass**le is leaving you notes in places he shouldn’t have access to.”

Lyric curled her fingers into fists and stared up at Connor. “What are you talking about?”

“Just what I said. They’ve found notes on your bus, in your dressing room, on your guitar case. Whoever’s doing it is getting way too close to you.”

She forced her hands to relax and then wiped her palms down the soft suede of her skirt. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

“They didn’t trust you not to do something stupid.”

She blew out her breath in frustration. “Nice.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Do they have reason to believe any other way?”

“Whether or not they thought they knew how I’d react, I had a right to know.”

Connor nodded. “On that point we agree, which is why I’m telling you now. Maybe now you’ll see that this isn’t some f**king game. This is your life, and it’s my job to make sure you stay alive. Now, are you going to help me or are you going to do everything you can to make my job harder?”

Slowly she shook her head.

“Which is it?”