Inescapable (Men of Mercy Novel, A) (9 page)

And she wanted to do him, right here, right now, right on the bar. She barely suppressed a moan.

Crap, she was in so much trouble.

Pippa jammed her elbow into her ribs. “Did you just whimper?”

“No!” Flick yelped and although there was no way he could’ve heard her from across the room, Kai turned his head to look at her. His golden eyes clashed with hers and Flick felt all the air being sucked out of the room. She tried to haul some in but there was none.

“Breathe, you idiot.”

Pippa slapped her between the shoulder blades and, startled out of her trance, Flick pulled in a desperately needed breath. Dragging her gaze from Kai’s face, she blinked at Pippa. “What the hell? That hurt!”

“So would falling flat on your face when you pass out,” Pippa hissed. “I thought you said that he was leaving.”

Flick glared at Kai’s back. “That was Plan A. The good plan.”

“What’s the bad Plan B?” Pippa cocked her head.

“I’m going to pretend that yesterday didn’t happen and go back to my original plan of avoiding men.”

Pippa’s laughter rang out loud and true. “Yeah, don’t know if that’s going to work, ’cause he looks like he wants to eat you up in one big gulp and you look like you’ll let him, so . . . good luck with that.”

She needed more than luck, Flick thought. She needed a damned miracle.

***

Ka
i had come out for a beer, to shoot some pool and unwind, but because he was currently having shitty luck, his latest wet dream was sitting across the bar looking far too take-me-to-bed amazing.

He took a sip of his beer as his heart rate inched upward. That long hair he’d had his hands in was pinned to her head in a tangled knot and her outfit of skinny jeans, a pale pink tee, and a black vest was conservative, but she still managed to look hot and classy.

He glanced at a blonde in a tiny skirt and tight shirt walking past them and thought that there was a great deal to be said for going for the less-is-more look.

Kai sighed and looked down into his beer glass, resisting the urge to look at Flick again. She was everything the blonde wasn’t; subtlety sexy, stylish. Men didn’t toy with her, they didn’t bang her and disappear, didn’t take what they needed and then piss off. As he’d intended to do as of twelve hours ago. If he’d thought for one second that his plans might change, he would never have slept with her.

Flick was the type of woman who men stuck to, held on to, worked for. All the things he never did and wasn’t prepared to do. But he was here and so was she and they’d have to deal with each other, just for tonight. Somehow he’d find an opportunity to explain that he’d be in Mercy a bit longer than he expected; he’d keep it short and simple.

Sawyer nudged his side with his elbow. “Hey, Jack’s behind the bar and he’s talking to Flick and Pippa. And he’s sending you his death glare.”

“I haven’t been in here for over four months. How can I have pissed him off?” Kai demanded before slapping the heel of his hand against his forehead. For a moment he’d forgotten that he was temporarily living in a town where gossiping was considered a community event. “Flick and Jack are siblings.”

“There you go,” Sawyer replied. “This is a small town, Kai, and its residents have active imaginations. Two plus two is never four.”

“For all they know, we could’ve spent that time on the porch, just talking.”

“Did you?”

Well, no.

“It figures that Flick would have a big brother looking out for her,” Kai muttered and then wondered whether there were more Sturgiss men that he might run into. “How many brothers does she have again?”

“Four—five if you include me.”

“All in Mercy?”

“Nah. Two half-brothers, and she barely knows them. Her youngest brother died a long time ago.”

Kai wasn’t going to ask—it had nothing to do with him. He definitely wasn’t going to ask . . .

“How did he die?”

“Leukemia. He was ten, she was twelve.”

Shit. Well, he’d asked. “Are her parents in Mercy too?”

Sawyer sent him a cynical smile. “Her father is but he checked out of all their lives when her mother died. Come on, let’s go.”

Kai was about to ask more, but then he realized that he was being far too curious about her life. He didn’t need to know about her family setup, and he shouldn’t care.
Emotional distance, Manning. Heard about the concept, bud?

Jack followed their progress as they moved down the bar, and before they reached Flick and Pippa he lifted his hand to grab their attention. They stopped and Kai immediately noticed that Jack’s hands were now flat on the bar. He did an internal eye roll when Jack jerked his head, silently ordering him to step forward.

God, he was too old for this shit. He narrowed his eyes at Jack in warning. He’d allow him a certain amount of leeway—he understood the concept of big brothers being protective of little sisters—but if he swung he’d take him down.

Jack leaned across the bar to get up close and personal. “You’d better tread lightly, dude, because I’m watching you. You cause her to break so much as a nail and you’re history.”

Kai understood a threat when he heard one and he generally didn’t respond well to them. He thought about telling Jack that he could try but quickly realized that he’d be adding gas to an already hot fire.

Mercy was his place of business, he was already being gossiped about, and, yeah, he was too old for this shit. Besides, while he might not have any siblings, he had Sawyer and Axl, and he’d hurt anyone who hurt them. And Reagan was the closest he had to a sister and he’d obliterate anyone who hurt her, so, on that basis, he decided to cut Jake a little slack.

He gave Jack a brief nod. “Understood.”

“Good. Want a beer?” Jack asked. And the matter was over—unless, of course, he did something to cause Flick to break a nail. Which he wouldn’t, because he was going to avoid the damn woman as much as possible.

When they reached the corner of the bar, Sawyer introduced Kai to Pippa. Kai opened his mouth to greet Flick as well but she leaned across Pippa and grabbed the tail of his shirt to yank him to her side.

“Hello to you too,” he drawled.

“You’re supposed to be gone!” she hissed. “You said you were leaving.”

“I was, but my plans changed at the last minute.”

“What happened?” Flick demanded in a frustrated whisper. “The only reason we—I—you know—did what we did, was because you were leaving!”

“Sawyer needs to leave town, so I need to stay,” Kai said, his voice low and directed so that she was the only one who could hear it.

Flick sent Sawyer a quick look and frowned. “Why? Where’s he going?”

Kai took a sip from his beer bottle. “If he wants you to know, then I’m sure he’ll tell you.”

“That’s annoying.” Flick placed her glass on the bar and rolled her head on her shoulders. She lifted her head, looked at Sawyer, and raised her voice. “Why are you leaving town, bud?”

Pain-filtered annoyance flicked into his friend’s eyes, although his face remained inscrutable. “Doug.”

It was just one word but the groans from Jack and the two women told Kai that they were familiar with Sawyer’s family problems. They were probably more connected to him than he was. Why did that make him feel envious, even just a little bit? They lived here, shared his time, ate with him, socialized with him. He didn’t. His choice.

“Possession again?” Flick asked the question quietly, compassion in her voice.

Over her head Sawyer’s eyes met his and Kai expected him to explain. Instead Sawyer just smiled tightly and nodded. “Yeah.” Kai understood Sawyer’s reticence—he wouldn’t have explained about the rape charges until he knew all the facts either. In truth, he wouldn’t have even explained why he was leaving town. Sawyer’s communication skills were far superior to his.

“The kid needs his ass kicked,” Jack grumbled from behind the bar.

“Probably. Can we talk about something else?” Sawyer asked, his shoulders so tight that they were halfway up to his ears.

Flick smiled sympathetically and nodded. Unfortunately her idea of changing the subject was to turn her attention onto Kai. “You broke my dog!”

Kai lowered his bottle. “What?”

In the dim light of the bar, her siren eyes were more an aqua green than blue, he noticed.

“When I took him home yesterday he just collapsed on his bed and went straight to sleep. He didn’t even react when the kittens arrived today. He’s too tired to move.”

“He needs more exercise,” Kai replied, not even remotely fazed.

Pippa looked horrified. “We have kittens now?” she wailed. “Dammit, Fee, that’s the second bomb you’ve dropped on me tonight!”

Flick wrinkled her nose at her friend. “They’re just babies, Pips. They’re thin and scared—”

“They always are,” Pippa sighed. “Don’t we have enough to deal with without two kittens, Flick?”

Flick pointed to a guy standing behind them. “It’s Kevin’s fault. He found them and dropped them off.”

“But you were the sucker who didn’t say no,” Kai said quietly. He realized that he’d made an error when her eyes refocused on him. Dammit, she wasn’t done with him yet.

“Getting back to what I was saying, my dog is a train wreck! How far did you run him?”

Kai just shrugged. The less he said, the less trouble he’d be in.

“Isn’t Rufus being tired a good thing?” Jack asked from his side of the bar. “No digging up flowerbeds, humping anything that moves, eating the bumper of your car.”

Kai winced and Flick hastened to defend her baby. “He only did that once—”

“Four times,” Sawyer corrected.

“Three, technically. The fourth time he chomped her side mirror,” Jack interjected.

“Oh, shut up!” Flick said. She pointed a finger at Kai. “You are not off the hook, mister!”

Maybe not, but he would be soon. Distract and evade—SEALs were particularly good at that. Kai hid his smile and looked at Sawyer, then Jack. “Do you know that she’s thinking about having him de-balled?” he said.

Sawyer winced. “Aw, the poor guy.”

Jack turned to Flick and frowned. “Is that necessary? I mean, he was abandoned on a highway, hit by a car, left there to die, and now you want to punish him further by taking his manhood?”

“He’s a dog!” Flick pointed out. “A dog! He won’t know the difference.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Kai said.

Jack sighed. “Only a woman could make such a heartless statement.”

Flick pointed an irritated finger at him. “I am tired of seeing him hump anything that moves, from dogs to furniture to my leg! I’m terrified because I think he’s impregnated a few of the neighborhood dogs, including a highly bred poodle. Anyway, as I was saying, Kai broke my dog.”

Kai didn’t bother to respond, knowing that his look suggested that she was whining. Flick’s responding look threatened to blister his skin. “Stay away from my dog,” she told him.

Kai was old enough and smart enough to hear her warning and knew that it had nothing to do with her dog. She’d realized, as he did, that if they found themselves alone again they’d be back to square one; naked and screwing their brains out.

Sawyer drained his glass and waved it in the air, looking at Jack. “Any chance of getting served here?”

Jack peeled his folded arms off the bar and glanced over their glasses. Without asking who wanted what, he proceeded to refill their drinks, listening to their conversation while simultaneously flirting with a group of woman sitting next to them. He looked calm and lazy but his eyes, Kai noticed, missed nothing. Like Jack, he was also currently monitoring an argument between a man and a woman in the far corner of the bar and keeping an eye on a very competitive pool match. Jack shared Flick’s eye shape and color but his were darker, more cynical.

Subdued strength, Kai thought. Both physical and mental. Smart and sneaky. The kind of guy you wanted at your back in a fight. Like Sawyer, he was also extremely protective of Flick and Pippa. He hadn’t missed the glares they’d both sent the guys who’d tried to approach the girls to chat them up; one look from either of them was enough to shrivel the balls of most men.

Kai doubted he could restrain himself to a look if he had to watch some random dude hit on Flick. Actually, he could practically guarantee that the guy’s chances of making sperm would be severely compromised.

Not your girl, not your fight . . . not your anything
, he reminded himself sternly. Would he ever get that through his thick skull?

Trying to ignore Flick, who was still glowering at him, he looked past her to Pippa and smiled at the ethereal-looking redhead. “So, Pippa, why haven’t we met before?”

“Maybe because you’re never in town,” Pippa pointed out with a flirty smile. Kai caught Flick narrowing her eyes. Sawyer also suddenly looked like he had a stick shoved up his ass.

Kai shoved his hands into his jeans and rocked on his heels. He deliberately sent Pippa a sexy half-smile, wanting to see Sawyer’s reaction. “And you work at the bakery with Flick?”

Sawyer’s jaw tightened and Kai thought that he might be grinding the enamel off his teeth. Was Sawyer jealous? He thought he’d never see the day. So much for his I’ve-known-those-two-brats-all-my-life comment from the other day.
Brat
wasn’t the word Sawyer thought of when he looked at Pippa, Kai realized.

Well, shit. This was interesting.

“We inherited the business from our grandmother,” Pippa replied. “Flick was coming out of a relationship and I was bored with my job, so we thought we’d give running the bakery a shot.”

Flick bared her teeth at her friend. “I’m sure Kai isn’t interested in our history, Pips.”

Sure he was; in Flick’s history in particular. He didn’t want to be but he was. Flick pushed her hair back, cracked a smile, and abruptly changed the subject. “Moses will be back at the bakery on Monday.”

Sawyer’s face split into a big grin. “Awesome. Moses makes the best bread,” he told Kai, “and his specialty was a rosemary and garlic ciabatta. So good.” He lifted his arm and ruffled Flick’s hair. “Flick is a good baker but Mo is better.”

“Gee, thanks,” Flick muttered. “It’s the truth, but you don’t need to broadcast it.”