Sex, Lies & Diamonds Read online

  My chest expanded with a deep breath and I quickly slid between the sheets, following her lead. Meeting her body side by side, I nipped at her jaw with my teeth and nearly lost it when I heard her moan.

  Running my hands up the sides of her body, I was needy for her—greedy for her touch. I slid my tongue along the seam of her lips, begging her to open up for me—everywhere. My eyes locked with her sexy, hooded gaze. “I’m sorry I upset you tonight, cher. Will you let me make it up to you?”

  “You already apologized,” she murmured. “But I won’t stop you if you feel the need to make it up to me.”

  Rolling her over, I squared my palm in the small of her back, lifting her hips to bring her closer. She arched for me, moving into my need for her with a sweet recklessness that turned my heart into mush and my dick into a hammer.

  Sliding my way down her body, she grabbed me by the hair, pulling me back up to meet her face. She ran her tongue across my lips and whispered, “I want you inside me.”

  Her eyes sparked and I growled, hovering over her, my hair casting a shadow around her face. Lowering my mouth, I kissed her sweetly, parting her lips with my tongue.

  Polly’s fingers grappled at my hips, pulling me to her. Lying between her legs, I pushed them aside and up, gripping her right leg under the knee.

  She rubbed herself against me. I turned my head and moaned, willing myself to hold it together. Finally pushing gently into her, I felt her pull herself to me until there was nothing between us. Moving her hips in slow, almost calculated circles, she stared into me with her big brown eyes.

  “Dear God,” I whispered, dropping my head to take her breast in my mouth for a kiss. “What you do to me.”

  Grabbing her hip, I slowed her motion, controlling the tempo. She fisted my hair, pushing it from my face and I ran my tongue along her long, sweet neck, nipping at her ear. Her skin erupted in chill bumps. I breathed in her euphoria.

  My body took over in a frantic rhythm. Pressing my lips to hers, I worked like a man possessed, unable to control my body or the raw and guttural moans that were escaping my mouth as I dragged it across her neck leaving red marks from my unshaven beard.

  “Ah God,” she gasped, writhing in my unrelenting grip.

  “Yes,” I whispered in a ragged breath. “Yes.”

  Pulling away, I stared into Polly’s eyes and witnessed the reflection of my own ecstasy in the whimper on her lips and the tightness of her core. I shuddered and cursed, my breath gusting on her cheek as I collapsed onto her tiny body. “Dear God, I love you.”

  10

  POLLY

  I felt Leo’s cool touch on my face as he brushed the hair from my eyes. “Good morning, cher.”

  The early sun peeked through the gold curtains. I squinted at the warm glow bouncing off the walls before bringing my attention back to the man who’d rocked my world just a few hours earlier. “Good morning, Dr. Xanthus.”

  He sat, causing what was left of the mussed sheets we’d destroyed to billow and placed a full glass of fresh squeezed orange juice on the nightstand. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  I took a full and deep breath, doing my best to wake up. “I slept so hard. I don’t know if it was the pure exhaustion or the pure exaltation, but something caused me to pass out like a baby last night—even if we did have men roaming the grounds of Jackson House, jonesing to shoot someone between the eyes.”

  Leo grinned, his tan face and three-day beard only making his smile whiter. “Speaking of—your security detail is downstairs and he wants to meet you.”

  Slipping my legs from under the covers, my feet hit the floor and I nabbed a robe from a nearby chair before Leo had a chance to grab at my nakedness. If there was one thing I’d learned about him, it was after a night of wild lovemaking, he wanted more the next morning.

  “Don’t cover up, cher. A man needs to see with his own eyes the things that keep him alive.”

  I knitted my brow and slipped the robe over my shoulders, finding my way into the armholes. It swallowed me whole and I realized I’d picked up Leo’s and not mine. “What?”

  Sidling up behind me, he pushed my now crazy hair aside to murmur into my exposed neck. “You heard me. I live to love you, cher.”

  Turning, I took his stubble covered face in my hands and planted a long, drugging kiss on his full and delicious lips. I pulled away and stared into his dark eyes. I was tired of hiding. Tired of running. After spending just one night at Jackson House, I knew this was where we belonged—where he belonged. It was where we needed to start our family. This was our home. Where we were destined to be.

  Turning him loose, I hurried to the bathroom and began to brush my teeth.

  “He seems nice. I think you’ll like him.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Your security detail. Alex.”

  “Hif name if Alec?” I struggled to speak through the toothpaste dripping at the corner of my mouth.

  “Alex Knight. Young guy. But I have to warn you.”

  I spit and rinsed, then picked up the hairbrush I’d used last night. My hair was tangled and crimped from going to bed with a wet head, but it still smelled of my old hair products. “Warn me about what?” I asked, pushing my way back into the room.

  Leo winced and tilted his head.

  “Really? What?”

  “He’s a bit of a muscle bound meathead.”

  My face blanked at his description. “A what?”

  Leo walked to me, pulling me to him by the long belt I’d tied so firmly around my waist. “You know. He’s one of those guys with a few tattoos and a lot of muscles.”

  I ran my hands up and down Leo’s exposed arms, his tan biceps tight against the sleeves of his grey t-shirt, each muscle straining as he moved. Dressed in jeans and his motorcycle boots, I drank him in. Raising an eyebrow, I began tracing circles on his tight chest. “You have a lot of muscles.”

  Leo let out a quiet moan, pulling me closer still. “You know what that does to me. And after a night like last night?”

  I giggled, then pushed him away. “I’m serious, Leo. Aren’t security guards supposed to have lots of muscles?”

  “I suppose. And by the way, I’m lean with muscles.”

  “Ah, yeah,” I chimed, walking across the room to find my clothes from last night. “Just the way I like you.”

  “Well this guy is bulky. Think the Hulk.”

  “The Hulk?”

  Leo nodded, leaning against the writing desk in the corner. “Subtract the green—add the tattoos.”

  I picked up my leather pants and jacket. I had no clothes upstairs. In frustration with Leo’s comments and the fact I had nothing to wear but an oversized terrycloth robe with an X on the breast, I tossed it all aside. “What are you saying? Are you saying you don’t like him? You don’t trust him?”

  Leo shook his head.

  “Then what?”

  “I just want you to be prepared. That’s all.”

  “Well, I’m not going to be prepared for anything if I don’t find some clothes. Will you bring my bag up from the safe room?”

  Leo gestured with his head to the closet. I walked across the room and opened the door. Inside and hanging up were the clothes I’d brought with me from the Andromeda. “Your unmentionables are in the drawers.”

  I turned, raising one eyebrow in response to his comment, then opened the drawers and took out a matching white lace bra and panty set. Sliding a pair of black pants off the hanger, I grabbed a chunky tan sweater that was folded and placed high on a shelf. “Where’d this come from?”

  Leo’s lips thinned and he blinked hard, waiting for me to figure it out.

  “Wait. This is mine. Is this mine? From before? I left this here two years ago.”

  Leo nodded.

  Clutching it to my chest, I hugged the sweater like a long lost friend. Just being in Jackson House made me feel like I was home. “Oh my gosh. It’s already a good day.”

  Leo sauntered over, his ma
mmoth hand cupping my head as he planted a kiss on my temple. “I like it when my wife is happy.” He turned on his heels and started to walk away, then winked over his shoulder. “I sure as hell made you happy last night.”

  “Damn straight you did.”

  He raised a triumphant fist in the air, tapping the top of the door frame with his open palm before opening the door. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs, cher. The Hulk wants to make your acquaintance.”

  When I finally made it down the grand staircase, I could see a flurry of activity on the front lawn. I wanted to throw open the doors and ask what was going on. Instead, I called out. “Leo?”

  His voice echoed from the other room. “In the kitchen, cher.”

  Pushing through the swinging doors, I could smell breakfast cooking and coffee brewing. “Good morning, all.” I said the words, but there wasn’t a face in the crowd I recognized.

  “Polly,” Leo began as he stood to wrap his arm around my shoulder. “This is Liz.”

  The middle aged woman tending to someone’s eggs wiped her hands on the apron she wore and shook mine. “Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Xanthus. What can I fix you for breakfast?”

  I shook my head. “Please, call me Polly. Just coffee. I’m not much of a morning person.”

  “Let me know if there’s anything you’d like. I’ll make sure you have it.”

  “Liz and Oscar go way back,” Leo explained, moving on to the next person. “This is Dinah.”

  “Nice to meet you, Dinah.”

  The younger woman gave me a sheepish grin. “The pleasure is mine, Mrs. Xanthus.”

  “Polly,” I corrected.

  “Dinah works in the house, keeping things in order. She’s in charge of the cleaning staff, which is minimal right now, but still—”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Xanthus. I run a tight ship. Anything you need, just let me know.”

  I nodded. “It’s Polly. Really. Call me Polly.”

  Leo ushered me in front of the security man who’d brought us into the house last night. “Robert Johnson. Hawk.” I offered my hand and he shook it. Hard.

  “I don’t think we met formally, but it is very nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Johnson.”

  “You can call me Hawk, ma’am.” He began his introduction with a heady nod. “We’ve set up base camp in your guest house by the pool, Mrs. Xanthus. Now, you’re going to see very little milling about during the day and night. Don’t be alarmed. We’re still on the job, just out of sight. The men will do routine perimeter checks, but we also have a sniper on your rooftop terrace twenty-four-seven.”

  I inhaled sharply. My eyes widened. “There’s a sniper? On the terrace?”

  I watched Leo’s steely gaze narrow. “I know it’s not what you might want to hear, but for now it’s necessary, cher. I’m not taking any chances.”

  “Mrs. Xanthus, I need to introduce you to Alex Knight. Let me call him in.”

  Finding my breath, I nodded and swallowed hard. “Polly. Call me Polly.”

  “Tree. Tree. Hawk.”

  Drawing my head back, I stared at Leo then looked to Liz and Dinah to see if they had the same reaction. I wasn’t disappointed.

  Faintly, I could hear Johnson’s earpiece. “Go for Tree.”

  “Come to the house through the back door. Over.”

  I batted my eyes in astonishment. “Who’s Tree?” I asked, sitting to sip the coffee Liz placed on the kitchen island for me.

  Leo leaned into my shoulder and whispered before kissing my cheek. “The Hulk.”

  “Oh.”

  With two loud raps, Alex Knight, a.k.a. Tree, a.k.a. The Hulk, let himself in through the back door. Dark with shoulder-length wavy hair, I did a double take. He looked as if he’d seen a photo of Leo and did his best to imitate him completely. Younger, he had a boy’s face and not the chiseled features of my Greek husband. He wasn’t as tall as I’d imagined, but Leo wasn’t lying when he said he was thick with muscles.

  “Ma’am,” he said, taking his baseball cap off to stand at ease.

  I hopped off the stool and walked around the island to meet him. “I’m Polly. I’m going to assume there’s a really good reason you are trying to look like my husband.”

  He didn’t crush my fingers like Johnson, but I noticed his hand was gigantic. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Xanthus—and yes.”

  “Alex Knight is Dr. Xanthus’s lookalike, ma’am,” Hawk offered up.

  “I see.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I walked away and sat back down with my coffee. “Okay. Well, this is disconcerting to say the least, but while you’re here please call me Polly. You can call me Miss Polly if you have to, but not Mrs. Xanthus.”

  Leo popped an eyebrow and shot a look toward Johnson. “Don’t be fooled by her casual nature. Polly’s adept with a firearm and she’s nobody’s fool.”

  “I’m Tree,” Alex Knight added with a toothy grin.

  “Anyone else I need to know?”

  Johnson looked over his shoulder and out the window. “Outside you’ll find, Taco Six, Maestro, HD, Tiger, Snacks and Barbie. And ah, Bea Winter will be here a little later this morning.”

  I nearly spat the hot coffee from my mouth. “Barbie?”

  Tree rocked on his heels and sported a huge grin. “It’s a long story, ma’am.”

  “I’ll bet.” I took a pause and waited for further explanation. I didn’t get one. “Okay then. Now, who’s Bea? And what’s the plan?”

  “Bea,” Leo began, “Is your lookalike.”

  “What?”

  Leo calmly nodded, as if I shouldn’t be alarmed or shocked in any way. “And there’s no plan, cher. These fine men are just guarding Jackson House and you.”

  My head twitched. “Me? You mean us.”

  “Yes,” he said. “Us. But I’ve got some people to see—the kind of people who won’t take kindly to me having a security detail tagging along. And as long as Tree here is parading around as me, the Balivino brothers will always have someone to follow.”

  “Leo, you don’t want me to take any unnecessary chances. I don’t think you should take unnecessary chances. We both know they’re coming for us. Whatever it is they want? They’ll be back to get it. You know it and I know it.”

  “We’ll just see about that, cher.”

  I saw Leo’s frustration bubble to the surface. “Leo,” I pointed behind my back. “May I speak with you alone for a moment?”

  He followed me into the front parlor and stood in front of me, arms crossed over his muscled chest. “Who are you going to see?”

  “I need to get in with a dealer.”

  “And that’s not taking a chance?”

  “It’s a calculated risk.”

  “I see. May I take a calculated risk? May I also go out?”

  “You can’t do anything to tip off the Balivino brothers.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “I say we bring them out into the open. If you can do it, why can’t I? You can finger them and we will put them away for good.”

  Leo pursed his lips. “It’s more complicated than that, cher.”

  I shook my head. “No Leo. It’s not.”

  “Trust me. It is. You know I’m sworn omertà. I can’t simply rat them out. We have to be smart about it.”

  I stepped into him, lowering my voice. “You might be omertà, but I’m not. I want out of this, Leo. I want out of this so we might have a real life.”

  “Don’t you think that’s what I want? Me and you, remember?”

  “It doesn’t feel like me and you. This all feels like you and you.”

  He dropped his head. “Look, I already feel responsible for what happened to Oscar. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you, cher. I can’t—”

  I felt a twinge of regret for pushing him. “Hey,” I said, begging him to look at me. “Nothing is going to happen to me. Okay?”

  He nodded. “Okay. When you make your plans for the day I’d like to hear about them just so I
know in the back of my mind where you are. Bea should be here soon and Tristan is on his way. I have some details to go over with him.”

  Leo kissed the top of my head. He was treating me like a child. I knew what I wanted to do, and it wasn’t something he’d approve of. I had ideas of my own on how to rid the world of the Balivinos, and today I was taking the first step in that direction.

  Walking back to the kitchen, I sat at the island next to Tree who was now sipping on his own cup of coffee. I took a long drink of my café au lait and leaned into him with a whisper. “So, Tree. Ever been to the Ninth Ward?”

  11

  LEO

  “Yes Colt, we’re fine.” I paced the floor of the main parlor, wearing a path in front of my desk. Colt Daniels had called to check in on us.

  “What’s the plan, Leo?” Colt’s voice was calm, but I knew he was concerned for our safety. “I know you have your security team in place, but that doesn’t mean you need to start taking crazy chances with your life—with Polly’s.”

  I sat down at my desk. Colt wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know. “We’re being careful, Colt.”

  “Your idea of being careful and my idea of being careful are two entirely different things, Z. Just don’t—”

  “Don’t what? Get ourselves killed?”

  “Well…yeah, goddammit. We’ve all gone to great lengths to keep you safe, don’t go and screw it up now.”

  “I’m not trying to screw anything up, Colt. I’m trying to straighten it out.”

  “That’s what worries me the most.”

  I looked up from my desk and Tristan was standing in the room. Jeans, a white t-shirt and leather jacket, his head was wrapped in a blue bandana, his black aviators hung from his neck by the temple tips. He’d entered without making a sound. “Colt, I gotta go. I’ll check in later. And for the love of God, don’t call the house phone again. You know this thing is probably tapped.”