“If you’re asking to go alone, no.”
“What if you come with me?”
He leaned back against the chair and sighed. “I have more important things to do than sit in the truck for two hours while you spend time with your brother.”
“Then send your men with me.”
“I don’t trust anyone to protect you besides myself.”
“Alright…then have dinner with us.”
He gave me a blank look, as if that wasn’t appealing at all. “I know you want some alone time with your family. My presence unnerves Case, as it should.”
“Well, you unnerve everyone.”
His eyes narrowed.
“No offense.”
“None taken.” He drank his coffee again.
“Then can he come here?”
He sipped his coffee again as he considered it. “I don’t let anyone into the compound besides Heath and my men.”
“Case isn’t your enemy. When I tell him what you did, he’ll bend over backward for you.”
“Even so, I don’t trust anyone.”
“Alright…then that leaves one option.”
His eyes slowly narrowed into a glare. “You want me to sit in the truck for two hours?”
“Please…”
He shook his head slightly and looked down at his plate. “After everything I’m doing for you, you have the balls to ask me that?”
“I miss my family. You see your brother every day.”
“And I wish I didn’t.” He rose to his feet and left his dishes on the table.
“You don’t mean that. Having a brother is the greatest gift in the world. When your parents are gone, they’re all you have left.”
He stood on the other side of the table, over six feet of pure masculinity. He looked like a warrior without armor, the highest-ranking general in the military. He didn’t need clothes to exude the utmost level of confidence.
“Have dinner with us. My brother is an amazing cook.”
“You know I don’t eat that shit.”
“Well, live a little,” I countered. “He’ll have scotch, so you can eat that.”
He grabbed his plates and carried them into the kitchen.
I followed behind. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
He set everything in the sink and turned back to me. “A dinner party isn’t my idea of fun.”
“Then what is?”
His eyes narrowed on my lips, and a small smile spread across his face.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a pig.”
“No. I’m just a man. Trust me, we’re all the same.”
“I’ve never met another man like you…and I mean that as a compliment.”
He loomed over me with his height, and slowly that teasing smile faded into a straight line. The playfulness in his eyes disappeared, and he stepped closer to me. “I know you do, baby. And I’ve never met a woman like you.”
“What kind of woman is that?”
“The kind that calls me a pig.” His smile returned.
“I’ve called you worse things than that.”
“I know. And I like it every time.”
“So…will you do this for me? Please?” I brought my hands together like I was begging him.
“You can see him all you want after I kill Lucian.”
“But who knows when that will be. That could be weeks or months. Come on, you and my brother are a lot alike. You’d get along well if you gave it a chance.”
“Maybe that’s why we don’t like each other—we’re too alike.”
“Please…” I moved into his chest and rose onto my tiptoes so our eyes would be closer to level with each other.
He sighed quietly. “I’ll do this for you if you do something for me.”
“Alright. What do you want?” I already knew it had something to do with sex. He either wanted something particularly kinky, or he wanted me to wear a piece of lingerie that barely covered anything.
He tilted his head slightly, a knowing look in his eyes. “You can figure it out.”
“You already have me. So you need to be more specific.”
“I want you to fuck me in the truck when we’re done.”
“Like, right in front of his house?” I asked incredulously.
“No. I’ll pull over somewhere. The countryside is pretty much dark at nighttime.”
“It’s freezing.”
He grinned. “I’ll keep you warm. Now, take it or leave it.”
“Why don’t we just screw when we get home?”
“Because I don’t want to. Do we have an understanding or not?” His fingers moved under my chin, and he forced my gaze up to meet his.
“Alright. But I feel like my end of the deal is better than yours.”
“Because it is.”
Balto left the city then headed into the countryside. My brother lived in our childhood home just a few miles outside of the city. The home was too big for a single person, so sometimes, I wondered if he intended to have a family eventually.
“This is it.” I pointed to the driveway.
Balto drove up the concrete driveway, through the iron gate, and to the roundabout near the entryway. “He has a nice place.”
“Well…he is a drug dealer.” I rolled my eyes.
“He had this place before that.”
“Whatever.”
We left the truck then walked through the front door.
“You don’t knock?” Balto asked as he followed me inside.