Wicked Dirty (Stark World 2)

He pulls her into his arms. "Never," he says firmly, then kisses her.

I swoon a little--and then a little more when Lyle takes my hand and squeezes it.

"I would like to meet Jane," I say. "We can walk to the garage if you want."

"You should probably wait," Damien says. "They might be talking cars. But other topics could come up."

Riley's been sitting quietly. Now he lifts his head. "Like what?"

"Dallas and Noah have their hands in a lot of pots," Damien says vaguely. "And they've been friends for a long time."

I don't have a clue what Damien could be talking about, and I don't think Riley does either. Not specifically, anyway. But it all sounds very mysterious.

I do know who Dallas Sykes is. Before he and his wife, Jane West Sykes, got married, they were at the heart of a torrid scandal. And before that his name was all over the tabloids. They called him the King of Fuck, and he had a playboy reputation that has faded since his marriage.

Honestly, these people are a bit like a puzzle, their lives crossing and overlapping and all of it woven together in a tapestry of friendship and family.

"I like your friends," I tell Lyle later, as we're walking along a stone path toward the tennis court.

"I'm glad. I know Jane best since we worked together on The Price of Ransom, but I've gotten to know Nikki and Damien through the Stark Children's Foundation, too. They're all good people.

"Tarpin!"

I look around for the voice, then see a man step off the courts and onto the path. He's tall, with rugged good looks and a charming smile. But it's his red hair that ensures he's unforgettable.

"Noah," Lyle calls, hurrying to pull the redhead into one of those manly guy hugs. "I've been looking for you."

"Yeah? Well, I haven't been looking for you." His smile is teasing. "But I have heard rumors about your engagement."

He turns to me and flashes a smile that seems so sweet and genuine I automatically return it. "This is who I've been wanting to meet."

"Sugar Laine, meet my friend Noah Carter."

"Very happy to finally catch up with you," I say.

"Sorry I disappeared from my own going away party. But since I'm about to be landlocked, I wanted to take a walk on the beach. I guess I lost track of time."

"Easy to do," I say, and though I don't know him well enough to be sure, I think I see sadness in his dark green eyes.

"And you looked at the cars," Lyle says, "thus losing more time."

"The problem wasn't time," Noah says. "Have you seen how far into the hills Damien's garage goes? I was just plain lost. If Dallas and Jane aren't on the patio when we get back, we should probably send a search party."

"Actually, we should all probably get back." Lyle says. "I think I heard something about heating up a grill."

"Congrats on the engagement," Noah says as we're heading up the path.

"Thanks," Lyle and I both say at the same time. "Are you seeing anyone?" I ask, then wince as Lyle squeezes my hand. Hard.

"No," Noah says, the word polite but clipped. He turns to me, and when he speaks, his voice is softer, as if he realizes how harsh he sounded. "I'm not currently looking to date. I'm much more focused on my career."

I think of Lyle, and the way he tossed that same platitude at me. Words that were hiding a deeper pain.

"What exactly do you do?" I ask, figuring that now's a good time to change the topic.

"Tech," he says. "I'm moving to Austin to be head up one of Stark International's tech subsidiaries. R and D mostly."

"That sounds great." I don't know a thing about Texas, but I think he'd look cute in a cowboy hat. "You used to work for Dallas?"