Need Me (Dark Obsession 3)

When he’d apologized back at the house, she’d desperately wanted to stop him. The last thing she felt was remorse for what they’d done. She’d wanted him, he’d wanted her, and she hadn’t been about to let her past control her anymore. She was out of that prison now.

“I’ll send Chance over to keep an eye on you,” Devlin said and she knew he was talking about Chance Valentine, the other partner at VJS. “I’ll go back to VJS and review the flash drive—”

“Chance doesn’t need to come.” She’d never officially met Chance, but she knew his reputation. The guy was one top-notch security expert. She didn’t need him to be anywhere close to her right then. “I’ll be here with Sophie for at least the next hour. Maybe two. When I’m done, I’ll call you.”

A faint furrow appeared between his brows.

“I’m perfectly safe here. There’s plenty of security. Really, I’m fine. Go take care of that drive.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look happy.

“Devlin—”

His hand slid down to curve under her chin. “Dev.”

She blinked at him.

“My friends call me Dev.”

Is that what they were now? Friends? She’d rather thought they were lovers. “Mine call me Julie.” The few that she had.

His thumb brushed over her mouth, a sensual slide across her too-sensitive lower lip. Then he leaned forward and kissed her. This kiss was far different than any they’d shared before. The desperation was gone. The wildness was tamed.

But…

It was sensual. Maybe the most sensual kiss she’d ever had. His lips stroked over hers, seemed to savor her. The kiss was open-mouthed, but he took his time, first sliding his tongue lightly over her lower lip, then dipping it inside her mouth.

Her hands rose and pressed to his chest as she arched up even higher on her tip-toes. It had been too long since she’d wanted a man with abandon. Too long since she’d been swept away. Too long since—

Jeremy.

A chill skated down her spine.

Devlin—Dev—slowly pulled back. He stared down at her, his gaze unreadable, then he said, “I want you again.”

She nodded. “I want you, too.” Truth. Maybe it was dangerous, but the desire was there. Far stronger than it should be.

“Tonight, I’ll have you again.”

Promises, promises.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around her. “The snow’s starting to fall,” he said a bit gruffly. “Go on inside.”

She hadn’t noticed the snow. She hadn’t really noticed anything but him. She caught the edges of his coat and pulled it closer. Then she turned and headed into the law office. The glass doors shut behind her even as Matt, the guy who pulled double-duty as a receptionist at the law firm and as a body builder—rose in greeting.

“Ms. Smith?” Matt called. “What are you doing here?” He glanced down at his desk. “I don’t have you on the calendar.”

She peered over her shoulder and watched Devlin drive away. Her hand slid into the pocket of her jeans and curled around the flash drive, a drive she’d slipped away from Devlin without him even noticing. “I’m so confused,” she murmured and grimaced. “All the stress…I think it’s getting to me.”

He nodded sympathetically.

“Will you do me a favor?” Julianna asked. “Call me a cab? Please?”

“Of course.” Matt instantly reached for his phone.

Good. Because I’ve got someplace I have to be.

Chapter Six

Devlin stopped at the red light. His fingers drummed on the steering wheel. He didn’t like leaving Julianna alone. His body was tight with tension, worry. Something was off. Just…wrong.

His hand slid into his pocket, looking for the flash drive. Maybe that little drive could help Julianna’s case.

Only…that little drive wasn’t in his pocket.

He had a sudden flash of Julianna. She’d been sliding her hand down his arm. She’d brushed her fingers over his hip.

And that woman took the flash drive right out of my pocket!

What the hell? Just where had Julianna Patrice McNall-Smith learned to be a pick pocket?

A car horn honked behind him. Swearing, he accelerated because the light had changed—who knew how long ago—but he quickly pulled a U-turn and rushed back to Sophie’s law firm. When he was a few blocks away, he saw the unmistakable flash of Julianna’s blonde hair.

She still had his coat on and she was waiting at the corner of the street.

So much for a meeting with Sophie.

Hell, didn’t the woman get it? He was trying to help her.

But she was…what? Lying to him? Stealing from him?

Seducing him? Avery’s accusation flashed through his mind, but Devlin shook his head. Fuck, no, he’d been seducing Julianna just as hard. That hadn’t been any kind of one-way street. Yet the knot in his stomach told him this whole set-up was wrong. Innocent people weren’t supposed to lie. They sure as shit weren’t supposed to trick the bodyguard that had been hired for protection.

A taxi pulled up at the curb. Julianna instantly jumped in the back of it, and the cab took off. Devlin waited for two cars to get between him and that taxi. He waited, then he began his pursuit. Julianna wasn’t slipping away from him. This wasn’t amateur hour for him, despite what she might think. She wasn’t going to manipulate him.

He was there to protect her, but he was also there to find the truth. With every second that passed, the suspicion within him grew ever stronger. Innocent people don’t lie. They don’t run.

He knew that with certainty. His parents hadn’t been innocent, not by a long shot. They’d run. Far and fast. And they’d left him behind.

Just as they’d left a wake of destruction in their paths.

Had he been wrong to let down his guard with Julianna? Hell, he’d been blindsided by her from the beginning. He rarely ever looked at a person and saw a victim, but from the very first moment, he’d looked at Julianna and just wanted to protect her from everyone and everything that might hurt her.

He kept following that cab. Maybe she was just going to a hotel. Or perhaps even going back to VJS Protection or—

The cab stopped. It didn’t stop in front of a hotel and that building sure wasn’t VJS. The car had braked in front of a club. One that was, unfortunately, too familiar to Devlin.

Wicked.

It was a club owned by a fellow that Devlin couldn’t stand on the best of days and on the worst of days—well, he figured Ethan Barclay was a straight-up killer. VJS had been through enough run-ins with the guy that Devlin knew the fellow was trouble.

Why was Julianna going to his place?

Devlin braked near an alley. For just a moment, he remembered another night. A night that he’d gone running down that exact alley. At the time, he’d thought that Ethan had been stalking his buddy Chance’s lover, Gwen Hawthorne. Devlin’s job had been to go around back, to seal off that escape route.

Too late, Devlin had found a killer waiting back there for him. Not Ethan Barclay, but a man who’d made it his mission to destroy the club owner. Devlin had been caught in the crossfire, and he still had the battle wounds to prove it. He’d been left in that alley, bleeding out, with the garbage, and he’d been sure that he was dying.

Julianna exited the cab and ran toward Wicked.

Why is she going to him? Devlin had been digging into Julianna’s life. He’d found no connections to Ethan Barclay.

But maybe he hadn’t dug deep enough.

The door to Wicked opened and Julianna disappeared inside.

Devlin turned off his vehicle. He stared at the club and he knew that twist in his gut—it was suspicion.

It was also jealousy.

Why is she going to him?

***

“You weren’t supposed to come here, Julianna,” Ethan said as he headed toward the bar. The club was empty, and Julianna knew Wicked would stay that way, until dark. When the sun set, Wi

cked always came alive. “The plan,” he continued, as he downed a gulp of what she thought might be whiskey—she’d never been too savvy on her drinks, “was for you to stay safely away from me. You already look guilty enough without me dragging you down into the mud anymore.”

Her heart stuttered a bit at those words. Most folks thought Ethan was the bad guy. And, well, truthfully, he wasn’t a good guy. But he wasn’t evil, either. She stared at him a moment, her gaze sweeping over his face. Once, he’d been the perfect embodiment, the tall, dark, and handsome ideal. But that had been before a twisted bastard named Daniel Duvato had attacked Ethan with a knife. Now, twin scars marred Ethan’s perfect cheeks. He was still handsome, but definitely with a dangerous edge.

“No one can look away,” Ethan muttered as his fingers rose and brushed over the scar on his left cheek. “At least now I look like a villain.”

“Stop it,” she told him. “Play that game with someone else. Someone who doesn’t know you. Not me.” She pulled out the flash drive and put it on the bar. “I had to come over because I found this.” She hesitated. “Actually, Devlin found it. The drive was taped under one of Jeremy’s desk drawers.”

His hand closed around the flash drive. “Devlin?”

“Devlin Shade. He’s a body guard,” Julianna rushed to explain. “He works for—”

“VJS.” Ethan appeared pained. “Sophie referred you, right?”

She nodded. “You know him?”

“Unfortunately, I know him and his buddies.” He shook his head. “And I’ll tell you now, he isn’t going to be happy about this little visit.”

“He doesn’t know I’m here. I-I took the drive and ditched him.”

Ethan’s lips quirked. “Old habits die hard, huh, Jules?”

Jules. Ethan was the only one who’d ever called her that. She’d been telling the truth when she told Devlin that her friends called her Julie. They did. Ethan didn’t qualify as a friend. Not exactly.

He lifted up the flash drive. “Let’s see if this is the one.”

Her heart beat faster. “How will we know if he made copies? I mean, what if—”

The cry of an alarm broke through the interior of Wicked. She jumped at the sound.

“Easy.” Ethan didn’t look at all ruffled. “After that knife-wielding asshole came in here and tried to carve me up, I instituted a few new security measures.” He turned away and a few seconds later, a screen appeared behind the club’s bar. The shelves of glasses slid back, revealing a flat screen. He tapped on his phone, and an image appeared on that screen.

“You didn’t ditch him,” Ethan said flatly.

Devlin’s furious features filled the screen.

Oh, crap.

Ethan glanced at her. “How is this going to play out? I can tell you now, he’s not just going to walk away. He’ll stay there until he gets in, and then, the way I see it, we have two options.”

She couldn’t look away from Devlin. He definitely looked pissed. Julianna swallowed.

“Option one. We tell him the truth. Unfortunately, I think the guy is one of those freaking Boy Scouts. You know, the kind that really gets on my last nerve. With his history, he could have gone either way.”