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Before he could think, Marty jerked from him, her hands shaking. Her face flushed and filled with dazed confusion as she stared back at him and attempted to right the thin robe she wore.
"Marty?" Joe Mathews and Zach Jennings stepped into the room, and came to a hard, surprised stop.
There was no missing what they all knew had been going on. There was no mistaking the shock on Marty's face or the reddened rasp from the stubble of Khalid's beard against her neck.
Mathews took it all in, as did the other man. Eyes narrowed, they stared at Marty, then at Khalid.
"I'll just . . . " She swallowed tightly, panic filling her eyes now. "Shower. " She nodded quickly. "I need to shower. "
Like a teenager caught making out with her boyfriend, she turned and ran as Khalid watched her with amusement. The temptress, though still present in her gaze, fought to hide in the presence of her fathers.
While pushing his fingers through his hair, Khalid restrained the hard breath that would have escaped. He breathed in slowly, roughly, before crossing his arms over his chest and staring back at the two men with more arrogance than he felt at the moment.
That arrogance did little to affect the senator or the FBI director. Both men stared back at him in shock.
"I've lived the whole of her twenty-seven years and never had to catch her with a lover," Joe suddenly snarled, as he glared at Khalid. "I would appreciate never seeing it again, if you don't mind very much. "
Khalid had to admit, he knew how she felt when she ran. He felt like a teenager caught with his hand in his girlfriend's pants, and damned if it wasn't awkward.
"I believe I could go the whole of the rest of my life and never have you walk in on such a thing again. " Khalid cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Joe's outrage was a tangible thing as he stared at Khalid, but it was Zach's silence, the quiet, thoughtful look on his face that worried Khalid. Of the two, Zach was definitely the more dangerous.
Khalid refrained from giving in to the sense of discomfort that threatened to overcome him as Zach's look continued to pierce him with cool hazel eyes.
"Stay away from her unless you intend to do more than simply share her bed for a few nights," Zach finally stated, as he moved into the kitchen and over to the coffeepot. "She's not a toy to be played with, Khalid. "
Khalid didn't miss the edge of steel in his voice.
"Of course she isn't. I realize that. " He gave a sharp nod of his head.
He did understand. The world he was a part of existed on rules, rules that were not made to be broken, because of the very nature of the men involved.
Zach had given the ultimatum in front of a club witness. It didn't matter that the witness was also Marty's father or that he and Joe were both lovers with the same woman. Zach was Marty's godfather, equivalent to her father, and his wishes couldn't be discounted.
"Do you?" Zach turned back to him. "I've watched her obsession grow over the years where you're concerned, just as I've seen the way you watch her. But I also know you, son. You're not the forever kind. You're content to be no more than the other lover. That's not what she'll want from you. That's not what she needs. "
"I understand, I need no lectures from you," Khalid bit out coolly, barely restraining his anger. "You may have caught us acting like teenagers, but that doesn't mean I'll be talked to as one. "
"When you're caught acting that way in my house, with my daughter, then you can expect it," Zach informed him just as coolly. "Now stay the hell away from her unless you intend to force my hand in this. You don't want to do that. "
Khalid stared back at the other man, assessed the degree of sincerity in his tone, and recognized the very serious warning he was being given.
And while he recognized the warning, he could have told the other man that it would be just as powerless against the hunger building between himself and Marty.
Instead, with a sharp nod, he strode from the room, then from the house. It was a warning he couldn't ignore, he told himself, as his driver, Abdul, opened the limo door and he slid inside. A warning he shouldn't discount. He wouldn't until he came against the fiery need in her gaze once again. And it was likely a decision he would pay for.
Zach wasn't just a member of the very exclusive club they both belonged to; he was also a part of the judicial committee that governed it and one of the most powerful members sitting on that panel.
The rules to their lives were simple, straightforward. They had to be for the club to have survived the past two centuries.
Until now, though, Khalid had never found them restrictive. Until now, he had never regretted them.
Chapter 2
Marty escaped Zach's home, as well as her fathers' presence, without the lecture she had been expecting. Actually, she had managed to escape without so much as a fatherly talk. That one surprised her more than she wanted to admit.
Her fathers had never been shy when it came to discussing any aspect of life with her, claiming that they would prefer her to be prepared than to see her regret any actions she might take.
