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Nope.
He yanked his lust back, holding it in check.
She was his mission.
“Hi,” he said, his smile pure charm. He didn’t figure it’d take more than that. It rarely did. “You’re Lara, right?”
“Excuse me,” she said, moving her hand from side to side as if flicking him out of her path. “I’m in a hurry.”
He’d been able to resist her looks, stunning though they were.
But that voice. Hello, darlin’, that voice was pure sexual invitation. Low and husky, it was meant for dark rooms and silk sheets.
“You’ve got a second, though, right?”
She gave him a look, a combination of irritation and inquiry, as if she couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t listening.
He could have told her he was listening just fine. But her order and his wishes were in direct conflict, and Dominic made a habit out of getting his way. Especially when it came to beautiful women.
With that in mind, he amped up the charm a little and tilted his head.
“Look, I just want to talk to you.”
“Right,” Lara mocked with a roll of her eyes. “Talk. Sorry, big boy. I’m busy. Why don’t you grab one of the girls on the corner? They’re never too busy to chat.”
He snorted. Damned if her smart-ass mouth wasn’t just as sexy as her legs.
“We can keep it public. There’s a diner across the street. We’ll talk there.”
“I’m not into talking, even in public,” she said as she tried again to pull her arm from his grip. He didn’t let go.
“Sweetheart, you just bared your all to a theater full of drooling guys. You obviously have no problem with public displays.” A fact for which he was very grateful. He might not be planning to enjoy what she had to offer, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to appreciate its existence. Covered in shiny fabric or simple denim, the woman had a body of a goddess.
“My all was fully covered,” she reminded him with frown.
“Not fully enough to diminish the fabulous view,” he corrected, his smile automatically shifting to flirtatious before he could stop it. Not that he’d have tried. After all, a goddess had to expect a little worship with a body like hers.
“I’m betting at some point, your mama probably taught you that look doesn’t mean touch.” She shot a pointed glance at his hand, still holding her arm. “You wouldn’t want her disappointed, now would you?”
Dominic grinned. She was as clever as she was pretty.
Still, he didn’t let go. Clever and pretty wouldn’t keep her safe. He, on the other hand, would.
He just had to convince her of that.
After giving him an arch look, she tossed a glance over his shoulder. He knew there were a bunch of losers leaning against the back of the casino, all in various states of uselessness.
“Look, I’ve gotta go,” she said, twisting the arm he held to the side so she could check her watch. “You have something to say, do it now. In thirty seconds I’ll call the goons back. They might not be able to take you, but you’ll have to let go of me to deal and then I’m gone.”
“I need to talk to you about your brother,” he said, trying not to sound amused. He knew from experience that women didn’t like it when he wasn’t intimidated by their threats.
Maybe she sensed that he was trying not to laugh, because she stiffened, her spine rigid and her chin lifting. She swallowed once, then glared and shook her head.
“Sorry, buddy. I don’t have a brother.”
“Phillip Banks. Lieutenant Phillip Banks. Navy SEAL.”
She tilted her head, giving him a long look, then shrugged.
“Like I said, I don’t have a brother.”
Dominic rocked back on his heels.
It’d taken Lucas all of five minutes to pull Banks’s family info. Parents deceased two years ago, sister estranged and living in Reno working as a showgirl. The house and ample family coffers willed to the eldest and only son, and all sitting in wait back in Maryland. From the info Lucas had pulled up, which had included Banks’s sister’s driver’s license, home address and last known work address, the woman in front of him was none other.
“Look, sweetheart, I can’t blame you for denying it. If I had Phillip Banks for a brother, I’d probably lie, too. But facts are facts, no matter how much we might not like them.”
“I said I don’t have a brother.” With a stubborn look she tried to yank her arm away, then growled when his grip didn’t budge.
“And I said you do. Why don’t we go somewhere, get a cup of coffee and make a list of all the reasons Phillip Banks pisses us off?” Dominic saw the humor flash in her eyes for one second before her scowl buried it. He lowered his voice to a flirtatious whisper. “C’mon. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. It’s a long one.”
