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They shook hands but Demyan had daggers in his eyes as Storm’s hand remained on Aspen’s shoulder then brushed down her arm to her waist where he held her by his side.
“It’s nice to see you, Demyan. If you don’t mind, I have some business to discuss with Aspen. Perhaps you could excuse us.” He said in a tone that was obvious Storm didn’t intend to let Demyan near her again. Demyan eyed Aspen over.
“I’ll meet up with you later, Aspen. We’ll set a date and time for dinner this week. Just the two of us.” He took her hand and kissed it again, but his eyes roamed up to Storm who for some reason appeared utterly pissed off.
Aspen wasn’t going to read into Storm’s expression. She knew he disliked the man for reasons that were none of her business. Whatever was between them, got her out of a potentially sticky situation. Demyan was the kind of man to not take her decline of his sexual advances too lightly.
* * * *
Storm was trying his hardest to control his temper. To see Aspen here, dressed so sexy and looking as gorgeous as usual was difficult to ignore. From a distance she lit up the room, drew attention immediately with her sexy body and jet-black hair. Her gorgeous sage green eyes were stunning as usual, enhanced with the eyeliner and mascara that made her thick, long lashes stand out even more.
He turned her around and led her further away from Demyan, a man who was after Aspen as more than his latest conquest.
“Thought you could use a little help getting away from him,” he whispered as he guided her toward the food table. He knew that Zin was around, too. Zin had been pissed off to see Demyan hit on Aspen.
“You mean Demyan? He’s harmless. I was fine, Storm,” she said, glancing up at him. She was so petite compared to him even though she was average height about five feet five. Standing this close to her, he took advantage of the feel of her hip, the curve of her ass and the scent of her shampoo. He could imagine himself lying beside her in bed after hours of making love and getting lost inside of her. But the reality was that he could never have her. Nor could his men. Their jobs, their connection to illegal activities and being at high risk for attempted conflict wasn’t the right environment for Aspen. She had gone through enough years ago.
His chest tightened at the memory. She nearly died.
“I think you underestimate Demyan’s abilities, Aspen. The man doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“I seemed to be handling him fine, Storm,” she snapped at him.
He paused near the banquet table, holding her upper arm as he stared down into her face. He could see the defiance, the stubbornness and assertiveness that was all Aspen. She was tough. But not tough enough.
“I thought otherwise. You need to be more careful. Men like Demyan are not good for you. What ever happened to that guy Jester, from New York?” He saw her eyes widen in shock and then quickly recover and appear pissed off. What had he said to anger her so?
She pulled her arm from his hold.
“Listen, Storm, I appreciate the brotherly protectiveness, but I don’t need it. Why don’t you run along and go pick tonight’s special for you and your ‘team’ to share.” She abruptly turned around and walked away toward the ladies’ room.
He was stunned. Totally caught off guard. How the hell did he just piss her off like that? What did she mean by pick tonight’s special for him and his team? Did she mean a bed mate? She knew they shared. Hell, half the men in the place had a lover they shared or were searching for one for tonight. He watched as men took in the sight of Aspen as she sashayed toward the ladies’ room.
None of these men were taking Aspen home with them. Not if he and his team had a say in it.
“What the hell happened?” He turned to see Zin with an expression of humor on his face.
?
??I think I pissed her off.”
Zin chuckled then took a sip from his glass of red wine.
“It looked that way. You’re usually real smooth with the ladies. How did it go wrong?”
“I steered her away from that dick Demyan. That’s all that matters.”
“Sure it is. She looked good. It’s been two months since we’ve seen her. Did you ask about her trip?” Zin asked.
Storm shook his head, but he knew where she had been. A two-week cruise on a private yacht with five of her friends, then a stint in the Caribbean with business and returned two days ago in time to be here for Dmitri. That was another guy who had an interest in Aspen. Perhaps more business than pleasure, but still, Dmitri did have the reputation of fucking most of his female staff. He hoped that Aspen wasn’t sleeping with Dmitri. He’d known the man for many years. Had some deep ties to him, too. Dmitri knew where Storm stood with Aspen. He’d be beyond pissed off if Dmitri were after her.
With long, jet-black hair, incredible sage green eyes that stood out so bright against her olive complexion, and a body made for sin, she had a trail of men behind her wanting that body. But she was more than just a sexy, attractive woman for a man to show off by his side. She was intelligent, funny, friendly, and had a way about her that was modest, not stuck up. She was tough, too. That was why so many men hit on her and tried to get her attention. Why she declined except for that guy Jester who she dated for a while and even lived with, he didn’t know.
Storm felt his anger grow stronger. That had been the worst four months of their lives. Knowing she was seeing someone and that he shared her bed, really fucking aggravated him. Zin, Weston, York, and Winter were hell to live with, and he wasn’t any better. They were glad to see her dump the guy. But she was too perfect to not have another boyfriend soon. It was inevitable.
There was nothing he could do about it. He and his team led dangerous lives despite their efforts to go more legit. With Sotoro trying to fuck them along with unidentified others, he needed to remain focused on the businesses throughout the US they had. They could use Aspen’s professional help in reorganizing their team of employees here in Chicago as well as in Texas. Despite his promise to himself and his team to stay clear of the woman they longed for, she could be an asset to their business. But she also had inside information on their business enemies. Information she may not be willing to give up because of her loyalty to confidentiality. He couldn’t fault her for that either. She would always be special to him and the team. But the fact that she was Porter’s sister, and simply being unable to give her the life she deserved, he needed to keep his dick out of this.
Aspen deserved a legit man. She also didn’t seem interested in sharing herself with more than one man at once. At least he didn’t want to think of her being made love to by any man or men except for him and his team. They all wanted her. Hell, they talked about making a move, but the consequences seemed to outweigh their own happiness. If Aspen got involved with them, she would be in more danger than ever before. In fact, their enemies could try to kill her. No, they couldn’t do that to her. She needed a good life, a perfect life made for a woman as sweet and capable as her. He tried to keep his distance from her and not show his true feelings. He warned his team to hide them as well or it could put her life in danger. But every time he thought about her, he thought about who she was sleeping with, who got to hold her in his arms and inhale that delicious scent of her perfume. That just fucked with his head and increased the possessive feeling he had since day one.
