"Maybe I could get your help on my economics paper tomorrow, though?" he asked with a hopeful tilt to his voice. His arms were still banded tight around my waist, and I quietly never wanted him to let go. "Zed told me you're a little bit amazing when it comes to business subjects, and that's majorly my weak point."
I huffed a short laugh. "Zed was the one who tutored me," I informed him, "but I'd love to help. I'll make sure I save some time in my schedule tomorrow."
He responded by kissing me again, which quickly turned heated, and the next thing I knew he was lifting me up onto the counter and stripping my shirt over my head.
"Gumdrop," Zed barked, stomping his grumpy ass back into the kitchen. "Don't you have shit to do?"
Lucas dragged his full lower lip through his teeth, his heated gaze locked on my face as his hands caressed my breasts through the thin lace bra I wore. "Hell yeah, I do," he murmured, and I didn't suspect for even a second he was referring to his schoolwork.
Zed gave an irritated sound. "Dare—"
"Dial it down, Zed," I told him in a cool voice that only slightly implied violence. "Don't forget your place."
His mouth snapped shut, but his glare intensified until I huffed and slid out of Lucas's embrace.
"Raincheck," I murmured before rising up to kiss Lucas quickly, then I stalked toward Zed with my shirt in hand. "I take it Alexi wasn't calling for a friendly chat?"
He gave a tight headshake, but his eyes were glued to my chest. Fuck’s sake. In an attempt to redirect the energy, I tugged my shirt back over my head.
"Right," he muttered, shaking his head. "Let's talk in the office."
He led the way, and I didn't argue. I got the feeling he was only relocating to the office to help his own head shift gears into work mode, not because he didn't trust Lucas and Cass overhearing what we spoke about. So I took his cue and gave myself a quick mental slap before we got to the office. Compartmentalizing was my sharpest weapon.
6
Zed didn't sit down at his desk, which was a smart choice. My patience was running thin with his attempts at bigger dick energy than me. It was a competition I had no interest in coming in second place for, so he was wise not to fucking test me.
Instead, he stopped in the middle of the room and spun around to glare at me with blazing eyes as I closed the office door.
"We need to talk," he snapped, "about what happened upstairs."
I shook my head, the denial strong. "Nah, I'd rather not. What was Alexi calling for?"
Disbelief flashed across his handsome features, and a frustrated frown creased his brow. "That's childish."
"Is it?" I retorted, my face carefully expressionless and cold. "Luckily, I don't give a shit. What was Alexi calling for?"
Zed glared at me a moment longer, then swiped his hand over his face. "He got a tip about a situation down in Arizona, some botched smuggling job that got busted by the feds."
"Okay, so what does that have to do with us?" I folded my arms over my chest and stiffened my stance so I wouldn't be tempted to pace nervously. As it was, I could barely focus on keeping my game face on so Zed couldn’t catch me checking him out.
Zed grimaced. "The shipment was girls. When the job got botched, someone must have tipped the smugglers off because every single girl was dead when the feds got there."
I stiffened, ice forming in my gut. "Dead how?"
"Alexi's guy didn't have the specifics but said it looked like they'd been poisoned." His gaze was hard, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Closing my eyes, I swallowed back the furious scream that threatened to rise in my throat. "Chase."
Poisoning the human cargo with lethal gas was an initiative Chase's uncle had come up with. No witnesses meant no one could link them to the trafficking. If any of their "shipments" were ever threatened, there was a remotely triggered gas canister stored in every container.
"That was my thought," Zed agreed. "This was out of state, so it could be a copycat. Plenty of scum have stepped into the void left by the Lockharts and your father’s Timberwolves."
I sighed. "Could be, yeah. But you know what I think of coincidences."
Zed jerked a nod. "I told Alexi to keep his ear to the ground and report back if he hears anything more."
"Good," I muttered, biting the edge of my thumbnail. "We need to start getting proactive with Chase. My plan with Cass is long term, but we need to start cutting Chase off at the knees now. Otherwise, none of us will be alive to play the long game."
His eyes narrowed. "Why haven't you filled me in on this plan?"
I bit my nail harder, accidentally nipping skin and tasting blood. No response was needed, though.
Zed just gave a short, bitter laugh and shook his head. "You don't trust me."
I cringed. "I do trust you," I whispered. "But—"
"I get it," he cut me off, giving a bitter smile. "Believe me, Dare. Of anyone, I get it. I know how it feels to have him inside your brain, making you second-guess everyone. But you can't let him do that to you. Don't let him get between us again."
Zed reached out and grasped my wrist, pulling my thumbnail away from my teeth. He didn't let go, though. Instead, he used my wrist to pull me closer as he stepped into my breathing space.
"Between us?" I repeated, feeling like my brain had just turned to mush.
The corners of his lips tugged up in a half smile, and his free hand cupped the back of my neck. "Yes. Us. When are you going to quit playing dumb and admit there's a hell of a lot more to us than mere friendship? There always has been."
Words totally failed me as I stared back into his eyes and found his gaze overflowing with desire and pain. Fuck. What was I doing to us? My stubborn refusal to see what was right under my nose was going to destroy our bond much faster than any failed romance.
"Zed..." I breathed his name like a plea, but I had no idea what it was that I really wanted. For him to drop this whole thing and go back to the way things used to be? Back when I refused to admit I'd never fully gotten over my crush on him and couldn't seem to look away when he was making out with random women in our clubs? Yeah, fat load of use that would do me. Despite my stubborn level of denial, I couldn't even lie to myself that I would take that situation well. Not now. And no one needed me going off and killing innocent girls for hooking up with him.
I never claimed to be rational when it came to Zayden De Rosa. But previously, I'd kept those feelings on lockdown, never to see the light of day.
"Dare," he replied, his own voice a husky whisper as his eyes searched my face. "You can't act like you don't feel the same way for me. I know you too well."
I sucked in a short breath, preparing to deny his accusation. But... no words came. The next thing I knew, I was leaning in, closing the gap between us, and kissing him softly. Zed stiffened like that had been the last thing he'd expected, but before I could pull away in embarrassment, he kissed me back.
His hand tightened on the back of my neck, pulling me closer as he released my wrist and grabbed my waist. Our mouths moved together like we were sharing one brain, one soul, and knew precisely what the other wanted... needed.