Irresistible Lines by Breena Wilde

 
    Chapter 1
    Zane  
     
    Never in my life have I felt such a strong need to keep someone safe, to fucking protect her like my life depended on it. But as I lay Cadence on my bed, that’s exactly how I feel. And it annoys the hell out of me. When I found her brother, my intention was to use him against her. Now I’m helping them both.
    Cadence has her eyes open. She isn’t looking at anything. She seems far away, lost in memories that I invoked, and I wonder if I’ve broken her. That isn’t what I wanted. Sure, compliance would be nice, but definitely not broken.
    If I could punch myself in the face, I would. In stead I mentally berate myself, lean over her, and kiss her cheek.
    “I’ll be back in a while. Rest. I—” I stop. No fucking way I’m apologizing. That’s crossing too many lines. There’s a blanket at the bottom of the bed, and I pull it over her, tucking it under her feet.
    “Thank you,” she whispers, and my heart rocks, turns to rubble.
    When I close the door, Lincoln is waiting. His face is hard, void of emotion. “Was bringing her here a good idea, sir?” His words betray him , and though I don’t show it, I’m glad. I thought it was only me who had fallen for sweet Cadence, but apparently Lincoln cares for the girl too.
    “Fuck. I don’t know. What’s done is done.”
    Lincoln nods, removes his aviators and tucks them in the breast pocket of his suit.
    I push past him , headed down the hall to my study. Alcohol awaits, and I need a large drink. “What’s going on?” I ask, filling a tumbler with bourbon. Once I’ve emptied the glass, I refill it and sit behind the sleek ebony desk. The computer screen is black. I power it up.
    Lincoln takes a seat on the other side of my desk. He crosses one of his tree stump legs over the other.
    “Mr. Sokolov has agreed to your terms. He has requested a meeting at the usual place to make the exchange.”
    “When?” I type in my password and pull up the file on Mr. Sokolov, better known as The Falcon. We’ve met before, but I like to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into: no sense pissing off the wrong person. He’s a Russian arms dealer, but he dabbles in drugs and women as well. The Falcon is in his early sixties. He’s got white hair and is tall and thin.
    “Tonight. Ten-thirty, ” Lincoln replies.
    “Excellent. Tell him I’ll be there. ”
    I continue to search Mr. Sokolov’s file. He has relatively tame taste in women. He likes them blond, slightly overweight, and unshaved. I can’t help but compare his tastes to mine, especially to the woman who’s somehow stolen my heart. Cadence. She’s almost too skinny, dark, and completely shaved—everywhere. Just thinking of her bare pussy makes my cock hard.
    Sokolov likes his women to be inexperienced. Naive. He likes virgins.
    Cadence is so fucking experienced it boggles my mind. She knows exactly what she’s doing. The way she slides her lips up and down my dick ... I want to rush down the hall and spend the next hour getting to know her body all over again.
    But there’s work to be done , and Cadence shouldn’t do anything but rest right now.
    Still, I can’t help but think about her. I’ve always preferred women who know what they’re doing, but Cadence takes the art of fucking to a whole new level. She was born to fuck, and what’s even better? She enjoys the hell out of it.
    “Mr. Zane?” Lincoln asks, interrupting my thoughts. “Did you want anyone besides me to go with you tonight ? Mr. Sokolov isn’t someone I trust.”
    I scowl. I don’t need Lincoln to tell me how to run my business. “The two of us will make the exchange. Deacon and the others will stay here and protect the house.” I don’t add, protect Cadence, but it’s what I’m thinking.
    “How’s Travis?” I ask, changing the subject, letting Lincoln know I’m done talking about Sokolov and our imminent meeting.
    Lincoln clears his throat, w hich after years in my service tells me the news