Covet

Cursing, Vin wondered how in the hell he'd gone from taking one look at the woman across a club to trying her on for a relationship. When he was already in one. And had a diamond the size of a grape waiting at home for his—

Abruptly, his dark-haired woman burst through the crowd in the back. She was walking fast, her shoulders knocking into people as she went, her face grim and tight. And right on her tail were a pair of guys who had necks larger than their heads and nasty expressions.

Like they were ten-year-olds about to pick the wings off a butterfly.

Vin frowned…and got to his feet.

Chapter 12

As Jim walked around the back of the Iron Mask, he was not cool with what was doing on so many levels. And his outlook did not improve as Devina slipped her arm through his and pressed herself close to him.

“It's chilly again,” she said in a low voice.

Yeah, it was, but he wasn't going to warm her up like he had last night. “Let me help you put your coat on, then.”

“No…” She stroked the fur that was over her arm. “I don't want to wear this right now.” Which, gee, wow, probably meant Vin had bought it for her. This was really not a good turn of events.

Jim got her over to the BMW, and the moment she killed the security alarm with the electronic key, he opened the driver's-side door.

“I'm not good at stick shifts,” she said, staring into the interior of the M6. “I really can't drive them.” She waited like she expected him to say something. “Jim—”

“Let's get you into that car.”

She glanced over at his truck, which was parked two spaces down. Although she didn't come out and say it, given the way she angled her head, she was asking him a question. “I can't.” Jim took a step back. “I'm sorry.”

Devina hugged that white mink closer to her chest. “Didn't you like last night?”

“Of course I did. But I know him now, and no matter what you say in this moment, you will regret it later.”

There was a long, tight moment; then Devina nodded and slowly sank into the bucket seat. Instead of closing the door or pulling the belt across herself, though, she just stared out over the steering wheel, the lights of the dash illuminating her gorgeous face.

“I'm sorry, Jim. I don't know why I asked…It's not fair to you or him or me. I'm just so empty that I'm making bad choices and not acting right.”

Shit, he knew exactly what that was like. “It's okay. People do that.”

He crouched down so he could look into her eyes, and as he did, he got pissed with Vin. Didn't the guy know what he had? For fuck's sake, no one was perfect, and the spat they'd just had in the club proved that on both sides. But come on.

“Look, Devina, have you talked to him? Tried to explain…” Goddamn it, Jim couldn't believe the f-word was about to come out of his mouth. “Have you tried to explain how you're feeling?”

“He's always so busy.” Her eyes were dark and deep as she looked over. “But maybe you would speak to him for me? Tell him that I love him and I want to be with him—”

“Wait…whoa…” Okay, that was almost as bad an idea as their having sex again. “I'm not the kind of guy —”

“Please. Jim, please. It's clear he likes you, and believe me, that doesn't happen all that often. You could just tell him that you and I talked out here and that I miss him even though he's in my life. I mean, I'm not a fool. I know what kind of man he is. Making money is always going to be important to him, and there are benefits to being with someone like that. But there has to be more.” Her eyes seemed to flash. “Don't you think there has to be more to life, Jim?”

As he felt that ensaring pull reach out and grab onto him, he got to his feet. “Yeah, but you need to be saying those things yourself.”

For a moment he thought he saw something hard flash in her eyes, but then she nodded again and stretched the seat belt across her breasts.

“Vin is not who I thought he was.” Devina started the engine and put the M6 in gear. “I've been waiting for him to warm up and trust me and love me, but it hasn't happened, and I'm losing the strength to hang on, Jim, I really am.”

“He's bought you a ring.”

As her head whipped around, Jim was totally aware he'd not just overstepped his bounds, but bombed the shit out of them. Keeping her in Vin's life was the important thing, though. “He has?” she breathed.

“Just hold on a little longer.” Christ, maybe he could talk to Vin tonight. God knew Jim was a good liar, and in this case, for once his motivations were good: He could try and argue that marriage is something worth believing in. “Look, let me sit down with him, okay?”

“Oh, thank you.” She reached out and squeezed his hands. “Thank you so much. I really do want this to work.”

She blew him a kiss and shut the door. Stepping to the side, he watched her ease out of the parking lot and accelerate down Trade Street, the engine going through its gears slick as shit through a goose.

Jim frowned and thought that if that was what she classed as not knowing how to work a stick shift, he wanted to know exactly what proficient would be.

Man, he needed a cigarette.

With a rattle and a whir, a car pulled up to the brick wall of the club and parked under one of the staff-only signs. Two barely dressed women with Playboy breasts and legs as thick as toothpicks got out and stopped when they saw him.

“Hey,” the blonde said with a sexy smile. “You coming into the club?”

Her friend had an Amy Winehouse beehive and a necklace that spelled out slut in diamonds. “Yeah, how'd you like to come with us through the back door?”

The innuendo was way too obvious for Jim's taste, and that dangler around her neck meant he was far more interesting in going if she were involved—but if it saved him a trip all the way around the club in the cold night? Fine and dandy, thank you, ma'am.

Jim walked over as a bouncer opened the door for the ladies.

“He's with us,” Blondie said to the guy. “He's my cousin.”

“'Sup, man.” The bouncer put out his knuckles and Jim gave them a pound. “Good to meet you.”

After they were inside, the guy relocked the door and talked into the Bluetooth clipped on his ear. “Up front? Okay. Coming. Shit, girls, we got a rumble in general population. You're gonna wanna harig here till it's over.”

“Oh, we'll find something to do,” the blonde quipped.

“Or somebody,” the beehive cut in, taking Jim's arm and rubbing up on him.

He disengaged himself. “I got a friend waiting for me.”

“Male or female?” the blonde asked.

“Male.”

“Perfect for a double date. Club's that way—see you in a bit.”

The one with the beehive leaned up to his ear. “You think I look good now, wait'll you see my work clothes.”

They hustled off through a door marked ladies locker room, leaving him in the dark hall thinking that if they were changing into something smaller than what they had on, the pair were going to come out dressed in postage stamps.

As he started down for the club proper, a dark-haired working woman turned the corner up ahead and came toward him. He recognized her instantly as the one Vin had actually been staring at when Devina's latex nemesis had been begging him for attention, and Jim was not happy to see who was on her tail: That pair of big, young guys