Page 150 of Blood Stone

“Two of us,” Garrett said, his voice hoarse.

“I’d say three, but I never had control in the first place,” Kate said. “Roman, you need to at least even the score.”

“At least?” He raised a brow at her. “Good thing we’re heading all the way out to the Hills.” He grabbed the back of Garrett’s jacket at the neck and tugged. The jacket slid off and crumpled to the seat. He didn’t wait for it to land. He had already moved on. The tie and cufflinks were dropped into Kate’s purse with heavy clinks. But Roman didn’t bother with the buttons. He grabbed the front of the shirt and ripped it open.

Garrett shook his head. “Impatient sod.”

“Yep,” Roman agreed. He tossed the shredded shirt into Kate’s lap. “He knows I’ll buy him another one.”

“You’d better. That was imported Japanese silk.”

“Listen to him,” Roman said, reaching for Garrett’s belt buckle. “You’d never know the fussy bugger was one of the best sword fighters the Bruce clan had ever seen. He used to stand over his conquests and take them on two at a time, blood up to his eyeballs and a curse for every newcomer.”

The belt slid undone with a soft sound of leather on metal that made Kate’s heart flutter. She was listening to Roman, but her gaze and her heart was pinned to his fingers and what they were doing.

She thought her heart might explode with just a little more pressure…and Roman wasn’t stopping. He slid the fastener undone, then the zipper. Then he pushed his hand inside.

Garrett gave a choked groan, his eyes closing.

Kate caught at Roman’s wrist, feeling the tendons moving. “I want to see,” she whispered.

Roman kissed her, hard and fierce. His eyes were glittering. “Not here,” he said, withdrawing his hand. He nodded toward the window. “We’re almost there.”

Garrett grabbed the back of the seat, steadying himself. “Just as well,” he muttered.

* * * * *

Roman threw his keys onto a completely clutter-free and pristine kitchen counter as Kate and Garrett looked around.

It was a two floor condo at the top of a small, exclusive development tucked away in a cull de sac about five minutes from Kate’s house. But this was a much newer development than hers. Kate remembered when it had opened for sale by auction. The opening bids on the apartments hadstartedat two million and that had been ten years ago. Of course now, with the real estate bust, the value might have dropped somewhat, but she didn’t think so. The Hollywood Hills were one area that tended to maintain their price unless the owner was in a hurry to sell.

The place was gorgeous. She could see why Roman had been drawn to it. She had spent six weeks in Turkey and three magical weeks in Athens, once. Combining the two, along with her research for the script, gave her a rough idea of what Constantinople might have been like when Roman had been growing up. He had created a pared-down version of it here.

The main floor, here, was a mix of terracotta tiles and mosaics for accents around the edges and features. The mosaics flowed up along the walls, too.

Beautiful Bokhara carpets were spread across the floor, softening it for bare feet and adding warmth. They should have competed with the colourful mosaics, but they didn’t. The two stippled collections of colour complimented each other.

This floor was dedicated to pursuits of the mind. A whole white-washed wall was taken up with a huge flat panel TV and shelves of electronic equipment that serviced it. There was a remote keyboard on the table in front of the sofa, which meant the TV was used for internet surfing and computing, too. This was a thinking man’s monitor, not just a sports enthusiast’s mindless surfing screen.

There weren’t any books lying around, which meant Roman read electronically, or they were stored somewhere else. Kate refused to believe he didn’t read at all.

Garrett was looking around with interest. “Nothing’s changed,” he decided, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket. His chest was bare beneath, just as Roman’s was under his.

Roman shoved his hands in his pants pockets. His jacket was open, which did interesting things to Kate’s insides as it spread apart with the movement of his arms. “What hasn’t changed?”

Garrett waved his hand around the room. “Mind here.” He pointed to the ceiling. “Body there.”

“What’s up there?” Kate asked curiously.

Roman shrugged. “Bedroom.”

“You don’t sleep.”

He smiled. “There are other things to do in a bedroom beside sleep.”

Garrett picked up her hand. “Let’s see what else he’s hiding up there.”

“Good, because I need the bathroom. And one of you is going to have to help me out of this dress.”