Page 2 of James (Big Northwest #6)

CHAPTER TWO

PHILLIP

H E’D EXPECTED JAMES to be tall and blonde. He’d also expected her to be beautiful and a bit of a handful.

What he hadn’t expected was for her to come so close to killing him right out of the gate. She’d considered it. A little too much. He’d seen the indecision in her clear blue eyes while her hand was wrapped around his throat.

It wasn’t a great way to start off—not that his dick got the memo. The fucker was hard as steel and throbbing against the zipper of his pants, oblivious to the danger outside.

And James Karlson was dangerous.

“I’m only going to say this once, Phillip Foster, so put your listening ears on.” Her lyrical voice was low and seductive.

Or possibly deadly, his cock clearly couldn’t tell the difference.

“Forget my sisters. Forget me.” James’s hand tightened at his neck again, not enough to cut off the air, but it still drove her point home.

Home to his dick since it was now working of its own accord, independent of both his brain and nervous system.

“Walk out of here and don’t come back. Never say my name or my sisters’ names to anyone. Understand?”

He fought the urge to shift, needing to ease the pressure on his erection, but moving would only call attention to his… predicament. And if she wanted to kill him now, she’d really want to kill him then.

“I can’t do that.” He studied her face, watching her expression as he offered up a little of the information he’d collected in the months he’d been searching for her. “You’ve got a whole slew of people hunting for you. Can’t imagine your sisters would be thrilled if I let one of them get you before I did.”

James’s eyes narrowed but not an inkling of surprise flickered in their depths. “I can take care of myself.”

So she knew she was a wanted woman. Interesting.

“I don’t doubt that, but I’m not sure I want to face your sisters on my own.” He forced his shoulders to relax, fighting the reaction his body was having to the woman straddling his lap. “So I’ll be sticking around.”

James’s nostrils flared, her eyes taking on a hint of a glow.

That wasn’t a good sign.

He'd only gotten glimpses of what could happen after the sisters’ eyes started to change, but he'd seen enough in this world to know there was way more to the story than what he'd been given. Up until this moment, he hadn't really cared to know exactly what was going on with the Karlson women. It was irrelevant. Maybe a small bit of self-preservation thrown in for good measure.

But now?

Now certain parts of him had decided they were heavily invested in knowing exactly what the woman on his lap was capable of.

James moved closer, bringing the long lines of her lean body flush against his chest as she pressed him back until his head hit the wall behind the sofa where he sat. Her strong thighs squeezed tighter. Pinning his legs together as her weight held him down. She pulled in a slow breath, her expression turning predatory. "I don't think you'll like what will happen if you do that."

Normally, he would have readily agreed with her. Dealing with problematic women was a pastime he gave up long ago. He preferred his women to be laid-back and easy-going. Aloof and uninvested.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see James was the opposite of that. The woman currently staring him down was intense. Focused. High-strung and—based on what he was able to learn about her—probably lethal. All things that should have him going straight for the door and refunding every penny her sisters had paid him.

God knows he didn't need it. His company was flourishing. Bringing in high-dollar clients right and left. His only option was to walk away from this job. It simply had to be done. And that changed things a little.

Meeting her hard stare, he reached into the front pocket of his jacket, pulling out the stack of bills he’d stashed there when he thought they might get him what he wanted.

They still would, but his desires had changed.

"Fine." He lifted the money, not missing the way James’s eyes immediately found the folded bills. "But I told your boss I wanted a private dance. I’d hate for him to think I’m a liar."

James stared at the money for a few seconds before her blue eyes came back to his. "I said I'm not coming with you, and I meant it."

"I believe you." He flicked the cash with his thumb, drawing her eyes back to the money. “Are you dancing for me, or am I walking out with all the cash I brought?"

He'd initially had zero interest in making good on his request at the front door, but now there was no way he'd be leaving without it. He was like a drug addict in need of a hit. Desperate for a taste of the thing he denied himself. And since he’d decided to do as she asked and walk away, what would the harm be?

A little self-indulgence before life went back to normal. For both of them.

Again James’s eyes slid from the money to his face. A slow smile worked its way across her lips. She plucked the bills from between his fingers, tucking them into one of the silver bands stacked on her bicep. "Fine." She reached for the small control panel on the wall, turning up the volume of the music fed into the room through the speaker in the ceiling. “One dance.”

This was a terrible fucking idea. A dangerous game he had no business playing.

But damned if he could stop himself.

James slowly slid from his lap, her blue eyes staying locked on his face as she went, each movement of her long body fluid and graceful. She gripped his knees, holding firm as she shoved them apart, spreading them wide.

He watched her, barely blinking as she positioned herself between his thighs and came closer, dragging her perfect body against his suffering dick. Tits. Belly. Thigh. Each bit of her tortured him with steady friction, his teeth clenching until his cock wasn’t the only thing that ached.

Her hands smoothed against his jaw as she crowded him, the soft strands of her hair brushing his skin while her scent permeated the air he fought to breathe. Fuck, this woman was a problem. One he should rid himself of as fast as possible.

Right after she finished the dance he’d foolishly requested.

“What’s wrong, Phillip?” Her tone was taunting. “You act like you’ve never had a lap dance before.”

“I haven’t.” By some grace of God his voice didn’t betray him. It carried the hint of boredom he always tried to convey. It kept people guessing. Kept them from seeing things he preferred to hide. Unfortunately there was no way he could hide his reaction from her. Not when the primary gauge was fucking front and center.

James growled, the sound low and threatening. “Don’t lie to me, Phillip. I don’t like being lied to.”

His cock jerked at the sound vibrating from her chest to his, throbbing a little more at the possibility of violence it carried.

What the fuck was wrong with him? A lot, apparently.

He tipped his head back, meeting her glowing gaze. “I’m not lying. Strip clubs aren’t my thing.”

James’s shimmering lips pursed as she weighed his words. She must have found them valid, because a little of the aggression bled from her body. “That’s unfortunate.” Her hands slid up his chest, smoothing over the expensive fabric of his suit. “You’d be a great break between some of the idiots that come in here.”

He fought the urge to move his arms from where they still rested along the back of the sofa. While he wasn’t a frequenter of gentlemen’s clubs, he knew enough about them to understand touching was against the rules. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

James shifted, one of her legs swinging over his thigh as she rubbed her tits against his chest, the soft pink of her bare nipples budding from the contact. “Take it however you want.”

What he wanted was to know how one of those pretty puckers would feel against his tongue. Yet another issue that would normally send alarm bells ringing through his head. But only one of his heads was functioning right now, and it was distracted as fuck by the seductress now once again straddling his lap.

“You know what I think, Phillip?” James straightened, bringing those delectable nipples right into his face as her pussy grazed the line of his dick in a slow sweep. “I think you don’t go to clubs because you don’t like women to have power over you.”

“Is that why you work at them?” He wasn’t taking her bait, but he would happily turn it around on her. “Because you like to have power over men?”

Unexpectedly, James didn’t shy away from his accusation. “Of course.” She rocked in time to the music, the movement of her hips mimicking an act he’d likely never partake in again without remembering this moment. “And for the money, of course.”

“Of course.” He stifled a groan as she ground against him, barely biting it back. “Power and money are what make the world go round.”

James’s movements stalled, her eyes moving over his face. “They are.” Her gaze dipped to his mouth, holding a second before lifting. “Too bad I just took all yours.”

“Did you?” This time he couldn’t hold back when she started to move, and a grunt slipped free as she once again rubbed against him. “Because I’m pretty sure I gave them to you willingly.”

James’s fingers moved over his face to trace his lips. “That was stupid.”

Tell him about it. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not sticking around to let you hold it over my head.”

“That is a good thing.” She slid a finger into his mouth. “For you.”

Her skin was silky soft against his tongue. Without thinking, he sucked, pulling her in deeper. He wanted to claim more of her for himself. Taste as much of her as he could before he had to give her up forever.

James’s soft gasp shot straight to his dick. As did the flash of heat in her eyes. With the next roll of her hips, he finally noticed he wasn’t the only one she was tormenting. Each drag lined her slit directly along the ridge of his erection, her clit benefiting from every inch he offered.

And that was where the line had to be drawn. Because imagining her coming against him was enough to have him almost spilling in his pants. No telling what he’d do if it actually happened.

Abandoning his plan to keep his hands to himself, Phillip gripped her hips, lifting James off his lap and unceremoniously dumping her onto the cushion beside him. He was on his feet and to the door before she could even react. Sparing a single glance back, he reached down to adjust the fly of his pants and the dick straining against it.

“I’ll tell your sisters you said hi.”

“Fuck you,” she snapped as he closed the door between them, leaving her alone in the room with the thousand dollars she’d more than earned.

He’d almost forgotten one of the most important lessons he’d learned. It was hard won and changed everything. But she’d reminded him. Driven home how important it was to stay the course, even when life made you question all you thought.

And staying the course meant walking away from this job. Telling the Karlson sisters he couldn’t help them. That they’d have to find someone else to bring their sister home.

Because he sure as hell wouldn’t be the one doing it.