“Food first. You’ll need your energy for tonight.”

Her chest hitched with her shaky gasp. Her eyes darted up to his.

“You’re a horrible tease,” she breathed, and earned a husky chuckle from him.

“Just getting you ready.”

“Sir.” Frank appeared over Killian’s shoulder, his face set in a grim line. “Forgive the interruption, but there is a matter that requires your immediate attention.”

Killian unwound his arms from around Juliette and turned to face the other man. “What matter?”

Frank had his phone in his hand, but he didn’t glance at it as he spoke. “There was an incident at the Triend, sir.”

“How bad?”

“The authorities were summoned, sir.”

Killian exhaled. “Get Marco to bring the car around.” He didn’t wait to see Frank bow his head or leave. Killian had already turned back to Juliette. “I’m sorry.”

Bottling back her disappointment, Juliette offered him a rueful little smile. “It’s all right. It just means you owe me doubly later.”

That brought a chuckle to his lips that shook his shoulders. “Oh, I would expect nothing less.” His sobered, but his eyes continued to twinkle. “I might be a while.”

She opted to leave, if for no other reason than because she didn’t want to be there with Maraveet. The very thought of the woman had anger lancing up Juliette’s spine.

“That’s all right. I’m going to go make sure Vi’s done her homework.”

Warm, gentle fingers brushed the contour of her cheek, scratching the skin with the rough pads. “I’d rather you stay and keep the sheets warm until I return. It would be a great incentive to hurry.”

It was Juliette’s turn to laugh. “I’d wind up finishing on my own and turn you away.”

Thick coils of warning snapped across the dark pools boring into her. The heat of them nipped at her skin. His hands found their way back in her hair, fisting, tugging until she was perfectly at his mercy.

His mouth parted, his jaw set.

“Sir.” Frank’s voice had returned and it said very clearly that it was time to go.

Killian didn’t move. He devoured her with his eyes until there was nothing left of her but a hot, liquidy mess.

“Do not touch her,” he warned with just enough tug of his fingers to nearly make her come on the spot. “I want to watch when you do.”

Juliette’s knees dissolved. She slumped into him, no longer in control of her own support. The apex of her thighs throbbed with a raw vengeance that left her shamelessly desperate for even a sliver of relief.

“God, please hurry,” she whimpered.

He smirked the self-satisfied smirk of a cat who successfully had the bird in his grasp and no one was the wiser. He released her, but kept a secure arm about her waist as he guided her towards the front doors. Frank yanked them open and waited for them to pass.

Most of the scorch marks from the flash grenades had been shoveled away from the house. What couldn’t be removed was being hosed and scrubbed off the frozen marble. The smoke had also cleared, she noted, glancing up at the cloudless sky. When she’d arrived, the place had resembled a warzone. Men had been shouting and running through thick plumes of black while bangs and flashes erupted all around them. Their cries were muffled by the stampede of panic as everyone tried to find their footing through the chaos.

Jake had just pulled through the gates as another riotous bang split the frigid cold. Their wheels had shrieked to a stop as a blinding light exploded mere feet from the hood.

“Back!” Melton had shouted, but Killian was in there.

Juliette had lunged from the backseat. Her foot had nearly slipped out from under her as she’d thrown herself blindly through the anarchy. Tears had burned her eyes, the smoke had clawed down her throat, yet somehow, she’d found her way to the doors. Another blast had rung out behind her, shaking the ground beneath her feet. Mounds of snow had erupted nearby in an explosion of jagged ice. The blinding flash had nearly sent her backwards off the steps. But she threw herself through the open doors and straight into a circle of men she’d never seen before.

Bulging was a lame term for men that towered seven feet into the air and could have doubled for WWF fighters. They had stood in a semi-circle around the front mat like it was perfectly normal to be there. Their eyes had bored into Juliette, surprised by her presence, but making no move to stop her.

“Excuse me,” she’d said with all the courage she could muster.

The seven figures had exchanged glances, silently asking the others if this was part of the plan. Juliette hadn’t waited for them to get their shit together. Dodging past them, she sprinted for the stairs.

“Hey! You can’t go up there!” one of them had shouted.

Juliette didn’t pause. She took the steps two at a time at a neck breaking run. The thunder of feet had followed close at her heels, but she had kept running.

In her head, Killian’s warning about putting herself at risk played in a loop. She knew he was going to be furious, but it was too late to stop now.

Rounding the corner leading to his office, Juliette had slammed into a wall that hadn’t been there before. The momentum had flung her backwards like a rubber ball. She had nearly gone down had an actual wall not cushioned her fall with a jarring crash.

Panting, Juliette had straightened, pushing coils of hair off her face. Behind her, the two who had been chasing her slowed to a stop. The human wall she’d collided with shifted.

“You can’t go in there,” he’d said, folding his massive arms to emphasize.

“Of course I’m going in there!” she gasped. “Killian’s in there. I need to see him!”

Dark eyes had narrowed beneath thick, angry eyebrows. “You should leave.”

Feeling cornered but determined, Juliette had planted her feet. “Where’s Frank? I’m allowed to be here.” She wasn’t certain that was true, exactly, but no one had stopped her in the past. “Where’s Killian?”

“Busy.”

Her gaze had shot past his enormous frame to the open doorway just beyond and calculated her chances of reaching it before she was stopped.

She opted to go for it. Using her slenderness, she ducked past him at a run.

“Hey!”

A hard hand slammed down on her back. It fisted in her coat and she was tossed into the wall.

The bastard had ripped her favorite and only coat. She didn’t feel sorry at all for him getting his lights knocked out by Killian. At the time, all she could feel was a crippling relief that Killian hadn’t been shot or worse.

“Juliette?”

With a sharp intake of air, Juliette blinked out of the memory and focused on the man standing so close his heat was a toasty blanket against the sharp sting of cold nipping at her cheeks and the end of her nose.

“Sorry?”

“I said, I will let you know when I’m done,” Killian repeated slowly.

They had reached the SUV with a sullen faced Jake standing next to the driver’s door. He deliberately kept his face pointed straight, but she knew he was upset that she’d taken off on him. She made a mental note to apologize.

Meanwhile, she turned to Killian. She touched the center of his chest with an ungloved hand and raised her face to his, hoping for a kiss, but not sure he’d appreciate it in front of his men.

“Be safe and hurry back, okay?”

His features softened. “Always.”

With a final glance, she let Jake help her into the back of the SUV. The door was shut between them and they set off almost immediate. The last thing she saw before the vehicle passed the gates was Killian’s dark figure watching her drive away.

The house was quiet when she made it through the front door. Most of the lights were kept off, except the one in the kitchen, but the dining room was lit, which surprised her; Javier and Laurence weren’t keen on too much activity that might suggest people actually lived in the house. It was a security issue, apparently. They kept the front of the house dark. But Javier, a short, bald man with a perpetual scowl, sat hunched over the plastic table tucked beneath the sitting room window. Several empty mugs sat in a cluster around a legal pad full of scribbles. Juliette wasn’t sure what kind of notes the two kept taking, but they watched the front of the house as though certain they would be attacked at any moment.