Page 9 of Royally Embraced: RBMC

Tori put her hand over his mouth, silencing him. “I have a migraine, and this knowledge is too much for my bruised brain.”

The devil in him wanted to lick her palm, pressing against his lips. However, the less deviant part of him encircled her wrist with his fingers and held her hand to his lips as he kissed it. While holding her stare, he let her pull her hand away and licked his lips. “I’ll kiss all your bruises if you need me to,” he offered.

Her lips lifted into a grin. “You’re a charmer and full of shit.”

Jeter released her wrist, giving her a wink. “I’ll agree with you on the former but disagree about the latter, even though I’m sure many who know me would call bullshit themselves. Come on, let’s get you out of here before your pupils are completely blown by these lights.”

They walked out the door and into the hallway. Thankfully, it wasn’t brightly lit, so it shouldn’t hurt her as much when she opened her eyes to navigate her way to the exit. Jeter took a moment to allow his own eyes to adjust as he followed behind Tori’s fine ass. She’d given a little shake of her hand before they’d left the office, giving him no option but to release her or look as though he were holding her against her will.

He felt her pulling away, giving him the brush off in more ways than extracting her hand from his. Her body language screamed she was a runner. For whatever reason, Jeter wanted to dig deeper with this woman, find out what it was that drew him to her.

Her hand hit the bar on the back door before he’d realized he’d fallen behind daydreaming. “Hey, hold up.” Lengthening his stride, he caught up with her quickly. While she might think she could take care of herself, there was no way he’d let her step out the door leading to the alley without ensuring it was safe first. For one, there was no telling how many men might be out there as protection detail for either of the groups congregating inside. For two, he knew how volatile said groups could get when they came together.

Tori let out a sigh. “Listen, I’ve been caring for myself for four years. I don’t need some big, bad man to do it for me.”

His dick hardened at her sassy tone. Shit, his cock ached to find out if she’d be as mouthy when he slid inside her. “Humor me?” he asked.

Jeter eased in front of her, placing his hand over hers on the large silver bar of the steel exit door. Whether she agreed to allow him to go first or not, he would be the one to step out before her.

“Fine, you go. But the only reason I’m agreeing is because you’re obviously bigger and plan to bully your way ahead of me,” she mumbled.

He stopped and turned with his body between the exit and her. Placing one hand on her hip and with the other, he lifted her chin. “I’m not a bully, Tori. I take security very seriously. You and I both know those men in there aren’t construction workers here to blow off steam.”

His statement hung heavy between them for a few seconds, letting her formulate a response. Jeter waited, figuring she’d either spout some bullshit or be the spitfire he’d tagged her.

After what felt like an eternity but was more like thirty seconds, she let out a puff of air. “You’re right.” She held up her hand. “Don’t let that give you a big head, though.”

Her words sent his mind straight to the gutter, yet he kept his lips sealed. There was no reason to tell her he had a knack for turning almost everything dirty.

Before he could open the door, his cell vibrated. He held up his pointer finger and pulled the device out of the inner packet of his suit jacket. The name on the front showed his brother Kendrick calling. “Hey, I’ll be right back out there. Just walking a lady to her car.”

“No worries. I’ll drive around back and pick you up. That is a shit show out there. Fucking pricks. They thought they could intimidate me and mine. There’s a war brewing, brother. You need to head back to California, but we’ll discuss that more when you get in the car.”

Jeter watched Tori’s eyes while he listened to Kendrick speaking. Although she couldn’t hear their entire conversation, Kendrick’s voice was loud enough he was sure she overheard some of his words. Her body stiffened when he mentioned war.

“See you in a couple minutes,” Jeter said.

Alarm stamped her beautiful features. She looked ready to bolt.

TORI BIT HER LIP. ALTHOUGHthe conversation between Jeter and the other man wasn’t clear, the gist made her skin crawl. If there was a war looming between the Mafia, she didn’t want to be anywhere near it or them. Even though the Masserias were part of the New York Five, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t get involved in a war in Chicago. In fact, if one of them married into a family, then the likelihood was very high. From what she’d overheard, the bride-to-be of Jeter’s brother left him to bewith a Masseria. If said ex-bride brings her new lover’s family to Chicago, Tori wouldn’t be safe.

“Are you okay?” he questioned Tori.

She swallowed, feeling bile in her throat. No way did she plan to throw up all over Jeter’s shiny, black loafers. In slow, measured swallows, she took several deep breaths before answering. “Yeah. Or rather, I will be. Lead the way.” Tori waved her hand at the closed door, wishing he’d open the damn thing so she could get some fresh air before she yacked all over the place.

His gorgeous green eyes narrowed, but then he pushed the heavy steel door open, allowing the frigid night air to wash over her heated flesh. Shit, she’d forgotten to grab her coat in her rush. There was no way she was going to go back and grab it. Wherever she ended up, she’d buy a new one.

“Here, farfallina.” Jeter shrugged out of his jacket, placing it over her shoulders as they walked outside.

Tori pushed her arms into the sleeves. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. Dammit, he smelled heavenly. Hints of sandalwood, clove, and vanilla. The scents, mixed together, along with the man and leather, creating a unique smell she would love to bottle.

The alley was dark and quiet. Too quiet and dark. She glanced up at the lights. “This lot should be illuminated like a football field, Jeter,” she whispered.

Her hands reached for him.

He backed them closer to the door they’d exited. “Stay behind me. My brother will be here shortly.”

While the exit opened up to an alleyway, there was a parking lot directly behind that belonged to the Hoolihans for overflow. Her vehicle sat in the front row of the lot closest to the alley entrance. The location was an easy in and out spot, selected specifically for her to navigate around at closing time. With theweather being shitty, there was no moon or stars to give any light, and since the external lights were gone, she couldn’t make out her vehicle in the distance, either.

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