Chapter 20

"Wait." Nash held his hands up and closed his eyes. "Are you telling me someone tried to burn her place down?"

It was mid-afternoon and Luke was just getting to the office to update everyone on what was happening with Monica.

The firefighters hadn"t been able to prevent the fire from spreading to her place, but luckily, only one area of the house had been affected. Unfortunately, that one area was Monica"s bedroom. To say Monica was pissed was an understatement.

He had stood there that morning as firefighters allowed Monica to take in the damage. Her closet was completely destroyed. Every article of clothing had been on the floor, covered in soot and debris, not to mention soaked from the water used to put the fire out. Guilt ate at him. Monica had begged to pack a bag, to save something, and he had been the one to tell her no.

"It"s going to be hard to prove she was the target considering it was the neighbor"s place that caught on fire first, but yeah, I think so. It"s being ruled arson, so my guess is whoever set the fire had hoped the close distance to Monica"s place would mean the fire spread quickly and caught both places."

Nash looked to where Caden sat further down the table with his laptop open.

"What are your thoughts, Caden?"

"I agree with Luke. That"s why I reached out to a buddy. He"s going to help us locate Fletcher but is also sending us a package in the meantime. He says it"s a tracking device all the guys he works with use. It can be attached to jewelry. He recommended having Monica wear it in case things escalate." Caden looked at him directly.

"I"m not sure I"m the best person to suggest that right now. She"s all sorts of ready to cut my balls off today."

"Late to work again?" Caden gave him an empathetic look.

"How the hell was I supposed to know she would be that picky about where she shopped and that all the places didn"t open until ten? I suggested Macy's but she looked at me like I suddenly grew ten heads."

"Shows how little you know about women." Ryker strolled in and dropped into a seat at the table.

Luke was confused. "I thought you were with Monica today."

After what happened last night, he had asked that either Ryker or Dom station themselves inside the building while the others stayed outside like they had been doing.

"That"s why I"m here. I went up to speak to your girlfriend about the change of plans. She wasn"t happy and asked me to pass along a message."

He waited for Ryker to give it to him, but when it was obvious his friend was waiting for an invitation, he asked, "Care to tell me what the message was?"

"She said, and I quote, "Tell Luke to suck a bag of dicks. If Luke wants someone in my office, then he can bring his scared ass here to tell me himself" end quote."

It was obvious Ryker was getting enjoyment out of this. It wasn"t just the smile on his friend"s face but the mischief in his eyes that gave him away.

"I guess she hasn"t calmed down yet." Nash tried to hide the laugh behind a cough but gave up after a few seconds.

"I"ll go talk to her," Luke sighed as he pushed out of his seat.

"I'd be happy to join you." Ryker leaped up and moved his way.

He bet his friend would, but there was no way he was allowing anyone to witness this particular exchange. He had a feeling he knew exactly how to get Monica to agree with him and that wasn"t something anyone was allowed to witness.

"You can wait in the lobby until I give you the all-clear."

Ryker"s shoulders slumped forward. "You"re no fun."

Oh, this would be lots of fun. That"s why Ryker needed to stay outside.

Fifteen minutes later, Luke was riding the elevator up to Monica"s office. He figured she was expecting him when her secretary Amelia waved him in.

"Thank you." He gave her a smile.

"You might change your tune after talking to her," Amelia warned.

Oh good. His girl was on a tear. This was going to be more fun than he realized.

"Close the door," Monica snapped before he had more than one foot through the threshold.

"Do you talk to all your employees that way?" She hadn"t even looked up to know it was him.

"I don"t speak to any of my employees that way." Finally, she picked her head up from whatever she was doing on her computer. "I knew it was you because Amelia was advised to allow only you access to my office after the stunt you tried to pull with Ryker."

"It wasn"t a stunt. It"s about your safety and Ryker being in the building means you"re safer and he can get to you quicker if something happens."

Monica gave him her full attention and he knew what she would say before she even opened her mouth.

"Luke, I"m the CEO of the company. I can"t have a man hovering over me as I work and especially not while I"m meeting with clients. My work is confidential. You know how important this job is to me."

"People in your position hire bodyguards all the time. Think of Ryker like that."

Monica had the nerve to scoff at him. "Calling Ryker a bodyguard is an insult to the man. Besides I"m safe here at the building. No one comes up without being given permission first. If he wants, he can sit in the lobby downstairs but not up here."

This wasn"t going like he envisioned. Luke knew when he was fighting a losing battle. This was one of those times that nothing he said would get him the desired results. Nor would he use sexual persuasion to change her mind on something that she felt strongly about. He wasn"t a manipulative asshole.

"Fine, but I would like you to wear a tracker as well."

So much for waiting for one of his other teammates to run the idea past her. If looks could kill ...

"Excuse me?"

"It would be placed on a piece of jewelry like your earrings. You wouldn"t even know it was there and it would make me feel better."

"You want to track me like some sort of pet?"

Definitely should"ve chosen a better time to approach the subject. Since he was already digging himself a hole, he might as well keep going.

"No, I would like you to wear it like a woman I care about. Caden"s buddy says all the wives of his friends wear it and they are in similar lines of work. It would just be in case something happened."

He gave her time to think about it. He had known today wasn"t the best time to bring it up considering how stressed she was about everything happening, but the words had jumped out of his mouth before his brain could get a say.

"I"ll think about it."

That was the best he was going to get.

"Thank you. I"ll let Ryker know he can sit down in the lobby." Before he could turn away, Monica was talking once again.

"Did you really come down here with the plan to guilt me into getting what you wanted?"

Now he smiled at her. "Actually, I had other plans on how to convince you."

"Oh, yeah?" Monica sat back in her chair and raised an eyebrow at him. "What happened to that plan?"

He decided it would be safe to take a seat on the couch. "You happened. My mouth tends to run away from me when you"re around."

Monica stood up and moved his way. He took in the outfit she chose for the day. It was one of the many she had purchased that morning when the store she loved opened. She had lucked out that the woman working was her usual stylist and already knew her sizes and preferences. He believed the one she chose for today was called a wrap dress. He couldn"t be sure, but he thought that"s the name she used.

All he knew was that the emerald green looked great on her tanned skin and matched the color of her eyes perfectly. And the way it accentuated her boobs made him hard as nails.

When she was close enough, he widened his knees and pulled her so that she was standing between his legs. Her hands slipped onto his shoulders and he had to tip back his head to meet her eyes.

He was in her domain, so he wanted her to think she was in charge.

"Have I mentioned how much I like this dress?" He ran his hands up the outside of her legs. He wanted to see how far he could take it before she pushed him away.

"I think you forgot to mention that when you stormed in here making demands."

"Stormed in, huh?" He watched as desire flared in her eyes. "Pretty sure you already admitted that you were prepared for me."

"I like to be prepared."

Yeah, she did. His girl wasn"t a fan of giving up her control. Especially not in the workplace. The fact that she did in the bedroom was a rare gift, one he would treasure.

"What are the chances I can convince you to sit on my cock and ride me in your office?"

He was disappointed when his question snapped her out of the daze he put her in. Monica stepped back and out of his reach.

"Not happening. I"m not quiet enough and Amelia would hear us."

Disappointment washed over him. "Pity. Maybe one of these late nights I"ll be able to convince you."

It wouldn"t take much convincing. She had been primed and ready. Her nipples pushed against the fabric of her dress and he was sure if he had allowed himself to run his hands farther up than just her thighs, he would"ve found her wet and ready for him.

"We"ll see about that."

He didn"t bother to hide that he needed to readjust his erection when he stood up and it was a good thing. Monica"s eyes zeroed in on his hands and the faintest blush tinged the apple of her cheeks. Instead of being discreet, he took the extra few seconds to show her just what she was missing.

It was his chuckle that finally pulled her eyes away. Any other woman would"ve looked embarrassed but not Monica. The color on her cheeks had more to do with the fact she was turned on.

"Leave. Before we cause a scandal." She pushed him out her door. But instead of walking back to her desk, she stayed in the doorway and watched him leave. He turned just before entering the elevator and gave her a wave and a wink. It had been so long since he acted this carefree around a woman, he wondered if it was weird.

Deciding he didn"t care that much, he rode the elevator down to the lobby and met Ryker.

"She agreed you can stay down here. Watch her like your life depends on it because it does."

Ryker didn"t need to respond. His friend"s smile said it all but fuck if he cared. Monica was his and he would make sure he protected her at all costs.

The great thing about lifelong friendships was that his friends would do the same.