Chapter 22 Changing the Playing Field

Wren

The minutes dragged by as we waited for Kenny to enter the ballroom. Watching him up on stage was one thing, but meeting him face-to-face rattled my already jittery nerves.

Finally, Kenny appeared, and my heart raced as the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause. His suit shined in the overhead lights, and his smile beamed at the adulation. Instead of a red cape, he'd tucked a red silk handkerchief into his lapel pocket.

He worked his way over to us and came straight in for a hug. I had to let go of Magnum's hand to give him an awkward pat in response, and luckily, he stepped away. "You look lovely, darling. Congratulations on your nuptials." He took my left hand and inspected the ring. "Fabulous. Did you enjoy the show?"

"Yes, so captivating. You're an excellent magician."

Pride lit up his whole face. "That's very kind." He was deceptively handsome for a criminal. His long hair draped over his ears in a fashionable way, and he oozed charisma.

He let go of my hand and turned his attention to Magnum. "Gavin, nice to meet you in person finally."

Magnum stood still as Kenny did a weird man greeting that involved a subtle skim of his jacket from the shoulders to the pockets, probably checking him for weapons. Ha! We didn't have any .

Magnum returned his arm around my shoulders in a protective manner.

"When I sent you to check in on her, I didn't think you'd end up taking her as a bride." Kenny winked at Mag with a conspiratorial smirk.

Wait. Kenny sent Gavin to check on me? He knew Gavin before I did?

"Ahh, she was too beautiful to let get away," Mag answered smoothly, unshaken by the news that Kenny knew Gavin, and he was the reason we'd met.

"I'm sorry the payment for your last invoice is delayed. My system was cyber ransomed." He glared at Magnum, waiting for his response.

Payment? Magnum hid the shock much better than me and stayed stoic. "Mine too," he said calmly.

"Shame." Kenny couldn't hide the sarcasm in his tone.

They stared at each other for a few moments, then Mag finally spoke. "Let me lay it out for you, Kenny Z."

Oh my God. I nearly gasped hearing Mag's condescending tone.

"I know you think I'm behind the hack that shut your business down. I give you my word that I am not."

Kenny crossed his arms and lifted his chin, trying to resist Magnum's charms, but I knew myself, those eyes could get you to believe anything.

"It wasn't me, but I know who it was. Now, I have a solid plan to restore my server as it was before and make sure the hackers get what they deserve."

Kenny's eyebrows rose. Magnum had his full attention. "You won't pay the ransom? "

"No way. You give me two weeks, I'll get you back in business too, and the hackers will be regretting the day they chose to target us."

Kenny's gaze shot around the room, checking to see if anyone was listening. "You want to work together?" His eyes assessed Magnum.

"We had a good relationship before this. Didn't I always come through for you?" Mag held his palms out flat in an unthreatening way, his posture relaxed.

"There were only two deals, Gavin. Hardly enough to earn my trust," Kenny scoffed.

"Then I'm asking you to take a leap."

Kenny clasped his hands together, his fingers tightening and loosening. "If you can get it done in a week, we have a deal. Every day I'm down, I'm losing thousands of dollars. Tonight's deals won't be able to go through."

"It'll be a crunch, but I can get you back in business in a week. At that point, we'll renegotiate."

"You are full of surprises. Aren't you?" Kenny clapped. "Alright, it's a deal. I'll take a chance on you. Enjoy the gala. I have a meeting with the society members I have to get to. Thank you for coming."

"And how does one become a member?" Magnum asked casually.

"Are you interested?" He glanced at me then back to Magnum.

"Sure."

"I'll have Tommy send you an application then."

"Okay, as long as it doesn't blow up in my face."

Kenny laughed. "Good one. "

He waved and threw out a fake smile as he walked away.

The greeter who'd let us in rang a bell and announced that all society members should follow him to the East Wing. Anyone else should stay and enjoy the dancing.

As some of the guests followed him out, Magnum surprised me by pulling me onto the dance floor and tucking me close to his chest with his hands clasped behind my back. "We need to talk." He looked over my head and scanned the room.

"We do. What was all that about?"

He dipped his chin and spoke low enough that his words would be drowned out by the music. "I'd say that was a successful meeting."

"Gavin knew Kenny, and he sent Gavin to check on me?" I twisted my head to make eye contact with him.

"That was the part I didn't know."

"But you knew the other stuff?"

"Most of it. Try the poker face thing again."

Shoot. My mouth had dropped open, and I wasn't hiding the shock I felt inside. "My poker face is shit."

He laughed and started swaying to the music, twirling me in a small circle. I liked his warm arms around me and tried to focus on that. "What is the society he mentioned?"

His arms tightened, and my chest pressed harder against his. "It's probably the way he lures and organizes buyers."

"What are they buying?"

"At the very least, drugs, weapons. We have leads on a few other things. Now, I wanna talk to you about something else." His warning tone started a flutter in my chest.

"Uh oh. What else did I do wrong? "

"You're actually doing great. We have some time while Kenny is busy spinning deals. I want to talk about your little sneak attack during the show."

My face felt hot, and the flutters in my chest exploded like fireworks. "Oh no. We don't really have to talk about it."

"Oh, we're gonna talk, Rebel, because you're changing the playing field."

The vibe coming off him slowly morphed from the on-edge protector guy I arrived with tonight to the sweet guy with lazy eyes I'd been sharing a bed with lately.

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat and tried very hard to listen to him, but the way his arms and hips were moving against me was very distracting.

"I set some boundaries with you because I thought you were in one zone, but some intel has come to light that's giving me the message you might be interested in moving to a different area of operations."

His hand ran roughly up the back of my dress, and his fingers dug into the fine hairs at the base of my scalp. The other hand snagged on the dress as he skated it down my spine, pulling me impossibly closer to him and holding me captive in his arms.

"What happened earlier, I was just excited. High on adrenaline. This is all so foreign to me."

"So you're saying you got caught up in the moment?" His eyes continued to scan over my head while his hands held me intimately close.

"Yes."

"And you don't want to cross that line anymore?" he asked .

"I didn't say that."

He leaned down close with his lips by my ear. "Gavin betrayed you."

I nodded. Based on what we'd learned tonight, it sounded like that was true. I didn't feel sad though. Instead, a wave of relief washed over me. Now, I had a legitimate reason to end my relationship with Gavin.

"He abandoned you at the altar, and Kenny thinks I'm him."

I nodded again because he was stating facts I could not deny.

"You made a point of telling me you're not legally married to him before we arrived tonight."

"Well, I thought it would be dishonest if you didn't know."

"Why did you want me to know, Wren?"

"I told you I thought—"

He guided me over to a darker corner of the dance floor, and his hand in my hair tugged my head back, forcing me to look directly into his light eyes. "No. It was because if I knew you weren't officially his, I'd be free and clear to kiss you. Wasn't it?"

"I—" He narrowed his gaze, and I couldn't lie to him. I knew how much he valued honesty. "You really want me to say it out loud? Here? With all these people listening?" I pointed to his jacket pocket where the listening device was hidden.

"Absolutely."

"Fine." I intentionally placed my lips close to his pocket. "I do not belong to him or to anyone. I can kiss whoever I want, and I want you to kiss me." There. I said it. My stubborn anger gave me the courage. Now his whole team had heard me beg him to kiss me.

He grinned and eyed me cautiously. "He comes back, you won't be running into his arms saying his brother manipulated and deceived you?"

God. What kind of women had he been with that he was worried I'd treat him with such disrespect? "No, Mag. I'd never do something so evil."

"Gavin."

"No, Gavin." I rolled my eyes. He was being sorta ridiculous. "I won't say anything like that. Ever. I'll tell him I wanted you more than I'd ever dreamed possible because kissing you is infinitely better than kissing him."

His hand drew my head all the way back, and he hovered his lips over mine. Our eyes clashed, and the flash of lust there made my stomach drop like I was plummeting down the peak of a roller coaster. My whole world was his strong masculine scent and his beautiful eyes staring into my soul, reading the hidden truths there.

He dove in and captured my lips. I arched my back and gave him all my weight as I gripped the back of his head and pulled him toward me. Just like our first kiss at the wedding, the heat between us flared and sparkled like fairy dust.

I opened for him and his growl vibrated in my mouth, my chest, out to my nipples, his hard cock pressing against my belly, tingles buzzing all over my skin. The ground fell out from beneath me, but luckily Magnum caught my waist and held me up .

He smiled with his lips against mine, leaving me breathless and on fire for him. His fingers toyed with the top of my thong through the dress. He knew what he was doing. Teasing me. Making me want his hands all over me. I wanted to shed this dress like a winter jacket. I wanted dirty things that weren't okay in public, but I didn't care at all. Nothing else mattered but climbing inside of Magnum and disappearing into this kiss.