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  Juan had been mildly annoyed a heartbeat earlier because he hated feeling like an outsider looking in, but the defeated look spreading over her face brought his protective nature surging to the surface.

  “Spit it out, Cariña.” Juan’s words might have been laced with a sweet Spanish endearment, but there would be no mistaking it for anything other than the command it had been. Rather than answering him, she looked at Trac.

  “Do you think she’ll be angry?” Now it was Trac’s turn to look confused.

  “You mean Tobi doesn’t know who you are?” She shook her head, and Trac leaned his head back and laughed out loud. “Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.”

  Juan was losing patience with the side conversation, and his snarl of frustration drew his friend’s attention. Nodding in his direction, Trac grinned.

  “Juan Rivera, meet Lakyn Storm.”

  Lakyn Storm? Fucking seriously?

  Chapter Two

  Kyle West leaned back against his desk, arms crossed over his muscular chest, and shook his head. When he’d gotten the report from Micah Drake a few weeks ago about an ongoing online conversation between his sweet wife and a woman in New York City, he’d been shocked to learn her identity. Not only was the young woman one of the most recognizable faces in the world, she was also the younger sister of one of the men he and his brother had been trying to recruit for the past year.

  “Seems like an odd coincidence, doesn’t it?” As the head of their cyber-security team, it was Micah’s job to know who was talking to whom, and he was damned good at his job. Of course, the man was probably due a healthy bonus for his commitment to keeping the trouble magnet Kyle and Kent called their wife and sub from becoming a target for every bleeding heart on the internet.

  “As a rule, I don’t believe in coincidences, but something about this woman seems oddly genuine. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I’ve read and re-read all of their communication, and I’ve gotten the impression she sees herself as Lakyn Hicks, not Lakyn Storm. I guess we’ll see soon enough,” Kyle wondered aloud, shaking his head and pushing away from the desk as he watched the trio making their way through the parking garage. It would take them a couple of minutes to navigate the long hall leading to the club’s front entrance, but he planned to be on hand to greet them. “It’s going to be interesting to find out how she ended up with those two.”

  “No shit, but from the sappy look on Juan’s face, I’m betting he doesn’t let her wander far.” Kyle agreed with Micah’s observation, but he was even more intrigued by Trac’s obvious amusement. “Coop’s going to owe you big time.” Micah’s statement of the obvious made Kyle chuckle to himself, and he didn’t bother trying to hold back his satisfied smile.

  This was leverage most team leaders dreamed of, and he certainly wasn’t above using it to his advantage. There were obvious challenges inherent in exploiting a friendship his wife clearly enjoyed, even if they two women had never met face to face, but she was in deep enough, he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it.

  Moving to the door, Kyle didn’t bother asking if Kent was on his way. Their twin connection was as strong as it had ever been, and Kyle knew his younger brother was already headed to the office. They might only be minutes apart in age, but Kyle had always taken his role as the elder brother seriously—too seriously if you asked Kent. He’d take the lead during this little meet and greet, then he and Kent would have a come to Jesus meeting with Tobi.

  “Get word to Cooper, let him know we’ve got her. I’m going to greet our guest.”

  “When are you going to tell Tobi she’s here?” Kyle could hear the underlying amusement in Micah’s question. He didn’t bother to answer directly because Micah already knew the answer depended on how this encounter went.

  “My lovely wife has taken our children over to my parents. Since she and my mom are thick as thieves, I doubt she dropped them at the front door without a gossip session.” Probably putting on the finishing touches to a strategic plan for world domination. “There is no way my fathers will let her leave with this storm bearing down on us. Hell, I didn’t want her to drive over there, but all things considered, I thought it was best for her to be off-site.” Even though she was less than a half mile away, it was far enough for right now.

  Kyle stepped into the large reception area of the club just as their newest receptionist gasped, “Oh my God, you’re—”

  He interrupted her before she could alert everyone in the damned place that something was up. Not that it would make much difference with Mikki. Hell, her ever-changing hair color alone drew a ridiculous amount of attention, and the dust-covered star standing in front of him was still easily recognizable despite the layer of grime covering her world-famous face.

  *

  Juan watched as the petite woman behind the reception desk sprang out of her chair, eyes wide in recognition, her voice sounding more like a cartoon character than the professional air she usually affected. Aside from her ever-changing hair color, Mikki Baxter had proven herself to be remarkably competent from what Juan had observed. She was the first new hire to last beyond her probation period, so the club’s members were hopeful Mikki had found a way to deal with Kyle’s tendency to intimidate the hell out of submissive employees.

  “I’m sure our guest knows who she is, Mikki.” Kyle’s stern tone made the petite beauty’s spine go ram-rod straight. Okay, so perhaps she isn’t immune to the boss after all. Juan shook his head and rolled his eyes as he wondered if she’d still be behind the desk tomorrow. It was no wonder the club had gone through a dozen or more receptionists since Rissa officially retired. “Could you please go to the bar and bring our guest a bottle of water?” As soon as she’d gone, Kyle returned his attention to Lakyn.

  “Luke has already completed your background check, Miss Hicks.” When Lakyn started to speak, Kyle held up his hand, and her mouth slowly closed. Juan would bet she didn’t even realize she’d just responded to her first command from a Dominant at the Prairie Winds Club. He frowned, her first command at the club should have come from him, dammit. After all, he was the one who found her along the road. What the fuck ever happened to finders keepers? Jesus, what’s the matter with me?

  “Lakyn, my brother and I are very protective of our beautiful wife. Her open heart and innate trust is a large part of what makes her such a treasure, but it also makes her an easy target, so our security staff helps us keep very close tabs on her.”

  “It takes a village—a very skilled village to keep Tobi out of trouble.” Kent West stepped from behind his brother, flashing his trademark smile, but Lakyn didn’t seem to notice the expression Juan suspected had gotten the man endless dates before he and Kyle met Tobi.

  “Holy dust bunnies, she wasn’t kidding. Tobi said her husbands were mirror image twins, but she insisted she didn’t understand why people seem to struggle to tell them… well, you, apart.” Lakyn seemed to have completely forgotten Kyle had been speaking to her as she stepped closer to them. Juan hid his grin behind his hand as small poofs of dust followed her movements. Damn if she didn’t remind him of Pig-Pen from the old Peanuts gang movies. Mikki sneezed when she stepped back in the room as dust wafted over the chest-high counter she stepped behind. Lakyn appeared unfazed by the other woman’s profuse apology as she held out a small bottle of water.

  Watching Lakyn study Kent and Kyle’s faces with an unnerving, clinical appraisal edged with appreciation stirred something deep in Juan’s core he couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t exactly jealousy, but it wasn’t joy either. Her scrutiny continued for so long, Kyle appeared to be reaching his saturation point. Juan couldn’t remember ever seeing the former team leader so uncomfortable—the whole scene was surreal. She finally stepped back, crossing her dirt-smudged arms over her chest. Juan heard Trac’s snort of laughter beside him when another small dust cloud floated around her, sending Mikki ducking behind the counter.

  “Your bone structure is nearly identical, and I’d wager yo
ur movements, particularly your walks are indeed mirror images… but there are so many subtle differences, I doubt anyone who knows you at all has any trouble telling you apart.” The look on Kyle West’s face was something between astonished admiration and horrified embarrassment at the impassive assessment from a woman he’d only known less than two minutes.

  “Damn, I haven’t seen my brother speechless since—well, hell, living with Tobi tends to make that a common occurrence, so I’ll qualify it. I haven’t seen another woman strike him dumb in a long damned time.” Kent’s amused tone cut through the escalating tension in the room and sent a sweet flush over Lakyn’s dirty cheeks.

  “What? Who is this woman who’s rendered my Master speechless? I want to meet this wonderful sister of my soul. Keeping two such amazing men in line is exhausting, I could use the help.” Tobi’s sweet voice floated from behind her men and Kyle’s expression immediately softened even though Juan would bet they hadn’t planned to introduce the women until they’d had a chance to thoroughly vet Lakyn.

  Turning, Kent held out his hand. “Come, kitten, I believe your invited guest has arrived.”

  “Sweetness, you really should have been more careful with her transportation arrangements. I believe I heard something upstairs about an abandoned car up the road a bit. And from the looks of your chat buddy, she’s spent some time out in the wind.”

  “What? Who on God’s green Earth walks in this mess?” Dell West picked his petite daughter-in-law up without blinking and set her behind him, then sidestepped his sons before coming face to face with Lakyn. “Holy fucking hell. Lilly is going to crap a cat.” The older man was dressed in his usual jeans and button-down shirt, the gray streaks in his hair making him look like the grandfather he was. Stepping forward, he held out his hand, and Lakyn didn’t hesitate to lay her small hand in his. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss”

  “Hicks, Lakyn Hicks. I’m happy to meet you too, Mr. West.” When he looked surprised at her use of his name, she shrugged. “It’s easy to see where your handsome sons get their distinguished looks… it was a safe guess.”

  Tobi squeezed between the men blocking her view with a delighted squeal. “Lakyn? Oh, my stars and garters, I can’t believe you’re really here.” The minute her eyes locked on her long-distance friend, she froze in her tracks.

  “Oh shit.”

  *

  Trac stood quietly to the side, watching everything play out until he saw Lakyn’s reaction to Tobi’s surprise. Unshed tears filled her eyes and a stark, disillusioned look of rejection moved over her dust-covered face in a sweeping surge. Grasping her shoulders, he slid his hands up until they bracketed her face, focusing her attention on him.

  “Darlin’, Tobi isn’t unhappy to see you, she just knows she’s been busted by her Masters.” The first tear breached the lower rim of her blue eyes and left a clean stripe of skin as it rolled to her chin.

  She gave him an almost imperceptible shake of her head, “It’s okay,” she whispered, “I’m used to this… really. Could you give me a ride back to my car, please? I’ll call a tow-truck and get a motel room for the night, and then figure things out after I’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

  Trac saw Tobi try to step forward, her eyes wide with guilt, but Kyle’s grip around her upper arm halted her progress. It was the first time Trac could remember being genuinely annoyed with his bosses spirited wife. He knew she hadn’t meant to hurt Lakyn’s feelings, but the pain in the exhausted woman’s eyes was gutting him. Fucking hell, tears are my kryptonite.

  “No, darlin’, I’m not going to do that. Let’s get you cleaned up and fed, then we’ll discuss your options.” Before he could move her out of the room, the door opened a fraction, then slammed back shut from the force of the wind. Over the howling squall, Trac heard a string of Spanish curses that would have surely made Columbus’ sailors proud.

  Juan was already chuckling when he swung the heavy wooden door open and pulled a petite, dark-eyed ninja into the room.

  “Mia, sweetness, why are you coming in this door alone?”

  “Fruit fucking salad, I just wanted thirty seconds without those two hovering over me like I was their damned job. Somebody better fix this, or I’m going to start taking boring landscape pictures and hanging them all over the club.” Five seconds after she’d finished speaking, the door slammed open again and Tucker Deitz’s imposing frame filled the doorway.

  “You are in big trouble, Kodak.” The man was intimidating on his best days and downright scary dressed in combat and climbing gear as he was now. “I told you I’d walk you up. You’ve been crawling around a fucking swamp for three days, and suddenly, you can’t wait fifteen seconds to get into a shower?” Mia didn’t respond, causing Tucker to follow her gaze and flinched when she let out an excited shout.

  “Lakyn? Holy margarita magic, what a wonderful surprise.” Trac felt Lakyn’s quick intake of breath just before the tension seemed to drain from her muscles that had been rigid seconds earlier.

  “Mia? Oh my God. You look like a warrior fairy.” The two women abandoned the men at their sides and met in the center of the rapidly filling reception area. Their heartfelt embrace emphasized the fact they had obviously met before, their familiarity and friendship were easy to see. Trac wasn’t sure why he felt relieved—dammit, he’d promised himself he wasn’t going to fall for a woman he knew would leave, and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind Lakyn Storm would leave. Hell, her entire life revolved around travel and public appearances.

  To the side, Trac noticed Tobi leaning against Kyle who had one arm wrapped loosely around her as he brushed tears from her flushed cheeks with his free hand. Trac knew she felt awful about upsetting Lakyn, and under any other circumstances, perhaps their famous guest might not have reacted so strongly.

  It was easy to see Lakyn was running on fumes, the deep purple bruising under her eyes gave away her exhaustion. She’d already been worried Tobi would be angry she hadn’t been completely forthright about who she was, so the other woman’s response had hit Lakyn hard. There was a part of him that suspected the woman Tobi had been talking to was much more real than Lakyn Storm.

  He’d bet his inheritance Tobi had seen deeper into the heart of the real woman than most people were ever allowed to see. Trac wanted to see the transcript of the two women’s communication, he suspected it would tell him more about the stunning woman standing a few feet away than anything he could read about her online.

  “Someone want to catch me up?” Brock Deitz’s deep voice sounded from the door, breaking through Mia and Lakyn’s excited chatter. Mia made short work of the introductions and explained the two women had worked together on a couple of projects. They’d become friends but had lost contact over the past several months.

  Lakyn reluctantly admitted she’d been forced to change all her online contact information and warning bells were sounding so loud in Trac’s mind, he barely registered the rest of the conversation. There were only a few reasons he could think of for a celebrity to suddenly change their contact information, and none of them were good. Hell, the business inconvenience alone had to have been a huge pain in the ass.

  Everything he was hearing made him wonder where her manager was while all of this was happening. It seemed to Trac, protecting his client should be a fairly large part of the job description. If Lakyn belonged to him, nothing would come before protecting her. Trac wanted to know why the manager wasn’t stepping up to the plate.

  Chapter Three

  Lakyn leaned against the back wall of the elevator and sighed. She was bone-weary and skating on an emotional edge, putting her so close to imploding, a stiff breeze would push her over. Pun intended. She was grateful for the silence of the small space… the howling wind and crashing thunder outside wasn’t helping soothe her ragged nerves.

  “Okay, my friend. Out with it. What’s going on?” Lakyn wasn’t surprised by Mia’s direct question. Her friend’s down-to-earth attitude was one of the things that had drawn
Lakyn to her… that and her mad photography skills. The woman had an eye for everything, and Lakyn had never worked with anyone more talented or easier to deal with.

  Taking a deep breath, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to pull her under, Lakyn wasn’t sure where to start. Damn, the past few weeks had been a nightmare, and she wasn’t sure she had the strength to rehash it right now. She needed to shower, eat, and rest before her brain was going to work.

  “Listen, I can see you are close to crashing, so let’s table this until after we’ve gotten cleaned up and eaten. I smell like a swamp rat, and you look like a dirtsicle… how did you manage that, anyway?” Before Lakyn could answer, Mia waved her hand and shook her head.

  “Never mind, we’ll cover that while we eat. I’m so hungry, I’m starting to get dizzy. I haven’t had anything good to eat since we left. I swear those Cajuns think all their food has to be floating in spicy soup. I’m dying to eat something I can pick up with my fingers… like a damned cheeseburger and salty fries.” When Mia finally paused to take a breath, Lakyn reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand.

  “Thank you for rescuing me down there. I’d just asked the men who found me to take me back to my disabled car, but I had no idea where I was going to go. I’d been hoping Tobi wouldn’t be angry when she learned the woman she’d been talking to online wasn’t just Lakyn Hicks, but she took one look at me and muttered a curse, so I doubt it’s going to end well.”

  Of all the responses she might have expected, Mia’s howling laughter wouldn’t have even made the list. It was obvious her friend was tired, and God knew she did indeed smell like the swamp the man downstairs said they’d been crawling around in. No one had bothered to explain what the mysterious assignment had been, but it had clearly been messy with a side of stench which made Mia’s nearly hysterical response even more bizarre.