Gareth kissed Mackenzie's temple as if what he had just said was a promise.
Then he dragged her away from there, through the crowd, which parted for them, assisted by Dimitri and Piotr, who were on them like the bodyguards Gareth had them there to be.
"I want those three mingers banned from all my clubs for three months, get names and pictures and send them out," Gareth barked at Dimitri, who nodded in acceptance and clicked his communications device to inform his team leader of Gareth's orders.
Some spectators gave Gareth small accepting pats on his shoulder as he walked by, and a few applauded. Mainly, people smiled in proud acknowledgment of his actions.
Usually, Gareth would not have liked that people touched him, he appreciated their sentiments at that time, though.
"Gareth," Mackenzie said, trying to turn to face him.
"Not now."
"Yes, now, Gareth. Please. It's important!"
He kept her locked in his arm and guided her back to the lobby and outside. There, he held up his hand to let the guys know he wanted privacy and took her back to the alley from last time.
"Ok, what's so important?" he asked irritably when they were alone.
"Thank you for what you did in there," Mackenzie said with sweetness and genuine gratitude. Gareth was a proud man, and he deserved recognition for what he had done. "But I could have bitch slapped those tramps by myself."
Gareth just tapped her chin with his finger, letting her know he was not pleased with her language, even if he would do nothing about it.
"And?" He easily sensed she had more to tell him.
"You can't go around telling people we're a couple."
"They're just words?" Her tone made him instinctively defensive. There was something he was missing. He had felt rather valiant coming to her aid, and it had felt gratifying to see those stupid hags crumble.
"I know, but you can't. We're not, and I don't want our connection commonly known."
Taking a step back, Gareth stared at her in disbelief. "What?"
Their Connection?
She made no sense to him. How had he ended up as the bad guy in what had happened?
"I mean it Gareth, any association with you can land me in trouble."
"You mean with your father? I know the Russians and the Italians won't exactly rejoice, but it's not like we're getting married, we're just friends. At least I hope we'll be again."
"Just friends? So, you don't want to fuck me into submission anymore?" Mackenzie said coldly, letting him know she knew exactly what he was after.
His eyes flared with anger - and desire. "You know I do. Hell, Mackenzie. I want to fuck you seven ways 'til Sunday. I want to hurt you, make you scream, and I want to make you mine. You think I can deny that?"
Gareth breathed heavily to calm himself. Fuck, she annoyed him, making his attempt to help her become something he felt bad about.
"But that's between you and me. Friendship shouldn't be something we can't show the public."
"I can't be your friend, Gareth."
"Why?" In frustrated moves, Gareth ran his fingers through his hair. He needed to do something with his hands to keep him from shaking her to her senses. They could be friends. Neither the Russians nor the Italians had rules against friendships.
"It's complicated," Mackenzie desperately cried out, hoping he would let it go.
"Why? Do you have a boyfriend?" Gareth said it as a joke to lighten the conversation, but when he saw how Mackenzie hesitated, he tensed in jealous anger.
Like a storm cloud of pure havoc, Gareth backed Mackenzie up against the wall and held her pinned with his body. "Do. You. Have. A. Boyfriend?"
Mackenzie felt the wall against her back, and it felt a lot softer than the man pushing her against it. He was hard and unyielding, his eyes screamed bloody murder and held her in a relentless grip. He wanted an answer, and he would know if she lied to him. She knew if she said yes, he would pull away from her and leave her right then and there, knowing she had lied to him, and then he would make her pay. But if she said no, he would want to know the reason why she could not be his friend, or lover for that matter.
Both dangerous with Gareth's temper.
"No, Gareth. I don't," Mackenzie whispered, knowing the truth would land her in a world of trouble.
Hopefully less than if she had lied.
Gareth would never admit it to her, but he had held his breath and prepared himself for the red-hot, blinding fit of jealousy he would have entered if she had said yes. He breathed out, letting her words soothe him from the rage ready to consume him. Like rain on a fire, her words helped fizzle out the worst of it.
Then the other part of it returned to him. She did not want him in her life. That was basically what she had said when she proclaimed they could not be friends.
Why?
He knew he had messed up and hurt her four years earlier, and he was ready to grovel and make amends for that before she could go back to trusting him and becoming his. Nothing at all between them seemed extreme, and there had to be a reason.
"Then what?" Gareth grabbed her chin between his thumb and index finger. "Tell me honestly that you don't feel this electricity between us."
A softness came to Mackenzie's face. "Of course, I feel it. I loved you once. I'll always feel something for you."
Everything in him hated how she talked in the past tense. Not that he needed her to love him now, though the person he had thought her to be was a person who loved for life.
It was not an ego thing; it was just who he had observed her to be. A woman so deeply intertwined with her feelings that when she gave her heart, it would be only once and last forever. The fact that she had given it to him, sadly, said a lot about her judgment.
He had never deserved her love.
"And what do you feel now?"
Say love...
Say love.
Say love!
One word would set him free. If she still felt it, he could adjust to win her. He would become worthy somehow. Then she would give herself to him. He would make it his life's mission to convince her. If she still felt something.
"Desire."
Gareth grew instantly hard at that tiny, very loaded word. Surely, not what he had hoped for.
It was a start.
They would take the long route. Yet, no matter the twists and turns, the end destination would always be the same. Though, frustrating as all hell, he could work with that.
"For the love of God. I can't fucking win with you, can I? You don't want me or my friendship, but you tell me plainly that you feel a desire for me. What can I do then?"
"You can respect my wishes."
"Ok," Gareth sighed. He could not start an argument with her.
He would lose her. If he did not do something, he would get neither her body nor her. "If you give me one day. One day where you're mine, no questions asked. I own you and your desires will conform to mine."
Gareth squinted his eyes and locked them with hers with an evil spark in there. "No matter what I ask of you, you can't say no."
Trap her.
Unfair and stupid, but his only chance. That wish of hers. For him to disappear out of her life, he could use against her to get her to do what he wanted. And she would do it.
She would be his.
If only for a day.
"Gareth..." Mackenzie starred at him, fidgeting with her fingers from nerves,
Twenty-four hours of sex with Gareth. A dream come true wrapped in a nightmare. Mackenzie knew for certain that he would use her in any way imaginable. And he wanted her to give up her right to say no? He wanted her to submit and let him have his way, and then he would back off?
"I mean it. I want you, and you want me. Let's get it out of our systems. One day, and I'll leave you alone afterward if that's your wish."
"You promise?" Mackenzie bit her lip nervously because she saw a way out, and it was a small price to pay.
Price?
It would be absolutely amazing getting Gareth into bed, just once before she had to say goodbye. The price was not actually doing it; the price she would pay after.
"You know my word has value. Don't even pretend to act differently." Gareth huffed with annoyance. He did not appreciate his integrity being questioned at every turn. She offended him when she needed him to confirm his words to her.
It nagged him she had to do that.
Feeling his reprimand, Mackenzie sighed. "I know."
He was right. She knew he did not lie, and he was a man of his word. If he promised to leave her alone, he would, even if it meant moving to another city to keep his promise.
"I pick the date and that's non-negotiable." Mackenzie conceded and gave in to her only chance to get rid of him. "And Gareth, I'll do whatever you ask of me. I'll take any punishment you want and accept all sexual wishes. But you do not misuse that power to interrogate me. I have my reasons, and they're none of your business."
"Of course, I would never..." Gareth said, defending himself with indignation, pulling slightly back from her. "Ok, you pick the date, any other terms?"
"You wear a condom when we..." Mackenzie did not finish the sentence; he knew what she meant. "I don't know where you've been before me."
"If that's your wish." Gareth forced the words out through tight lips with no comments on her reasoning. 'Been before her'? Like she had not kicked his ego enough, she had to throw in an extra jab.
Mackenzie noticed how his jaw tightened at those words, and how hurt flashed momentarily in his eyes. Why would he have a problem with that? Why would her need to protect them both from diseases and possible long-term repercussions bother him?
Gareth baffled her with his complexities at times.
"I get to wear a corsage the entire time, and when I need to bathe or use the bathroom, I do it alone."
Dumbfounded, Gareth eased up on Mackenzie and scratched his head. "A corsage? Isn't that a flower?"
Leave it to Mackenzie to make his head spin even more. That woman created chaos in his mind.
Shaking her head with a small smile, Mackenzie explained it to him, "A corsage is like a corset, only it's soft-lined and not as stiff, but it holds in the stomach like shape-wear. I'm still not that comfortable with my body naked, a corsage will give me the confidence needed. Please understand."
Gareth had no idea why she would not be comfortable. She looked fucking fantastic, and he could only imagine she would look gorgeous naked. He had spent the better part of five years fantasizing about her naked, and that was her body before she had lost weight. In his visions of desire, she was a goddess beyond compare. A bit of loose skin would not change that.
"I accept. I'm sorry you won't bathe with me. That's something I would have loved. But if that's how you want it, I can accept that minor loss."
Mackenzie sighed softly and placed her hands gently on Gareth's warm chest. She would have loved it too. But it was how it had to be.
"Any other terms?"
"Pull your hounds back. I know you, Gareth. You have some of your goons looking into me. Pull them back or the deal is off."
Gareth stepped fully back from her and withdrew his phone from his pocket. Quickly, he shuffled through his messages, typed something, and sent it, showing it to Mackenzie as proof.
Jepson P.I.
'Cease all actions on Mackenzie Angel. Shred all files already obtained. No questions!'
"Thank you."
Funny enough, she needed no more evidence. She did not need to question if he had indeed stopped his investigation of her. Gareth was honest with her, Mackenzie just knew.
"I'll let you know the date of choice. It might not be this week or the next, but you have my word."
"I trust you. I always have." Slowly, Gareth stepped back to her. Not threateningly, he just wanted to be closer. Closer for a second without them being at each other's throats, or with an audience to limit his actions. "I'll let you go in a moment. Vasili is at your disposal and will drive you home when you wish. Let me kiss you one more time, please?"
The way Mackenzie nervously checked the alley, as if she expected somebody to secretly watch her or jump at them, did not sit well with him. The way her eyes flickered in a second of fear worried him, but the moment she nodded at him, he forgot about it.
Gareth growled as his face closed in on hers. "Words, Mackenzie." He let his fingers run along the top of her dress, softly tracing her collarbone.
"Yes, Gareth," she moaned.
His hand found her breast and slowly teased the nipple through the fabric. He left small tingling kisses along her jawline, closing in on her mouth. "You know what I want, Dolly."
"Please, Sir," she said on a breath and turned her head to catch his mouth.
"Good girl," Gareth whispered against her lips. He hesitated for a second before he caught her mouth.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss. Not like before when he had been in a sensual mood, kissing her for the first time inside the club. Where he had tasted her, felt her, and examined her reactions.
This time, he knew what she was capable of, and he wanted it all.
Fuck, the boy could kiss! That was the only coherent thought Mackenzie managed. Everything else swirled like a chaotic clusterfuck in her mind. All rationality in her mind went out the window, along with her resolve.
She should not kiss him.
She should not want him so badly.
How was she supposed to not want it when his tongue circled hers like that? When his lips pressed against hers while his hands explored her body? When the cologne and his unmistakable sexy musk hit her nostrils?
Gareth's experienced fingers roamed her breast expertly, Mackenzie felt him pinch and tease her nipple with one hand, and the other he had firmly placed at the back of her head, wrapped in her hair as he massaged her scalp.
The hand at her breast traveled down her side and found the slit in her dress. His long fingers caressed her thigh, a bit rougher than a caress would normally be.
To her, it felt like a caress.
Gareth did not move in between her legs. Somehow, he had enough control over himself and respect for her to not go there. That did not mean he could not touch the bare, sensitive skin on her thigh.
When Mackenzie pulled her head back a bit from his kiss, Gareth stopped trying to kiss her and looked at her, puzzled and panting slightly. She sent him a shy smile and pushed his hand where it wanted to go.
If not for the situation, Mackenzie would have laughed at his initial shocked response of freezing completely. He did not move his hand. Not until Mackenzie pushed her heated nether against his hand for a response did he do anything. At first, he slid his fingers back and forth outside the thin lace barrier, forcing small sounds of pleasure from her. He pushed the lace aside and finally touched her throbbing clit.
With his fingers moving in gentle circular motions, Mackenzie felt sensations she had never felt before. Electricity went straight through her. A dull ache slowly numbed her legs to the point where she felt they would buckle under her.
Gareth dipped his fingers in her wetness and coated the clit with the moisture and kept going, while she felt a tightness in her lower abdomen. Her pelvis moved on its own, trying to catch his movements to increase the sensation in her. His fingers rapidly drove her toward the unknown. When he had first touched her, Mackenzie had felt it pleasurable, but what he did now caused a raging sensation, centering in her fast and uncontrollably.
"What are you doing to me?" she gasped in confusion.
"Pleasuring you, Dolly. Isn't that what you wanted when you put my hand there?" Gareth kept his circular motions as he kissed her neck passionately.
He did not really know why she seemed so confused. Yes, they behaved like teenagers, fondling in an alley, but he liked to think he did a good job with her.
"I don't know," Mackenzie admitted with a little-girl voice.
Gareth stopped and looked at her, suddenly aware of something being off. "What are you not telling me?"
"It's nothing, Gareth, please keep doing that." Mackenzie pointed a finger down to show him what she meant.
Then Gareth knew for certain it was not nothing. She made small disapproving noises. Guttural sounds that drove him crazy with lust, as he pulled the lace back to cover the place, he did not want to leave, and lifted his hand, pushing one of his juice-covered fingers into her mouth and licking the other one himself.
Obediently, Mackenzie licked his finger and smiled at him when he pulled it out of her mouth.
"You taste so fucking great!" Gareth complimented her in a low growl, licking the finger again to be sure he kept the taste with him.
"Thank you?" Mackenzie said, as if she was not sure how to respond.
Gareth chuckled in delight at her sweetness. "You're welcome."
"Why did you stop?"
The chuckle and glint of amusement in his eyes vanished, and he looked at her very seriously. "I can't continue until you tell me what's going on."
"I can't tell you. Can you please understand?"
"I am. That's why I can't continue. But if you ever feel like confiding in me, I'm all ears." Gareth brushed a kiss on her chin. "If you tell me, I'll do that and many more things to you. All you have to do is ask me and give me your consent. Just tell me what's bothering you first."
"I can't, Gareth..."
"Then I can't either." Reluctantly, he let go of her and backed away. "You know how to get in touch with me, Dolly, if you feel like sharing. Until then or until you give me the date for our little deal, I'll not touch you."
Mackenzie hung her head in disappointment at how it ended. Gareth had too much experience to not notice her reactions. "Gareth?"
He pecked a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thank you for tonight. And thank you for allowing me."
With that, he walked away, leaving her standing against the wall, ready to cry.
Why could he not understand that she could not tell him her secrets?
Mackenzie's entire body shook when she walked back to the club. Gareth sat at the table in deep conversation with an executive when she sat down. She took the drink he offered her before he returned to his conversation.
Mackenzie drank it out of courtesy. Though her throat felt dry, she had lost the mood for drinking. It would be too sudden to leave or move away from Gareth, so she sat there, trembling a little.
She felt uncomfortable because she saw how some of Gareth's crew looked at them as if they had never seen their boss act like that before.
They probably had not.
It was hard to hold it against them. Mackenzie had never thought Gareth would have come to her aid in such a way, and if he had, she had imagined he would rather have pulled her away than lower himself to defend anything in their lives.
To avoid their looks, Mackenzie kept her head down, not even speaking with Alyssa.
Gareth sat there, fuming.
He saw the way his people looked at him and knew he had opened a door that should have remained shut. But those nasty women had attacked Mackenzie and made her feel bad about herself. He could not have left her to fend for her dignity alone.
Everything about Mackenzie brought out the protector in him. Like a calling from inside. Programmed in his deepest code of humanity, the urge to protect her gnawed at him. Even if the beast in him wanted something entirely different.
Those women had attacked him too.
He knew he had gone too far. The fulfillment of seeing their faces as he had embarked on his word rampage had filled him with such pride to call Mackenzie his. She was his. Though not official or consensual yet, and before she gave her consent, they were just words.
It did not change the fact that she was his.
The part that made him fume most was her reactions in the alley. He had wanted her to confide in him. She could say nothing that would make him turn away from that kind of trust. Her not trusting him had hurt his feelings, and instead of embracing the hurt, he had turned to anger.
Anger, he knew.
The night went on as if nothing had happened. The dancing, the kiss, the lobby incident, and the alley, were buried under a blanket of denial. People had fun, and even Mackenzie seemed to relax again. That was, until they ended up seated next to each other again, making electric bolts go through them both whenever they brushed against each other.
Mackenzie sat there, his pants against her thigh, making her skin tingle and that warmth in the pit of her stomach grow. He had not spoken to her other than casually when asking if she wanted more to drink. Gareth still acted as the perfect host, despite ignoring the elephant in the room.
She had to find a date. He wanted her; she wanted him too. If they both got what they craved, then it would be out of their systems, and they could move on. He was right when he had used that as an argument.
If he got her, he would leave her alone, Mackenzie reasoned with herself while sipping her drink.
Gareth was like that. If he wanted something, he would pursue it relentlessly until he could claim it as his. Be it a company buyout, real estate property, women, experiences... He would go after it, and when he got it, he would move on to the next on his list of wishes.
It was no different with her.
Tired, Mackenzie tilted against him but quickly shocked back away.
"Are you tired, Doll?" Gareth whispered with concern and put an arm around Mackenzie to steady her.
"I'm getting there."
"Let's get you home."
Immediately, Mackenzie tensed.
"Don't worry. Just taking you out to Vasili and the car. Nothing will happen until you ask for me."
Those words did not reassure her at all, because she knew she would. She would beg for him to take her one day soon.
"I think it's time for us to break it up for tonight," Gareth told the remaining people. Most of the older had left already, leaving the younger crowd to their partying. "Mackenzie is tired. If you want to stay, feel free. Ask the hostess for anything you want." He stood and helped Mackenzie up after.
They said their goodbyes to people when Gareth leaned into her. "If you want to say goodbye to Alyssa in private, do so, but this time, please don't sneak off? I'll wait outside."
"I'll be there soon."
Mackenzie saw him nod at her, but also the insecurity in his eyes. Gareth gave her the benefit of the doubt, hoping she would not let him down. With determination, she grabbed Alyssa's arm and dragged her from the VIP table to the lobby.
"Mac, what the hell is going on? You know I wanted to talk, and you've ignored me," Alyssa said and dug in her heels to stop Mackenzie from running away from her. "I heard what Gareth said to those women. He loves you?"
Mackenzie laughed. Now that, she found funny. Poor Alyssa. "God no, Al. He doesn't love me. He never has."
"But you know each other even if you kept it a secret?" Alyssa's voice held a vague accusation, but mainly she sounded confused and maybe a little hurt that her friend, and especially Gareth, whom she had known for years, had kept her in the dark, making her look like a fool.
"Yes." Mackenzie felt bad about having kept that from Alyssa, but until earlier that day, she had seen no reason to tell her about Gareth. He was not supposed to be part of her life. He was supposed to be a flimsy but pleasant memory of what would never be. "Remember when I told you I had been in love once in my life? That was Gareth."
Alyssa smiled sneakily. "Remember that hot guy from work who would have none of me? Gareth too."
"There's something about that man," Mackenzie said, hoping Alyssa was ok, though she felt a tug of jealousy at the thought of Alyssa hitting on Gareth. Not that she had any right to be jealous. They had met long before Mackenzie had entered his life. She appreciated Alyssa telling her she and Gareth had never hooked up.
"I'm happy for you, Mac. I just wanted a night with him because he's hot. You, it seems, want everything." Alyssa nodded with sincerity. Yes, she found Gareth attractive, but she had no emotional involvement.
"True story."
The truth hurt.
Alyssa was right. Mackenzie had always wanted everything with Gareth. A one-night stand with him would never be enough. That did not change how things were. They were not meant to be.
Smiling, Alyssa looked like she had solved a mystery. "When I said he doesn't have a heart, I meant he had already given it away. And I think I finally know who to."
"I don't think you're right on that one. He wants me, I know. But I also know Gareth. When he gets what he wants, he grows bored. It's not love. It's Gareth being Gareth."
Alyssa just hugged Mackenzie. There was no point in arguing with Mackenzie about things she was not ready to admit to herself yet.
"We'll talk Sunday. I'll be there at about ten in the morning, as agreed. I need a drink after this. Then I need a cab home." Alyssa smiled and walked off, waving to Mackenzie.
Mackenzie walked out of the club and looked for Gareth. He stood with Vasili by the car. She saw the relief on his face. Why was he relieved? He knew where she lived, where she worked, and he had her number.
He could find her whenever he wanted.
"Don't look so surprised, Pretty boy." She turned to Vasili. "Told you, didn't I?"
Vasili laughed and opened the door for her. "I've always liked you, Mackenzie. Never change."
Gareth helped her into the car, ending with a chaste kiss on her hand. Mackenzie studied him through the window, wondering how long it would be before he broke his promise to her and went after her again.
Gareth stood there and watched the car with Mackenzie roll out of view. He exhaled. The night had been more than he had expected, so much more. Still, it had left him frustrated and confused.
That was the second time she had acted strangely in the middle of something deliriously wonderful. Her physical reactions to him were as explosive as his to her. The power of the emotions she brought out in him heightened his physical reactions.
When he touched her, he got almost high. Gareth did not know about addictions other than his cigarettes and whiskey, neither gave him a euphoric buzz as the one Mackenzie did. Before, he had never understood that urge for something, but if what addicts felt when they got their fix was half as wonderful as what he felt when he touched Mackenzie, he understood why it was hard to stop craving that high over and over.
"We're ready to go when you are, G-man." Jace, his oldest friend, and part of his inner circle group, came over and stood, waiting respectfully.
Jace wore a nice suit, not a tuxedo as Gareth did. He did not look like a classic, bulky bodyguard-type, but his suit showed his superb physique. He packed muscles and was in tip-top shape. His semi-long blond hair, he had styled in that intentionally messy look. Quite the handsome man and very popular with the ladies.
Gareth turned to him with disinterest. "Thanks."
"You need five in the bathroom before we leave? Because damn..." Cheekily, Jace wiggled his eyebrows at his poorly hidden innuendo, his blue eyes sparkled with his usual mischief.
"I swear to God, Jace." Gareth rolled his eyes. Why had he put Jace on security that evening?
"With her, I'm sure you'd be calling for God more than usual."
"Pushing it!"
Jace shot him a provocative smile. "Just saying, bro." Swiftly, he ducked from the swing Gareth took at him. Not an angry swing, intending to harm Jace, just a futile Gareth reaction to make Jace shut up. A punch to assert that Jace should know when to close that mouth of his.
"Come on, boss, it's late."
They walked to the cars, and Jace made sure Gareth got inside his car before he and his team got into the other car.
"Would somebody care to explain to me what in the holy fuck is going on?" Andrej sat in the passenger seat of the black SUV following Gareth's car from the club. He agitatedly turned in his seat to look back and forth between Dimitri, Piotr, and Jace.
Jace lifted his gaze from his phone. "You mean with the boss?"
"What else?" Andrej rolled his eyes at the stupidity of that question.
Andrej had been transferred from Gareth's mother's protection detail in Russia a few years back. He had never questioned Gareth about any of his actions and stood by him to protect him with his life, if necessary. He had copied Dimitri and Piotr and followed orders like he always did, but that had not stopped the questions that rose during the night.
Jace had not been part of the table team. He had stayed in the shadows, monitoring the perimeter and coordinating all the men Gareth had ordered to be at the club.
Jace laughed. "Oh, I forgot. You don't know who Mackenzie is?"
"That's a big, fat duh!" How fucking thick were those guys to ask that? Andrej felt he had been fairly patient in not asking anything while there. "But if she's the smoking hot woman that the boss sent googly eyes at all night, then I'd like to know."
Dimitri smirked at the tone. Polite conversation between them was not what trademarked them. Gareth's men talked with no filter, and 'polite' did not appear in their vocabulary.
"I don't know everything. But there's a lot of history there." Piotr said.
"I've never seen Gareth like that." Jace budded in. "I was with him the day he met Mackenzie. At some fancy wedding in Madrid. An entrepreneurial tycoon got hitched with one of the PamHotel owners."
"Fernando and Sereai. They're fucking business royalty. Power couple if I ever saw one. Of course, Gareth knows them." Dimitri did not hide his admiration and clearly knew who Jace talked about.
"Yeah, yeah. Rich people, I get it. Move along," Andrej rushed them.
"Well, Mackenzie attended as a friend of the bride, and she sat alone, looking in on the festivities but did not take part," Jace explained with eyes gleaming, leaning forward from the back seat, ready to gossip. "Anyway, Gareth noticed and went to talk to her. He had asked me to stay close, but not bother him. Not like there was any danger. He was safer there than a virgin at the Vatican." Jace giggled at his own joke.
Dimitri and Piotr laughed, making Andrej smile. The story had merit, and Jace had hooked Andrej already. It was interesting to get the inside scoop on his boss.
"They were cutting the cake, and Gareth asked her why she wasn't with them to get a piece too. I swear, she fucking exploded on him like a nuclear bomb. Telling him that if he was going to make fun of her being fat, he could go stuff that cake up his snooty British arse, though there probably wouldn't be enough room with the stick already there anyway." Jace belly laughed, slapping his thigh at the memory. "You should have seen Gareth's face. It was hella priceless."
"Fat? She's smoking hot." Andrej felt he missed something important. The woman he had seen that night was gracefully curvy, not model thin, but definitely not fat, and the look suited her.
Jace kept laughing. He had drawn on every bit of self-control at the time to not laugh out loud when he had heard Mackenzie flip a switch on Gareth. Few had the guts to do that, and Mackenzie had the proverbial balls to do it without knowing how dangerous a man Gareth was. Jace doubted she would have done anything differently if she had known.
Mackenzie did not hold back on her opinion.
"She's lost a few pounds since then, but I promise you, she was fucking gorgeous back then as well. She just didn't see it herself."
Andrej nodded. He could not imagine Mackenzie looking any other way than she did.
"Then what?" Dimitri pushed to get more story. They all waited with anticipation, intrigued by the insight knowledge Jace shared.
"It took Gareth a second to recover, but then he went Russian assassin on her. You've all seen him when he blows a fuse. He can tear a place apart in seconds. But when he goes silent and fumes, while radiating his temper, that's when he's most dangerous."
Piotr shuddered. "Tell me about it. I've seen people piss their pants when he does that."
"I was ready to go save her from him. I thought he would snap completely," Jace continued while nodding at Piotr's comment. "But Gareth sat down and growled at her while seething that she should never, ever, assume anything about him. That he would not in a million years disrespect anybody like that. He looked her dead in the eyes and told her that whatever he had up his arse was nothing compared to the chip on her shoulder. Then he walked away to cool down."
Andrej's smile faded. "No way, he's cruel."
Nodding, Jace agreed. Gareth had his ways of doing things. "But he was right. And he redeemed himself moments later."
Andrej was still not sure. Gareth could be a cold fucker, but saying something like that to an insecure woman was not something he had thought Gareth was capable of.
"I guess he must have since they smooched tonight."
"Well, I kept an eye on Mackenzie while Gareth joined the others at the cake-cutting. A little while later, he came back with a piece of cake for her. He placed it in front of her and gently told her he hadn't noticed her because she was fat. And trust me, it killed him to use that word."
Jace smiled at the memory because he knew Gareth, brutal and calculated in many ways but a decent guy at the core. "He continued to tell her he hadn't even noticed her because she was beautiful, he had noticed her because she seemed lonely and sad, and it didn't feel right at a joyous occasion."
"Point one, Gareth," Piotr said with a nod.
"She, however, continued her bitch fit on him and told him he could take his pity and go Bieber himself." Again, Jace belly laughed until tears formed in his baby-blue eyes.
"As in, go love himself?"
"Aye. That woman was not and never has been afraid to tell Gareth off. Some of her rants at Gareth are epic."
"Ballsy move," Piotr said with a laugh. "I can't believe I didn't know about this."
Dimitri nodded in agreement. The initial meeting had to be the best-kept secret within the ranks of Gareth's men. Everything that had happened in the year after was more or less common knowledge, but how they had met only the people present at the time knew.
"What happened? They must have made up somehow?" Andrej needed more and was not shy about asking.
Smirking with glee about knowing everything, Jace looked back and forth between the others, making sure he had the full attention of his audience. Even Dimitri, who drove and kept track of Gareth's car in front of them, was all ears.
"As you can imagine, Gareth was livid. He didn't touch her then, though. If he had, I'm certain she'd still have bruises. He stood there with his eyes closed and shook with anger. The saying counting to ten to calm down, he took to a higher level. I think he counted to a few thousand."
"I'm surprised she didn't die the second she said that to him," Andrej whispered because they all thought it.
Gareth had a legendary temper and being told to go fuck himself would not be something he let pass easily.
"Me too, though he probably would have ordered her killed after the party and not done it himself right there." Piotr huffed, uncomfortable. He had never liked when women got caught in the crossfire of mafia business. And it being personal would be even worse. Gareth had never violated that limit to his knowledge.
Gareth never killed without reason.
"The boss is not like that." Dimitri defended Gareth with dignity. "If he wanted revenge, he would have gone after her job or something that would have hit her hard. He would not kill an innocent woman ever."
Jace puffed up with pride at those words. He liked that the people around Gareth knew the kind of man Gareth was. Yes, he could yell and scream, snap and be vicious, but he would kill nobody for talking badly to him unless they actually threatened him. And he would never hurt a woman who lashed out at him because she had low self-esteem.
"He never hurt Mackenzie. He grabbed her chin, maybe rougher than needed, but only to steady her and make her face him. And then he told her coldly that the reason he had approached her was to get to know her. He told her he didn't care if she ate two salad leaves or eight desserts as long as he got to know her. And if she wanted to go somewhere where she would be more comfortable, he'd gladly take her, if she would give him a chance."
If nothing else, Gareth was unique in his way of thinking, considering who he was. He made up his own mind about people, rumors he could listen to, and behavior he could know about, but until he himself had firsthand knowledge, he acted on his own beliefs. Jace had always admired that about Gareth. That mindset added to his leadership skills. Gareth did not blindly hate somebody or judge, he gave people a fair chance. If they misused that chance, all bets were off, and he proved to be a formidable opponent.
"I think that was the first time Mackenzie took a moment to really look at Gareth. She gave his face a pensive stare and then followed that up by assessing all of him. She clearly weighed in her mind why Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome wanted to get to know her and tried to figure out if it was all a cruel joke, or if he was sincere. Then, to both mine and Gareth's surprise, she said 'Mackenzie' and held out her hand to him."
"It helps to be panty-dropping good-looking, I guess?" Andrej commented partly in joke, but the statement held a lot of truth.
"Well, I'm that too," Jace laughed, puffing up his chest and flexing his arm to show how big and strong he was before he smoothed back his blond hair with a Prince Charming vibe to it. "But I wouldn't have gotten through to Mackenzie as Gareth did. I would have been nice to her from the beginning, and she would not have questioned her own beliefs and shot me down. Gareth simply snapped back at her behavior and told her off with a take it or leave it mentality, which she needed."
Jace quickly gave them a recap of how Gareth and Mackenzie had spent that wedding weekend going out sightseeing in Madrid and eating at small restaurants, just getting to know each other. There had been no sexual component. They had done it as friends, and they had both enjoyed it enough for them to continue the friendship online when they went back home.
They had talked all the time. When not in meetings or out with people socializing, they had been on WhatsApp or some other communication app together.
Sometimes they had not even talked. They had the other person listening in while they went about their day. Gareth had worked or Mackenzie had cooked, while the other listened. They had acted as if they were in the same room, doing whatever they were doing, but not necessarily having to talk while doing it.
They had flown to meet each other in different cities to have dinner and go party as friends.
Everybody had felt how Gareth changed and somehow knew that something went on, but only the ones closest to him had known about Mackenzie in the beginning. It was not until he had invited her to come visit some of the guys that everybody else had learned about her and gotten the disturbing information that she was the daughter of Vittorio Sante.
That time was when Jace had suspected Mackenzie's feelings for Gareth, not that he had doubted Gareth feeling the same, but from what he had gathered, Gareth would have preferred keeping it at friendship if Mackenzie had shown no romantic interest in him.
"She's The Angel Maker's daughter?" Andrej squeaked in utter disbelief. Both fear and admiration flooded him with that knowledge. Vittorio Sante, no one messed with, just like Gareth.
Again, Jace laughed. Typical of Gareth to have picked a woman who could get him killed. "The one and only. It would probably have been World War Three if Vittorio had found out."
Andrej huffed. The Russians versus the Italians. The world would have never been the same.
Jace continued his tale, "They circled each other as friends while the rest brewed in the background. Then one day she stopped coming around. After the first time she visited, she had come by twice a month."
"I remember that part, Jace," Dimitri informed. "No one ever figured out why she never came back. All we know is Gareth withdrew and disappeared, and he left everything to Vasili and Phoenix for almost a year after."
"Sure, he left it to Vasili. I did the bloody work," Jace huffed. At least everything at home base, whereas Vasili had taken care of the other cities.
Andrej knew it might not be the smartest thing to say, but he guessed along with the others. "You think the boss mended a broken heart?"
"It's my best guess." Jace concurred.
Though he was part of Gareth's inner circle, Jace had gotten no information. None of them had. Only Vasili knew. Gareth had disappeared, and Vasili had made it clear to everybody not to ask questions at any point. Gareth would be back.
"What happened from then to now? If she disappeared, and now they're playing tonsil hockey like teenagers, something must have changed."
Jace frowned because he was in the dark about that too. "I don't know. All I know is Gareth told me security had to be tight tonight. I had eighteen men there. I did my job."
"And the lobby thing? Bossman was convincing about them being a couple."
"Wishful thinking? Or maybe just what he needed to say to get back at those women." Jace laughed. The women's faces had dropped instantly when Gareth had stepped in to help Mackenzie. It had been hilarious. Strange how some women felt the need to attack others like that for having the attention of somebody.
The saying 'As long as you hold someone's attention, you hold a permanent space in somebody else's search bar' came to mind.
Those women had no idea what Mackenzie and Gareth had gone through to know each other; they had judged on a single moment in time for them. It was disgusting, and what Gareth had done was right, even if he had lied to drive his point home.
"Either way, I think he did good by her. Those bitches were nasty," Dimitri grumbled, holding a little tighter on the steering wheel.
"Well, guys..." Gareth's voice startled them through their earpieces. "Not that it's any of your business, but thanks for the backup."
'Oh, holy fucking shit,' Jace mouthed to the others. None of them had given the comm link any thought and had not turned them off if there should come an emergency message from Gareth's car. But Gareth had not worn one during the evening. What a dick move to snatch an earpiece and listen in.
"And Jace?"
"Aye, boss?"
"Thanks for volunteering for pickup for the next two weeks."
They all sent Jace a sympathetic look.
Pickup was slave duty. It meant going to all the dumps to gather money from the drug trades they did.
And Jace hated that.
He had earned his merits and was way above pickup duty.
"Yeah, eh, no worries."
Gareth acted nice about it, but it was a punishment for gossiping and telling about his private life. Jace could not blame Gareth for reacting, and he would take his time in the doghouse as a man. Still, it annoyed him. He enjoyed being Gareth's best friend and having the privileges that came with it. It would take some time to get back in his good graces.
How Gareth would behave for those two weeks could be dangerous.
Hi dear Wattlings.
Thank you for reading.
Once again, Gareth and Mackenzie make it to the alley. Again Mackenzie does something to make Gareth stop. Why do you think that is? How did you like the insight into their first meeting? Jace sure had fun telling about it, Gareth, not so much.
If you like it, then pop a vote and please leave comments. The comments are important for me to know how the story is progressing and the characters are developing. And I'd love to know what you think and interact with y'all.
Give me a follow too for updates on other work and put this book in your library. I'd appreciate that.
Shout out to Zaiiii02 for the comment up top. And for the reads, comments and votes since october when we begun this journey together. Thank you so much!!
Love, Alix
©Alix Davenport, Copenhagen, 2021