Page 53 of Taken In Trade
“Oh, bullshit,” I snap, waving a finger back toward where he must be.
“I do,” he says, his tone light and filled with too much humor. “You can put that away, Hawk. I believe my wife is about to introduce us to her boyfriend.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Magnum stretches up, looking at Moretti over my shoulder. “We’ve already met.”
The move leaves us chest to chest, but he has a much longer torso, so I still have to look up at him.
“We have,” Moretti agrees, his voice clipped.
A lazy smile crosses Mag’s face, and his fingers dig into my lower back. “I just so happen to be much better acquainted with your wife.”
I suck in a sharp intake of air, stretching as much as I can to cover Magnum in case Moretti changes his mind about shooting him. He told Hawk to put his gun away, but Magnum shouldn’t purposely taunt either of them.
“How did you get into the house?” Hawk growls.
“We have the future Mrs. O’Connor to thank for that,” Moretti chimes in as I’m trying to think up a distraction. “I believe Charlotte and Magnum had some type of past relationship that left her feelingnostalgicand willing to go out of her way to help.”
My eyes fly to Magnum’s.
The way he talked about their history in the hotel the day I was kidnapped left me thinking they were just friends, but then all that shit went down afterward.
“Have you had sex with Charlotte?” I blurt out, bringing my arms between us as I cross them over my chest.
“God no,” Magnum says, snorting.
His blond hair falls over his forehead as he laughs, and it makes my stomach flutter.
We barely know each other, but he’s been open with me since that first day in the hotel. It might be stupid to believe him. He just doesn’t give off sneaky vibes.
“Okay, good.” I’m not sure how I would have felt about that if he had.
Okay, I do know.
I would have hated it.
I smile at Magnum before climbing off the mattress and pointing at Moretti, so he knows this part is directed at him. It’s complicated because I purposely keep my arms covering my tits. “You’re going to have to try harder if you’d like to start shit.”
“Me?” He chuckles a low, throaty sound that I like a little too much. “I would never.” His eyes rake down my body slowly. “I simply wanted to make you aware of theirrelationship.” He tilts his head in an almost predatory way. “Are you trying to distract me with your curves? If so, it’s working.”
“Here,” Hawk says, patting my shoulder. “Take my shirt.”
I toss my arms up.
He pulls the material down over my body, and it’s nice to no longer have my vagina on full display.
“Thanks, Hawk,” I say, wishing things had gone differently this morning.
I have no idea how he feels about me, but it felt like we bonded yesterday. I wish I’d had the chance to ease him into the idea of Magnum. I’ll have to talk to him later one-on-one. He’s more private than Moretti or Magnum, and I think that’s the only way I’ll get a chance to apologize to him.
Squaring my shoulders, I focus on Moretti.
“All of us need to sit down and talk without threats of violence. You said I need more security.” I sway forward, batting my lashes. “I hired Magnum. He’s going to help Hawk keep an eye on me.”
Moretti darts forward, grabbing my hips. “That position has non-negotiable job requirements.” He looks over my shoulder, likely at Magnum. “At the top of the list is being able to focus on Vanessa’s safety rather than the next opportunity you’ll have to fuck my wife.”
Magnum chuckles darkly.
