"You know that spanking we talked about?"

"Yes..."

"Consider it a promise, not a threat," he warned before turning to continue to the door.

Lily stayed where she was, not because Jonas had ordered her to or because she feared the reprisal of that promised spanking, but because watching him like this was...well, it was mesmerizing.

For such a big man, he was incredibly light on his feet, stealthy, those heavy biker boots not making a sound as he pressed back against the wall and moved the rest of the way to the door before putting his eye to the security peephole.

What happened next was a blur of movement too fast for Lily to follow.

She knew Jonas must have unlatched the security chain and opened the door, because he stepped out into the hallway. A snarl and a squeak followed.

Lily arrived at the open doorway in time to see Jonas holding a man up against the opposite wall by a hand about his throat, the man's face on a level with Jonas's as his feet dangled several inches off the floor.

Panicked brown eyes looked pleadingly across at Lily, the hand about the man's throat not only causing his face to turn a mottled shade of red, but also preventing him from talking beyond that garbled squeak.

"Jonas-"

"Stay the h.e.l.l out of this, Lily." Jonas didn't so much as allow his glittering gaze to waver from the man he held in his grasp. "So, you like to play mind-f.u.c.k games with women, do you? Like to send them letters telling them the sick things you want to do to them? Send them roses dripping with blood." He shook the other man as if he weighed no more than a rag doll. "Answer me, you sick little-"

"Jonas, he can't answer you when you're choking the life out of him." Lily quickly crossed the hallway to pull ineffectually at the hand Jonas was using to hold his captive off the floor. "He's a friend, Jonas," she told him in exasperation, reaching up to try to physically pry his fingers loose now. Again without success. "I'm guessing you didn't watch the play this evening?"

"No." Nights at the theater weren't exactly Jonas's thing.

"If you had, then you would know that this is Evan Butler. He stars in the play with me," she added when Jonas remained unimpressed.

Jonas froze for a second or two, and then he released Evan so abruptly, the other man crumpled to a heap in the carpeted hallway, hand raised to his throat. He choked and coughed, attempting to draw breath back into his starved lungs.

Lily went down onto her haunches beside him. "Are you okay? Oh G.o.d, Evan, I am so sorry." She turned to glare at Jonas. "Shoot first and ask questions later much?"

A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw as he towered over them. "He's still alive, isn't he?"

"Barely," she snapped before turning her attention back to the other man.

Jonas scowled. What the h.e.l.l had Lily expected his reaction to be when a man rang her doorbell at almost one o'clock in the morning?

Come to think of it, what was a male friend doing calling round at this time of night?

There seemed to be only one answer to that question.

Gabriel hadn't mentioned his sister having a boyfriend, but that didn't mean she didn't have one. Lily obviously preferred not to confide in any of her brothers regarding her private life, had only done so regarding those letters because the whole situation was becoming so frighteningly intense.

But if this was Lily's boyfriend, what the h.e.l.l had she been doing flirting with him minutes ago?

Had she been flirting with him?

It had seemed as if she was at the time, but Jonas was the one who had picked her up and molded her body to his. Who had confirmed he had been thinking about f.u.c.king her. Who had caressed and fondled her a.s.s.

s.h.i.t.

Jonas stowed his gun back in the waistband of his jeans. "I suggest we move this inside your apartment, before any of the neighbors decide to investigate the reason for all the noise." He made no effort to offer his a.s.sistance as Lily helped the other man up onto his feet.

Jonas closed and locked the apartment door behind him before following them down the hallway into the sitting room, eyes narrowed on Evan's arm about Lily's shoulders, hers about his waist.

Lily didn't need to look at Jonas to be totally aware of him standing across the room, arms folded in front of the broadness of his chest. He leaned back against the wall watching her through narrowed lids while she helped Evan cross the room and then to sit down on the sofa, before sitting down next to him.

She shot Jonas an impatient glance. "Why don't you make yourself useful and instead of just standing there glaring, go and get the man you almost choked to death a gla.s.s of water?"

"I'm not your f.u.c.king maid!" he rasped.

"You're not my f.u.c.king anything." Lily used the word deliberately, knowing how much it had annoyed Jonas earlier. One rule for him and another for her didn't cut it as far as she was concerned.

Besides, he had almost strangled poor Evan.

"Is it safe to leave me alone with him?" Evan eyed Jonas nervously as Lily got up to go through to the kitchen.

"Is it?" Lily quirked a questioning brow at Jonas.

"For the moment," he allowed grudgingly.

Lily would like to think he was joking, but she knew by Jonas's behavior in the hallway that he wasn't. One wrong move from Evan, and he was likely to find himself pressed up against the wall again, Jonas's hand once more about his throat. And this time, he might not let go.

"It's safe," she told Evan, shooting Jonas a warning glance as she continued into the kitchen to get the gla.s.s of water.

Jonas a.s.sessed Evan. Mid to late twenties, about six feet tall, slender frame, pretty-boy face, tousled brown hair. "So you're an actor?"

The guy's Adam's apple bobbed nervously up and down before he spoke. "Yes." He gave an enthusiastic nod. "I also have a boyfriend called Todd," he added quickly.

Jonas's eyes narrowed. "Then what are you doing here?"

"Todd goes away on business a lot, and Lily and I occasionally go for coffee after the show when he's away." He shifted uncomfortably. "I was concerned earlier when someone said she'd left with you."

"Why?"

"Well...the letters. Those roses." Evan shuddered. "I thought you might have been him. The stalker. You aren't him, are you?" he added as a worried afterthought.

Jonas gave a derisive shake of his head. "I'm a friend of her brother."

Evan's eyes lit up with interest. "The big dangerous-looking one, with the incredibly wide shoulders and gorgeous green eyes?"

"That would be all of them. And I'll take your word for it on the gorgeous green eyes," he drawled.

"This brother also always wears suits that look as if his tailor loves dressing him." Evan gave a swooning movement with his eyes to emphasize his point.

"That would be Gabriel." Although Jonas had a feeling the other Knight brothers looked as good in a suit. "And yes, that's the right brother." He wondered how Gabriel would react to this man's obvious crush. No doubt the same way he reacted to everyone-with complete indifference. Gabriel didn't have women, or men, in his life, only in his bed, and then only for the time it took to satisfy his s.e.xual itch. "I wouldn't waste my time in that direction, if I were you."

"Are you and Gabriel together?"

Jonas almost choked on his own tongue. Him and Gabriel? It would be like putting a tiger and a panther together, and anyone's guess which one would maul the other to death.

"Yes, are you?" Lily prompted innocently as she arrived back and handed Evan the gla.s.s of water.

Jonas narrowed his eyes at her. "Remember that promise I made you earlier?" His mouth twisted as Lily's cheeks colored with a blush. "Consider it a notice of intent. But you won't know when to expect it."

"Lily?" Evan looked between the two of them uncertainly.

"It's okay, Evan." Lily turned to give him a rea.s.suring smile. "Jonas is just a big teddy bear, really. Aren't you?" she taunted.

More like a grizzly-with att.i.tude.

And right now, Jonas's att.i.tude was telling him Lily not only took delight in pressing every one of his b.u.t.tons, but she succeeded too.

"Time I was going." Evan had obviously had enough of the tension he sensed between them, placing his empty gla.s.s down on a coaster on the coffee table before standing up. "I only wanted to make sure you were okay, baby girl." He touched Lily's cheek gently.

She pulled him into a hug. "I'll walk you to the door-"

"I'll be the one walking him to the door." Jonas pushed away from the wall.

"The two of you can leave together." Lily nodded.

Jonas gave her a mocking glance. "We'll talk about when I'm leaving once I've seen Evan out."

Lily eyed him nervously, not liking the determined glitter she could see in those dark blue eyes as Jonas left the room. Or the promise of intent he'd made a few minutes ago to spank her bottom.

She knew she'd behaved badly with Jonas tonight, mocking, challenging, and then being downright provocative when those two things had failed to get a reaction. It was no excuse, but she was tired from tonight's performance and defensive from the days of tension caused by her stalker. Jonas Grayfeather, six and a half feet of in-your-face power and impressive masculinity, was too much to take on top of all that. She could even envision him out there on the American prairie, dressed only in a breechcloth, as he stalked and then captured his prey.

How on earth did Gabriel even know a man like Jonas? Admittedly the two men were of a similar age and temperament, but that was where the similarity ended. They came from different backgrounds and different countries. She was pretty sure Jonas didn't work at Knight Security either. She knew all the men who did.

Gabriel hadn't been in the least forthcoming about Jonas on the phone earlier, but that was nothing new. As she'd told Jonas, her eldest brother rarely felt the need to explain himself or his actions.

All Gabriel would say was that she could trust Jonas.

Problem was, she was quickly learning she didn't trust herself when she was with him. Jonas's physical presence brought out a recklessness inside her. The strong, silent thing he had going made her want to constantly challenge, to poke and prod at him in whatever way she could, in order to get a reaction. As for the way she reacted to him physically...the last thing she wanted was to find herself attracted to a man who was so like her overbearing and arrogant brothers. Not least because they would all find it hilarious if she did.

"I'm tired. I'd like you to go now," she told Jonas wearily when he came back into the room.

He nodded. "I'm leaving two of my men outside to watch the building tonight, one at the back, one at the front. But I'll be back in the morning."

Her eyes widened. "Your men?"

Jonas gave a hard smile. "I work for a company called Grayson Security."

"I don't understand."

He shrugged. "Gabriel said you weren't happy at the thought of anyone from Knight Security being involved in protecting you."

She wasn't. She loved her brothers dearly, but she couldn't stand being around any of them for too long. "So he hired someone from your company instead?"

Jonas's mouth tightened. "Not exactly."

"How not exactly?"

"Long story. One you'll have to ask Gabriel about if you want answers," he added before Lily could press the matter. "Can I take these with me?" He moved to pick up the pile of letters she hadn't shown her brother.

Alarm coursed through her. "Why?"

"These are the only ones still in their envelopes-I understand why the others weren't," he a.s.sured her as she would have spoken. "The fact the letters and envelopes are printed isn't going to be of much help. We could probably narrow down the printer, but that's about it, and no doubt there are thousands of the same model out there. But there are times and postmarks on these envelopes that may help in my investigation."

She was an investigation now?

Of course she was. This was a job to Jonas. She was a job to Jonas.

Lily suddenly felt even more tired. Bone weary, in fact. As well as a deep need to be alone. "Fine," she agreed tersely.

Jonas could see Lily had clearly had enough for one night. The shadows had returned to her eyes, and her face was pale. He resisted the urge to take her in his arms and rea.s.sure her. "I will find him, Lily," he said instead.

"I hope so." Her voice sounded very small, and she somehow looked smaller and more vulnerable too.

"Don't hope, know."

She gave the ghost of a smile. "Lord save me from overconfident men."

"I'm exactly as confident as I need to be," he stated grimly. "Now get some rest, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!"

Jonas instantly felt heat course through his body before centering on his rapidly engorging c.o.c.k, and he wondered what it would be like to have a fiery woman like Lily as love slave to his master. Not that he was into that lifestyle at all, but it might be fun to play at it for a couple of hours. Once this was over- Once this was over, he would return to his world and Lily would stay in hers. His was based in harsh reality, Lily's in the artificial world of acting. Total opposites.

Opposites attract as often as they repel.

Jonas wasn't about to deny he was attracted to Lily, any more than she could deny her response to him earlier. He had been able to breathe in the perfume of her arousal as he held her in his arms and her p.u.s.s.y pressed against the hardness of his c.o.c.k. To feel the heat between her thighs and the press of her engorged nipples against his chest.

His mouth thinned as his c.o.c.k gave an interested throb. A response he ignored. As he also chose to ignore her most recent attempt to annoy him. "Do I need to warn my men to expect any more nocturnal visitors?"

"Is that your way of asking if I have a boyfriend?"

"Do you?"

"Didn't Gabriel tell you that?"

"I doubt Gabriel would know," he drawled.

She gave a humorless smile. "You're right, he wouldn't. And the answer is no. No more nocturnal visitors, and no boyfriend."

Jonas nodded. "What time do you usually leave your apartment?"

"There's a matinee performance tomorrow as well as an evening one, so about one, then back again at six thirty."