"I bet."

"Don't be jealous."

"I'm not. I just think it's sad we're fighting over one cookie and I've got a whole package of them right there."

"Oh. You do."

Ronnie made a move for the cookies, but he held her back.

"I want another cookie. Now!"

"Okay. On one condition."

She leaned back and stared down at him. "This doesn't involve me wearing a full nurse's uniform with spiked heels, does it?"

"Not tonight, no."

"Latex? Furry handcuffs? Entertainment involving me, a vibrator, and-"

"Please stop." Brendon ordered his cock to behave and it pretty much laughed at him. "Those things will be for later." Maybe even tonight if he could track down the nurse's uniform. "Right now, I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

He had to proceed cautiously here. "If you have to leave for any length of...uh...time, you'll let me know."

She reared back, and if he hadn't had a firm hold of her, she probably would have bolted. "That sounds like a commitment."

"No, no," he said quickly, already smelling her panic. "Not a commitment. A courtesy. That's all. The polite thing to do." Southerners, from what he could tell, were big on courtesy and politeness. "You wouldn't want me to worry if you and Sissy Mae are only off shopping, would you? Especially with all this stuff going on with my brother."

"You're not asking me to stay forever, are you?"

"Nope. Just let me know when you're heading off somewhere." That way if she's leaving him, he can convince her to stay forever.

He could be very persuasive when the situation called for it.

"This is so you won't worry, right?"

"Right."

"Not because you're expecting me to settle down with you or anything."

"Never," he lied. Unfortunately, there were times when a man needed to lie to his woman. The wild look of panic in her eyes...lying was very important at the moment. He needed to lure her over before he pounced and made Ronnie his forever.

"Okay. That I'll agree to. And just that," she tacked on with a large amount of unnecessary vehemence.

"Perfect."

"Are we now done with this frightening conversation?"

"Yes."

"Good. I want more cookies."

"Get your own damn cookies."

"Give me those cookies or I'll kick your Yankee ass."

Laughing, his hands sliding along her naked body, "You know there are much nicer ways of getting me to give you those cookies."

"Oh." She blinked. "You're right."

Before Brendon could move, Ronnie pulled out of his arms and turned to face away from him.

"Ronnie, what are you-"

Suddenly he had a face full of her pussy and Ronnie's mouth around his cock. She sucked, causing his eyes to roll back into his head, then wiggled her ass a bit.

"Get to work, hoss," she said after releasing him with a wonderful pop sound. "We get done here, we can tussle over the cookies some more."

Brendon gripped her hips and pulled her lower. "You know, sexy," he sighed before taking her to heaven, "I love tussling with you."

Ronnie groaned deep and long when he pushed his tongue inside her. "Me too, hoss," she panted out. "Lord in heaven, me too."

Chapter Thirteen.

R onnie was kind of surprised she could walk at all as she made her way out into Shaw's living room. Room service had already delivered a huge breakfast, and tightening the belt around her Kingston Arms robe, she sat at the table across from Shaw. He had the Wall Street Journal in front of his face, and there was something amazingly domestic about it all. It shocked her she still hadn't made a run for it. She would have before.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she checked under the silver covers keeping the food either hot or cold.

When Ronnie found a big bowl of plain yogurt under one of those covers, she nearly squealed. Tossing some fresh fruit over the yogurt, she picked up the bowl and spoon and sat down in the chair. She'd finished off half the bowl by the time Shaw lowered his paper and looked at her.

Raising one eyebrow, "You didn't think to offer me any?"

Ronnie shook her head. "Nope."

"How many times do I have to tell you, kings of the jungle eat first."

"And She-wolves love to chase cats into trees, then laugh and laugh. So don't push me."

Grinning, he picked up a slice of thick-cut bacon. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Don't you have to work or something?"

"I am working. I'm staying out of my staff's way. They love when I do that."

"You're one of those nitpicky bosses, aren't you?"

"Damn right I am. I know what I want. I won't take any less."

She refused to comment on that one. Not when he had that intense look again with those gold eyes locking on her.

"Do you like museums?" he asked. "We can check out a few. Then I can fuck you in the Guggenheim bathroom."

"Such respect for the artists."

"I try." He stared at her. "You look good in my robe, sexy."

"Thank you kindly."

"Open it."

She hid her smile by shoveling a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth. "I'm eating," she said around her food.

He rested his elbow on the table, his chin in the palm of his hand. "Open the robe, Ronnie Lee."

With an annoyed sniff that even she didn't buy, she put her nearly empty bowl on the table and loosened up the belt at her waist. Keeping her eyes on him, Ronnie pulled the robe down over her shoulders and licked her lips. "Like this?"

Brendon growled and she thought he'd come over the table for her when his cell phone went off. His growl turned into a snarl, and he snatched his cell phone off the table. "What?"

He glanced at her and Ronnie opened the robe completely, arching her back. His eyes locked on her breasts and he gave a small whimper. He frowned. "Mace who?"

She covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

Brendon flinched. "Oh. Llewellyn. Yeah. What's up?"

Ronnie watched the humor go out of his eyes. "You can't tell me over the phone? Yeah. Okay. Okay. One o'clock. I'll be there." He sighed and disconnected.

"What's wrong?"

"Mace needs to see me. Has information on my brother."

Ronnie stood up, pulling the robe back on. "Come on." She stepped over to him and held her hand out. "Let's get showered and dressed. Once you're done, we can still do that museum thing if you want." Although she doubted that would be happening, she wanted to act as positive as possible. But if Mace didn't have bad news, he would have told Shaw over the phone.

"You don't have to go."

"Do you want me to go?"

He didn't answer at first, staring at the table. Finally, he slipped his hand into hers. "Yes. I want you to go." He let out another sigh and allowed her to pull him out of the chair. "I'll need you to keep me from beating the shit out of Mitch. Who knows what the little idiot has gotten himself into now."

Brendon stared blindly while they chatted around him. He stared blindly at the corkboard with its pictures and diagrams. He stared and stared and stared, not sure what he was actually seeing. Realizing he knew nothing about his own blood. His own brother.

Around him they talked about the offices Mace and Smitty had so quickly secured with Sissy Mae's help, including a gorgeous cheetah receptionist who looked organized, highly competent, and like she could probably outrun a gold medalist sprinter. They chatted about the weather and the annual New Year's Eve party at the hotel. They chatted about a new club on East Fourteenth. Llewellyn and Smitty dropped their bomb and then let him deal with it on his own while they drank bottled water and chatted about their lives.

Finally, after he'd stared at the corkboard-and that one picture that said so much-for longer than many might consider normal, he exploded, his roar shaking windows and the glass on tables.

Silence, not surprisingly, followed until he heard Ronnie ask, "Could y'all leave us alone for a minute?"

They left without making a sound, and hands that were becoming as familiar as his own cupped his face. Ronnie turned him so he gazed down at her. One look into those hazel eyes and Brendon pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck.

"How could he not tell me?"

Ronnie's arms held him tight and she said, "Because he's being a passive-aggressive prick. But he's not hopeless."

"I'm going to kick his ass when I see him."

"Call him. Tell him to come to the hotel. You'll feel better once you know he's safe. 'Round his own kind."

"I should let him deal with this on his own."

She kissed his cheek. "You'll never forgive yourself if anything happens to him. We both know that."

He nodded, knowing she was right.

"So call the little fucker up and tell him to get his skinny lion ass over to your hotel."

"And my sister."

"If you must."

He released her so she could hand him the phone she took off his jeans.

Dez walked into the room from a separate door, carrying two bottles of water. She glanced around as she stepped closer to them. "Where is everybody?"

"They ran to safety," Ronnie joked.

Those strange green-gray eyes narrowed and Dez asked, "Did Mace roar at you guys? I told him not to keep doing that."

"No." Ronnie patted his shoulder. "That was ol' Shaw here."

"Oh." Dez seemed to immediately lose interest, turning and staring at the corkboard Mace and Smitty had set up. She frowned and pointed at a picture of Mitch. "Who's that?"

Sighing as he speed-dialed his brother. "Him? That's my brother."

"I didn't know your brother was a cop."

Brendon glanced up at the picture of his brother in full Philadelphia PD uniform. His graduation picture. The graduation and career Brendon had never known about.

"Yeah. I didn't know either."