Remy woke up to the sound of Lisa laughing and the smell of bacon. Damn. That was the perfect way to wake up. He sighed and turned on his side, looking at the place where she’d lain next to him all night. Well, when he hadn’t been on top of her. Or under her.

His cell phone trilled. He glanced at the clock, a bit surprised he’d slept in. It was almost eight thirty. He didn’t have to be in the office since he was already on duty, but he usually woke up before his alarm went off.

Something about sleeping wrapped around Lisa’s petite body had been good for his beauty rest.

He picked up the phone and answered quickly because the number was familiar. “Momma?”

“No, it’s Seraphina, big brother,” a female voice said. “Momma is at church praying for your soul. Like she does every Wednesday morning. And Sunday. And Friday. And those are merely the Catholic services. I won’t tell you about the hoodoo priestess she meets with every Thursday.”

She didn’t need to. His momma told him enough. “How is Miss Marcelle? She still running that hair salon of hers?”

“I’m telling you that woman doesn’t age. She’s got to be a hundred and ten and she’s still scaring the shit out of tourists with those snakes of hers. Her daughter, Sylvie, and I have regular therapy sessions. Well, we drink a lot of vodka and wonder what it would be like to have normal mothers. You know, the kind who don’t come up with plans to haunt the new nail salon and run it out of business. Momma dressed up and everything. I’m fairly certain there’s a lawsuit brewing there.”

So everything was the same in Papillon. “You know she’s always had odd notions about how to protect her town.”

“I don’t trust Jean-Claude, Remy. He’s up to no good and I think it has something to do with you buying him out.”

He yawned. “I signed the papers of intent. I’ve got forty-five days to come up with the money. The bank here is going to approve the loan and everything’s going to be smooth sailing from there. We’ll have the wharf safely back where it belongs and a mountain of debt over our heads. It’ll be just like the old days.”

“Then why is he still meeting with that slick as snot developer?” Seraphina asked. “I was in New Orleans yesterday visiting a friend. He doesn’t know I saw him having lunch with that same city ass who came through a couple of months ago telling everyone he would buy up their land.”

“He can talk to the man all he likes. According to the way Pop-Pop’s will was written, he’s got to give me a chance to buy him out before he sells to a stranger. Don’t worry, Sera. I’ve got this. I’m going to be home soon.”

“That’s what you’ve been saying for years,” she said in a perfectly stubborn tone.

“Well, I mean it this time. And you can’t count the Army against me.”

“I can indeed. I can be as unreasonable as I like.” She was silent for a moment. “We miss you.”

“I’ll be home soon,” he promised. “I’ll be back and I’m going to take charge. I’ll make everything right.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Right? What do you mean by right?”

How could she not understand this? “I mean I’m the reason we lost our half in the first place. I’m the reason Zep is twelve kinds of screwed up. I’m the reason you haven’t gotten married. I’m coming home and I’m going to fix everything.”

“Maybe Momma’s right to pray for you. You sure are taking a lot on those shoulders of yours. Before you come home, think on this. Yes, you married poorly, and yes, Josette demanded that you give her the money from half of your half of the wharf. That was her choice, not yours, and when Momma or I tried to find a way around it, you plowed on through and sold to Jean-Claude. I know it was a lot of money, but I wish you had given us a chance to try to figure it out. Zep was an awkward kid. He is not a kid anymore. You’ll be surprised at how baby brother has grown up, and I haven’t gotten married because I don’t want to. Think about that before you walk back in after seven years of barely being home, three of not seeing us at all. You think before you try to walk in as the patriarch of this family and start issuing orders. And remember that Momma taught me how to use a gun. I would remind you that I think Jean-Claude is going to try something, but you know better than I do. Good-bye.”

She hung up with a decisive click.

Shit. His sister was pissed. Somehow he’d thought he would march back into Papillon as the returning hero. He might have to rethink that.

He set the phone down and heard a masculine laugh. Remy sat straight up in bed.

The first thing he was going to write into their contract was a clause where she didn’t let strange men into her apartment. He reached for his jeans. It could be Will. Her brother might have stopped by, and wouldn’t old Will be surprised to find the bodyguard he’d hired was taking his job seriously?

“You should have seen him,” a deep voice that did not match Will Daley’s said. “He’s standing on that ramshackle porch of his with two babies and a dog and I swear he started to cry as we drove away. I’m pretty sure that blonde of his escaped at the earliest opportunity.”

He practically ran out the door because Ian Taggart was here, and if he was fucking up Remy’s job, they were going to have a problem.

Lisa laughed. “Are you insane? You left your precious baby girls with him?”

“No choice. It was that or take them with us to the hospital and watch them burn the place down before their baby brother could be born,” Tag replied. “Honestly, he turned out to be the best of my iffy babysitting choices. The girls lived and no one got shot with an arrow.”

“Poor Boomer,” Lisa said with a shake of her head. It sounded like everyone had heard about that night. “I heard Theo did a good job stitching him up.”

“Like Boomer noticed. Charlie made him a couple of hot dogs and he didn’t even sue. I had a long talk with Kenzie about that. Told her she was legally on her own when she starts hunting down the most dangerous prey.” Taggart looked up, one brow rising. “Hello, Remy, we were just talking about your secondary job.”

“I am way smarter now. I see you or Charlotte outside my door and I hide. Obviously, Lisa hasn’t learned that trick yet.” God, he hoped the kids weren’t here. Though at least he could bet Lisa wouldn’t storm out of the place like what’s her name had.

Lisa was smiling like nothing had gone wrong. She poured him a mug of coffee and handed it over. “Big Tag came by to check on me.”

“She hasn’t been in the club in a couple of months, and quite frankly my girls miss her,” Tag said.

Sure, that’s why he’d shown up out of nowhere. He wasn’t at all checking up on how this high-paid assignment was working out.

“I explained about the car,” Lisa said. “And he said no sob story was complete without bacon and walked over to the grocery store. Now we have bacon and eggs and pancakes for breakfast.”

“Her refrigerator was completely empty with the exception of a half a pizza and some highly suspect milk.” Taggart’s eyes had narrowed.

She flushed. “I’ve been way too busy to shop.”

A lie, but one to save her pride.

“Well, you should expect your man here to feed you,” Taggart replied. “He’s doing all kinds of other things on your behalf, including forcing his coworkers to look into some legal case involving valet services. I was surprised when he called last night, but now I get it. This is new, I take it. I’m confused because you’ve been coming to play nights, but Lisa hasn’t.”

Shit. Tag thought he needed to know something so he’d stopped by on his way to work and run into Lisa, who naturally would want to know why he was here. He’d given her a line about the girls being worried about her only to discover Remy was here and not in his own apartment, where he should be. Now he seemed intent on giving Remy hell about it.

“It’s brand new,” he explained. “I moved in across the hall yesterday while I’m getting my house ready to sell. Lisa and I started talking and decided to spend some time together while we’re living in the same building.”

“It’s casual,” Lisa said breezily.

“We’re signing a contract this morning. It’s not that casual.” Had she changed her mind?

Lisa flushed again but this time he didn’t think it was embarrassment. “All right. It’s temporary, but not casual.”

“I’m glad you two seem to have worked out the important stuff.” Tag did not look impressed.

Lisa turned to Remy. She was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top that showed off her luscious breasts. A silky kimono thing was wrapped around her, giving her a bohemian vibe he liked. That crazy mermaid hair of hers was in a bun on top of her head. Without a stitch of makeup on, she was still the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. “You called Big Tag about my old job?”

This was going to be sticky. Unless he played along. It would be natural. “I texted him last night. You can’t expect me to be in your bed and not look into this. That’s not the man I am. It’s not the Dom I am.”

“But the Dom you are lets her starve?” Taggart asked.

“I’ve been her damn Dom for less than twenty-four hours. I supplied the pizza,” he groused. “I haven’t had time to take her grocery shopping.”

“I don’t need him to…” She stepped back slightly, pointing her spatula their way. “Do you know you both look very intimidating right now? Way to Dom a girl. And Remy’s right. He hasn’t had a chance to go all freaky protective, get-all-up-in-my-business Dom on me. He did buy me a pizza before blowing my mind in bed. Four times.”

Remy actually felt himself flush. “He did not need to know that.”

“Was it a good pizza?” Tag asked.

She shrugged. “I didn’t eat much of it. I jumped him pretty fast.”

“Maybe you’re the one I should be talking to,” Tag replied, obviously relishing the gossip he would share the minute he got into the office. Hell, he wouldn’t wait that long. He’d call Charlotte the minute he walked out the door. “Sub, you have to feed your Dom. He gets cranky and starts speaking French and shit when he’s hangry. When he starts speaking French, I get nauseous because it’s way too French.”

“Did you get me the info I asked about?” He hadn’t asked at all, but Lisa needed to think his interest in this case had coincided with his interest in her.

“I sent you the file Hutch worked up late last night. You owe him a big bag of Red Vines.” Tag looked over at Lisa, who flipped a pancake onto a plate. “That’s the secret to a truly successful business. You’ve got to find employees willing to work for food. Hutch is all about the candy and Boomer is happy as long as there’s a plate of something in front of him. Julian Lodge taught me that. The whole first year when he was funding McKay-Taggart he refused to pay us in anything but Chilean sea bass. The rich are weird, Lisa. Stay away from them.”

She grinned as though she truly loved Tag’s antics. “I don’t think that will be a problem. Honestly, I’m not that into rich guys. I know I’m supposed to be all about the billionaire, but give me a blue-collar boy any day.”

“Or a redneck because that’s what Remy’s blue collar is hiding,” Tag said.

He’d been so wrong about her because she simply grinned, her cheeks flushed, and it wasn’t all because she was cooking. He winked her way and then tried to get Tag back on task. “You said Hutch found something?”

“There’s nothing to find,” Lisa said, holding out a plate. “The case is practically dead. Now, Sir, what’s our protocol on which massive predator I throw meat at first? My Dom or our guest?”

“Unlike our guest, we’re a perfectly civilized couple. Guests first, and you’re wrong. He did find something. That’s precisely why he’s here,” he replied even as she set the plate in front of Tag.

The big guy looked up and the sarcasm fled for a moment. “Thank you, Lisa. This looks delicious. Remy’s right. Hutch and Michael are working on a comprehensive file on the actual court case, but we already have some underground intel that makes me nervous. I have information that a man named Francesco Biondo is in town. Does that name ring a bell?”

She shook her head as she made a second plate and passed it to Remy. “I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s an Italian national, known as The Blond in certain circles,” Big Tag said between bites.

Remy’s appetite fled in an instant. McKay-Taggart kept files on anyone Interpol flagged. And some Interpol didn’t even know about. “Are you talking about the assassin?”

“I am.” Big Tag sat back. “He’s known for his professionalism and his skill. His weapon of choice is a long-range rifle, but he’s used close-up tactics as well. The good news is Lisa doesn’t have a car for him to rig to explode. He’s an expert at that, too. Now we don’t know that he’s here for Lisa, but I find it interesting timing.”

She stopped and stared. “Why would someone assassinate me? The trial isn’t even going on. I doubt it will. They lost their best evidence. The prosecutor told me he didn’t think he would retry.”

“I think you’re their best evidence,” Taggart said quietly. “You can still testify.”

“But without the books to back me up, it’s my word against his,” she pointed out.

He saw exactly where Taggart was going and wished the boss would stay out of his damn business. He had this handled. “That’s true. That must be why the prosecutor is taking his time figuring out if he’s going to file the case again.”

“The fact that he doesn’t file the case now doesn’t mean Vallon’s off the hook. As long as you’re out here and willing to testify, this will hang over his head for years,” Taggart explained.

Lisa nodded. “I know, and I know what you think I should do. You want me to go into some kind of witness protection, but I’m not giving up my life, Ian.”

“You’ve already given up Sanctum,” Remy pointed out.

“That wasn’t about Vallon potentially offing me to keep me quiet. That was about pride. I can’t get myself there anymore. Next time, you should put the club next to a handy rail station,” she replied.

Taggart shuddered. “That would be horrible. Those things are human cattle movers. Have you smelled one in the middle of August? My point is you should come back. The last thing you need right now is to be isolated. That does nothing but help out the people who might try to hurt you. Someone will pick you up and take you home. I assure you no one will mind.”

“I’ll take her.” He didn’t like Taggart trying to arrange things for his sub. Not that they’d signed a contract yet, but they would. And he already had plans to keep her safe. Two nights a week at Sanctum would be two nights where nothing bad could happen to her. He was going to fix the other nights, too.

“I thought you were leaving.” Taggart winced. “Oh, was she not supposed to know that?”

“He told me,” Lisa said quickly, a hand on her hip. “He’s moving back home. That’s why he’s in the apartment. He has to get his place ready to sell. He’s been upfront and honest with me, so stop baiting him, please, Master Ian.”

“Well, since you asked nicely,” Taggart replied.

“I’m going to take a shower. I have a busy day of staring at the computer and applying for jobs,” she said, putting her spatula down.

“You’re not going to eat?” He didn’t like the look in her eyes. It didn’t come close to matching the smile on her face.

“Poverty has killed my appetite. I’ll get something after my shower,” she replied. “You two try not to kill each other. And I’ll be happy to come back. I missed the kids, too.”

Taggart nodded. “See you soon, then. And thank you for breakfast.”

Lisa smiled and walked back to the bedroom.

Remy turned on his boss. “You massive, meddling asshole. What exactly are you trying to do?”

Taggart was looking at him without a hint of sarcasm on his face. “I am trying to ensure that a woman who has been a sub in my club for years isn’t getting played by one of my operatives. I thought you had better sense than this. Do you know why I picked you for this job?”

“Because everyone else was taken.”

Tag pointed a finger his way. “Because you’re the sane one. You’re the stable one, and I know that says something about my hiring practices, but you’re the one who knows his limits and can control his goddamn dick. You think I don’t know what happened with her earlier this year? The whole club saw that.”

He was never going to live it down. “I didn’t mean to make a scene.”

“No, but you did make the right choice,” Tag shot back. “You should have softened that blow, but you were smart enough to not take what she had to give because you got nothing to give back to her. I would like to know what happened between then and now. Tell me this isn’t some play to make the time pass. Tell me you’re not fucking her because she’ll be easier to keep up with if you’re on top of her. Damn it, I told her brother we would take care of her. I owe him and I owe her brother-in-law, and I damn straight owe Bridget.”

“I’m fucking her because I want her more than I’ve ever wanted a woman. I’m fucking her because I can’t stand the thought of not fucking her. What’s the difference? I was stupid before and didn’t see past her family’s money and accomplishments to consider who she was as a human being. I saw a pretty face and expensive shoes and didn’t think she would have the depth to be able to care about a man like me for more than sex. I was wrong and I’ve corrected the mistake.” And yeah, he’d thought about how sex could make his job easier, but that had flown out the window the minute he’d realized who she really was.

“Have you given a single thought to how she’s going to feel when you leave?”

“Yeah, and she assures me that she would rather have these weeks than not have them, and I feel the same way.” He was getting a bad feeling in his gut. “If you’re going to fire me, do it, but I won’t leave her alone. She’s mine for as long as we’re together, and I won’t give up the right to protect her. I’ll stay here until I’m sure this thing is done.”

“She’s part of our family.” Taggart sat back. “She’s been in the girls’ lives since they were born. Her sister-in-law is Serena’s best friend. She’s more than a client. It’s why I came here this morning. I thought I would talk to you. Lisa was taking out the trash and caught me walking in. Imagine my surprise at that. She was walking around outside like nothing was wrong. An infamous assassin is in town and she’s taking out the trash and making sure the recycling went into the right bin.”

It made his heart threaten to seize. “I was asleep. We agreed last night to not think about our contract until this morning. I’ll put in protocols. I’ll make her understand how serious this is. I think she’ll let me protect her if she doesn’t realize her brother’s paying me. She’s got a strong streak of pride, but she’s reasonable.”

“And if she catches you following her?”

This could work. “Then she catches her very real Dom making sure she’s safe. I’m serious about that contract with her. There’s nothing fake about this. I care about her.”

“But you’re leaving her behind.”

Though he’d slept well the night before, the conversation was making him weary. “I have to go home. You heard her. She’s not leaving her family. I have to do what I can to save mine. We’re adults who’ve made our decision. Stop playing her dad and be my damn boss and help me protect her.”

Tag took a deep breath, seeming to consider the problem. “I can try to find someone to back you up. I can bring Riley off vacation. He’ll be pissed but he’ll do his job.”

“No, I can handle this, but I have some out-of-the-box thoughts on how to keep her safe. You just gave me two nights where I don’t have to worry. She’ll be safe at Sanctum.”

“You can take her on other nights,” Tag mused. “Sanctum is the safest place for her. You’re her Dom. You sign that contract with her and you trump her brother. Will can deal with it.”

“I was actually thinking she needs a job,” Remy explained. “And I might know a place where the employees would watch out for her. Where the employees are mostly ex-military.”

Taggart’s eyes narrowed. “And what would she be doing at this place that I own a large piece of?”

“She’s a hell of a bartender.” Remy had thought it out last night in between sessions. It was the best way to protect her and give her something to do while they waited to see what would happen with the trial. “You know Linc could use some help.”

“So let me get this straight. My company is paying for an apartment you are no longer really going to live in because you’ll be in her bed every night, and now you want me to hire the client and pay her a wage so we can protect her. You are taking the bulk of the money the actual client is paying. Do you see the business problems with this?”

Sure he did, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Taggart. “I’m nothing but an old country boy, boss. I don’t know a lot about the financial stuff. I leave that to way smarter minds than me.”

“Sure you do, asshole.” But Taggart was already pulling out his phone. “Tell her to be ready to interview with Deena this afternoon, but of course she’s got the job. We actually can use the help. Ally’s pregnant and Macon’s being seriously overprotective with her, so Lisa will have to bounce between the bar and service, but I suspect she can handle it. And I’ll head over there and brief everyone on what’s happening.”

“I’ll drive her to and from work, and when she’s safe, I’ll work with Hutch or whoever to try to figure a way out of this for her. You’re right. Even if they don’t prosecute now, she’s still a threat.” Their best bet might be finding something else to nail Vallon for, something that didn’t involve Lisa.

Tag nodded. “We’ll be on the lookout for Biondo. I’ll have someone monitoring the CCTV cams around the restaurant and this building. Luckily you have security cams here. I’m talking to Adam about bringing in…god, what’s it up to now? Miles-Dean, Weston, and Murdoch Investigation. Couldn’t they find a better name? They sound like a bunch of lawyers. I suggested Wolverine Investigations. Or The Angry Badger. See, both of those say ‘I’m going to find your missing person or someone will get torn apart by claws.’ The other says ‘we’re a bunch of brogrammers in suits.’”

“Brogrammers?” Sometimes he didn’t understand Tag’s language.

“It’s what Adam is. It’s worse than a nerd because he talks about computers a lot and yet also reminds me of a fraternity asswipe. Still, he knows what he’s doing and his facial recognition software is brilliant. If that man shows up on camera, we’ll catch him,” Tag promised.

An assassin was in town. Dallas was a big place, but still, his instincts told him something bad was coming. “I want work-ups on all the power players involved in this case. It’s federal, but Maia Brighton probably knows something.”

Maia Brighton was Dallas’s duly elected district attorney. She was also a pain in Big Tag’s ass. A devoted sex addict, she was one of the smartest, most ruthless women Remy had ever met. If anyone could get them information, it was her. The problem was her intelligence wasn’t free.

Tag groaned. “I just got rid of her. You can’t buy her info for money, man. She’ll want something sexual, and all my brothers are whiny losers who can’t give it up because they’re married and said vows and shit. And this new generation? You would think they’re a bunch of shrinking violet virgins. Ask them to fuck for information and you get a lecture on something about how their bodies make choices.”

“Boss, aren’t you the one who walked in here all self-righteous about the possibility of me hopping in Lisa’s bed to protect her?”

Tag stood up. “Did I? You must be mistaken because that totally doesn’t sound like me. I’ll get back to you about those reports. Have her at Top this afternoon. I’m sure Lincoln will be more than thrilled to have some help. Especially from Lisa.” He walked to the door. “And Remy, try to remember that plans can change. What you think you want and need, those things can change, and very quickly.”

“I don’t understand. Are you talking about the job?”

“I’m talking about life, brother. Take care of her. And get some damn food in her fridge. That’s sad. Send me the contract when you’re done and I’ll file it. That way Will can’t question your rights at Sanctum. Because he’s going to. You need to think about how you’re going to handle that whole family. Good luck. I wouldn’t want to deal with Bridget.” He closed the door.

He hadn’t thought about her family the night before. He’d been too busy thinking about how damn good it felt to finally sink into Lisa. It didn’t matter. They would have to accept the relationship or they could tell her the truth, and no one wanted Lisa freaking out and running headlong into danger. Will would simply have to see that his youngest sister was fully capable of making decisions for herself. And she’d decided on him.

He heard the shower running in the bathroom and suddenly food didn’t seem all that appealing. There was something he wanted way more.

God, this desire in his gut was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He’d thought it would be banked this morning after how well they’d fed it the night before. Instead, it was as though now he knew how good it was between them and his dick couldn’t wait. His dick had a taste and didn’t want anything else.

It was going to be all right. He could handle this. He could take care of her and enjoy her, and when it was over they would both have a fond memory. That was all. They would go their separate ways and not regret having cared about each other for these weeks or months.

She hummed while she was in the shower.

He stood there listening to her for a moment, the sweet sound piercing him in a way very little did anymore.

Was he the one in over his head?

It didn’t matter because there was no going back now. Warm heat hit him as he entered the bathroom. Through the opaque shower door he could see the graceful lines of her body. He dropped his jeans and joined his new sub in the shower. It was time to put their relationship on solid ground. It would be good for her. Despite the fact that this relationship was real, he would be foolish not to use it to help keep her safe.

She turned, her lips curling up. Her hair was wet, dropping down slightly past her waist. Yes, she was a siren calling him away from safety. Calling him right to her. “You got rid of Big Tag pretty fast.”

“I can work miracles when I need to,” he promised, reaching out for her. “Come here, chèrie.”

When she moved into his arms, nothing had ever felt so right.