some of her story. Jill talks about their hometown sometimes. Apparently their mom was pretty uptight after their dad left.”
Her mother had died a while back. Keith had known a little of the family history, but not enough. “Yeah, if I had known how bad it was, I never would have put Jill on a bus back there.”
Derek’s eyes went a little wide. “That was you?”
“Nice. Gossip. Football can wait.” Taggart was sitting in his recliner, which apparently had a 360 degree rotation. “Besides, I’m waiting for Knight to finish making himself pretty or some shit.”
“He’s taking a shower,” Adam said, rolling his eyes. His hand started inching toward the remote.
“So you were the one who took over Jill’s contract when Ryan decided to lose his fucking mind?” Taggart asked.
“Shouldn’t gossip be beneath you?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to go into his life story with Taggart.
Taggart shook his head. “Fuck no. I used to be Agency. You know what being a CIA operative means? It means you better listen to gossip because that’s where all the intel is. I once took down an entire terrorist organization by just putting the rumor out there that dude number one was messing around with his lieutenant’s daughter. Yeah, that got bloody. It was beautiful.”
“Seriously, if you don’t start talking, he’ll bring out the slide show,” Adam said. He shuddered a little. “Someone really should check him for the sign of the beast. I’m sure it’s somewhere on his body.”
Keith frowned, but decided if there had ever been a man who had slide shows from his days as a CIA assassin, it would be Ian Taggart. “Ryan had his reasons. He’d just lost everything. He loved Jill, but they weren’t exactly great communicators.”
And he’d learned from them. His contract with Ashley was very specific. Everything had been laid out, including the fact that he very likely wouldn’t see her outside the club.
He wouldn’t have dinner with her or meet up with her for lunch. He wouldn’t invite her over to his condo or spend the night at her place. He wouldn’t see how she looked in the morning after he’d spent the entire night inside her.
“So they were twenty-four seven?” Derek asked.
Oh, that was asked with the curiosity of a man who had thought about it. “Yes, they were. You’ll note they aren’t now.” This he felt perfectly comfortable talking about. “Twenty-four seven is hard on both partners.”
“You thinking about it, Brighton?” Taggart asked. “Really?”
The lieutenant shrugged. “I’ve done the whole modern relationship thing. You know what it got it me? Divorced, but not before she cheated on me with my brother. Yeah, I know it was a true shining moment for me. My ex was the perfect modern woman. She didn’t need me for much of anything. Wait. She had me fix a couple of parking tickets for her. Can you blame me for wanting to try something different?”
“I can blame you for being a dumbass. Ask Karina out,” Taggart said.
“You should do it, Derek,” Adam added, inching closer to the remote. “Karina’s a great girl. And Liam says she cheats at cards, but that’s because she’s way better than him. He has that tell…”
Taggart held up a hand. “Don’t ever tell him. I need the money I make off Liam to pay for Charlie’s obsession with QVC.”
Derek pushed his leathers off his hips. No one gave a crap about nudity in the dungeon, much less the locker room. “Karina and I have a history.”
“Good, more gossip.” Taggart suddenly turned his head and smacked at the hand trying to grab the remote. “Down, Adam!”
Adam pulled his hand back quickly. “Asshole still has great peripheral vision. We need a second TV.”
Taggart growled a little Adam’s way. “Ain’t happening. Derek, how did Karina take your balls off?”
Keith laughed as the lieutenant turned the brightest shade of red. He’d walked into the locker room planning how quickly he could get
Her mother had died a while back. Keith had known a little of the family history, but not enough. “Yeah, if I had known how bad it was, I never would have put Jill on a bus back there.”
Derek’s eyes went a little wide. “That was you?”
“Nice. Gossip. Football can wait.” Taggart was sitting in his recliner, which apparently had a 360 degree rotation. “Besides, I’m waiting for Knight to finish making himself pretty or some shit.”
“He’s taking a shower,” Adam said, rolling his eyes. His hand started inching toward the remote.
“So you were the one who took over Jill’s contract when Ryan decided to lose his fucking mind?” Taggart asked.
“Shouldn’t gossip be beneath you?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to go into his life story with Taggart.
Taggart shook his head. “Fuck no. I used to be Agency. You know what being a CIA operative means? It means you better listen to gossip because that’s where all the intel is. I once took down an entire terrorist organization by just putting the rumor out there that dude number one was messing around with his lieutenant’s daughter. Yeah, that got bloody. It was beautiful.”
“Seriously, if you don’t start talking, he’ll bring out the slide show,” Adam said. He shuddered a little. “Someone really should check him for the sign of the beast. I’m sure it’s somewhere on his body.”
Keith frowned, but decided if there had ever been a man who had slide shows from his days as a CIA assassin, it would be Ian Taggart. “Ryan had his reasons. He’d just lost everything. He loved Jill, but they weren’t exactly great communicators.”
And he’d learned from them. His contract with Ashley was very specific. Everything had been laid out, including the fact that he very likely wouldn’t see her outside the club.
He wouldn’t have dinner with her or meet up with her for lunch. He wouldn’t invite her over to his condo or spend the night at her place. He wouldn’t see how she looked in the morning after he’d spent the entire night inside her.
“So they were twenty-four seven?” Derek asked.
Oh, that was asked with the curiosity of a man who had thought about it. “Yes, they were. You’ll note they aren’t now.” This he felt perfectly comfortable talking about. “Twenty-four seven is hard on both partners.”
“You thinking about it, Brighton?” Taggart asked. “Really?”
The lieutenant shrugged. “I’ve done the whole modern relationship thing. You know what it got it me? Divorced, but not before she cheated on me with my brother. Yeah, I know it was a true shining moment for me. My ex was the perfect modern woman. She didn’t need me for much of anything. Wait. She had me fix a couple of parking tickets for her. Can you blame me for wanting to try something different?”
“I can blame you for being a dumbass. Ask Karina out,” Taggart said.
“You should do it, Derek,” Adam added, inching closer to the remote. “Karina’s a great girl. And Liam says she cheats at cards, but that’s because she’s way better than him. He has that tell…”
Taggart held up a hand. “Don’t ever tell him. I need the money I make off Liam to pay for Charlie’s obsession with QVC.”
Derek pushed his leathers off his hips. No one gave a crap about nudity in the dungeon, much less the locker room. “Karina and I have a history.”
“Good, more gossip.” Taggart suddenly turned his head and smacked at the hand trying to grab the remote. “Down, Adam!”
Adam pulled his hand back quickly. “Asshole still has great peripheral vision. We need a second TV.”
Taggart growled a little Adam’s way. “Ain’t happening. Derek, how did Karina take your balls off?”
Keith laughed as the lieutenant turned the brightest shade of red. He’d walked into the locker room planning how quickly he could get
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