Suck it up, Sykes. You chose this life. You built Deliverance. You know what it takes to make it work. Don't start acting like a pussy now.
Right. Good advice.
With his pep talk running a loop in his head, he pulled on a fresh pair of jeans. He continued to wear the cashmere sweater that Jane had given him. It was still clean, but it carried her scent, and he wanted as much of Jane with him as he could have.
Presentable again, he started toward his bedroom door, then caught sight of the blue envelope sitting on the small table that sat flush against that wall. Well, hell. One more thing to add to his list of shit that just kept piling up.
According to Archie, the letter had arrived last Monday, tucked inside the plastic bag in which the morning paper had been delivered. But Archie had told him that news at the same time that he'd told Dallas that Jane was waiting for him on the pool deck. Dallas had asked Archie to leave the letter in his bedroom to read later, and Dallas had hurried to Jane, the letter forgotten.
Now, he frowned at it, another one in a string that had started arriving about a year ago. He was tempted to just shred the thing, but reason told him not to. He didn't know who was sending them, and so far they'd been nothing more than a nuisance, but he also knew that could change.
He opened this one, then felt his gut twist as he read the words printed there:
My mouth, my pussy, my ass, my heart. You know you have all of me, so why aren't you mine?
The words made him cringe, all the more so because coming from Jane, they would make him hard.
"Bitch," he spat, cursing the unknown woman as he carefully folded the letter and replaced it in the envelope. He'd deal with it later. Right now, he had more important things to worry about than a woman who imagined herself scorned.
Forcing the letter from his mind, he hurried down the hall and through the double doors that separated the private rooms from the public area. He moved slowly down the stairs, using the vantage point to scope out possible companions mingling in the great room below. He didn't see Jane, and her absence both disappointed him--when didn't he want to see her?--and pleased him. Because right then, seeing her would only drive home the fact that she was the one woman at the party that he could absolutely not pursue.
He'd reached the second floor landing when he saw Liam. His childhood friend turned business partner stood ramrod straight in the middle of the room, his perceptive gaze taking in every face. He was looking for Dallas, of course, but his military training was so ingrained that the man never entered
a room without assessing the occupants and the space. Liam had been captured once, too, and held in Afghanistan. And Dallas knew damn well that his friend also fought his own personal demons.
Now, he tilted his shaved head back, his eyes going immediately to Dallas as if he'd known that Dallas was watching. Hell, he probably had. He grinned, his white teeth bright against his dark skin. Without hesitation, he pushed through the crowd, then paused at the base of the stairs like a wall of pure muscle and waited for Dallas to join him.
"I came here planning to put Archie on a couple of hours' worth of data analysis," Liam said, skipping over the prelims and getting right to business.
"He left Monday," Dallas said, referring to his butler and Deliverance's go-to guy, all rolled into one. "Had some personal things to take care of."
Dallas leaned against the balustrade, remembering how pleased he'd been to get the note from Archie saying that something had come up and he needed to take time off. Dallas hadn't relished the thought of explaining to the man who had helped raise both him and Jane why the two of them were sharing a bedroom.
Liam, however, knew the situation, and now Dallas flashed a quick grin at his friend. "A convenient trip, actually."
"I know." Liam grinned. "I heard you sent my mom away," he added, referring to Helen Foster, who had worked at the Southampton mansion as a housekeeper since before both men were born. "She appreciates the spa week. Said it was quite the surprise the way you hustled her into the limo and sent her off to the Ritz Carlton."
"Your mom works hard," Dallas said dryly. And it was true. She and Archie were the only two permanent staff he retained, not only because he valued his privacy, but he didn't want anyone who was unaware of Deliverance having unfettered access to the property. "I figured she deserved to be pampered."
"You just wanted to frolic naked with Jane."
"That too."
"When's Archie back?"
"Tomorrow. You want to stay the night and catch him in the morning?"
Liam shook his head. "I've got plans in the city tomorrow morning before I head back to London. I'll leave instructions in the op-center," he added, referring to the mansion's converted basement that Deliverance used as one of its operational bases.
Liam started toward the bar that had been set up on the far side of the room, and Dallas fell in step beside him. "So you look all rested and refreshed," Liam said. "Not too tired out." His mouth quirked. "Must be doing something wrong."
"Fuck you."
Liam laughed, then ordered a tequila for himself and a whiskey for Dallas. "Seriously, you two okay?"
"If you're talking about her wanting to rip my balls off after she found out about Deliverance, then I have to say we've come through that just fine."
It had been hell for a while after she'd unexpectedly learned that truth, and Dallas had just about died thinking that he'd lost her. But they'd gotten past it, thank god, and Dallas knew that Liam had helped. "Thanks, by the way. I know you talked with her."