Free Illeanna by Dixie Lynn Dwyer Page B

at one of them, her gorgeous green eyes, and the smell of her perfume were intoxicating. She was all woman, their woman, and he wanted her.
    Johnny didn’t want to scare her. He just wanted to make his intentions known. They all needed to make Illeanna know that they were ready for a commitment. Slowly he released her lips, and he noticed that she clung to him, eyes closed and breathing hard. Good. She felt the attraction, the chemistry between them, just as he had thought.
    “We’ll give you some time with your sister, but you understand this good, Illeanna, we want you. All of us want you and have for a long while. You gave us a scare, and we’re trying to recover, and the only thing that calms us down is having you close. We’ll give you time tonight, but tomorrow things are gonna change,” he stated firmly then reached up to gently push a stray strand of black hair from her eyes. Her beautiful face stared up at him, holding his gaze. Her plump lips were parted, her cheeks rosy, and her eyes glistening, but damn it, he saw something else that he couldn’t quite label.
    “Johnny, let me go,” she whispered.
    Slowly he released her.
    She placed the palm of her hand gently against his chest, and his entire body burned with desire. She looked at her own hand, and damn, he wished she would move it and caress him further. He felt his cock press harder against the zipper of his uniform pants, and he was grateful they were a bit baggy in hopes that she wouldn’t notice.
    “I’m not sure how to respond,” Illeanna began to say when they heard a car door slam outside. Illeanna went to pull away, and Johnny grabbed her hand to stop her. He placed his finger under her chin as he spoke to her.
    “You think about what I said. You think about it and know that we mean it.” He released her just as Mikayla knocked on the door.
     

Chapter 5
    “You were supposed to be in the kitchen when they escaped, ensuring that they had a quick getaway,” Luther told his brother Jacque as he stood in their small apartment. The sounds of jazz music echoed in the background as tourists walked through the neighborhoods. They were in the center of town where Jacque rented an apartment above a large bar.
    “The senator was impressed with my shrimp-and-sausage étouffée. I am a chef and trying to make a name for myself,” Jacque replied with a thick French accent.
    “You are an idiot! I was paid good money to ensure their escape, and you worried about impressing the senator? He’s the one they want to destroy,” Luther stated as he looked at his fat, obnoxious brother.
    “I am a chef, not a criminal.”
    “No, Jacque, you are not a chef. Your cooking is decent but nothing like that little woman you worked with, the one who fucked up our plans.”
    “Illeanna? She is nothing. Your guy should have shot her instead of me.”
    “She was the one who should have walked out of the kitchen since she was the one who made the étouffée,” Luther stated firmly. He knew that his brother hated the female chef because she was a better cook than him. The fat bastard lied about studying in France and faked his thick French accent to boot.
    “What’s done is done. The restaurant is closed for now, I am out of work and so is she.”
    “She caused us problems. She can identify the shooter that escaped. She can identify Mickey and he’s the one that hired us.”
    “What about the one the cops caught? They can interrogate him and he’ll be the rat.”
    “Allen? He’s dead. Was killed before he had a chance to speak to his lawyer.”
    “What?” Jacque asked, looking shocked and a bit paler than before.
    “Yeah, Jacque, these guys mean business. We fucked this up, and sooner or later Mickey is going to be tying up loose ends, and we’re loose ends.”
    “No! Why? We did as we were told and as you were paid for.”
    “No, we let the bitch get in the way. Now she has to be eliminated in order for us to be in the clear. You were supposed to