Free Get Off Easy (Noble House, #1) by Sara Brookes Page B

and slid next to her. Then shot her a knowing smile.
    All the pieces fell into place.
    And explained why she’d been directed to this floor.
    “Guess you’re not surprised to see me.”
    “No. But I am disappointed you felt that you couldn’t be honest with us.” Though his voice was stern, his touch was gentle. He combed his fingers through her hair using steady, smooth strokes that did nothing to quench the smoldering heat that had ignited in her gut the second they’d stepped into the room.
    If her body would just end this perpetual war, maybe she could think straight.
    But whenever her thoughts had Saint and Boyce attached to them, coherency was beyond her grasp. “How did you know I would be here?”
    Saint licked his lips and studied her for a minute. “Your name was on the visit list.”
    “But that’s private.” She bit her lip when she realized she’d spoken loud enough to draw the attention of the entire room.
    Saint answered even though all those gazes were still aimed at them. “Yes. It is. Except for the fact that I own a stake in the club. Which means I have full access.”
    “What?” As far as she was aware, Kochran was the only owner of the club. At least that was what her research had turned up when she’d done her initial pass for information about the club before she’d sunk her money into the costly membership fee.
    Saint scooted closer. Odd. She’d thought he couldn’t possibly invade her space more than he already had. “Do you think I fucked my way onto the owner’s floor?”
    “No. Of course not.” She glanced away quickly, noting that everyone had gone back to whatever they’d been talking about. Or negotiating. She wished another scene would start in order to draw Saint’s attention away from her.
    “Kochran wanted to buy the building and surrounding land when the base shutdown because of budget cuts. When he couldn’t come up with all the money the government was demanding, myself and the Dom you just watched in a spectacular suspension scene, put up the rest of what he needed. Kochran lives nearby, on the land we purchased.” Saint’s hot breath caressed her collarbone.
    Sucked how he could be sexy and intimidating at the same time. Really, really sucked. Because right now, she loved it and hate it at the same time. She wanted him to go away almost as much as she wanted him to stay.
    “This used to be an armory, didn’t it?” Maybe if she kept the topic on anything other than her, she could excuse herself after a few minutes without embarrassing herself too much.
    “It was. Kochran’s done a lot of work on the place to bring it up to his standards. There’s still some original quarters down on the lower levels. Good if someone wants authentic military training experience for a scene.”
    “This all must have taken a lot of time.”
    “When something is your passion, you make the time. Besides, expansion keeps his mind off...other things.”
    The way Saint’s tone changed during the last sentence, Grae knew there was more to Kochran than she—and maybe anyone else—knew. “His band can really tear things up. I’m surprised some music executive hasn’t been through to sign them.”
    “Are you really here to discuss Kochran?”
    A knot of dread formed in her stomach. She’d known trying to distract him was futile. “No.”
    “You saw, didn’t you? You were watching last Saturday night when Boyce had his...episode.” Grae’s breath caught in her throat as his knowing gaze arrowed in on her, so she simply nodded. He smiled slowly. “Explains why you showed up so unexpectedly at the house. Boyce and I had a little wager going on about what your true intentions were. Nice to see I was right. How long have you been watching us, Grae?”
    Though it was a question, his stern tone told her that he didn’t want an argument. Funny, she wasn’t interested in giving him one. There were a lot of things she couldn’t be honest with herself about, but this was