Free SLEEPER (Crossfire Series) by Gennita Low

eyes half closed, she didn’t push away, as if she were still in the middle of the dance. He straightened, bringing her up slowly. The music had already restarted.
    “Supremo, darling,” T said, scarcely out of breath. She fluttered her eyelashes teasingly. “A girl would fall like a sack of potatoes for a man who can move like you.”
    They were just moving slowly to the music now. “She’s heading this way,” Reed said.
    T’s gaze didn’t move from his face. “On the other hand,” she said, “a girl would be easily devastated to know you’re looking at another woman while moving like that. It’s very interesting, though, how you seem to know that she’s near when there’s a crowd all around her.”
    He couldn’t explain it either. He had been watching for Johnny’s door to open even while they were dancing and was disappointed that it took the whole dance before Llallana reappeared. He hadn’t wanted her to…he quickly compartmentalized his thoughts. T was watching him way too closely.
    “What next when she’s here?”
    “Tell her no, whatever she offers, unless it’s the right offer, of course.” T’s expression shifted, turning serious. “If she does, you know what to do.”
    Then a flirtatious smile appeared and her face resumed its bold, come-hither look as she led him off the dance floor. The woman either guessed right or her timing was excellent, because she bumped right against Llallana Noretski. Reed suspected the latter.
    “Oh!”
    T somehow managed to pull him forward, using the momentum of their two bodies to knock Llallana off balance. The collision caused Llallana to stumble backward hard, and Reed reached out and curled an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. T, however, was still holding his other hand, and she followed his thrust forward. She swung into Llallana again, pushing into her target’s back and sandwiching her between them.
    It was like part of a dance, Reed thought, as he absorbed the combined force, closing his arms around the women for balance. Again, somehow, T was already stepping away and he found only Llallana in his hug. He looked down at her. Her upturned face, cushioned against his chest, registered a startled realization at where she was and then an awareness of their closeness.
    “Hey, watch where you’re going!” T yelled out in Croatian. “And find a man of your own!”
    He could have released her but he didn’t. “Are you all right?” he asked, his Croatian halting and a bit off-key, just the way he’d been practicing. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
    The dark eyes glared up at him. “Too busy with other things,” she said, in English. “I’ve to talk to you, R.C.”
    He liked the way she deliberately used his name. Of course that would get a gunrunner’s attention immediately. The music had gotten louder again and he could barely hear her, so he let her feel his surprise by tightening his hold on her. He noted that she didn’t try to move out of his arms. “Not too busy for you,” he said in English, and in one smooth turn, he had her back on the dance floor. “Care to dance?”
    “Hey!” T cut in. “What about me?”
    “Does she work here?” Llallana asked Reed, ignoring T as she put a hand on his chest to put some space between their bodies.
    “Sort of.” He slid his hand down to the hollow in her back, gently adding pressure. Her bare skin felt hot and smooth. “She’s been given to me to dance with tonight.”
    Llallana turned to T. “Johnny Chic wants you in his office. Right now.”
    “For what?” T stood there, hands on her hips.
    “I’ve bound him really, really tightly and he needs someone to undo all the knots,” Llallana explained in a sarcastic drawl. “He’s also not wearing any pants and I wouldn’t want any of his guys to walk in and embarrass him. You’ll make points with him if you go and help him now.”
    Reed glanced over at T. He could have sworn there was a tiny smile in those eyes.