House of Payne: Styx Read online

  “Because you're hot,” came the flat reply. “You are every female’s version of eye-candy, with your awesome shoulders, and your sleeved-out arms, and your gorgeous eyes. I told Zemi about you because it's written in the official woman bylaws to share sightings of seriously hot men out in the wild.”

  For a full five seconds, Styx didn't say anything. Then he burst out laughing.

  She came to her feet in one fluid motion. “Okay, time to go. I'll let myself—”

  “Wait, wait, don't go.” His fingers wrapped around her wrist as she passed him, and he couldn't stop himself from running a thumb over the silk-soft flesh of her inner wrist. Damn. If the rest of her was this soft, he’d have no trouble believing she was the most perfect woman to have ever graced the planet. “I just have to know one thing. When you ran into my building today, did you know I lived here?”

  “No.” She looked so genuinely aghast he had no choice but to believe her. “I’m not some creepy stalker, though I know it probably seems that way since I low-key ogled you whenever you went into my store. And I probably shouldn't have said that,” she groaned, doing a full-on facepalm with her free hand. “Now you'll think I’m a creepy stalker for sure. But I swear, I was totally shocked when I ran into you.”

  He mulled that over for a while before coming to a decision. “Okay. I believe you.”

  “Good.” She wriggled her wrist, still held loosely in his hand. “So, I’ll be going now…”

  “In fact,” he went on, still holding her in place, “it works in my favor that you said I was your grocery store guy in front of my brother. That builds a foundation for my plan.”

  She stopped her wrist-wriggling to stare at him. “Your plan?”

  “Yeah, my plan.” He gave her wrist a friendly squeeze before tugging her back down onto the couch. “A plan that includes you.”

  “Listen, I really need to be going, so—”

  “I agree, we need to talk fast. My idiot brother’s going to be back up here any second, so we need to get on the same page.”

  The look she gave him was so suspicious he almost laughed again, before she pulled her wrist from his grasp and moved to the other side of the sofa.

  Heh.

  She was so damn cute it was ridiculous.

  “Okay,” she said, crossing her arms and looking about as accessible as Fort Knox. “I’m listening.”

  “First things first,” he began, organizing his thoughts on an idea that had begun to take root the moment he’d opened that frigging wedding invitation. “Not to brag, but I kind of saved your life today. So basically that means you owe me one.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  “I’m not saying I practically took a bullet for you, or anything on that level. But there was danger today, and I hid you from it. It’s entirely possible that whoever was driving that Cadillac saw you come into my building, and then saw us together just now in the parking lot looking at your car. That puts a target on my back.”

  For a moment she looked like she was going to throw up. “I… I was hoping I’d lost them when I got off the freeway. It never occurred to me that you might have been seen with me.”

  “I chose to help you, and that’s on me. No regrets. But you chose to bring this shit straight to my doorstep when you came flying into my building, so that’s on you. That means you owe me, Syd, and I’m about to collect.”

  The look in her eyes was magnificent, a complex mix of mortification and volcanic fury. “Look, I’m sor—”

  “Don't apologize to me,” he growled, all traces of humor vanishing. To show her how serious he was, Styx slid across the couch until his thigh was right up against hers, crowding her space as he went almost nose-to-nose with her. Goddamn, she had the prettiest mouth… “It’s obvious you’ve got assholes in your life who make you feel like you have to apologize for fucking existing, but I’m not one of them. I’m being a manipulative dick right now—leaning hard on you and taking advantage of the situation, so feel free to look me in the eye and tell me to go to hell. But do not apologize for my shitty behavior.”

  She was back to staring at him as if he had a screw loose. “At least you’re aware your behavior is shitty.”

  “Hell, yeah, I know it is, and I know I’m being unfair by laying a jacked-up guilt-trip on you. But that just shows you how desperate I am, so I’m hoping you’ll hear me out. And for what it's worth, what I've got in mind is going to be an equal partnership between you and me. You'll get just as much out of this arrangement as I will, you got my word on that.”

  “I'm almost afraid to ask,” she muttered, trying to edge away from him, but she was wedged between him and the arm of the couch. “What arrangement are you talking about?”

  At last he sat back, but he kept his leg against hers. He wasn’t ready to give up the feel of her. “You may have picked up on the fact that my brother Trey is getting married soon.”

  “The subject was kind of hard to miss.”

  “The thing is, I'm the older brother. Sure, it's only by fourteen minutes, but I am the older brother. On top of that, Trey and I have a younger sister, Tina, who got married this past winter. You know what that means? It means I'm the only one who hasn’t done the whole settling-down gig.”

  Her expression told him she was less than impressed. “Okay.”

  “Nope. Not okay. It’s a problem.”

  “How is it a problem?”

  “From what little I’ve been able to pick up from you, I get the feeling you understand the pressure of family expectations, yeah?”

  Her snort had little to do with humor. “You might say that.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re not the only one who has to deal with that shit. In a family brimming with solid, dependable, utterly fucking boring people, I’ve always been the proverbial black sheep. Everybody in my family zigs, I’ll be the one who zags. I'm told to be quiet, the first thing I wanna do is flip a table. I don't like rules, and boundaries are for herd animals. This is who I’ve always been, it’s who I’m always going to be, and I’m comfortable with it. What I’m not comfortable with is having my traditional-minded parents breathing down my neck about settling down and making babies, just because my younger siblings have done it before me.”

  She studied him curiously. “Is that the reason why you don’t want your brother to get married? Because it would make life uncomfortable for you?”

  “My life is always been uncomfortable. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m that self-absorbed.”

  “I’m s—” She bit her lips together and took a moment. “That wasn’t what I meant. It just sounded like you were thinking about how Trey’s wedding was going to create problems for you, that’s all.”

  “I’m only thinking that because it will create a shit-ton of problems for me. It’s bad enough that I’m not following in the footsteps of my civil-servant parents, and that I’m a tattooist—”

  “At the greatest body art studio on the planet,” she interjected, sounding surprisingly huffy on his behalf, and he couldn’t help but smile at the heat in her tone. “I saw a thing about House Of Payne on CNN, for crying out loud. Is it true the Royals get their tattoos done there?”

  “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” He chuckled at her little growl. She probably wanted it to be fierce, but all she managed to pull off was sounding cute. “I might arguably be the best cover-up artist in the world of ink, but as far as my family’s concerned, I might as well be working in some piss-poor dive down at the shipyards, tattooing the dregs of society. Which would be fine with me, as long as I had the freedom to express myself. What I’m not fine with is having them be a pain in my ass while all this wedding bullshit’s going on. That’s where you come in.”

  She couldn’t have looked any more wary than if he’d actually been the ax murderer she’d imagined he was. “Why do I get the feeling I should run for the nearest exit?”

  “I wouldn’t chance it, if I were you. You’d probably run into my br
other, and he’s already thinking the same thing I am, so what the fuck. Let’s take advantage of what’s going on in his beady little brain.”

  “And what exactly is going on in his beady little brain?”

  “He’s thinking we make a damn good match.”

  For a moment, all she did was gape at him. Then she threw back her head and laughed, and it was such a bubbly sound he couldn’t help but smile along with her.

  “What?” He almost hated interrupting that light-filled sound, and he found himself moving closer to bask in its pure joy. “What’s so funny?”

  “You. Me. Together. Oh my God, that's hilarious.”

  “How is that funny? Syd.” When she didn’t immediately acknowledge she’d even heard him, Styx plowed a hand through all that luscious golden-brown hair of hers and turned her head toward him. “Look me in the eye and explain what’s so funny.”

  “It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?” The words came out between fits of giggles. “Look at you. Then look at me. In what world would we ever be a good match?”

  Abruptly he let her go, because suddenly nothing was funny anymore. “I thought you said I was hot.”

  “You are. I’m not. See the problem?”

  “What the fuck.” He took his time searching her eyes, and what he saw he didn’t like one bit. “Sydney Bishop, who the hell damaged you so damn bad they blinded you to who you are?”

  She blinked as her giggles fizzled to a confused halt. “I’m sorry?”

  “I know we just met, but I swear to Christ I think I already know you better than you do.”

  She laughed again, this time with a heavy dose of derision. “I kind of doubt that.”

  “On a scale of one to ten, you're an easy nine, knocking on the door at ten, and I’m only putting you at nine because I don’t yet know the personality behind the face, and in my book personality is the glue that holds the whole package together. Any man who has eyes in his head and a dick in his pants takes one look at you, and he’s trying to figure out just how much of the world he has to give you in order to make you even notice him. That’s who you are at first glance, but you don’t see that because someone blinded you to who you are. Who the hell did that to you?”

  The shake of her head was faint. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You will by the time we’re through.” Again he reached out to her hair, pushing it back behind her ear. “You agree to stand in as my girlfriend during the run-up to Trey and Maeve’s wedding, and that’ll keep my family off my back. In return, I’m going to be the most attentive bodyguard the world has ever seen, while Trey and his people figure out what the hell happened to you today.”

  The shaking of her head grew more pronounced. “Wait, wait. A bodyguard? I don’t think things are so dire that I need a bod—”

  “I saw the damage done to your car, Syd. I saw it. If you were going eighty while someone tagged you that hard from behind, it’s a fucking miracle you’re still breathing. More than that, it’s obvious they were highly motivated to get you. You need a bodyguard, and I need a pretend girlfriend, so this is going to happen. And as a bonus, I’m going to throw in some hardcore reality lessons when it comes to teaching you who you truly are. It’s about damn time someone introduced you to yourself. I’m just the man to do it.”

  “You’re the most unbelievable individual I’ve ever met.” She put a hand to her brow, as if that would somehow help her make sense of the turn her life had taken. “First off, you’re wrong about me. I really do know who I am, okay? For instance, I know I’m someone who can take care of herself.”

  “I appreciate that. And I’m pleased as hell you’re so tough you didn’t fall all to pieces when someone attacked you with a fucking Caddy. You should be proud for holding your shit together when those assclowns were trying to run you down.”

  She chewed on that for a moment. “You know what? I am.”

  “Good. And you’re going to be proud of all the other discoveries you make about yourself while we help each other out over the next several weeks.”

  “I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

  “You will.” He’d make sure of it. “I also think we’re both in for a few surprises along the way, but that’s cool. I love surprises. Better yet, I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be a huge fan of all the surprises you’ve got packed away inside you.”

  “Surprises? Like what?”

  His smile was full of anticipation. “I can’t wait to find out.”

  Chapter Four

  “Oh, wow.” Sydney inhaled the scents of hot coffee and freshly baked donuts as she and Zemi grabbed a table in the corner of Edibles, the organic donut shop next door to her friend’s yoga studio. “I needed this.”

  “If I were in your shoes, I’d need all the donuts.” Zemi settled into a cushy armchair, placing her coffee and glazed cruller on the small round table as she did so. “I thought I had problems, what with that flake I shared OMMniscience’s rental space with suddenly taking off and leaving me holding the rent bag. That’s nothing compared to what you went through today. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I'm stuck in a TV show from the ‘80s. Isn’t that the era of super-long car chases, with Ferraris and helicopters and dramatic plunges off scenic cliffs?”

  “It was a Cadillac that chased you down, not a Ferrari, and there were no helicopters or cliffs, scenic or otherwise.” Keeping it grounded with a Zen kind of calm Sydney truly envied, Zemi emptied a packet of sweetener into her coffee. “From the sound of it, it was bad enough without all that other crazy stuff. I got chills when you described how you ditched off of I-90 at the last second. It's a wonder you didn't hit someone with a move like that, or hit the divider between the freeway and the offramp.”

  “I almost did. In fact, I almost hit several someones. I still can’t believe I made it through without a scratch.”

  “According to Pokey, you didn’t. Any word on when you’re going to have your car back?”

  “First things first—my insurance company has to decide whether or not it’ll be worth it to have it fixed, or if they’re going to call it a total loss. Which I’m sure they will.” Sydney shook her head at the sudden curve her life had been thrown. “I just can't believe this happened to me. I mean, who am I?”

  “Sydney Ksenia-Koroskova Bishop,” Zemi responded without missing a beat. “Daughter of a famous Soviet-era dancer and an Olympic swimmer, and a better human being than both of them combined.”

  Aw. “The point I’m trying to make is that I’m nobody, yet someone attacked me like they wanted me dead. How crazy is that?”

  “It’s pretty damn crazy,” her friend acknowledged, curling her legs up under her in the large, comfy armchair. “When you got promoted into a job whose sole purpose is to catch people who don’t give a damn about the law, I wondered if this was the right kind of job for you.”

  Sydney’s brows shot up. “I know I started out at Market Place Corporation in the digital marketing department, but I think I’ve done a decent job as a secret shopper. I mean, my numbers prove it. In the two months that I’ve been working this new job, I already have the highest capture rate of anyone in this region, and I was named Employee of the Month just a few days ago.”

  “That’s not the point. The point is you’re dealing with criminals who don’t want to be caught. That right there is what makes your new job dangerous.”

  “You make it sound like it’s high-end organized crime, but it’s nowhere near that. All I do is spot sticky-fingered shoppers and get the police in place to catch them once they leave the store. I don’t make arrests, or anything.”

  “It doesn’t matter who does what, Sydney. Your job has put a target on your back, and today someone took a shot at it.”

  “Styx’s brother isn’t so sure it had anything to do with the Brisket Bandit collar.” Sydney picked up her chocolate-glazed sprinkle donut and studied it to see where maximum chocolate and sprinkles could be had in one bite. When she’d be
en training as a ballet dancer, things like donuts and chocolate had been forbidden, but she’d since learned that chocolate plus donuts equaled heaven on earth. “Obviously Trey has been trained not to have tunnel vision, and I can appreciate that he’s trying to keep all options open. But you know me, Zemi. Who else would have reason to attack me? A year ago I wasn’t even living in Chicago. I work, I eat, I sleep, I do yoga, and when your studio is empty, I dance a little just to make sure I still can. How could I have any enemies? I’m the most boring person I know.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” came the drawling reply. “The man in your life is named after the river leading into hell, and he’s as handsome as any devil that ever walked this earth. Doesn’t sound too boring to me, hon.”

  Nothing in the world could have stopped Sydney from groaning out loud. “Styx isn't the man in my life. I don't have a man in my life.”

  “Didn’t look that way to me.”

  “It only looks that way because God hates me. I didn't even know Styx’s name until today.”

  “You’ve already told me how you met.” Zemi took her time sipping her coffee. “I still find it hard to believe.”

  “Styx was just that hot grocery store guy I secretly perved on from afar. I never thought I’d actually meet him, much less bump into him in his own freaking building while I was running for my life. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear there was such a thing as Fate, and that dude’s got it in for me.”

  “The Fates, if you believe in the ancient myths, were actually three sisters, not a dude. And if they exist, I have a feeling they’ve got plans for you. Big plans.”

  Sydney shuddered. “I hope not.”

  “Then again, to bring a realistic note into the conversation, Old Town’s Market Place grocery store is only a few blocks from here and the only major grocery store in the area. When you consider the close proximity, I suppose it’s not that surprising you’d bump into each other eventually,” Zemi decided, taking a nibble of her cruller. “Though it is pretty cool the you two of you live right across the street from each other.”