All I Need Is You by M. Malone Read Free Book Online Page A

night.”  
    Eli regarded his sisters-in-law with a scowl before turning his dark look to Mara. Kay shrank back into her seat, but Mara just grinned.  
    “Oh hi, Eli. Lovely to see you,” she chirped.  
    “Um hmm,” was all Eli said in reply.

    “WE NEED TO get to your place.” Eli ignored Mara and the other girls’ knowing looks. He didn’t doubt for a minute that they knew he’d overhead their conversation. Their amused grins told him that.  
    As far as he was concerned, he’d shown some serious restraint so far. They were trying to set Kay up with some big-dicked player who’d probably use and abuse her. What the hell were they thinking? He was shutting that down.  
    Immediately.
    Kay raised her eyebrows. “We?”  
    “I’m not letting you go there alone.”
    “I figured I wouldn’t be going home alone, but isn’t Matt coming with me?”
    “No.”
    She made no move to stand up, so he pulled her chair out. It made a loud screeching sound as it dragged over the tile floor. Kay jumped up and gave him a dirty look before marching back into the family room. The other girls abandoned their drinks on the table to follow. Their expressions were a little too bloodthirsty in Eli’s opinion. He had no intention of being the sacrifice.
    Matt stood near the door, talking to Jackson. He looked up when they entered. “Hey, are you guys getting ready to leave?”
    Kay turned toward him with what looked to be desperation. “You’re not coming with me?”
    Matt glanced at Eli before responding. “I was just assigned to a new client. I’ve been working with him all week. It would be unprofessional to yank me off his job and then force him to reacclimate to someone else. I thought Eli explained everything.”
    A strange sense of satisfaction came over Eli as he watched Kay’s face. She was stuck with him and apparently didn’t like it. He knew he’d hurt her. Their kiss at Christmas should have never happened. But he was the best man for this job. He hadn’t protected her well enough last summer, obviously, or this dickwad wouldn’t still be out there toying with her. This was his chance to make it right.  
    Eli wasn’t going to leave her safety up to some new associate who might screw it up. Even if he hadn’t gotten the right guy before, he’d kept her safe. They’d kept her security low-key since last summer, but it had been there. She didn’t go anywhere without letting someone know and her cell phone and car were constantly being tracked. She also had a state-of-the-art security system at her apartment so she was safe while she slept.
    “Is there a problem, Kay?”
    She wouldn’t meet his eyes. To his surprise, it was Mara who answered.
    “It’s no biggie. She’s just nervous about her date.”
    Eli gritted his teeth at the reminder of the conversation in the kitchen. He was careful to keep his face neutral when he replied. “Her date? What date?”
    “We’re setting Kay up on a blind date. She’s looking for Mr. Right. Or Mr. Right Now. Whatever. Either way, I know we can find the perfect guy for her.”
    “I’m sure Eli doesn’t care about that.” Kay grabbed her coat and slid her arms into it. “I’m sure he has a lot of important stuff to do running his company. In fact, maybe it would be better if Tank or one of the other guys stayed with me for a while.”
    “You don’t want me on your case, Kay?” Eli tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans, the better to enjoy watching her squirm as she tried to figure out how to respond.
    “It’s not that.” Kay made several indistinct gestures while pointing at him. “It’s just that, I don’t know…”  
    “You’re kind of scary,” Mara supplied.
    “Mara! I think Mara meant to say you’re a little intense sometimes.”
    “And you’ll scare her date away,” Mara finished.
    Kay dropped her head into her hand. Eli bit his lip to hold in a laugh. Damn if she wasn’t cute when she was embarrassed.  
    “I’ve been in