Her gaze flickered to the parking lot as a vehicle pulled up and she almost grimaced. She'd forgotten about Duncan. Nice, safe, easygoing Duncan Sykes with his dark blond hair, brown eyes, and steady smile. He wasn't dangerous. He didn't have the power to destroy her sanity or her self-control.
"I'll be here in the morning." His lips thinned at the sound of a car door closing. "With Rory."
Sabella smiled at the thought of getting her hands on Rory. Oh, her brother-in-law was in some serious trouble.
"You do that," she told him softly as Duncan approached the door, a frown on his face. "And be ready to ride out the same way you rode in. Now, thanks to you, I'm late, and I'm not ready for my date. You deserve to be fired for that alone."
She put a smile on her face as the door opened and Duncan stepped in. And of course, she compared the two men. Not that there was much comparison. Noah was hands down harder, tougher, sexier, more vibrant and imposing than Duncan would ever be.
"You're not ready." Duncan grinned, amusement dancing in his eyes despite the curious glance he flicked to the other man. "Why did I have a feeling you'd forget our date if things got busy?"
"Because you know me." She grinned back, aware that her amusement was more faked than she would have liked.
Her gaze flicked back to Noah.
"New employee?" Duncan asked, turning to Noah as though he weren't a rabid maniac on the loose and holding out his hand. "I'm Duncan Sykes. I own the electronics store in town."
A shiver of foreboding raced through Sabella at Noah's smile. It was the chill in his eyes, the flash of teeth, that warned her he wasn't nearly as friendly he was pretending to be.
"Noah Blake," he introduced himself.
Duncan glanced back at Sabella.
"It's good to meet you." Duncan nodded then smiled back at Sabella. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry and get dressed. Do you need me to lock up?"
Oh, she really didn't think so.
"Everything's ready, I just have to lock the door behind us." She turned to Noah, her eyes narrowing as he continued to stare at Duncan. "Noah, I need to lock up."
A flash of dread raced up her spine as he turned back to her. His eyes were flat and cold, his lips unsmiling, his expression too still. Too calm.
"Have a nice night," he told her quietly before leaving the office and moving to the black, wicked Harley parked outside the garage.
Sabella was barely aware of the breath she had been holding until it released silently and she turned back to Duncan. "You'll have to enjoy a glass of wine while I get ready. Time got away from me today."
"You're always worth waiting on," he told her as they stepped from the office and she locked the doors. "Besides, we've been seeing each other long enough, Belle, that I know to build in time when I make reservations."
Sabella grimaced. She was always late. She had never been late for anything until her husband's death. It seemed as though she had been running late ever since. Trying somehow to go back rather than forward.
As she slid into the passenger seat of Duncan's car for the ride up to the house, she couldn't help but notice that Noah was still there. He was bent next to the Harley, fiddling with something, no doubt being nosy, because his gaze wasn't on the bike, it was on them.
"I'm going to assume Rory hired him," Duncan stated as they drove past the Harley.
"You assume right," she breathed out roughly.
Rory was always pulling in strays. Thankfully, they never seemed to stay long. She had a feeling she was going to have trouble getting rid of this one though.
Nothing else was said as they pulled into the driveway in front of her house.
"Come on in." She moved quickly from the car, house keys in hand. "You know where the wine is, go ahead and get a glass, I'll get showered and be down in half an hour."
She opened the door and rushed in, making for the stairs at a quick pace.
"I'm timing you," he said, laughing. "Twenty bucks says it will take an hour."
"You're on.'" She threw him a quick smile, but ducked her head, knowing that smile wouldn't reach her eyes.
She couldn't stop the feeling that somehow, some way, she was being unfaithful to the husband who had died more than six years ago. She had fought that feeling for a year, ever since the first date she had accepted with Duncan. The first time she had promised herself she was going to get over Nathan's death.
Each time she and Duncan left the house she had shared with Nathan, she had felt the queasy, sick feeling that she was betraying the man she loved. The man who had loved her.
It was insane. She had to assure herself daily that Nathan would have wanted her to be happy, that he wasn't staring down from heaven, feeling hurt and angry because she had turned her back on what they had shared.
She hadn't turned her back, she told herself as she stepped beneath the shower. He had been a warrior, and he hadn't returned home. He was dead and gone, and she was still alive. Wasn't she?
Noah had a meeting to go to, an operational briefing that he knew he should already be heading to. Instead, he was standing in the tree line outside the home he used to share with Sabella, a pair of military binoculars in his hands, staring at the house.
No matter how much he had bitched while they were married, Sabella still left the blinds and curtains open until dark. They were open now.
Duncan Sykes was in the kitchen and, be damned, but he was opening a bottle of wine. His lips tightened. That was his wine, no matter who he was or wasn't. He'd spent years building his collection of wines, rarely opening a bottle, enjoying the sight of the little wine cellar in the basement as it filled up.
Now that son of a bitch was opening one of his best bottles and pouring a glass. By God, if he caught that bastard in his bed, with his wife, there would be murder.
He blew out a hard breath. Wasn't his business, he reminded himself.
The hell it wasn't. Jagged, forked spikes of pure fury buried themselves in his brain as he felt the control he had built over the past years beginning to crack. If Noah saw Duncan touch her, he wouldn't be able to control the rage.
Noah was aware of Rory coming up behind him, following the order Noah had given him when he called from the garage. His brother wasn't happy. And that was just too damned bad, because Noah had never in his life been further from "happy."