I wrench away from him and slap him across the face.
“Don’t you fucking kiss me!” I shout.
Raylan’s blue eyes are blazing, and he looks completely different from his usual cheerful self. He’s all wolf now, teeth bared and jaw rigid. He grabs me by my ponytail and kisses me again, even harder.
Then he lets go of me and we pull apart, staring at each other and panting audibly. My heart is hammering against my ribs like I’m still on the treadmill. I can practically hear his doing the same. We both know we crossed a line. Actually we jumped over the line with both feet.
I can’t look him in the eye.
I grab my water bottle and towel and walk back toward the elevators.
Raylan is following after me, five feet behind.
No matter what insanity just passed between us, he’s not going to stop guarding me. Not for a second.
We get into the elevator together, silent and awkward.
I think of a dozen things I should say. But I can’t seem to make up my mind whether to apologize, or shout at him some more.
So I just stay quiet.
We ride back down to the twenty-eighth floor and go into my apartment. Then I head straight to my room, while Raylan stays in the living room to sleep alone on the couch.
10
Raylan
I don’t know what the fuck happened yesterday.
I’ve never acted like that in my life. I was raised to be a gentleman—not to grab a girl and kiss her like a wild bandit.
Maybe it was the adrenaline from racing Riona. Or the fact that we’ve been in constant proximity for the last eight days. Or the fact that she manages to get under my skin in a way I don’t quite understand.
I don’t know what it is about her. I’ve always had this compulsion to overcome challenges. And Riona is a constant challenge. She’s strong-willed and stubborn as fuck. Determined not to be impressed by me. Intent on always doing things her own way, damn the consequences.
Maybe I shouldn’t have raced her at all. I know how competitive she is. But for fuck’s sake, so am I! I thought it would be fun. Then I saw how seriously she was taking it. And I guess I realized I was taking it pretty damn seriously, too.
Well, now I feel like a horse’s ass.
She was right to slap me—I deserved that.
I know damn well she’s got a boyfriend.
I don’t like that guy, though. I get that he’s good-looking and a fancy surgeon and all that shit. On paper he’s a good match for Riona. But she doesn’t need somebody stiff and proper like that.
She needs somebody who can make her laugh. Who can help her relax a little. Not someone who’s going to amp her up even more.
I guess that sounds like I’m describing myself—I’m not. I know I’m not the right guy for her, either. We’d probably murder each other. Plus my lifestyle doesn’t exactly leave a lot of room for romance.
No romance—just a whole lot of experience.
I’ve seen a whole lot of ugliness and greed and violence.
But I’ve seen gorgeous things too. I’ve seen the sun setting over Victoria Falls. I’ve ridden camels over sand dunes bigger than any ocean wave. I’ve taken a chopper over a volcano half a day before it erupted. And walked on black sand beaches that look like an alien planet.
I keep a list of the best places. Maybe so I can show them to somebody else someday. Maybe just so I don’t forget them.
I can hear Riona showering and getting ready for the day. I go and do the same, so she won’t have to wait on me.
It takes me a lot less time to shower. Probably ‘cause I don’t have two feet of flame-red hair to deal with. I get ready, then I poach some eggs and put some toast on. And I make the coffee extra strong ‘cause I know Riona likes it that way. It’s a peace offering. I can guess it’s gonna take a lot more than coffee and a good night’s rest to cool her off, though.
Sure enough, she comes sweeping out of her room without even a glance at me. She pours herself a mug of coffee and ignores the poached egg I set all nicely on a piece of buttered toast for her.
“Morning,” I say to her.
“Good morning,” she replies coolly.
“About yesterday—”
“We don’t have to talk about that,” she interrupts.
“I’m not tryna go on about it,” I persist. “I just wanted to say . . . I’m sorry.”
Her green eyes flit up at me for just a second, then look away again. I can’t tell if she’s still mad or embarrassed or what. Maybe just surprised I apologized.
“Just—let’s leave it alone,” she says. “The whole thing was embarrassing.”
“Alright,” I say.
Riona grabs her coat and we head down to the underground parking garage. I check the vehicle over carefully before we enter, including looking under the carriage for any unwanted additions. As we drive up to street level, I can tell it’s an ugly day. Freezing cold, windy, and gray as slate. Little bits of sleet whip against the windshield, fine and hard as sand.
I’ve been in too many hot places for too long. I’m fucking cold, even with the heat turned up in the car.
“I can’t believe this,” I say to Riona. “After all the nice things I’ve heard about Chicago winters . . . ”
Riona gives a little snort.
“It’s only November,” she says. “It’ll get a lot worse.”
“How could it possibly be worse?”
“Just wait.”
We drive the four blocks to Riona’s office. I bet she’s glad now that we borrowed Dante’s SUV. That wouldn’t be a pleasant walk.
Usually I’d be a gentleman and drop her off right in front of the building while I find parking, but we need to stick together at all times. Especially now that I know Djinn is apparently such a relentless motherfucker.
Riona and I park a half-block away, then run for the double glass doors.
Compared to outside, the inside of the office building feels warm and pleasant. I can smell coffee and fresh muffins from the cafe on the ground floor.
I escort Riona all the way up to her office. Most of the people on her floor have gotten used to seeing me by now. Especially the paralegal Lucy—she gives me a little smile and wave.
I settle down in my favorite chair in the corner of Riona’s office while Riona dives right into her work. I see her plowing through folder after folder every day, but the pile of stuff she needs to get done never seems to shrink. She must be adding to it constantly.
After about an hour, we’re surprised by a knock at the door.
It’s Dante and Nero. Dante’s wearing a proper pea coat, but Nero only has on a black t-shirt and jeans. I’m guessing he’s too hot-headed to ever feel the cold.
Dante says to me, “I thought you might want to go talk to that ex-employee with me. Nero can stay here with Riona.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Riona says without looking up from her papers. “I can be here alone for an hour. There’s a hundred people on the floor with me.”
“Well, I’m already here,” Nero says. “So you may as well enjoy my company.”
He slouches over to my chair, flopping down on it as soon as I’ve vacated the spot. He goes to put his feet up on Riona’s glass coffee table. Still without looking up, she says, “Don’t even think about it.”