My body is still trembling. Why am I in the master bedroom and why did he feel the need to show me his bathroom, too?
“Tonight, you can sleep in my bed,” he says.
I jolt in surprise.
“I’ll take my couch,” he adds. “And I’ll order a bed for you tomorrow and you can move to the room directly inside the hallway tomorrow.”
My knees wobble with relief and I sway. He steadies me by catching my shoulders.
“Are you all right, Violet?”
I nod, avoiding his eyes and trying (though failing) to ignore the sensation of his hot hands on my shoulders. He releases me and we walk out of the bathroom. I feel wobbly again, so I sit down on the tufted dove gray suede bench at the end of the bed.
He sits on the bench beside me. “Did you think I was going to sleep here too?”
I jerk in surprise and our eyes lock.
I can’t translate the intense look in his green eyes as anything but angry.
I open my mouth but before I can think of how to answer, he leans closer and his voice drops an octave.
“Bring you to my bedroom and make you fuck me?” He rasps this as his eyes burn a fiery trail straight down from my mouth to my boobs, then down to my crotch, before his eyes land on my feet and then lazily travel back up.
I can’t swallow. I’m not sure if I’m even breathing.
“First,” he tells me, moving in even closer – too close, frankly, “I wouldn’t take Ray’s debts out on you.”
I’m finally able to swallow.
“Second,” he goes on, “I’m not that guy. Believe it or not, I don’t have to force women to fuck me.”
The way he says ‘fuck me’ sounds like a command.
Oh, I believe that all right, that he could generate a line-up of willing women with a snap of his fingers, but I’m so out of my element my element doesn’t even exist here.
“I don’t know what to think. This has all been…” I shrug.
“Stressful?” he offers a word.
I nod. “Yeah. And… strange.”
“Strange?”
“Yeah. I mean, who’da thought I’d be relieved to leave with someone who threatened to put a bullet in Ray’s head for looking at me?” I gaze at him, looking for a reaction.
Was that incredibly stupid of me to say? And did he really mean the threat? Does he have a gun? Would he use it? Or was it a throwaway threat?
“Believe me, this is all strange for me, too. Okay, well, it’s late and you probably have to get up early again tomorrow.”
He stands.
I stare.
This means the evening is over and I still have no idea what all this means.
Instead of asking the obvious question… about what’d happen when Ray isn’t able to come up with his money, I say, “I should hang some of my things up so they’re not wrinkled for work in the morning.”
“Follow me and you can get your clothes put away in the closet in the guest room. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in there as far as your belongings go. Then, you can get some sleep here.”
“I can sleep on your couch.”
“No. I insist. I’ll grab those bags for you.” He gestures for me to follow as he lifts the straps for my duffle bag from my hand.
“No, really,” I try.
“I said I insist. When I insist, it’s best for everyone involved to cooperate.” He winks playfully, but there’s still a dangerous edge about him.
I’m led to the room at the other end of the hallway.
Though much smaller than the master suite, it’s bigger than my living and dining room combo at home. This room also has a walk-in closet with two armoires and one long rod for hanging clothes as well as a wall of shoe cubbies. This ensuite bathroom doesn’t have a tub but it has a huge shower. I set my duffle bag on the long white and grey marble vanity and then set about hanging my things in the closet. I’d packed with my hangers, so it doesn’t take long to get my things hung. He stands there watching for a minute, making me self-conscious, but then I’m saved from the intensity of his stare because his phone makes noise and now his laser-focused attention is no longer on me.
“Your car has been picked up,” he says, staring at his screen. “It’ll be in the garage in a few minutes. Text your friend with my number, please, Violet, so she has it in case Iadanza bothers her.”
“Do you think he will?” I ask.
“Do you?” he volleys.
“I… think yes he would’ve, but with you being involved? I don’t think he’ll do anything stupid. Not tonight anyway.”
“Exactly,” he agrees. “I think he’s washing the shit out of his underpants right now because he had to face me after what he did. I think he’ll keep a low profile while he tries to figure out how to pay me. Or… sorry to say… he’ll skip town.”
“That’d be the best thing in the world,” I say, then wince. “Sorry. I mean… I hope he gives you your money, but…” I pull a hanger out of the bag holding my jean jacket and hang it up.
“But you’re not counting on it.” His eyes are on the floor.
I shrug. “He’s run out of friends and probably out of options.”
He says nothing in reply.
My eyes drop to where his focus is.
A bunch of satin and lace is pooled at my feet. Oh shoot.
I squat and quickly stuff the pile of bras and underwear back into the bag.
How embarrassing.
I want to ask questions, to find out my fate if Ray can’t deliver. I don’t want my fate in Ray’s hands, at all, but maybe I don’t have a choice. To tell him that two weeks or not, Ray and I are done, and I don’t want him in my life anymore. But he knows I was trying to split with Ray so that’s moot. I’m not sure if Killian would give me an answer if I asked and I’m also not sure I want the answers. I’m just so…overwhelmed.
He’s staring at me while my wheels spin and I say nothing. It’s like he’s waiting, expecting me to say more. Maybe he’s waiting for me to work up the nerve to ask questions.
“I’ll give you some privacy.”
“Okay.”
He pockets his phone and says, “I’ve got some calls to make and a few quick things to do in my office. When you’re done here, feel free to come into my bedroom and I’ll vacate so you can get some sleep.”
“Okay. Um… thank you.”
“Thank you?” He tips his head curiously.
“For… showing up so fast when I texted.”
“My brother was in the parking lot, watching for Ray’s return. He somehow got in without being seen, but I messaged him when you contacted me, so he went straight up.”
“There’s an old lady that lives on the ground floor on the south side and sometimes Ray slips in her patio door and heads in that way. She loves Ray and doesn’t mind; half the time doesn’t notice if he slips in there instead of coming through the lobby. He often does that when avoiding people.”
He stares at me like he’s trying to figure something out. I shuffle with unease and his expression changes.
“Did you eat?” he asks. “I haven’t and I’m about to warm something up.”