"You don't have to do that with me. But it's not like you to turn down a job Adriana gives you, especially since this is the kind of thing that you love to do. And secondly, why would you say no to something like this? It's a really great cause." Lucia turned to face me. "What's up?"
"I told you. Nothing. And it is a great cause. You're right. Of course I am going to do it. It just seems like I’d be repeating work I’ve already done, ya know?"
The lie sounded clunky to my own ears. I had to get out of there before Lucia saw through the lie for the excuse it was. That was the problem when you worked with your childhood best friend. She could see through anything.
I wished I could tell her. I really did. But there were some things better left in the past. The things I'd been through were some of them. "See you later, okay?" I muttered as I escaped the styling room before Lucia could respond.
Now I'd just have to figure out how the hell to get out of this project.
CHAPTER TWO
Jonas
I had considered taking Noah up on his offer of a fight. Seriously considered it. But there was something about hitting a guy who was truly, deeply happy that sucked all the fun out of it.
I’d started imagining what would happen when we got back to the office, and Noah’s wife saw our black eyes and bruised knuckles. We’d have to explain what had happened and then Lucia would fuss over the both of us, caught between her outrage that we were fighting like schoolboys and her compassion for our abused client.
In the end, I’d decided the release of steam wouldn’t even be worth it. I chuckled darkly. Damn, we’d all gotten soft as of late. Being around a woman who loved me, albeit one that loved me like a sister, made a man soft.
I decided to take a walk instead.
Noah had offered to keep me company, but that would have just led us back to the aforementioned fight scenario. So I’d taken off alone, making sure to get as far away from Mira’s building as possible. I’d been so charged with righteous fury that by the time I looked up again, I’d walked all the way back to the East Village. With a calmer head, I doubled back to get my car. By the time I made it back to the office, it was almost midnight.
I parked in my marked space in the underground garage at Blake Security and sat there in the dark for a minute before getting out, trying to get my head back on straight before I went upstairs and had to see anyone. It shouldn’t have hit me so hard, seeing Mira with that asshole. I’d been a cop for a long time and had worked in security ever since my time with the force. It shouldn’t surprise me at all that people often made bad decisions under pressure. But in this case, it had been like a boot to the face.
Because you thought you’d saved this one.
I shook off the dark thought as I got out of the car. It was quiet and still on the parking level but I scanned the perimeter of the garage anyway. Always vigilant. Never let your guard down. I stayed on high alert as I crossed to the elevator bank and leaned forward so the retinal scanner could verify my identity. As I rode the elevator up to the top floor, I could only hope that no one was still awake. I just needed to grab my laptop.
Noah had decided that having a certain number of our team living on site was for the best, but I was putting off the communal living deal for a while—at least formally. I liked my space, but the truth was I crashed at the penthouse more often than not.
Surprisingly it wasn’t all bad. There was always someone around to shoot the breeze with and my workload seemed lighter since I wasn’t spending valuable time in the morning and afternoon commuting. I probably should just move in already.
But it was also exhausting having trained security agents watching your every move and analyzing everything you said. I couldn’t just lounge in my pajamas when I felt like shit without having to answer a bunch of questions. They were a nosy bunch, my crew.
I loved them anyway.
The elevator doors slid open and I stepped into the entryway. It was dark and quiet, the only sound coming from the direction of Matthias’s room. That kid never slept no matter what time of day it was, but he also didn’t ask questions. So I was off the hook.
Then I stepped into the living room and was confronted with a tight, toned ass in skintight leggings.
All the parts that had been asleep fired to life. I sucked in a deep breath as JJ shifted her position at the window, the globes of her ass bouncing slightly with the movement. My dick tried to follow her. It should have been a welcome diversion. Hell, at least I wasn’t depressed and feeling the sting of failure anymore. But this was JJ. The woman lived to torment me. So as spectacular as that ass was, it was the last thing I wanted to see in the middle of the night coming off a tough case.
“Why are you still awake?”
It came out harsher than I’d intended, but there was no need to apologize. JJ didn’t offend easily, probably because she thrived on insults and could throw out verbal daggers with the best of them. As I’d expected, she merely turned her head slightly to acknowledge my presence before turning back to the night sky, dismissing me.
“Why can’t you mind your own business?” she asked in a deceptively sweet voice.
Never mind that just a few moments ago, I had wanted nothing more than to climb into bed without having to engage anyone. Now I stepped farther into the room, instinctively drawn to her. There was just something about Jessica Jones that I could not resist. It was sick in a way, but I got off on fighting with her. That smart mouth and those killer curves were the perfect combination to make my dick hard while simultaneously pissing me off.
It was a heady combination.
“What would be the fun in that?” I asked, speaking truthfully.
She turned from whatever it was that was holding her attention outside and eyed me with a sneer. “I would ask if you had a hot date but that’s doubtful. Jackasses really aren’t in this season.”
Now that hurt. “Women love me.”
She sniffed and slid me a sidelong glance. “Frankly, I don’t see the appeal. But then again there are people who like candy corn and Peeps. There’s really no accounting for taste … or lack thereof.”
“Hey! Candy corn is awesome.” I might have to rethink my taste in women if she was dogging on candy corn. How could you not enjoy something that was pure high-octane sugar? “You’re probably just too bitter to enjoy it.”
Her eyes flashed and for a moment there was something behind the look that made me regret my choice of words.
“Too bad for you, you’ll never have a taste.” Her words carried a hint of hurt with them and I wanted to bite off my tongue.
We snarked at each other and played fast and loose with our words, but I would never actually want to hurt her. It bothered me that I even could. In my mind, JJ was as invincible as her comic book character namesake, and finding a chink in her armor was both disturbing and endearing.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Whatever. You’re probably right. I’ll leave the sweetness to you. I just happen to like my men a little bit … stronger with a hint of a bite. Same way I like my whiskey.”
When I looked up she was watching me closely.
“What?” I asked.