He was the first to pull away, the crumbling bag against my back reminding me he was still holding onto our lunch.
“Now, should I be worried about your meeting with Scott Collins?” His head tipped to the side, the curiosity simmering in his eyes.
Since he hadn’t mentioned it earlier, I’d assumed he hadn’t seen Scott. Obviously I’d been wrong, Jared either seeing him leave my office or Diablo on his way back.
“You’re worried?” I teased, glad he was asking me outright rather than jumping to conclusions. I liked that, that he didn’t just assume the meeting had been anything other than business.
“Presley, have you looked in a mirror? Of course, I’m worried. The guy walks into a room and ladies cream their pants. I’m confident, but I’m not stupid.”
His grin told me otherwise, and I couldn’t imagine him feeling inadequate. He’d always been larger than life, Justin’s cocky best friend who always had a woman hanging off his every word.
“It was business. Buuuuut,” I figured it was as good a time as any, “you know, I could ask you the same thing.”
He shook his head, dismissing the notion. “Presley, he seems like a nice guy, but I’m straight. Not interested.”
“Oh ha, ha, ha,” I mock laughed. “You’re forgetting I’ve seen you with other women. In my club, Leighton.” I pushed a finger into his chest. “Now, I’m not going to punish you for the stuff you’ve done before, because that would be dumb. But considering we haven’t really talked about what’s going on here . . . is this an exclusive thing?”
It had been me who initially said I could do casual, promising I wouldn’t turn into the clingy girlfriend who demanded things. And, that was what I had intended to be. But I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to share him, the idea of him with another woman driving me crazy.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, Presley, the last few times I was in your club, I went home alone. That wasn’t because I didn’t have choices.”
It was something I’d noticed, probably a little too much, but refused to read too much into it. “So what are your choices now?”
“You, and only you. I’m not interested in anyone else, Presley. And I don’t want you with anyone else either.”
Those words were exactly what I’d wanted to hear, both excited and relieved I hadn’t been the only one feeling what I had between us. “Do you think it can work? Us actually date and be a regular couple?”
Things were complicated, and while we were in the bubble, we didn’t have to really face the regular relationship stuff. It was fun, exciting, and completely isolated from everyone else. And while I was fully prepared to put up with whatever happened when my family found out, the last thing I wanted to do was force Jared to make a choice.
His best friend.
Or me.
“We can do whatever we want, Presley. We already tried keeping away from each other and that didn’t work. I need to be with you, in whatever way that can happen.” His finger grazed my cheek, giving me a small smile. “Trust me, okay.”
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. I’d promised myself after Lewis I’d never trust a man again, but with Jared, there wasn’t even a hesitation.
“Good, now let’s eat lunch before it’s completely cold, and then we’ll talk about Bennett.”
“Bennett?” I asked, wondering what he wanted to know about the head of my security.
He took a step back, lowering the bag housing our lunch onto the desk before he looked back at me. “He seems very . . .” he waved his hand, “close to you.”
I laughed, unable to help myself. “Bennett is a really good friend, not just here in the club, but outside of it too. He’s seems like a hard-ass but he really is just a sweet teddy bear. But we’re just friends, nothing has or ever will happen between us.”
“Good. I wish I could tell you the idea didn’t make me jealous, but it does. So his inability to remember my name isn’t because he’s pissed you’re with me?” He tilted his head, asking in earnest.
“Bennett is a smart ass and will do anything to get a reaction. I threaten to fire him daily. But from what I can see, you’re going to be able to handle him and his shenanigans just fine.”
He nodded, taking me into his arms and kissing me. “I’d do a lot more than that for you. Now, let’s eat and brainstorm. If he’s going to be messing with me, it’s only fair I get some payback of my own.”
Jared
ANY MAN WHO got bored spending a day with a woman clearly isn’t with the right one. I didn’t even notice the time, minutes and hours getting lost as day turned into night, and I felt like I hadn’t even blinked.
We’d gone back to her apartment after Diablo and made love on her couch. It was slow and deliberate, a desperate need for me to look at her the whole time making me want to stretch it out.
I loved kissing her, loved the way her eyes would close and her breathing would slow, the trail of goosebumps under my fingertips when I ran my hand on her skin. It was easy when we were laying together to think she was fragile and soft, but five minutes in her club when she was in Diablo mode, and you’d see she was anything but.
Between those walls she was a machine, walking between the sections and knowing what everyone was doing and what was going on. Her beautiful eyes were restless, constantly scanning the crowd as she checked in with her staff and VIPs. She even made time for me, shooting me some flirty smiles whenever she strolled past.
And when I took her home, all bets were off. All the pent-up frustration of not being able to kiss and touch her manifested into an all-out assault.
It was around ten the next morning when my phone rang, the vibration on Presley’s nightstand waking me up even though the ringtone had been turned off.
“Yeah?” I yawned into the phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“It’s Tibbs. Do you know where Presley is?”
Even though she was sleeping safely beside me, the edge in his voice had me worried.
“Umm, at her apartment I assume,” I pushed up in the bed, Presley groaning a little as I moved. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“One of Shapiro’s guys spotted the asswipe’s TT last night around the club. He said it circled a few times but left. I don’t want to freak her out, but she needs to know, and I’ve been trying to call her all morning but her phone’s off. You still have her spare key, right? Any chance you could meet me at her place in twenty minutes?”
FUCK.
Presley rarely shut her phone off, the fancy piece of aluminum on 24/7. But for whatever reason she’d silenced it when we got home, determined to have a few hours without the barrage of emails, texts and social media alerts that usually came.
But at the moment it wasn’t her newfound balance that had me concerned, it was that her brother wanted to visit her, at the apartment of which I was currently in, naked.
“Errrr.” I looked around, trying to find where I’d left my clothes. “Twenty minutes?”
The words had no sooner left my mouth then Presley turned, reaching for me in her sleep. “Where did you go?” She groaned loudly when she didn’t feel me beside her, my eyes widening as I lowered my hand to her mouth. “What?” The muffled word coughed out against my palm as she woke up with a jump.