Hand in hand, they walked out of the Parkour park and jumped into the town car he had waiting for them. The drive to his Manhattan penthouse took no time at all. Or maybe it was all of the making out in the back of the car that had made time speed up.
“Holy shit,” Josie whistled when she saw his place. “This is something out of an architecture magazine. Do you even live here? It looks like this place is barely used.”
He shrugged. “I work a lot.”
“You don’t say. You need to learn to step back.”
“Did Johanna put you up to this?” he teased as he riffled through his cabinets, taking out a pan and the ingredients he would need for dinner.
Josie’s eyes went wide when she saw the ingredients he was gathering. “What is happening?” she asked as she held up the container of french fried onions.
York was pleased by her reaction. “I’m making us a green bean casserole.”
A whole bunch of emotions passed across Josie’s face, none long enough for him to decipher. But the kiss she placed on his cheek was enough for him to understand that she was happy.
He had managed to thrill Josie, his thrill-seeking daredevil.
“You’re full of surprises,” she cooed.
“Love,” he said, tapping her butt to send her out of the kitchen. “You have no idea. Now go lounge in the living room while I get this ready.”
Josie argued, because of course she did. Instead of listening to him, she helped him get the casserole ready. The thing would need thirty minutes to cook, but that was no time at all when he was sprawled on his sofa, kissing Josie like he had been born to do it.
York knew he was going to have to get over his performance anxiety, and soon.
He had waited long enough, but Josie was special. She was his mate. His second chance at a happily-ever-after, and he vowed that their first time together would be nothing short of perfect.
Chapter Eleven
Josie
Josie was once again seated in Johanna’s palatial suite at the Ritz.
This meeting was different.
Not only because she already had the job, but because Josie had spent a decent amount of hours making out with Johanna’s son. Josie knew what his hard cock felt like, pressed up against her leg. She knew the sounds he made when she ground up against it.
They hadn’t had sex.
It was fine, really.
Josie was more than ready to go. She was so horny, it was hard to focus on any simple task. But now, she was sitting with York’s mother. She had to behave and pay attention. She couldn’t let her concentration slip to the man who had cuddled her into his side as they shared his king-size bed. It had been the first time Josie had cuddled with a man in a very long time. She didn’t mind. It had been sweet as hell to fall asleep in his arms, and even better to wake up, all tangled up with him.
York had ordered them an insane breakfast, which they had leisurely eaten. They’d made out some more, but still, the man hadn’t made the final move. Josie wanted to ride York like a mechanical bull, but she also didn’t want to push him. She knew that there could be a thousand different emotions playing in his mind. They would get to sex when he was ready.
Then there was the other part of it.
The part where Josie had split herself up into two different versions. She could want York as much as she would. She could fuck him until she was boneless with pleasure.
But there was the other Josie.
The one who had to steal from York’s family.
And that was the problem. That was the real reason why Josie hadn’t stripped York bare of clothing and ridden him until he forgot his own name. She could hide behind the fact that he was a widower. She could blame him for not crossing the final threshold, but really, Josie was glad of it.
Sex would have complicated everything.
Their relationship was becoming something very real to her.
It wasn’t supposed to be real.
Yet, it was.
Josie felt it in her heart. If she kept on hanging out with York, her heart was going to get even more involved. She couldn’t have that, could she? If she stole the vase for Milo, and stayed with York, what kind of relationship would they have? It would be based on lies, and there would always be the shadow of her actions looming over them. How was she supposed to do Christmas dinners with the family that she had stolen from? She wasn’t a monster. She was just a woman, trying to save her family.
The best thing, for both of them, was to ghost York.
Josie’s heart lurched painfully at the thought of never seeing him again. Of never kissing him again. Of never hearing his laugh again. No more dimples and no more making out. No more teasing him for being so grumpy. It hurt, burned her to her soul, to think of it.
Thankfully, at that very moment, when Josie was seconds away from crying, Johanna excused herself to take a call. Josie looked down into the pattern of the rug, focusing on the swirled design to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. She was being silly and foolish. She had only been on two dates with York. They didn’t know each other very well. Maybe their connection was out of this world, but she wasn’t his mate. His mate had died.
Maybe if Josie had been his mate, she would have come clean and told York everything. But she was just some woman. Some regular woman, with a tiny bit of witch in her, but she wasn’t fated for him. That meant there was no way York would forgive her for starting their relationship under false pretenses.
She understood, she did. If a man had the nerve to do that to her? She would have set fire to his bed, trashed his car, and probably hit him in the balls a few times. Betrayal, no matter the reasons behind it, never really excused the action. And this was one big fucking action.
All of this became clear in her head. Josie had to walk away now, before she really hurt him. Before they were intimate and got anymore connected to each other. It burned her, deep in her soul. York Warwick wasn’t like other men. He was sweet and gentle. Sure, he was grumpy as hell, but loss did that. Especially the loss of a fated mate. He didn’t deserve the betrayal Josie knew would come. York was a wonderful man who had already been through enough in his life. He had lost his wife, and she wasn’t going to betray him.
She was going to end things between them.
It was a good thing she hadn’t slept with him. It made it that much easier to decide that she couldn’t take the relationship any further. It hurt, though. More than it should. It was only because York was so fucking perfect, with his dimples, insane body, and thoughtful ways. He had actually made her a dish to remind her of home.
Because he cared. Because he had wanted to try it. Because he had wanted to share something special with her.
The sweetness of it made her heart ache for what they could have had if she hadn’t been under Milo Steiner’s thumb. Maybe she should tell York about it. He had the Warwick resources at his disposal. Her mind was dizzy with everything that could happen if she did tell him. The threatening pictures of Gammy and Mia flashed across her head, and she shuddered violently against the notion that she could lose one or both of them.
No.
That was crazy. It was better not to involve York.
He didn’t deserve to be roped into the drama that was her life. She had gotten herself into this mess by stealing, and she would have to get herself out with one last heist.