“Why me?” I glanced between them. “Why now? Why partner? I can easily head up a division in my current role.”
No one answered, but I could see their brains working overtime. They hadn’t expected me to counter.
“Well, I think he needs to think about it some,” Zeke stated as he pushed to his feet. “In the meantime, I’ve got shit to do.”
I couldn’t tell if Zeke was merely being Zeke or if he was pissed at me. We hadn’t talked since the day he gave me permission to date his sister.
“And if we’re lucky,” Zeke noted as he was walking out of the room, “he’ll sign on. Otherwise, you guys are doomed to hell.”
With a bellowing laugh, he left without looking back.
Landon and Langston got to their feet. “I second that,” Landon said. “But honestly, Edge, we’d be honored if you’d come on board. I know the company would benefit greatly having you at the helm.”
I was still trying to understand why making me partner would benefit anyone. They’d get the same amount of work out of me either way.
“Can I have some time to think about it?” I asked, looking between the four men.
“Of course,” Ben said.
I stood, then shook hands with all four of them. I wanted them to know I was appreciative, even if I wasn’t sure what to do with the information.
“You heading out?” Justin asked when everyone slipped out.
“I am.” I didn’t have anything planned, but if all went well, that would change with one quick text to Jamie.
“When you’re ready to discuss details, let me know. I’ve got it all outlined, Edge.”
I nodded to Justin. “Give me a few days. I’ve got a lot going on at the club right now. Maybe late next week?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
With that, I left Justin in his office and pulled out my phone. I shot Jamie a quick text, asking if she wanted to go out again. Turned out, I really enjoyed her company. Being around her settled me, brought me peace when I spent most of my day immersed in chaos.
Jamie: I’m definitely free tonight. What did you have in mind?
Me: It’s a surprise.
Jamie: You said that last time.
Me: You have something against surprises?
Jamie: Not at all.
Me: Good. I’ll pick you up at seven.
Jamie: Should I wear anything particular?
I wanted to tell her to wear nothing at all, but I didn’t.
Me: Casual is good.
Jamie: See you at seven.
Yes, she would.
Jamie
THIS WHOLE DATING THING WAS DIFFICULT.
Not the actual date part. That was easy. And fun.
However, the getting ready part … it made me anxious. But here I was, going casual once again to spend my evening with Edge. Part of me had hoped Cav would be tagging along since we’d already done the single date, but I figured the two of them knew what they were doing.
Or maybe they didn’t, and we were all just winging it.
Either way, I was pulling on my shoes when the knock sounded on my door. Just like last time, my heart rate sped up and my hands got a little clammy. I briefly wondered if this nervousness would decline the more time I spent with Edge.
Opening the door, I looked up into the handsome face I’d been seeing in my dreams lately.
“Hey,” I greeted with a smile.
“Hey, back.” Edge stepped inside. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I admitted truthfully.
The good news was, after our last date, I knew what to expect. Since we’d gone bowling and for ice cream, I figured Edge was the casual date sort of guy. Thanks to my full-time student status, I had plenty of outfit options at my disposal. Tonight I’d opted for a pair of brown leggings and a cream-colored, oversized cashmere sweater. Based on the way Edge’s gaze slid over me, he approved of my choices.
“So, where to?” I asked, hoping he’d give up the surprise sooner rather than later.
No answer was forthcoming, yet there was a twinkle in his glittering eyes.
He took my coat from my hand and helped me into it. “Surprise, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Knowing he wasn’t going to elaborate, I grabbed my purse and my keys.
“After you.” I motioned toward the door, following him.
I locked up and allowed Edge to lead me down the sidewalk to the parking lot. I was expecting to see his car, but instead, I noticed…
I had to do a double take.
“A limo?”
He smiled, then motioned for me to get in the door the driver was holding open.
“I figured this would be easier than parking.”
I laughed. “My friends and I generally use Uber, but this works, too.”
“Ah. Uber.” He looked as though he hadn’t considered that. “Well, this’ll give us a little more privacy.”
I ducked into the car while Edge said something to the driver. I couldn’t quite make it out as I scooted to the opposite side. I noticed there were seat belts, but I wasn’t sure if I should put it on. Was that what people usually did? It would be safer that way, right?
“Relax, sweetness,” Edge said as he joined me.
I laughed. “Easy for you to say. Do you do this often? Cruise around town in a limo?”
“From time to time.”
“Really?”
“No.”
I laughed. I was catching on to his humor.
The window between the driver and us slowly slid up seconds before the car pulled away from the curb.
Feeling the weight of silence, I decided to pelt him with another question. “So, what did you need the privacy for?”
He didn’t answer right away, which caused me to look at him.
“Come here, Jamie.”
I swallowed, the intensity in his gaze sending sparks dancing across my skin.
Not sure what he meant by come here, I scooted toward him.
The next thing I knew, I was on his lap.
“This is what I need privacy for,” he said as his lips glided over mine.
I lost my breath along with my train of thought. Settling into him, I slid my arm around his neck, my tongue blindly dancing with his. This wasn’t the chaste, innocent cheek peck he’d offered on our first date. No, this was … lightning in a bottle. Our tongues collided, dueled as Edge’s big, warm hand curled around behind my head, readjusting the angle and delving deeper.
I moaned into his mouth, tried to move closer, which earned me a sexy groan in response.
“Wow,” I whispered on a rush of air, my lungs working overtime to fill. “That was…”
Edge’s dark eyebrow rose as though encouraging me to finish my sentence.
I pulled my hands from around his neck, adjusted my sweater, and said, “Nice.”
“Nice?” Edge barked a laugh.
I couldn’t help it, I laughed, too. It was so much more than nice, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m thinking an entirely different adjective,” Edge said, his voice deeper, rougher than before.
“Yeah?” I pretended to stare out the window. “Like what? Pleasant?”
His hand shot up into my hair, palming the back of my head as he urged me closer. I wasn’t about to play coy. I wanted his mouth on mine, so I leaned into him, throwing my arms around his neck and taking that nice, pleasant kiss into another hemisphere altogether.
This time when we broke for air, I couldn’t resist sliding my hand over his smooth cheek. “I have a new fondness for limos.”
“Do you?”
I smiled. “I definitely do.”
He seemed pleased by that, sliding his hand over mine and linking our fingers before pulling my hand from his cheek. He pressed his lips against my palm, then tugged me back against him.
It took the rest of the drive for me to catch my breath.
Twenty minutes later, the limo came to a stop. I a
lready knew where we were and I couldn’t help but smile as I climbed out, accepting Edge’s hand for assistance.
“Did someone tell you this was one of my favorite places? Or are you a mind reader?”
“Just a hunch.”
I peered up at him. “Really?”
“No.” He smirked, and my knees weakened. “It’s open mic night tonight, thought maybe we’d get lucky and hear some decent comedy.”
“In that case…” I gripped his hand as we started toward the door.
“So, you’ve been here before?” he asked as we walked inside.
“I love this place. It’s one of my favorite places in the city. My friends and I come here probably twice a month.” I smiled up at him. “I’ve met the owner.”
Edge glanced down at me. “Have you?”
“Yes. Gretchen…” I couldn’t remember her last name.
“Not best friends, then?” he teased.
I grinned. “No. But I have met her, I swear.”
“Gretchen Reilley,” Edge provided.
I frowned. “You know her?”
His knowing smirk said he did. “She’s my sister.”
“Your…” Well, hell. I would’ve never put two and two together, although looking at him now, I could see a family resemblance. They both had the same aquamarine eyes and pointed eyebrows.
“Why don’t you grab a table while I get us drinks,” he suggested.
I nodded. “Sure.”
I found a small table that was relatively secluded while Edge went up to the bar. I watched him interact with the bartender. Although he seemed more comfortable tonight, there was still a lot of tension in his shoulders. But he was smiling, so I took that as a good sign.
When he joined me, he was carrying two glasses of wine, one red, one white.
“I ordered some finger foods. Hope that’s all right.”
“Sounds perfect.”
He motioned toward the glasses. “Your choice.”
Figuring he was more of a red drinker, I selected the white. He took his seat, moving it around so that we were on the same side, close enough to touch.
“How was your weekend?” he asked.
I sipped my wine. “Not nearly as good as the week’s starting out to be.”
Edge grinned, then leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. The sweet gesture caught me off guard, had my breath stilling in my chest.
“How was your weekend?” I asked, tossing the conversational ball back to him. “Do anything exciting?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Do tell.”
Edge held my gaze for a moment. “I stopped by Cav’s hotel room on Friday night.”
I stilled. “After our date?”
“Yes.”
“And…?”
I watched his Adam’s apple bob. “I kissed him.”
Ever step outside in the heat of the summer when the sun’s been bouncing off the buildings, steaming up the ground, and you can actually see the heat shimmering? I felt like I walked right into it. The hairs on my nape stood on end, the heat so intense I thought I might need to step outside.
“Jamie?”
“I’m sorry.” I cleared my throat, took a long swallow of wine. “You can’t just throw that at a girl and not expect her to … fantasize.”
His blue irises actually darkened. “You fantasized?”
I nodded, took another sip of my wine.
A guy walked up onto the small stage, set up the microphone and a stool, then disappeared.
“Have you heard from Cav?” Edge asked.
“I have. We … actually, we had lunch today.”
Based on the small line that formed on his forehead, Edge didn’t know that. I was surprised he didn’t. From the discussions I’d had with Cav, the two of them were tight. Considering Edge’s revelation, they were really tight.
“Really?” His hand slid around the stem of his wineglass and he stared down at it.
“Yeah. We grabbed burgers between classes.”
“Hmm.”
“You didn’t know this,” I stated, working the information over in my head. Why wouldn’t Cav just tell him?
Edge put his arm around my chair. “It’s not necessary for me to know everything you do with Cav.”
I glanced at him, then over to the bar, not sure where to keep my eyes. “Well, it would seem he didn’t tell you about our lunch date and he didn’t mention to me that you’d shared a lip-lock.”
“Does that upset you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Do you expect him to?”
I shrugged, let my gaze scan the room so I didn’t have to look him in the eye. “I guess I’m confused because I thought this was going to go a different way.”
“What way was that?”
I let my attention drop to the table. “Based on what you outlined at the club that night—”
Edge gripped my chin, turned my head to face him. “I said a lot of shit that night.”
“You did. And you sounded so … serious.”
His jaw muscle flexed. “I was. I am.” Edge closed his eyes for a moment, breathed deep. When he opened them, they were clearer. “This is new for us, Jamie.”
My eyebrows lifted. “What is? Dating? Or dating the same woman?”
A slight dimple formed when he grinned. “Both.”
“Whatever.” I chuckled. “I’d bet my last dollar you have to fight women off. Both of you.”
“Not true.”
Our eyes held and I could read his sincerity. How was that even possible?
Not wanting to think about either of them with another woman, I shrugged it off. Smiled. “So, it would seem the three of us are dating each other. You and Cav, me and Cav, me and you.”
“True.”
I waved my hand, not sure where I was heading with this. “Plus, you both copped to sharing.”
“We did.”
“It seems to me like we’re stalling, running around in circles.” I peered at him again. “Why? Why are we avoiding the issue?”
“We’re not. We’re feeling our way through it. It’s true. Cav and I have shared submissives before.” His eyes remained locked on mine. “But there’s a significant difference between sharing a submissive at the club and … this.”
My belly fluttered. “How’s it different?”
“For one, you’re not a club submissive.”
True.
“And two, I haven’t been on a date in a really long time. The other night … I had a great time with you, Jamie. I was hoping to spend a little more time with you.”
“A little?” I teased.
“Fine. A lot.”
“So why’d you kiss him then?” Why him and not me was what I really wanted to ask, but I couldn’t.
“I don’t want to scare you off, Jamie.”
Damn, but the man could make my heart speed up. His eyes were hot, but I could detect a vulnerability in his tone. It was completely unexpected, and I wasn’t sure I knew how to respond. Or if I even could.
His gaze dropped to my lips briefly. “I want to spend as much time with you as I can. With Cav and without him.”
His admission had my insides glowing. “Ditto.”
Edge’s grin formed, this time lighting up his eyes. “But you’re right. This isn’t going the way I’d envisioned, either.”
Shifting so I faced him more fully, I put my hand on his. “And how did you see it going?”
“Well, I didn’t expect it to be quite so … complicated.”
That was a good word for it. While it had sounded so simple when he’d laid it out at the club, this past week had changed things. Spending time with Cav and Edge, separately, had been eye-opening. I wanted more time with them. But to be fair, I didn’t want to choose one over the other. I wanted to spend time with them both. Together and separate.
“It probably wouldn’t be,” I told him, “if we let things happen as they’re meant to be.”
He laughed.
“You wouldn’t think that way if you knew some of the thoughts I’ve had about you.”
I leaned in, lowered my voice. “Trust me. You’d probably want to lay me over your knee if you knew the thoughts I’ve had about you and Cav this week.”
A rumble sounded in his chest and his eyes practically glowed with heat. I’d hit my mark with that, and I could tell he hadn’t expected it.
Good. I wanted to be the one to shake things up a bit. So far, Edge had been the one to make the rules, to outline the plan, to carve out the playing field. I wanted to see where it went without so much interference on our parts.
“You’re tempting a very hungry man, sweetness,” he mumbled.
I took a sip of my wine, tried to play it off with a coy smile.
Edge cleared his throat, took a swallow of wine, then leaned close to my ear once more. “I think it’s safe to say I’ve wasted far too much time already, and I hope like hell you’ll let me make it up to you.”
When he pulled back, I could only stare. I hadn’t expected that—the man always seemed so guarded—but I appreciated it all the same. “I’d like that.” Then an idea came to me. “So what do you say we make this less complicated?”
“How do you suggest we do that?”
“If you call Cav, invite him down here, the three of us can spend time together. We’ll figure it out as we go.”
Edge’s eyes widened slightly, and I caught his surprise at my forwardness. I wasn’t sure how he felt about that until he smiled.
The man had a really, really nice smile.
CAV
I HADN’T MADE PLANS FOR THE EVENING, but as I sat in my hotel room, bored out of my mind, I knew I was going to have to do something or go crazy. While I wanted to take Jamie out tonight, I’d been too impatient earlier. Since I’d already seen her once today at lunch, I didn’t want to overdo it.
And it wasn’t like I didn’t have other things to do to keep me busy.
Considering I’d made some life-altering decisions in the past week, I had a few options. For example, having accepted the job Zeke offered me, I could easily look for a more permanent residence. Part of me wanted to do some Internet searches on real estate, but the other part didn’t find that at all appealing. I had the option of an apartment in the Chatter PR building, but I hadn’t decided whether I wanted to go that route or not. But I needed to do something. I couldn’t stay in this hotel forever. Hell, I didn’t want to stay in this hotel.
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