by Lila Fox
“Did any of them try to touch you?”
Larkin looked out the window. She didn’t like talking about that time in her life.
Darian reached across the table and picked up her hand. “Tell me.”
She turned back to him. “A few times, but I was able to run away or hide, or my mom would intervene.”
“I’m so glad you weren’t hurt like that.”
She nodded. “Me, too. I think something hurt Brylee. She won’t talk about it. She says she doesn’t remember, but certain things will freak her out. Like once, we were walking out of the movie theatre and she tripped. A guy caught her. She freaked out and started screaming. He let go, and I calmed her down. It took a long time for us to go back to a theatre.”
“I hope she’s getting help.”
“Not yet.” She pushed her plate toward him. “I’ve had enough. They were delicious.”
“Ready to go?”
Larkin nodded and stood. She followed him up to the register, almost tempted to lean against his back when she felt the warmth of his body.
Darian turned and wrapped an arm around her. He got her into the car and made sure she was strapped in. Then he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward her apartment.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured as he swept the hair from her face.
Larkin hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep. She sat up and looked around. He had gotten them to her place within half an hour.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Let’s get you up to your apartment.”
“I can walk up myself. You don’t have to…” She paused when she caught his expression.
“I’ll walk you up,” he said in a hard, curt voice.
She waited for him to come around to her door. He helped her up and then pressed her against the vehicle.
“Will you go out with me again?”
Her eye widened, and her heart picked up speed. “Really?”
His mouth kicked up. “Yes, really.”
“I have to work tomorrow again.”
“I’ll pick you up after work, and we’ll go have breakfast again.”
Larkin nodded and stared up at him. Her thoughts were scattered. She didn’t understand why he wanted to be with her, but she was too afraid to ask.
“Let’s get you in.”
He took her into the building and up to the second floor. Then he stopped at her door.
“How did you know where I live?” she asked as she searched for her key in her pocket.
“I came here earlier when you ran from me.”
She knew he had to have gotten her address from the man in his building, but she didn’t say anything. A blush stained her skin. “Sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I was freaked out.”
“I understand that.”
Her eyes slid closed when he cupped her chin in one hand and tilted her head up. He lightly pressed his lips to hers before taking a step back. It was one of the best feelings she’d ever had in her life. The smell, taste, and feel of him made her stomach tighten. What felt like desire hardened her nipples and dampened her panties.
“Good night, honey.”
“Good night. Thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Larkin turned and unlocked her door. She stepped inside and turned back to him. “Night.”
He nodded. “Close the door. I want to hear it lock.”
“All right.” She shut the door and turned all the locks. She pressed her ear against the door and listened to his footsteps fade. An unexpected panic rose in her throat. What if he didn’t come for her the next day? What if she never saw him again?
She rested her forehead against the cool door and closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do about it, so she had to let it go. She’d talk to Brylee when she woke up.
Larkin quickly took a shower to get the stench of cigar smoke out of her hair and dropped into bed. She rolled to her side and stared out the window. She couldn’t get him out of her head long enough to fall asleep. If she was this way after one date, she couldn’t imagine what she’d be like after two or three.
The pre-dawn started to lighten the sky when she finally gave in to sleep. She’d know in time what would happen. He would leave her. Everyone did. But she wasn’t about to run before she had a chance to know him. Even if that was what her head was telling her to do. Her heart won that round.
Chapter Six
Larkin started to get nervous. She couldn’t get herself to calm down and concentrate. She’d messed up so many orders that night that she’d been pulled aside by the manager and asked if there was a problem. She replied that everything was fine and tried to get her head back on the job.
A feeling of panic rose steadily. It was about the end of the night, and she hadn’t seen him yet. She reminded herself that the probability of him wanting to spend time with her was next to nil, but she’d been praying she’d be able to see him one more time, at least.
For the umpteenth time, she looked around the lounge and relaxed when she caught sight of Darian. He was talking to another man and having a drink. The knot in her stomach loosened enough that she was able to take a deep breath and calm down.
Her heart flipped in her chest when his gaze landed on her, and he smiled.
She smiled back and gave him a little wave before she returned to work.
Darian and Larkin walked out an hour later and went to breakfast, much like they had the night before. They went to the same restaurant they had the night before because they both enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. They talked the whole time between bites, and when they weren’t eating, they held hands on the table.
When they got to her apartment door, Darian nudged her against it and pressed his lips to hers. He deepened the kiss when she sighed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and relaxed against him.
Both of them were breathless when he lifted his head.
“Tomorrow night, when I pick you up, we’ll be doing something different.”
“Like what?” she asked unsteadily.
“How about if I surprise you?”
Larkin grinned. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever had a surprise and she liked the idea. “All right.”
He gave her another quick kiss. “Go on to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Night,” she murmured before she closed the door.
“Locks,” he said with a growl through the door.
She quickly turned the locks.
“Good girl. Night, baby.”
Larkin rested her hand on the wood and smiled. She got to see him again, and it made her giddy. She really liked him. He was fun to be with, he made her feel like a woman and, most importantly, safe.
Rushing into her room, she called Brylee.
“How’d it go?” a sleepy voice said.
Larkin grinned. “It was great. He said he was going to surprise me tomorrow night.”
“Oh, wow. That’s so cool.”
“Yeah. I wish you could be there with me.”
Brylee snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure he’d love that.”
Larkin laughed.
Brylee yawned. “I won’t see you tomorrow but call me Sunday morning and tell me how it went.”
“I will,” Larkin said. “Go back to sleep. Night.”
“Good night.”
That night, Larkin dropped off quickly and slept hard, not waking until noon.
After she got up, she walked out into the living room and stopped. Vanessa, the third girl she lived with, sat on the sofa.
Larkin looked around for the other two. Vanessa had never liked her and enjoyed being cruel to her for some reason. The other two had told her to stop a few times, but it got terrible whenever she and Vanessa were alone.
“How’s the hunk?”
Larkin swallowed. “He’s good.”
Vanessa draped her arms over the back of the sofa and narrowed her eyes. “You know he just wants to fuck you. There’s no way a guy th
at handsome wants a girl like you for anything else.”
Larkin tried not to flinch or show the hurt the girl caused. It only seemed to fuel her cruelty. She shrugged and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of juice, bumping into the other girl when she turned. The juice sloshed over the rim and drenched the front of Larkin’s t-shirt she’d worn to bed.
“Jesus, you’re a klutz,” Vanessa sneered and walked around her. “You might want to cut down on your carbs, fatty. No man likes a woman with rolls.”
Larkin blinked back her tears and hurried away from the girl before she could say anything else. She closed her bedroom door and sighed. She needed to get ready for work. She’d leave early and walk around the nearest mall before work. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time with her roommate from hell.
Larkin made it out of the apartment without running into Vanessa. She spent the day walking around, window shopping, and reading the book she’d put in her bag.
She wished her friend had been home. That was where she usually went because Brylee’s roommates were nicer to her than Vanessa.
She got to work an hour early.
“Where have you been?”
Larkin turned to Monica and then looked down. “I … I went shopping.”
Monica’s eyes narrowed. “What did that bitch do?”
“Nothing really. Just the usual.”
“I hope you don’t listen to her. She’s so jealous of you, it’s pathetic.”
“Of me?” Larkins exclaimed in shock. “For God’s sake, why?”
“Because you’re way more beautiful than she is, and she can’t stand when her boyfriend comes over. His eyes follow you.”
“No way,” Larkin said and chuckled.
“Yes. I’m not kidding. Ask Laura.”
Larkin’s smile fell.
“Hey, this isn’t your fault. Don’t let her get you down.”
“I won’t,” Larkin said.
“Good. Is Darian coming here tonight?”
“He said he was.”
“Then he’ll be here. That man is totally hot for you.”
Larkin’s head jerked up. “You really think so?”
“Oh, I know so.” Monica grinned.
“He’s very nice to me.”
Monica laid a hand on Larkin’s arm. “Vanessa will be behind the bar most of the night, so you won’t have to worry about her too much. Have fun if I don’t catch you later.”
“Thank you.” Larkin watched her walk off. She hadn’t realized how much Vanessa’s words had cut her. She really needed to think about moving somewhere else. She enjoyed living with Monica and Laura, but she didn’t want to dread facing a hateful woman.
Maybe she should look into getting a job waitressing where Brylee worked? Brylee made better money than she did. She’d talk it over with her friend the next day.
Chapter Seven
Several hours later, she stood by Darian’s chair. “I’m ready.”
He stood and shook the hands of the men he’d been talking to most of the night.
“What’s the surprise?” she asked before they got to the door.
Darian grinned. “I’m taking you home with me.”
She froze in her tracks and shook her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. I doubt I’ll even be good at … you know.”
“Sex?” he asked and lifted a brow.
Larkin could feel her face heat with a blush but nodded.
“Let me worry about that. There’s a lot we need to learn about each other.”
“I’ll just disappoint you.”
“No, I can guarantee you won’t.”
She sighed and looked away. She was terrified she’d disappoint him so badly he’d never want to see her again. For the umpteenth time, she asked herself why she was letting herself fall for him when she couldn’t see it going anywhere but breaking her heart. Maybe she just needed to tell him to take her home?
“Larkin, look at me.”
She looked back at him.
“If you run from me again. I will spank your ass until it’s bright red.”
She gasped at the words even as her body spiked in a heated arousal.
“Do you understand?”
She snapped her mouth shut and nodded.
Darian chuckled. “I think you might like the idea of my hand on your ass. Don’t you, sweetheart?”
She nodded, still in a daze, and then stopped when she realized what she was admitting to.
He rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s go,” he said and maneuvered her out the door.
Larkin stopped short right outside the doorway and gawked at the limo parked on the street.
“Let’s go.”
“Has he been parked there the whole night?”
“Yes,” Darian said and waited for Hicks to open the door.
“You can’t do that,” she informed Darian.
Hicks’s lips twitched.
“You will be amazed at the things I can do, sweetheart.”
She stiffened when he tried to get her into the back of the car. All her friends and her manager had told her that he was a good man and she was safe with him, but she really knew very little about him. “Who are you? Are you like the mayor or something?”
“You already know you can trust me.”
“All I know is your name, that you work with four other guys, and you live on top of a building.”
“How about we go home and talk? We have a lot to learn about each other.”
She balked again when he tried to get her into the car. “Wait! Why do we have to go there?”
“You’re off for the next few days, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“I thought we could go to my home.”
“You’d bring me back tonight?”
“It’s already the next day, sweetheart,” he informed her and grinned.
Larkin rolled her eyes and thought for a moment. “You’ll bring me back today?”
“No.”
Larkin huffed. “I can’t spend the night with you. It’s not…”
“You did before.” He grinned again.
She felt her face heat with a blush and looked at Hicks out of the corner of her eyes. “You’re not supposed to say things like that out loud,” she whispered to him through gritted teeth.
“Why?”
“I…” Her brows snapped together, and a puzzled expression took the place of the embarrassment. “Just because.”
“How about we talk about it in the car?”
Larkin sniffed, grumbled something under her breath, but got into the back and then listened to the two men.
“I like her, sir.”
Darian clutched the top of the car door and looked at Hicks before he slid in next to Larkin and grinned. “I like her, too.”
Larkin sighed and relaxed back, looking out her window. Her thoughts kept circling back to the reason he wanted to be with her. Did he find her attractive? Was he playing with her? Did he want to seduce her like Vanessa said?
Larkin’s attention was caught when buildings gave way to fields. She sat up straight. “Hey, I thought you said we were going to your home?”
“We are. We’re going to the house, not the condo.”
She turned, her mouth dropped open, and stared at him. “You have two homes?”
“Yes. The condo I have for when I work late. I don’t want to have to drive over an hour home just to come back a few hours later.”
Larkin thought about it for a moment and relaxed. It made sense. She’d just never met anyone who had two homes. She knew wealthy people might have two or more houses. Movie stars would also, but they made millions of dollars for their movies.
Another thought popped into her head. “I don’t have any clothes or my toothbrush.”
Darian reached out and grasped her hand. “I have everything you’ll ever need.”
“But I like my clothes,” she told him and yawned.
“I think you’ll like the clothes I ge
t you, too.”
“But why spend money on clothes if I’m going to be at your house for two days?”
“If I have my way, you’ll be there longer than two days.”
Larkin wedged herself into the corner so she could turn in the seat and look at his face. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want to spend time with me?”
Darian grunted. “God, woman. Have you never looked in the mirror?”
“Every day, but I bet you have women in your life way prettier than me.”
“It would depend on who you ask. For me, I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Larkin snorted and rolled her eyes. “Pull my other leg.”
Darian chuckled. “With time, you’ll come to believe me, sweetheart.”
She laid her head on the cushion and yawned.
“Why don’t you take a nap?” he suggested. “We still have a ways to go.”
She nodded as her eyes slid closed, unable to stay open another moment. “Maybe for just a minute.”
****
How could she not know of him? Darian bit the inside of his cheek, and Hicks coughed to hide his laugh. Not many people ever asked him that because he was very well-known in the city. He’d also been written about in magazines and newspapers more times than he could count.
Darian watched her sink deeper into the cushion with her head tucked into the corner. She crashed within seconds and looked damn uncomfortable. He’d only seen younger children be able to do that.
After a few minutes, he pulled her across his lap, into his arms, and grinned when she didn’t wake, snuggling up against him.
He didn’t understand how she could get to the age of twenty-three and still be so innocent in this day and age. Was it because of the way she grew up? He’d thought it would have been the opposite. He had so many questions that he needed answers.
Darian told himself he wouldn’t touch her until he got all the answers he needed, but he didn’t think he would be able to wait that long. His cock had been either semi-hard to excruciatingly erect since he’d met her, and he didn’t see that going away anytime soon. It wouldn’t matter how many times he had her.
Something about her had opened up a portion of him he hadn’t known existed. He realized a big part of himself had been missing until he found her. It wasn’t about her innocence, although that turned him on. It was the fact he wanted to not only be her lover and friend but also her daddy.