That little brain memento of me wiping my vomit-saturated lips on Warren’s collar while he carried me to the car? Don’t want it. The brain video of me spewing more liquid into his car’s ice holder while I’m pretty sure I peed a little because it was so violent? Yeah, don’t need that either, but there it is.
Sev shrugs, his chin poised in his palm as he balances his elbow against the armrest of the chair. His red wings are squished against the leather cushion, and his legs are spread wider than I would’ve thought possible in his very tight leather pants.
“You’re a right tosser of a sleeper, Triple X.”
“I was sick,” I say a tad defensively.
He wrinkles his nose. “Fooking gross, luv.”
“Thanks,” I say dryly. Like, really dryly. My mouth feels like I’ve been sucking on cotton balls.
“Anyway, came to tell you the news.”
“News?”
He musses his pink hair. “Yup. Seems you made a Lust Match last night. Got the report this morning.”
My eyes widen. “I did?”
I knew it. Blue totally peeled Harvey’s banana. Ha! Mud wrestling indeed.
Sev nods. “It ain’t love, but it’s a right start, ain’t it? As soon as it happened, your cupidity flared. Felt it all the way back in the Veil. So, it looks like as long as you keep it up, your cupidity will realign or some shite. Should be able to suck you back into the Veil in no time.”
A wave of relief washes over me. I can’t believe the Veil actually gave me credit for Harvey and Blue’s match. All I did was get them together, but I guess that’s all the push that was needed. Maybe I have a shot of becoming a proper cupid after all.
A smile spreads across my face. “I actually made a Match. Me,” I say with excited pride. Granted, it’s not love, but it’s a step in the right direction, and it’s the first cupidity thing I’ve managed on my own.
“I knew you had it in ya,” Sev tells me as he taps his fingers against the armrest.
I go all warm and fuzzy. “Aww, really?”
“Eh, not really, but it seems to be turning out alright, yeah?”
Maybe I should be offended, but...I didn’t really know if I had it in me either.
“Yeah.”
Sev stands and stretches, his wings flaring out on either side of him. “Okay, I gotta go, luv. Stayed too long watching your Z’s.”
“Yeah, can you not do that again?”
“I s’pose,” he says with a shrug. “Get to work, yeah? “
I nod. “I will.”
He waves a hand at my t-shirt clad form. “This is a good look on you, Triple X, but maybe run a comb through your hair, get it? It looks like a right fooking rat’s nest.”
“Bye, Sev.”
He disappears with a wink and a puff of pink smoke.
“Who were you talking to?”
A yelp comes out of my throat from Warren’s sudden appearance as he strides into the bedroom. He’s dressed in his slacks and dress shirt already, and he’s in the process of securing the tie at his neck.
He looks good, just like always. Combed but still tousled black hair, a little black scruff on his jaw that he usually shaves away, and dark eyes that set off his pale skin. And despite the clothing, it doesn’t conceal the strength of his body. Sweet buck-toothed beaver, his muscled form beneath his shirt would make any dam burst.
“You scared me,” I say with a hand over my heart as I quickly try to run my fingers through my hair. Some of it is still in the French braid that Blue did, and based on the way it’s getting stuck, I know I’m just making things worse.
“I didn’t think you had a cell phone,” he mentions as he comes in and then disappears into his closet.
“I don’t,” I reply as I rip out my fingers from my hair, wincing as I take several pink strands with it. “I was just, uh, talking to myself.”
“Oh? About what?” he asks, his voice slightly muffled.
“Well, it was more of a lecture, really. The ol’ ‘don’t eat spicy food and then throw up all over America’s hottest CEO in the middle of the sidewalk’ talk.”
“Ah. That one. And have you gotten through to yourself?”
A smile pulls at my lips so hard that my cheeks hurt. I never thought I’d see the day. Warren Knight is actually participating in banter. And it’s playful.
“I think I really made an impact on me.”
“We should also backtrack to hottest CEO.”
I snort. “As if your ego needs stroking.”
He mumbles something that I don’t catch, but I’m fairly certain it has to do with stroking something.
He comes back out of the closet, now with his suit jacket pulled across his broad shoulders. He looks mouth-watering. I’m pretty sure that I look like something a cat vomited up. Or something I vomited up. Either way, he wins.
And speaking of vomit, it is not a nice aftertaste.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, breaking the silence.
“Much better.”
“Good.”
When his eyes slip to my exposed thigh that isn’t tangled in sheets, I see his throat bob before his gaze tears away.
I watch him curiously, wondering why the hell he let me sleep in his bedroom instead of sticking me in one of his guest rooms. He didn’t even have to bring me here at all, but he did. I have no idea what to think about that. I’ve watched him for more than two months because I always found him fascinating. Okay, and hot. The hotness factor was a big reason, too.
But I can’t help but feel a little vindicated. I mean, I saw those little slips in his asshole mask. I knew there was a good guy underneath all that harsh unapproachability. But I never expected him to give me that side of him.
He thinks I’m an enigma, but Warren Knight is a puzzle all on his own.
When I see his fingers fumbling over his cufflinks, I carefully extract myself from his bed and pad over until I’m standing right in front of him. “Here, let me help.”
His dark eyes flick to my face. “I know how to dress myself.”
I grin. “Don’t let your asshole slither out now, Mr. Knight. You were doing so well.”
He makes a noise like a laugh through his nose, but he relents, holding his wrist out to me. I take the cufflink and line up the holes of the cuffs and then struggle my way through trying to fasten the bastard in, but it’s way more difficult than I expected.
“You’re terrible at this,” he says with humor in his voice.
When I look up at his face, there’s a softness to his dark eyes that I’ve never seen before. I like him like this. Relaxed, charming, real.
Somehow, it makes him impossibly more handsome. I can’t wait for him to fall in love and bestow that romantic intensity he’s capable of on someone. She’s going to be one lucky girl.
Dropping my hands, I blow out a breath and give up, because I’m obviously not going to be able to successfully link his cuffs. “Yeah. But to be fair, I did tell you that I was probably a zipper girl. Gimme your zipper, and I’ll handle that thing all day long.”
He lets out a little strangled noise deep in his chest, making me look up at him curiously. His eyes shift from my face as he moves away, finishing his own cufflinks like a pro.
“So, round two,” I begin with a little spring in my step. “Blue said she can get me some other women lined up for more dates. I’m sure I can get one for tonight. How about six o’clock again?” I ask.
If I can get Warren to meet someone he’s interested in, that’s one more point to me in the Veil tally, and I’d also be one step closer to completing my vow to get him to fall in love. I can also set up other people and make Matches for them too, like Blue and Harvey. If I do that, I can return to the Veil, and who knows? Maybe once I’m back, I’ll finally be a proper cupid with properly working powers. Wings crossed.
He freezes, his dark eyebrows pulling together. “I’m not going on another date with a random woman.”
“What?” I frown, feeling all o
f those hopeful thoughts start to sink right out of me. “But I have to make you a Love Match.”
“Why do you care if I fall in love?” he asks incredulously. “That’s a weird fucking thing to say.”
Embarrassed, I look down at my bare feet and lift a shoulder. “It just matters to me.”
His face loses all previous warmth, and his usual hardened mask settles over his features. “Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not someone you can just pimp out for your own amusement, and I’m certainly not interested in falling in love. In fact, that’s the last thing that I want.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I thought he was just picky or bored, but this? A clear disdain for the best feeling in life? It’s crumpling my cupid heart.
I don’t know why, but I feel my eyes start to sting. “You don’t mean that. Everyone wants to fall in love.”
He shakes his head and takes a step forward to crowd my space, emanating some serious anger that I don’t understand.
What just happened? Why the shift?
I have to lift my chin up to keep looking at him as he looms over me, but despite the fact that he looks like he wants to toss me out his window, I stay right where I am.
“Not me. The only thing I’m interested in is fucking women and then not seeing them again,” he says in full asshole-mode as his expression mimics hard, cold granite.
But you haven’t been interested in fucking them lately, either, I think to myself. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from saying it out loud though, because I don’t want to seem like a total psycho stalker.
“But last night—”
“Last night was a mistake,” he says, cutting me off. “I played along with it only because my marketing strategist insisted on it, and because my best friend is an instigating prick. That’s all. But this,” he says, motioning between the two of us. “The idea that you’re my actual matchmaker, that’s not going to continue, Miss Valentine.”
I feel like he just slapped me.
“Look, if this is because I got sick and—”
“It’s not about that.”
A defeated breath falls out of me. I don’t know what I did to piss him off so thoroughly. I thought we had a good thing going. I mean, we were just fricken bantering! But then he pulled a one-eighty, pulling his mask back into place, and now he has more walls up than a damn prison.
I tug at the hem of his shirt I’m wearing, feeling suddenly awkward. I don’t know how to turn this around.
I clear my throat. “Okay… Anyway, about last night, I wanted to apologize.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he says sharply.
Refusing to lower my mood to his level, I keep going. “It was really kind of you to take care of me like that, Warren.”
He tenses at the sound of his name on my lips and then straightens his jacket and buttons up the front. “Despite your previous opinions of me, Miss Valentine, I’m not a complete bastard. I wasn’t going to abandon you on the sidewalk while you were ill.”
“I know, I’m just saying—”
“No need, Miss Valentine,” he says, his tone distant.
I narrow my eyes. “Trix,” I correct him. “I think we moved past Miss Valentine as soon as you spoon fed me ice cream.”
His jaw ticks, and he looks away.
“Why are you so angry?” I ask, at a loss.
Instead of answering me, he starts walking away. “I have to go to work now. There’s a phone in my office. You can use it to call your nudist friends. Be sure to lock the door on your way out.”
Without another word, Warren stalks out, his steps heavy on the stairs, and then I hear the front door slam so hard that it rattles the windows.
I’m left gaping after him, my mind spinning. What the hell just happened?
Chapter 17
Warren
“Okay, what’s the deal?”
I look up from my computer and see Harvey strolling into my office, letting the door click closed behind him. After a cursory glance, I return to my work, choosing to pretend like he’s not there.
Undeterred, Harvey takes a seat on the other side of my desk, crossing his ankle over his knee. I feel his eyes on me, but I’m a goddamn champion when it comes to making people sweat. So instead of giving in to his stare, I continue to work in stoic silence.
But there’s a reason Harvey has been my friend since college. He’s the only person in the world willing to call me on my bullshit. Which is what he does now.
“You can drop the silent workaholic persona. I’m not buying it. Tell me what the fuck your problem has been for the past four days.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say.
Harvey snorts. “Please. You’ve had your panties in a twist since the night of that date. Are you pissed that I left with Blue?” he asks.
I finally raise my eyes to give him a bored look. “Why the hell would I care if you left with some chick to fuck her in the mud?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, asshole,” he says before leaning back and sighing. “Look, I know she was technically your date, but I knew you weren’t interested. But if I read things wrong somehow and—”
“No,” I tell him. “I wasn’t interested. I don’t care that you left with her.”
Relief crosses his face. “Oh, okay. Good. Then what’s the problem? Did Trix turn into a clinger or something?”
A clinger? Yeah, fucking right. Farthest from the truth. “No, Trix isn’t a clinger.”
“Then what the hell is going on with you? You’ve been an even bigger prick than you normally are.”
I sigh and run a hand down my face. He’s right. I have been an even bigger asshole than usual, and that’s saying something. Even my secretary, who’s used to my moods, has been avoiding me like the plague.
I grimace as my next words drop out of my mouth. “I brought Trix home that night.”
Harvey’s blue eyes widen almost comically. “No shit?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t fuck her, so don’t even ask. She started throwing up as soon as you guys left. I didn’t know where to drop her off, and she wasn’t exactly in the state to tell me, so I had no choice.”
“No choice,” he repeats evenly. Harvey looks at me like I have two heads. “So you’re telling me that you took Trix to your house because she was sick? And you...what? Took care of her?”
I bristle. “You act like you think I’m an uncaring bastard. What was I supposed to do? Shove her into the first piss-covered cab and make her fend for herself? I may be a hard ass, but I’m not that much of a shithead.”
Harvey holds up his hands in surrender. “Whoa, dude. I wasn’t saying that like you’re a piece of shit. I’m just surprised. You’ve never taken a girl to your house. Ever.”
He’s right. Not even Marla May. When I meet women, I always take them to one of the hotels I own and get a suite for the night. I don’t like people in my personal space. Never have.
Which was why I confused myself that night when I didn’t take her to a hotel. I could have. It would’ve been a closer drive and definitely more convenient. I don’t even know Trix, so a hotel would’ve been smarter. But for some reason, instinct just had me take her home, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“Okay… That still doesn’t explain why you’ve been so pissed all week. Did something happen?” Harvey asks, watching me carefully.
“Not a fucking thing,” I mutter.
Harvey leans back in surprise. “Holy shit. You like her,” he says with shock lacing his tone.
I glower over at him, like I’m offended. “What? No. I don’t like her. She’s obnoxious. Flighty. Completely not my type.”
Harvey snorts. “Good. Your usual type is a bunch of bitchy poodles. They’re wrong for you, War. You need someone light and fun to pull you out of your damn ass.”
“What the fuck is this? A therapy session?”
Harvey lifts a shoulder. “Just saying.”
Unimpressed with me, Harvey crosses his arms. “Fine. Then if she’s not your type, what happened?”
I grind my jaw. “Like I said, nothing. I spent all goddamn night taking care of that girl, and she thanked me in the morning by proposing to set me up on another joke of a date. I wasn’t interested.”
Harvey watches me carefully, and then a slow smile spreads across his face. “I never thought I’d live to see the day.”
I narrow my eyes, because I know exactly what he’s saying. “You’re off the mark, Harvey.”
But my friend shakes his head in denial. “No, I don’t think that I am. You felt a connection with this girl, but instead of her trying to jump your bones like most girls do to you, she wanted to set you up with someone else. She didn’t show any interest, even after you showed her your other side and took care of her. You opened yourself up, but she didn’t react the way you hoped. And that pissed you off.”
My jaw clenches. My finger taps against my desk. The fucker has me, and he knows it.
“You’ve never been rejected,” he goes on. “Not only did your ego take a hit, but the fact that you actually like her made it ten times worse.”
I’m getting more and more pissed off by the second. Because he’s right. Every fucking pathetic thing he just said is completely accurate, and it makes me more infuriated than I know how to fathom.
“Doesn’t matter. She’s absolutely wrong for me, and I’m not looking for a relationship.”
Harvey loses his shitty grin and sobers immediately. “War, you could have a relationship. A meaningful one for once.”
I shake my head. “No.”
“But—”
I cut him off. “No, Harvey.”
The look on my face makes him sigh and get up from the chair. He sticks his hands into his pockets. “I know that commitment freaks you the fuck out now, but I think you’re making a mistake.”
“She’s insane. She snuck into my office naked and acts like it’s her life mission to set me up. Who does that?”
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