by Lauren Wood
PREVIEWS
Chapter 1
Grey
“What the hell are we doing here Scott? I could be at home with Kaika all over me right now. This is not going to be any better.”
I looked up at the hot woman on the stage and then back at my old friend. I hadn’t seen him since college and a chance meet turned into a night of drinking and now women were on the menu to finish off. It was just like old times, though this time we both had more money to rain on them.
“Nothing is better than that ass Grey. I don’t care what you have waiting at home for you. This chick could bounce a quarter off of her ass. That is talent that you aren’t going to find in common folks, no matter how wild that chick of yours is.”
I chuckled at his comment and I would be the first to say that his assessment of the firm ass in front of us was just as nice as he made it out to be. It didn’t change the facts though. The fact of the matter was that I should be at home with my girl, not out partying with him. We were already on the rocks and pissing her off wasn’t the way to go. Kaika was talented and I had kept her around longer than most. I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to walk away from her skills. That was something that was hard to find.
“Maybe so, but Kaika has other talents that are even better than bouncing money off her ass. She has a tongue that feels about a foot long when she uses it right.”
The man chuckled and slapped the one in front of him. The girl glared back at him. We weren’t supposed to touch the dancers. That was rule number one, but sometimes it was hard to stop oneself from doing it and there is always ways to smooth it over.
Scott handed her a hundred dollar bill and she wasn’t as pissed off as she was before. “There is more of that if you want to take a trip to the VIP lounge with me and my friend here.”
The dark-haired dancer smiled at me and I smiled back out of instinct. Right or wrong, I was hard as a rock and my body was ready to do all kinds of naughty things to the stripper. It was all I could think about at the moment, though I knew there was much that I could do. If this woman decided to take the offer, I was going to be balls deep in her very soon. Nothing else would matter and the woman waiting for me at home wouldn’t matter either.
There was no reason or need for me to encourage Scott. He didn’t need it and once Rose decided to take a break from the bar, I knew that I was sealing my own fate. Sad thing was I didn’t care.
***
“Where the hell have you been Grey? I have been up all night waiting for you to get home.”
“You should have gone to sleep. I told you that I was going out.”
“You smell like booze.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her. Kaika was the type of woman that wasn’t to be messed with. She had a temper that was almost as scary as mine. It was part of the reason I liked her. She wasn’t so vulnerable that I was afraid I would break her when I took her properly. No, Kaika was tough and that meant that there was a battle ahead of me if I didn’t cut her off at the pass.
“I just went out. We had a few drinks, caught up and talked about old times. I haven’t seen him in ten years.”
With other women I wouldn’t even go this far to explain myself, but the girl had a way of swallowing me whole. I had never seen or felt it before and I doubted that I was going to find someone as talented as she is. It was worth taking a little bit of her grief if I had to.
“Really? That is all you did? You weren’t at the strip club on 3rd avenue, right?”
I was and that told me that she was asking the question that she already knew the answer to. Did she know what I had done there? It was a good indication that she did and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about it. I could just come clean, but that had never been my style. I could try and convince her that she was crazy, but Kaika wasn’t going to go for that. I was stuck and my silence seemed to mean to her the same as an omission.
“What do you want me to say? I just went out, that’s it. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. You are the one making it that way.”
“Because I want to know what the hell you could spend five hundred dollars on at a strip club.”
I wasn’t sure how she was getting her information, but I had to admit that she knew what was going on. I don’t think that I was going to be able to talk her out of it and the fact that I had just slept with a stripper wasn’t helping my cause. I actually felt a little guilty and I think she could smell it on me.
“Look Kaika, you are making a big deal out of this. It is really not that dramatic. It just happened, I swear it to you.”
“What just happened?”
“The club and all of that." They got a hold of my credit card, so there is no telling what all got charged on it. I will check it in the morning. Right now I am tired and I want to go take a shower.”
“You aren’t going in there until we are finished. I need the truth Grey.”
This was going nowhere fast and it made me nervous when she said something about the truth. She didn’t want this truth and if she got it, I was sure that I wasn’t going to see her again. I knew where this was headed and I didn’t want it to go there, even though I really didn’t have a choice.
“I was out Kaika and now I am home. That is the truth.”
I moved to kiss her and she could smell perfume on me... Then she saw lipstick on my collar and that was all that she needed to see and smell. It wasn’t long before she was storming out of my apartment and I knew that I wouldn’t see her again. It was good while it lasted, but the quiet was even better than her presence.
The sad thing was, as talented as Kaika was; she wasn’t enough for me to say no to a beautiful woman. That was most likely why I was bound to be single forever. Not that it bothered me, but it was clear that at this rate, I was going to be pushing forty before long and I would then be a constant bachelor. Right now I was still eligible according to the Morning Post. That was all going to change in a couple of years. I would be the man that no woman could pin down.
I cracked open a beer and looked around the apartment, really seeing it now that Kaika was gone. She had only lived here a couple of months and parts of her were everywhere. I got up and started putting all of her things in a box. I would give it to the doorman and he would be able to handle it. She would come back when she cooled off and when she realized that I was done with her, she would want to come up and get it all. It was a ploy to get back around me and I wasn’t going to fall for it. It was always better to think ahead as far as I was concerned.
Taking the elevator, a few minutes later, the door opened with a ding. “Hey Tony, can you give these to Kaika when she comes back for them?”
“Another one bites the dust?” The older doorman looked bemused. This wasn’t the first time that this very thing had happened. I had a bit of a reputation and he was right to think that I was done.
“Yeah.”
“What did you do this time?”
I shrugged my shoulders and didn’t really answer for a minute. “You know the usual. See you later Tony. I am going to go out for a bit. Finally got some freedom and quiet back.”
“What I wouldn’t give…that woman was beautiful.”
“They all are in their own way.”
I walked towards the front entrance and pulled the jacket closer around me. It was unseasonably cold or I wasn’t used to it yet. I almost went back into the building, but I needed some fresh air to clear my mind. I wasn’t going to miss Kaika and that made me question it all a little more. I should feel sadness, something, right?
New York City was bustling all around me. The lights were on because it was so late, but this was the city that never slept. I don’t either, so it was like I was meant to be here. Many nights I found comfort in that, but now I was getting a little claustrophobic. How was I supposed to clear my head when everything was blaring on around me? I needed some quiet and I wasn’t going to get it here. Things that usually comforted me were now not so helpful. For once, I felt like I ha
d to get away for a while and I moved on that feeling, walking back towards the parking garage to get my vehicle out. I needed a country road and a drive to set me back right again.
Chapter 2
Cameron
My car was getting hot or something was going on. I wasn’t sure what it was, but now that the light was on, there was smoke billowing out of the car. I had to wonder if this was just my luck or if this was a sign. I also had to wonder why it took the light so long to come on. It was apparently a big deal. Shouldn’t I have gotten a little more warning?
Pulling into the off ramp for the rest area, I was surprised at how dark it was. It was scary and the fact that I was sure my car was going to explode didn’t help me much at all. I didn’t want to know what was going on with it. I just wanted it to work.
My phone was almost dead, so I only had enough juice for one call to Triple A. They said they would be out soon and I was just going to have to wait. It was late and I locked myself in my car. I didn’t want to go out there. I wasn’t sure where I was, not really and the last thing that I needed was for someone to walk up or something like that. This was how nightmares and horror stories begin.
My mind was going a mile a minute and I didn’t have anything to distract me from such thoughts. When a car pulled up that had tinted windows and parked next to me, I was sure that I was about to get snatched.
It seemed to sit there idly for some time before it was finally shut off. I don’t know who it was, but the lights were still on and I could hear music coming from the interior. All I could think was that I didn’t want the company. It was better when I was the only one in the tiny rest area. It wasn’t like Georgia where there were guards at night. Here I felt like I was out here in the middle of nowhere all by myself.
A man got out and he stopped for a moment and waved when he saw me in the car. There was a look on his face that told me that he was feeling no pain. The smile was too wide and the way he was walking protested the same conclusion.
I finally breathed out a breath when he passed me. I hated that I was afraid, but this was all new and a little scary. I didn’t like being stuck out here with my car acting up. I wasn’t going to check under the hood, knowing that I had no idea what I was supposed to be checking for anyways. It was a waste of time.
The tall guy was coming back and I saw him pass under one of the lights. His jacket looked expensive and he looked like a business man more than he looked like a predator. I was going to take that as a good sign and when he hollered through the window asking if I needed any help, I felt a little more comfortable to answer than I did before. I did need some help and he looked like the kind of guy that could help me.
“Yeah, I would if you know anything about cars.”
I was still talking through the window, but when he shook his head that he did, I unlocked the door and opened it up a bit. There was a second of fear that he was going to rush the car or something of that nature. When he didn’t, I figured that I was going to be okay.
“Thanks, I don’t know anything about cars. The light came on that it was overheating and then smoke started to come out of it. I don’t know what is going on with it, but Triple A said it was going to be a few hours before they could come out this way. My name is Cameron by the way. What’s yours?”
I was babbling because I was nervous and because I realized how handsome the man was. He was not only dressed nice, but he held himself like he was used to having things his way. The black sports car was worth more than my house back home that I just sold, so I was starting to doubt what he actually knew anything about it. He was the classic tall, dark and handsome with a grin on his face that made him look close to devilish.
“Do you know anything about cars?”
“A little bit. Let’s pop the hood and see if we can figure this out. My name is Grey.”
“Like the color?”
His eyes smiled as well as his lips. “Yeah, like the color, though I haven’t heard that for a long time. I am used to people knowing who I am.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t know who he was. “Well I am not from around here. I am just passing through on my way to New York. It’s not too much further, right? I think I am already going to lose the room I booked for the night.”
“You are going to the city?”
I nodded my head as he popped the hood with a lever that I can say honestly that I have never used. I didn’t even know what it was there for.
“Yeah, I just got a job with a big dental office there. I am an assistant. Wanted to get out of the small town I am from. Had to see what the rest of the world is like.”
He chuckled and told me that he did the same thing when he was younger.
“Do you regret it?”
“No, I still live there so I guess not.”
Grey leaned in and took out his phone to get some light. “It looks like you don’t have any coolant in here. No wonder it got hot. Do you have some in the trunk?”
“I don’t think so. Is that something I am supposed to carry with me? I thought they filled that up when I get an oil change?”
“Yeah, but you should carry some with you. You need coolant or your car’s engine will overheat. I think I have some in my trunk and if it wasn’t hot for too long, you might be fixed up and ready to go.”
I was hoping that he was right. I didn’t want to wait any longer and the rest area was creeping me out. I stood by the car, waiting for him to go to his car and push a button to get the trunk to open. I had a feeling that he was more knowledgeable than me, but he still didn’t look like the type. I was trying to figure out what he did for a living while he got the bottle and put some into my car.
“So what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
“Well it is almost morning and I figured I might as well get back into the city before work. I have been late the last couple of days and I thought it would be a good time to make it on time.”
“Oh, what do you do?”
“I am a lawyer.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed.”
I tried not to sound that way, but I didn’t like the idea of him being a lawyer. I hadn’t met many with that profession, but I had met none that I actually liked.
“It’s nothing against you Grey, promise. It’s just that lawyers seem to be a different type of guy. I dated a few and I think I am bias now.”
“I can see that. We lawyers like to get our ways.”
“And you are smooth talking…”
“Yes Cameron, I guess we are. That is what our job is so at least the good ones are.”
“And are you a good one Sir?”
That got me a grin and my heart flopped a little in my chest. Yeah, I bet he was one that was really good at convincing people. The man was a charmer. It hadn’t taken me but a few minutes to see that. He was one of those that could talk you out of anything he wanted and I knew that men like that were dangerous.
But he was not just a talker. He actually fixed my car and when it started up and didn’t start smoking again, I was delighted that I would be able to get out of there sooner, rather than later.
“Thanks Grey. That was so nice of you. Maybe if I hightail it to the city I will still have a room booked.”
“If not, give me a call and you can stay with me. Sometimes it is hard to get a room on a Thursday night in the city, well a good place anyways.”
I thanked him, but I wasn’t going to take him up on his offer. I had planned everything out so I wouldn’t become a damsel in distress and once a night was enough for me. I got in my car and waved to the man, wondering thoughts that I pushed back in my mind. What would it be like to wake up to a man like that in the morning? So kind and helpful. He really was a godsend. But I had a feeling there was a darker side to Grey, like his name suggested, everything wasn’t quite black and white.
I waved one last time and drove away with mixed emotions. Why hadn’t I given him my number? We
were in two different worlds, but I wouldn’t have minded too terribly seeing him again. Maybe if it was meant to be I would, though even as I thought that, it felt like a cop-out and an excuse to not pursue it any further.
Chapter 3
Grey
I do not know why, but I couldn’t get that woman off of my mind. Cameron was a short blonde and with her coat on I couldn’t see much, but she had a winning smile and I liked the way she looked at me. She had been nervous at first, but something had made her change her mind and I was glad she had.
The only thing that was different was how she responded to me. I gave her my number and she had barely looked at it. If I knew any better, I would have thought that she wasn’t going to give me the time of day, but I don’t know why I wanted it to be another way. I met women like her all day long, but there was something about the way she had looked down when my eyes met hers that I really liked. There was a lot about the woman that I couldn’t stop thinking about and even as I watched her drive off, I was still smiling to myself from our meeting. They didn’t have a lot of women like that in the city.
I sat at the rest area for a few more moments, grabbing something to drink before I made my way back to the city as well. The night was clear and soon the sun would be rising in the sky. It was a nice night and I was going a bit faster than I thought I was. It wasn’t long before I was passing the car that I recognized from before.
Cameron wasn’t looking my way as I passed and I wondered for a minute if I would ever see her again. It was a strange thought to cross my mind since I didn’t usually think about things like that, but I knew that I wanted to. Wasn’t sure if I would or not, but it would be nice if I saw her again.
But it wasn’t long before I was focused more on the road ahead of me and a couple of cases that I had to argue in a few hours. I hadn’t had any sleep, but I never needed much, not when I was on an adventure. I was far more worried about getting back to the office in time.
I was home about an hour, getting out of the shower when I heard my phone ringing. I wasn’t going to answer it because I had too much to do, but something told me that I should. It was one of those feelings that I got from time to time and I tried not to worry about it too much. I went with my gut when it happened, sure that it was a sign that was going to help me on the way.