Ty wished he knew Damon better, but the other man had always been a bit of a mystery to him. It had been Kyle who had met Damon on his intense survey of potential competition, and it was true that Damon was an excellent coach and trainer. His artistic talent had been unexpected and his ability to completely nail a design was what had brought him into the partnership. Damon had boundaries, though, and Ty wasn’t even sure how well Kyle knew him.
Ty watched Damon surreptitiously at the club. The other man stood on the far side of the dance floor, arms folded across his chest, gaze flicking over the patrons as they danced and partied. He was pumped up and looked imposing, but not very friendly.
Did he resent taking a shift so badly? Ty had checked the schedule and Damon hadn’t worked a Friday night in the F5 club since April.
He knew he’d struck a nerve when he’d accused Damon of not pulling his weight, but wondered what was going on.
“Hey, what’s with the assassin?” one of the patrons asked, indicating Damon. He shared Kyle’s ready smile and an easy confidence, but had dark hair and striking blue eyes. Ty had noticed him dancing earlier, charming women left and right, and had wondered if Kyle had another brother he didn’t know about. “He looks like he’s ready to kill people with his bare hands.” Ty couldn’t argue with that, because it was true. “He’s totally trashing the mood.”
“We had to change the schedule around, no big deal.”
“So Cassie could have a night off,” the younger man said with a nod. “She’s been here pretty much every night since Kyle went to San Francisco.” He indicated Damon. “He’s not here often, but I’ve never seen him looking like that.”
Ty refrained from comment on Damon’s mood. “You come here often, then?”
“Every night you’re open,” the guy said with a nod. “It’s the best place to dance in town. The most beautiful women around.” He watched one do a solo on the dance floor, admiration in his expression. “My home away from home.” He sighed. “I’d live here if I could.”
Ty saw the opportunity to plug their new venture. “You will be able to, soon. We’ll be selling condos in the tower above F5.”
The younger man laughed. “Like I could afford that! Great idea, though.”
“I’m thinking that you and Kyle must get along well.”
He laughed again. “He calls us twins tragically separated at birth.” He turned and offered his hand. “Hunter Tate,” he said. “You’ve got to be Tyler McKay, the money guy.”
“Do I?”
“Oh yeah, I can smell it on you.” Hunter took a deep breath and grinned. “Too bad none of it will stick to me.”
Ty chuckled because he knew he was supposed to.
“This isn’t your idea of a good time any more than it’s his.” Hunter backed into the wall beside Ty when Ty didn’t reply. “You should hire someone to work the club,” he said. “I mean, with Kyle and Theo out west so much, someone needs to take the lead here and keep it happening. That’s not going to change when you open F5 West. You need someone who loves it here.”
It was such an obvious pitch that Ty couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “Let me guess. You have the perfect candidate in mind.”
Hunter laughed, not in the least bit troubled that Ty had seen through him. “You’ve got that right. I do love this club. I pay to be here all the time. I belong to the gym, too. To be paid to be here would be like heaven on earth.” He grinned. “You could throw in one of those condos as part of my compensation.”
Ty was amused that the younger man was so forthright. “Well, send us a résumé and we’ll think about it,” he said, not wanting to give too much encouragement. It was a good idea, but he wanted to find out what Kyle knew about Hunter.
“No problem.” Hunter pulled out his phone. “I just happen to have my résumé all ready. Why don’t you give me your email and I’ll send it to you as an attachment?” He looked up and met Ty’s gaze, confidence in his eyes.
“What a coincidence you had a chance to talk to me.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence any more than I believe in luck,” Hunter said. “Luck is made. I want to work at F5. How would any of you know that unless I told you?”
That was true enough. Ty gave Hunter the email for the club and told him they’d think about it.
He considered Damon, unable to dismiss his sense that his partner was taut with tension, and knew Hunter practically had the job already.
* * *
Damon hated that he was so late.
It was past four in the morning by the time he got to the hospital. It hadn’t helped that Ty had tried to talk to him when the dance club closed. The last thing Damon was going to do was confide in his partners and let them decide he shouldn’t be a part of F5 anymore because he had too much on his plate. The best course was to shoulder through the challenge and get to the other side.
Somehow.
The hospital lobby was deserted. The nurse at the desk of the oncology ward glanced up when the elevator doors opened and she waved to him with her fingertips.
He took that as a sign that his mom was more or less okay.
Damon strode down the hall, not having it in him to make conversation. He didn’t like letting anyone down. He didn’t like that he couldn’t fix everything for his mom. He didn’t like that Ty and the others had no idea what was going on in his life, but he didn’t want to confide in them either. His mom’s illness was private.
An ordeal he had to survive alone.
His throat was tight when he reached her room but he was reassured by the sound of the heart monitor within. He opened the door just a little, not wanting to disturb her, and caught his breath at how vulnerable she looked.
How much longer would it be?
He walked toward the bed, moving as quietly as he could. She didn’t awaken, which was unusual. His mom had always been a light sleeper.
But then, they’d probably given her something for the pain.
Damon balled his hands in his pockets and looked down at her, wondering what he’d do when this came to its inevitable end, hating that he couldn’t change any of it.
Then he saw the bottle of massage lotion on the end table. It wasn’t where he had left it.
Haley had been with her.
She’d come.
Relief flooded through Damon and he knew he had to do something to thank her.
He could think of one thing he was more than ready to do.
She might not be interested, though. He had called an end to it.
Damon lifted the blanket and tucked it over his mom, smelling the familiar scent of the lotion as he did so. His mom smiled and reached for his hand without opening her eyes. She gave his fingers a little squeeze, as if he was the one who needed comfort, then her hand slid away as she slept more deeply again.
He watched her sleeping for a while, then went back to the nurses’ station. He learned that Haley hadn’t just given his mom a massage: her touch had meant that his mom hadn’t needed the extra morphine to get to sleep. The nurse enthused about the effect upon his mom’s vitals and Damon was more than glad to hear it.
Haley had gone above and beyond.
And now he owed her.
He was sufficiently honest with himself to be glad.
* * *
Haley took a chance at the end of her shift and went back to the oncology ward. It was quiet, the nurses all answering calls and she was glad that there was no one to see her visit Natasha’s room. The door was almost closed and she listened for a moment, noting the slow and steady sound of the monitor. She smiled, assuming that Damon’s presence was responsible, then eased open the door just a little bit.
But Natasha was alone, sound asleep.
He’d either left or never been.
Haley bit her lip, unable to keep herself from wondering why. There were lots of possibilities. He had a date. He was having sex with someone else. He’d moved on to another willing partner and she was still thinking about him. Pa
thetic, but she supposed she was still useful to him.
Even that would end too soon.
Haley pivoted to leave and ran into an obstacle.
A man-sized obstacle, one that smelled of perfume and cigarettes. Damon was wearing a black T-shirt that fit like his second skin with the F5 logo over his heart, jeans, and a leather jacket. The smell told her that he’d been at a party and she was disgusted that he could go out and enjoy himself as if his mom hadn’t been waiting for him. Haley spared one upward glance to let him see her opinion, then pushed past him with annoyance. She marched down the corridor, not wanting to talk to him.
She heard Damon striding after her but didn’t stop. The elevator was there so she hurried into it and jabbed at the button, but the doors didn’t close quickly enough to stop Damon. He got in, looking determined and formidable. The doors closed, and the elevator started to descend. Haley folded her arms across her chest and tried to ignore him, which wasn’t easy since he practically filled the space.
Damon hit the stop button and Haley glared at him. She reached to start the elevator’s descent again but he caught her hand in his.
It wasn’t fair that his skin was so warm and his touch so gentle.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.
“You. Start the elevator again, please.”
“Answer me first.”
Haley took a shaking breath. “How dare you ask me to visit your mom because you decided to go to a party?” she demanded and his eyes flashed. “I thought you cared about something more than yourself...”
His fingertip landed across her lips. “I had to work.”
Haley took a step back and found herself in the corner of the elevator, with Damon still looming over her. “Well, they’ve changed gyms a lot if dancing and drinking is work...”
“I wasn’t dancing. And I wasn’t drinking.”
“Why should I believe you? You smell like you’ve been to a party.”
His lips tightened and for a moment, he looked exasperated. Then he was impassive again. The man of stone. “We have a dance club at F5,” he admitted. “I hate bars. I hate that social scene, but I was reminded today that I haven’t been doing my part in taking Friday night shifts at the club.” His voice hardened and his eyes narrowed. “No one tells me that I’m not playing for the team.”
“You can’t smoke in bars.”
“But you can smoke outside of them and people do. The cloud is incredible and it’s inescapable.”
“They shouldn’t smoke near the doors.”
He almost smiled. “It’s winter. They do.”
She considered him, knowing that his partners’ accusation had stung. “They accused you of not doing your share?”
He nodded once.
“But it’s because you come to visit your mom.”
“Yes.” Damon bit off the word, which made Haley remember Teresa’s comment. He poked the button to set the elevator in motion again and his eyes glittered when he glanced at her. “So, I did my part tonight and no one has cause for complaint. End of story.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Haley folded her arms across her chest. “How can you be playing for the team if you haven’t told them about your mom?”
“It’s none of their business.”
“They think she’s your date.”
“I know.” His eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”
“Cassie told me when I went to the massage class.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
“I didn’t ask. She was venting a little. People tell me things.”
“That’s good to know,” he growled and she knew he wasn’t pleased.
But Haley wasn’t going to let him change the subject. “If they knew she was your mom and that she was in the oncology ward, no one would accuse you of not pulling your weight.”
Damon gave her a cool look. “It’s not their problem. They don’t know and they aren’t going to.”
“I thought they were your friends.”
“More or less.”
“And your partners.”
He nodded.
“Am I right in guessing that they’re the sum of your emotional support network, other than your mom?”
“I don’t have an emotional support network because I don’t need one,” he snapped.
“Everyone needs one,” Haley snapped back. “Especially when the person closest to them in the whole world is going to die.”
Then she caught her breath that she’d been so tactless as to say the truth out loud.
Damon didn’t say anything.
She wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Haley stole a glance at him, surprised to find that he didn’t look angry at all.
He looked defeated.
Her frustration with him dissolved. Would she have done as well under a similar strain? Haley doubted it. His expression was proof positive that he needed a friend.
But when he raised his gaze to hers, he was composed and impassive again. He cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose you’d let me say thanks for giving my mom a massage tonight.”
Haley swallowed. “I thought you couldn’t do it anymore.”
“I think I might manage tonight.”
Just sex. Haley must have been tired because in that moment, she wanted a lot more from Damon Perez.
Then she recalled his stance in the elevator just a moment before. He was alone. He was hurting. He needed her energy.
Although he was trying to hide it. There was something about the combination of strength and vulnerability that made her want to take him home and love him all night long.
Haley knew she should walk away, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be with Damon, even if it was the last time.
Especially if it was the last time.
He stood and waited in silence for her decision, and she wondered why he wasn’t trying to overwhelm her with his touch. If he kissed her, or even just slid that finger over her mouth again, she’d pretty much be a goner. He could get his way easily, but he wasn’t even trying.
“You’re not exactly using all your skills to make a persuasive argument.”
Damon’s smile was fleeting but potent. “Because I know that touch can tip the balance. I’m trying to be fair.”
Haley shook her head that he understood his power over her so well, and hefted her bag a little higher. “Good old reliable Haley Slater,” she murmured. It didn’t sound like such a good credential in the moment. She headed for the line of cabs, not caring that she didn’t know the first driver at all.
“Haley,” Damon said from behind her. “Please.” His voice caught on the single word and she glanced back, only to see desolation in his eyes for the merest heartbeat. Then his armor was back in place and he was just a stunningly attractive man standing alone, watching her with a guarded expression. “I need you tonight,” he admitted so softly that she almost didn’t hear the words.
It turned out he didn’t need to touch her to be irresistible.
“I need you, too,” she murmured, then offered her hand to him.
* * *
Damon had no intention of letting Haley regret her choice.
He didn’t want to be alone.
He didn’t want to go home alone.
He felt a desperation that didn’t bode well for the next few hours. He knew what would happen if he went to sleep alone, and he didn’t want to have the nightmare again—or at least, he wanted to delay it as long as possible.
He hadn’t felt alive until he’d argued with her in the elevator, and then he’d known that it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as he’d hoped to let her slip out of his life. Even to push her out was against his every instinct. When she chewed him out, fearless and articulate, he wanted to make love to her until she roared with pleasure.
It was past four. The sun would be r
ising soon. If he was making love to Haley, maybe he could duck the monster for one more night.
Maybe he could forget his powerlessness by giving her pleasure.
He wanted to feel powerful and commanding, in charge of all the variables—instead of subject to their whims.
He claimed her hand in the cab and held it tightly. Her fingers were cold but she seemed a bit surprised by his touch. “Did you go to the club for the class?” he asked.
“Wednesday,” she admitted.
“Was it a good class?”
“Yes. I learned about meridians.” She turned to study him when he nodded. “I thought maybe you taught the class.”
“No. We hire experts whenever we can. I mostly do personal appointments. I step in when necessary. And I do a lot of weight-lifting programs.”
“Is that your area of expertise?”
“Kind of.” Damon knew the cab driver was listening and also understood that Haley needed him to surrender more personal information to her. “I specialized in personal training before I joined F5. I met Kyle at a gym where I used to coach.”
“Did you compete? Is that why you coach?”
He shook his head. “No, I needed a job, and training was something I understood. I had to prove myself at that gym, but that didn’t worry me. Training is all about persistence and consistency, keeping your stance, pushing a little bit harder every time. You have to make a commitment to succeed and there are no overnight successes.”
“Why’d you understand training so well?”
“I always lifted weights.”
Haley nodded. “Oh. I thought maybe you’d learned that in the service.”
Damon turned to stare at her, but she had leaned forward to direct the driver to her building. He pulled out his wallet, but she’d already paid the fare and gotten out of the cab. The driver was watching him in the mirror, so Damon got out, wondering what she had planned.
Was she changing her mind?
And how had she known that he’d served?
The cab pulled away and he strode to the curb, fighting the sense that she’d snuck through one of his checkpoints. “Changing your mind?” he asked gruffly.
“No, but I thought you might be.” She smiled up at him. “I think I found a secret.”
In the Midnight Hour Page 13