by Stacey Lynn
“You’re a pain in my ass,” Declan muttered as he walked away. Based on the wink he flashed me, I figured he was joking. For some strange reason, Charlie was completely enjoyable. But young, way too young for me. I would guess that he had just barely turned twenty-one, based on the still slightly boyish features of his face.
“You love me!” Charlie shouted to Declan’s back. He showed me a mouthful of teeth with his large grin and shook his head.
“I’m not sure antagonizing your boss is the best choice.”
“We have fun here, and he knows I wouldn’t risk my job by pissing him off. It’s all good.” He gave a shameless shrug and began wiping down the bar top.
I lost myself in the mind-numbing silence of the televisions above the bar and sipped my drink, taking my time and keeping in mind the fact I still had to drive in a little while. I was watching ESPN baseball highlights, something I couldn’t care less about, when a female voice next to me made me jump in my seat for the third time that night.
“You know Declan?”
My head jerked back and I turned to find one of the women from the table who’d been drinking margaritas standing in front of me and smiling happily.
“Umm.” I had no idea who these people were, but when I glanced over her shoulder, they were all shooting me curious looks, giggling into their drinks. “Um…sort of.”
“Oh, of course. That was awfully rude. I’m Paige. My friends and I come here almost every Thursday night.” She leaned in and whispered. “In truth, my friends and I love to ogle Declan every time we can get a glimpse of him. He humors us because Thursdays are his margarita night and we drink them by the pitcher. I figure our nights here are very profitable for him.”
“Oh…”
My lips parted, stunned by this woman in front of me. She was either slightly crazy or one of the friendliest people I’d ever met in my life.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” she said. She glanced at Charlie and flashed him a wink as he walked by. “Cute, isn’t he? I tell ya, the men in this town keep getting better looking by the minute.”
My mind whirled, trying to keep up with her.
“So are you new here?” she asked, startling me again.
As her friends went back to laughing, I began to relax. She seemed genuinely curious, if a little crazy.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I’ve been living in Colorado, but Detroit is home. I’m moving into an apartment in town this weekend.”
“And how do you know Declan?”
“I’m sort of dating a friend of his.” I chewed on my lip, wondering if I had said too much.
“That’s fantastic. And we have to hear more. Or anything you know about Declan really. Seriously, my friend Suzanne over there has nightly dreams about the man…but she’s married.” Her hand wrapped around mine and she tugged me off my chair. I had no choice but to follow her, unless I wanted to rip my hand out of hers. That would either cause a scene or spill my drink, so I opted to go with her. “Charlie!” she shouted, seemingly not caring that she was pulling a stranger behind her. “Bring our new friend a chair; she’s joining us.”
“Oh, I really can’t.” I dragged my feet into the carpet. “I’m sorry, but I just came to eat. I really can’t stay.”
“That’s okay.” She shrugged and smiled. Did she ever stop doing either? “You can eat with us. It’s better than being alone.”
She had a point. Still…“I don’t really know Declan. I’ve only met him once.”
“That’s okay, too. You can ogle him along with the rest of Latham Hills.”
I lost the fight and quickly snagged my drink while she tugged me along. When we got to the table, she waved her hand at everyone.
“Everyone, this is…” Her bright eyes widened and she suddenly looked embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even ask your name.”
“Blue.” I looked at the three other women sitting around the table. Their faces were all equally happy, with slightly flushed cheeks from the margaritas they’d been drinking; they seemed friendly and open. “My name is Blue.”
“Awesome name,” a blonde chirped next to me. She held out her hand. “I’m Suzanne. Ignore Paige, she’s not as insane as she looks, just friendly.”
I laughed along with the rest of them and took a sip of my drink. I was quickly introduced to Chelsea and Camden, both of them sitting across the table from me and just as welcoming as Suzanne and Paige.
“Come on,” Paige said when Charlie appeared behind me with my stool. “Have a seat. We come here all the time, and Chelsea and Camden practically grew up in this town, so they know everyone and everything.” She turned to the table and finally took a breath. “Blue just moved here from Colorado and is moving into an apartment this weekend.”
“The Hills?” Chelsea asked.
“Yes,” I answered, somewhat hesitantly.
As if she understood, she smiled. “Everyone new to the area moves there. They’re great places from what I’ve heard and seen.”
For the next several minutes, while I waited for my burger, I was peppered with questions about everything possible in my life. As the conversation continued around me, I was flooded with a sense of warmth even amidst the confusion stemming from being pulled into a conversation with women who seemed to have been friends forever.
For the last ten years, I’d stuck to myself and Eleanor, and taking online classes in college didn’t exactly give me a great social life. Plus, there weren’t many people my age near where we lived. Yet these women had no problems pulling me into their fold, making me feel warm and welcome. And even if it was just for the night, if we didn’t become great friends, I welcomed what they provided.
A hush fell over the table, and Camden’s mouth dropped open as a shadow fell behind me. Next to me, Suzanne whispered, “Damn he’s fine.”
Across the table, Chelsea giggled into her hand.
“Hi, Declan,” Paige said, in what I was thinking was her general cheerful tone.
“Your burger,” he rumbled, and set my burger onto the table in front of me. It was massive and smelled delicious.
I turned to look at him over my shoulder and grinned. “Thanks, Declan.”
“Anything for you.”
“What about us?” Suzanne chirped.
He feigned a scowl. “Your husband know you’re here again?”
“Oh, yeah,” Suzanne drawled and winked. “You know how he feels about you.”
Declan shook his head and rolled his eyes. He seemed exasperated by these women, and who could blame him? They were a lot to take in.
“Need anything else, Blue?” he asked and glanced around the table. “A quiet place to eat? A gun to shoot yourself in the head?”
The women laughed. I snorted and shook my head. “I think I’m good.”
“Take care then and tell Ty to give me a ring.”
“Will do.” I grinned as he walked away. Then I laughed to myself as Paige and Suzanne both placed their elbows on the table, chin in their palms and with stars in their eyes, watched as Declan sauntered away from the table and back into the kitchen.
“Damn, he’s so hot,” Paige whispered wistfully.
Suzanne raised her margarita glass high in the air. “Amen, sister.”
Chelsea and Camden both shook their heads, laughing and playing along.
I took a bite of my burger, hiding the largest grin I’d ever worn in my life.
—
“I come with gifts.” Tyson grinned and held up his hands. One held a bottle of white wine and the other a plastic bag. I assumed it contained my ice cream.
“Damn, I’m glad to you see you,” I whispered, my eyes on the treat currently calling my name. I opened the door and let Tyson through, shutting it behind him.
“I’m glad to be here.”
I smirked at his back. “I was talking about the wine.”
He shot me a look over his shoulder and huffed. “Nice to see where I fall.”
“I’m kidding.”
&n
bsp; Tyson set down the wine and bag of ice cream on the entry table and kicked off his Adidas sandals. My gaze traveled down his body, which was dressed in a simple black T-shirt and dark gray athletic pants, down to his bare feet. He looked damn good in his suit earlier, but there was something undeniably sexy about a man in athletic attire. It clung to all the right places.
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and picked up the bag. I snagged the bottle of wine from the table and followed him into the suite’s small living area. He sat me on the couch and took the wine from my hands. “What would you like first?”
“Wine.”
“Stay here.”
“I can help,” I said, pushing off the couch to stand.
“You can, but you’ve had a long day. I want to do this for you.”
I relaxed back into the couch and smiled. “Thank you,” I replied and rested my head against the back of the couch.
He was right. I had had a long day, but his had been equally long. The fact that he was still willing and wanted to take care of me, even though he had been working since this morning, made my heart flutter a bit faster inside my chest. This was what being with Tyson would be like. Him taking care of me. Lots of understanding and compassion.
They were things I had received from few people in my life, and never a man.
“Here,” he said quietly, and joined me, standing next to the couch. I opened my eyes and turned to him, taking the offered glass of wine out of his hands.
It was chilled and delicious. A small moan of pleasure escaped my lips as I took my first sip.
He sat next to me, bending one leg so he was facing me, and draped his arm against the back of the couch. His fingertips played with my hair. “How was it?”
“At my mom’s?”
One shoulder shrugged.
The vibe at my parents’ house was strange tonight. Cars and SUVs lined their driveway when I pulled in, and even though I hadn’t seen the numerous men that had to be there, I had definitely heard the raised voices filtering out of my father’s office. Everyone seemed tense, with emotions running high. I assumed it had to do with my father stepping down and making plans to hand over his leadership to Malik. I guessed it had more to do with what Malik had told me about other crime families threatening to take what my father believed to be his. What I witnessed and heard tonight seemed bigger…darker. As I went upstairs to see my mom, two men dressed in black suits had left my father’s office, shouting obscenities as they hustled out the front door. Before they reached the entryway, they both turned around, sent me a glare that instantly chilled my spine, and then left. It took me several moments before I was able to catch my breath and move up the stairs after that. And once I was in my mom’s room, I still didn’t feel safe.
Something was going on. Whatever my father was doing now wasn’t good. I could still feel the lingering tension and darkness in the air in my parents’ house as I sat and thought about it. I shivered and shook my head to erase the feeling.
“What is it?” Tyson asked, his hand sliding from my hair to my shoulder.
“Nothing.” I frowned, shook my head again. “My mom was fine, I guess. Sleeping, waking up only to cough. I doubt she realized I was there.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to find the words to say what I was feeling about it, but nothing came. There was nothing to say about watching someone you love lose her life with every passing breath. Fortunately, Tyson let me have my silence while we sipped our wine.
“How’s your dad handling it?”
I frowned. He hated talking about my dad, and I was surprised he’d brought him up.
“I don’t know, honestly,” I said. “Clarissa said he hasn’t been home much this week. Busy with something. He’d never let me see him hurting over her, anyway.” I forced a smile and turned to him, wanting to change the subject. “How was your day?”
Tyson’s finger slid through my hair until he reached the ends. His look was soft. Pensive. “Pain in my ass, to be honest.”
“I’m sorry.” I lifted my wine glass and tipped the top of my glass toward his, clinking them together. “At least we have alcohol.”
His eyes crinkled at the edges and then our eyes locked on each other. “Maybe what I want isn’t alcohol.”
I choked over the lump in my throat, desire already starting to build. He only looked at me with seductive intent and I understood what he wanted.
Even knowing it, I still flashed him a teasing grin. “Ice cream?”
He shook his head slowly and lifted his glass to his lips, draining it one large sip. “Nope.”
“Dinner?” I asked, my lips twitching and fighting a smile.
Tyson stood up and held out his hand to me. I placed mine inside his and let him pull me to my feet. “Not hungry for food.”
“What are you hungry for?” But I already knew. Showing him, I rolled to my toes and kissed him, licking my lips right before mine met his.
“You,” he growled, his lips against mine. Then he opened his mouth, his tongue sliding out and tasting my lips. He controlled the kiss as he tilted my head with his warm hands until I was at the angle he wanted me. “Let me take you to bed and show you how much.”
“You have me,” I whispered, pulling back from him. Desire pooled in his dark blues as his eyes scanned my face. I waited, breathless and lips parted, hoping he could see the truth…and understand that I meant so much more.
With a nod so small I almost missed it, his shoulders relaxed beneath my hands. His whole body seemed to melt with my admission. And then I let him tug me down the hall.
Because I wanted him to show me how much he wanted me.
I wanted to show him how much I needed him.
—
“I’m going to be out of town tomorrow. And I won’t be back until Saturday.”
“Oh.” I was disappointed. I wanted to see him again before I had to see Malik. “Okay.”
Sitting up in the bed, I tugged the sheets up over my chest and wrapped my arms around my stomach. It was morning and I couldn’t help but enjoy the view as Tyson began pulling on his pants and tugging on his shirt. My fingers itched to grab everything he was putting on and rip it off, before I pulled him back to bed.
“I want you to come to my place after the benefit,” he said when he was done dressing.
A small line appeared between his eyes.
“It might be late.”
He scowled. “It better not be. And I want you in my bed after I know you’ve spent the night with another man. I might need to remind you of what we’re doing together.”
“And what is that?” I hesitated to ask but did it anyway. I knew how I felt. I was pretty sure I knew how Tyson felt.
My breath caught in my chest as I waited for him to answer. And when he did, I was not disappointed.
“We’re building our second chance. The life we should have had together before it was taken away.”
“Oh…okay.” My cheeks warmed with heat as he kissed me. It was soft and languid, our tongues rolling around each other’s as he slid his into my mouth.
“Saturday, Blue.”
“Saturday,” I agreed, before pulling him back to me. His hands were braced on the bed next to my waist so I glided one of my hands around to the back of his neck and pulled him toward me. I took his weight as he adjusted and a hum of approval fell from my lips as his body covered me. “Maybe you can remind me, now.”
He chuckled softly and peppered my cheeks, jaw, and throat with slow kisses. “I wish I could stay, I really do. But once I get this case taken care of, we’ll have more time together.”
I pouted, unable to help it. Already my body was warming, my most intimate areas pulsing with desire.
“Promise me,” he said, resting his forehead against mine. “After the benefit you come to me.”
His voice was so stern, so serious, that it made something lump in my throat. “Why?”
“Just promise me.”
I frowned, unable to figure
out why his plea sounded so ominous. Then I nodded and trailed my fingertips down his scruffy cheeks, stopping at his lips.
He nipped the tip of my finger with his teeth and grinned, but even I noticed it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is everything okay?” I asked when he pushed off the bed and stood up.
“It will be.”
Shifting, I reached over and grabbed my robe and slipped into it as I climbed out of bed. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
Tyson chewed the inside of his lip before he grinned. He was a master of his emotions, able to hide the ones he didn’t want me to see, but as he walked toward me and placed his hands on my hips, and then dropped his lips to mine, I learned that he couldn’t hide them all.
“You’re right. But if you can be at my place Saturday, I promise to tell you everything that I haven’t been able to yet.”
An icy chill slithered into my veins even as I found myself nodding. “Okay, Tyson. Saturday.”
He kissed me again, pressing his lips to my forehead and inhaling at the same time. As he walked away, I couldn’t help but think that somehow…
Saturday was not going to come fast enough.
Chapter 18
“You are stunning, Gabriella.”
“Thank you.” I dipped my chin at Malik’s praise. I allowed him to take my arm, and he grasped my elbow with his hand, cupping it while he guided me into the waiting limo.
I had to admit, the beautiful navy gown I had on fit me perfectly. I chose something that radiated class and elegance but didn’t show too much skin. I still didn’t want Malik to get the wrong idea, and with a sweetheart neckline that revealed just a hint of cleavage, the dress wasn’t overtly sexual. The designer gown cost a mint, but after I slid it on in the dressing room, I had to have it. It left a nice dent in my credit card, but with the money I was making at DPA, I wasn’t worried. It was luxurious and soft. And while Malik’s compliment made me blush, it was Tyson’s opinion and expression that I couldn’t wait to see later on.
Malik climbed into the limo behind me, sitting next to me on the bench. As he sat, he adjusted himself on the seat, moving closer to me. It felt too close, too intimate, and I had to wipe a scowl off my face when he turned and smiled down at me.