“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Like a superhero,” I said without thinking, then bit my lip, as if that would retract the comment.
“Hardly.” He scoffed. “Although, I’ll admit—it isn’t easy to chase and subdue someone in dress shoes.”
I thought maybe I laughed, but it was only to cover up the fact that I felt as if I’d been sucker punched. Chase and subdue. That was what David had been metaphorically doing since the moment he’d met me. He’d found me at the bar during the ballet. Followed me to the balcony at Lucy’s. Come to my office to do the article.
But it wasn’t the metaphorical chase that made me lose my breath.
It was the vision of David acting out those verbs on me. Lust reared in me at the thought of David cornering me, tossing me over his shoulder, having his way with me despite all the reasons not to.
“Keep the towel there,” he said, jolting me from the fantasy. I took the ice. He disappeared again and returned with two pills, a glass of water, and a tube of Neosporin. I handed over the towel and gratefully took the painkillers.
“Let’s get you out of those clothes and into bed,” he said, and my head snapped up at what sounded like an invitation.
He tilted his head. “I have a guest room you can stay in, Olivia.”
“Of course,” I said with a shaky laugh. “I knew that.”
I followed him out of the living area as he showed me to a room furnished with nothing more than a queen-sized bed, two nightstands, and a dresser.
It was becoming obvious that despite David’s talent for design, he spent far more of it on his clients than on himself. Why?
He pointed across the room. “Bathroom,” he said, and added on his way out the door, “You can sleep in that t-shirt, but I’ll get you some bottoms.”
I removed his blazer and placed it over a chair. In the bathroom, I splashed cold water onto my face and examined the damage. David was right. The cut was minimal, and most of the blood had washed away. But I could already see the beginnings of a bruise forming around it. I dabbed antibiotic ointment on it, then tugged my fingers through my hair, but there was nothing I could do to improve the shadows under my eyes. I looked better suited for a night at the trailer park than as a guest in David’s spotless home.
“I’m a mess,” I said when he appeared in the mirror behind me.
“Yes, you are.” He sighed. “Somehow you still look exquisite.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay. Sure.”
“Will either of these work?” He handed me folded black sweatpants and a pair of plaid boxers. “They’ll be a little big, of course. But it’s better than nothing at all.” His mouth popped open. “Well . . . not better. I’m perfectly fine with nothing if you are.”
I raised a scolding eyebrow at him and resisted from following that tempting path. Pulling taut the t-shirt he’d given me, I read in a teasing tone, “Turkey Trot?”
“If I’m in town for Thanksgiving, my dad and I usually run the 5K to support the local police department while my sister and mom prep dinner.”
God. That was sweet. And unsurprising, since he’d already hinted he was close with his family.
That was not the David I needed to know right now. I couldn’t forget that after tonight, he and I would no longer have a relationship of any sort.
I took the bottoms. “This is great. Thank you.”
He nodded once and closed the door on his way out of the bathroom. I changed out of my slacks slowly as soreness descended, then whiffed his clothing—fresh laundry and David. Though it was a little warm for sweats, they seemed like the safer option for this sleepover.
When I came out, he was setting a glass of water on the nightstand.
“How’s this for exquisite?” I joked in sweatpants rolled three times and a t-shirt that hung to the tops of my thighs.
“How come you roll your eyes when you say that?” he asked.
“Because it’s a ridiculous thing to say when I’m in oversized pajamas, no makeup, with a bruise forming on my cheek.” I walked to the bed and pulled back the comforter. “Then again, I can’t really blame you. I don’t doubt many girls buy whatever you tell them.”
“You do look exquisite.”
I stopped, glanced down at my outfit, then back at him before bursting into laughter.
He tilted his head and smiled in a way that could get even the Virgin Mary into trouble. My laugh vanished as he looked me up and down. His eyes morphed from curious to hungry, as if he might leap across the room and devour me. I felt less desirable than ever, but the way my body warmed under his perusal, I might as well have been naked.
“One day,” he said slowly, “I’m going to tell you, in detail too explicit for the moment, exactly how exquisite you look right now. I promise you that.”
I clenched my jaw and swallowed. His eyes lingered too long, and that empty heaviness returned between my thighs. I doubted I could even dream up the explicit details he threatened.
“Well,” he said, totally unruffled, “you’re all set. I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours. I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“I didn’t hit my head,” I assured him.
“Indulge me. I didn’t see the assault with my own eyes, so I’ll do as I see fit.”
“Does someone as determined as you ever do as you don’t see fit?”
A roguish grin was his only response.
I climbed into the bed and got under the covers.
“Goodnight,” he said, switching off the lights on his way out.
Every time I began to drift, a cold blade touched my exposed chest. A pair of hands shoved my back against a wall. My scalp screamed as someone yanked my hair.
I would’ve sworn I hadn’t slept, except that somewhere in the middle of the night, David’s comforting voice broke through the dark.
“Olivia.”
I blinked my eyes open.
“I’m just checking on you.” Faint light slivered through the room from the doorway. “Need anything?”
“Yes,” I said suddenly, sitting up. “Why’d you come back?”
“When?” he asked.
“You had no reason to believe I was in real danger. Mark could’ve been anyone, going to any floor in the building.”
He paused. “If there was even a chance you were in trouble,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t going to risk it.”
“Is that the truth?” His set jaw and determined gaze as he’d ended our relationship seemed so far away now. “You weren’t coming back for . . . for another reason?”
“No. There’s no in-between for us, Olivia. I can’t come back for you. And I can’t stay. Or we’ll both get hurt.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. I understood. But I was also tired of fighting, and I wasn’t going to get any rest tonight. Not when I didn’t feel safe. Without meaning to, I whispered, “Stay.”
“What?”
Silence stretched between us long enough for me to take it back. To question why I’d said it. To tell him never mind.
Of course, he couldn’t stay, and it wasn’t fair to ask that of him. But my safety had been threatened tonight, and I felt exposed—in more ways than one. David had hurt me tonight by trying to end our relationship. He could do more damage than even Mark Alvarez. Ironically, he was the riskiest, most dangerous thing in my life, and yet I needed him now to feel safe.
“Stay,” I repeated.
I couldn’t see him in the dark, but I felt his struggle. I’d learned tonight that he wanted to do the right thing. It was who he was. But did he want me more? Was it fair to hope he did?
Footsteps crossed the room. The mattress dipped as he got onto the opposite side of the bed, far enough that I would really have to reach to touch him. I wouldn’t, though. Just having him there allowed me to give in. Exhaustion descended. I closed my eyes knowing I was safe tonight, even from him.
19
I woke slowly from a deep sleep, my eyes opening to a room gray w
ith broken dawn. Across the bed, David slept facing me, lying on top of the comforter in a white t-shirt and heather-gray sweatpants. At rest with tousled hair, he almost looked relaxed, except that his arms were crossed over his chest. He was so far away that he was almost falling off the bed.
Was it out of respect that he kept his distance? Or had our new arrangement gone into effect at the stroke of midnight?
I could reach out and touch him, pull him close. Snuggle into his chest. Desire welled in me, less urgent than in the past, but deeper. I couldn’t help but think of what he might do if the circumstances were different. Lean over and finish the kiss he’d started in my office, letting his hands wander over my t-shirt. Reach between my thighs and feel my want, my need . . .
He shifted and opened his eyes. “Morning.”
I cleared my throat. “Morning.”
“How do you feel?”
“Good,” I said and meant it. “I slept really well once you stayed with me.”
He nodded and stretched his long limbs before leaning over me to see the clock. “Five to seven.”
“I’m going to be late,” I said.
“Call in sick.” He turned back with a smile far too tempting for my tenuous, early-morning willpower. “You can stay here today if you want.”
“That’s a terrible idea.” I sat up, grimacing as my sore muscles protested. “Setting aside the fact that we agreed to end this, the big party is tonight.”
David sucked in an inhale, and I caught his cringe. “You’re a little black and blue,” he said, also getting up and scooting across the bed. He took my chin in his hand again—something I enjoyed far too much. “The cut looks all right, but your cheek is bruised.” He shook his head and swept the hair from my face. “Poor girl.”
We looked at each other, his hand lingering. The memory of our kiss swept over me again, more vivid with his vicinity. I pushed the dangerous thought from my mind but a sound escaped my lips.
“And what about the wounds I can’t see?” he asked. “We should talk about what happened. What Alvarez almost—”
“Stop.” I set my jaw. Why bring that up? I’d managed to temporarily forget the terror of Mark’s hands on me, on what could’ve happened if David hadn’t returned. Surface scrapes and bruises were easy—once they healed, it was done. But knowing I’d come close to being . . . I couldn’t even bring myself to think of the violation.
I glanced at the comforter between us. “I’m fine.”
“You have to talk about it.”
“I will.” I raised my eyes and ended the conversation, even if it was with a lie. “With Bill.”
“Right.” David glanced away, then lifted himself off the bed. “Let me at least save you a trip home. I can have an outfit sent up from one of the boutiques downstairs,” he said and plucked at his shirt collar. “I’ve got great taste.”
As a new day began, last night’s shock wore off and left no excuses to hide behind. To stay and spend more time with this intriguing, sexy man—who wouldn’t want that? To let him dress me as he would his girlfriend and send me off to work?
It definitely broke the rules of our non-existent relationship.
I pulled the covers off and climbed out of bed.
“Jesus, Olivia,” David said, raking his eyes over me.
I glanced down to find my legs bare, and his long t-shirt grazing just below my underwear. “Shit,” I said, tugging down the hem. “I must’ve taken off my pants in the middle of the night.”
“I’m trying to behave,” he said, “but you’re making it nearly impossible.”
I smiled, waving him off, though I understood. He exaggerated shielding his eyes as he left the room.
After a hot shower, I came out of the bathroom to find a shopping bag on the bed. God, that was quick. Normally, I would’ve left it where it was, but with my blouse destroyed, I couldn’t exactly show up to work in a t-shirt and slacks. I unfolded a simple, forest green dress conservative enough for the office. I knew why David had chosen the green. It matched my eyes, and it was also Bill’s favorite color on me.
I attempted to make myself presentable by twisting my damp hair into a loose chignon and breaking into the makeup essentials I carried in my purse. I lingered over the bruise, dabbing the area with cover-up, but eventually gave up trying to look good to go meet David in the kitchen.
He still wore a faded t-shirt and gray sweatpants that hung dangerously low. I glimpsed skin when he pulled two mugs from a cupboard.
“Thank you for the dress,” I said, looking around his place more time. “How much do I owe you?”
“Just a quick breakfast,” he said, quickly scanning my outfit. “What do you eat in the mornings? Want coffee? OJ? Both?”
I sighed, half-longing to spend my morning ogling him over a coffee mug. “I need to get going.”
“You should eat first. I’m not a great cook, but I can whip something up.”
Not wanting to be rude, I nodded to a bowl of fruit behind him. “How about a banana?”
He swung around and grabbed one to offer it to me. “What else?”
I narrowed my eyes and smiled at him. “You’re kind of persistent, aren’t you?” I said, mocking how he’d called me “a little stubborn” the night before.
He grunted. “When I want something, yes.”
“What do you want, David?”
He flexed his hands in his pockets, inadvertently tugging his sweatpants lower. “Just to feed you, Olivia.”
Was David this attentive to all his overnight visitors? He must’ve run up quite a tab on breakfast foods. With the irritating thought, I turned away. “The banana will suffice.”
“At least let me get you a cab, too,” he said, walking me to the door.
“You’re in your pajamas,” I pointed out. “What’s it like living in a hotel anyway? Don’t all the people disturb you?”
He gave a short laugh as we passed into the entryway, where he hit the elevator call button. “That’s not usually the first thing people ask when they find out I live in a hotel. But no. Last night we used a private entrance and elevator. So unless I come through the front, I’m generally spared from people-ing.”
I turned to face him. “You’re still coming to tonight’s Meet and Greet, right?” I asked. “Beman will kill me if you don’t show. The press will be there to debut the list, starting with a red carpet out front of the hotel as people arrive.”
“I’ll be there,” he said. “But all I have to do is ride the elevator one floor up to the rooftop. Looks like I’ll miss the red carpet.”
“But you’re the most sought-after man in the feature—” I stopped myself. Clearing my throat, I tried shifting from teenage fangirl to a more professional approach. “We need you for the press you’ll bring. You’re walking the red carpet—even if I have to come up here and drag you there myself.”
David paused a beat, then reached up to lift my chin. I assumed he meant to inspect my injury again, but instead, he leaned in, his mouth nearly at my ear. “I can almost assure you that plan would backfire,” he said levelly. “Next time I get you willingly alone in my apartment, even the gentleman in me will step aside.”
My eyes hit the marble floor as my warming cheeks gave way to a furious blush. Any joking left his demeanor. Was he serious? Did he think I could respond to something like that?
“Good grief, you’re red,” he said, drawing back. I peeked up to see his lips spread into a devastating smile. “And go easy on that poor banana.”
I loosened my death grip around the fruit just as the elevator dinged.
Saved by the bell.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I said.
“Tonight.” He nodded once and slipped his phone from his pocket when it rang. “Shit,” he said and answered the call. His molten-brown eyes stayed on me as I boarded the elevator and leaned against the back rail, soaking in every last second with him.
He nodded once and said into the phone, “Got it.”
&nb
sp; I could’ve stared at him all day. It shouldn’t have been anything remarkable, a man on a phone call in his pajamas, but his beauty, even like this, took my breath away.
The doors started to close, stealing him from me inch by inch.
Until he shot his hand between them, stopping the elevator. He hung up his call and met my eyes.
“Cooper wants us at the station as soon as possible.”
20
In a small windowed room at the police station, David moved a stack of paperwork from a chair to a desk with an engraved placard that read Detective Cooper.
David gestured at the seat. “Sit. Coop should be here any minute.”
I sat. The chair wobbled. Without a word, David fixed it with a magazine under one leg. On the drive over, he’d also been quiet. Next, he straightened the stack of papers he’d moved and flipped open the top file folder.
“Should you be looking at that?” I asked.
“Nope,” Detective Cooper answered, entering the office and closing the door behind him. “Hands off, Fish.”
I followed the detective with my eyes as he sat at his computer. “Fish?”
“Always in the damn water,” Cooper muttered. “Swimming, surfing, sailing—”
“They’re called hobbies,” David said. “You should try getting one.”
“Do I look like a thirteen-year-old girl?” Cooper shook his computer mouse, and the screen lit up. “I got enough bullshit to deal with on an hourly basis.”
At Cooper’s bookshelf, David picked up a worn paperback with a rifle target and blood splatter on the cover. “Like read crime fiction?”
“What?” Cooper shrugged. “I enjoy them.”
“No, you don’t.” David glanced over his shoulder at the detective. “You read them so you can rip the story to shreds for its inaccuracies. Gives your black heart an excuse to get angry.”
Cityscape Affair Series: The Complete Box Set Page 20