by Nana Malone
"Ah, I knew it. You do like me."
"And just like that you ruined our beautiful moment. I’ll just take my chicken curry and go."
He pulled the Styrofoam dish closer to him. "No, you don't."
"I swear to God I'll fight you for it."
His gaze narrowed on me, and he smirked with his full lips, and God, I wanted to kiss him, and lick him, and yeah… more clenching of the lady parts.
"I guarantee you I'd win."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, princess."
Fourteen
Zia…
It seemed Derrick was serious about the truce.
When he wasn’t actively fighting me protecting him, he wasn't too bad. He still got a bit grouchy and growly at me on occasion, but for the most part, we learned to co-exist. He was still insisting I sleep in the bed. And we'd come up with a compromise and put a pillow in between us. He stayed on his side, and for the life of me, I couldn't understand why the hell I was disappointed by that.
Sure you can’t.
That particular morning, I had my hand on his bare chest. And God, it was like touching carved granite. We both woke up, neither one of us particularly acknowledging that ‘hey, there had been touching’ or that I was so hyper-aware of everything that he did, every move he made.
It was Saturday, so we weren't going into the office. He didn’t go through his usual morning routine, so he had the sexiest scruff I had ever seen in my life. It made me want to bite his chin. He had his laptop open and he was staring at it like usual, muttering to himself as he tapped. It was an endearing little habit. Like he was silently talking to himself. Not words I could understand, but still, I could tell he was irritated by it.
"You want to go somewhere?"
He blinked as his gaze flickered to mine. "What?"
"Just... I don't know. Do you want to go somewhere? We've been cooped up between here and the office. I thought maybe we could go out, get some fresh air. You can bring the laptop. You can work. But just in another location, I guess."
His brow furrowed. "See? I told you. You like me."
"I don't like you. I'm just saying I'm going stir crazy. I'm on duty today, and Tamsin is on duty too. We can go sit somewhere as like, friends or something."
His grin flashed, and God, I was sure I was pregnant. That was how you got pregnant, right?
"You do like me."
"No, you're still a pompous jackass."
"Yeah, but I'm a pompous jackass that you like."
"Oh my God, never mind. We'll stay here. Cooped up."
"Cooped up in about four thousand square feet."
"Whatever. Still cooped up."
His stormy eyes fixed on mine. "No, you’re right. Let's go out."
"I don't want to go out if you're still being pompous," I huffed.
"I'm always pompous. You like me anyway."
He didn't shave, and he went totally casual. And God, he was possibly even more delicious to look at.
I went and changed into a summer dress. One with pockets so I could conceal my weapons easily. His gaze flickered over my body briefly. "You clean up nice."
"I always clean up nice. I look nice at the office too."
He swallowed hard. "At the office is different."
I studied him as we marched out to the foyer. "Why is it different in the office?"
"In the office, you've got that hot-librarian thing going. It's very distracting."
I blinked. "So you're saying that I'm not hot now?"
His gaze flickered toward me again, settling on my breasts. "I think we both know you're hot. But it's a completely different vibe. Now you look like a real person. Approachable. The hot librarian might smack your knuckles if you talk to her wrong."
"Here's a clue, billionaire bad boy, I'll smack your knuckles anyway, but in your case, you might like that."
His brows lifted and he grinned. "Oh, is that so? See now, you've gone ahead and twisted all the fantasies around."
"Oh my God, you are such a guy."
"Yup, I'm a guy." He had his laptop bag and his sunglasses. "I am in your capable hands. Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
"Give me a clue."
I shook my head. "Nope."
We went down the elevator and Tamsin rushed out of the security tower. "I don't have anything on schedule today. What's wrong?"
I shook my head. "Nothing is wrong. This is Derrick. Derrick this is Tamsin. She's one of your guards and also my best friend."
She gave him a nod. "Lord Arlington."
He shook his head. "Call me Derrick."
A flash of warmth spread through me. I had this under control. I wasn't falling for him. Just because he'd been vulnerable and nice to me once didn't mean I couldn't recognize a jackass when I saw one.
"Okay, so where are we going?"
I nodded at Tamsin. "We're headed to Lola's."
Her brows lifted. "He's going to Lola's?"
Derrick frowned then. "What's Lola's?"
"It's just this place in some old part of town. Not the fancy Old Town where all the tourists go. It's where the real people live. It's on the north end of the island. It's where I grew up. And Lola’s is an institution. We'll get some lunch. Sit on the observation deck. You can get some work done. I can get some work done. You can feel the ocean air on your face."
"Somewhere where the air blows on my hair or something?"
I nodded. "Exactly."
Tamsin headed to the Royal Elite SUV. Standard protocol was having someone in the follow car, in case our vehicle was disabled for some reason. "So, why are we going to Lola's?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been in a while. The drinks are good, the food is outstanding, and you look like you need some messing up."
He scratched his jaw. "I think I'm pretty messed up right now."
"I know, and I like it. You're less foreboding with the scruff, I guess. And if you were any other guy, that would be really sexy."
He grinned again. "Oh, so now you think I'm sexy too. I'm telling you our relationship is growing by leaps and bounds."
"Oh my God, you are incorrigible."
"And sexy. Don't forget sexy."
I rolled my eyes and kept my jaw shut, because the moment I opened it, I'd have to agree with him.
Lola's was just how I remembered it. Loud and bustling. The locals running in to get lunch and fresh catches of the day. We picked a table outside, resting our feet on the sandy boards of the deck. "This is amazing. What smells so good?"
"Lola's cooking. Lola is local. Her husband is from Ghana, West Africa. When they got married, he started helping out in the kitchens too. So, he infuses a lot of the island food he makes with things from his West African roots. Which obviously influenced island cuisine anyway, so it all goes really well together."
He picked up a menu. "What is red-red?"
"It's a plantain with bean stew. I guess they make it in Ghana. If all the food there tastes like that, I'd move to Ghana, immediately."
He grinned. "I've had plantain before. There is this ramshackle restaurant in New York I used to go to all the time."
I frowned. "You spent a lot of time in New York?"
Something flickered in his gaze. "Yeah, you know, for business. I like to try different things when I travel."
"I never would have guessed it. Aren't you full of surprises, Derrick Arlington?"
He winced.
I studied him carefully. "Okay. This is not the first time I’ve noticed. You wince when I say your full name."
He watched me for a moment. "No, I don't. There is this connotation when you say Derrick Arlington. I want to shake it off sometimes.”
“I guess I get that. You’re never just Derrick. You’re always Derrick Arlington.”
He nodded. "Something like that.” His attention diverted again. “Okay. This is ridiculous."
Tamsin was sitting at another table. He signaled for her and then called her over. Ear-piece
in, she glanced over. "Everything okay?”
He pulled out a seat. "Sit. No need for you to sit at another table. That's silly. You both can watch me just as well from here."
Tamsin's gaze flickered to me. "Protocol."
I shrugged. "Don't look at me. He breaks protocol all the time. Did he tell you? He followed me without a guard when I went to go rescue Deedee."
Tamsin rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, your fucking sister."
"This time it was a pledge prank."
Tamsin laughed at that. "Ugh, college students. Remember that one heiress we had to guard? She was rushing some sorority. God, her father was so pissed when she ran across the campus naked."
I snorted a laugh. "Hey, that's what you get."
Tamsin rolled her eyes. "That's what I got trying to run after her with a blanket to cover her up."
Derrick laughed. "You guys must have the strangest clients."
I nodded. "Yeah. Some of them are okay. Some of them are assholes."
He grinned. "Like me?"
"Oh, no." I shook my head. "You are a baby asshole in comparison. You actually might have a heart. Some of these assholes? Nope, no hearts."
Tamsin grabbed a handful of peanuts and started peeling off the skin in the palm of her hand. "And poor Zia seems to always get assigned to them."
I shrugged. "That's because I have no fucks to give. And I'm generally not going to be intimidated."
Tamsin laughed. "No, it's because you know how to deal with difficult people and you always have a solution."
Derrick watched me. "So, Tamsin, tell me all of Zia's secrets."
My eyes went wide. Was that why he'd invited Tamsin to sit with us? "Tamsin, chick code."
Tamsin laughed. "Oh, chick code is real, but there are innocuous things I could tell him. Like how badass you are with a computer. Only Ariel is better, honestly. Jax tries, but he's not as good."
I couldn't help but preen under her compliment.
Derrick nodded. "Okay, that's good to know. Next time I have a problem, you can help me with it."
"You mean those files you're looking for?” I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. If you're that good."
"Oh, I am."
The rest of the lunch went off without a hitch. When we went up on the observation deck, Tamsin headed back down the stairs to cover the exit. She wanted to at least act like we followed some kind of protocol.
"I like her. She's fun."
I laughed. "Yeah, that's why I like her. And she's a great friend. She's always there when I need her."
"Did you guys meet when you guys started at Royal Elite, or...?"
"We actually met before in the military. Tamsin was a class ahead of me, so she went off after her service to get another job. We were excited when we met back up at Royal Elite, so everything worked out in the end."
"That's cool." He watched me closely. His gaze tracked my every move.
"Why do you do that?"
"Do what?" His voice was low and husky. And dear God, I had to shift in my seat to ward off the pressure between my thighs.
"That. You're staring at me. It's like you're trying to examine me or something."
"No, I'm just trying to figure you out."
"There’s nothing to figure out. What you see is what you get."
"Okay. Then why would someone like you, someone who's clearly strong and fun and who thinks she's funny—"
I interrupted him. "I am funny."
"Whatever. You clearly are amazing. Why would you ever hide from someone?"
"I'm not hiding from anyone." He lifted a brow and waited. "Oh, you mean at the wedding." I inhaled a deep breath. "I don't know. It seems silly now in retrospect, I guess. But I just panicked, you know?"
"So it ended really badly?"
"Just the whole thing was bad. I wasn't at all like myself. I completely lost myself. Seeing him again was going to trigger the old me."
"What? Was it a classic case of we’re just friends who became secret fuck friends kind of thing?"
"Not exactly. He was my commanding officer, so a personal relationship was not allowed. In the beginning, it was great. He wanted to take care of me, you know? And it was the first time since my parents had died that someone had wanted to take care of me. I don't know. Like I already told you, I'm not selfless by nature. The idea of someone else looking after things for once was nice. Someone picking the restaurant and making sure that we had a reservation and we got there. Those little things. In the beginning, he even tried to help with Deedee. You know, he would shuttle her to class or whatever when I needed help. But then it became more about him telling me what to do. Not really in the controlling kind of way, but all of a sudden, his suggestions were the default, you know? Then I became less and less like myself, and when that started happening, I couldn’t count on him anymore. The guy who wanted to take care of me vanished all of a sudden."
"And there went your security."
Why did he get me? I nodded slowly. "I'd gotten secure in him, thinking I had a partner, someone to help, and then that guy was gone without any explanation, and I had to take care of him. Not just for little dating things, but every bill he hadn't paid or just... his car would break down and he'd call me to take care of it. Suddenly, it seemed like I was taking care of him and Deedee and my aunt and everything all over again. And it just messed with my head. Then I discovered why he'd stopped being there for me."
Derrick sighed. "He had someone else."
"Bingo. Apparently, he'd been sleeping with her the whole time he was sleeping with me, and she wasn't his subordinate, so they could be out in the open. And God, when I say this out loud, I sound like an idiot."
"You don't sound like an idiot to me."
"Well, I sound like an idiot to me. God, I mean, yes, sneaking around was hot at first, but man, that shit got old real quick. It's my own fault. I really should have known better. I can only count on myself. Things go much better that way."
"No, I'm sure one day you'll find somebody you can count on."
"But you know even if I did, I wouldn't want to because I know what it's like when it's swept away. It's terrible. I won’t be that person."
"We all need someone sometimes, Zia."
"Yeah, well, I don't want to be the one who needs anyone."
"I know you don’t."
"Come on, let's head on down to the beach."
"Ah, this is why you were so concerned about my footwear."
"Well, you were wearing your fancy Nikes. I just didn't want you to get sand all over them."
"Come on."
He grabbed his laptop bag, and we headed down to the beach. As we went through the doorway, his hands trailed on my back, guiding me out. The flutter low in my belly warned me that it wasn't just about arousal. I could fall for him.
Theo…
This is a date.
No. This wasn’t date. I just wanted to say thank you. Arlington wasn’t my father, but I’d still been a little rattled by our conversation yesterday, and she’d been surprisingly helpful. Arlington really hated Derrick. It was palpable.
He was where I needed to watch my step. He hated his son enough to notice any missteps I made.
“What are we doing here? Do you have a meeting here?”
I rubbed the back of my neck as I gave her a sheepish smile. “Actually, I figured you’ve been on me a little over a week and I barely know you, but this isn’t a date.”
Zia barked out a laugh as she glanced around. “I dunno, Arlington, crystal chandeliers, dim lighting, smells so good my mouth is watering. I’m starting to think this is a date. I feel like I told you already that I don't date playboys.”
I stifled my laugh. “Not a date. Two colleagues having dinner. One of them is trying to be nice because he’s been a bit of a prick.”
“You have been. That’s true, so I will let you make it up to me with food. And dessert. And wine. Let’s not forget the wine.”
I laughed. “Understood.
Wine. Coming right up.”
I led her through the restaurant. I’d managed to get us a private seating, so the restaurant was cleared, and we were the only diners for the evening. And it was chef’s choice, so it was going to be an adventure. As we were led to our table, Zia took everything in. Occasionally her fingers reached out to trace over the furnishings.
“Did you know I have wanted to eat here forever? I used to tell myself that when I hit a big milestone I’d make myself a reservation. That I would celebrate it here.”
“Why didn’t you ever have that dinner?”
She shrugged as the maître d pulled out her seat. “Deedee needed stuff. Then, well, it was really expensive. Then I figured Garrett would propose here.” Her voice softened. “Turns out he did. Just not to me.”
Hell. “His bloody loss then, wasn’t it? And you’re here now. We can make this a fuck-him dinner if you want to.”
Her smile was soft. No hint of those killer dimples, but I’d take it.
"Look, I owe you. You've been watching my ass, and I wanted to say thank you."
Her brows popped. "What?"
"Look, I know I’ve been a bit of a handful. It comes with the territory, but you didn't do anything to deserve that, so I'm sorry. And I’d like to start fresh."
Her brows furrowed then. "You know, it's like I get two versions of you."
Shit.
My brain scrambled to find purchase as she studied me. Where had I gone wrong?
"In the office, especially, you're this hard-assed kind of a boss. Even Olivia jumps when you say jump. No one questions you. They're afraid. And maybe they should be."
“This is illuminating.”
She shook her head. "What I mean is there are these other moments when you seem different. More normal. Still an asshole, but I don't know... a lesser one?"
I watched her warily. She saw too much. She watched too much. I definitely underestimated her suspicious nature. "That's just work me, I guess. I know it probably seems dumb to you, but I do need people to fear me. I don't necessarily want that, but I need it. I have to show strength, that I’m a capable leader, or they’ll eat me alive.”
Easy does it. Getting a little close to home, aren't you?