by Scott, Talyn
“You’re a goofball,” she laughed, and caught the call of destiny behind his stormy eyes, “and just what we need to get this place started.” His enthusiasm spurred her on.
Sayer had the door open, checking the interior like someone off one of those cop shows. “I’ll be in the back yard. I’m thinking I need to take matches to some of the neighbor’s plantings.”
“Not unless you want to get shot,” Azure threw over her shoulder, but he ignored her.
“Told you that he’s perfect for you,” Nick quipped. “Bow down to the ‘I told you so King’. He tapped his shoulders proudly.
“You okay with your new living arrangements?” She sat behind a new desk, small and efficient. He pulled up a chair. There wasn’t anything else in the house, and their voices bounced around in the emptiness.
“Are you okay with yours?” He countered.
“You know everything?”
“Sayer told me.” He wagged his brows while bringing out his netbook. “You know Sayer, and I are friends. He even asked if you and I ever.”
“Get out!” She laughed so hard she snorted.
He fought to look outraged. “I find you insulting.”
“No, you don’t,” she laughed harder. “You find me adorable and highly efficient, Doc. She pulled out a yellow legal pad and her favorite pen. Let’s do this. There’s some charity event tonight, and I have to get there early in order to squeeze the generous and tipsy for every loose penny they have.
“You go, baby.” He crossed his ankle over his knee, tapping away on his keyboard. “I’ve got a slew of candidates for this place, including Abby.”
“Abby?”
He kept his head down, concentrating with a wide smile. “We need someone who can actually organize this place.”
“True, I admitted to Gage that organization is my arch nemesis.” Nick had the most beautiful smile, but she couldn’t enjoy it. Weirdness came over her. Azure put her pad down and wrapped her arms around herself, for a change, she felt chilled instead of scorched. That feeling had come back ten-fold. Something…someone was watching her. She glanced around casually, not noticing anything visually, but the hairs on her nape tickled her. And this time, it was something she couldn’t shake.
Chapter Sixteen
Azure couldn’t stop fidgeting. Miami’s elite were all around. Most of them seemed genuinely nice, but there were a few snobs floating about. At a gala such as this, they were in their element. Azure wasn’t. But she’d be damned if she weren’t going to give it her all. The idea of Gage’s halfway house was growing on her by the minute, something she wanted to stay involved with for longer than a week. She could learn how to ask the wealthy for help. Jump right in and bring attention to the project. Work the room, as Gage had said. She was to follow his lead, and she refused to allow anyone the chance to make her feel inferior. After handling a few cantankerous ones quite well, Gage stopped trying to interfere, smiling as she used the knowledge she’d acquired from working in the field of psychology to their mutual benefit. The creases across his forehead eased, and during times, he even looked impressed - his smile radiant.
Early on in the evening, more than one woman gave her the stink eye when she walked in on his arm, though. Of course, could she expect anything less? Azure dug her fingers in his tux sleeve and gave them a look that clearly said ‘tough shit’. Gage would loosen her fingers, bring them to his lips while maintaining eye contact with her, and kiss them tenderly. He sensed her insecurities easily, and through those loving gestures, he reassured her every single time.
But she hadn’t known what to do between him and Sayer. Apparently, Sayer did. He didn’t leave her side while introducing her to others the same way as Gage, but he was more discrete about touching her. A friendly stroke here and there, a gentle palm under her elbow to steady her in her heels, or a private smile no one else would notice. Gage, on the other hand, tucked her into his side, wrapping those heavy arms around her until she nearly turned blue. Wrinkling her dress no matter how much she griped. Meeting eyes with any man who looked at her for a second too long, holding a frightening glare until the other man looked away with an uneasy flush.
Sayer kept many women at bay. Many. He was an extraordinary man, young and pretty…so pretty. She fingered the gold choker he had wrapped around her neck before they left. An extravagant piece she tried to put right back in his hands. She couldn’t imagine what it cost, or what it was worth. And when she saw the carved box it came from denoted with ancient carvings she’d noticed in a few dusty books when she visited Scotland, something told her to stop refusing it. With her acceptance, Sayer stood a little straighter wearing a look of pure, masculine pride, which transformed his face into something even better. As scrumptious as he was, she wouldn’t have thought he had any room for improvement if she hadn’t witnessed it for herself.
They were finally off their feet, if only for a few minutes. Gage sat across from her, smiling like the Cheshire cat. “Wipe that smile off your face” she murmured, grinning just as smugly. “Everyone will know what you’ve been up to.”
“But they’ll be fuzzy on the details,” he chuckled, tossing his drink back while staring at her over the rim of his glass.
She pushed her food around with her fork. Nothing tasted right after she had to watch Miami’s first string players parade across with their dates, making their appearances for the benefit. Yeah, she should have expected it, but she’d been a little preoccupied lately. Heading up the rear was Will Adrian and his beaming bitch - Elise, coming in last like the showstopper he was with an enthusiastic round of applause from the gathering. Azure forgot to clap for him. She was too busy holding down her martini, instead. A rolling stomach could do that to anybody. She realized that he could have all the fame and money at his disposal, but he would never be satisfied. She knew him better than anyone else did, and he sure didn’t look satisfied. Elise was uptight. Anyone could see that by her stance and openly haughty attitude. And as kinky as Will was, she figured he already had a lover or two around the country that she didn’t know about. Hell, he’d still wanted Azure on the backside so he could fuck her when the temperature dropped in that big, master bedroom of his.
“I wish Nick could’ve come,” she blurted out in a way of distraction, shifting her eyes away from the man who tried his damnedest to extinguish her heart.
Sayer looked between her and Gage. Something passed between the two of them, but she couldn’t decipher it. “Next time we’ll buy him a plate so that he can join us,” he offered with an indulgent smile.
“That’s generous of you.” Nick was saving for his own place, just as Azure had. These particular plates were going for twenty-five thousand each, and as unstinting as Nick was, he couldn’t afford that kind of donation. Even with an income that was far above what Azure’s was. “But taking into consideration the cost, he’d love a movie and popcorn just as much. So would I.”
“You’ll adjust to the extravagance, Love,” Gage said, signaling for more drinks. “It’s not that hard to get used to.” He eye smoldered her. “Still, playing with you in a darkened theater sounds more exciting than a charity benefit any day.”
Underneath their table covered with white linen, Sayer ran his hand up her thigh. She jumped a fraction when he skimmed over the chocolate silk, moving higher until he hit her moist thong. He stayed still, rubbing the piece back and forth, teasing her. Azure took a large swig of water, wanting to dump the ice cubes down her bodice to cool off. Sayer’s breathing had picked up and so had hers. Gage watched them, rolling his ice around in his glass as he spoke to a couple who’d stopped at the table. She wondered if he thought about that ice in the kitchen, and the way he had kissed her with it.
The man left, and she had his full attention again. “Thank you for my dress.” She’d owned a few nice dresses in her day, but she thought this one’s price tag would swallow all of theirs combined.
“You’ve already thanked me, and you’re quite welcome, bea
utiful Azure.” Gage’s eyes dipped, staring at her right breast. She could have sworn that she felt one of the beaded crystals rolling over her distended tip. Rolling, rolling, rolling until she wanted to rip it down and ask him for a rough bite.
She knew when he discreetly moved his hand over his zipper, adjusting it. “I swear my cock is perpetually swollen now,” he whispered. “The things you do to me.” Those blue eyes narrowed shrewdly. “I was comfortable with you wearing a full length gown. At least, it would keep wandering eyes off your incredible legs. Then I spied a slit up you thigh when you slow danced with Sayer,” he hissed dangerously, sending a jolt of awareness through Azure.
“He was doing the dancing,” she said, wondering when her leg would feel better. “I was swaying while ogling him.”
Sayer ran his fingertips inside, tugging on her damp curls and then circling her opening. “She’s wearing underlings, though. Keeping her secrets covered.” He flicked her clit, nodding while people went by as if nothing were amiss. However, she was on the edge. And when he whispered, “I want to drink you later, right between those lush thighs.” She closed her eyes briefly, sliding her back against the chair.
Azure strove for appropriate public composure and then picked up her purse. “I’d better go to the ladies’ room.”
Gage’s Adonis-inspired face hardened. “You’d better not relieve yourself in that way. I want you simmering for us later, not exhausted, Azure.”
As if she’d go to a public restroom to masturbate. “To freshen up, that’s all.” She was sweating it up, and a splash or two of cool water fit the bill. “I just need a minute.”
“I’ll be going with you, now.” Sayer said, standing up before helping her to her feet. Gage was up, too. He always stood up with her, like a gentleman in an era gone by. He’d even opened the car door for her, refusing to allow the driver to do it, the same as Sayer earlier today.
“I’m good, really. It’s just there,” Azure explained, pointing at a pavilion hosting an over the top raffle for his and hers jet skis, feeling flattered by their concern for her safety. “You can see the door from here.”
Sayer’s jaw noticeably tightened as he gave her a quick nod, reluctantly sitting back down. Azure moved as quickly as her leg allowed, passing the potted young Bismarck palms, all wrapped with golden twinkling lights. She glanced up at the sky lights, darkened with the thick night. The moon had hidden, and one lone star shone down. Studying it, she wondered how she only had one lover her entire life and suddenly she had two. At one time. Because their relationship fit, she told herself. It felt right. Though her stomach fluttered with a hint of trepidation, she couldn’t wait to get back to the penthouse and make love with both of them.
When she walked past the pavilion, she inhaled deeply. The wide doors leading to the beach were open, delivering a salty breeze that nearly set her stomach to rights. The Florida sun had long set behind the water. The smell of fresh paint mingled with grilled seafood. The hotel was refurbished, and the exorbitant furniture appeared entirely new. All were deeply toned Polynesian pieces anchoring brightly painted ocean blue walls. Her surroundings made a serious statement: See what money can buy. She, on the other hand, was grateful to live in a neighborhood where bars weren’t required on her windows, and the neighbor wasn’t growing weed.
“You’ll have to use the powder room to your left, down that short hall,” a lady with green pallor informed her while coming out of the door Azure was headed for. Azure made a beeline, following in the direction she pointed out. She was almost there when heavy footfalls echoed inside the hall, a gait that was familiar. Will. A tense situation she still didn’t want to deal with. She dashed into the bathroom, confident that he wouldn’t follow her. If she stayed there long enough, someone would come along in an attempt to hound him for autographs, and he’d take off in typical Will fashion.
“Out of paper towels,” Azure groaned at the empty dispenser. She raised her hemline and squatted, rummaging to locate some under the sink cabinet. “Yes,” she hissed when she found what she was looking for. Will had his hip hitched to the counter when she rose. With a flick of his wrist, he started the water so she could wet the cloths with an icy cold stream. She patted her throat, lifting her flat-ironed hair and running the cool cloth over her nape without offering a word.
He broke the deafening silence. “I miss you, Az. I really do.”
“So how goes the business of fucking the GM’s daughter?” It rolled out before she could stop it, tasted bitter on her tongue. Made her feel like a bitter person, and that’s something she didn’t want to be. But right now, he brought out the worst in her.
“That’s enough, Azure,” he said flatly.
She caught a flash of guilt in his eyes, though it wasn’t enough to amount to anything substantial. He put his palm on her shoulder and she flinched, jerking away from him. A nearby vase of blood red gladiolas tempted her. One whack on his bad knee and she could take him out of Sunday’s game.
“There has to be some paps out there, waiting to see if you are cheating on Elise. I’m not going to look like your bathroom hookup, Will. Why’d you follow me?”
“To talk to you,” he said wistfully. “You never return any of my phone calls.” As he moved closer, she caught sight of a familiar piece of jewelry on his wrist, right behind his Rolex. A barely there chain he’d given her last Christmas when they had sat under their tree discussing their dreams for the future, a few months before he became Miami’s most irresistible jock. She’d left it behind, didn’t want it. Still didn’t. He’d doubled the chain, wrapped it around his wrist twice and wore it as a bracelet. Azure wondered what Elise thought of that.
She gave him her biggest sneer. “Why should I return your calls?” Flashing anger with her golden, tilted eyes he always kissed in the heat of their passion. Heated times when he called her his wicked, wicked kitten. Presently, a tigress had nothing on her. “Since we both know I’m not going to be your fuck buddy. What’s left to talk about?”
“Elise and I…we’re not getting along.”
“Meaning she found out you don’t ignore your groupies.” Azure tossed the wet cloths in the trash and skirted past him, but he blocked her.
“I know you still love me, Azure. You can’t spend the years that we have together and lose those feelings quickly.”
“But that’s what you’ve tried to do,” she reminded him. There were circles under his eyes, hollows under his cheeks. He’d lost weight. She stared at the man who was the love of her life, was being the operative word. Her stomach clenched at the sight of him, at his scent, and even at his voice. However, first loves did that. She’d heard that all of her life. Flames from first love always burned somewhere deep inside the heart. Azure couldn’t begin to refute that philosophy, though that didn’t mean it was healthy to stay somewhere she didn’t belong. “Only love and hate can devastate. When they cross lines that they shouldn’t. You crossed a line with me, Will. What you did…It’s not alright. There’s no going back now.” She gazed upward, staring deep into those green eyes she’d woken up next to for years. “And whatever you do, let Elise be the last person you use.”
“When I saw you across the room,” he said as if everything she just said meant nothing at all. “I remembered how your body tasted.”
With parted lips, he pulled her close, his heavy arms wrapping around her back. For a split second, she gave in, wrapping her arms around his hips, feeling someone familiar against her. He’d been the only family besides her mother, and she was dead. But fast on the heels of familiarity, wrongness set in. She dug her hands into him and pushed away, right as his lips slanted over hers.
“No.” She complained against his mouth, nearly gagging at the sensation. She had to get away from him. He moved back, but not enough. Azure raised her hands and pushed, putting more distance between them. Several crystals dropped from her bodice, hitting the tiled floor. “The past isn’t repeating itself today or ever.” Azure didn’t merit the
pain. “I have to get back to my date. He deserves all of my attention.”
“I’m not giving up.”
Her hands tightened on her purse. “That would be a serious waste of time for you. And you should know that we’re living in the same building again. I have someone else now, too. Someone I care about deeply. So when we run into each other, and we will, don’t start anything. Please.”
“In my building?”
“That’s what I said.” She hoped Gage and Sayer never had to deal with him. “We can be civil, just like we are now, minus the touching.”
“I want to touch you, Azure. I want to touch you every damned minute.” Will leaned against the door, still keeping her inside. “She, uh, Elise wants me to get her pregnant. You know, she’s older than you. Some shit about her biological clock.”
“Ah, so you feel no remorse as far as I’m concerned, just a little panicky.” Her pulse jumped as she tugged on the gold choker Sayer gave her, somehow finding comfort in an inanimate object. “And since you’ve made your deal with the dark side, it looks as though Elise will have the privilege of carrying your fork-tonged devils. Congratulations. Sharing children with someone you don’t love sounds like a dream, happily ever after and all of that.”
He stared down at her, dishing out that hard look he gave rookies. “You still love me. No one else can have what we do. Together. You know the money I’m making now,” he said, while pushing that talented right hand through his dark hair. “And my agent has a new endorsement that’ll shadow anything the team’s paying me. It would be easy for you to stay with me.”
“As your mistress?” She laughed without mirth.
He leaned down, whispering against her throat, “I’d make it so easy, Azure.”
She still had managed to wear heels tonight, so she reared back and kicked him in his bad knee - so much for never being violent. “Fuck you, Will Adrian. I don’t need a man to take care of me.” She shouldered by him when he bent down to grab his leg, but she still couldn’t get by. “But I am with a decent human being. A real man. Nothing like you, you fucking animal.”