“Oh, for the love of—”
Aspen’s face was bright red and she loudly interrupted us. “What time do you get off tonight? I don’t want you closing up here alone late at night. The creeps come out in full force on Halloween.”
I’d forgotten about the holiday and it only furthered my worry over her working at a place like Dirty Players, and even more, late into the night.
Macy broke eye contact with me and waved off her concern. “I don’t need your husband to babysit me, Aspen. Go home and take advantage of his big. . .ego.”
“I’ll make sure she gets home safe,” I snapped, irritated at the idea of her mind on anyone’s prowess or equipment in the bedroom besides mine. All three sets of eyebrows shot up to their hairlines.
“I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” Aspen said at the same time Macy sputtered, “What the hell?” Then she barked, “We don’t.”
“It hasn’t been very long,” I told Aspen. When Macy snorted, I threw her a hard look before facing Weston again.
He didn’t say anything, he simply watched me with a speculative gleam in his eye. I met his stare stonily, making it clear I wasn’t going to budge on the issue of caring for Macy. He slowly moved closer to his wife, which meant closer to my girl. I couldn’t help the scowl that morphed onto my face. He tucked Aspen under his left arm and held out his other to drop around Macy’s shoulders for a hug. An involuntary growl clawed up my throat, every muscle in my body tensing.
“Hands to yourself, Weston,” I snarled. “Or I break them off.”
Both girls stared at me with wide eyes, but a smile broke out on Weston’s face and he laughed. Though, he quickly let her go.
“Rhys can handle things from here,” he murmured as he steered his wife towards the door.
“What?” Aspen squeaked, clearly shocked at her husband’s reaction. Weston bent down to whisper something in her ear and her eyes narrowed suspiciously on me. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t get the opportunity before Weston spoke up.
“Just remember, nobody ever finds the bodies I fucking bury.”
I nodded in understanding. “I’ll take care of her.”
Macy sighed audibly. “I can take care of myself!” she argued stubbornly. “You can all leave and stop worrying over me.”
“Out of the question.” My voice was banded with steel, making it clear that I expected her capitulation. To my surprise, and from the look on her face, hers too, she clamped her mouth shut and didn’t go on.
Weston threw Macy what could easily be interpreted as a look of sympathy before guiding Aspen out the door.
Alone again, I faced a very pissed off angel. Instead of putting me off, the fire in her eyes made my cock swell to painful proportions in my slacks. She was so fucking gorgeous, and I had no doubt all of that spark and feistiness would turn her wild with passion once I got her underneath me. Images of our sweaty bodies writhing against each other on satiny sheets invaded my mind. I could almost hear her screams of pleasure as I fucked her hard.
It took a great deal of effort, but I managed to push the images away before I tumbled her to the ground or worse, came in the pants of my three-thousand-dollar suit like a randy teenager.
“I’m not a child,” she sulked as she headed to the rows of shelves on the other side of the store.
I hurried over to her and caught her arm just as she was about to disappear down an aisle. I pulled her back to my front, my hands firm on her shoulders. She smelled like ginger and spice, and I filled my lungs with the intoxicating scent. I let my lips brush her ear as I whispered, “Trust me, angel. The fact that you are all woman hasn’t escaped my notice.”
A tiny shiver worked its way down her body, and a glance down had me mesmerized by the sight of her little nipples peaking and poking through her top. My breath caught in my throat and my hips pushed forward, nestling my large erection into her sexy ass. I gripped her shoulders tightly to keep myself from sliding a hand into her panties to confirm what I suspected, that she was drenched.
Much sooner than I wanted, I stepped away before I lost all control. I grasped Macy’s chin and turned her head to the side. Her emerald eyes were cloudy with lust and she looked a little bewildered by it. Was is possible this was new to her? She looked sweet and innocent, but it hadn’t even crossed my mind that she might still be a virgin.
Back the fuck off, I silently growled at my straining dick. It liked the thought of popping Macy’s sweet cherry before being buried deep inside her. I needed to put some space between me and her delectable little body. First, I brushed my lips ever so gently over hers and moaned as I ended the contact and backed away.
“What time are you done?”
Her mouth thinned into a straight line and she didn’t say anything at first. I raised an eyebrow and made sure my stony expression conveyed the fact that I wouldn’t move until she’d answered my question. Finally, she huffed in annoyance and started straightening the items on the shelves. “Ten,” she mumbled reluctantly. My eyes wandered to the merchandise she was fussing with and I knew it was time to get the fuck out of there. A wide variety of nipple clamps were displayed, bookended by the newest bullet vibrator, and cock rings. Shit. Shit. Shit. I pivoted on my heel and swiftly headed for the exit. “I’ll be in my car, getting some work done,” I threw over my shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the door at ten.”
I didn’t get much work done. Between fantasies inspired by the displays in the windows and stepping out of my car with a menacing glare to scare off any solo male customers, I lacked the focus for anything else.
My eyes also roamed around the building and parking lot, looking for security cameras, flood lights, and other safety measures. I spied one camera and several lights, but when dusk fell and the lights illuminated, they cast a very dim glow along the tan, cracked, plaster walls.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed Weston’s number. It rang four times and then disconnected. Not willing to be put off, I pressed call again. After another four rings, he picked up.
“What the fuck do you want?” he bellowed. I heard a female voice admonishing him in the background to keep his voice down. “My kids are in bed early for a change, meaning Aspen and I are in bed early. Now, we aren’t exactly sleeping, so you better have a damn good reason for interrupting.”
Laughing seemed like an unwise move, so I stifled my chuckle. My attention returned to the building in front of me and my humor fled. “How the fuck can you let her keep working here, Davis?” I shouted.
“Calm the fuck down, Rhys.” I opened my mouth to give him hell, but he kept speaking. “I’ve beefed up security in that place as much as I could without her noticing. And, I’ve got Xander’s people on her at all times when she’s working.” Xander was another guy we’d grown up with, who was also Weston’s best friend. He ran a security firm here in Atlanta and had a badass reputation. Surprised by the information, I glanced around a little more thoroughly. That’s when I noticed the security guard for the grocery store next door was standing outside instead of in.
The frozen yogurt shop on the other side had a large picture window with a table up against it, and I realized that the occupant was the same woman who I’d noticed when I’d returned to my car earlier. She’d been sitting there, working on her laptop the whole time I’d been there.
I grunted an acknowledgement.
“My wife won’t let me shut the place down or use any other measure to force her to quit,” he said quietly. I wondered if he was trying to avoid his wife overhearing this part of the conversation. “On top of that, Macy can be as stubborn as a fucking mule.” I could hear the smile in his voice when he added, “It’s your job now. Good luck with that. My recommendation is to do your job as a man and get that girl pregnant.”
“Yeah, like that solution never crossed my mind,” I returned sarcastically. Seeing Macy round and swollen with my baby was just one of the many fantasies that I had dwelled on during the day.
�
�Take care of her.” There was no trace of humor in his tone anymore. “I’d hate to have to kill you.”
Some people might laugh at the threat, but I knew better. I’d worked in security to pay my way through college before I started my company and turned it into the Fortune 500 it was now. I could be a dangerous son of a bitch if the situation called for it. But, Weston? He’d hadn’t done wet work for the CIA, but I had no doubt that he was lethal and not really joking about the buried bodies.
“She’s mine.” A rush of pleasure coursed through me at saying it out loud. “No one touches what’s mine.” I hung up and scrolled through my contacts until I found the number I was looking for.
“Gray Securities,” a bubbly female voice answered.
“Xander Gray, please. This is Rhys Campbell.”
“One moment.”
There was a beat of silence before Xander picked up.
“What can I do for you, Rhys?” He’d always been no-nonsense, very direct, and it was something I appreciated. So, I got right to the point.
“The security guards you have on Macy Holland? I want them all female from now on.”
Xander was quiet for a moment. “You been drinking the water over at Weston’s place?”
I chuckled. “No, just found my own Aspen is all.”
He grunted but didn’t otherwise respond to my statement. He confirmed that all of Macy’s guards would be women from then on and I ended the call. There were only a couple more hours until she closed up the shop.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the clock on the dash read ten to ten. Just as I stepped inside, she turned out the last light and walked towards me. I held the door open for her, leaving only enough room for her to slide by me, pressing our bodies together.
Her quick inhale confirmed that she was feeling the same electric current flowing between us when we touched.
She kept her eyes down as she started in the direction of her car, but I took her elbow in my palm and guided her towards my car instead.
“My car is—”
“We’ll take mine tonight. If you aren’t working tomorrow, I’ll have someone drop it off at your place.”
She tried to argue with me and hold her ground when we reached my Tesla, but I opened the door, then swept her into my arms and placed her in the car. Her jaw dropped, but I ignored it and proceeded to buckle her in. I shut the door and jogged around to get in on the driver’s side.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as I started the engine, the soft purr just barely alerting you to the fact that it was running.
“Wait. Take me back to—”
“Answer me, angel,” I cut her off. “Are you hungry?”
Just then, her stomach growled and I laughed. I glanced at her and she stared at me, well, at my mouth, seemingly mesmerized by something. I smiled and her jaw went a little slack.
I turned back to the road and in my peripheral vision, I saw her snap into rigid posture and face the windshield.
“Where do you want to eat, Macy?”
“I have food at home. I’ll grab something there.”
I sighed. “Angel, don’t make me go twenty rounds with you over every little thing. Let me feed you.”
She was silent for a moment, then relaxed into her seat. “Fine. But, don’t expect me to eat like a rabbit.”
Macy
My fingers idly toyed with the hem of my sweater. I forced them down onto my lap since it was a sure sign of how nervous I was. Then again, I had reason to be uneasy considering I stuck out like a sore thumb. Or, at least, I would if anyone could see me tucked into a corner booth with Rhys sitting next to me, blocking me from everyone’s line of sight. When he’d nudged me to the side, I’d been too distracted by my scan of the elegant dining room to even realize he was doing it so he could sit next to me.
What in the hell was I doing here? The dim lighting did nothing to hide the fact that the restaurant was way nicer than the kind I was used to eating at. Not that I ate out often considering it wasn’t in my budget. Not even at a much cheaper, chain place. Then again, the more important question to ask myself was, how did I end up sitting in a booth at a place like this with Rhys?
In his expertly tailored suit, with what was clearly a pricey haircut and even more expensive shoes, he looked like he could afford to eat at places like this every day of the week, three meals a day. And judging by the way the hostess greeted him by name and showed us to a corner booth without batting an eyelash over the fact that they were closing in about thirty minutes, it was entirely possible he really did eat all of his meals here. He certainly ordered like he did, without even asking me what I wanted when he ordered about half a dozen different things from the menu I hadn’t even gotten the chance to see.
“I’m a vegetarian,” I blurted out after the waitress was out of earshot.
“What? But you said you weren’t going to eat like a rabbit!”
The shocked expression on his face made me giggle.
“Why you little—” he muttered, eyes narrowing as he realized I was messing with him. His lips turned down in a frown, but his grey eyes twinkled with humor. Swoon.
“Okay, I’m not a vegetarian,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to like what you ordered.”
“You’re going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?”
Warmth spread throughout my chest at the implication that we’d be spending more time together in the future. I wasn’t sure if it was because of how insanely attracted to him I was or that he seemed to have Weston’s stamp of approval, but Rhys had managed to sneak past my usual defenses. “Only when you need it,” I quipped with a confidence I wasn’t feeling.
“Well this time around, I can assure you it’s unwarranted. The chef who owns this place is a client of mine. I picked each of his best dishes and figured we could share them all. I’m sure at least one of them will be to your liking. Plus, once the waitress lets him know the order is for me, he’ll send out whatever special he’s working on for tomorrow’s menu.”
It took everything I had in me not to thump my head against the table. Of course he knew the owner. He was… him. While I was… me. Except, he didn’t look at me like I was a girl he’d met while she was working at a sex toy shop. And he wasn’t treating me like it either. Although I was a virgin who was out of practice when it came to dating—had never really even been in practice before—it was hard to miss that he was trying to impress me with the fancy restaurant, the bottle of champagne that was promptly delivered to the table, and ordering for me. It was working, too. All the wooing he was doing had me interested to know more about him.
After several dishes had been served, I had to admit, he was right. It was all amazing. Except for the one that had a shrimp garnish. I tried not to wrinkle my nose in disgust, but Rhys caught my flinch, laughed, and instructed the waitress to clear it from the table.
“What exactly is it that you do with clients who own places like this?”
I listened raptly as he told me about his work as the owner of an extremely successful investment firm. It was impressive, and his intelligence shone through while he talked about growth stocks, futures contracts, and margins. I didn’t fully understand at least half of what he explained, but I certainly enjoyed watching how animated he became while sharing his work. It was clear to me that he was happy with his career. It became equally clear how unhappy he was about what I did to earn a living when the topic came up as we were finishing our meal.
“How long have you worked at Dirty Players?” His voice roughened at the end of his question, as though he forced the name of my employer past his lips.
“A little more than a year.”
“That long?” he grunted, his grey eyes flashing at me.
“Yup.” I wasn’t about to offer more information, not when he was glowering at me.
“Why—”
Whatever he was going to ask was more than likely to cause an argument between us, so it was probably for the best that he was
interrupted.
“Rhys, it’s good to see you.”
I glanced over Rhys’s shoulder and found an attractive, and familiar, man standing in front of our table. He was about the same height as Rhys, long and lean, with sandy brown hair and sparkling green eyes… and those green orbs were aimed straight at me.
“And you brought me a gorgeous guest.”
Rhys slid his arm over my shoulders, tugging me close to his side as he glared at his friend. “I didn’t bring you shit, Owen.”
“Ahhh,” the famous chef, who I’d seen on television, sighed as he flashed me a sexy grin. “It’s like that, is it? She must be something really special to get you to give up your monk-like ways.”
“Yes, she’s special.” I felt his lips brush against the top of my head when he paused. “And she’s also none of your damn business.”
“Aww, don’t be that way, Rhys. I just want to offer her something irresistibly decadent.”
“Fuck,” Rhys groaned, his head dropping low as a muscle in his cheek jumped.
“A dessert!” Owen cried out, trying to look innocent with his hands held up in front of him. “Geesh, what kind of a guy do you think I am?”
“The playboy kind.” The answer just popped out of my mouth, since I was thinking about everything I’d heard about the famous chef.
“Don’t believe everything you see in the papers, beautiful.” I felt bad because the twinkle in his eyes had dimmed, but I didn’t have time to apologize before Rhys climbed out of the booth and was tugging me along with him.
“We’ll have to take a raincheck on dessert. I need to get my angel home.”
I tossed Owen a little wave and smile over my shoulder as Rhys practically dragged me through the empty dining room to the door.
“He was just being nice,” I chided when he stopped to open the passenger side door of his car for me.
He smiled down at me as he helped me into the seat and leaned over to belt me in. I tried to bat his hands away but he ignored my attempts. “You keep thinking that, angel,” he whispered against my lips. “Because if you keep on missing the looks other men send you, I might not have to kill anyone.”
Play With Me, Baby: A Yeah, Baby Novella Page 2