He'd never seen Alex as a threat to this fledgling relationship, but he knew enemies and he knew to destroy them. Alex had tried to sabotage his relationship, chase the woman he loved away. Did she have some kind of campaign against him, some revenge she was enacting? He was vulnerable now, more so than he'd ever been, and this was a sure-fire way of getting to him. He might have no idea what to do in this relationship, but he could protect it. It was the one thing he could do. "I'll drive you home," he said, holding her tighter.
It was heart-breaking to get out of bed, but Shay had insisted she was too new at work to risk a day's absence. Even he needed to take a breath from the all-consuming urgency of being together, completely absorbed and captured in their own world of sweetness and desire.
He dressed quickly and watched as Shay pulled her t-shirt over her head, mourning that he was losing access to her naked skin. "Be here tonight."
"I can't. I have a thing."
"What thing?"
"Okay," she said. "We are not going to be crazy possessive."
"You’re right. I'm sorry," Peter said, feeling admonished. There was definitely potential that this would bring out a crazy possessive side to him, and he didn't quite know how to deal with it. "Please come after your thing."
"I am going to need to sleep at some point."
"I promise I'll let you sleep." He wasn't entirely sure he could stand by that promise, but at some point he would flatly crash himself. What he couldn't handle was a night alone.
They left the flat and took the elevator down to the basement. He drove her home, letting her direct him. "I have this thing at work in a couple of days," he said when he got to her typically unremarkable building. "We're doing the promotion for the Government's public affairs, and there's a new exhibit at the British Museum ahead of the big V-Day anniversary next year. Be my date. It's a black tie thing."
"Black tie?" Shay said guardedly.
"You know, a dress. Have you got a dress?"
"Of course," she said sarcastically. "It was the one thing I insisted on when I went back-packing around Thailand."
"Do you want me to buy one for you?"
"I can buy my own dress. And you're not going to be controlly and decide what I wear."
"I'm not controlly," he defended himself, although he would love to change her wardrobe. On the other hand, her wardrobe was her and in a sense, he wanted nothing to change.
"Good." Shay crouched down in the door. "You sure you want to do this? Go all public and everything."
Peter watched her. She was so gorgeous. Bed tousled hair, rosy cheeks, swollen lips. "I don't want to take anyone else. Come here."
For once she did as he asked and leaned into the car. He reached for her lips, into an urgent kiss. He couldn't be without her. They say love is a form of madness and he could believe it. A thought of stealing her away flashed through his mind. Then she tore herself away and out of his reach.
"You're going to drag me along to the strangest things, aren't you?" she said. "So are we doing this?"
Peter tried to think through the implications, but he mind wouldn't work. "Yes, you're going to have to acknowledge me in public," he said with a smile. "You won't be keeping me as your dirty little secret."
"Shame," Shay smiled. "There's something sexy about a dirty little secret. I've never really had one before. I bet you have though. Doesn't having a girlfriend cramp you style or something?"
This was the moment he usually panicked, but now there was only the urge to secure her, to tie her to him, ensure she didn't escape and leave him aching and distraught again. He needed her and like a drug, his only concern was to ensure he wasn't cut off. Quite a departure for him as he'd normally be plotting how to slip away.
Checking her phone, she gasped. "I really have to do. Stop distracting me. See you later."
"Tonight," he reiterated.
"I'll call you."
He wanted to insist that she come, but he didn't want to push his luck, fully remembering that he couldn't be crazy possessive.
Peter saw Alex waiting as he arrived at the restaurant he'd chosen when he'd requested this meeting. She stood watching out the window, wearing a navy suit and heels, carrying a brown leather bag. He'd never been able to fully understand what Alex was about, and now he felt even less so. She had changed and he didn't really have a handle on her.
"Come," he said when he reached her and indicated to the maître'd that they were ready to take their table. Alex followed, and Peter sat down, while the maitre'd tended to her.
"Hello to you too, Peter," she said, stashing her bag under the table.
"You told Shay to walk away from with me," he said, watching for Alex's reaction.
"I did."
"Why?"
"First of all, it was sage advice for any girl. I've done so before. You know that."
It was true, but it hadn't mattered before. It felt like a stab in the back now, particularly as he was so raw on the topic of Shay, and her turning her back on him had been devastating. "I don't appreciate you interfering."
"No, you do," she challenged. "I suspect Shay isn't particularly swayed by the things you say. She doesn't put up with your games. Am I wrong?" Peter refused to acknowledge the statement, but it was true. Shay didn't really engage with him when he was trying to manipulate her. "I told you if you wanted her, you had to suffer, and had to actually suffer—something you're not naturally inclined to do. I take it she came running. She obviously told you I spoke to her."
Peter blinked, finally seeing the intention of her plan. He snorted, more to himself than anyone. He hadn't seen it—been too wrapped up in his own misery. Alex’s actions had actually made him suffer, and Shay had finally come. How could he not have seen it? Because he was completely senseless when it came to Shay.
A part of him still wanted to punish Alex for the anguish he'd felt, but she’d done it to achieve the goal he'd wanted, but he knew a solid play when he saw one. Alex had played him, and Shay in turn and he hadn't seen it, but her intention had been to help him, and it had unfolded beautifully.
Alex placed her elbows on the table, crossing her arms. "You have to take it from here," she said. "Can't help you now."
Peter bit the inside of his lip, still smarting from being so obviously manipulated, but he had to give respect where it was due. Which now took away the thing he could focus his attention on, a threat, leaving him with the problem he had no idea how to deal with.
"So, Shanghai," she said. "You still offering it to me?"
"Yes," he said after a while. If she could play him, she was definitely the girl he wanted in Shanghai. "What about D'Arth?"
"He's a bit weary of you. But I suspect if I go, he will follow. Neither of us really has any ties here. But I want a raise," Alex said, smiling at the waiter who came to take their drink order. "A glass of the house white, please."
"An ale," Peter said and the waiter moved off. "How much?"
"Fifty percent."
"Fifty percent?" Peter said disbelievingly. "You get an apartment, a car and a relocation bonus, and you want fifty percent on top of that?"
"Yep. Take it or leave it. Consulting is lucrative."
"But not as much fun."
Alex stared him in the eye. She wasn't going to budge, or show that she had anything on the line. He didn't know how badly she wanted this. And she'd played him. There weren't a lot of people who could pull that off. Alex really had grown up since they'd tangled last. "Fine," he finally said.
Alex smiled and picked up the menu. "I think I'll have the salmon."
Well, that was one problem sorted. Casov would be pleased. If only he could as readily solve his other pressing problem. It felt like he was stuck trying to tread a high wire holding stacks of crockery. A relationship with such high stakes seemed an impossible task. He didn't do relationships for longer than two week, all the while not really caring if it crashed and burned.
Alex was watching him.
"How do I
not drive this into the ground?"
Alex looked away. "You try not to."
"I don't know how to do this. I've been the way I am for a very long time and I'm not sure I can change."
"You don't need to change, Peter," Alex finally said. But that was far from true. "She's not with you because she thinks you'll make a fabulous boyfriend. She knows what you are."
"Then why is she with me."
"Because she loves you."
Peter reacted to hearing it. His heart beat and panic set in. He tried to see a way forward, a future as a couple and all the crap that entailed. "I don't know how long I can nurture it. I don't know what couples do." He also feared the downsides to relationships, the fact that they sucked out your personality, your ambition and your instincts, but that was now weighted against losing her, and perhaps that was the crux to it all.
"You're reading too much into it. Don't think about the future. The future doesn't matter," she said. He wanted to argue. The future was a scary, daunting prospect which included a shitload of suffering if he did this wrong. "All you have to do, Peter, is to convince her to stay another day. And tomorrow, you convince her to stay another day, and the same the next day and the one after that."
Peter smiled. He could do that. Convincing Shay to stay a little longer was something he was an expert at. If that was all he had to do, he might actually pull this off. If all he had to focus on was to get her to come over tonight, he would fly at this. "Thank you," he said. Alex did give sage advice and she'd told him exactly what he needed to hear.
Alex shrugged and took a swig of her wine. "So, tell me about Shanghai."
Chapter 31
* * *
A bell rang when they opened the door to the second-hand clothing store Jess had found on one of the side streets off Notting Hill high street. It smelled a bit funny and it was jam packed with clothes.
"I found this place one lunch time and you can find all sorts of things in here," Jess said, heading straight to the jeans section.
Shay looked around, trying to find her bearing, before spotting a colourful section down one wall. That had to be the cocktail dresses section. She was greeted by all sorts of monstrosities, in hot-pink satin and sequin. There were even eighties style shoulder pads, and Shay wondered what Peter would say if she turned up in one of those. He really would insist on dressing her in the future if she did that.
As much as she tried to tell herself she didn't, she cared what he thought, within reason. She made an effort to look nice, but she wasn't prepared to fundamentally change herself. In other words, he wasn't getting her out of her jeans most of the time. She wasn't a fashionista, or one of those girls who lived in dresses and heels. Her clothes might not be designer, but she looked good anyway.
There was a slinky red dress, which would likely look awesome on, but this was a black tie event—probably not the place to look all slinky and vampy. If it was just the two of them going to dinner, she might consider it, although he'd probably skip dinner all together if she turned up in that. Then there was a gold sequin mini dress, but Shay wasn't sure about that one. It was just a little too flashy.
Finding the perfect dress was hard. She didn't want Peter to be disappointed, even if she refused to be a slave to his opinion. It was totally a contradictory sentiment, but she tried to navigate a medium between them. Then she spotted a brown dress. She was going to dismiss it at first because it looked awkward on the hanger, and it was brown, made of tulle and the puffy skirt. The top was sectioned into two parts, which made for a plunging neckline both in front and back.
Grasping the hanger, she brought it out and considered it. At first, it seemed like an odd colour and tulle wasn't normally a material she went for, but it might actually look alright on. There was only one way to find out.
She found one of the badly lit changing rooms and pulled the dress on. It didn't smell horribly, which was a bonus. Shay wondered what event this dress had been to before. It had probably been worn once then stashed in a closet until someone had a clean out.
The shoulder sections slid into place and the neckline plunged about an inch below her cleavage. The colour brought out a golden hue to her skin, modestly showing off the curves of her cleavage. For that reason alone the dress was amazing. The skirt ended above the knee and puffed a bit with the material.
"Let me see," Jess said. Shay always used Jess as a second opinion for everything she bought, and she stepped out to see Jess' initial surprised look. "Wow. Plunging. I like it. You wouldn't think brown would make for a good dress, but it actually suits your colouring. With a bit of goldish body glitter, it would be absolutely stunning."
"It need something though," Shay said. "I'm thinking a thin silver belt."
"I think you're right. It would finish it off nicely." Jess watched as Shay checked out her profile in the mirror. "I might have to borrow it at some point. So what is this event he's taking you to?"
"A launch of some kind. Its work related."
"And he's taking you as a date? So are you a couple now?"
Shay didn't quite know what to say. She knew Jess had concerns about Peter, and who could blame her. "I guess so."
"Does he even do girlfriends?"
"Not normally."
"And he's telling you that you are? He doesn't do girlfriends, but he's telling you that you are. Wasn't he all conquest and whores? You were adamant that you wanted nothing to do with him."
Shay sighed, not quite knowing how to explain it. "I'm not sure that was ever realistically an option."
Jess frowned. "You're in love with him."
There was no point arguing. Nothing else would explain how she felt, particularly as Peter was such an atrocious bet. Instead, Shay considered herself in the mirror. "I might be."
"And how long is this going to last?"
Shay shrugged. She honestly didn't know.
"Does he feel the same way?" Jess continued.
"Yes."
Jess considered her for a moment before sighing. "Is there any way this could end well?"
"I'm not sure. I hope so. Perhaps we’ll last, perhaps we won't. I'm in love with him either way. Believe me, I know this is far from ideal. He's a Brit to start with, which means, if it lasts, I'm staying here. I certainly can't see him moving to New Zealand. And his life is so different from mine. On paper, it sounds like an absolute horror show, but I'm in love with him and he with me."
"So what, it's happy couple now? The Peter and Shay show. He's like ten years older than you. Not to mention he's a total player."
"I know," Shay said, "but what am I supposed to do? I have these feelings for him. I tried cutting him off, but I couldn't do it."
Jess snorted. "I really thought you were smarter than this, but I guess love just comes and claims some people. If you disappear and leave completely on my own, I'm going to be seriously pissed at you."
"I won't. I promise," Shay said, but Jess didn't look convinced.
"So are we still doing Portugal?" They had talked about backpacking through Portugal as their next trip.
"Of course," Shay said, feeling the pressure of being there both for Peter and Jess. What she couldn't do was lose herself, and her friendship, in this relationship. But Peter was so all encompassing, she was enveloped in him so completely when she was with him. She could so easily disappear into him and his world, and just not resurface.
Shay waited nervously on the street outside her flat. People looked at her as they walked past, wondering where she was off to in a cocktail dress. She was nervous and excited seeing him again. It had only been two days, but it felt much longer.
Finally, his sleek, black car drove around the corner and Shay smiled widely. He was here and Shay ran toward the car and got in. It felt like it had been too long since she'd seen him. She leaned forward to kiss him, feeling like she was coming home. For a greeting kiss, it just carried on, drawing her in deeper and Shay didn't want it to end.
"I'd make a detour, but we're a
lready late," Peter said, stroking down her back. Heat flared through her body and if he seriously suggested it, she'd skip the event in a heartbeat. "Interesting dress."
"Interesting? Is that a term for odd?"
"It's a nice dress."
"Thank you."
"Although I would prefer to see you in no dress at all," he smiled, sending images flitting through her mind. Shay noted his tux. He looked absolutely awesome. She wouldn't mind peeling him out of that herself. "Considering you refused to come over last night, I'm all tense and aching, and you're teasing me mercilessly with that dress."
Shay smiled. He liked the dress. She watched him as he drove them off, taking them toward Westminster and heading north to Euston.
There were actually a couple of photographers taking pictures of the people entering, which was insane. "Why are they taking photos?"
"For the rags."
"We're going to be in a magazine?"
"Maybe."
"And that's not insane at all," Shay said, not quite pleased. This was so far from her normal life it made their lives seem too far apart to reconcile. He whisked her through and the event was inside a massive hall, full of people—everyone was nicely dressed, and there was music playing and waiters walking around with canapés and champagne. "Your life is so different from mine."
Peter looked at her and was about to say something when a man came up. "Peter, good to see you," the man said. "I saw your email about Shanghai. I'm glad with the development." He turned his attention to Shay and she felt self-conscious under his very direct scrutiny.
"This is Casov," Peter said. "The CEO of Grossman Altitude. Shay McPherson."
"Hi," Shay smiled and shook his outstretched hand, but his eyes were still piercing her. He was a very direct sort of guy, Shay decided.
"So, Miss Shay. You are quite distracting, it seems." Shay blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what he was saying. "And who wouldn't be. Issues dealt with then?" he said to Peter, without taking his eyes off her.
"They are," Peter said.
The Gem (D'Arth Book 4) Page 17