Chapter Ten
Every muscle in Ari’s body ached with delicious exhaustion. On top of the amazing sex, she and Jared had stayed up until dawn this morning playing Brawler, breaking only to raid the fridge for the delicious party leftovers and, depending on who won each round, cash in on each other’s high-stakes bets.
Now, gazing at him over the lip of her coffee mug in the late afternoon sunlight, Ari couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much honest-to-God fun.
Naked, clothed, in the gaming room, in the kitchen, in the car, in the mountains, inside, outside… every moment with Jared left Ari either incredibly turned on, screaming his name senselessly, laughing her ass off, or all three.
And it wasn’t even over yet. Before heading back to the city tonight, they’d planned to have dinner at a little French place in town, one of Jared’s favorites.
“I could get used to this,” Jared said, lazily feeding her another bite of blueberry pancake. Ari didn’t know how he’d found the energy, considering they’d only slept a couple of hours, but he’d cooked her yet another breakfast feast.
“Feeding me breakfast,” she said, “or getting your butt kicked at your own video games?”
“Both.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’m a complete package sort of man.”
A warmth settled into her belly, slowly spreading outward until Ari felt like she was glowing.
I could get used to this, too.
She still couldn’t believe she was here, having spent the most incredible weekend of her life with this gorgeous, attentive man who’d lit a fire deep in her belly, across her flesh, and—as much as she hated to admit it—in her heart.
But as quickly as Jared’s words had excited her about future possibilities, they turned on her, tightening her throat with shame and guilt.
She didn’t want their weekend—or anything about the two of them together—to end, but her mind was already spinning about Davidson. He’d be expecting her call tonight. Maybe even an in-person meeting to go over all the intel she’d gathered this weekend.
Jared’s eyes narrowed with concern. Frowning, he ran his thumb over her right eyebrow. “I think I’ve got something figured out. See, this one wrinkles when you’re having a good think.”
“Just that one?” she asked.
“Yes.” He touched the left one. “It’s one of your beautiful mysteries. So what is it, love? What’s on your mind?”
She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as he stroked her cheek. She longed to tell him how badly she wished they could stay there all week. All month. That she could just pack up her life in the city, her regrets, her bad choices, and start over somewhere new. A place where she could play video games all night, slip into Jared’s bed, and wake up to gourmet brunch in this gorgeous house in the country, totally cut off from everything bad.
But out loud, she only said, “I should check in at home. My sister’s been on her own all weekend. She thinks I’m at a conference—who knows what kind of trouble she’s found.”
Jared laughed. “Based on my extensive knowledge of American teenagers, which comes entirely from the telly, I’m guessing she threw a raver.”
“A… raver?”
“You know, a crazy party? Isn’t that what the kids call it these days?”
“Oh, Mr. Blackwell. For someone whose core business demographic is teenagers, you’re completely out of touch.” Ari coughed into her hand, “Old-timer.”
“Excuse me,” Jared said, “but teenagers compose only a fraction of my core demographic. Most serious gamers are adults—many even older than us. Furthermore, this old-timer kicked your ass in Brawler. At least once, anyway.”
“Mmm-hmm. I bet they call you Graybush behind your back. In fact, you should probably change your name to J-Gray.”
Jared pushed his chair back, feigning offense, but every time their eyes met, he could only laugh. “If I’d known you were an ageist, I might not have let you into my pants in the first place.”
“That’s what all the creepy old men say.”
“Spend a lot of time in the trousers of old men, do you?”
“A lady never tells.” Ari made a zipping gesture across her lips, a move that earned her an impassioned kiss and a delicious smack on the ass. If she wasn’t so exhausted, she might’ve tried to seduce him again, right there on the dining room table.
Maybe on my next visit…
“Call your sister, love,” Jared said. “I’ll take care of the dishes, then we’ll figure out the rest of the day’s plans.”
As Jared cleaned up brunch, Ari slipped into the living room to call Tasha, feeling feather-light and happy.
But Tasha answered on the first ring, and from the tension in her voice, Ari knew immediately that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“What happened?” she asked.
“It’s… nothing,” Tasha said. “I’m probably overreacting.”
Ari’s mind raced through the possibilities. “Is it work? Was it something at school? Oh, honey. Don’t tell me you didn’t get into the lit seminar?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just… okay, don’t freak out, because everything is fine. But—”
“But what?” Of course Ari was freaking out. “What’s going on? Tell—”
“Your boss showed up at Perk today,” Tasha said.
Ari’s blood ran cold, her stomach bubbling nervously. She took a deep breath, not wanting to alarm her sister any more than she already was. “What happened?”
“Nothing, that’s the thing. He came in early, ordered a cappuccino, and camped out there. For five hours.”
“What?”
“My whole shift, Ari. I don’t know. It was way creepy.” Tasha’s voice shook with fear, despite her best efforts to cover it up. “He just kept watching me, trying to make small talk. But no, not even normal small talk. Not like, weather and coffee or whatever. He kept saying weird things.”
“What weird things?”
“Stuff like how I’m so lucky to have you as my sister, and how special that all is. Rare. He said that I was really beautiful, and that I should never let you take me for granted.”
Ari’s hands trembled. “I don’t, Tasha. You—”
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” Tasha sighed into the phone. “That’s not even the weirdest thing. He asked me if I knew about your new boyfriend, and if he’d ever been to the penthouse.”
Ari’s hand clenched into a fist on the table, her jaw tight with everything from fear to shame to red-hot rage.
“What’s going on, Ari? Did you and Davidson ever… I don’t know. Were you guys ever a thing?”
“Absolutely not.” Davidson was just a possessive, domineering asshole with a God complex, a man who’d stop at nothing to make sure Ari knew exactly who held all the cards.
Message received, dickhead.
A long moment passed in silence, Ari’s mind spinning. When Tasha spoke again, her voice was weary. “When are you coming back from the conference?”
“Soon,” she said. “I promise. I’m packing up now. Hey, do you work today?”
“No, not again until Tuesday.”
Ari let out a breath of relief. “Okay. Do me a favor? Stay inside. And don’t let anyone in.”
“Ari, what’s going on? Are you—”
“Don’t worry, baby,” she said. “I just don’t want him to get any ideas. I’ll take care of it, okay? I promise.”
Ari got off the phone, swallowing down the urge to vomit.
Davidson was a monster. It didn’t matter that she’d told him she’d be staying the weekend with Jared to get even more behind-the-scenes intel; Davidson didn’t trust her. The only way to get back in his good graces—to keep Tasha safe—was to see the job through.
All the way.
Her eyes burned, everything in her tight and anxious where mere minutes ago she’d been relaxed.
But Ari didn’
t have time for tears.
“Jared,” she said, calling him back to the dining room. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but my sister needs me at home.”
“What’s wrong?” Jared held her gaze, letting her know with just a look that he wasn’t buying it. “Did something happen?”
Here’s my opening. Tell him the truth. Tell him everything, and then grovel and beg for his forgiveness.
Maybe there was a way to stop this. To stop Davidson altogether. If anyone could help her figure it out, Jared could.
But when she opened her mouth to confess, her lips formed another lie, a behavior that was becoming rather automatic as far as Jared Blackwell was concerned.
Ari hated herself for it.
“It’s fine,” she said, her cheeks burning. “Really. Tasha just had some trouble with a guy who showed up at her work. She’s a little rattled about it. I just… I need to be there for her.”
“Does this guy need to be handled?” Jared dried his hands on a dishtowel and knelt before her, squeezing her knees. “I’d be more than happy to drop in and—”
“No! I mean, that’s really sweet of you. But it’s not like that. Nothing Tasha can’t manage. She just needs a little moral support from her big sister.”
The big sister who got her into this horrible mess in the first place.
“I understand.”
Of course he understood. He was the most incredible, compassionate, funny, sexy, intense man she’d ever met. He was perfect. Perfect for her in every way except for one—Ari herself.
She was the fatal flaw in the equation, the chemical that would cause everything good and possible between them to explode.
“I need to get back to the city,” she said, fighting to keep both the disappointment and fear from her voice. “As soon as possible.”
And there it was, the midnight stroke. Her fairy tale was officially over.
“No problem,” he said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the disappointment from his voice. “I’ll call for a driver.”
Chapter Eleven
“I’ve come to an important realization,” Jared said. The limo had just crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson, and a gloom settled over them both as their inevitable parting neared. “I don’t favor Manhattan anymore.”
Arianne snuggled against him in the back seat. “Why’s that?”
“It’s the place where we’re always saying goodbye.”
“Not goodbye,” Arianne said. “Just… see you later.”
“How much later?” With a gentle touch, Jared lifted her chin, waiting for her to meet his gaze. When she did, he saw the words she wouldn’t say out loud, and he knew she wouldn’t answer. Even after the weekend they’d shared, her walls were going back up, rendering them strangers once again.
“I’m being that guy,” Jared said, forcing a self-deprecating smile. “Please, stop me before I further embarrass us both.”
“No, you’re not. I want to see you again, too. As soon as possible,” she added quickly. Her lips brushed his neck, and it took all of his resistance not to take it further.
But she wasn’t into it right now. He could tell. In their short but intense time together, he’d learned her body almost as well as he’d known his own. And right now, her body was sending a very clear—if not contradictory—signal. She was being affectionate, but also distant, a combination he’d come to expect from her.
And the sign of a woman with more secrets than she could comfortably carry.
Not for the first time, Jared wondered what had happened in her life to make her so guarded inside, even as she’d so willingly shared her physical self.
The limo slowed, and then proceeded at a snail’s pace, stopping and starting every few seconds, a sure sign that they’d entered the traffic-congested city.
Arianne had been silent for too long, her face pensive and sad.
“Aside from the fact that you’re going to miss me terribly,” Jared said, “what’s got you so distracted? Are you worried about Natasha?”
She shrugged. “I’m always worried about her. Goes with the territory.”
“I’ve got six sisters, remember. I completely understand.” He also understood that she wasn’t being truthful. At least not totally. He held her gaze, unwavering, waiting for her to confess.
“Will you do me a favor?” she finally asked. “Can you get in touch with your art buyer, try to find out more about the LaPorte and the Hermes statue?” She searched his face, waiting for the reply. “To say that it’s important to me is a serious understatement.”
“So I’ve gathered. Let me guess, you can’t tell me why?”
At that, she closed her eyes, the lines around her mouth deepening.
Jared wished he hadn’t pushed.
“Not yet,” she said. “And Jared? This absolutely has to stay quiet. Please don’t involve anyone other than the buyer and his related connections. I can’t risk it.”
Trouble.
The alarm went off in his head. She was definitely into something deep, but Jared couldn’t tell whether she’d caused the trouble, or she’d just been caught in the crossfire.
He turned his body toward her fully. “What aren’t you telling me, Arianne? What’s your connection to all of this?”
She didn’t answer, of course. Jared pressed on, frustration simmering inside, slowly rising. “I think I’ve earned the right to ask, since we’re talking about artwork for which I’ve paid handsomely. And you’ve been nothing but evasive since… frankly, since our first meeting. You’re hiding something. Tell me.”
She held his gaze so long that Jared thought she might finally let him in. But then she sighed, looking down at their entwined hands. When she met his eyes again, hers were glazed with tears.
Jared shifted away from her, staring out his window at the blurred lights of the city, muted by the tinted glass.
Arianne was trouble from the start, and he should’ve known better than to get involved. Attached.
But he was involved. Attached. Which is why he had to end it now, cut it off before things got complicated.
“Arianne, listen. This weekend was… it was incredible.” He was still staring out the window, unable to face her. “But maybe it’s best we—”
“Don’t,” she said. With a gentle touch, she reached for his face, turning it toward hers. “I realize I’m being cryptic, and maybe I don’t have a right to ask for this. But—”
“But you don’t trust me,” he said.
“You shouldn’t trust me, either,” she said, which was a non-answer—another thing he was getting used to about Arianne. “We’re still practically strangers, Jared. And I meant what I said the other night about the kind of information I come across in my work. It can lead to… unsavory places.”
“Like my bed?” He’d meant it to sound angry, but it came out more like a taunt. Arianne smiled, and for a moment Jared was too relieved to see the light back in her eyes to even care about all the secrecy.
“I wouldn’t call your bed an unsavory place at all,” she said, slipping her hand across his thigh. Her fingers were dangerously close to starting something Jared wasn’t sure he wanted to finish, despite his earlier feelings.
He covered her hand with his, holding it firmly in place, just out of reach of the trouble she was after. “Care to continue this at my place? I have other unsavory beds, you know. Beds you haven’t yet had the pleasure of being fucked upon.”
Arianne's eyes lowered to his cock, a heavy bulge pressing against his zipper despite his inner conflicts.
“I’m not sure you can wait for the bedroom,” she said. But her words were a diversion—that much was obvious. They were already downtown, just blocks from where Arianne had asked to be driven.
“Come home with me and find out,” Jared said. “I’m only a few blocks west.”
Her eyes darkened, and she pulled away. Jared’s thigh cooled in the absence of her touch.
“I wish I could,” she said, “but I’ve
got something to take care of.”
“I can wait. We’ll keep the car running.”
“Jared—”
“Let me guess. You can’t tell me.”
Arianne nodded. “I just don’t want to say too much until I know more. I realize how shady this must sound—”
“Darling, you have no idea.”
A wounded look flickered through her eyes, but Jared stood by his words. She was shady. Shady, frustrating, incredibly sexy, witty, intelligent, adventurous, beautiful, and quickly infiltrating every part of him.
“Jared, listen to me,” she said. “I promise I’ll tell you more when I can—when I have more than just a hunch to go on. But in the mean time, I need information. Can you do me that favor? Talk to your guy?”
They’d reached the intersection on Water Street—another mystery, since Jared knew Arianne lived on the Upper East Side and was anxious to get back to her sister, but had insisted on being left downtown—and pulled over to the curb, idling in park.
Traffic continued to zip past them, the rest of the world oblivious to the tension in the car. Jared knew he had only a moment before the driver would retrieve Ari’s suitcase from the trunk, then come around to open her door.
Without warning Jared pulled her close, claiming her mouth in a kiss so fierce, so protective, so possessive, it left no doubt about his intentions.
When the limo door opened and finally broke the intensity of their kiss, Jared held her close for one final second. He inhaled the scent of her skin, the silky soft hair just behind her ear tickling his lips as he whispered, “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
Arianne gave him a grateful smile, which Jared gladly returned. But she was going to have to start talking, sooner rather than later. Because after this weekend, whatever trouble Arianne was heading for, whatever “unsavory places” awaited her, Jared was going right down with her.
Whether she liked it or not.
Chapter Twelve
“The succubus returns.” Davidson dragged his eyes from Ari’s face to her breasts, down to her feet, and back up again. “I hope your weekend was productive.”
Bared to the Billionaire: The Complete Series Page 18