“I’ll be okay. Thanks for pulling double duty tonight.”
She steps back, surveying me one more time. “No big deal. Double tips for me.” She winks, and then picks her stuff up from my bed. “Call me tomorrow. I want to hear all about it.”
“I hope I want to talk about it.”
“You’ll be fine.” As she walks toward the apartment door, I follow. I need all the practice I can get in these stupid heels. “Oh, that reminds me,” she says as she turns the knob. “Did you run a background check on him?”
The door opens, and before I can respond, Pierce’s grinning form is standing in front of me. He’s a vision in a black tux, that’s for sure.
“Google should cover the background check if you’d like me to wait out here.” His dark eyes dance between Dana and me.
I sneak a quick look at Dana whose mouth hangs wide open, her eyes drinking in Pierce’s perfect physique. I should snap her lips closed and push her out the door, but I don’t blame her one bit.
His tux is complete with a black tie and crisp white shirt. His hair is styled, spiked up toward the front. Not only could he walk a red carpet, he’d own it. All sets of eyes, male or female, would be on him.
“Dana, this is Pierce. Pierce, this is Dana.” I introduce them, hoping to break through the awkward silence we’ve all fallen into.
Pierce holds his hand out to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Dana.”
I wonder if she’s screaming internally at the sound of her name coming from his lips. I know I did the first time.
She places her hand in his. He practically swallows her small hand up. “Nice to, umm, meet you, too.” I guess she stutters now.
“You’re early,” I announce, pulling Pierce’s attention back to me.
“Far better than late,” he quips, tucking his hands into his pants pockets. I don’t miss how they strain across his hips. He’s pretty, there’s no arguing that.
“I’m actually running late for work,” Dana says, squeezing my arm before pushing through the doorway. “You guys have fun tonight.”
“Thanks for everything, Dana!” I shout behind her. I watch her walk away until she disappears down the stairs. It gives me an excuse not to look at Pierce.
“I think she’s gone now,” he remarks, forcing my eyes back to him. He’s obviously amused—head cocked, lower lip pulled between his teeth.
“Sorry,” I say, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I quickly pull it back out, not wanting to ruin my beach-like waves.
He raises his eyebrows as he glances down the vacant hallway, then back to me. “Ready? My car’s waiting downstairs.”
“Yeah, let me grab my jacket. Do you want to come in?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Pulling the door all the way open, I give him the space to step into my territory. The apartment isn’t much. We have a futon as our only piece of living room furniture for God’s sake. His master bedroom is probably bigger than this entire place.
“You can have a seat if you want. I’ll only be a minute.”
I turn to walk away but he grabs my elbow, stopping me in place. Fear courses through my veins, not of him, but of what he does to me when we’re this close. He steps closer until I can feel the heat coming off his body. My eyes dart around the room. My mind wanders to all the possibilities of this.
“You look gorgeous,” he says from behind me.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He runs his hand down my forearm, slowly releasing me. “You like the tux?”
“No,” I answer, spinning back around to face him. I tug on his tie. “I love the tux.”
He grins . . . in a way that’s bound to get me in a whole lot of trouble. The kind that reminds me why this might not be a good idea.
“I’ll be right back.” I disappear behind my bedroom door, inhaling the air needed to fill my lungs, then repeating until I feel like I have enough control to be in his presence again. He unnerves me in ways I can’t describe, and he’s too perceptive for me to let him see me this way.
After grabbing my long black coat from the closet, I swallow the last of my anxieties and walk out to the living room where he stands peering out the lone window. He defines power—perfect posture, broad shoulders and taut muscles. The man has everything going for him from what I can see. He’s just not Blake.
“Ready?” I ask, careful not to scare him.
He looks back, eyes surveying me. “Just waiting on my beautiful date.”
I open my mouth to argue, but pull myself back. He probably didn’t mean it in the way it sounded. “Let’s get out of here then. I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing.”
He laughs, deep and throaty. “That makes two of us.”
I pick up my clutch from the table and head toward the door, opening it for him. He comes to stand next to me but doesn’t exit. “This is the only door I’m going to let you open tonight.”
I glance down, running the toe of my heels against the hardwood floors. This guy is a complete gentleman. I should be swooning, picturing myself as his better half. Dreaming of it at night and falling at his feet during the day to make it happen.
It may be the biggest mistake of my life—clinging to a guy who’ll never truly let me in when the epitome of male perfection is standing right in front of me.
When I come back to, he’s standing out in the hallway looking down at me with his eyebrows drawn in. “You all right?”
“Yes, sorry,” I reply, shaking my head. “I probably should have slept more last night.”
He holds out his hand to me, and I take it, pulling the door shut behind me. His fingers are warm, entwining with mine. It’s intimate but doesn’t push me too far from my comfort zone. As we walk down the long, narrow hall, I keep my head down, afraid that my heels will catch and I’ll go tumbling across the old, worn carpet.
If I let it, tonight could be fun. If only it were that easy.
Pierce stops suddenly, yanking me back with him. I look up at him, confused, and notice his fiery eyes staring forward. Curious, I follow them, and in that one moment, my whole world spins.
“What are you doing here?” Pierce asks, gripping my hand a little tighter.
“I fucking live here,” Blake answers. His words are meant for Pierce, but he’s staring straight at me. The pain and confusion that emit from his eyes don’t go unnoticed.
“Do you know each other?” My voice is so timid, I’m not sure if my words even registered with them.
“You could say that,” Pierce says. He lets go of my hand, moving it to the small of my back. “How do you know him?”
I swallow, attempting to bury the weariness in my voice. “He’s my roommate.”
Blake laughs maniacally, rubbing the back of his neck. “Roommates? That’s fucking great.”
Now I’m mad. Pissed. Frustrated. Resentful. I’m a big fucking ball of destruction that wants to roll toward Blake and make him feel every ounce of what I’m feeling. “We talked about this earlier. Remember?”
I sense Pierce’s eyes on me, but I don’t dare look. I could have gone a hundred life times without this moment.
Pierce’s hand squeezes mine again, lightly tugging me forward. “Let’s get out of here. I think we both know this asshole isn’t worth our time.”
“Take your hands off her!” Blake yells. I don’t get this. He knew I had plans tonight. I was upfront with everything, but obviously there’s something between these two that I’m completely oblivious to. A game changer.
“Pierce,” I say quietly, placing my hand on his forearm. “Can you wait outside? I’ll take care of this.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Yes, you are, or you can go ahead and leave without me.”
Pierce obviously isn’t used to being ordered around. He releases my hand and comes to stand in front of me. The carefree, sexy smile he wore earlier is long gone. “Lila, what is this?” he whispers so only I can hear.