RISK(14)

I study his face. There's victory already dancing in his eyes as his lips curve into a smug smile. He's absolutely certain I'll say yes because I doubt any woman has ever said no to him.

"I have plans tonight." My words are quiet and surprise even me. I'm supposed to share a bottle of wine with Adley at the bar by our apartment once I leave here. We're going to celebrate the fact that I'm her new roommate. "I'm already meeting someone for a drink."

He takes a step back. The assumption that it's a man is written all over his face. There's a sudden dark intensity in his eyes. His smile has disappeared, replaced by a strict set of his jaw.

"Understood," he says quickly before backing away. His fingers finally brush the lone piece of hay from his shoulder. It falls to the polished wood floor as he turns abruptly. A few heavy steps of his feet close the distance between me and the glass door and with a push of his hand, he's out of the store and immersed in the pedestrian traffic of Fifth Avenue.

He's wrong. He doesn't understand. I don't completely either. I just know that the last time I saw that level of triumph in a man's eyes when he asked me out, saying yes to him was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.





Chapter 10


Nolan




"Take it as a sign that you need to keep your hands off of her." Crew takes a large bite of pizza, washing it down with a pull from his second bottle of beer. "If you f*ck Ellie, we'll lose her, and Matiz needs her."

"Why would we lose her?" I push my empty paper plate aside. "I can f*ck whoever I want. This has nothing to do with Matiz."

His throat works on another large swallow. He's shoveling the pizza in at a pace I can't keep up with. I had eaten half a cheese pie before I tapped out. "Every time you bed one of our employees, she quits. You don't give them the time of day after you've had a taste."

"That's bullshit." I swipe a paper napkin across my lips. "You're full of it."

"Name one woman who is currently employed at Matiz that you've f*cked."

"Donna," I say smugly.

"She split four days after you drilled her in her office."

I roll my eyes. "Gwendolyn. The blonde from accounting."

"Gwen?" He rubs his stomach through the dark green polo he's wearing. "She left a week after you took her to the Met Gala. That was supposed to be a platonic date, Nolan. She was the best accountant we've ever had and you literally f*cked her over. She couldn't leave fast enough."

"Both of those were years ago," I point out. "I haven't screwed anyone out of a job in a long time."

"That's because now you chase women who aren't employed by us." He tips his beer bottle toward me. "Cheers, pal, for keeping it locked up at work."

"It would be different with Ellie," I argue. I mean that in every way. I sense it. Fucking her wouldn't be like the others. I feel it when I'm near her. I know it. I saw it in the way she had looked at me before she told me she was meeting someone else tonight.

I don't understand how she already has a date when she's only been in New York less than a week. Actually, I do understand. What man in his right mind wouldn't ask her out?

"It would be exactly the same with Ellie." He finally rests his napkin on the empty paper plate in front of him. "You're still an * to women after you've screwed them. You know that, right? You haven't changed that much."

"I appreciate the insight but you can f*ck off anytime, Crew." I laugh. "You should be meeting someone by now, shouldn't you?"

His eyes drop to his watch as if he's checking to make certain he's not late for his appointment to charm a woman, he hasn't met yet, into bed tonight. I've watched Crew in action for years. His method never changes.

He approaches a brunette, talks to her for what amounts to less than five minutes and he's saying his final farewell to her a couple of hours later. He's the quintessential rich single guy in New York City.

I used to be the one sitting next to him, seducing a different woman every night. I'd lose track of who I had f*cked on Monday by the time Friday rolled in. It was the life.

Work, wealth and women.

I would have ridden that addictive train forever if I hadn't derailed. That happened one Tuesday night a few years ago. Reality slapped me with her scathing palm right across my face.

"You're telling me you want me to get lost?" He furrows his brow. "Say the word and I'll disappear, Nolan."

"I need to get home." I brush a few crumbs from my pants. "Thanks for coming back to the office. The pizza was good. The company better."

He stands, smoothing his hands over the thighs of his jeans. "If Ellie's into someone else, back off. Let it be."

"I don't see a ring on her finger." I stand too, buttoning my suit jacket. "There's no harm in getting to know her better."

"You're not interested in Ellie because you still think she's Kip, are you?"

I don't f*cking know. Kip was pure light. She was everything I wanted to protect a decade ago. She was too young for me to kiss, too innocent for me to dream about touching. She was an angel who ran into the devil's fist one night.