The Billionaire Next Door (Billionaire Bad Boys #2)(19)

“Taking a cab?” He kept his voice at normal volume instead of calling after her as she beelined for the billiard room to collect her coat. She had to stop and turn back to him to respond.

Perfect.

“Yes.” A glance to the windows. “I mean, probably. It’s snowing.”

“It is snowing.” Outside, fat flakes fell from sky to ground in a delicate dance. It wasn’t windy, wasn’t too cold. Luc had driven him here, which left Tag to his own devices. “Nice night for a walk.”

He stood and handed a few bills to her before she turned him down, which face it, was likely. “Give this to your friend. I don’t need change. I’ll grab our coats.”

“Tag.” She was already shaking her head and holding out the money for him to take back.

“We live in the same building. We’re going the same direction.”

“I could be going to my boyfriend’s house,” she said when he started away from her. He paused and leaned close, watching her eyes flicker to his lips. He liked being this close to her. She smelled good.

“I’m flattered, but not really boyfriend material, Dimples.” He winked. Which was overkill and earned him a flat-mouthed grimace, but she went to the bar to talk to her friend like he’d asked.

He grabbed their coats and met her as Bree dropped cash into the tip jar. She grinned approvingly at Tag, happier than Rachel about what was transpiring.

“Hey, are you sure I can trust you with my girl?” Bree asked.

“I’m not sure I can trust her.” He shot a thumb in Rachel’s direction, then leaned on the bar and lowered his voice. “Did she tell you she came up to my apartment last night dressed in the tightest black dress I’ve ever seen? Red lipstick—”

“Tag! He’s kidding,” Rachel interjected, her cheeks staining a delicate pink. He was content to see her flustered.

“—high-heeled boots. Short, short dress.” He pursed his lips and let out a short whistle.

Bree’s smile held but a shocked expression joined it. “He’s why you borrowed my dress!” She pointed at Rachel. “Do I need to launder it?”

He laughed.

“I did it because he accused me of being a hooker!” Rachel said a little too loud. A table of guys lifted their collective heads in interest. Tag took the opportunity to straighten and wrap an arm around her; then he pulled her close and slid his palm from her waist to her hip. Everywhere his fingers brushed was met with Rachel’s body shifting, but she didn’t pull away from him. Not even a little.

Bree didn’t miss anything, her eyes following the display.

He looked down at Rachel, who was flushed and flustered and trying not to look at him. She liked him way more than she wanted to admit, and he liked that a whole hell of a lot. He gave her a soft squeeze before letting her go, but moved his hand possessively to the small of her back.

“It’s just a walk. We’re not trading services of any kind.” He offered her coat.

Rachel’s pinked cheeks went ruddy as she narrowed her eyes at him. Then she snatched the coat and started to the door without him.

He looked to Bree for encouragement, but Bree’s loyalty to her friend was rock solid. “Good luck,” was all she said.





Chapter 6



This is so much colder than a cab,” Rachel said through chattering teeth. The bar was probably fifteen blocks from the apartment. What was she thinking agreeing to walk? She couldn’t feel her nose.

“But cleaner,” Tag said. She was currently taking two steps for every one of his, given his gait was longer than hers, even at a leisurely pace.

“I do better when it’s a nice, even seventy degrees.” She buried her chin in her scarf as she watched her boots cut through the gathering snow. “I guess it’ll be a few more months until we see milder temps.”

God. She was hopeless. Walking down the sidewalk next to a gorgeous guy and talking about the weather. But Tag didn’t balk.

“I like extremes,” he said, as if this was perfectly acceptable conversation. “If it’s hot, I like it really hot. If it’s cold, there’d better be snow or it’s a waste. I like the ocean because you can’t see the end of it. If I’m in a forest, I prefer one filled with massive sequoias.”

“Because you can relate to them,” she teased. “Giant.”

He turned his head and smiled and she admired straight, white teeth surrounded by a golden brown beard. He’d pulled his hair down and the light brown waves fell haphazardly over his black coat. Which was so sexy she couldn’t think. Especially since there were snowflakes in the strands. Not that she could blame them. Nestled warmly in those locks wasn’t a bad place to imagine being.

Again, she wondered at her attraction to him. Though he did kind of look like Thor, and while she wasn’t a die-hard comic book fan, she could appreciate the actor in the movie.

“How tall are you?” she asked, mostly to stop her inane train of thought. The more she was around him, the less she understood her basal reaction to him.

“Just under six-six. You’re what? Five-five?”

“Yeah. How’d you do that?”

He shrugged and looked ahead, but she didn’t doubt how he’d done it. He’d likely honed his carnival skills and was stellar at guessing weight and height. It wasn’t hard to imagine him using his intuition to figure out a woman’s weak points so he could attack where she was most sensitive. He’d probably had a ton of practice.