Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell #1)(20)

But striding beside him with my hand engulfed in his big, strong one, I noticed that, even as a tall, very built man the like who could seem ungainly due to their size, he totally rocked his clothes in a way that was super cool because he didn’t look like he was trying to rock his clothes. In fact, even wearing a tuxedo, he didn’t look like he cared at all.

And more, he had a masculine grace when he moved that probably had to do with him being an athlete and highly trained and skilled soldier. But even with these things, this was a surprise, men of his build, again, often seemed lumbering.

Not Sam.

And let me just tell you, it was hot.

All of it.

While Sam guided me down the hall and stairs, he didn’t speak. What I noticed he did do was walk slowly. A man his height with legs as long as his definitely could take twice the amount of ground with each stride than he was taking and I knew he was doing this for me, my shorter legs and my feet wearing delicate, high-heeled sandals.

This was another indication of his graciousness, not a word, not a show, he just did it, thoughtful, sweet and that settled in my soul too.

Then out the door we went, across the front of the hotel and down four cars, he turned us and stopped me at the passenger side of a bright yellow Lamborghini.

Yes, a bright yellow Lamborghini.

Seeing his car, for some reason, I deflated. Not totally but I felt it.

This was not to say it was not a cool car, it definitely was. And this was not to say I didn’t look forward to my first ever and probably only ride in a freaking Lamborghini, I did, I definitely did.

This was to say it was expensive and flashy to the point of being a shade off trashy and I did not see Sampson Cooper this way. This car screamed, “Look at me! I have money! I have fame! I am important! Bow to me, all you minions.”

Okay, maybe it didn’t say all that but it said enough of it to make me, for the first time, wonder about a Sam who stayed at an expensive hotel, owned an expensive tuxedo that had been tailored for him and ate at restaurants like the one he ate at last night. I didn’t pay, Thomas did and refused to even discuss it (my debt to him and Celeste was growing by the day) but I knew it was expensive and when I say that I mean, if you think of the most expensive restaurant you’ve ever been to, it was more as in a lot more. One bottle of wine was more than a three course meal at a normal expensive restaurant, so it was that expensive.

And the Sampson Cooper I had in my head from all I knew about him and his life before I met him and the man I’d been in the presence of three times who’d been real, who cursed when he felt like it, held my hand when he saw tears in my eyes, that Sampson Cooper, or Sam, did not have a flashy car that screamed, “Look at me!”

He opened my door for me and, with his long fingers wrapped around my bicep, guided me gently into the car, making sure I cleared my skirt and was settled in before closing the door.

I glanced through the interior as he rounded the hood and vaguely wondered how he’d get his tall, sizeable frame in it then I looked out the windshield, weirdly despondent and suddenly not nervous or even excited about the evening.

Very weird. Very stupid. And also judgmental.

But there you go. Men were men and, just like Cooter but for Sam in a bigger, showier way, they all found their ways to prove they had a big dick, even Sam Cooper.

It wasn’t until Sam burst out laughing that I realized he’d folded in beside me and he’d been there awhile.

I turned my head to look at him.

Okay, I was suddenly nervous and excited again. This was because he might want the world to know he had a big dick but he was unbelievably gorgeous while he was doing it.

He stopped laughing but kept smiling at me when he declared, “It’s Luci’s.”

“What?” I asked.

“The car,” he answered and I felt my lips part.

Jeez, was he in my head or what?

Sam kept speaking. “She has five cars and she insisted I use one and not rent one. She also insisted I stay with her. I won on having some privacy and not spending every minute I wasn’t workin’ having Luci in my face about all the things Luci gets in my face about, and, baby, there’s a lot of that shit. I gave in on the car. I see from your face I shouldn’t have. Then again, I didn’t know I’d meet a beautiful blonde who’s the only beautiful blonde on five continents who would not get off on sittin’ beside me in a car like this.”

“I didn’t –” I started to deny through a lie.

He kept smiling, though bigger, and interrupted through it, “You did.”

“I –”

He leaned toward me, his hand reached out, his fingers curled around the side of my neck again and I shut up.

“You did,” he said gently and kept going, “and I don’t care because I agree. This car is not me and it’s good it’s not you either. But,” the smile came back, “wait ‘til it goes. This ride screams euro-trash and anyone who’s got a hint of class feels like an ass**le sitting in it but when it purrs, it makes it worth it.”

“Okay,” I whispered and I whispered because I couldn’t get my voice to go louder. There were three reasons for this. One, he was touching me again. Two, it hit me he called me a beautiful blonde. And three, I really wanted to feel that Lamborghini purr.

“Buckle up,” he murmured, let me go and turned away.