Mile High (Up in the Air #2)(14)

I just blinked.

Damien was looking between us, studying James. I had almost forgotten, for a few minutes, that he was even there. James had that effect on me.

“You’ll come with me, won’t you?” James murmured in my ear.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, his arms moving slowly, rubbing against my ni**les. There was no way that he wasn’t aware he was touching them. They were hard little pebbles that he had to feel through the material of my thin shirt and lacy bra.

“I, um, I don’t know. The invitation is unexpected, as I’m sure you know. I’ve never been to anything like that.”

“There’s nothing to it. We just get dressed up and walk around, mingling. I won’t leave your side, if you’re nervous. I just want your company.”

Damien walked away, likely feeling ignored. He made his way to Murphy, who was telling a story loud enough for the entire room to hear.

I pitched my voice low, speaking over my shoulder. “I thought we weren’t doing any of that. You said from the beginning that we weren’t dating.”

“I’d talk to you about it, but I’m not allowed to talk tonight, remember?” His deep voice was a rumble against my ear.

I saw his game. He wanted to get me curious enough to take back my own words. I wouldn’t do it, though, even if my curiosity was eating at me.

I poked an elbow behind me. “Fine then, let’s not talk about any events either, while we’re at it. That raises too many questions about our relationship.”

He made a displeased little hum behind me that I could feel rumble through me. He didn’t speak for several minutes. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking him questions.

Finally he broke his silence. “Do you like horses?” he asked.

“Horses?” I asked, baffled.

“Yes, horses. Do you like them?”

I thought about it. More about why he was asking then what he was asking. Finally, I just focused on the question. “Yes, I like horses. Doesn’t everyone? Why?”

“Have you ridden?”

I flushed. “Once. It was just a two-hour guided tour, up in the mountains, so I’m not even sure it counts, but I loved it.”

“Do you think you feel well enough to try riding now? Or do you need to heal up more?”

I cast him a suspicious glance. “Do you have horses in town?” I hadn’t noticed any stables at his property, but I also hadn’t exactly gotten a proper tour.

“I do. I need to show you the entire property sometime, including the stables. They’re set away from the house. But that isn’t what I had in mind. You said I could do whatever I wanted with you. You didn’t give me any restrictions, including staying in town. I would take you to the beach, to relax, but I find that lately I absolutely despise the beach.”

I raised my brows at him. “You don’t like the beach?” I asked him, baffled.

He set his jaw and looked across the room with a steely glare. I followed his eyes. He was staring at Damien as though he wanted to do the man bodily harm.

“Currently, just the thought of the beach makes me want to do violence,” he said, his tone quiet but ominous. “So I have another idea, if you’re up to try some riding.”

I studied him, trying to follow his odd thought patterns. “Where did you want to take me?”

He turned that steely glare on me. “You said I could do anything with you tonight. And you did not say I had to tell you what or where. All I want to know is, do you think you can ride a horse?”

I glared back. “I’m not sure. I feel okay. If I didn’t do anything too crazy, and it was a calm horse, I suppose I could.”

He nodded decisively. “Okay, we’ll take it easy. Let me make some phone calls.”

I watched him walk outside, a little stunned by the sudden turn of events.

He always seemed to do that, turn everything around until I was dizzy and panting and giving into his whims without a protest. It was infuriating, and exhilarating. I had thought my life was content and full before I met him. I had thought that excitement was the last thing that I wanted for myself. And the thought of falling in love had been anathema to me. How could meeting one person make everything change so suddenly? I wondered, not for the first time. I didn’t know where he was planning to take me, but it didn’t matter. I would go. My self-control became an elusive quality when I got into James’s orbit.

I approached Stephan, listening to the long-winded story Murphy was into before I was noticed. He was walking everyone through the horror of waking up with two women and a new tattoo with one of their names on it. Only he hadn’t remembered either of their names, just that one of them was Lola, since it was written in big black letters on his chest.

I blinked at the ridiculous story. Surprisingly, I hadn’t heard it before, though I had seen the tattoo when he was lounging by the pool. I listened, as interested as everyone else to find out which woman the tattoo was for, and why.

“Turns out, it was another woman I’d met earlier that night. She’d left in a jealous rage after the tattoo, when I started talking to the two I woke up with. I was just being friendly, I’m sure!”

His defensive stance about two women he’d woken up in bed with made everyone laugh. He was still genuinely offended by the woman who’d inspired his tattoo and never spoken to him again.