Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
ROME
My sloppy dance partner doesn’t smell right.
It’s not floral or sweet. It’s too strong and musky, like a spice you’d throw in some fancy entrée.
It’s not like Tessa’s perfume at all.
Fuck, get out of my head.
I turn Nadia around so I can check in on Tessa at the bar.
She’s been there most of the evening, flirting with the bartender.
Occasionally, someone from our team would go talk to her while waiting for a drink, and Gia was with her for a little while, but now she’s all alone, and he can’t stop smirking at her.
It’s been irksome, to say the least.
Almost as irksome as Beau and Vinny being in the same vicinity as me, but they’ve been quiet, which has only given me more space to focus on my task.
If the Halston siblings are testing me, then so be it. I already lost once today, and I’m not about to do it again.
I panic when I see Tessa’s spot at the bar is empty.
She’s missing, and so is the bartender.
The only thing left is my untouched Corona.
Damnit.
Her brothers must not know, because I haven’t gotten any texts. They wouldn’t let an opportunity like this slip to give me shit.
“I gotta go.” I unwind Nadia’s hands from around my neck and push through the crowd.
I head to the bathrooms first.
The line is long for both the men and women, and Vinny stands amongst the group with a bored expression on his face.
There’s no way he watched Tessa and some guy disappear together. The jealousy would eat him up. Sort of like it’s doing to me right now.
My pulse pounds.
Gia comes into sight, and I pull her aside. “Where is Tessa?”
Her eyes grow wide, but I don’t miss the shiftiness of them. She locks onto two swinging doors, and I move her to the side.
She calls after me. “Leave her be, Rome. She never gets to have any fun.”
I ignore her and stride toward the doors casually. I wouldn’t want to alarm anyone by full-on sprinting.
And by anyone, I mean her brothers.
I picture her on the back of some stupid motorbike with the guy’s helmet on, headed to his place. The feeling eats me up inside so quickly I push on the doors with force and move inside with my heart pounding violently.
It’s dark.
I can’t see shit.
But I can hear just fine, and her hot little whimper sends me to Hell and back.
“When is your break over?” she whispers.
“Now,” I grit.
She gasps.
The kissing noises stop abruptly.
Against my better judgment, I pull my phone out and shine the light in their direction. Piping-hot anger races through my bloodstream, but I’m rational enough to know that it’s completely uncalled for.
Why am I acting like this?
I want to rip his head off his shoulders.
I want to pull her away and bark that she’s mine.
“What are you doing back here?” she hisses, face flushed and lips swollen.
God. Fuck. Don’t even look at her mouth!
“Doing my job,” I answer.
“Your job?” the man asks.
Someone knocks on the swinging door. “Sul, break is over. Wrap it up.”
“So is this a common thing for you?” I ask. “Taking some innocent woman back here and fucking her on your break?”
“Innocent?” he chuckles. “There is nothing innocent about the way she was kissing me, mate.”
My fist clenches.
I’m going to lose my mind.
Actually, I’ve already fucking lost it.
“Well, it was fun while it lasted.” He grabs her chin sweetly and rubs his thumb over her lip. “You should probably go first, and take your bodyguard with you.”
Tessa huffs. “Bodyguard! He’s the one who’s going to need a bodyguard after I’m through with him.”
I chuckle darkly, mainly to hide my aggression. “Lead the way,” I say to her.
“I hate you,” she seethes on her way past, that floral perfume pulling me like a dog on a chain.
“I hate you too,” I sneer.
Or do I just hate the fact that I don’t hate her?
I follow closely behind as she weaves through the crowd. Vinny is up ahead on the left, and he eyes her before snapping over to me. One look in my direction and he’s turning away with a scowl.
He’s learned his place. Good.
We step outside, and Tessa immediately wraps her arms around herself from the cool temperature.
I pull my phone out to request an Uber.
“What are you doing? Reporting to my brothers that your job is finished here?” She scoffs and puts her back to me, wrapping her arms tighter around her body.
I shrug out of my jacket. “I called us an Uber, brat.”
I step behind her and place my jacket over her shoulders. She freezes, her spine going ramrod straight, and then she flings it off. The thick black material lands on the pavement in between us.
I keep my chuckle on the inside, but I can’t help but be amused.
“I’m not riding in an Uber with you,” she snarls.
I press my lips together in an attempt not to laugh at her jerky movements as she snatches her phone out of her purse, angrily tapping on the screen to call for her own Uber.
Once she’s finished, she shoves her phone back into her purse and tugs on the hem of her dress. It’s ridden up higher from her little escapade, and just like that, I’m back in the red from the thought.
Her Uber pulls up first, and although I want to climb inside with her for more reasons than one, I don’t. I need to put some fucking space between us before I do something stupid.
I’m all over the place.
I follow closely behind her and open the door. She whips her brown hair over her shoulder and shoots me a dirty look before sitting down and pulling the door shut.
My Uber comes right after hers, and I quickly get in so I can keep an eye on Tessa’s car up ahead toward the hotel.
I shoot off a text to her brothers.
Me
Package secured. Tessa has arrived at the hotel.
Beck
Alone or did some lovesick fella follow her there?
Besides me?
Me
Alone.
Beck changes the group name: Welcome to the Family
I shake my head and put my phone back into my pocket. My Uber pulls up right as Tessa’s is driving off. I quickly scramble out of the car and jog toward the revolving hotel doors in search of her.
If I follow the line of steam from her anger, I’ll probably find her a lot quicker.
I’m playing with fire.
I know I am, yet I can’t stop.
The elevator pings, and she steps inside.
I do my best not to run.
If the doors shut before I make it over there, then I’ll take it as a sign, but when I shove my hand in between the doors, they open right back up.
Unfortunately, we’re not alone.
There are a few hotel guests crammed inside the tiny area with Tessa absolutely fuming in the back corner. I make my way toward her and place my hand in the pocket of my pants with my jacket resting over my other arm—the same jacket she threw to the ground.
The air between us crackles, and I think everyone in the elevator can feel it. They share looks with each other, and when the door opens on their floor, they rush out, leaving Tessa and me all alone.
The door closes, and my heart skips a beat.
I angle my head toward her slowly, and she’s glaring at me with a fire brewing in her brown eyes.
“Are you going to follow me to my room and put me to bed too?” she asks, annoyed.
I lift a brow. “That’s an enticing thought. Maybe I should.”
Her cheeks turn red, and I chuckle.
Then, out of nowhere, her finger presses onto the emergency stop button.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
She pushes off from the wall and stands way too close to me. “Did you go to my father and ask to join our team, or was it the other way around?”
I pause and repeat the question in my head before ultimately giving in, since it’s not necessarily a secret. “I asked.”
Her gaze narrows. “Why?”
I give her the same answer I’ve been told to give the media. “I wanted to see how I’d do on my own, away from my father.”
She shakes her head. “That’s either a blatant lie, or it’s only half the truth. There’s more to it. I saw the way you acted when your father showed up at the press conference.”
I swallow. “So?”
“So, tell me,” she orders. “I think I deserve to know why you’re really here, since I’m your head engineer!"
I can’t argue that.
But I still can’t tell her.
“I can’t tell you.”
She fixes me with a confused look. “You can’t, or you won’t?”
“Can’t.”
She looks away, and for some reason, I want her eyes back on mine, so I give her a little more to chew on.
“It’s in the contract.”
Her posture stiffens. “What?”
I take a step away from her and rest against the elevator bar. The tension between us does nothing but amp me up. “The one your father had me sign.”
Tessa looks me up and down, clearly not believing me. “And what else does it say in that contract? Does it say you have to keep Vanstone’s Princess from getting laid?”
My mouth twitches. “It says I can’t lay a finger on your brothers.”
“And what does it say about me?” Tessa pops a hip, waiting for my answer.
On instinct, I rake my eyes down her body. I wish it said something about her.
I push off from the wall and erase the empty space between us. Tessa stands her ground, angling her chin to peer up at me. “It says nothing about you, so I guess that means I can touch you if I want.”
She’s calling my bluff, but she really shouldn’t.
My body is acting in a way it shouldn’t from having her in this tight space with no real exit. The tips of my fingers ache to grab a hold of her, and I can’t stop teetering the line that is very obviously drawn between us.
Her mouth opens, and I stare at her moving lips. “Then maybe you should finish what you interrupted.”
I think she’s messing with me, so I throw it back in her face. “Careful what you wish for, Princess.”
A look of uncertainty flashes across her face. “You wouldn’t.”
It’s almost like she doesn’t know me.
“It sounds like you’re challenging me.” I move quick. I snake my arm around her waist and pull her in close.
I can’t help but notice the way her breasts press against my chest with her sharp inhale. I also can’t help but notice that she isn’t necessarily pushing me away.
She does look at the emergency button, though, like it’s going to save her.
“Go on,” I urge. “Hit it. It won’t change things.”
We’re head to head.
The air in the elevator crackles with hot tension, and if she doesn’t push me away in the next three seconds, I’m going in for the kill.
Fuck, I should stop.
We’re letting things spin out of control.
The rigid pull between us is tighter than ever, like a rubber band about to snap at any second.
Tessa pushes the button quickly.
There’s a dare in her eye.
She thinks I won’t do this, but I’m not backing down where she’s involved.
I grab her face and smash my lips to hers. She’s startled at first, her body snapping into a rigid posture, but then she gives in.
What started off as a bitter kiss turns into a thrilling ride. I deepen the kiss, my fingers getting lost in her brown waves. Her tongue moves over mine languidly, each stroke going straight to my dick.
Damn, she does know how to kiss.
I swallow each and every sexy noise coming from the back of her throat and push her against the wall so I can feel more of her body against mine. I grip the back of her knee and wrap her leg around my waist, pressing myself in between her legs.
She’s warm and needy, rubbing against me like I’m no longer the villain who broke up her earlier romp at the bar.
Jesus Christ–
The elevator dings, and we both freeze.
Our eyes snag, and as if just now remembering who I am, she shoves me away and pulls her dress down.
The door slides open, and I recognize the man right away.
He’s on Vinny’s pit crew.
His focus slides from me and my rising chest to Tessa and her flushed skin.
A fleeting smile crosses her face, and then she darts out of the elevator, even though it’s the wrong floor.
It takes everything in me not to follow after her, but I don’t.
I can’t.
What the hell was I thinking?