10. Luna
CHAPTER 10
Luna
“I'm just getting started.”
If that was how he wanted to play it, then game on.
I hadn’t meant to go this far. Honestly, I thought I'd jog a mile or two, just a little loop and then go back home and stretch while watching the newest BBC version of Emma .
But then he scared the absolute shit out of me. My heart was still racing, and it wasn't from the exercise. My body needed the run at this point, and I had to keep going until the adrenaline fled my body. It reminded me too much of the other night that I couldn’t stop thinking about—the night just a few days after I slept with Beck.
That night had haunted me and probably had more to do with my inability to be intimate than Beck’s prowess ruining me for all other men.
Now , in this moment, despite the futility of it, I tried to escape Beck. I sped up as fast as my legs could carry me, but Beck kept pace with me. It was too much to hope that he couldn't keep up. The man did serve overseas and ran an elite bodyguard business. Being in shape was basically a job requirement.
That didn't make it okay for him to hijack my thinking time.
The fact that he thought he could just grab me off the street and make me go home was outrageous. Nearly as outrageous as my current quest to span the Brooklyn Bridge before circling back toward my brownstone.
I groaned inwardly at my own stubbornness. I didn't usually run this far, and the bridge felt like a fun-house mirror, forever elongating.
Maybe this was a bad idea…
But it was too late to turn around now. Once I committed to something, I committed all the way.
It would help if Beck was a little bit winded. Unfortunately, the man looked unbothered by the exertion, whereas I was on the verge of wheezing and making an absolute fool of myself.
Reluctantly, I slowed my pace and came to a stop in the middle of the bridge under the guise of wanting to stretch.
Beck came to a stop as well, stretching his calf next to me. “Nice place for a mid-run stretch.”
I rolled my eyes and sank into a squat. “Just taking in the view. You know, a stop and smell the roses kind of moment.”
He pretended to look around. “No roses around here, Marks.”
“Metaphorical roses, Bennet .”
He kicked my foot with his. “You’re favoring this leg. If you don’t take it easy, you’ll injure it for real.”
“Am not.” I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with my gait.
He shot me a devilish grin. “Are too.”
“And you know everything, is that it?” I raised a brow, while bouncing on my heels to keep my body from stiffening up.
“I know how to prevent knee injuries.” He glanced down at my feet again. “How old are those shoes, anyway? If you plan to keep running, you need better shoes.”
I waved my hands wildly in the air. “According to you, I’m doing this whole running thing wrong.”
He slid his hands in his pockets. Unlike my jogging wear, his had pockets. “You said it, not me.”
I narrowed my eyes. My feet started pounding pavement again.
“Are you coming?” I taunted him.
This asshole. If he was going to try to tell me how to live my life, I would make his a living hell and keep on pretending this jog was hurting him just as much as it was hurting me.
“Why are you doing this, Marks?” He kept pace beside me, his breath even. “You know if you tell me, it will make life easier for both of us.”
Talk to Beck about my ex? Hard pass.
Although it was the whole reason I was out here in the first place. Well, that and the mountain of other obligations and to-dos that made my mind reel and my body require physical exertion to help me sleep.
Maybe it would be a good thing to tell him…see how he reacted. At the very least, maybe it would stop him in his tracks and give me a little breather.
Fuck it.
“My ex stopped by the club tonight.”
Beck’s eyes grew curious, glinting under the harsh lights. “Did he do something to hurt you?”
The idea made me smile. “No. He didn't hurt me.”
“Do you still want him?” Beck’s voice was low, harsh even.
That elicited a tiny laugh. “Absolutely not.”
We finally made it to the end of the bridge, then we turned around and headed back toward our respective brownstones. My lungs were on fire and my body would hate me for the hell I'd put it through, but at least my mind would be clearer. The physical strain took away the mental one.
“Let me get this straight. Your ex stopped by your work today, and you're fine with it.”
I gulped some air. “Yep.”
Confusion swept across his face. “Then why the fuck aren't we in bed sleeping?”
I nearly stumbled.
He didn't mean it how it sounded.
Because he absolutely didn't mean it to sound like we should be sleeping together.
“What's your excuse for last night and the night before? I’m going to ask you again, is he bothering you?” he continued.
A red light. Thank God. I bounced in place, enjoying the bit of respite. “Slow your roll. He's not bothering me. He’s a nice guy.” I let that little implication hover in the air between us.
Beck wasn’t convinced. “If he’s such a nice guy, then why are you so bothered?”
“He stopped by tonight and I needed to process it.” I pressed a hand to the stitch in my side.
He grunted. “What did you need to process last night?”
“That's none of your business.”
The light turned green, so we picked up the pace, much to my body's dismay. “Fine. Then let's talk about what you're processing tonight.”
“Pretty sure we established eight years ago that you're not a doctor, and you’re definitely not a therapist, so you'll excuse me if I don't want to have you do a pseudo psych analysis.”
Beck brushed against me, and I tried to pull away but a group of twenty something's were taking up the majority of the sidewalk as they drunkenly stumbled home from the bars, not a car in the world.
“Sometimes we just need a friend to listen,” he said softly.
My heart pounded loudly in my ears, and I wasn't convinced it was all from the exercise. “Are you saying we're friends, Beck Bennet?”
“No but if something's bothering you, I'm here to listen. Preferably not in the middle of the night. Or if it is the middle of night, at least have it be in the comfort of our own homes.”
“I do my best thinking in the middle of the night. So if you can't handle that, then you can leave.”
“Since we're going in the same direction, I think I'll stay.”
Fucking cheeky bastard.
“It didn’t bother me that he showed up.” The words slipped from my lips.
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged, slowing my pace. “I felt nothing. Shouldn’t I feel jealous or regretful? Shouldn’t I feel something? ”
We jogged in silence for a few beats as I waited for a response.
I shook my head once. “Never mind. I’ll just talk to Faith, she’s good at this.”
“Don’t count me out just yet, I’m trying to understand what you’ve shared. It just takes me a minute,” he said in his defense. “You regret not feeling regret? That sum it up?”
I shrugged. “In a nutshell.”
He tsked. “You can't spend your energy on that.”
Such a man answer.
“Great idea. What didn’t I think of that? Maybe if I just snapped my fingers, all that pesky guilt about not feeling guilty will just vanish into thin air. Woosh.” I snapped my fingers and dramatically waved my hands around.
Beck's lip twitched. “Are you finished now?”
I lifted a finger. “Maybe I need to do some sort of incantation. That might help.”
His lips thinned. “What exactly did he say to you?”
“He told me about his new girlfriend,” I murmured.
Beck belted out a laugh. “What a twat. I thought you said he was a nice guy.”
I slowed my pace and put my hands on my hips to catch my breath. “He is a nice guy. He wanted to let me know since she's a fan of the club and he didn't want it to be weird.”
Beck hummed. “So he made it weird by trying not to make it weird.”
“You could say that. We're also going to be seeing each other in a few weeks for this annual gala that we attend.”
He lifted a brow. “Sounds fancy.”
“Yep.”
“Let me guess. He's bringing the new woman to that too?”
“Bingo.” I winked.
Beck shook his head. “Still think he's a bit of a twat.”
“He doesn't want it to be weird.”
He probed. “Will it be? If he's there with someone else?”
Hair started falling out of my ponytail, so I pushed it back. “Not for me.”
“It wouldn't hurt if you had a date too.”
It wasn't a bad idea. “Maybe I will.”
“I could be your date,” he said so confidently that I stumbled. Again .
My body fell forward, and Beck was there, arms outstretched, bringing me toward him as we both barreled forward.
In some move straight out of The Matrix , he twisted, taking the brunt of the fall. He landed with a thud, a hiss of air escaping his chest.
I had also twisted as we fell, and now my hands were planted on his muscular pecs, my legs straddling either side of him, our pelvises aligned. The pesky jolt returned, my body immediately reacting to his.
“Get a room,” someone shouted.
A laugh burst from my chest. A giggling, full-body laugh that had me falling forward until my forehead collided with his. For just a moment I was transported back to that night—our night. “New York, amiright?”
Beck smiled so wide his dimples popped under the harsh light of the bridge lamps. “Fucking New Yorkers.”
My gaze dipped to his lips. His grip on me tightened.
Then poof . Without warning, the man lifted me off him.
“Can we please head back now?” he asked, his voice sounding like it had been over hot coals.
I fixed my ponytail, needing something to do with my hands, trying to shake off the feel of his hard chest. “Are you actually asking me nicely?”
Annnnd with another shot fired, the battle resumed.
This was us… where I was most comfortable, with the barbs back and forth.
He grinned, as if he knew exactly what I was doing and let me do it anyway, and I wanted to wipe that cocky smile off his face.
So I broke into a run, shoving his offer to the back of my mind.
* * *
I limped into work the following day, Monroe hot on my heels.
“What happened to you?” she asked, clipboard in hand.
“Beck Bennet happened to me,” I grumbled.
Monroe blushed. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she had a crush on him. He had that effect on people.
“I think I need a massage.” I flopped into the chair at my office, my knee practically screaming at me. “And maybe physical therapy.”
Monroe sank into the seat across from me. “Well, you're on your own for those things, but I could help with doing the rounds tonight.”
“That would be great. I appreciate it. Will you make sure that Harrison Barnes gets the VIP treatment tonight? Sebastian texted me asking us to make it nice for his new client.”
“You got it, boss.” Monroe saluted me and left the office just as my phone began to ring.
What is it now?
Parvati.
I picked it up immediately. “Hi. I plan to swing by the site tomorrow.”
“I have bad news. Someone broke into the storage unit.”
My stomach dropped. This was the exact thing we'd been trying to avoid.
Sebastian hadn't managed to get to the Chateau yet, but he promised he'd be there tomorrow, come hell or highwater, to personally set up the security system for me.
“Fuck,” I swore softly.
Parvati huffed from her side of the line. “Yes. I'm pissed that the fence and lock didn't deter them. We need those cameras set up ASAP. I've already called the insurance company. They are understanding this time…”
“But they won't be as forgiving next time. Got it.” I really should have thought about security earlier. I'd been foolish not to consider it until now. “Sebastian and I will be there in the morning.”
Parvati hummed. “In the meantime, I recommend we have someone stay onsite tonight. I'm sure I could offer a couple hundred bucks to one of the workers to just walk the premises.”
A couple hundred bucks to protect thousands of dollars’ worth of materials sounded like a deal to me. “You have my permission to do that. Invoice me and I'll handle it.
“Will do.”
The call ended, and I sighed as the sharp pain between my eyes returned.