35. Brock Jones
Chapter thirty-five
Brock Jones
I drink Ariel in. Satisfaction curls through me as I soak in every detail.
The way she’s leaned against the wall like she doesn’t trust herself to stand just yet.
Her hair coming out of her pinned updo. Her lipstick smudged around the edges.
The picture is intoxicating. My eyes trace the curve of her body draped in wine-colored fabric, then I take a step toward her.
Her breath catches when I press my face into the curve of her neck.
“Brock,” she whispers.
I hum in acknowledgment, pressing a kiss below her ear. She grips my suit jacket.
“I-we should–” she stutters as I brush my lips over her jaw.
“If you’re going to say anything other than keep kissing, then I disagree.”
She lets out a breathy laugh. “We’re in the hallway of a hotel. My entire company is on the other side of those doors.”
“I don’t see any issues,” I murmur against her skin, making her shiver.
“We need to talk.”
“No one is stopping you.” I brush my lips over hers.
“I beg to differ.” She slides her hands up my arms and wraps them around my neck. “Not ten minutes ago, we were fighting. Shouldn’t we deal with things?”
“I apologized, you admitted that you were jealous, we kissed, what more is there to say?”
She shakes her head, mirth sparkling in her indigo eyes. “We need to talk about what this ”–she presses a gentle kiss to my lips–“means.”
I can tell that she’s not going to let this go, so as much as I want to keep teasing her and kissing her, I hold back.
“Tell me what’s on your mind.” I brush her hair back with my fingers.
“I’m not mad anymore,” she prefaces. “But you were late, and I need to know that unless it’s an emergency, something like that won’t happen again.”
I tighten my grip on her waist. “It won’t. I promise.”
Her smile is soft. “I need you to prove it to me. I’ve told you before what I want in a relationship.” A blush blooms across her cheekbones. “I guess I’m assuming that you want this to be a relationship. Maybe you don’t-”
I cut her off with a kiss. “I do. I’d never kiss you if I wasn’t sure about that. I know you, Duke. You’re not the casual type.”
Tingles cascade down my spine as she toys with the hair at the nape of my neck.
“Okay, that’s good.”
“How can I prove that I’m serious?” I ask her in a low voice.
“By doing what I’ve been trying to get you to do this whole time.” She gives me a meaningful look. “Slow down.”
I nod. Though I made the decision to come back for Ariel, it’s not pleasant to think about stepping away. But seeing Slater’s life showed me a future I don’t want any part of. Kissing Ariel gave me a glimpse of one I do.
“I can do that.”
“I’m not expecting you to have a normal nine-to-five,” she says. “But something has to change if this is going to work.”
“I’ll make the changes. It might take time,” I warn her. “But I will. For you.”
She smiles and combs my hair back from my forehead. “Do it for you , for your legacy.”
“All of the above, and for my family too.” I sigh. “If they don’t hate me when I tell them what’s been going on.”
Ariel cringes. “About that…” She hides her face in my chest. “ImayhavecalledSuttonandtoldhereverythingwhileyouwereinLA.”
I blink, processing her jumbled statement. “Everything, as in?”
She tips her head back to look at me again. “As in everything . The medicine, the deal, my feelings for you.” Anxiety is written all over her expression. “I couldn’t get ahold of you, and I was worried and freaking out that I had feelings for you.”
“You needed your best friend,” I say softly. She nods. “It’s okay. I should have known it would happen sooner rather than later. I’m surprised she hasn’t called yet, or shown up.”
“She did threaten to go to LA to fight you.” Ariel laughs.
“But I told her to give you a chance to show up tonight. I wanted you to come because you wanted to, not because anyone forced you to.” She draws in a breath.
“And the same goes for any other changes you make. I’m not forcing you. If you don’t want this, that’s okay.”
“I want this.” I meet her gaze and will her to believe me. “I’ll prove that I do.”
She smiles. “I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”
Like she has since she walked into my office. Every mistake, insult, and victory, even when I was across the country, she was checking on me and rooting for me.
“I don’t deserve a chance from you,” I voice my thoughts. “You’re too good for me.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t believe that. I think we’re good for each other.” A smirk toys with her lips. “Where’s the Brock Jones ego I know and love to hate? You should be teasing me about how I’ve been dying to kiss you for weeks.”
Desire flares in my chest. “I think I’d rather just kiss you.”
I dip my head to do so when the door beside us opens. A woman with curly hair pops her head out. Her eyes widen.
“Oh,” she squeaks. “There you are. I was coming to check on you.”
Ariel blushes in my arms. “Sorry, Bethanne, we were talking.”
Bethanne presses her lips together. “Mhmm.” She holds out a black bag. Ariel takes it from her. “I brought your purse. I’ll let you get back to talking .”
I chuckle at their exchange. Suddenly, Houston appears behind Bethanne in the doorway. He takes in our close proximity and my hand placement. His lip curls.
I step back from Ariel and adjust the cuffs of my jacket.
“Did you have something to say?” I ask him with a hard glare.
“I was just thinking that it’s the kind of behavior I expect from Ariel. Very classy.” He smirks.
“Coming from the epitome of etiquette himself.” I take a step toward him. “Why don’t we head outside? We can discuss how classy it was of you to harass my girlfriend at work.”
He uses Bethanne to block me, going so far as to move her by her shoulders. I didn’t think her eyes could get any wider, but they do.
I’m about to suggest for Bethanne to move when Houston gets yanked back by the collar of his too-tight shirt. He makes a strangled choking sound as he stumbles. A man who looks like he could be one of the football linemen I represent stares down at Houston with murder in his eyes.
“Did I see you touch my wife?” he growls.
Ariel steps beside me to watch the show. I wrap a protective arm around her. Meanwhile, Bethanne is propping open the door by swooning into it.
“I–she–he–” Houston stutters out. His face is red as the wine being poured nearby.
The eyes of the entire ballroom are on the two of them. Even the servers have paused, plates of chocolate cake suspended in the air, as they stare.
“Will he get arrested if he punches him?” Ariel murmurs next to me.
“Maybe. Houston would probably be too scared to press charges though.”
“I don’t know about that. He has so much audacity he’d hire a lawyer and try to accuse everyone present of being accomplices.”
I chuckle under my breath. “You might be right. I know some good lawyers if the guy needs one.”
“Did you, or did you not, lay your hands on my wife?” the large man growls.
“I did,” Houston whimpers. Bethanne’s husband raises his fist. “I’m sorry, please, don’t hit me!”
“Dominic, wait,” Bethanne calls out in a breathless tone. Her husband freezes. “He didn’t hurt me. He’s not worth the trouble.”
Dominic lowers his fist. “Are you sure, princess? He looks like he could use a black eye or two.”
Houston trembles.
Bethanne walks to Dominic. I catch the door to keep it from falling shut. She places a dainty hand on his arm. “I’m sure. Let’s just go.”
Dominic grunts and throws Houston to the ground so hard he slides a few feet away. Bethanne snuggles into Dominic’s side, and they walk toward an exit on the opposite side of the room. She gives us a little wave on her way out, which Ariel returns.
“I was really hoping he was going to punch him,” Ariel says, sounding disappointed.
“I can make it happen,” I offer.
She sighs. “No, Bethanne is right. He’s not worth it. I mean, look at him.” She gestures to Houston, who’s now curled in the fetal position on the floor.
The occupants of the ballroom awkwardly turn back to their tables. No one goes to check on him. He must be as well-liked by everyone else as he is by Ariel.
“I have a feeling he’s not going to be bothering anyone anymore,” Ariel says, then looks up at me. “Now that he’s taken care of, do you want to get out of here?”
I smile down at her. “Sure, how does ice cream sound?”
Her eyes light up. “Amazing.”
I tuck her into my side and steer her back out the door. The exhaustion of the last week is starting to catch up to me, but I can hang on a little longer to spend more time with her. We walk down the hallway of the hotel, Ariel leaning against me with her arm beneath my suit jacket.
“You called me your girlfriend back there,” she says quietly.
My heart skips. “I did. Is that okay?”
I glance at her and catch her smiling down at her feet.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
A grin breaks out across my face. I never would have imagined this scenario, but wow, am I glad it played out. I press a kiss to the crown of her head as we near the exit. There’s still a lot for me to work through, but I know it’ll be worth it if I have her by my side.