Chapter 10 #2
We both bring our attention to the city lights. Her breathing slows beside me, and I’m lost in my thoughts. I don’t remember the last time I talked to someone.
“I think that scotch is starting to kick in, or maybe it’s the excitement from the day,” she mutters with a yawn.
“I can have my driver take you home,” I offer.
“Most guys would try to get me between the sheets,” she says.
“I’m not most guys, Alexis.”
“I’ve noticed.” She grins.
For a brief second, I think I see our future in her eyes, and that’s when I wonder if this is a bad fucking idea.
“A driver would be great,” she tells me with another yawn.
I stand and move to the kitchen to grab my phone from the counter. I call the transportation service to send a limo for her.
“Your ride will be here in ten minutes.”
“Or you could let me borrow one of the nine hundred cars you have downstairs. The Chevelle.”
“I could,” I mutter.
“But you won’t.”
“No,” I say. “It’s late and?—”
“You protect your assets.”
“Always.”
“I wouldn’t let anything happen to your car.”
“I’m not worried about the car, Alexis.” My phone buzzes, letting me know the driver has left. I stand and hold out my hand, helping her up. “I’ll walk you down. Let me grab a shirt and some shoes.”
She nods and wanders over to the built-in bookshelf that ranges the height of two stories. There’s a ladder attached to a railing. I glance back at her as I take the stairs to my bedroom where I slide on a T-shirt and some sandals.
When I return, her eyes soften.
“You’ve got a nice collection of first-edition, signed books.” She turns toward me, her eyes sliding up and down my body. “The way you can transform your entire look, you’re like a magician.”
I chuckle. “Look like a crypto bro?”
“Oh God!” She huffs. “Gross.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“Question: do you like the theater?”
“Yes, quite a lot.”
She shakes her head. “Watch out, Easton. You’re checking boxes off my Dream Man list.”
“That’s the scotch talking.”
“You’re right,” she says.
We take the elevator to the foyer and pass several security checkpoints.
It’s hard to break into Park Towers because of the extra security measures they have in place.
It was one of the reasons I bought the diamond in the sky and why Weston purchased a penthouse on a different floor. He doesn’t stay often though.
“If your answer is yes, expect me to take you on many dates,” I mutter.
“Really?” She lifts a brow.
“Yes, I will spoil you with adventures for helping me. The world will fall in love with you, darling. My only regret will be not keeping you to myself.”
“Pick a truth or lie.” She meets my eyes with defiance.
“Truth, always.”
“Don’t try to break me when it comes to love. You’ll lose.”
Her words come out as a warning … or a challenge . But it’s a moment of clarity, raw truth. She feels whatever this is bubbling between us. It’s the only confirmation I need to know this isn’t one-sided.
“And don’t smirk at me like that,” she warns.
I keep the expression firmly planted on my face.
The doors slide open. We step outside and wait for my driver, but my eyes scan around the perimeter, and I spot several paps.
“Will you text me when you arrive home?” I ask, tucking hair behind her ear.
“I will. They’re watching, aren’t they?”
I lean and whisper in her ear, “Yes. Have a good night, Lexi.”
“Good night,” she mutters and pulls away.
“I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
She nods, meeting my eyes, then gently wraps her hand behind my neck and slides her lips against mine. I wrap my arms around her waist as her tongue slides into my mouth.
My body sings with pleasure as I taste the scotch on her tongue, mixed with her strawberry lip balm.
The kiss deepens and we lose control, slipping into the abyss and losing ourselves in one another’s touch.
It’s only a kiss, one that shouldn’t stir desire deep within me, but it does.
Alexis moans into my mouth, grabbing my shirt in her fist, and I don’t want it to stop.
The intensity of it, of her, nearly destroys me on this side wall as the inferno inside me rages.
“Alexis,” I desperately whisper against her mouth as she releases a ragged breath.
“I’m not sorry,” she says as the limo stops before her.
I open the door with swollen lips and a racing heart, unable to articulate my thoughts.
My mouth and body are on fire as I watch her move inside.
When she turns to look at me, she gives me a mischievous grin. “Three days. I’ll have my answer.”
I shut the door and stand with my arms crossed over my chest. The car speeds down the road, and I watch until it’s out of sight before I shake my head and laugh. If that was her putting on a show, unpredictably predictable, then I should guard myself.
Thirty minutes later, I’m sitting in the same spot I shared with Alexis on the couch, sketching the view.
I flip the page and see the previous drawing was at the bar before she arrived.
And a few pages before that, her reading at the park and the Tower Penthouse.
Moments with her are already displayed in my artwork.
Multiple in a week? This is moving quickly, almost too fast.
Afterward, I go upstairs and lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if this is a mistake. Suppose I get in too deep and end up being destroyed, like my brother.
A handful of moving pieces have to come together for this to work; above everything, it must be believable.
My phone vibrates and lights up on the nightstand. I grab it, laughing at how I saved her in my Contacts earlier.
My Wife
I’m home. Thanks for a fun night.
Easton
Anytime. Just know, I don’t wait for anyone.
My Wife
Love that I can teach an old dog new tricks. Next up, begging.
Easton
I don’t beg anyone either.
My Wife
Your brother told me.
Of course he did.
Easton
Good night, Alexis.
S he reads my text message, but doesn’t reply.
I’m more than ready to play this game with this woman. I have been since the moment we crashed together at the W.
One year with Alexis Matthews as my temporary wife would be priceless .
She wants twelve million, but I’d pay twenty-four.
She’s the only one who can do this.