Chapter 11
Lily
Iknow Shade’s clever enough to find me again, and returning to Heatrush is playing into his hands, but as chases go, this is one where I won’t mind being caught.
If anything, I’ve been frustrated that he hasn’t tracked me down again this week.
A little voice in the back of my head whispers that he might have found more exciting prey, and if anyone can ghost a girl, it’s going to be him.
My brief dalliance with danger on Monday could be all I’m going to get from him. I sigh. Still worth it.
“You’re doing that thing again,” Kaitlyn says as we hunch together in the back of an Uber. Our dresses are as scant as always while the temperature outside continues to drop as winter creeps closer.
“Doing what?” I ask innocently.
“Sighing like a lovestruck teen. Obviously, it’s your mystery man, but I want details. He’s either done something, or promised something.”
My grin gives me away. “Try a bit of both.”
I haven’t told Kaitlyn about the pact I’ve made with Shade for one very important reason.
I’ve more or less agreed that he can stalk me, and although Kaitlyn has been known to push boundaries herself, even she’s going to think I’ve lost my mind.
How can I word this in a way that won’t have her dragging me to the nearest police station?
“Our paths have crossed again, and we’re… I suppose we’re letting fate decide. Either we bump into each other again, or we don’t.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes widen. “And speaking of bumping into each other, have you done the deed yet?”
I play with the hem of my red dress, pulling it down to cover as much thigh as I can, which isn’t much. “We might have exchanged some bodily fluids,” I reply. Before my friend can get the next question out, I add, “But let’s just say we didn’t reach a completely satisfactory conclusion.”
She huffs at that. “You mean he didn’t satisfy you.”
Suddenly, I don’t like that she’s thinking badly of him. “Try that the other way around.”
Her face lights up with approval. “Now, you have my interest. But I still don’t understand why you’ve dragged me out tonight. Don’t you want to see him again?”
“Yes.”
“So why risk coming out on a Friday night?”
I chew my lip. “Because I don’t want to make it too easy for him. I suspect he has ways and means of knowing when I show up at the club, so he’d better be paying attention,” I say, refusing to let my doubts show. “And if not, I’ll have to find my entertainment elsewhere.”
I don’t tell Kaitlyn that a no-show simply means I’ll be forced to spend another evening alone on the dance floor, drinking water and hoping no one makes a move on me for their own sakes.
“You do like making your life complicated,” Kaitlyn says as the Uber pulls up outside the club. “And our first challenge is getting inside again.”
I’m feeling more confident than my friend as we make our way to the entrance.
From the length of the queue, Heatrush’s popularity isn’t waning.
There are two doormen ready to block our progress as usual, but the gods must be on my side tonight.
As one of them turns, I swear he’s suppressing a smile on his usually dour features.
“Good evening, Miss Kendrick, Miss Dartmoor,” Simon says. “It’s a pleasure to see you both again.”
“I’m afraid I don’t come bearing gifts this time,” I admit. “But I have seen a scarf I think would suit you.”
He unhooks the red rope and gestures us forward. “It would be entirely inappropriate to accept anything else from you, Miss Kendrick. And your last gift is rechargeable.”
His colleague gives him a quizzical look, and I laugh. “I’ll see you later, Simon.”
As we slip past, I hear Simon mumble something under his breath. It sounded like, “Sooner than you think,” but I don’t dare ask him to repeat it. The people still queuing up in the cold are glaring at us.
Kaitlyn is ahead of me as we walk down the ever-darkening corridor. We have one turn to make before taking the stairs down to the dance floor, but as my friend is rounding the corner, she comes to a stumbling stop. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops.
I’ve seen that look on Kaitlyn’s face plenty of times. It’s not fear. It’s pure lust, and as she tilts her head upwards, I can only presume that the man in question is tall.
My steps falter, and as I replay Simon’s comment in my head, my heart leaps into my throat.
A second later, the object of Kaitlyn’s fascination comes into view.
Shade strides past her, his eyes fixing on mine.
He doesn’t slow, and I’m forced to take a step back.
Then another. And another. His expression gives nothing away as he places his palm on my chest so he can back me out of the club.
My mouth moves, but I can’t form words. His eyes have an intensity that could be lust, but it could be anger.
What if he had other plans tonight, and my arrival has messed them up?
He could be about to throw me out, in which case I need to prepare for complete and utter humiliation.
I continue to search his face for clues as he forces me back step by step.
And then he gives himself away as his gaze flicks down my body and his pupils dilate.
I’m wearing a strapless dress, and his hand rests over the valley of my breasts.
His thumb skims over my bare skin. We’re very much in the game.
“Tell me to back off at any time, Slayer,” he says, his eyebrow arching with more confidence than is good for me.
“Do you want to tell me what you’re doing?” I demand.
His eye twitches. “I’m taking my prize.”
“Lily?” Kaitlyn calls from behind my stalker-turned-abductor. “Is this him?”
“Yes, it’s him,” I call back to her. “You go have a good time. I’ll be fine.”
She laughs. “Well, I can see that!”
I offer Shade my best scowl. “I would introduce you, but I don’t know your name.”
“Kaitlyn works with you at Royston Associates. I don’t need an introduction.”
“I didn’t mean…” I let out a huff. So now he knows where I work too. Am I ever going to outmaneuver this man when he’s always ten steps ahead?
A blast of cold air brings me out in goosebumps. We’re at the door, and when I draw level with the doormen, I grasp a potential opportunity.
“Simon, can you tell Mr…” I give Simon an imploring look, hoping that he’ll fill in the gaps and supply Shade’s last name.
“Sorry, Miss Kendrick. What would you like me to tell him?” Simon asks with an air of innocence that doesn’t suit him. He’s been prepped ahead of time.
“Traitor,” I mutter as Shade removes his hand from my chest and takes my hand.
As he spins me around to face forward, Simon has the red rope in his hand. “The car’s waiting for you, Sir. Have a good evening.”
“Thank you,” Shade replies before tugging me away from the club.
I can’t believe I didn’t even make it to the dance floor. I’m not much of a friend to Kaitlyn.
“Stop!” I say, teeth chattering as I pull from his grasp. I look over my shoulder. Simon is watching, and I shout over to him, “Can someone keep an eye on Kaitlyn for me? And make sure she gets home safe.”
He nods. “Leave it with me.”
As I turn back, my shoulders are draped in silken warmth that smells of cedar and musk.
I pull Shade’s suit jacket tighter around me, absorbing the residual heat from his body.
He ropes an arm around my waist to guide me to a shiny black limo with dark tinted windows.
The driver opens the door and tips his head in greeting.
“Get in,” Shade barks at me.
“And there I was about to complement you on being a gentleman,” I say, lifting the collar of his jacket in grateful thanks.
“Good, I’d hate for you to get the wrong impression,” he growls, stroking the back of my thigh as I climb into the limo.
I slide onto the back seat, still wrapped in his jacket while Shade speaks to the driver.
Despite his chivalry, my opponent in this game might have made his first mistake.
I search the silk lining of his jacket for an inside pocket, only to find it empty.
I check his other pockets and as my fingers wrap around a piece of paper, Shade sits down next to me.
His gaze fixes on my hand. I’ve been caught with my hand in his pocket, but from the way he hesitates, maybe he’s the one who’s been caught.
As I take out the folded piece of paper, I twist my body away before he can snatch it from me.
When he doesn’t, I give him a quick sideways glance before I open the note.
There’s amusement in his eyes that I don’t much like.
The limo interior has soft back lighting that’s enough for me to read the scrawl on the piece of paper.
You’re going to have to try harder, Slayer.
“Is this your idea of a joke?” I ask, trying not to smile at his cunning little trap.
“Well, I find it funny.”
“Really?” I ask, swiveling back to face him. There’s a sparkle in his eyes, but his expression is otherwise closed. “It’s so hard to tell.” I scrunch up the piece of paper and toss it into a cup holder. “I suppose I should be thankful it wasn’t a love note from some girlfriend. Or wife?”
It has crossed my mind that the reason he’s being so secretive is because he’s in a committed relationship. It’s something I should have asked earlier, but I’d already clocked that he doesn’t wear a wedding band and instinct tells me he’d struggle with one relationship, let alone two.
Shade slides his arm around my back and I let out a gasp as I’m pulled onto his lap. As my legs straddle his, my dress bunches up around my hips. I brace my hands against his chest as we come face to face.
“There’s no one but you, Slayer,” he says as he peels his jacket from my shoulders and flings it onto another seat. There’s pressure between my legs, and he pushes my hips down onto his hardening length. “No wife. No girlfriend. No significant other. Just you.”