CHAPTER NINETEEN
Reynolds
I was bored out of my mind. After spending almost every night with Nadine over the past couple of weeks, the differences between her and Whitney were striking.
I could barely concentrate on what people were asking me while I mingled amongst them at the gala.
I just wondered what Nadine was doing without me.
Whitney stood like a pretty doll by my side. She smiled and laughed when appropriate and almost never talked. She did what she was good at. She stayed in the background and looked pretty while I shook hands, networked, and campaigned.
I made eye contact with Nico from across the room. He motioned for me to come to the private bar where he was standing.
“Excuse me,” I said with a smile I knew would charm the society matron I’d been talking with. “I see someone I must speak to.”
She nodded with an indulgent smile, and I strode across the room. I nodded and waved as I saw more and more of my campaign donors milling about. It might still be summer, but things were gearing up fast for November’s election.
“Nico,” I said as I sidled up to him at the bar.
“Reynolds,” he answered, a slight grin on his handsome face. “How are things? You’re looking a little tired lately. Are you getting enough sleep?”
I studied his face. I didn’t miss the glint of humor in his eyes. “Fuck off, man,” I said without any anger behind it.
“How’s Nadine?”
I sighed. “Can I get a whiskey, please?” I asked the bartender. She was hot, per the usual at a Salazar club.
“Coming up,” she said with a smile.
I turned back to Nico. “She’s a fucking dream. Seriously. She’s hands down the best fuck of my life. By like ten times over.”
He groaned. “Don’t tell me that. I begged Carmen to let me fuck her, but she wouldn’t even consider it. Said it would be bad for business.” He shook his head. “I’m jealous, man.”
I tried to ignore the slight flare of anger that flew through me when he talked about fucking her. “She’s something else.”
Nico looked uncharacteristically pensive. “You know, I like that girl. If I ever settled down, I’d want it to be someone like her. She’s different from all these stuffy, society types. She’s hot, she’s sweet, and she’s funny. That doesn’t come along every day.”
“No. It doesn’t. You’re right,” I said dully. That perfect girl he was describing was sitting home by herself while I paraded a different woman in front of the good folks of West Bay.
“How does Whitney compare?” he asked, trying not to smile, as he took a sip of his drink.
“I think you know, asshole…”
“Mayor Taylor.”
My head snapped to the side where the familiar voice had come from. It was Thaddeus Clammett, the man I’d beaten in Nadine’s auction. I hadn’t seen him since. “Mr. Clammett.”
“How’s life treating you, son?”
Thaddeus was a little over twenty years older than me even though his name made it seem as if he was born in the early 1900s. Still, it was weird hearing him call me ‘son.’ “Just fine. You?”
“I have a feeling you’re enjoying things a little more than I am lately,” he said through a strained grin that made him look either evil or constipated. Maybe both.
I grinned back at him. “Ah, you might be right.”
“Is that pussy you’re getting made of pure gold like I think it is?” he asked in a lower tone.
I gripped the edge of the bar to keep myself from hitting him.
“Ah,” he said, staring at my face. “It is. Well, careful there, Reynolds. You know you can’t keep her after that contract is up.” He sipped his drink and nodded his head in Whitney’s direction. “That’s your future there. Unless maybe you can keep your golden pussy on the side. Who knows?”
I was clenching my jaw so hard, I was afraid I was going to crack a tooth.
“What’s your point, Clammett?” Nico asked, his voice dangerously calm.
“Don’t get your pants in a twist, Salazar. I’m just over here to let you know I’m throwing as much money as I can behind your opponent, Taylor. Jasper Hill’s my man for mayor, and I’m going to sing it from the skies. Just like I told you I would.”
“I’m pretty sure your singing voice sucks, Thaddeus,” Enzo Salazar said as he walked up. “And if you’re serious, maybe you should exit the club. This is a benefit for Mayor Taylor.” He looked at his brother. “Nico, are Mr. Clammett’s dues all paid up at Sugar?”
“You know, Enzo, I think they might be being returned to tell you the truth,” Nico said.
Clammett’s face turned purple. “You can’t fucking do that.”
“Can’t I?” Nico asked as he leaned in, getting in Clammett’s face. “It’s a private club. And we don’t need anyone who’s a sore loser messing with the auction process. We don’t like bullies, Thaddeus.”
Clammett spluttered. We all knew he was at Sugar every chance he got. He would be devastated to lose access to the VIP rooms there, especially. “You don’t want to mess with me, boys.”
Enzo laughed. He actually laughed. “I think we’ll be just fine.” His face hardened as he leaned in. “And I don’t take kindly to threats, sir. If you’d like to keep your membership in good standing, you’ll back the fuck off.”
With that Clammett stomped away.
“Thanks, guys. But I think he might turn into a problem where the election is concerned. He could help Jasper Hill raise a lot more money than my previous opponents ever did.”
“You’ll win,” Enzo said, sipping his drink.
There was something about his tone that sent a chill down my spine. I needed to remind myself to never get on his bad side.
“Are you going to fuck Whitney tonight or are you going home to Nadine?” Enzo asked, his eyes locked on mine.
“I am probably going to be with Whitney tonight. She expects it.” I couldn’t reveal to them I wasn’t fucking Whitney. They might not understand.
“And that beautiful woman will be all by herself in that condo of hers? The one Carmen rented for her?”
I stood up straight and stared at him. I had a couple of inches and some muscle mass on Enzo.
But Nico wouldn’t take kindly to me fighting his brother.
Plus, he could beat my ass. He and I were the same size, which was huge, but he fought dirty.
I should know. Nico, Byron, and I boxed at the ring at Saffron two or three days every week. “Why the fuck are you asking, Enzo?”
“Just wish I had her waiting on me, that’s all.” He plucked an olive out of the bartender’s caddy and ate it. “I’d drop her,” he tipped his glass towards Whitney, “at her house. I wouldn’t even walk her to her door. Then I’d rush home to Nadine.”
With that, he turned and walked away, the crowd soon covering him up.
I turned to Nico. “Do I need to worry that he’s leaving to go show up at Nadine’s condo right now?”
Nico looked thoughtful. “I don’t think so. But then, Enzo almost never lays his cards on the table. And he just did.”
“He thinks I’m an idiot.”
“Yep.”
I nodded. “Maybe I am.”
“Yep.”
“Damn. You don’t have to agree with me.”
But I thought they might not be wrong. I also thought that I’d only worried about Leo Salazar as being potential competition for me. It seemed Nico and Enzo were also interested in her.
And I hated that.
It was crystal clear that she’d be with a new guy the second my six months with her were up. For some reason, that made the breath catch in my chest. I felt anxious, upset.
“Can I have a refill?” I tapped my glass and smiled at the bartender.
***
Whitney was not happy when I dropped her by her townhouse without so much as a kiss.
I told her I wasn’t feeling well, but I think she knew I was ditching her for another woman.
I hadn’t told her about Nadine. But I had let her know that in addition to us not being in an intimate relationship, I was seeing someone else.
I think she’d thought I was just going to Cayenne to fuck, so it had taken her by surprise to know I was with another woman, the same woman, regularly.
She’d been upset but hadn’t dumped me. I had no illusions about her motivations, though. She wasn’t anywhere near in love with me. She was in love with the idea of being a politician’s wife, and no matter what I said, she was going to keep trying to push me in that direction.
I didn’t care how she felt. I just wanted to get to Nadine.
The closer Byron got to the condo tower, the more excited I got. I hadn’t seen her in almost twenty-four hours. It was too long.
“Thanks, man,” I said to Byron, and I saw his knowing smile as I closed the door. We hadn’t talked much on the drive. He’d been talking to his girlfriend Natasha on speaker and lifted the privacy screen between us.
“See you tomorrow,” he said, and I gave him a wave. He waited to pull off from the curb until I was safely inside the building.
I got in the elevator and rode up. It seemed to take forever. Finally, the doors opened, and I hurried down the hall to her door. I had a key, but I rang the doorbell. It was late. I didn’t want to scare her.
It took a few minutes for her to answer the door. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Hey,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“Hey.” I stepped inside and cupped her face with my hands as I took her mouth almost violently. I kicked the door closed behind me and picked her up in my arms, bride-style. I continued to kiss her as I walked her back to her bedroom and threw her on the bed. She bounced and laughed a bit.
“God, Reynolds. I didn’t expect you tonight.”
“I couldn’t stay away, honey.”
I flung the tie and jacket from the tux on the floor and started on the buttons of my shirt. I got them unbuttoned then went for my pants without bothering to take the shirt off. “I have to have you, honey.”
“What about Whitney?” she asked, her eyes catching on my chest.
“What about her?”
“Did you…”
“No,” I kicked off my pants and boxers and fisted my cock. “I didn’t touch her like that. I didn’t even kiss her.”
She smiled, and I saw that cheerful light come into her light brown eyes.