Chapter Eleven
Laurie
Drive him to the city? I hesitated, wondering if that was such a good idea. I didn’t really know him, and he was an employee. As much as I tried to be kind and polite to them, I also wasn’t in the habit of making friends with them or breaking the barriers.
On the other hand, there was something about him that was different. Something I just clicked with.
I glanced past him through the French doors to the room I’d planned to share with my fiancé. Hurriedly, I pulled off the ring, remembering I still wore it. Looking at it, I almost hurled it off the balcony. But that would just make more work for one of the grounds crew, so I instead pocketed it.
“Yeah, I can do that,” I said. “I could use the drive, too.”
“It will probably do you good to get out of here for a bit,” Rip agreed.
I could only nod. He had no idea how right he was. While I’d told my father the truth, and he’d immediately backed me up as a father should, that didn’t mean it was over. I was going to hear about it, and I just wasn’t ready to face the bell ringing of “I told you sos” that would come my way.
So, yes, getting out and just driving would be a welcome distraction from the current ongoing adventures in my head.
I blinked back some tears that came unbidden as the pain of Eric’s betrayal sank home all over again.
“Are you okay?” Rip asked. “I can find my own way back. It’s fine. Don’t worry.”
I shook my head. “No, really, I want to get out of here.”
Rip didn’t look convinced.
“I’ll be fine. Come on, my car’s parked in the garage out back,” I said, reaching for the door.
Rip got there first, however, and pulled it open, gesturing for me to go through. “Ladies first,” he rumbled, flashing me a grin that hit me a lot harder than it should have.
I thought back to the wave of heat that had rolled up my hand and arm when I’d touched his chest. I’d never experienced anything quite like it. It had been so strong I couldn’t ignore it. Nor could I forget how it had spread through my body, turning me on despite the gravity of the situation.
My clit still tingled with the aftershocks, even if the rest of me had calmed since.
But right then and there, I was burning with desire for the white-haired, green-eyed specimen of a man.
What was more, I was fairly sure he’d felt it, too.
His entire body had gone rigid the second my fingers touched him.
You’re imagining things. Making it up. Don’t dwell on it.
We walked in silence through the house, and I thanked my lucky stars when we didn’t see any family members or other staff. Whether they’d been given instructions to avoid me or by sheer happenstance, I didn’t know, but I was happy about it.
“If you want to talk,” Rip said as we took the hallway to the garage, “I’m here. I can listen.”
I shook my head, though I smiled up at him, doing my best not to get lost in his eyes. Considering how dangerously easy that proved to be, I made a mental note to definitely not make much eye contact while driving.
“Thank you for the offer,” I said, snatching my keys from the rack where we hung them all up. “Truthfully, though, I really don’t want to air out my dirty laundry. It’s just … I don’t like doing that. You’ve already done way more than I could have asked, and I do appreciate that a lot.”
“Just doing what anyone would do for you,” he rumbled, an incomprehensible look flashing through his eyes, gone before I could truly decipher it.
“No, you did a lot more than that,” I said, lifting a hand to pat him on the shoulder in thanks. “And if I haven’t formally said it, thank you. Thank you. You shouldn’t have had to do that.”
Though I didn’t let my hand linger for long, a wave of heat rushed out and poured fire into my body. I loudly sucked in air through my nose and turned away, fighting to try to calm my body, thankful that my thick shirt would hide my nipples, which were as stiff as could be.
One touch. How the fuck was that possible?
Behind me, Rip also took a deep breath. What the hell was going on? It made no sense.
“The red one,” I said, pointing at a sleek four-door sedan. I noted Eric’s SUV was no longer parked there either, which meant he was long gone. Thank goodness.
“Okay. And you’re welcome,” Rip said, abruptly clenching his jaw so hard I noticed the muscles popping.
“No man should ever treat you how he did. You aren’t someone’s possession, and he should never have threatened you like that.
No real man would do that. If I’d had my way …
Well, he would’ve suffered a lot more for his actions. ”
“Well, thank you for not starting a fight,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. The undercurrent of fury in Rip’s words left me a little scared. He was so … intense.
We got into the car, and while I turned it on, Rip did his best to make himself fit.
“These are not designed for people like me,” he said at last with a huff, his knees bent at what must have been an uncomfortable angle.
I doubted he would enjoy the twenty-minute car ride to the city.
“How do you normally get out here?” I asked, abruptly wondering what he drove. “Where’s your car?”
“It broke down,” he said, waving it off.
“Oh.” I noted how he didn’t explain how he’d gotten to my father’s house that day, nor did he seem inclined to elaborate further. But that wasn’t good enough. “How did you get here today?”
“It’s a long story,” he said after a moment.
“It’s twenty-odd minutes to the city, plus wherever you live,” I pointed out. “I think we have time. So, tell me, how’d you get to work?”
Rip sighed, leaning back as much as he could in the seat. “Would you believe me if I told you a magic mirror?”
I giggled. “Oh, really? Does it tell you you’re the fairest of them all as well?”
He gave me a look, making me laugh harder.
Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it, so I let it go.
My father wouldn’t have hired anyone who wasn’t trustworthy, so I didn’t give it a second thought.
Besides, I was just comfortable with Rip in a way I couldn’t explain.
Even when I wasn’t getting horny from touching him, I was at ease, like an aura of peace and comfort surrounded him.
“You sure you don’t want to discuss it?” he suggested once we’d been driving for a few minutes.
“I mean, you were there for most of it,” I said.
“Talking about it can be cathartic,” he pointed out.
I glanced over at him, making sure not to look too long into his eyes. “You really want me to vent to you? Are you sure?”
Rip laughed softly. “Well, I hardly think you want my love advice, so yes, just vent. Get it all out.”
“You’re such an unusual man,” I said.
“Thanks. I think.”
I smiled. I liked his humor, too. He was funny, even if he wasn’t always trying to be.
“It’s frustrating,” I said. “Not just the whole incident with Eric, the betrayal. That hurt, and it’s going to take time to get over.
But I’ve been hurt before. He’s not the first guy who’s looked at me and only seen dollar bills, as pathetic and privileged as that sounds, god.
No, it’s my family that’s the worst part. ”
“Your family?” Rip asked. “I don’t get it.”
“They’ve been telling me for years they didn’t like him. My father even suspected Eric was using me for money, though he had no proof, even with his connections.”
“Ah,” Rip said in sudden understanding. “And now, they’ve been proven right.”
“Yeeeup,” I said, dragging the word out. “They backed me up immediately to deal with him tonight, but I’d be delusional if I said there wouldn’t be a ton of ‘I told you so’ tirades to follow.”
“That must be annoying.”
“I’m already exhausted just thinking about it,” I admitted. “And I have to face them because they’re family. But how do I put up with it?”
“Because they’re family,” Rip said. “They’ll get over it, and probably faster than you think. They know you’ve been hurt. They just want what’s best for you, that’s all. Sometimes you just have to come to the same conclusion on your own.”
I looked at him again, absolutely not admiring the cut of his jaw or the bulge of his shoulders as they stretched his shirt with their width. “You’re awfully wise, you know,” I said.
“Not really. I’m just viewing it all from the outside, that’s all. I have a different perspective.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s easy, really. If your family didn’t care about you, they wouldn’t get so worked up over which men you date.”
“That makes a strange amount of sense. I’ll have to keep that in mind when the topic comes up, which I’m sure it will, and sooner than I’d like.”
Rip laughed. “Sorry, nothing I can do to help you with that one.”
We drove on in silence for a bit, me taking directions when we neared the city as he guided me to the downtown core.
“You know,” I said, glancing over at him as I stopped at a red light. “You’re a pretty good conversationalist. Most of the people my father hires aren’t quite so introspective. It’s … been nice talking to you.”
“I agree,” he said, his eyes hooking mine, locking them.
“Are you hired or just contract work?” I asked, goosebumps running down my spine as we gazed deeply at one another. “Will I be seeing more of you, I guess, is what I’m asking?”
“I don’t know.” Rip tilted his head slightly to the side as he replied in a deep, gravelly voice. “Would you like to?”
My heart caught in my throat at the not-so-subtle invitation.