Chapter 48 #2
“Hey.” He leaned over me to kiss Becca on the cheek before sitting down beside me. His hand moved around my shoulder to my chair’s backrest. It felt like he was surrounding me, something I would have hated only a couple of weeks ago, yet now, it felt comforting and safe.
Becca’s eyes practically twinkled. “You guys are adorable.”
While Daniel ordered his drink, I tried to think about what I was feeling.
His hand hung over my shoulder and his thumb gently stroked my arm.
Becca was telling him about our day at the office.
He looked like he was completely focused on her, listening to every word, but his touch felt intentional—not something he was doing absentmindedly.
Becca recounted the day, and I gave my own input every once in a while about the office and the people I met.
At some point, Daniel scooted his chair closer to me.
I took the opportunity to rest my hand on his thigh under the table.
The only reaction I could see was the vein in his neck moving a little faster.
I started to move my nails up and down his thigh, smiling when his pulse quickened even more and goosebumps covered his arm.
I hadn’t even noticed what the two were talking about until Becca stood up and bent down to hug me.
“I better get going. I’ve got a few early meetings tomorrow morning. I’ll see you on Monday.”
That felt abrupt. Did I miss something? A man walked out right before Becca, and another followed her out the door.
“Are those her bodyguards?”
Daniel pulled my chair closer to him. “Yeah.”
“I didn’t see them at the office.”
“Probably different shift. There should have been one with eyes on her and one watching the camera feeds from the security room.”
“Are you uncomfortable with PDA?” I changed the subject, still wondering how we were supposed to greet each other around other people.
Daniel pushed my chin up and bent down to kiss me. “I don’t give a fuck who sees me touch you, Lydia.”
“I don’t either.”
“You didn’t tell me you’d be here. You didn’t tell me anything all day.”
“Was I supposed to?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I just… we’re together. I only knew you were here because Becca texted me.”
“You didn’t tell me anything either.”
“I was in the office all day and I went home to shower before coming here.”
I tried to read his expression, but he seemed to be doing the same to me, searching my eyes for an answer to whatever question he wasn’t asking.
Daniel got up and pulled me by the hand to stand in front of him. “I need to get used to how you communicate.”
I should learn how he communicates, too.
“Me too. I’m not used to having someone that cares about what I’m doing and where I am.”
He pulled me gently toward the exit.
“It’s still early. Come to my place?”
I smiled at the nervous expression on his face. It reminded me of what he looked like at the hotel when he gave me the bag of new clothes. “Yes, but first tell me what has you so nervous. Did you buy me clothes again?”
“What?” His eyes widened.
“Sorry, I was joking. You looked like—”
“I did.”
“Did what?”
He looked up at the ceiling. “I bought you clothes.”
I guess he has a specific ‘I’m nervous because I bought you clothes’ look. “Why did you do that?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
We walked back to his place in silence. I enjoyed watching how anxious he seemed to be.
It was amusing to see such a strong-looking man appear so apprehensive over how I would react to something.
Why would he buy me clothes? Maybe something for work for my new job?
That’s something couples and friends do, right? Buy small gifts to celebrate new jobs.
When we walked into the penthouse, he pulled me by the wrist to his bedroom and nodded toward the closet.
Inside, he had cleared out an entire shelf and filled it with a bunch of t-shirts, blouses, jeans, and slacks for me—work and everyday clothes, all exactly my style and colors.
I also noticed three black blazers hanging with his suits in front of the shelves.
“I, um—” he cleared his throat, “also put pajamas and underwear in the dresser. Top drawer is yours.”
I wasn’t sure what to think of any of this. “Why?”
Please don’t ask me to move in with you after we’ve only been together for a few days.
His hand was on the back of his neck. “I want you to spend the night whenever you want, without thinking about packing or going home for your things.”
“So you just bought me a wardrobe.”
“That’s hardly a wardrobe.”
I smiled. “It is for me. Thank you, Daniel.”
“It’s not too much? Too fast?”
“I was worried you were going to ask me to move in. This is fine. Although I’m not sure I have the room or the money to do the same for you at my place.”
He chuckled and shifted his weight on his feet. “I don’t expect you to. So, what do you say to pizza and a movie?”
“Sounds good. I’ll shower and try on those PJs first.”
Let’s see what he bought me to sleep in.
Surprisingly, it was exactly what I usually slept in—shorts and an oversized t-shirt, except these matched and were extremely soft and comfy.
I didn’t wash my hair, since I usually did that in the mornings, so I just brushed it with my fingers and went to see what Daniel was up to in the living room.
His eyes lit up, moving up and down my body in approval. “It fits?”
“It’s great, thanks. I love how it feels.”
He pulled me to him and bent down to kiss me on the side of the neck, below my ear.
He was getting more assertive when touching me.
I wanted that. I wanted him to stop waiting for me to give him approval or tell him that I wasn’t going to freak out and run away.
I wanted to know what he was like without trying to conform to me.
And I wanted him to trust me to stop him or tell him if something made me uncomfortable.
Walking on eggshells around me just pissed me off.
I looked down at the two boxes of pizza on the table.
How long had I been in the shower?
Daniel opened two bottles of cold beer and gave me one. I looked at the table in the corner behind him, filled with various bottles of alcohol. Maybe that could be the next step I take with him.
“Have a chaser with me.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “I thought you only drank beer.”
“I don’t drink with other people and beer is the easiest to drink without feeling out of control.”
“And you’re okay with feeling out of control with me?”
“I asked for a chaser, didn’t I?”
He shook his head and went to the little bar. “What do you like?”
“I like J?ger. I have a bottle in my freezer at home.”
His loud laugh made me jump. “Sorry, I don’t know why that kind of fits you. I don’t have that. We’ve got whiskey, rum, tequila, or gin.”
“Rum.”
He shook his head and chuckled. “Not sure why that kind of fits, too.”
I sat on the couch and took a sip of the dark beer. It was the same brand I had at home. Did he buy it because he thought I liked it? I just got it because it was the cheapest.
He’ll probably have a bottle of J?ger in his freezer by tomorrow, too.
He sat beside me and we both downed the shot before digging into the pizza. I was three slices in before I realized we hadn’t spoken a word, and Daniel was staring at me, frowning.
“I think we should skip the movie and talk about a few things,” I said, sitting back on the couch and folding both of my legs to the side. Daniel nodded while refilling our shot glasses.
“Would that include why you wanted Cole’s number?” He took the shot, and I followed suit. His voice sounded colder than usual.
“It bothers you.” I wasn’t asking. “You’re jealous?”
“If I am?”
“I’d tell you not to be. Do you really think anything would ever happen between me and Cole?”
He shook his head. “No, never. But I can’t say I didn’t think you might like him. You two look at each other like you’re talking without saying a word.”
“I do like him. It’s not the way I like you. He’s… I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s different.”
“Like a brother?” Daniel smiled.
I shrugged. “I’ve never had one. Now, do you want to know why I called him or not?”
He pulled me closer to him and handed me another shot. The second one had already heated my stomach, and I was starting to feel a subtle and pleasant buzz. I could drink another one or two without worrying, thanks to the pizza. I downed it and turned around to lean my back on his chest.
“Kernel told me that Langford uses the same combination of numbers in a bunch of his passwords. Zero, eight, two, five. I asked Becca about it because she knew him and—”
“Natalia’s birthday.”
“Yeah. It didn’t make sense to me. I know that you and Natalia were close and that you took her to events as your date, so there were opportunities for Langford to meet her. Would she have told you if they were dating?”
His arms snaked around my waist. I couldn’t help but touch him. I scraped my nails up and down his forearm, tracing his veins and muscles. He took a deep breath, pushing me forward with his chest.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean she told me everything. You think that they were an item?”
“I don’t know. It bothers me that it doesn’t matter. Let’s say that they were together. That would explain why Langford gave Becca a shot in the beginning and was nice to her, but then what? Why hate her so much beyond her being a competitor?”
“And Cole?”
“When you and Jake talked at my place, he said that he got the information on the op that got hacked from Cole. And Cole was there with you on the mission to save Natalia, so I asked him if anything connected the two missions and if Langford could be the guy behind it all.”
“I’m guessing he said no.”
“Yeah. Wrong kind of bad guy.”
His arms tightened around me. The third shot was kicking in and I was already feeling a lot more buzzed than I had been with anyone for years. Even with Nick and his friends, I never had more than two beers and a shot.
What would it be like to get drunk with Daniel?
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
I turned around to face him and put my hands around his neck. “That I’m missing something and it’s too much of a coincidence. We need to find out if Langford and Natalia knew each other and then see where the new information takes us.”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
I smiled. “Another shot, please.”
Daniel grinned and took another shot with me. “I expected you to be hammered by now.”
“Trying to get me drunk?”
His smile looked mischievous. “I’d love to find out what kind of drunk you are. So far, I’m leaning toward the happy kind.”
“Happy?” That caught me off guard. I had never been described as happy.
Daniel laughed and pushed my hair over my shoulder. “You’re smiling a lot. I like it.”