ROOK (Billionaire Buck Boys Book 6), page 10
He nods slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. “This has nothing to do with anyone but you and I.”
Relief floods me. “Thank you for not telling Abby what I said that night. It’s deeply personal.”
“Of course.” He tilts his chin up. “What we discuss is none of their damn business.”
I finally take a sip from my water glass, relishing in the way the cool liquid chases away the sudden dryness in my mouth.
“I want to make one thing very clear to you.” Rook’s gaze darkens.
“Okay,” I whisper, unsure what that one thing is.
His gaze never leaves mine. It’s as if his eyes are seeing into me. “I’ve wanted to fuck you for a long time. That hasn’t changed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Rook
That caught her off guard.
Her hand started trembling, almost causing the water within it to crest the rim of the glass and spill over, but she regained her composure and set it back down.
Her eyes are on me now. They’re the color of emeralds. It’s so stunning that it’s impossible not to stare at her.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“Define a long time, Rook.”
This is territory I thought I could avoid, but it’s a direct question, and she’s asking it from a vulnerable place, so she deserves the truth.
It’s all I want to give her.
Well, that and a first time experience that will live in her memory for eternity.
“Since the day I met you,” I confess.
Her hand jumps to the arm of her eyeglasses. She touches it briefly, not adjusting it, just resting a finger against it for a second. “Since then?”
“Yes.” I nod. “When I opened Abby’s office door and saw you there, the attraction hit me like a bus.”
She picks up her glass and sips from it in an effort to hide a smile, but it’s a fail.
Silence is an attorney’s worst enemy, so I keep talking, “I don’t have to tell you how stunning you are, and you’re brilliant. You’re accomplished. All of it makes me want you, Carrie.”
“You want to make love to me?”
The question is so innocent and filled with a tenderness that doesn’t reflect all the things…the filthy things… I ache to do to her, so I just nod.
Her eyes search my face, but they don’t find what they’re looking for because she gazes up to the ceiling as if the heavens will drop the answers she needs.
“You must think it’s bizarre that I haven’t done it yet.” She lowers her chin to lock eyes with me. “I have my reasons, but suffice it to say that I have a plan worked out to take care of it.”
All I need to hear is that the plan involves a bed and me sometime today.
The question is begging to be asked, and my curiosity needs an answer, so I go for it. “What’s the plan?”
“Nitespark,” she spits that out. “It’s an app. You can hookup with people on it for sex.”
“I’m aware.” Now is not the time to delve into the fact that my younger brother is shepherding that enterprise.
“I signed up for it a few days ago.”
Not what I wanted to hear after confessing that I want to fuck her raw, but I listen because she may be leading me down a path that will end with my cock buried deep inside of her.
“All right,” I say in a level tone.
“I have sex scheduled into my life plan on my thirtieth birthday.”
There was snow on the ground when Abby made the call to order the lavender roses, so if she’s holding out until then, I’m going to need a hell of a lot more lube to keep up the self-satisfaction routine I’ve been engaging in lately.
“You’re going to have sex with a stranger months from now on your thirtieth birthday,” I summarize. “That’s the plan?”
Her hand runs over her chin before it sets on a slow path down the front of her neck. It’s a move that shouldn’t look as graceful as it does since she’s wearing a T-shirt, but it’s sensual. It’s fucking hot.
“I think maybe it was the plan.”
Was.
One small word that contains so much promise… so much goddamn promise for me.
“We would need rules if we do it.” Her head shakes slightly. “If we make love. We have to have rules, Rook.”
I’d ask what rules, but who the fuck am I kidding? I’ll agree to them all. Hell, I’ll swear to it in open court if it gets me in her bed.
“Of course, Carrie,” I assure her.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
I spot the server on the approach again, and this time, I need a refill, so I warn Carrie in advance. “I’m going to grab another drink. Are you sure you’re fine with water?”
A tiny smile tugs at her lips. “May I have a glass of champagne? In a way, this feels like a celebration.”
Jesus. She’s so fucking perfect.
“Two glasses of champagne,” I tell the server as soon as she’s next to me.
“Neat,” she says.
Carrie’s smile widens.
“If we crack open the best bottle we have, you’ll have to pay for the whole thing,” the server says. “It’s expensive.”
“It’s worth every penny.” I don’t tear my gaze from Carrie. “We’re toasting to something very special.”
“In that case, I’ll bring the bottle.”
She takes off, eager to grab our order.
Carrie sets both hands on the table. I see the slight tremor in them. I want to reach across and take her hands in mine to quiet her fears, but before I can, she’s raking her fingers through her hair.
I watch silently, my fingers itching to follow the same path as hers.
I imagine her beneath me, her skin covered with a fine mist of sweat, her body aching from the hours I’ve spent bringing her to the edge.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks quietly, breaking into my thoughts.
“You,” I answer honestly.
“It’s okay if we do this, right?” Her voice is low, the tone laced with concern. “If we have sex once, it’s not going to change anything between you and my sister. Your friendship with Declan won’t be impacted. We’ll each go on with our lives, and no one will ever know what we did.”
I rub a hand over my jaw. I was hoping for more than once, but she’s already altering her life plan to give me the gift of being her first. I’m a greedy bastard, but I’ll take what I can get and what she’s willing to give.
“I meant it when I said that what we discuss is none of their business.” I add more, “What we do is none of their business. If you don’t want anyone to know that we’re going to fuck, that’s fine with me.”
Her lips part, and her eyes widen. It takes me a second to realize it’s that word.
Fuck.
It hits her in a way that she’s not completely comfortable with yet, but it’s exactly what I want to do to her. I want it hard. I want her to feel me for days. She thinks a first taste will satisfy her, but I know it will create a thirst for more.
“I want it to stay between you and me,” she says. “It’s private. One time, and we’ll go our separate ways.”
We lean back at the same time when the bartender arrives with the already open bottle of Dom Pérignon.
“What are we celebrating today, Rook?” He glances at me.
He only knows my name because I was here days before the wedding with Declan and Holden. We toasted to Declan’s future with cheap scotch and a round of darts.
“Firsts,” Carrie answers for me.
“Firsts?” he questions her as he fills her flute. “As in your first date?”
“Something like that,” I step in, waiting for him to fill mine.
“Cheers to you both,” he says as he places the bottle between us. “I hope it works out just the way you want it to.”
Once he’s on his way back to his post behind the bar, my glass is in the air. “To firsts.”
“To firsts,” Carrie chimes in, her hand shaking slightly as she clinks her glass against mine. “May I always remember it.”
I swallow the bubbly liquid in one gulp before I crack a smile. “You’ll always remember it, Carrie. That I can guarantee.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Carrie
“No, please.” I look up and into Rook’s eyes. “I completely understand.”
Frustration tugs at the almost smile on his lips. “Thank you. I want to pick this back up soon.”
I glance down the sidewalk at the rush of people approaching us. I shouldn’t be surprised that so many New Yorkers and tourists are out and about. It’s mid-afternoon on a Saturday.
“We will pick it back up.” I step to the side, motioning for him to do the same. “We need to talk about the rules.”
As he follows my lead to clear the path for the oncoming pedestrian traffic, he takes an extra two steps so he’s closer to me than he was before.
We’re right outside the bar where we just agreed to have sex before we each downed a glass of champagne.
When someone called about Rook’s daughter, he took the call and then told me he had to go.
He picked up the champagne and plopped the bottle on the table where the three women were still sitting. They thanked him profusely before he paid their tab and ours.
“Thank you again for the flowers and the drink,” I say, knowing he needs to take off.
“You’re welcome.” He pushes both hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “For the record, I didn’t bring you those roses because Posey has taken over the guestroom.”
Surprised by that, I chuckle. “You did.”
“No, I didn’t.” He leans closer to me. “I brought them to make you smile.”
Swoon.
It takes all my strength not to fall into his arms and beg for a kiss.
“I want your phone number,” he says. “I need it.”
I want to ask which it is. Does he want it, or does he feel a desperate need to have it?
I scold myself silently. He wants my phone number, and that’s all that matters, so I motion for him to grab his phone from his back pocket.
He does just that and keys the digits I call out into his contact list.
I glance past him as he takes an extra second to type something else into his phone.
Mine chimes, so I tug it out of the small leather bag that is always over my shoulder when I’m out and about.
A smile cascades over my lips when I read the text message that pops up on my screen.
Unknown: Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are liquid emeralds?
Trying to catch my breath, I look up and into his eyes. “No.”
“Fools,” he quips. “You’ve lived in a world filled with fools until now.”
He has no idea how hard that hits, because in so many ways, it’s the truth.
His hand jumps up so he can pinch my chin. “I’m going to kiss you on your cheek. Is that all right?”
I’m awash in wonder that he asked. That he was that considerate. “Please do.”
He does just that, taking a moment after the soft kiss on my cheek to run the tip of his nose against my skin until his lips are resting against the shell of my ear. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
It can’t be soon enough, but I sigh. “Okay. Yes.”
He steps back to look into my eyes again. “Don’t let Posey overwork you.”
“I won’t.” I smile.
“Goodbye, Carrie.”
“Bye, Rook,” I say with a touch of longing I hope he can’t hear.
As he pivots to walk away, I follow each of his steps with my gaze until he glances over his shoulder and shoots me a smile so breathtaking it could stop this entire city in its tracks.
“Why do you have so much pizza?” Telford grabs another slice of pepperoni and mushroom from one of the three boxes I set out on the kitchen island. “Not to mention, two types of dessert pizza. What’s going on?”
I tap the corner of one of the boxes. “Posey is Elio Franzini’s sister.”
His widened eyes give his reaction away, but he waits until he’s done chewing before he says anything. “Posey? The mural artist? That Posey is Elio’s sister?”
“It’s a small world.”
“I’ll say.” He takes another bite before washing it down with a swig of soda from a can he found in Abby’s fridge.
“So, she had all this delivered here for the two of you?”
Leave it to Tel to start a game of twenty questions without informing me that I’m playing. “From what I could piece together, she called Elio to ask him to send lunch for us, and he brought all of this with him.”
The crust in Telford’s hand tumbles onto the counter. “Hold up. Elio Franzini was here today, and you were dressed like that?”
I look at my jeans and T-shirt. The T-shirt has little blue paint splatter marks across the front because the brush slipped from my hand after I had that glass of champagne with Rook.
“Minus the blue paint,” I say.
“You know what they say about catching flies.”
I shrug. “Don’t leave the door open so they can’t come in?”
He laughs. “No. You’ll catch more with honey than vinegar.”
Stumped by what he means, I shake my head. “How does that apply to me? I’m always kind to people.”
“I didn’t say anything about being kind.” He stomps his shoe on the floor in frustration. “I meant that you’ll catch a guy’s eye more if you look sweet, like honey. Right now, you have more of a vinegar look happening.”
I can’t contain a laugh. “You really need to brush up on what certain sayings mean, Tel. If you tell someone they’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar, it means…”
“I know exactly what it means,” he interrupts. “It means you should be nice instead of a jerk. I was just using it in a different way. In a Telford way.”
I go for a piece of the same pizza Telford just ate. “I like the Telford way.”
“Good.” He beams with a smile. “Let’s find a movie to watch. Cindy is dying to snuggle up with me on the couch for a couple of hours.”
“It sounds like a plan to me.” I grab another soda from the fridge for myself.
Before I do, I sneak a peek at my phone. The only messages waiting for me are from my mom and another reminder from Nitespark about setting up my profile.
I make a mental note to respond to my mom tomorrow before I delete the Nitespark one.
I’m not going to need that app, after all, since I’m going to have sex with the hottest man I’ve ever met.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Rook
“You’re sure smiling a lot, Daddy.” Kirby can’t help but notice my stellar mood. I’ve been sporting a smile since shortly after I got home three hours ago.
When I was sharing a bottle of champagne with Carrie, my mom called, saying my daughter was in tears and asking for me. The crisis today was the result of Kirby misplacing a silver bracelet Chesca had bought for her in Boston.
Although my mom spent almost an hour searching for it, she came up empty. That’s when Kirby’s grief hit, so my mom reached out, hoping I could head home to renew the search.
I found the bracelet on the floor behind the nightstand next to my daughter’s bed.
The crisis was diverted, and my mom took off in search of a lemon drop martini.
“She’s right.” Holden swirls a finger in front of my face. “What’s up with you?”
“I’m having dinner with my daughter and one of my best friends.” I glance to where he’s seated at the head of my dining room table. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Yes!” Kirby yells.
At the same time, Holden shakes his head. “No.”
Kirby laughs. The end of the piece of spaghetti she’s slurping up dangles on her bottom lip. “You said no, and I said yes.”
Holden laughs, too. “You know I like teasing your dad.”
“I know,” she agrees, nodding as she stuffs the wayward spaghetti into her mouth with her hand. “I try to tease him, but he never gets it.”
I drop my fork on my plate. “When has that ever happened, Kirbs?”
“My best friends call me Kirbs,” she corrects me yet again.
I go for the same response I always do as I shoot Holden a smile. “I thought I was your best friend.”
“You are.” She sighs. “You’re my sixth best friend right now.”
What the…? I’m slipping down the list at breakneck speed.
“I’m in spot number three,” Holden brags, holding up three fingers.
“How?” That one word question sparks a huff of laughter from him.
“I accompanied our little dancer to tap last week.” Holden stomps one of his shoes on the hardwood floor. “It seems the teacher likes my moves more than yours.”
“She said Uncle Holden was a natural,” Kirby explains. “Sorry, Daddy, but he’s my new dance partner.”
That should sting, but it doesn’t. My daughter’s relationship with my brother and my two closest friends is just as important to me as it is to Kirby. Their presence and influence in her life are vital.
“You’re that good?” I ask Holden with skepticism edging my tone.
“Why do you seem so surprised?” he spits back.
I shake my head. “I thought I knew everything there was to know about you.”
His gaze catches mine. “Do I know everything about you, Rook?”
Hell, no.
I laugh off the question because I’m not about to confess to my sins in front of my daughter.
Kirby pushes the plate in front of her to the side. “What’s for dessert?”
I push it right back at her. “Another six bites, and we’ll discuss those chocolate chip cookies Holden brought with him.”
