Wright Together, page 2
“Yes. Working with Dorset & King.”
“Ah, the Kings. Midland royalty,” I mused.
“You know them?” His eyes found mine over the top of the file.
“Sure. Everyone knows them. They’re a big presence in the city. Plus, I was in the same year as Nate King.”
I managed to keep my face neutral when I mentioned him. Not that Nate and I had ever been together, but his girlfriends sure thought we had been. Apparently, girls couldn’t be friends with guys. That had been one of my first lessons that I wasn’t like other girls. And they made it blatantly clear that they didn’t want to be friends with me.
I was still adjusting to the fact that the girls in Lubbock weren’t like that. I’d been waiting for the shoe to drop for months with my roommates, Piper and Blaire. Kept expecting my friend Nora to wake up one day and decide I wasn’t worth the trouble. After all, I had only become friends with them after they replaced Nora’s cheating ex. I could be easily replaceable as well. No matter that they’d never given me that inclination, my little-girl shit circled me like a vulture after carrion.
“Well, excellent. I’ll have you make introductions when we meet with them.”
“Of course.”
The Kings were a little out of my league. But hey, so were the Wrights, and that had never stopped me.
In fact, Mr. Out of My League was sitting directly across from me. I’d never seen him in his office before. Now, all six-plus feet of him dominated the space. He loomed over the desk, a giant in his realm.
My eyes traced the lines of his shoulders. Had he been working out? He seemed even broader than I remembered. I was a taller-than-average woman, and he made me feel dainty. Like a little pixie, like the rest of my friends. As if he could take one of those large hands and circle it around my waist with ease. Or perhaps my throat…
Could I imagine Mr. Tall, Dark, and Controlled releasing enough to choke me while he fucked me?
I dispelled that thought. I shifted my legs together, the heat rubbing up to the apex of my thighs.
Whitt had made it clear that he wanted a relationship. The night of Jordan and Annie’s wedding, I was perfectly positioned to see exactly how good he was in bed. I’d basically thrown myself at him, only for him to reject me. The last thing I wanted was another relationship that could fuck up my entire life if it didn’t work. No matter how broad those shoulders or how it’d feel for him to use his perfect control in the bedroom—
“Eve?”
I cleared my throat. “Hmm?”
“I asked if next weekend worked for our survey trip to Midland?”
“Whenever you’re free. I can move my clients around.”
He nodded and continued to discuss the details of the new build with me. I knew the basic information that Jordan had sent to me already. I was better in person than I was with the details. It was why I’d been great at real estate. Once I met my clients, things took off. It was getting that meeting that sometimes took time.
I let Whitt prattle on about the work, listening with half an ear. My eyes were on his pillowy lips. The way they moved with such assurance as he talked about what was important to him. They snapped up to his big blue eyes. Did they have gold in them? How had I never noticed that before? The irises were really a mix of colors, and blue was just the most prominent. It almost looked like he wore contacts—they were so vivid—and yet contacts could never get the exact color right.
“Unless you want to stay with your family?”
That ripped me right out of my reverie. “What?”
“Do you want to stay with your family while in town?”
Right. Drive to Midland. Where my family was. With Whitton Wright.
I’d been hired because of my knowledge of the area, but I hadn’t really thought through that I’d have to go down there. The dollar signs had blinded me to the reality of what I was doing.
I was going home.
I was bringing Whitt with me.
And under no circumstances could those two worlds collide.
Fuck.
“No,” I said quickly. Maybe too quickly.
His hand splayed open. An invitation to explain.
I layered on my best unbothered bravado. “I mean, no, thank you. We’ll be too busy. Downtown probably makes the most sense.”
“I’ll make the arrangements then.”
I breathed a soft sigh of relief. And then realized the other thing I hadn’t considered. I was going to be staying at a hotel with Whitt.
My mind buzzed with that information. Me and Whitt, alone, in Midland for a weekend.
This beast of a man was stuffed into a charcoal suit. His pants stretched tight across his crotch. My eyes flicked down to where his cock was hidden by the expensive material. My mouth watered. Maybe not that hidden.
“How are you getting home?”
My eyes snapped back up to his. It was a testament to my temperament that I didn’t blush furiously. Had he caught me staring at his cock? Christ, I needed to get it together. He was so fucking hot, and I just…had not prepared myself for him today.
“I’m going to grab an Uber.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can drive you home. You only live around the block.”
“Oh, no. It’s fine.” I came to my feet, dragging my skirt back down my thighs. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I insist.”
I opened my mouth to object and then closed it. “All right.”
A flash of surprise crossed his face. He clearly hadn’t thought that I’d say yes to that. Honestly, I was surprised myself. On the outside, I was the strong, resilient type who never let anything get to me. I didn’t need anyone to take care of me. Let alone drive me home when I was having car troubles. I was a big girl.
And yet I couldn’t say no to the offer. Not when I wanted him to take me. After all, the offer had come despite my reputation and our history.
I was known as a maneater, and it was generally well-earned.
Men were a vice. Meant to be devoured and discarded.
Whitton Wright was the only one who hadn’t fallen into my Venus flytrap. Who’d refused to be chewed up and spit out. The only one I still wanted to take a bite out of.
He gestured to the door. It felt like he was asking about more than just a car ride.
“Shall we?” He strode to the door and tugged it open. The invitation palpable this time.
“I’m game.”
I strode past him, swishing my hips dramatically as I stepped out into the hallway. My heels clicked noisily on the slate tiles that led to the elevator. Whitt cleared his throat behind me, and I snuck a glance back, only long enough to see him checking out my ass.
A slow smile curled my red-painted lips. “You coming?”
He straightened his suit coat and cleared his throat. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
I smirked at the double meaning in his words. I liked that I managed to fluster him. The next couple of weeks working together were certainly going to be interesting.
3
Whitton
“I’m over here,” I said as soon as we were out of the overly air-conditioned lobby of Wright Construction.
Eve tugged on the lapels of her blazer. “Christ, it’s a thousand degrees today.”
“Texas,” I said as if that explained everything.
“You chose this,” she pointed out.
“It was forced upon me.”
She shot me a look. “You just said you don’t miss Seattle.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m here for Lubbock weather.”
Or maybe I was.
Eve lifted her long, thick hair off of her neck and panted in the heat. Lubbock was typically a dry, dusty hundred degrees. Closer to the desert than the rest of Texas. No one was prepared for humid days like today after a freak thunderstorm.
I saw the moment that she gave up on professionalism in this weather. She bit down on the red of her bottom lip, sliding her emerald gaze in my direction. Then, she shrugged before slipping her suit coat off of her shoulders.
The first thing I noticed was the new ink across her shoulder—peonies in bloom with leaves curling toward her collarbone and down her arm.
Next was that underneath that black blazer was nothing but a thin camisole, the straps of an unlined lace bra now visible. The front revealed a touch of her impressive cleavage. Which only drew my eyes downward to where her nipples had hardened under the silky material.
Fuck.
Blood pumped to places it certainly wasn’t supposed to when I was going to drive her home. I flexed my hand, trying to shake out the wave of need that pulled me under at the sight of her like this.
Because Eve was best in her element when she let her guard down. The first time I’d seen it happen, I hadn’t realized how rare it was.
She played with our friends on a rec soccer league. I’d only come at my brother’s insistence—I was more of a hockey guy—and then she’d caught my eye. I noticed that she was striking to look at and a force of nature on the field. But it was after the game where I first saw her. A random pop-up storm had everyone else running for their car, but not Eve. She stripped down to her sports bra and turned in a circle on the field with her tongue out, like she was trying to catch snowflakes.
I couldn’t rip my gaze away from her. I stood in the rain and watched her enjoy it like I never could. I ruined a very expensive suit to do it. West had run back in frustration and pushed me toward the car. I’d never told him why I’d been standing there, transfixed. I’d never been able to shake that vision of Eve.
Rather than the one she showed everyone. Cautious. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Forever looking around, as if she expected everything to be taken away from her. She put her back up when threatened, and I still hadn’t figured out how I’d threatened her.
“Whitt?” she said, her voice teasing.
I touched the handle of the car, unlocking the doors. I couldn’t explain my daydream, so I made a noncommittal noise and tipped my head at the car. “Get in.”
Her look was quizzical before she ducked into the passenger seat. She sank into the leather seat and crossed her legs, giving me an even bigger glimpse of her dream catcher. Fuck me. The ink on this woman did something to me.
I revved the engine to my Lexus and shifted into drive. Eve lived in Tech Terrance, just off of Texas Tech University’s campus, with two of her friends. Nothing in Lubbock was more than a fifteen-minute drive away, except for the airport. An Uber wouldn’t have cost her much, but I wasn’t about to let her take one.
“So, what happened to your car?”
She huffed and looked out the window. “I have no clue. It wouldn’t start this morning. And I couldn’t jump it because Piper had to be at the winery early and Blaire was over at Campbell’s place.”
“I could give you a jump, if you need it.”
Her brows furrowed. “Do you even know how to jump a car?”
“I’ll take that as the insult it is. Of course I know how to jump a car.” When she still looked skeptical, I added, “I can change a tire and my own oil, too.”
Her eyes slid down my sharp suit, the perfectly knotted tie, and crisp white shirt. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”
Because she had only ever seen me as a suit. An image I had carefully cultivated for years. West was my twin and my opposite. He was wild, rebellious, an artist, musician, and a dreamer. I was a realist and business-oriented. I was the guy with the five-plus-year plans. I had goals and ambitions, not dreams. Dreams were unactionable hopes and wants. Dreams led to disappointment.
“I can get my hands dirty.”
“Oh?” she asked, leaning forward with interest. “I’d like to see that.”
“Hmm,” I said with an arched eyebrow.
“Who taught you to work with cars?”
“My dad.” My throat was thick when I uttered the words.
Dad was…complicated. He’d been complicated before we discovered his duplicity. He was twice as frustrating now that we knew he had a whole other family. While I felt lucky to have Jordan and Julian in my life, he had uprooted all of us when it came out. He ruined everything he touched, and somehow, I still wanted him in my life.
“I see,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t have guessed he was a car person either.”
“Not really. But I had an interest, and…he usually invested in our interests.” I shrugged. “The man’s flawed, but he put West in front of a piano at a young age. He wouldn’t be in Cosmere otherwise.”
“Maybe. I don’t think either of you owe him anything for where you are,” she said hotly. Her hand tightened on the door handle before loosening. “You did it in spite of him.”
For a second, I wasn’t sure we were talking about my father anymore. But I didn’t know enough about Eve’s past to know if she was projecting. We’d never gotten to the point before to discuss her family. Eve wasn’t really much of a sharer. She always seemed like a creature of the present. Anything that happened beyond the moment we were in was forgotten.
I decided to drop the whole thing. My dad was a hot topic on a good day.
“Are you coming to Jensen’s thing tomorrow?”
“The mayoral announcement?” she asked with a wrinkled nose.
I laughed at her expression. “What’s that about?”
“What?”
“The look.”
“Politicians,” she said with a little gag at the end. “What have they ever done for us before?”
“Fair, but it’s Jensen.”
Jensen Wright had been the CEO of Wright Construction since he had graduated college. He’d passed the helm to his sister, Morgan, a few years back to pursue his true passion—architecture. Now, he worked closely with the company he had run and was a regular fixture around the property.
Against his better judgment, someone had convinced him to run for mayor. The spot was open, and the other options were appalling. It was a clever con, and it had worked. I didn’t know what his wife and kids thought about it, but Emery must have given him the green light or else he wouldn’t be having an event tomorrow in which all the Wrights were planning to be in attendance.
“The girls cajoled me into going,” Eve admitted. “Downtown will already be set up for the Fourth, and I can’t resist a funnel cake.”
“Noted,” I said as I pulled into Eve’s driveway behind her bright red early aughts 4Runner.
Piper’s blue Jeep Wrangler was parked next to it, and she came running out, holding up her cell phone.
Eve popped the passenger door open. “Forget your phone again?”
“Having a work phone and a regular phone is ruining my life,” Piper said. She winked at Eve. “What’s going on here?” Her tone was light and suggestive.
I got out of the car. “Hey, Piper.”
“Whitt,” she said with a head nod. “Why are you driving my girl home?”
“My car wouldn’t start this morning,” Eve filled in.
“And you were together…why?”
“We’re working together,” I told her. “Eve is the agent for my new survey project in Midland.”
Piper’s eyes widened, and she and Eve spoke volumes without saying anything.
“Ohhh,” she drawled. “Well, that sounds…fun. You told me about your new job. I didn’t know you’d be working with Whitt.”
“Neither did I,” Eve said. She knocked her fist into Piper’s shoulder. A clear sign to tell her to shut up. Piper just smirked. “Can you give me a jump?”
“Oh, I would,” Piper said, her eyes flickering between us, “but I have to get back to work. Could Whitt do it? Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can do it,” I told Piper. “Tell Hollin I said hi.”
Piper snorted. “Tell him yourself. He’s a pain in my ass.”
“Literally?” Eve asked.
Piper and Hollin had been dating for a year, and sometimes, it was still hard to decipher whether they liked or hated each other. Somehow, constantly being at each other’s throat worked for them.
“I’m going to forget you asked that,” Piper said as she strode to her Jeep. “Thanks for taking care of my girl, Whitt.”
“Anytime.”
“See y’all tomorrow.”
Then, she was pulling away, leaving us alone once more. Eve looked after her friend in dismay. Maybe she’d hoped to get out of my presence sooner. Too late now.
“You have cables?”
She jolted out of the reverie and nodded. She dug around in her bag and tossed me her car keys. “They’re in the back. I’m just going to change.”
I watched her practically hustle to get inside. Once again, I wasn’t sure what to make of her. It was apparent that she was flirting with me. Just like she had the first time around. Because Eve had come on to me when we first started talking. I’d been a willing participant. But I’d dated enough back in Seattle to know that I preferred a relationship to a situationship. It was fine if that was what she wanted. It just wasn’t what I wanted. No matter how my dick reminded me that I couldn’t stop fucking thinking about getting her naked.
I ran a hand back through my hair. She’d made herself clear the first time, and I wasn’t going to do this again. We were working together. That was it.
4
Eve
I leaned back against the front door and ran a hand down my face. “Get it together, Houston.”
Whitt was just a guy that it hadn’t worked out with. He was no different from the parade of exes who had masqueraded through my life. In fact, we hadn’t even gotten far enough for that. He’d wanted more than I could offer, and I shouldn’t still be interested just because he was hot as fucking sin. I shouldn’t make an exception for him.
Once it was over, it was over. I’d learned my lesson to never look back. What was in the past was only ever going to drag down my future. Or completely blow up my future, like Arnold Sinclair had done. One moment, I’d been on a pedestal, and the next, I’d discovered he wasn’t separated from his wife. Suddenly, I was a homewrecker and not just trailer trash.
