“Sweetheart, if I wanted you dead, it would have happened by now,” I bit out angrily. “If you want answers, you’ll follow me.”
After a beat, she nodded. She finished her breve, no foam, extra-complicated drink before setting the cup on the table with a little smack to prove her point. I was not going to finish what was in my cup—the sludge they called black coffee was so full of grounds, it was like eating the beans whole.
They really take the idea of farm to table seriously, I thought and chuckled at my own joke. I threw away the cup in a trash can that was just within arm’s reach, still smiling from the internal joke. Looking at Brianna’s expression, it was not the right time to share the humor. So I refrained.
I stood up from the table, feeling as if I had made some progress, and Brianna did the same. She was fucking livid, I could tell.And damn, is she hot when mad, I thought. We left the little café and walked over to Henderson Park. It was a little stint away, and I noticed Brianna was in flat shoes. Practical, yes. But I couldn’t help but entertain how her legs would look in heels.
Despite the rather cool temperatures, it was still hot enough to be uncomfortable if you were out for too long. Not for the first time, I wished I had worn something other than denim. Not only was denim less heat forgiving, but there was a rather obvious bulge in my pants.Fucking Brianna and her lips, eyes, and tits, I thought. She had me hook, line, and sinker with her little act.But if she had noticed, she didn’t say anything.
We walked a little way in silence, following the path. The birds chirped, and there were some geese honking in the distance. The breeze was at least cooling, and it sent Brianna’s hair behind her in sheets. Her mouth was set in defiant line. I couldn’t help but think that if some modeling magazine or something wanted a photoshoot, shit, all they would need right now is a camera.
There was nothing but the even beat of our footsteps as we continued walking. I ducked under a lower hanging branch from a tree, and soon we were in a tunnel of trees. A little natural canopy thing that some park planner thought would make a good setting for a romantic walk in the park. They weren’t wrong, but this date was anything but romantic.
There was a lake at the center of the park. The water glittered in the heat, and some geese honked as they swam in the water. On the opposite side of the lake was a wooden deck that extended out into the water, complete with a few benches. The old, worn wood protested as we walked to the railing, and Brianna leaned against the banister with ease and stared out at the lake. Swiveling my head, I made sure we were far away from anyone or any business before I started to talk.
“King’s off his rocker, to say the least,” I started. She kept her eyes on the water, but I could tell she was listening. “And I’m done with being under his toe all the time. He thinks he has an iron grip on everything, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. And the men are getting restless. If you stick with me, in a month, the bastard won’t be a problem. For me, or for you.”
She was silent for a moment, continuing to stare at the water. I had said my piece; now it was all up to her. Whatever else she wanted to know, she was going to need to ask straight out. I was not a man for games. But I had to admit that I didn’t mind having to work for Brianna—as long as she put in some effort as well.
Finally, Brianna turned to me. “And how do I know you won’t just leave me to the wolves when you’ve gotten freedom? I barely know you. Why should I trust you?”
“Sweetheart, I’m not cruel,” I stated, and Brianna perked up an eyebrow.If that one look didn’t make a man hard.I took a deep breath. “Cut to what you actually are asking me.”
There was a beat of silence. Her eyes were cold blue as she stared at me, assessing me. As she had every right to do. Someone like her didn’t make it as far as she did in life on the basis of trust. And whatever she did to be involved with King was another matter entirely. And I released my guard, doing my best to be genuine in my demeanor.
“Am I just some quick fuck for you?” she asked finally. “Or do you actually want to be with me?”
“Can’t it be both?” I replied before I could stop myself.
Brianna made an indignant noise, her blue eyes going ice cold. Her smart mouth was set in a firm line, the usual plumpness of her lips diminished slightly. She crossed her arms over her chest, and I couldn’t help but glance down at the way her tits moved with the action. Which, of fucking course, she caught me doing. The flames of her anger just roared more, and I was feeling it even as I stood feet away from her.
I’m in deep shit now.
Brianna
“Idon’t know how you’ve done it with club bunnies or other girls elsewhere, but rest assured, it won’t work with me,” I seethed at Crush.
This date had derailed from being coffee between friends to some half-assed attempt to get into bed with me. There was a nagging doubt that Crush even had a plan for a way out at all.I’ve been played, I thought hopelessly.He doesn’t want to get me out of anything other than my clothes. And that made me even angrier. I wasn’t a floozy, or a club bunny, or whatever the bikers called their women. I was a doctor, I was Brianna fucking Gold, and I had at least some standards of getting to know a person first before jumping into bed with them.
“And I’m sure as hell not going to give in so easily,” I added for emphasis.
“I didn’t ask you out as some sort of fucking favor,” he bellowed, his eyebrows knitting together in a barely contained rage. There was something altogether frightening about Crush like this, and I had a feeling anyone who saw him like this was currently under the ground. He snarled at me, “I’m not that nice.”
“Obviously,” I fired back. I was intimidated but not scared. “You shouldn’t have even asked me.”
“Then why the hell did you say yes?”
We were close now—inches apart. He looked predatorial when he was angry, and kinda hot. Even though Crush was burly, aggressive, and could easily kill me, I’d never known him—admittedly in the short time I’d worked with him—to hurt a woman. Someone like Crush understood self-preservation.
After all, weren’t we both victims of the same system? I looked into his dark brown eyes.
“I was curious,” I shrugged. “Wanted to hear what your plan was. It’s obvious now it was all a ploy.”
“Bullshit,” he grumbled, holding my eyes. “That’s not why.”
“God, you’re such an ass,” I fired back, pushing his broad chest to no avail. “Fine, you’re handsome too; that make it better? Feed your ego a bit?”
“Aw, sweetheart, don’t be getting all cutesy on me now,” he replied sarcastically and with a smirk that would make any woman swoon.Myself included. “Anything else you wanted to tell me? Like the truth?”
