I guess I’ve never really paid much attention to Riley since I’ve only ever seen him with Dean, who soaks up all of my attention when he’s around—no matter how much Itryto ignore him. As my errant thought conjured him from nowhere, Dean appears on my other side, pulling my attention from Sheila, trying to talk Riley down. I lift my eyes to meet my bully’s gaze, but he’s not looking at me. He’s glaring at the guy still standing behind me.
“Fuck off.” His voice is deep and demanding as he nods toward the door, sending a thrilling chill through me.
Wait. No. I donotlike the way his voice sounds. I hate it. I hatehim. Despite my inner scolding, my body lights up like a live wire when Dean wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me behind him as he squares off with my uninvited dance partner.
I run to Sheila’s side and we watch, slack-jawed, as Dean and Riley manhandle the guys out the front door before coming back to loom over us with scolding expressions.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Sloan?” Dean’s use of my real name has my fear spiking, and for the first time, it’s nothimI’m afraid of.
“We were just dancing,” Sheila says weakly when Riley asks her a similar question.
“They didn’t ask us to dance,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “They just joined us. We didn’t see the harm…”
“Of course you didn’t see the harm,” Dean snaps, cutting me off. “You wouldn’t recognize real danger if it knocked you over your gorgeous little head.”
I’m still reeling from the last part of Dean’s outburst when Riley says, “Those guys don’t go to college. They’re drug-dealing gangbangers.”
I grab Sheila’s hand to stop mine from shaking. I don’t say a word as I pull her toward the door with Dean and Riley following close behind us all the way across campus to our dorm. After demanding that we stay inside for the rest of the night, they walked away, leaving us shaken at the thought of what could have happened if they hadn’t shown up when they did.
For the first time in four years, I’m thankful for Dean’s imposing presence in my life. I wish I could get to know more of the protective man I caught a glimpse of tonight. I don’t understand why he’s made it his mission to make me hate him, and I never will. Because after tonight, I’ll never see him again.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dean
After watching Sloan from afar for two weeks, I left her the dahlias. That was almost three weeks ago. I thought she would have told her sister about the unexpected gifts after receiving the flowers. But I know she hasn’t, because Detective Reid would have mentioned it when I saw her at TG’s Happy Hour last week. Since I know that no one is the wiser, I’m finally ready to make myself known.
She has no clue that I’m the one who purchased her studio building since I used a shell corporation. I may be an evil bastard for choosing today to let her know that I’m her secret admirer. Since she’s closing up her studio and turning over the keys, she’s sure to be vulnerable. I’m hoping that will make my offer easier for her to accept. Who am I kidding? I probably need full body armor to survive our first encounter in five years.
I used another corporation to purchase a vacant building on the south side of town. It’s directly across the street from Ink Runners and next door to Slade’s Automotive—right in the center of our investigation. The construction crew finished the remodel last night to transform the space into a gentleman’s club and we’re ready for business to open tomorrow. I do one final walk-through before locking the door and heading to my Challenger. I look up at the sign above the door to my new club with a grin.Dahlia’s Deceptionwill soon be in full swing.
I sitin my car outside the realtor’s office and wait for Sloan to exit. The sight of her wiping tears from her face almost makes me regret my scheming. But it will all be in her best interest eventually. It had to be done this way to make her consider what I’m offering. I force myself to stay put until she slides into the passenger seat of her sister’s Jeep and they drive away. Then, I make my way inside to collect the keys and deed to my recently purchased dance studio.
After leaving the real estate office, I stop at the flower shop for a multicolored bouquet of dahlias before driving to where Sloan lives with her parents. When I don’t see Becky’s Jeep in the driveway, I pull my phone out to check the app Mac installed on my phone to track her location. Her sister must have dropped her off and left, because her blue dot is showing right on top of the black one showing my own location.
I jump out of my car, grab the bouquet and arrange it to hide my face as I ring the doorbell. My palms begin to sweat as the door opens and I hear the sound of her gasp. Knowing shecan’t possibly recognize me without being able to see my face—especially since my arms are now covered in tattoos that I didn’t have in college—I keep myself hidden until she speaks.
“You can tell whoever sent those flowers to go jump off a cliff and headbutt the rocks below,” she barks.
My dick gets hard at the sound of her snarky voice, even though she doesn’t know it’s me she’s talking to.
“Don’t be like that, Sly.” I lower the flowers until they rest against my chest. “Didn’t you miss me?”
I step forward to block the door with my foot so she can’t slam it in my face as I take her in. She’s just as gorgeous as I remember. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve seen her, but this is the first time I’ve been close enough to see the green ring around her dark brown eyes. I revel in the way those eyes widen with a mixture of shock, fury, and just a hint of barely concealed lust as she takes in my new ink and piercings.
“Dean? What are you doing…” Her voice trails off as her eyes drop to the flowers I’m holding before snapping back to mine. “Itwasyou!”
“Yeah, it was me,” I admit with grin. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“In what world would I ever invite you into my space?” she asks as her head shakes in disbelief.
“You would have the last time you saw me.” My voice is almost a whisper as I urge her to remember that night instead of all the times before.
Five YearsEarlier
I ball my hands into fists to resist the urge to touch Sloan again as Mac and I follow her and Sheila back to their dorm. I sacrificed the right to touch her when I decided to push her away instead of pulling her toward me like I wanted to four years ago. I never wanted her to associate my touch with the torment I’ve put her through. Tonight was different. I had to get her away from that thug. I had to put myself between her and the danger she’d unknowingly danced into.
Mac bumps my shoulder before nodding toward the girls walking in front of us, still holding hands like they’re afraid to let each other go. I shake my head, silently telling him not to make a move we can’t take back. I know he went the opposite direction with Sheila than I did with Sloan. He let her in and then friend-zoned her. That’s almost worse than what I’ve done to my tiny dancer.
