They give each other nervous glances but do as they’re told. What’s his fucking problem?
“Here,” I hand the four one-hundred-dollar bills back to Marcus, but he refuses.
“Keep it, doll. You earned it.” He kisses me on the cheek and turns to walk downstairs.
Nick grabs him by the front of his shirt and forcefully slams him into the wall so hard it causes me to shudder. “Touch her again and it’ll be the last fucking thing you ever do,” he growls with the aggression of a pent-up tiger.
Marcus throws his arms up in surrender. “Easy, boss, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Nick lets him go but watches him with a murderous glare until the elevator doors close with Marcus and Sasha on the other side.
Nick approaches me when they’re out of earshot. “Tell me, cupcake, were you wanting him to have a thumb war with your appendix or was he just tickling the outside? To me, it looks like you were trying to do more than just give him a lap dance.” He gaze darkens and his jaw tightens. He looks downright dangerous.
“We weren’t fucking with our clothes on. Surely you’re smart enough to know how that works.” He doesn’t deserve to forman opinion about where I’m concerned. He turned me down and told me to go for Marcus.
“You sure as fuck looked like you were trying to get yourself off on his lap.” He leans in, his voice barely a whisper, “I know what you look like before you come, trust me,” he gives me a wicked grin, “that’s a face I’ll never forget.”
“It’s a fucking lap dance, it’s supposed to be sensual.” I glare at him, refusing to back down. He’s being ridiculous.
“For him, Maya. For you, it’s a job you’re going to have to separate from your own pleasure.” Nick responds by glaring icily at me. “You’ve got one hour to grab a bite to eat and get back to the beach house to meet Lucas. If you’re even a minute late, I’m going to assume you don’t want the job,” he snaps.
I throw him a go-to-hell look when I walk out the door. He’s making me second-guess wanting to work for him.
“Rivers! Wait up,” Ethan calls after me. “How are you going to get back?” We stand by the elevator.
“I’ll walk if I have to.” My surging anger will keep my feet and legs from giving out on me.
“Let me take you to dinner, please?” He’s sincere. I try to hide my angry tears, but he knows me better than anyone. He knows I cry when I’m mad and sad. “Come on, let me drive you.”
“Fine.” I swallow my rage and fight to stay calm. At least Nick isn’t trying to follow me out. I don’t have to see him for the next hour.
“Your chariot my lady.” Ethan opens the door for me on his silver hummer. This thing is all decked out with a top-of-the-line sound system, custom interior lighting, black leatherseats, and a tv screen on the dash. It must’ve cost him a fortune. “Where to?”
“You pick, I’m not that hungry.” I cross my arms over my chest.
We grabbed some sushi rolls from the market and are now sitting on beach behind the house.
“Are you ready to talk about what happened earlier?” Ethan sits down next to me and we both gaze at the sun setting over the water.
The thing I like best about Ethan is he doesn’t push. He lets me fall apart and talk about things when I’m ready. He never makes me feel bad for feeling a certain way or pushes me to talk about things before I’m ready. I don’t know what I’ve done in life to deserve a friend like him, but I hope our friendship lasts forever.
“Why is he so damn crazy? I knew he was moody, scary even at times, but today was another level of insanity. He went completely unhinged threating to kill everyone.” I pick up a handful of sand and let it funnel through my fingers. “He tells me I can go out with Marcus then goes bat shit crazy over me giving him a lap dance?”
“You don’t know Marcus like we do.”
Honestly, I don’t care to get to know him. His reactions to me make it pretty clear what he wants and maybe I want the same.
“Do you know why Marcus told you he was running late today? Because he was still with the girl he took home from Sapphire the night before.” He leans back on his palms, stretching his legs out in the sand.
“If he’s so bad, then why did Nick say I could go out with him?” I stretch my sore body out. Every one of the men I’ve met because of Nick are playboys. I didn’t expect Marcus to be any different.
“Honestly, I think he wants you to have freedom of choice but isn’t prepared to see those choices manifest. After everything you’ve been through, he doesn’t want to see you get fucked over.”
“Maybe I should tell him I can’t work for him because that’s always been the story of my life.” And he wasn’t exactly concerned with my sexual wellbeing when he did what he did to me in the hot tub and basically dismissed me the next day by telling me to see someone else.
When Nick touches me, I can’t even think clearly. Like a force of ten thousand invisible magnets are pulling me towards him. I can’t block out my emotions from him like I can other men.
I don’t want the first person I fall for to be someone who doesn’t feel the same way about me. I’m going to get hurt if I don’t put space between us.
“That’s always an option. What do you want, Rivers? We’ve talked about Nick, Marcus, Sasha, everyone but Maya today. What matters most is what you want, not what everyone else wants.”
