Cameras flash, causing Harrison to curse under his breath and pull me along swiftly to a waiting black car. He gets me in first, then slams the door behind him.
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” He sighs, then looks down at my leg and rubs where I did earlier, “Are you okay? I had to get you in the car quickly.”
I reach over, palm his nape, and rub his jaw with my thumb. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about it. Does that happen a lot to you?”
“Sometimes. I mostly stay out of it. Tonight was a big club opening in the city, and they knew many influential people would be there. I should have taken you out the back, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. Obviously.” He smiles, raking his eyes down my body, then does some magical move that has me in his lap. “They’ll get a more interesting picture of someone else, or they’ll list it as ‘Harrison and Friend,’ so don’t worry.”
I don’t tell him they will most likely know who I am if they decide to post it. However, we’re not getting personal tonight, so I’m not bringing it up. Instead, I take advantage of this new position that gets me up close and personal with his strong features.
I trace his jaw with the tip of my finger and lean in to kiss him lightly.
He cups my face and runs his thumb along the apple of my cheek, “Something is playing in my mind. What did you mean before when you said I wasn’t who you thought I was?”
Ah shit.
I hesitate, and he lifts a brow.
“You came over guns blazing, and I knew you felt like you deserved answers.” I shrug. “I didn’t appreciate the entitlement, especially because your behavior seemed so different than the man I spent hours with.”
“Jules, baby.” He sweeps my hair off my face and tucks it behind my ear. “I know this sounds pretentious, but because of who I am, people try to take advantage of me every day. I can’t afford to take any chances.”
“That makes sense.”
“And that man you spent time with at the party, he’s…” I sit and let him get his thoughts together. “He’s someone I don’t get to be often. Only in the privacy of my own home, and even then, if I’m working, so not much.”
“So, are you pretending to be someone else? I don’t understand.”
“Not at all. I’m the head of my company, and my line of work is cutthroat. I’m aggressive and, at times, abrasive.” He shrugs. “I get what I want when I want it, and that’s why I’m one of the leading CEOs in my industry, and I will never apologize for it.” He kisses my fingertips and continues. “At the party, we were secluded in the corner, and I’m sure the free-flowing drinks factored in. I let my guard down for the first time in a while. You got lucky to see that side of me.” He winks.
“Lucky, huh?” I roll my eyes and smirk, and something tells me I’d like both sides of Harrison.
“You’re here, sir,” his driver says, breaking me out of my dirty thoughts.
“Thank you, Robert,” Harrison replies while helping me out of the car.
We walk past security with his arm slung around my shoulders, leading me into the elevator. The sexual tension in the air is thick; you can almost hear it crackling between us, making my sudden nerves skyrocket in tandem with the climbing elevator.
Becks was right; this is so out of character for me.
What have I gotten myself into?
The elevator dings, and the floor-to-ceiling windows momentarily stop my worried thoughts.
“This is incredible, Harrison.”
“Mmhmm,” he responds. “Would you like a drink?”
I nod. “A water would be lovely. Thanks.” I walk around, and although the penthouse’s view is impressive, it lacks any personality.
Usually, I would think that’s normal for a bachelor, but I know he has a daughter he’s yet to mention. There are no pictures of her or a trace of another person living here at all. “Did you recently move in?”
“What? Oh.” He pauses, and I watch his face change; then it hits me. I may be naive about many things, but I’m not stupid.
I take a step back, suddenly feeling cheap about this whole situation.
“No. No.” He panics and rushes toward me. “Let me explain, please.”
“I’m not the type of girl that does things like this…I should have known better.”
