Part 2 (1/2)
He'd met Selene. They clicked. They were compatible-in bed and out, and he hadn't had to mess with this s.h.i.+t.
Now? Starting all over again.
He tried not to feel aggravated. It was just a business thing. He paid for a date, had a woman with him for a few hours, spared himself the headache of dealing with some of the nightmares that came from being single at some of these parties. He also spared himself the nightmare that came from trying to have a friendly relations.h.i.+p that would just end in a disaster.
Really, this was for the best, right? All he had going with Selene was friends.h.i.+p anyway-granted, it was the friends with benefits sort of thing, but that could be found elsewhere.
Impersonal as h.e.l.l. Yeah, that bothered him, and right now it was bothering him more than normal, but he'd finally found a way to balance his life and he didn't need anything rocking that boat.
You need to stop being so negative, he told himself. But it was d.a.m.ned hard considering every relations.h.i.+p he'd been in since high school had gone from h.e.l.l to h.e.l.la-bad in a blink.
”No.” He threw the Porsche into park and climbed out, leaning against the side. ”Not thinking about that.” Part of the reason he hated coming back here. And that p.i.s.sed him off. Chicago was home. It was home, and he avoided it like the plague except for rare visits home to see his sister, all because coming back here made him think of...
”And you're doing it again.” Shoving away from the car, he pocketed the keys and headed toward his sister's office. It was quiet around here at night. During the day it was busy, but at night it was mostly vacant. Just a few random cars scattered in front of the other businesses. He recognized his sister's car, parked in front of the office, but he didn't see another one close to hers.
He didn't want to have to drive her home...that made it seem even more like a date.
A taxi, then. He'd get her into a d.a.m.n taxi, or h.e.l.l, Caleb would probably have cars there.
Yeah. He could get her into a car once the night was over with.
Then he'd head out to Blue's. Blue usually preferred that people wanting the...more private services contact her in advance, but she'd work something out. Distracted, thinking about that, he pushed through the door, thinking about maybe trying to put in a call to her before he even left Shera's. He needed to do something, right? He was edgy as h.e.l.l and the only way to burn this kind of energy off was- His brain just stopped.
He caught sight of the woman standing with her back to him and his mind came to screeching, cras.h.i.+ng halt. All the blood in his head slowly started to sizzle and burn. A long, sleek back, displayed in a backless, pale dress, leaving lots and lots of s.e.xy, smooth skin... His heart b.u.mped once, hard, against his ribs, as his gaze dipped, lingering on the narrow curve of her waist, the round swell of her a.s.s, and then onto long, sleek, sleek legs...
Ah, maybe he wouldn't be calling a car for her, after all.
Dragging his gaze up, he studied the back of her head and something started to click in the back of his mind. Dark hair, not quite black, shot through with lighter threads... His heart started to race. He knew this woman.
She turned around and he found himself staring into Chaili's blue eyes.
Marc had a fondness for her eyes. He didn't know why, exactly. Maybe it was because they were blue, and such a vivid blue they almost looked purple to his screwy eyesight. He didn't know why. Didn't care. He just knew she had amazing eyes.
It was a punch. A hard, brutal punch straight to his gut and he closed one hand into a fist as he continued to stare at her. Okay. She wasn't here for him. Chaili wasn't one of his sister's girls. She had something else going on... Then it occurred to him-Shera had absently mentioned setting up a line of male companions. Was Chaili...?
No.
Just. No. Even thinking about her paying some guy to take her out p.i.s.sed him off.
What the f.u.c.k- Shera appeared from the back office. ”Hey, Marc.” She had a smile on her face. An overly bright one. The kind of smile she'd always given him when she'd done something she shouldn't have and she wanted him to help keep her out of trouble with Mom. Except she was a grown woman.
Oh, s.h.i.+t.
Swinging his gaze back and forth between the two women, he lifted a brow and waited.
”Awesome news.” Shera still had that wide, too-bright smile plastered across her face. ”Chaili is going to keep you company tonight.”
He was staring at her like she'd grown a second head.
Chaili felt like she might have.
Her heart raced and if he didn't say something, she was pretty sure she was going to start babbling like a fool. No, you won't, she told herself. He was here because he needed an intelligent, level-headed woman at his side for the night. Somebody who could carry a conversation without babbling, and that probably started now.
”h.e.l.lo, Marc,” she said, angling her head to the side. She could make polite small talk. She could do it, and do it well, even if it bored the h.e.l.l out of her.
Something flashed in his golden eyes as he continued to study her.
So far, he still hadn't said a word. He prowled deeper into the office, looking oddly out of place. He came to stop a foot away from her, watching her with narrowed eyes, the gold in his eyes burning hot as he studied her face. ”Just when did you start doing the companion thing, Chaili?”
She'd half-suspected he might ask. With a lazy shrug, she answered, ”It's fairly recent. I'm...picky, we'll say, about those Shera pairs me with. But I get tired sitting at home and well, you have to admit, this is an easy way to make money.”
”So you're in it for the money.”
Careful...careful... She knew he had more than a few people trying to get at his bank account. ”Honestly, Marc, I told your sister I'd be happy to keep you company tonight without...” she waved a vague hand at the office and sighed, ”...this. But your sister is something of a stickler about the rules. Since you came here, she's kind of adamant about doing it this way.”
”Yes. I am.” Shera came up and held out a hand, smiling at Marc. ”You came in wanting a companion for the night. I'm providing the companion. Pay up.”
The tense moment shattered and he scowled at his sister, reaching into his pocket. He shoved some bills into her hand and then looked at Chaili. ”s.h.i.+t, if I'd known you were up for going to stupid parties, I could have saved myself some money and the headache of dealing with Shera.”
”Ahhh, but you're doing your part and investing in the local economy,” Chaili said, smiling. She turned away and went to get her wrap and purse. Although she doubted she'd need the wrap, she'd rather have it than not. Before she could pick up the wrap, though, Marc was there and the fragile silk looked even more delicate in his hands. She swallowed and tore her gaze away from those long-fingered, agile hands. She'd always loved those hands...
Stop it, she told herself. He moved behind her and she closed her eyes, counted to ten.
As he draped the silk over her shoulders, she reminded herself she could handle this. That she'd wanted to handle this. It wasn't a date even, right? It was just a night. One night with Marc and then it was done. The one thing she'd always wanted...she could pretend for a night that he was hers.
”Chaili...” he murmured. The raw whiskey and velvet of his voice stroked over her senses like a caress and she had to fight not to s.h.i.+ver. ”You look amazing.”
Amazing didn't touch it.
Beautiful didn't quite touch it, either.
Marc was still trying to figure out the right way to describe it more than two hours later.
Something about her was...different.
He couldn't explain what, though.
Of course, it had been more than five years since he'd spent much time around her. She'd gotten serious with a guy. Married him for a little while. Then the marriage fell apart. He'd been out of the country when he'd heard they were splitting up, hearing the details from Shera.
When he'd emailed Chaili, all she'd told him in reply was, We just weren't suited, Marc. It's not the end of the world.
Not suited. h.e.l.l, he could have told her that. Tim Hardesty had been a f.u.c.king a.s.s. He even knew the guy, in a roundabout sort of way, although he'd been careful to keep that connection very, very distant and Chaili, thank G.o.d, was blissfully unaware.
Frowning, he glanced over at her, studying her left hand. It was naked. She wore an odd ring on her right. It was some dark sort of metal, oxidized silver maybe, with a ruby in the middle, flanked by diamonds. Sometimes, he'd see her stroke it, in an offhand, absent manner that made him think it was habit.
She was chatting with the mayor, her voice rising, falling...open, friendly, and her smile was full of charm. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
And he didn't care. Suddenly, he was jealous. He didn't want to share her with all the people in the crowd. He didn't want to be in the crowd, but that wasn't new. He was used to the crowds by now and after ten years of living this life, plus the ten years of struggling to get here, he knew he had to deal with it, but he didn't want to stand there while his ”companion” did all the talking.
He wanted her talking to him.