“You’re different with her,” she called out, stopping my feet mid-stride. I didn’t want to turn around, but I couldn’t deny I was intrigued.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Eve.”
She laughed, and for just a brief moment she sounded like the woman I’d first met, who’d been awed by simple pleasures and didn’t give a damn about social circles.
“If there’s one thing I know Walker, it’s you. You watch her with this glow in your eyes that was never there for me. You smile just because she smiles, and you can’t keep your hands off her. Believe me, I waited and hoped for one look like that from you.”
“Sounds like you’re projecting to me.” Carter had probably dropped her soon after I caught them, because he’d married a more appropriate wife soon after I fled the country.
“It’s not. All this time I thought you couldn’t love anyone, that’s why I came here tonight. If you couldn’t love anyone, we could have worked because I can be the wife a man like you needs. But now I see, it was just me you didn’t love.”
She was wrong. I didn’t do love because I couldn’t afford to. Women like Eve were always trying to scheme for a permanent source of income from men like me, or assistants tried to get you in a compromising position for a quick payday. Worse were the false paternity suits. They could ruin a man if he was in the wrong industry, and I would never let that shit happen to me.
“Don’t look for fairytales where they don’t exist. You need money, make Carter pay to keep his wife in the dark. But don’t come for me, Eve. You will regret it.” Without another word or another look at my ex, I made my way to Lacey who was now sitting at a table with Chet who had his phone out showing her photos of his grandchildren.
“Oh, this one is so cheeky!” I heard her say when I stopped behind her. “You’re a lucky man, Chet.”
“Ready to go?” My question was abrupt and probably rude too, but I didn’t give a damn. Seeing Eve, no, talking to Eve had my head all fucked up. I wanted Lacey right now, I needed her. Had to fucking have her. Right. Now.
Lacey looked over her shoulder, red lips pushed out in a slight pout that gave my cock all kinds of ideas. “Sure. Everything okay?”
I nodded and bent to whisper in her ear. “Other than the fact that I’m dying to be inside you, everything’s great.”
Brown eyes turned black with desire as she sucked in a breath of air. “O-okay, then.” Lacey took a minute before she stood and wrapped her arms around Chet. “It was really an honor to meet you Chet, and if you and Lena are ever in the Portland area, the best burger in town is on me.”
With a strawberry blush on his ruddy, weathered skin, Chet accepted her hug and smacked a kiss to her cheek. “I sure will. Take care of this one, Walker, she’s a keeper.”
Like I needed him to tell me that. With her goodbye complete, I grabbed Lacey’s hand and tangled it with mine as I pulled her from the restaurant and across the lobby. “That food was better than any I’ve ever had at a hotel,” she said to fill the tense silence in the elevator but I had better ideas.
Pushing my body into hers until she was trapped in one corner of the elevator, one finger traced her jawline. “I don’t give a shit about the food Lacey.” My mouth was on her neck, that little piece of skin between her neck and shoulder where she smelled like woman and sex and Lacey. “The only thing my mouth is watering for now, is you.”
Her body shuddered in my hands, she melted. “Good to know,” she panted, hands wrapped tight around my biceps. I kissed her, a slow lazy kiss that lasted until the doors opened on our floor. “What are you doing?”
I smiled and smacked her ass as I lifted her in my arms. “I’m getting us to the room faster.” I couldn’t wait, not another fucking minute. It took me two tries to get the damn door open and kick it closed before I stalked over to the chair over looking the dark inky ocean and set her on it.
“This lingerie has been driving me crazy all night,” I slid both hands up her thighs while the pulse at the base of her neck beat rapidly. She was as turned on as I was.
“Isn’t that why you bought it?” she purred, legs squirming under my touch.
Instead of answering, I sank to my knees in front of the chair and put my mouth on her, the slip of lace the only barrier between my tongue and her wet pussy. Her hips bucked off the chair when I sucked her through the fabric and my cock began to leak.
“Not enough,” I growled, feeling wild and frantic as I tore the panties from her body and ate and licked at her until she was riding my face, pumping her hips against my mouth and tongue as she grew closer and closer to combustion.
“Walker, God yes!” She was so close, I palmed the back of her thighs, her ass to bring her closer and hold her down while I licked and sucked her into oblivion. A low keening cry floated on the air as her sweet honey touched my tongue while she shook the pleasure out. “Damn. I love that mouth.”
I smiled up at her, moving close so she could lick the taste of herself from my mouth. When I pulled back her hands instantly went to my waistband and freed my cock.
“Suck it,” I commanded.
The way Lacey looked up at me with those big, bottomless brown eyes nearly undid me, but when she kept her gaze trained on mine as she took my cock deep in her wet mouth, I thought maybe this was what heaven felt like. She moaned around me, taking me deeper and deeper like she was in a competition. I was close to losing my shit, so I wrapped her hair around my hand and tugged.
“What?”
“I need your sweet pussy. Now.” My cock wept when she stood and turned her plump ass my way, arching until swollen pink lips winked at me. “Fuck.”
She was soaked and hot, already squeezing my cock in a vise and I knew I wouldn’t last long. My hands palmed her hips, holding her still while I pounded into her. I slipped one finger from her clit to the little rosette between her cheeks and she bucked and cried while choking my cock inside her.
“Walker!” Over and over she shouted my name as my cock slid in and out, in a punishing, addictive pace and my finger showed her ass what pleasures could be found there. One little nibble of her shoulder and she came apart, exploding all around me and forcing my own orgasm out in a violent, fiery haze. “Holy shit. No wonder you keep it short and simple. That lovin’ alone is enough to make a girl want to keep you.”
She was joking, of course, but something rankled about how easily she could joke about walking away from me. The more I realized that I wanted her to want me, the angrier I became.
“I’m right here,” I told her, lifting her up and carrying her to the bedroom where I laid her out and spent the whole night fucking her. Hard and fast, deep punishing strokes.
Ruining her for other men.
Punishing her for making me want more than I should.
But, dammit, it only made me want her more.
* * *
I was a coward. Avoiding Lacey for nearly a week after our trip to San Diego made me worse than a coward. I knew it, called myself one every time she crossed my mind, or her beautiful face flashed behind my eyes. The worst of it was that I was only vaguely aware of the cause of my shitty mood. Eve had something to do with it, but I didn’t feel shit for her, so it had to be something else, dammit. I’d known it from the moment I pulled Lacey out of that restaurant and fucked her like it was our last day on earth. And I knew it when I stood on her doorstep and kissed her like I was going off to war.
Now, after eight days of radio silence, I knew something was up with me but I didn’t know what. Lacey had stopped calling after the third day and I didn’t blame her. She was either pissed I’d pulled a disappearing act, or maybe we were on the same page and she wasn’t all that hung up on why I hadn’t contacted her in more than a week. It was more likely that Eve and Lukas didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about, and Lacey was just following my lead.
That made the most sense.
“Everything okay, Walker?” I blinked at the sound of Jada’s worrie
d voice and frowned at the look of concern on her pretty, kind face.
“I’m fine,” I barked. “What’s up?”
“You have a call from Peak Adventures. Direct line,” she said and left as quietly as she’d entered.
I smiled and picked up the phone, happy to see Lacey wasn’t that different from the other women I’ve had. She couldn’t get enough. No matter how long I left them, eventually they always came back.
“This is Walker.”
My heart sank in disappointment at the sound of a much deeper, though familiar voice. “Let’s meet for dinner. I have a proposition I want to discuss with you,” Lukas said, his voice friendly but all business.
My curiosity was piqued, so I agreed and we made plans to meet up in a few hours. But now another thought entered my mind. Why wasn’t Lacey presenting me with this proposition when clearly she had a better in with me, at least it might appear that way on the outside. It just didn’t make sense…unless she’d taken my silence for disinterest.
“Shit.” That’s when a distant clanging sounded in my mind. A hint of warning I probably should have slowed down to listen to before I stood and grabbed my jacket and phone. “I’ll be gone the rest of the day,” I called to Jada who was on her feet, moving quickly to keep up with me.
“You have that phone call with the owners of PJRK tomorrow at nine and there’s some problem on a set in Australia. I’m handling it, but if I can’t I’ll have to forward it to you.”
“Fine,” I told her as I stepped onto the elevator. “I know you’ve got it, and I have my phone.”
“Good luck,” she said with a knowing smile as the doors closed.
I ignored it and everything except thoughts of Lacey, and why she’d stopped calling. Why she’d handed off this deal to her brother instead of dealing with me directly. Before I met with Lukas I would get answers, starting with a phone call. “Put Lacey on, please,” I told Lara who I’d spoken with quite a bit over the past few months.
“Lacey is out of the office,” she said with a hint of attitude that told me my instincts were correct. She was pissed. “Would you like to leave a message?”
“Cut the shit, it’s Walker. Where is she?”
Lara sighed heavily. “Since you don’t know, I’m guessing the status of your relationship has changed, which means I can’t tell you. Have a nice day.” The call ended abruptly and I let out an angry roar as I cut off a line of cars to make a right turn and change directions. If she wasn’t at the office, she might be at home.
I smiled as I turned onto her block and found her car in the driveway. I parked right behind her, using the anger and frustration simmering to propel me up the steps and use my fists on her door.
“Open up, Lacey!” I kept banging with my fist so she couldn’t ignore me. We needed to talk and I wasn’t above forcing the issue if I had to.
Minutes later the locks disengaged and the door opened slightly to reveal a rumpled and pale Lacey.
“What the hell do you want?”
Okay, so not happy to see me. “What’s wrong with you?”
“None of your business, Walker. Why are you here?” She still hadn’t opened the door fully to invite me in, and it didn’t look like she would.
“I came to talk to you. Are you okay?”
She scoffed and shook her head, wild curls springing up in all directions. “Suddenly you care? Spare me.”
“Why are you so angry?” It didn’t make sense, she acted like I owed her something when we both knew I didn’t. But then it all clicked into place. She’d given up after three days and fallen ill, knowing word would eventually get back to me. Shit. “Guess you’re not so different after all. What’s wrong with you?”
She shrugged. “A bug, not that its any of your business.”
I leaned in, a menacing glare on my face. “But it is, isn’t it? This bug of yours,” I spat out and stepped closer until she had no choice but to back up. “How long have you had this bug, Lacey?”
“A few days, I guess but maybe longer. I think I ignored the signs the first few days after we returned from San Diego.” She shrugged and went to her sofa, curling up under a fluffy blanket. Her living room was littered with signs of a weeklong illness, but I was feeling angry and irrational.
The warning bells sounded louder. But I wasn’t sure if it was to tell me to shut the hell up, or get the answers I knew were coming. “When was your last period?” Lacey had money so that wasn’t her motivation but women were all the same, they wanted commitment and fuck what the man wanted.
“Excuse me?” She blinked like she was trying to translate my words.
“Your last period, Lacey, when was it?”
“What?” She shook her head and sat up, trying to clear her foggy mind it seemed. “Why are you asking me about my period Walker?”
I frowned and got in her face. She could pretend to be this little perfect princess all she wanted but we both knew the truth now. “Because I’m trying to figure out what your game is.” I let out a mocking laugh that made her wince. “Women always want something else, something more than I want to give them and they’ve tried everything, believe me, so whatever it is you think you’re doing you’re a little late.”
“A little late,” she echoed softly, disbelief and confusion still playing in her expression.
“That’s right, then again, you’ve always been a bit of a late bloomer haven’t you, Lacey?”
She winced at my words like I struck her but those big brown eyes were suddenly clear. “Oh my god.”
I was too far gone to care about the pain written all over her face. “I told you I didn’t do commitment or forever so don’t think a fake pregnancy is going to change that. Don’t think you can change that.”
“Oh my god. Oh my god,” she whispered the words over and over, sounding more devastated each time. “I can’t…,” she let out a long pained breath that was filled with the tears she tried to hold back. “Thank you for letting me know what you think of me, Walker.” With slow, deliberate precision she folded the blanket back and swung her legs to the floor, sliding her feet into ridiculous bear slippers and stood, swaying a little but holding her hands up to stop my attempt to help. My stomach fell when she clutched the wall for balance. “Do not touch me!”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“I don’t want your help, Walker. And for the record I never asked you for anything, because I know you’re incapable of caring about anyone but yourself! I had fun with you and I thought we were having fun together.” Her mouth opened and I could see it, the moment she gave up. “Goodbye, Walker.” She held the door open, standing as far from me as she could, eyes vacant and posture stiff, uninviting.
I stepped out and turned back to her. “Lacey if you’re preg-,”
She held up a hand, cutting me off abruptly. “If I am, I’ll remedy it quickly. Wouldn’t want to inconvenience your life, would we?” Instead of waiting for an answer she slammed the door in my face, flipping every lock just to drive her point home.
That could not have possibly gone any worse than it had. But it wasn’t until I was miles away from Lacey that her words came back to me and made me sick.
I’ll remedy it quickly.
The words kept flashing in my mind until I pulled over and opened my car door before I emptied my stomach into the gutter.
Lacey
It was time. I’d been away from the office for almost two weeks nursing a nasty sickness that, contrary to Walker’s assertions, was not pregnancy related, and it was time to get back to work. I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, but there was only so much I could do from home without risk of affecting my assistant who’d done a good job in my absence. Lara had done such great work, that if my body and heart wasn’t sick, I would have been worried.
As it was, I couldn’t turn off my brain which wouldn’t stop the endless loop of self-loathing and told ya so’s. Walker was a jerk without a doubt, but I was the fool who ignored her instincts, who ig
nored warnings from his best friend. He wasn’t the kind of guy to commit, not even when it was clear he had feelings that went beyond wanting to stick his dick in me. No matter what I’d seen in his deep green eyes, I knew who he was and still I let myself believe.
The worst part of it all, the thing that left me so disgusted with myself I could barely look at my reflection as I whipped my hair into a loose bun and put on just enough makeup to pass for a person among the living, was that I still dreamed of him. I still wanted him, still burned for him. It was pathetic and I could only hope that in this case, time was the healer it was purported to be.
I gave myself one last look in the mirror and went to gather my things as the doorbell rang. Like a fool, my heart leapt at the thought it could be Walker. But the smarter part of me, my brain, was in charge and knew better. A quick look in the peephole revealed both of my brothers, and I groaned.
“We heard that, now you have to open up,” Lukas said
“What are you guys doing here? With food.” That meant something was wrong. Blake now had Poppy and Maple to make sure he was fed, and Lukas ate out every night of the week. Food meant they had bad news. “Come in.”
Blake frowned. “Were you going out?”
“Figured I’d sneak in to get some work done while everyone was gone. What’s in the bag?”
“Lasagna.”
Good, because I hadn’t eaten since lunch and that was just brown rice and chicken broth. I pounced on the bag as soon as it hit the table, ignoring the imposing pests staring at me with concern. As always. They may be kings of the business world but I could wait them out, feeling their heavy gazes on my back as I grabbed dishes.
The lasagna was tall and cheesy and I ate it like the starving woman I was, while also waiting out Blake and Lukas.
“Your proposal was good, Lacey. Really good, just about perfect in fact.” I heard his positive words, but they were both here which meant there was more.
Cowboys & Bosses Page 45
