The Vault Box Set

by Eden Summers

  The cool night air comforted her as she stepped outside, not bothering to acknowledge the bouncers standing at the door.

  “You need an escort?” one of them called.

  She shook her head, unable to speak. They usually made sure she reached her car safely, but she didn’t want the company tonight. The two-minute walk to the staff parking lot at the back of the building wasn’t going to kill her.

  She needed to get home. And the sooner the better. The thin material of her figure-hugging top was making her skin crawl. Even the light breeze against her cheeks was beginning to make her whimper.

  What a fucking disaster.

  Turning the corner, she slowed her pace, needing to calm herself before sliding behind the wheel.

  “Hey, miss.”

  Her gaze snapped around at the deep voice. Oh, shit. It was the guy from Vault of Sin, the one who’d thought she was God’s gift to masturbation. She ignored him and increased her pace. Adrenaline spurred her faster, her legs almost breaking into a run.

  “I just want to talk.”

  In a darkened parking lot? In the early hours of the morning? After jerking off in front of her?

  No thanks.

  “I’m not interested.” She palmed her keys, ready for anything. Everything.

  Turning the far corner of the building, she chanced another glance over her shoulder and stumbled across the loose asphalt. Her bag slid from her shoulder, falling to the ground, and the spike of fear almost had her doubling over.

  With a squeal, she yanked the handbag strap from the ground and began to run to her car. She fumbled with the button in her hand, finally unlocking the doors as she reached for the handle. He was right behind her, she could feel it. Her senses were on red alert, waiting for a rough hand to grab her.

  She yanked the door open, jumped inside and pressed the lock as fast as she could. Her hands shook trying to get the key in the ignition, and she almost sobbed in relief when they slid into place. Without pause, she gunned the engine, yanked her gearstick into reverse and floored it.

  God help anyone behind me.

  As she pulled out, she caught the shadow of the man standing at the corner of the building, one hand raised, asking her to stop. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t right behind her, but he had more chance getting a blowjob from one of the alley cats than he did of her hitting the brakes.

  Buh bye, asshole.

  She watched him jog after her car from the rear-view mirror, following her to the front of the building. Pressing harder on the accelerator, she pulled onto the road, thankful for no oncoming traffic.

  Two blocks down the road, she was still breathing heavy, her heart gradually descending from her throat. What a douche. Mr. Masturbator was the perfect ending to an equally perfect day. There wasn’t a hope in hell she would sleep tonight, or the rest of the week for that matter. She would dread seeing Leo on Tuesday when she worked the lunch shift at the Taste of Sin restaurant. Even if she did regain her confidence, it would take a lot of effort to hide her wounded pride.

  Flicking on her indicator, she pulled to a stop at the traffic lights and inwardly cursed her stupidity. If only she’d kept her mouth shut. Leo wasn’t a jerk, he’d probably had no intention of sleeping with anyone tonight…until she’d overreacted and driven him to it. And who knew, in the light of day she might’ve been able to understand what the whole sex-club thing was about.

  She wasn’t a prude. Her mind was as open as a hooker’s thighs. He’d shocked her, that’s all. She’d never seen him with another woman, and having the mental image of him diddling the masses was heart shattering.

  “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

  She blinked back the sting in her eyes and winced when the lights from a car behind her entered her rear-vision mirror. They flashed their high beams and she glanced up to confirm the traffic lights hadn’t changed.

  “Nope,” she muttered. “What’s your problem?”

  Focusing back on her mirror, her skin prickled as she zeroed in on the car behind her. No way. It was the guy from the parking lot. He’d followed her.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  He opened his car door and her heart stopped in fear. She had no intention of sticking around. She checked for traffic and then turned through the red light, reaching for her bag as she pulled onto the main road.

  He was going to follow her home and then rape and murder her. Holy shit, she was going to die. She riffled through her bag for her phone and unlocked the screen as she drove. Calling Leo wasn’t an option. He already thought she was weak, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of rubbing it in. Instead, she clicked on T.J.’s contact and bit her lip as the phone rang.

  “Hey, Shay, what’s up?”

  Flashing lights glared at her through the rear-view mirror, and she whimpered. “Please help me. A guy from the club came after me in the parking lot. He’s following me home. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Baby, calm down.” Concern laced his words. “Where are you?”

  “I’m on the main road, a few blocks from work, heading toward the city.”

  “Can you turn around and come back?”

  She shook her head and puffed out an anxious breath. “I don’t want to take a side street and risk him running me off the road. Please, T.J., I don’t know what to do.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m coming after you. Stay on the main road and slow down so I can catch up. But don’t stop. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Okay.” Her voice waivered. She lifted her foot off the accelerator, slowing the car well below the speed limit. The guy behind her continued to flash his lights, his arm now waving out the window, his finger pointing to the side of the road.

  This was karma. She’d been a raging bitch to Leo, and now she was paying the price. Either her stalker was going to ram into her car and drag her out the door, or she’d have a heart attack while she waited.

  Chill.

  She sucked in a shaky breath, let it out slowly and turned on the radio. The lethargic, early morning music did nothing to soothe her. All she could do was continue to hyperventilate and wait.

  As she reached a yield sign, a horn blasted, startling her. A car sped up beside her on the wrong side of the road, and Leo’s face stared at her from the passenger window. Shit. She didn’t know if she should be relieved or more frightened from the heat in his eyes.

  “Pull over,” he mouthed, his lips set in a solemn line.

  She did as instructed, driving through the intersection and pulling to the curb in front of the next street light. T.J.’s car parked behind her, and the other guy followed. Before she had time to cut the engine, she saw Leo in her rear-view mirror. He flung open his door and climbed from the car with his shoulders broad with menace. There wasn’t an ounce of softness to his features as he turned his back and jogged to the stranger’s car.

  “Oh, shit.” She watched in horror as he yanked the guy out by his shirt and thrust him against the side of the vehicle.

  “Shay.”

  She screamed and then clasped a hand over her mouth. T.J. stood outside her car, one hand on the door handle while the other tapped on her window until she released the lock. He opened the door as she unclicked her seatbelt and then reached down to help her out.

  “Come here.”

  She could hear Leo yelling as she went willingly into T.J.’s arms.

  “It was just a misunderstanding,” he cooed in her ear.

  Misunderstanding?

  She tilted her head, listening to Leo verbally abuse the man. “Well, you don’t fucking chase after her. You drop the keys with the bouncers and let her figure out she’s lost them. Why did you follow her into the parking lot anyway?”

  Keys?

  “Travis came to me in the club and said I freaked her out. I felt like shit and wanted to apologize.” The man was almost talking too fast for her to understand, yet, all the awkward pieces began falling into place. “I gathered I was scaring her, so I stopped following, but she
dropped her handbag and didn’t pick up her keys. I’m sorry. It was my initial reaction to go after her.”

  Shay winced. “I’m such a tool.”

  “No, you’re not.” T.J. hugged her tight. “He should’ve known better than to go after you. You had every reason to be frightened.”

  She whimpered and closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder. The jingle of keys sounded and then a car door slammed. She closed her lids tighter as the stranger’s car sped off and heavy footsteps approached.

  When the crunch against the asphalt stopped, she held her breath in the silence. She couldn’t look at Leo, couldn’t take the anger in his eyes or the annoyance at her stupidity. Instead, she burrowed deeper into T.J., hoping he’d hold her a little longer, until she recovered enough from her embarrassment to drive home.

  “I’ll take it from here,” Leo spoke softly.

  Her lids fluttered open and her lips trembled with the need to protest as T.J. retreated a step. He gave a sad smile and stroked a lazy hand through her hair. “I’ll head back to the club and close things up for the night. Call me if you need anything.”

  No. Don’t leave me.

  She stared wide-eyed, silently begging him not to bail on her. Especially when Leo didn’t look like he was going anywhere. “I’ll be fine,” she croaked, hoping the two of them would leave together. “Thank you both.” She kept her focus on T.J., no matter how hard Leo’s gaze bore into the side of her face. “I’ll see you both next week.”

  T.J. waited, scrutinizing her.

  “I said I’d take care of it,” Leo growled. “Just go.”

  A shiver ran down her spine at his command, and she twisted around to her car, ready to flee. She pulled open the door to the sound of T.J.’s retreating steps, then the air left her lungs as a heavy hand wove around her waist and slammed it shut again.

  He was right behind her, his chest at her back, his breath in her hair. “I’ll drive you home,” he murmured, making her come undone, dragging the uncontrollable emotions higher up her throat.

  She shook her head. They’d fought enough tonight. The battle scars still stung across her heart. Being around him now would make it ten times harder to stop the tears she despised from flowing. She wasn’t a fucking crier. The last time she’d shed tears was years ago. And she’d be damned if she broke the achievement by blubbering over an enthusiastic masturbator and a case of mistaken intentions.

  “I’m a big girl. I can drive myself home.” She stood rigid, waiting for him to back off, hoping the warmth sinking under her skin would quickly vanish.

  “Please, Shay.”

  His plea undid her. He didn’t say another word, just continued to lean into her, his breath fanning her neck, his scent driving her crazy as T.J. pulled out from behind them. Leo placed his hand on her hip, sending a shudder through her stomach and higher to her nipples. She closed her eyes again, wishing the darkness would give her strength. But it didn’t, it only gave her the image of him in her mind, the light dusting of stubble, the tempting lips she’d fall to her knees to taste.

  She couldn’t take it any longer, couldn’t find the strength she hoped beyond hope to find. She turned in his arms, leaned against the cold metal of the car and stared up at him. Fragility stared back at her. His eyes were now a darker shade of blue, his forehead creased with a slight frown.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  There, she’d apologized, so why did she still feel terrible?

  “It’s not your fault. Glenn knows better than to approach someone outside the club, no matter what the circumstances.”

  “No.” She shook her head and lowered her gaze to the tanned skin exposed above the top button of his shirt. “I’m sorry for being such a bitch.”

  “Don’t be.” His response was immediate, without reservation.

  Her guilt increased at his sudden acceptance of her apology.

  “Your sexuality is none of my business,” she continued. She deserved his wrath, and getting it over and done with now would make it easier to return to work next week.

  “I kinda made it your business.” The side of his lips tilted in a sly grin.

  “It still doesn’t excuse the way I acted.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Seriousness entered his features. “But as your boss, I should’ve prepared you better. And—don’t roll your eyes at me—because we’re friends, I should’ve prepared you better. I’m not letting you get away with being a bitch. I’m just saying that I know you, and I should’ve expected the jabs at my ego. It’s what you do when you’re upset.”

  “You don’t know me that well,” she retorted. He didn’t know her at all if he thought her side of their relationship was based on mere friendship. “I thought I knew you too…” She let the sentence hang.

  “You do know me, Shay.” He placed his hands on her hips, holding her tight, bringing them pelvis to hard, unyielding pelvis. “There’s just one tiny aspect of my life you didn’t know about.”

  “Tiny aspect?” She wanted to snort. A hidden tattoo equated to a tiny aspect. Owning and participating in a sex club was such an enormous part of his life that it deserved its own zip code.

  “My sex life doesn’t define me. I’m still the guy…”

  She quirked a brow. Did he really not know how she felt? Or did saying it aloud make him uncomfortable?

  “I fell in love with?” she answered for him. She was too tired for games, and maybe exposing how she felt would make him understand why Vault of Sin had rocked her foundations so hard. It wasn’t all the cock swinging around, or all the screaming, squealing and grunting. It was the loss of love she now knew would never be returned.

  Leo stared at her with narrowing eyes.

  Yeah, asshole. Those overreactions were because of love, not my so-called normalness.

  “I need to get home.” She turned away from his scrutiny. “I’ll drop you back at the club.”

  “No.”

  He grabbed her hand and led her to the other side of the car. She was helpless, her body craving his touch so much she didn’t protest when he opened the passenger-side door and waited for her to climb in. As she clasped her belt, he loomed over her, his focus growing with intent.

  “I’ll get you home. Hopefully by then I’ll have some semblance of mental capacity after the bomb you just dropped. Then I’ll make us some coffee, ’cause we sure as shit aren’t finished with this conversation.”

  Chapter Six

  Leo pulled into Shay’s townhouse driveway, not entirely sure how he got there. He’d seen her home once before, at the end of a staff Christmas party. Tonight’s trip had been done on autopilot. The drive had been silent, nothing but the churning of his brain to keep him company.

  Love. Holy fuck.

  Talk about a punch to the testicles. He didn’t know whether to let excitement take hold, or if he should cut and run. Every woman he’d shown his true sexuality to had gutted him with their rapid rejection. And even though Shay had technically done the same, he couldn’t fight the desire to let the grin pulling at his lips take hold. There was a glimmer of hope in this fucked-up mess. A glimmer he might be willing to explore, even though the pain from the past made him cautious.

  Cutting the engine, he turned off the lights and sat in the darkened silence as she unbuckled her belt.

  “I’m exhausted.” Her fragile tone reaffirmed her words. “Can we talk about this another day? Or maybe never?”

  Like hell. Love had never been within his grasp. He wouldn’t let it go easily. “Sorry, little girl. We’re doing this now.”

  Her head snapped around, her light-brown irises darkening as the side of her jaw flexed.

  There you go. An added boost of adrenaline to keep you awake. He loved the way her eyes flared when he taunted her. He loved her sass. Fuck. He really did adore this woman.

  She yanked her handbag from the floor, climbed from the car and slammed the door in a huff. He chuckled to himself while she stormed to the front o
f her home and began searching for her keys. The keys Glenn had picked up from the parking-lot asphalt and were now firmly sitting in Leo’s trouser pocket.

  After a few seconds of searching, she straightened and swung around to glare at him.

  With a grin, he climbed from the car and jogged to her side.

  “My keys?” She thrust out her palm. “Please.”

  He retrieved them from his pocket and placed them in her hand, touching her for longer than necessary. Her skin was soft, warm and too damn inviting after the anger he’d received from her earlier. As much as he liked teasing her, he hated her ire. Her lips were meant for smiling, not snarling. And he never wanted to see those light-brown irises peering up at him with anything other than lust and affection.

  “Thank you,” she muttered and then turned to open the door.

  He followed her down a pitch-black hall and squinted when she flicked on a light to reveal an open kitchen, dining and living room area. She went to the fridge, retrieved a bottle of water and spun to him as she cracked open the lid.

  “So…can we get this chat over with?” She raised a haughty brow. She was flustered, still the frightened lioness backed into a corner.

  “No need to be aggressive. All I want to do is talk.”

  “Aggressive? No. I’m in shock. I’m disappointed. I’m probably overreacting a little, but I’m not aggressive. I just want to go to bed.”

  He quirked a brow, arrogantly suggesting he join her.

  “Alone, Leo.”

  He held in a chuckle, yet he couldn’t keep the side of his lips from tilting. Her vulnerability warmed his heart, made him yearn more to protect her. “Don’t worry about next week. I’ll find someone else to work the shift.”

  “Are you kidding?” She pushed from the counter and straightened her shoulders. “Working down there isn’t the problem. I don’t give a flying hoot what nameless, faceless people do in their spare time. This is about you blindsiding me when I’d made it clear I had feelings for you.”

  “I’m sorry.” Even though her reactions had sparked an avalanche of bickering, this mess between them was his fault. He should’ve put his foot down when T.J. suggested she work in the Vault.