Forever (The Tryst Series #4)

by Marie York

  I didn’t talk about it. Not to him, not to anyone. I preferred to keep those horrid memories locked in my own mind. It was torture, but I deserved it.

  “She already knows. So, why are you pushing her away, then?”

  I didn’t say anything. I poured myself another glass, and stared into the brown liquid.

  “You’ve tortured yourself long enough. You have something real with Lyla.”

  I glanced up from the glass. “How do you know?”

  He smirked. “Because when you look at her, you look like how I felt when I realized Dee was the one.”

  The one. The words knocked into me like a four hundred pound drunk bastard: heavy and unsteady.

  Cole reached across the bar, picked up the bottle, and held it out to me. “Welcome to the club, buddy.”

  I snatched the bottle from his grip, wanting to say fuck the glass and just suck down the bottle, but I still had a bottle under my desk and I was already losing enough goddamn money. So, I filled the glass halfway, and leaned against the back wall of the bar.

  The bell above the door clinked, and Gary walked in. “Hey boss… Cole,” he said, with a wave.

  I looked at the clock. “Gary, what the fuck are you doing here so early?”

  “You said you had to do inventory. Thought I could help.”

  Sometimes, he was as dumb as a brick, and couldn’t talk himself out of a paper bag, but he was a hard worker. I appreciated that.

  “That’d be great. Do me a favor first. Go to my office, and get the clipboard off my desk.”

  “Sure thing, boss.”

  When Gary disappeared up the stairs, Cole took a sip from his glass, and nodded in my direction. “So, what are you going to do about Lyla?” he asked.

  “I have no fucking idea.”

  It’d be easy to keep pushing Lyla away. Continue my life as it was. The problem was, from the minute she walked into that class all those years ago, my life changed. I tried running the first time, but the girl was impossible to shake. No matter how much I didn’t want to accept it, it was becoming harder not to.

  Lyla Scott wasn’t a girl you could ignore.

  ***

  Lyla didn’t show up until five minutes before her shift started. It was obvious she was avoiding me, and I should’ve been happy. It’s what I wanted. What I had been doing to her. But, ever since I talked to Cole, I couldn’t get her off my fucking mind.

  She had on one of her short skirts, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her legs. I wanted them wrapped around my head, her hands tugging at my hair, while I tongue fucked her pussy.

  My dick throbbed in my pants, desperate to taste her. Tara walked up behind her, and gave her a smack on the ass. She was in another shirt I’d never seen before, and I grinded my teeth at her blatant display.

  If you were going to steal money, the least you could fucking do was not flaunt the shit you bought with it. I pressed my fingers to my head, and tried to calm the hell down.

  I lowered my hand, and watched as Tara strutted to the back. I wished it wasn’t her, but to any fool, it’d be obvious that it was. Son of a bitch. She pushed into the kitchen, and I turned back to the bar. My gaze caught Lyla’s across the way. Her eyes were dull, and I wondered if it was because of the conversation last night. I hated to see her as anything but happy, so, even though I wasn’t in a smiling mood, I forced one for her.

  She smiled back, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and then she hurried to the kitchen.

  I spent the rest of the night watching Tara’s every move, waiting to see if she slipped any cash into anywhere but her front pocket. There was such a crowd though, and it was hard to keep track.

  By the end of the night, I had no proof. The bar cleared out, and Lyla helped me clean up in silence. I just didn’t know what to say to her. Kind of like when we first met and I could never manage more than a few words here and there. Plus, I just liked to hear her talk. She was good with conversation, made it easy. Had a way of making me want to talk, something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  Except, tonight, she wasn’t making it easy. She was quiet and cold. Wouldn’t even look in my direction. She wiped down the final table, and tossed the rag with the other dirty ones.

  “You okay?” I asked, like a dumbass.

  “Fine,” she muttered.

  Fine: the universal word for women that really meant I’m far from fine, but I have nothing to say to you, so leave me the fuck alone. Yeah, she was fine all right.

  She went to walk up the stairs, and I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “Lyla, talk to me. Please.”

  “I have nothing to say to you. I’ll start looking into apartments tomorrow.”

  Anger and frustration twisted into an ugly knot inside of me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Her tits rose and fell as she exhaled. “I was so desperate for a place, so, when you offered, I jumped on it. But the truth is, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to live with you just a few feet down the hall. Every night, I wait up expecting you to come, and slide into bed with me. Yet you never do. And tonight. After watching you, I know that I was just another notch on your bedpost.”

  “Watching me? What the hell were you watching?”

  She smirked. “I saw you gawking at Tara. It’s obvious you want her.”

  My jaw practically hit the floor. She had it all fucking wrong.

  “It’s bad enough I’ll see you two at work, I can’t bear to see you two…”

  I pressed my fingers to her lips, and her eyes widened. “Stop talking.”

  “But…”

  “Shhh.” Like always, she smelled so good, and being that close to her, made it almost impossible not to pin her against the stairs, and do everything to her that I had been dreaming about for days. I pushed the thoughts away and focused on her. “Has anyone ever told you that you have an overactive imagination?”

  Her eyes narrowed, causing her nose to scrunch, and I laughed.

  “There’s nothing going on with me and Tara, and there never will be.”

  She went to speak again, and I shook my head. I tapped my fingers to her lips, and kept them there.

  “First off, Declan would never forgive me.”

  She raised her eyebrows, and then understanding flashed across her face. “I knew it!” she exclaimed.

  “He’s not very good at hiding it, even though Tara never seems to notice.”

  “She’s oblivious. Too busy focusing on all the wrong guys that she can’t see the one right in front of her.” Lyla’s eyes caught mine, and they were big and beautiful. Eyes that I could stare into every second of every day for the rest of my life, and never once wonder what else was out there. Because, for me, there was no one else.

  Holy fuck. Cole was right. Lyla was the one.

  It was a realization that should’ve had me running, but, for once in my life, I didn’t want to run. I wanted to stay right where I was. Standing with the most gorgeous person I had ever seen, and who, despite my past, still wanted me. I cleared my throat ready to tell her the truth. “Secondly, I’m not oblivious. The only girl I want is right in front of me.” She sucked in a breath, and I dragged my fingers away from her lips, tracing them across the soft curve of her jaw. “I don’t know how to do forever, and I’m scared that forever doesn’t really exist. But what scares me more is the thought of waking up in the middle of the night, and you not being there in my kitchen, drinking a glass of milk. Not knowing where you are at night, and wondering if you’re with some other guy, because that would kill me.”

  I cupped her cheek, and she nuzzled into my hand. “There is no other guy. From that very first night together, it’s only ever been you.”

  “I have to go to Ann Arbor in a few days. Come with me.” I had a feeling I’d be short a waitress, and with Lyla being my only other full timer, it was a stupid move, but for some reason I needed her to go with me. “It’ll be an overnight trip.”

  “R
eally? You want me to go with you?” I nodded, and a smile spread wide across her face, finally reaching her eyes. “Yes, I’ll go.”

  I cupped her other cheek, and pulled her forehead to my lips. “We leave Monday morning.”

  “What do you have to do in Ann Arbor?”

  This time I smiled ridiculously big. It had been something I’d been planning for awhile now. No one knew about it, but Lyla would soon enough. “You’ll see,” I said, and she arched an eyebrow.

  “Always so mysterious, Jaxon Reed, but I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

  Chapter 8

  Last night, I walked Lyla to her bedroom, gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, and went to my own room. Jerked off and blew a load. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, but I was ready to start doing things the right way. Our first date, if you could even consider it that, was me fucking her up against my apartment door after her douchebag boyfriend broke up with her.

  One minute, I was wiping tears from her cheeks, and the next, I was sinking my cock into her. She deserved more than that. It was time I started thinking with the right head.

  I watched her across the bar as she weaved in and out of the crowd. She’d become a damn good waitress, but I knew she wanted more. I was hoping to be able to make that possible after our trip to Ann Arbor.

  I left Gary at the bar, and headed to the back to see Declan. Smoke rose up from the grill, and my stomach growled at the rising scent of burgers.

  “Jax, my man, what’s going on?” Deck asked as I approached. He wiped his forehead with the top of his sleeve, and continued juggling between flipping burgers and pulling up fries from the deep fryer.

  “Just want to remind you, I’ll be gone…”

  “For a couple days,” he laughed. “I know.”

  I might have mentioned it one time… or six. But I had never left Baile’s since we’d opened. The thought of leaving it in the hands of someone else was a bit unsettling. I trusted Deck with my life, though. I knew everything would run smoothly as long as he kept Gary away from the kitchen.

  “Just checking,” I replied. Since I was back there, I decided to do a little digging. He knew Tara better than anyone else. “Has Tara said anything about getting a second job?”

  “Not that I know of.” He looked away from the grill, and focused on me. “Why do you ask?”

  “She seems more dolled up than usual.”

  Deck sighed, and then shrugged. “Probably just has a new guy buying her shit.”

  “Probably,” I muttered, but wasn’t convinced. It was all just a little too convenient for me.

  “Hey Deck, I need two burgers with no cheese, or they’ll have my head on a platter. Oh, hey, Jax,” Tara said, as she rounded the prep station, and spotted me. She had on some gaudy necklace and a matching bracelet. Come to think of it, I don’t remember her ever really wearing jewelry. I decided then that my best approach was to just bring up the topic of missing money to Tara, and gage her reaction.

  “I’ll get on your order,” Deck said, and Tara and I both walked away.

  Before we approached the door, I stood in front of her. “Wanted to ask you something,” I said, and she raised an eyebrow waiting for me to continue. “I’ve noticed there’s been money missing at the end of the night.”

  Her hands landed on her hips, and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “And you automatically think it was me?”

  I held my hand up as if that would calm her down. She was a damn firework about to go off. “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you’re implying it. I’m not fucking stupid, despite what you may think.”

  “I never said those words.”

  “You didn’t have to, Jax. I know what you’re thinking.” Her eyes glossed over, but she blinked them clear, and shook her head. When she looked back at me, her eyes were dry and angry. “Who else have you asked? Did you ask Lyla? Or is she automatically off the table because you’re fucking her?”

  “Hey!” I screamed, and Declan came out from his spot in the kitchen.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” he asked.

  I turned to him. “Deck, this is nothing that concerns you.”

  “You were back here talking to Declan. Did you ask him if he knew anything about the missing money?”

  “Money’s missing?” Deck asked, and I could almost see the lightbulb go off in his head.

  “Tara, if you needed money, why didn’t you just ask me? You know I would’ve given it to you.”

  This time, she didn’t fight the tears; they fell freely down her cheeks. She pushed her blonde hair off her face, and pursed her lips. “Fuck the two of you.” She ripped off her apron, and threw it at my face before storming out the kitchen doors and out of Baile.

  Chapter 9

  The sun was shining and the sky was blue. A beautiful day for a road trip. It was a little over an hour, but since I’d been pretty stationary the past few months, I was happy to get on the open road.

  I carried Lyla’s bag down the stairs, and tossed it into the backseat of my Camaro. “What the hell do you have in here? A dead body?”

  “Watch yourself, or it could be your dead body next,” she said with a wink.

  I rested my hand on the trunk of the car and leaned into her. She bit her lip and looked at me through those damn long lashes of hers. “You would never kill me.”

  She smiled up at me and fluttered her eyes. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  “You would miss me too much.”

  She lifted an eyebrow, like she was in deep thought, then let it fall back into place. “I suppose I would.”

  I grabbed her side, and she jumped with a squeal. The sound brought a smile to my face. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  We got in the car and headed south. Lyla kicked off her shoes, and rested her bare feet on my dashboard. I had three rules in my car, and that was one of them.

  “Must you? With the feet?” I asked, nodding towards them.

  “Must I what?”

  “Put your feet up there?”

  “What’s the big deal?”

  “It’s one of my rules. No feet on the dash.”

  She crossed her feet at the ankles, and leaned back, taunting me. “Oh, is it now?”

  “Yes, I have three rules, and that’s one of them. So, off.”

  “What are the other two?” she asked, as she reached into her purse, and pulled out a bottle of lotion. She squirted some in her hand, and my cock throbbed as she started running them up and down the length of her legs. It smelled so damn good. I tore my eyes away before I drove off the damn road.

  I cleared my throat, regaining my composure. “No food. No drinks. And no feet on the damn dashboard.”

  She glanced around the car, and then back at me. “I don’t see it posted anywhere.”

  “Must you be a brat?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine!” she exclaimed, and then slid them back on the floor where they belonged. “Better?” she asked.

  “Much,” I said, and rested my hand on her upper thigh. Her skin was hot and soft, a deathly combination. I swear, the heat raced up my arm and straight to my dick. The slightest of smiles tugged at her lips before she linked her fingers with mine. We drove the entire way like that.

  A little over an hour later, we pulled up to the storefront I had been checking out online. “Where are we?” Lyla asked, as she got out of the car.

  I rounded the bumper, and came to Lyla’s side. “This, I hope, will be Dara Baile.”

  Lyla’s lips fell open, and she smacked a hand over her mouth. “Shut up. You’re opening another location?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  She swatted my chest. “Jax, that’s amazing. Why Dara Baile?”

  “Baile means home in Irish. Dara Baile means second home.”

  The way she looked at me I knew she understood the meaning to the name and how important it was to me.

  “Come on, show me inside.”

>   She yanked my arm, but I stood frozen in place. She looked at me funny, not that I could blame her. “You okay?” she asked, turning into me.

  I reached up, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, my hand lingering near her chin. “You called me Jax.”

  “So?”

  “I don’t think you’ve ever called me that.” It was ridiculous and stupid, but for some reason, her calling me Jax felt good. Like she no longer saw me as just Jaxon Reed the name, but as a person. I was probably over thinking it, and, hell, she may have called me Jax before, but for some reason, in that moment, it meant something. It was that or I was losing my fucking mind, which was damn possible.

  “Are you sure?” she asked, with a sweet smile.

  “Even in my dreams, you call me Jaxon.”

  “Oh, so you’re dreaming about me? Do tell.”

  I took her in my arms, and ran my hand down her side, just grazing her ass. My lips pressed to her ear, and goosebumps prickled her skin. Oh, the things I was going to do to her later. “I would, but I wouldn’t want to get you all riled up since my broker is walking up.”

  I stepped back, and Lyla straightened up, pretending to play with her hair, but, I knew she was just trying to calm down.

  “Martin, how’s it going?” I asked as I shook my brokers hand.

  “It’ll be going great once we get the paperwork moving,” he joked.

  “Let’s see if we can make that happen.” I moved aside, and held my hand out to Lyla, motioning her to me. “I’d like you to meet Lyla.”

  “Pleasure,” Lyla said.

  “Pleasure is all mine,” Martin said, his eyes lingering on her chest before he snapped them away. A second longer, and I would’ve snapped them away from him. “Shall we go inside?”

  “Please,” I said, and followed Martin in.

  I had seen pictures online since Martin had been doing most of the scouting. I had been crunching numbers for months, figuring out if I’d be able to get the money together to make this step. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on what mood I was in, it’s how I discovered the missing money.