by Liz Meldon
Over the pounding of her heart, she was finally able to dissect that conversation, her face in a permanent state of blush. Cole had made two references that Finn either owned the house, or, at the very least, was responsible for the orgy happening in its living room. Why hadn’t Finn said anything?
“Skye!”
Both she and Cole paused a few feet from their awaiting car, only to find Finn jogging down the stairs after them, her purse in hand.
“You left this in the…” He caught himself as Skye took the clutch back, Cole’s eyes burning holes into the side of her head. “Veranda. On the veranda. I didn’t want you to forget it.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, then turned away as quickly as she could. Cole already had the car door open for her, and she heard them exchanging stiff, albeit friendly, banter before Cole climbed in after her. Skye didn’t glance back as the car pulled away, but she knew by the way the hairs on her neck stood that Finn was at the curb, watching them go.
“Shall I take you home?” Cole asked.
“Please.”
“No pizza pick-up on the way?”
“I’m just tired,” she told him. Physically. Emotionally. She needed to crash and process her thoughts—and maybe her feelings too. Still, she managed a smile. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
About halfway home, she found the courage to ask the question she needed an answer to before they parted ways.
“How do you know Finn?”
“We’ve known each other for about ten years,” Cole admitted as he tapped around on his phone, not looking up at her. “We met just at the start of my first company taking off. A lot of people wanted things from me, but Finn just wanted…me, I guess. My friendship. He’s been making sure I don’t make a total fuck-up of myself ever since. It’s been a long time since we’ve even been in the same country. Seeing him was a pleasant surprise.”
“Oh.” She stared back out the window, watching the brief stretch of coastal highway turn back into the outer suburbs of Coral Bay. “That’s nice.”
“He’s a good man.”
“So are you,” she said without thinking. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cole look up sharply—but when he spoke next, it was like she hadn’t said it at all.
“I’ve got something for you.”
When she tore her gaze from the window, she found him holding out a black envelope to her, which she accepted with a slight frown.
“What is it?”
“My poker winnings,” he said with a shrug, a hint of his easy smile returning. Her stomach did its usual somersault in response, the butterflies fluttering back to life. However, that all came crashing to a halt when she saw the amount inside the envelope. At first she thought it was a huge envelope of one-dollar bills—but billionaires don’t play poker with one-dollar bills.
“Cole, I can’t.” She tried to shove the envelope into his hands, but he pulled away, chuckling.
“Take it. I won it for you.”
“How much is this?” Skye demanded, a strange, unwelcome sense of panic making her chest tight.
“About ten thousand—”
“Cole!” They seldom discussed money, but she always refused to take anything that wasn’t related to rent, groceries, or tuition. That was probably why he showered her in expensive gifts whenever he breezed into town; she wouldn’t take cash. Skye didn’t want cash. Especially not when it felt like he was paying her for attending an orgy tonight—where she’d subsequently had sex with the host. “Take it back.”
“No, I don’t want it.”
“Cole.”
His expression fell slightly when her eyes watered, and he stopped fighting her when she all but threw the envelope at him. Flustered, Skye sat back in her seat and brushed her hair out of her face. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the gesture. I just don’t want it. Donate it somewhere instead.”
Cautiously, Cole slid the envelope back into his jacket pocket. “Skye… I didn’t mean to… I hope I didn’t insult you. That wasn’t my intention.”
“You didn’t.”
“It sort of seems like I did.”
“I just…” She knew she ought to tell him what had happened, but not here. Not where someone could overhear—no matter how hard the driver pretended to be focused on the road. “It’s been a weird night. I’m sorry.”
He appraised her for a moment. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Skye said quickly.
“You sure?”
“I’m totally fine…” She flashed a smile. “I promise.”
He looked like he believed her.
Skye almost did too.
7
Idiots. Idiots Everywhere
“Can I ask you something?”
“Hmm?” Cole closed the car door behind her, having just told the driver to wait inside. Her apartment building towered overhead, quiet and familiar, beckoning her in. But Skye couldn’t just go. She couldn’t do their usual cheek-kiss thing and walk away like tonight hadn’t happened.
“Why did you tell me to wear something sexy under this?” When Cole’s eyebrows creased, she clarified. “On the note. On the back… You said—”
“We were going to a sex party,” he said briskly, hands sliding into his pockets. “I didn’t want you to feel like a fish out of water.”
“By wearing lingerie?”
“Sure.”
“Because I’d be, what, showing off my underwear or something?”
Colour flooded his cheeks. “Well. You know. I don’t… If you wanted to, I figured I’d give you the option.”
“Oh.” Adrenaline made her hands clammy and her body tremble. Given they were on the cusp of summer, she couldn’t blame it on the weather, either. “Is that all? No other reason that I should wear something sexy under the dress you bought me?”
“No.” He pulled out his phone, but this time he just stared at it, not even bothering to poke at the black screen. A beat passed before his bright, gorgeous eyes darted up to hers. “Should there have been a reason?”
His words steadily proved her suspicions correct—that he wasn’t interested—but his eyes told another story entirely. She waited, gripping her clutch so tight in both hands that she would be surprised if anything inside remained in one piece. The early-morning sounds of laughter, drunk tourists leaving bars, and taxis whizzing through the near-vacant streets trickled into the space between them, and still she waited. Nothing.
Fine.
“No.” She shook her head and half turned toward her building. “No, I guess not. Never mind.”
“Skye…” Cole took a few steps toward her, lips parted slightly. However, he seemed to lose his nerve the second she gave him her full attention. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. I really appreciate it. I appreciate your time.”
She bit the insides of her cheeks, wishing he would appreciate something more about her—but all things considered, time was a valuable commodity, especially in his world. Cole’s appreciation of it… It was sweet. She swallowed hard, closing her eyes briefly when he leaned in, his cologne engulfing her senses, and kissed her cheek. Skye drifted toward him when he lingered, then cleared her throat and stepped away, needing the space.
“Goodnight,” she said, slowly making her way toward the lobby. “I’ll see you around?”
“I’ll be in Coral Bay for a few weeks. Most of the summer, actually,” he told her. “I’m sure there will be plenty of other sex parties to crash.”
Skye grinned. As much as she wanted him to want her, now there was this desperation for things to just go back to the way they were—before it felt awkward. Jokes were a good way to start.
A quick wave earned her a smile, and she hurried across the lobby to an awaiting elevator, then disappeared inside. It was hard to remember she’d had the best sex of her life tonight—because that was definitely what it was—with all the Cole drama mulling around her brain, but she let it all go when Oz greeted her at the door w
ith a characteristically exuberant yowl and a shower of purrs.
“My love,” she whispered, scooping him up and nuzzling his soft fur after locking the door. “I missed you.”
He kneaded her arm in response, little claws pulsing in and out of her skin as he smothered her in his scent. Classic guy move. Kicking off her heels, she headed in, turning on lights as she went, and plopped down on the couch with Oz. Once he’d had enough of her smothering, he headed for the fridge, meowing incessantly, as if to remind her he needed to be fed before she went to bed.
“I’m coming, I’m coming…”
After she checked her phone. Maybe there’d be a latent message from a certain someone.
However, as soon as she opened her clutch, fresh rose petals spilled out of it.
“What the hell?” Dozens of them. A few in slightly less than perfect condition, like someone had torn them straight off the flower. No wonder her clutch had felt bulkier; she had been too wrapped up in Cole to notice at first.
Beneath the petals was a business card, and she needn’t have a PhD to figure out who it was from. Her lips twitched into a smile at the sight of Finn’s name—and the smile grew when she read the note on the back.
Thanks for tonight. These kinds of things are always so dull.
We should connect again soon. Lots to discuss, I think.
Not in a blackmaily sort of way.
Sorry.
I’m not writing this note again.
It’s the only business card I can find and you’re about two seconds away from leaving.
Let’s have brunch.
xx
Finn
“Fuck me,” Skye muttered, holding the card to her lips for a moment before setting it on the coffee table. Suddenly finding herself energized, she shot up and started to pace her apartment, eventually ending up in front of the window that overlooked the street below. Her heart skipped a beat: there was Cole, leaning against his car with a cigarette in hand, jacket off and bowtie gone.
She had only ever seen him smoke when he tanked a business deal.
And she’d thought all his back-alley dealings tonight had gone well.
So why the cigarette?
He looked up in the direction of her apartment, expression unreadable from the sixth floor.
“Fuck me,” she whispered again. Pushing away from the window, she shot straight to her shower. What she needed was some hot water, some soothing scents, and a night to sleep on everything that had happened.
Because things were always better in the morning. Clearer. Easier to sift through. More manageable.
Right?
To be continued
Read COLE (All In, #2) October 2, 2017! But don’t wait—get your 99c preorder today!
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Liz
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About the Author
Liz is a Canadian author who grew up in the Middle East. She has a degree in Bioarchaeology from Western University, and when she isn’t writing about her own snarky characters, she is ghostwriting romance novels, loitering on social media, or taking care of her many animals.
As a freelance ghostwriter, she has written over a dozen books ranging from romance to horror, full-length to novella-sized. A handful are currently on the market, and she stalks their “authors” with fiendish delight. She loves writing realistic characters in fantastical settings.
More from Liz Meldon:
Lovers and Liars – a Paranormal Romance Serial
Manhattan (2014) – Book #1 (FREE)
Vancouver (2015) – Book #2
Westwick College (2016) – Book #3
Tuskin Island (2018) – Book #4
Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars – a fantasy and paranormal romance series based in the Lovers and Liars Universe
Court of the Phantom Queen (2017) – Book #1 (fantasy romance, novella)
Apollo’s Priestess (2017) – Book #2 (shifter paranormal romance, novella)
To the North (2018) – Book #3 (fantasy romance, novella)
‘Til Death Do Us Part (2019) – Book #4 (paranormal romance, short story collection)
It Begins Here: An Anthology (2015)
It Ends Here: An Anthology (2016)
Games We Play – a (Vampire/Hunter) Paranormal Romance Duology
The Fool (2015) – Prologue
The King (2016) – Book #1
The Queen (2018) – Book #2
Erotic Short Shorts – an Erotic Short Story Series
Happy Hour (2016)
Holiday Hell (2017)
All In Trilogy – an Erotic Romance Trilogy (2017)
Finn (#1)
Cole (#2)
Skye (#3)
