I liked Cole, too. He was so easy to talk to, and handsome, and I had to admit that his smile did a little something fluttery inside my belly, but it didn't blossom into anything more. He was a nice man, but he didn't make my girly parts tingle with awareness like Moody did.
Speak of the devil; he'd just walked into the room. He was coming toward the bar. I swung around and pretended to be busy wiping down some glasses. I felt his eyes on me but I resisted looking up into the mirror, humming softly beneath my breath. If he wanted to avoid me, I'd give him what he wanted.
I could be just as cold and indifferent as he was.
"Beer," he said in a hard tone. I glanced over at Tommy, who moved to take care of it. "Is that what you're wearing for work today?"
Since I knew he wasn't asking Tommy about his usual jeans and polo ensemble, I swung back around and tried to hold back my annoyance. He hadn't said anything about what I'd had on before we'd left my apartment that morning. "Yes." I liked the tips I'd been getting lately, and if dressing a little slutty worked in my favor, so be it. His servers did the same damned thing.
The line of his mouth hardened, if that were possible. My nipples hardened at the way his glittering black eyes roamed over me in a slow and lazy way. It was hard to tell if he liked what he saw. Damn him! Just once I'd like to see some kind of emotion crack the lines of his hard face. He took the beer Tommy held out to him and turned away.
I waited until he was out of sight before looking at Tommy with frustration. "He's the most infuriating asshole I know," I ground out. "Unless it's sexual, he doesn't want anything to do with me." I watched Tommy's brows raise high on his forehead before realizing that I'd probably said too much. "Never mind!"
"Oh, no, you can't say something like that and then not expect me to want the facts." He came closer and lowered his voice, as if afraid someone would overhear. We hadn't opened yet, so the bar was empty. "So, you and the boss, huh?"
I knew what he was asking. "Maybe."
He laughed. "Come on, Bailey, it's not as if he hasn't screwed every other girl who works for him, so adding you to the list is just par for the course."
I glared at him. "He's been with every girl?" Part of me wasn't surprised.
"Well, to hear the strippers talk, he's fucked all of them. But maybe not Marnie, Layla, or Jackie. Jackie is new."
And too young for him, I thought. Plus I knew that he hadn't fucked Alisha by her comment the other night. I didn't say anything, I couldn't. Tommy hadn’t revealed anything that I hadn't already suspected, and by the way the women who frequented the bar acted, some of them had been at the receiving end of Moody's cock, too. I'd seen that at least once for myself.
"Bailey-—" I glanced up from the glasses I'd been drying. "Fuck him, but don't fall for him. He's too damaged." My jaw dropped at Tommy's frankness. He was dead serious. "I don't want to see you get hurt. I've known Moody a long time, and I've never seen him interested enough in any one woman to make it permanent. He uses them."
I wanted to reassure Tommy that he didn't need to worry, but I was a little shocked that he was warning me away from a man he owed his loyalty to, someone he'd worked for for a long time. I got the feeling that I wasn't the first woman Tommy had had this conversation with. It was really kind of sweet that he cared so much.
"I hear what you're saying, Tommy. Don't worry about me. I have no intention of falling for him." I hoped that he didn't call BS. "We don't even like each other." The door opened and customers began to wander in. "Looks like it's time to go to work," I smiled, relieved to put an end to our conversation.
Alex and Layla began to take orders, while Marnie came to the bar. "Have either of you heard from Jackie? She hasn't shown up yet."
Tommy and I exchanged a look. "I haven't," I responded first.
"I haven't heard from her either," Tommy said, reaching across the bar for the order Layla dropped off.
Marnie released a sound of annoyance, her long tipped fingernails tapping the scarred wood of the bar. "She asked for a couple of days off to take care of some personal issues, but this is the third day she hasn't shown up without calling. Looks like I'm going to have to let her go. I don't know what happened. She was real good about coming in before this." She looked at Tommy and me as if we knew something that she didn't. "Oh, well." She turned to leave, but then halted long enough to say, "Honey, I may need you to wait tables later when it gets busy if I can't get Belinda to come in, okay?"
Belinda would jump at picking up another shift; I knew that she needed the money. She and her husband were in the process of building a new house. But I smiled anyway and said, "Sure, no problem."
Marnie was already halfway to the hallway that led to the private rooms.
"Got an order for Don Julio Real," Tommy announced from his area at the other end of the bar.
"I'll get it," I offered, since he was busy filling another order. Don Julio Real was the good stuff, and since it was so expensive it was kept in the stock room. We only kept one bottle in stock because it wasn't something that was ordered very often. My gaze scanned the room, curious as to who had ordered it. No one I saw looked like the type that would order high-end tequila.
I was glad that Moody's office was a little further beyond the stockroom door. I unlocked the door, flipped on the light, and went to where the bottle was usually kept. It was gone. Frowning, I looked around, thinking that it had been misplaced. Nope. It was gone. I stood there for a minute before deciding that I'd have to go see Moody. It was possible that he had it in his office.
I locked the stockroom door and reluctantly headed for Moody's office. Stopping at the door, my gaze went to where he sat at his desk. His head was bent and he was examining something. "Knock, knock," I announced.
His head snapped up. "What?"
I could tell right away that he was preoccupied with something. His eyes followed me like a hawk as I walked further into the room. "Would you happen to have the Don Julio? Someone asked for it out front."
"No," he said sharply. "Are you saying it's not in the stockroom?"
"Yep."
He sat back in his chair and released a sound of irritation. "When's the last time a customer ordered it, do you know?"
I shook my head. "I can't speak for Tommy, but I haven't served any."
I watched the muscle twitch in his jaw as he sat there for a minute before shaking his head. "You know, since you arrived on the scene, all kinds of shit has been happening."
I sucked in my breath. "Are you saying I'm the cause of it?"
"No, but trouble does seem to follow you."
I frowned. "Are we still talking about the missing bottle of tequila?"
He didn't answer me, his gaze once again moving over my sexy attire. "Come here."
I hesitated, narrowing my eyes with suspicion. "Why?"
"Do it, Bailey," he barked sharply. "I'm not going to bite you."
I wasn't too sure about that. He looked hungry suddenly, and I knew that he did bite. Still, I found myself taking those last few steps that would take me to where he was sitting. Anticipation of something that I couldn’t identify made me nervous, because I knew that look in his eyes, and I knew that I was helpless to fight against it.
"You've been avoiding me," I stated, as if he needed a reminder.
"I know." He rolled his chair away from his desk. When I was within striking distance, he grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto his lap. I let out a sound of surprise. "I need to avoid you." He arranged me so that I was straddling him.
My heart began to pound. "Why?" I asked simply, trying without success to pull my tight skirt down.
He pushed my hands aside and placed his hands upon my naked thighs. "Because whenever you're near me I can't ignore you," he said with frustration. "I want to ignore you. I need to." I tilted my head back when he leaned in and his lips began to roam up my exposed neck. "But all I want to do is fuck you."
"Why?" My question must have surprised him, because he jerked aw
ay to meet my eyes. "Why me?" I could feel his hard-on beneath my bottom, and couldn't help myself from grinding against it. After a minute of just staring at each other, I said softly, "You don't know, do you? Just like I don't know what it is about you that leaves my body tingling all over and my panties wet."
His hand came up and twisted into the hair at the nape of my neck. The next thing I knew, Moody was kissing me. Hard. Grinding his mouth against mine, as we continued to grind our loins against each other. It was insane. We were in his office, the door open, where anyone could walk in.
I didn't care.
I only knew what he was making me feel. Alive. Like nothing I'd ever experienced at a man's hands. The lust between us was intense, and it didn't take much to set us off. After three days of nothing from him, I was eating up his attention with eager enthusiasm.
"Open," he growled, and then we were kissing again, devouring each other's lips with equal amount of give and take. Nipping, sucking, licking, tasting, the passion that surged through our blood like scorching lava on a course of destruction. It was all-consuming, turning us both wild and hot. Moody jerked my head back and put his mouth at my exposed cleavage. I caught my breath at the feel of his hot breath against me, and then his tongue delved deeply between my breasts, causing my panties to become instantly soaked. Harsh, heavy breathing revealed that we were both traveling the same insane road.
He raised his hips. I arched against him in a counter attack. All at once, his hand was beneath my skirt, between my legs, and reaching for my panties. He didn't hesitate to move the material aside and enter my pussy with two thick fingers. I moaned at the rough possession, quivering against him as he went right into fucking me with the digits. He was relentless, and knew exactly where to touch me to build my orgasm, applying the right amount of pressure on my swollen clit while pressing his curled fingers against my sweet spot just inside.
His mouth slammed down on mine again, and I felt his growl of need against my lips. I was lost. I didn't know anything but the pleasure thrumming through my body, and the sounds of mutual satisfaction echoing around us. Moody's thrusting turned harder, faster, and I whimpered, turning my body over to him. I knew that when release came it would devastate me, and in the back of my mind I knew that his detached demeanor when it was all over would be a thousand times worse.
"Jesus Christ, you're going to make me come in my fucking pants," he rasped against me. "Come for me, baby."
When he sank his teeth into the side of my neck I lost control. I cried out, and then, realizing that someone could hear us, I buried my face against his shoulder and convulsed with an orgasm so strong that I thought it would never end. It didn’t help that Moody's fingers kept torturing me through it, giving it longevity. Panting, my fingers curled into his cut as if I needed to hang on.
"I hate you," I whispered between pants. At that moment I truly meant it. "I hate what you do to me. I hate what you make me feel." I was still trembling against him. "Because now you'll turn all cold and distant until the next time, and I hate that most of all."
I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I didn't know why. Apart from the out-of-this-world sex that we shared, we didn't even like each other. Okay, that wasn't really true. I could tell myself that forever, and it still wouldn't be true. I liked Moody, maybe even loved him, and I sensed that he felt something for me, too, only he didn't know what to do with it.
"I don't know any other way," he finally admitted with something close to regret in his voice. "You're the first woman I've kept coming back to, can't explain why."
I leaned away from him to look him in the eyes. "Maybe you like me." I knew I was taking a risk putting my thoughts into words, but Moody needed to hear it. It appeared that he'd kept his emotions locked up since the death of his wife, and he didn't recognize them anymore. "I know about your wife," I said softly, watching for his reaction.
"No!" he snarled, practically throwing me off his lap. I quickly righted my skirt. "Don't go there!" There was a feral look on his face that frightened me, and I realized that I'd made a terrible mistake. "Get out!"
Someone cleared their throat, and we both turned toward the doorway. Marnie was standing there, looking slightly embarrassed. Had she seen us? I felt my cheeks grow hot.
"Sorry for the interruption, but Tommy's waiting for that tequila."
Oh crap! I'd totally forgotten why I'd come to Moody's office in the first place. "It's gone," I began, trying to appear as if I hadn't just come down from one of the best orgasms of my life.
"Offer the customer whatever the fuck he wants, on the house." Moody's tone clearly said that he wanted her gone.
Marnie had the good sense to back out of the room.
I turned back to him. He hadn't moved from his spot. I cast a quick glance down at the front of his pants. His hard-on was gone. Had he come when I had, or had the mention of his wife deflated his arousal? I was so weary of his unpredictable moods, especially where it concerned us. It didn't solve anything when he put the walls back up.
He pulled his chair back to his desk, releasing a heavy breath. A hand came up, and he pinched his nose between his eyes. Pain was etched across his face. He must have loved his wife so much for it to still affect him so strongly after all these years. This time, when the tears came to my eyes I let them fall, thinking about the son that he'd lost. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was, but I knew instinctively that now wasn't the time.
"You still here," he asked, after lowering his hand and opening his eyes. He didn't look at me, but I knew that he could see me out of the corner of his eye.
I took a deep breath. "Talk to me," I surprised myself by saying.
"Not about that."
Okay, I could accept that for now. "Moody, I don't know what's going on between us—"
"Fucking."
I ignored him. "We can't keep doing this. One minute you want me, the next you hate me. It's not healthy. You said yourself that I'm the first woman you've kept coming back to, so ask yourself why. Maybe, maybe we have something more. I think I lo—"
"Don't finish that sentence," he warned, finally looking up at me with a scowl on his face. "I swear, Bailey, you won't like the outcome." In spite of his harsh words, the emotion I saw in his eyes gave me hope.
He was struggling to remain in control. I had to give him credit for that. Baby steps, I thought. "I better get back out front."
I started to turn away when something on Moody's desk caught my eye. I was surprised, because it was small and gold, and was just sitting next to his calendar. I paused, narrowing my eyes on it. What was it? Curiosity finally got the better of me, and I picked it up, aware that Moody was watching me with a frown. It didn't take long for me to determine what I was looking at.
"Why do you have the broken tip of a nail on your desk? Is it from one of your conquests?" My mind instantly went back to the day that I'd caught him screwing that woman.
He ignored my attempt to make a joke. "Whoever took the SD card broke a nail working it loose.”
Understanding, and then an insignificant recollection nearly floored me. "Oh, my God." My eyes remained on his, seeing the silent question in his. "I know who broke into your office. It was Jackie."
"And you know this how?" I heard the doubt in his tone.
"I noticed the other day that one of her nails was missing, and they were this exact color." Now it made sense why she hadn't been back to work.
I couldn't tell how the news was affecting Moody. He remained quiet, and yet I could tell that he was deep in thought, probably trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Makes fucking sense," he muttered after a while. He reached for his phone, and I turned to head back out to the bar.
Well, at least that mystery was solved.
Chapter 28
Moody
"You wanted to see me, boss?"
I glanced up when Marnie entered the office. "Jackie won't be back."
Her finely arched brows rose high above
her eyes. "You're sure?"
I didn't take offense to her questioning me, she'd been with me too long and she knew how far she could go. "Very sure. Go ahead and hire someone to replace her." The bitch, I thought to myself. The fact that she’d been hired around the same time that Martin had started showing up had been a coincidence, but still I wondered what she was to Graves.
"Okay."
Marnie hesitated, and as I eyed her I realized that she had something she wanted to say to me. She didn't appear nervous. She wouldn't. We'd known each other for a long time; we’d been through hell and back. She wasn't one for holding back when she had something to say, and I respected her for it. But this time she seemed to be unsure about whether or not she should speak. I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms.
"Say it."
She released a deep sigh and stepped further into the room. "I'm going to say something that you're not going to like. And I'm warning you right now, I’m not going to stand for you yelling or swearing at me."
I just managed to keep from grinning. "Then maybe you shouldn't say it."
"Yes, you'd like that, because deep down you're scared that what I have to say will be the truth."
"Okay, I won't yell or swear at you." Doing either would have been like attacking my mother anyway, and I had too much respect for Marnie. She'd never stepped over the line before, so I wasn't really worried.
She snorted with disbelief. "We'll see." It sounded like a threat. "I think Bailey will make you happy."
She'd just stepped over the fucking line. I raised a brow, she pressed her lips. "For years I've watched a parade of women come and go in your life, and you know what your problem is?"
"I'm sure you're going to tell me."
A spark brightened the green of her eyes. "You never give them a chance."
"They provided a service," I smirked.
Furious (Nomad Outlaws Trilogy Book 3) Page 21
