Treachery

It’s an instinctive response to immediately panic to be trapped in Ta

But then I remember I’d intended to keep him waiting, and instead of offering an apology for my poor ma

“And here I thought you would send me a car without the courtesy of escorting me personally.”

He grins.

“And here I thought I would have to drag you from your apartment kicking and screaming just to carry you over my shoulder to the car.”

His gaze tracks a slow path down my body and back up again, appreciation glimmering behind his dark eyes while his lips tilt into his signature smirk.

“Guess I was wrong. It’s about damn time you learn to follow directions, even if you are late in doing so.”

My skin bristles at the comment, anger painting my cheeks a healthy shade of crimson.

Damn, if he doesn’t look good while being his usual bullheaded self. Drool-worthy, if I have to be honest, the perfect specimen of the male form wrapped in a tuxedo that costs more than most people’s cars.

With shoulders that have only grown over the past three years, and a tall, hard body that towers over me as if to dare me not to look at it, Ta

Fighting not to openly appreciate the sight, I hold my eyes to his, determined to win this battle.

Nothing has changed since Yale with him. He’s still stubborn as hell, and I’m still willing to go toe to toe.

Even if we’ve both grown over the past three years - changed physically and emotionally - it appears that, in this, we haven’t budged an inch.

We’re having a stare down, Ta

Or, at least, I thought he knew better.

Leaning toward me, he lowers his voice to a whisper. “Is this the guy who’s blackmailing you?”

Ta

“Who the fuck invited you into this conversation? Shut the hell up, and go back to impersonating the homemade valentine I made for my mom when I was a fucking toddler.”

My mouth drops open at Ta

Inwardly, I beg the man not to respond, but testosterone must have flooded his system.

“I’m sorry? What do you mean by that?”

He steps forward, and I have to stop myself from reaching out to throw an arm across his chest and hold him back.

Ta

“A red tie with a pink shirt? At what point did you think that was a good idea? Do yourself a giant favor and run back upstairs to try again.”

Eyes back to me, Ta

The muscle just above my eye tics, his observant gaze arrowing to the small movement, his lips twitching before he gains control of his hard expression once again.

Seconds pass in silence, tension building, my thoughts racing over the question of whether he will actually attempt to pick me up.

The moment is broken by the man next to me clearing his throat, his voice invading the silence.

“Are you two going to get off the elevator or what?”

Ta

“Because you’re blocking the exit!”

Rolling his eyes, Ta

A surprised shriek escapes my lips, my eyes going to the man left standing in the elevator to realize he isn’t going to be much help.

Rather than saying or doing anything while my body bounces over Ta

“Thanks for nothing,” I call out just before the doors closed. “I held the door for you, jerk!”

The man shrugs and waves as the doors snap shut, my fate left in the hands of an arrogant asshole.

“Put me down.”

My legs kick and my fists pound on Ta

“I can walk.”

“Apparently not fast enough,” he answers, without one fuck to give about the scene he’s causing.

“Considering we should have been on the road ten minutes ago, I can’t trust you not to waste more of my time.”

The glass doors of my apartment building slide open, a cool breeze hitting my back as Ta

The door slams shut before I can straighten myself out over the leather seat, Ta

Turning to me as the car lurches forward, the tinted privacy glass concealing us from the driver, Ta

“That could have gone a lot more pleasantly if you’d just cooperated. Must you always be so stubborn?”

I refuse to engage, regardless of the argument boiling up my throat, the words sitting on my tongue like missiles begging for a target.

Instead, I simply smooth down my skirt and pull my seatbelt into place, turning my head to stare out the window rather than look at him.

While I’d expected him to continue prodding me with the hope of a lively debate, Ta

“I’d like to call a truce.”

Snorting in response to those words, I try not to remember what happened the last time he’d said them.

“It’s a little difficult to agree to a truce when you’re dangling my life in front of me.”

Laughing softly, he grips my chin to force my eyes back to his, a spark passing between us regardless of whether I want to acknowledge it or not.

It’s always been this way.

Since the begi

I pause to look at him, fight not to be attracted to him, ready myself for whatever war he wants to fight because, despite how compatible we are physically, we can’t be more oppositional in every way that matters.

Ta

The morning I slept with him, I’d seen a chink in his armor, a weakness that made him more human in a sense. Now I realize how stupid I had been to fall for it.

“The money Clayton owes you will be yours. What I’ll ask in return won’t be that difficult to give me.”

Tugging my chin from his fingers, I fail in my fight to ignore the effect he has over me.