Up to Me
Page 3
“Well, I guess the only thing to do is pretend like you’re closing up. I’ll think of something to tell her about Nash.”
“Okay,” I say, straightening my clothes and hair.
“I could kick myself for opening the garage door so early. I was gonna pull your car in after Taryn left.” He sighs again and shakes his head slightly. When he looks back at me, his eyes are smoky and hot. “We’re far from finished, though,” he promises, leaning in and lightly biting my shoulder. A bolt of electricity shoots through me and lands between my legs. He knows exactly what to do and what to say to tear me up.
Dammit.
CHAPTER TWO
Cash
It takes everything I have to let Olivia go so I can answer Marissa at the door. Being with Olivia is like escaping into a bubble of perfection, into a bubble of life away from all the trouble and deception and…dirt of my double existence. And it’s hard as hell to come back out!
I run my fingers through my hair again. My hard-on isn’t a problem anymore; the sound of Marissa’s voice took care of that. In fact, it almost gave me a damned vagina.
Gritting my teeth, I stomp to the door that leads out to the garage. I jerk it open, making no bones about my displeasure. Marissa’s knuckles almost hit my nose; she was in the process of knocking again.
“Oh,” she says, jumping back, evidently startled by my sudden appearance. She clears her throat. “Cash. Sorry to be so persistent, but I need to see your brother. Now. He won’t return my calls and he owes me an explanation.”
The longer she talks, the madder she gets. I can hear it in the pitch of her voice and I can see it in the thin line of her lips.
“Sorry, Marissa. He’s not here. He left his car here last night and hasn’t been by to pick it up yet.”
“Why would he do that? Where was he going?” she asks, clearly puzzled.
“He didn’t say. He just asked if he could leave it here for a day or two. That’s all I know.”
A sigh puffs out her cheeks. It’s unlike Marissa to get so upset, to get so emotional. Normally her settings don’t vary much. She goes from bitch to cold to luke warm and back again. There’s very little else to her personality.
“I guess I’ll just keep trying his cell phone,” she says, looking at his car. When she turns back to me, there is suspicion in her eyes. “I’ll find him. One way or the other. Sorry to bother you, Cash.” That’s a lie. She’s not the least bit sorry to bother me. And that threat? Oh, how I’d love to address it!
She starts to walk away, but stops and turns back. “Is Olivia still here? I saw her car out front.”
“Yeah, she’s closing up. Why?”
“I left her a couple of messages, but she hasn’t called me back yet. I drove from the airport straight to Nash’s and then came here.”
“Do you want me to give her a message?”
She frowns and purses her lips as she thinks. “No, that’s okay. Just tell her I’ll see her when she gets home. She shouldn’t be much longer, right?”
I don’t hit women. Ever. But Marissa makes me wish that, for about ten seconds, I weighed a hundred pounds less and had tits. Not only is her interruption untimely, now she’s going to screw up the rest of my night, too.
“Uh, no. She shouldn’t be too much longer. You go on ahead. I’ll give her the message and see that she gets out of here before too long.”
Marissa’s smile is cool and satisfied, which set my teeth on edge. Being polite and unaffected, pretending I’m an uninvolved party, sucks ass!
“Okay. Thanks, Cash.”
I smile tightly and wait until she turns away before I close the door. I’d really like to slam it and cuss a blue streak, but there’s no point. Damn it.
Olivia is just putting the wrap on the liquor bottle pourers, the last task of every night, when I make my way out to her. She turns to look at me. For a fraction of a second, something feels different. Off. But then she smiles and I put it out of my mind.
That smile…Mmm, it makes my chest almost as tight as my jeans.
I walk over, stopping at the bar across from her. I watch as she wraps the last bottle and puts it back on the shelf. She looks around, making sure everything is done and the bar is clear before she turns to me. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”
Shyly, she looks away for a heartbeat before she brings her eyes back to mine. She’s still not quite comfortable with compliments, which shocks me. How someone who looks like she does could ever feel less than drop-dead gorgeous is beyond me. Yet she does. In a backward way, that makes her even more appealing.
“You might’ve mentioned it once or twice before,” she says coyly, biting her lip in that way I love. It makes me want to carry her into the back room again. But it would have to be quick. And a quickie isn’t what I want with this girl. Unless it can be followed up with something much more…thorough.
Watching me from the corner of her eye, she turns and starts walking slowly toward the cut-out. With the bar between us, I walk with her.
“That’s right. I did mention it before. I remember telling you how amazing you are. I think we were in front of a mirror.” My dick twitches behind my zipper just thinking about sliding into Olivia from behind and coming inside her in the ladies’ bathroom at Tad’s. “Does that sound familiar?”
As she walks, she glances up at me from the corner of her eye. I see the flash of hot desire. I know she remembers it just as perfectly as I do.
She clears her throat. “Um, yeah. That seems vaguely familiar.” Her grin is playful.
God, what a tease!
“Vaguely? Maybe I didn’t pound it into you hard enough.”
“Oh, I think you pounded it in plenty hard.”
“Maybe I should’ve taken the time to give you a good tongue-lashing, too, then.”
“Oh, I think the form of communication you used was very effective.”
“So it’s all coming back to you now?”
“Yes, it’s all coming back to me.”
“If you’re lying, I could sweat it out of you, you know.”
“I’m not lying. It’s etched into my memory. Permanently.”
“Maybe we should revisit it, just so you’re clear on everything we discussed. I want to make sure it’s in there. Nice and deep. So you never forget it.”
Finally her grin turns into a giggle just as we’re nearing the cut-out at the end of the bar. When she rounds the corner, I’m there blocking her way with my body.
“I doubt there’s anything you could do to get it in there any deeper.”
“Oh, I can think of one or two things. The only way we’ll know for sure, though, is to try. And I don’t know about you, but I’m committed to this. Invested. And I’m nothing if not thorough.”
“Okay,” I say, straightening my clothes and hair.
“I could kick myself for opening the garage door so early. I was gonna pull your car in after Taryn left.” He sighs again and shakes his head slightly. When he looks back at me, his eyes are smoky and hot. “We’re far from finished, though,” he promises, leaning in and lightly biting my shoulder. A bolt of electricity shoots through me and lands between my legs. He knows exactly what to do and what to say to tear me up.
Dammit.
CHAPTER TWO
Cash
It takes everything I have to let Olivia go so I can answer Marissa at the door. Being with Olivia is like escaping into a bubble of perfection, into a bubble of life away from all the trouble and deception and…dirt of my double existence. And it’s hard as hell to come back out!
I run my fingers through my hair again. My hard-on isn’t a problem anymore; the sound of Marissa’s voice took care of that. In fact, it almost gave me a damned vagina.
Gritting my teeth, I stomp to the door that leads out to the garage. I jerk it open, making no bones about my displeasure. Marissa’s knuckles almost hit my nose; she was in the process of knocking again.
“Oh,” she says, jumping back, evidently startled by my sudden appearance. She clears her throat. “Cash. Sorry to be so persistent, but I need to see your brother. Now. He won’t return my calls and he owes me an explanation.”
The longer she talks, the madder she gets. I can hear it in the pitch of her voice and I can see it in the thin line of her lips.
“Sorry, Marissa. He’s not here. He left his car here last night and hasn’t been by to pick it up yet.”
“Why would he do that? Where was he going?” she asks, clearly puzzled.
“He didn’t say. He just asked if he could leave it here for a day or two. That’s all I know.”
A sigh puffs out her cheeks. It’s unlike Marissa to get so upset, to get so emotional. Normally her settings don’t vary much. She goes from bitch to cold to luke warm and back again. There’s very little else to her personality.
“I guess I’ll just keep trying his cell phone,” she says, looking at his car. When she turns back to me, there is suspicion in her eyes. “I’ll find him. One way or the other. Sorry to bother you, Cash.” That’s a lie. She’s not the least bit sorry to bother me. And that threat? Oh, how I’d love to address it!
She starts to walk away, but stops and turns back. “Is Olivia still here? I saw her car out front.”
“Yeah, she’s closing up. Why?”
“I left her a couple of messages, but she hasn’t called me back yet. I drove from the airport straight to Nash’s and then came here.”
“Do you want me to give her a message?”
She frowns and purses her lips as she thinks. “No, that’s okay. Just tell her I’ll see her when she gets home. She shouldn’t be much longer, right?”
I don’t hit women. Ever. But Marissa makes me wish that, for about ten seconds, I weighed a hundred pounds less and had tits. Not only is her interruption untimely, now she’s going to screw up the rest of my night, too.
“Uh, no. She shouldn’t be too much longer. You go on ahead. I’ll give her the message and see that she gets out of here before too long.”
Marissa’s smile is cool and satisfied, which set my teeth on edge. Being polite and unaffected, pretending I’m an uninvolved party, sucks ass!
“Okay. Thanks, Cash.”
I smile tightly and wait until she turns away before I close the door. I’d really like to slam it and cuss a blue streak, but there’s no point. Damn it.
Olivia is just putting the wrap on the liquor bottle pourers, the last task of every night, when I make my way out to her. She turns to look at me. For a fraction of a second, something feels different. Off. But then she smiles and I put it out of my mind.
That smile…Mmm, it makes my chest almost as tight as my jeans.
I walk over, stopping at the bar across from her. I watch as she wraps the last bottle and puts it back on the shelf. She looks around, making sure everything is done and the bar is clear before she turns to me. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”
Shyly, she looks away for a heartbeat before she brings her eyes back to mine. She’s still not quite comfortable with compliments, which shocks me. How someone who looks like she does could ever feel less than drop-dead gorgeous is beyond me. Yet she does. In a backward way, that makes her even more appealing.
“You might’ve mentioned it once or twice before,” she says coyly, biting her lip in that way I love. It makes me want to carry her into the back room again. But it would have to be quick. And a quickie isn’t what I want with this girl. Unless it can be followed up with something much more…thorough.
Watching me from the corner of her eye, she turns and starts walking slowly toward the cut-out. With the bar between us, I walk with her.
“That’s right. I did mention it before. I remember telling you how amazing you are. I think we were in front of a mirror.” My dick twitches behind my zipper just thinking about sliding into Olivia from behind and coming inside her in the ladies’ bathroom at Tad’s. “Does that sound familiar?”
As she walks, she glances up at me from the corner of her eye. I see the flash of hot desire. I know she remembers it just as perfectly as I do.
She clears her throat. “Um, yeah. That seems vaguely familiar.” Her grin is playful.
God, what a tease!
“Vaguely? Maybe I didn’t pound it into you hard enough.”
“Oh, I think you pounded it in plenty hard.”
“Maybe I should’ve taken the time to give you a good tongue-lashing, too, then.”
“Oh, I think the form of communication you used was very effective.”
“So it’s all coming back to you now?”
“Yes, it’s all coming back to me.”
“If you’re lying, I could sweat it out of you, you know.”
“I’m not lying. It’s etched into my memory. Permanently.”
“Maybe we should revisit it, just so you’re clear on everything we discussed. I want to make sure it’s in there. Nice and deep. So you never forget it.”
Finally her grin turns into a giggle just as we’re nearing the cut-out at the end of the bar. When she rounds the corner, I’m there blocking her way with my body.
“I doubt there’s anything you could do to get it in there any deeper.”
“Oh, I can think of one or two things. The only way we’ll know for sure, though, is to try. And I don’t know about you, but I’m committed to this. Invested. And I’m nothing if not thorough.”
