MichaelAfter calming down enough after the check that was made to look like it came from Sal, I went looking for Rainey to apologize. I rarely apologized to anyone, but I knew I’d fucked up. We’d had a great time together at dinner and dancing. If only I hadn’t gone off to Rachel to see about the donations. I should have stayed with Rainey and enjoyed the rest of the evening, but I hadn’t. And it wasn’t her fault that I was caught up in the drama around Sal.I’d looked everywhere for her, and when I did find her, the single act of seeing her again had brought back the amazing memories from earlier. I didn’t want them to end. In a way, she distracted me from my life. And she looked beautiful in that dress I’d purchased for her. And I wanted to take it off of her. This was the perfect night to show her how I felt. And I knew she felt something for me too. She wasn’t the type of girl to make the first move, so I promised myself to take it slow until she was ready.When we got into the l
MichaelRainey rubbed her hand across her chest. “Be safe.”“Always,” I said and then closed the door. The lock clicked, and I silently thanked Constantine for his forethought. I hoped the men wouldn’t try anything but preparation was critical in our situation. I had to have the upper hand somehow.Even though it was a late hour, these thugs couldn’t be foolish enough to do anything. There were enough people around to witness whatever act might happen. And since they had been discreet so far, I didn’t want to give them a reason to change. I hoped it would be a quick conversation and they would move on. Though I doubted I’d be so lucky.I walked closer to the front door of my building. I wouldn’t dare let them inside, but I also didn’t want Rainey to hear the conversation we were about to have. They slowly followed me, standing between the limo and me. Their bravado wasn’t getting them far. I’d dealt with far worse in the past. Granted, I wasn’t alone at the time.“What can I do for yo
RaineyReality struck down on me when Michael closed the limo door. I glanced at Constantine who now faced forward. Through the rear-view mirror, his face was serious, and his eyes darted to the side mirror several times before I turned back to Michael.The men were huge. They reminded me of the bouncers at Kadia. Were they his brother’s employees? The way they stood, cross-armed with a wide stance, I doubted they were friendly with each other. I moved my hand to the side panel and pressed the window button downward. The window cracked. The sound of the window moving was loud, and I glanced over at Constantine again. He didn’t appear to notice. Maybe it had only been loud to me since I was trying so hard to be sneaky. My curiosity got the best of me, and I sidled up alongside the door to listen to what they were talking about. I couldn’t hear any distinct words among them.Michael’s expression was stoic as he calmly spoke to the men. They were defensive and talked with their hands. On
RaineyMichael’s hands slid onto my waist, momentarily steadying me. With a lidded gaze, he moved, and we engaged in a hot, passionate kiss that transcended any kiss we’d shared before.A quick burst of reality fell over me while we were kissing. He had quickly distracted me again from the real issues surrounding tonight. I knew he was dangerous and kept bad company and it was best for me to stay away from him. But he felt so damn good in my arms. A small part of me asked if those accusations were just rumors. I had a strong feeling they weren’t. My mind went back and forth, and as if Michael was inside my head, he stopped kissing me.“Rainey,” he said with heavy, ragged breaths. He stroked his fingers through my hair. Touches that tender and looks like the one he was giving me had melted away the bad thoughts. For just one night, I didn’t want to be responsible. I didn’t want to think about Tanner, Killian, or anything else for that matter. I wanted to be selfish with Michael. Everyt
MichaelI woke early the next morning with Rainey still in my arms. The intensely intimate time we shared hadn’t taken that long, but we were both spent after it. There wasn’t a woman I’d had before that compared to Rainey. Being with her like that had brought me to a different place than the other random girls I’d fucked over the years. They had been distractions. Rainey was someone that I could imagine fucking every single night for the rest of my life. Her fiery spirit translated to the way she moved and spoke to me while making love.And afterward, I spooned her body against me, and she quickly fell asleep. As I drifted off, I remembered that she wasn’t much of a party girl, as much as she pretended to be. Her bedtime was probably closer to mine most nights and much earlier than tonight.I woke the next morning with her facing me. Her light eyelashes framed her eyes like feathers.I moved my head to see her. Her eyelids fluttered as she dreamed. My gaze dropped to her lips, and I
Michael“You didn’t like Sal very much,” she stated.“I liked him as a client. No more, no less.”She seemed satisfied for a moment. Until she took a breath and asked, “Those men threatened us?”I narrowed my eyes. Had she heard the conversation between those thugs and me? If she hadn’t then I threw myself under a very large bus.“You’re safe,” I said. “I promise.”“It’s not just me, Michael. It’s my—” she clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. “This is my life. I can’t have people threatening me because I work for you.”“Rainey, like I said, you’re safe.”“You say that, but you don’t know that. Those men seemed really serious. What if they weren’t happy with what you told them? Are they going to show up at my home next?” She pulled the sheets up, covering her chest. This wasn’t happening. We needed less fabric between us, not more. “I can’t believe you were so selfish to get me involved with this.”I sat up straighter, unwilling to accept her accusations. “From what I recall, thi
RaineyThe taxi ride home gave me enough time to stew in my own head about everything that had happened between Michael and me. I hated that he was an incredible lover on top of being the most gorgeous man I’d ever met. No one was perfect, and his flaw was his connections to dangerous company. I sure knew how to pick them.I knew prodding into his life wasn’t the best morning wake-up, but I needed to know everything if I was going to get involved with him. I had Tanner to think about. I almost slipped and told Michael about my son. He made me want to open up to him. If I did, then I would be opening a vulnerable part of me. And it was a good thing I didn’t. I didn’t want my son involved with anything dangerous. He was going to have enough issues with Killian once he was old enough to see that his father was a deadbeat. For right now, I wanted to preserve the innocence within Tanner.Halfway home, I knew what I had to do. I pulled out my phone and started writing up a letter to Michael
RaineyLater that afternoon, Tessa came over. The salon was closed on Sundays, and we sometimes made a lazy day of our time off. She waited until Tanner was happily playing in his room before she confronted me.“Tell me everything about last night!” she said, clapping her hands together. “You look different. Did something happen between you and Michael?”I checked to make sure Tanner was still in his room before bringing Tessa into the living room. I kept my voice low so Tanner wouldn’t hear anything. It would be just like him to repeat things I said to Killian. Then he might have a reason to want to take Tanner. Which was another reason why I needed to quit. After breakfast, I’d polished my resignation letter and sent it to my work email to print the next morning. I hoped that Michael would somehow be able to find it in my inbox and save me the trouble, but I doubted he would admit it if he went snooping.“We slept together,” I said to my hands.Tessa squealed, and I shushed her.“It