I tried to sink as far as I could into the corner of the taxi. Even though my jacket more than covered my chest, I still felt exposed. My nipples felt bruised from Shayne’s deft lips and fingertips, but I wasn’t really complaining. In fact, just thinking about what had occurred between us in the ring had them hard again.
“Jesus, Alexa. What the fuck were you thinking?” I said to myself. I looked at my watch. I had been on my way to meet Stacey and a few others of our friends for dinner before I realized that I forgot my cellphone at the gym. There was no way I was going there now. Especially not shirtless.
I sent Stacey a text. Feeling under the weather. I’ll call you in the morning.
She replied almost immediately. Bitch. You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. Tell the truth. Your new boss keeping you late?
My cheeks burned even though there wasn’t anyone there to see me. Stacey had been blatant in her questions about Shayne for the last two weeks. She made me review in agonizing detail what he wore each day and what he looked like when he trained. She said it was imagery she could use for her next session with her vibrator, but with each passing day, I felt less like telling her anything. I didn’t like the idea of any other woman getting off to images of Shayne in their head.
My phone buzzed two minutes later when I didn’t respond.
“Get your ass here now,” she ordered without even saying hello.
“I can’t. I don’t feel well,” I said.
“Bullshit. You are a horrible liar. Even over the phone, I can tell you’re lying. So why don’t you tell me the truth?”
I groaned. “I don’t have a shirt.”
“That’s what closets are for,” she countered.
“No, I had a shirt.” I had no idea how to even tell her what I was about to tell her. “I don’t anymore.”
“You and your shirt have a falling out?”
I closed my eyes. I felt a headache coming on. Its name was most assuredly Shayne Malone. “No. It kind of had a falling out with Shayne, though. As in, he ripped it. Off me. Right before we had sex. Again.” I just had to get the words out. I thought saying it would help me feel better. It didn’t.
“I see,” Stacey said neutrally. I could tell that she was waiting for my reaction.
“I can’t believe I had sex with him again!” I muttered. “He’s going to be my stepbrother! If my mother found out, she’d die of embarrassment, and Cal would fire me. I am such an idiot.”
“Well, at least he’s hot,” Stacey said. “There is a slight bit of forgiveness on the side of you got to screw one of top 10 hottest guys in Chicago. The article with the rankings just came out today.”
I blew out a deep puff of air. “Poor judgment. That’s the only thing I can blame it on. Maybe the universe thinks I’m overdue because I’ve never made a bad decision before?”
“Quit beating yourself up about it. You’re human, and you’re horny. There are far worse ways to scratch that itch than with a guy like Ice.”
“But he’s going to be my stepbrother,” I protested. “There’s bad judgment, and then there’s off-limits. And I’m pretty sure he qualifies under the off-limits category.”
“The situation isn’t ideal; I’ll give you that,” Stacey said. “So what? You had sex with him. Big deal. You’re consenting, non-blood related adults. Just blow it off.”
“I should. I know he probably will,” I said darkly. It wasn’t as if I really cared anyway, though, right?
“Go home, get a shirt, and come out. You’ve been working nonstop for the last two weeks, and you leave tomorrow again. I feel like I’ve barely seen you at all.”
Shaking my head, I declined. “I still have to pack. Thanks, anyway. I’ll call you when I’m back in town. It’s just a few days.”
“You better,” Stacey said, finally relenting. “You know where to find me if you want to talk.”
I wanted to go to sleep and wake up four months from now so that I didn’t have to ever look at Shayne ever again. But, for some reason, that thought didn’t make me all that happy. Not at all.
The next morning, I waited until the very last minute to get on the bus that would take us to St. Louis. The bus had been a suggestion from Cal considering the expense of flying the number of people in Shayne’s entourage cost a small fortune. The bus was a lot nicer than I expected. There was a small table with a ring of padded seats surrounding it near the front. Then a galley kitchen spanned one side about mid-way back, and there were a couple of plush sofas for lounging. I knew that through the door at the back was a small bedroom. All said and done, a very comfortable way to move from one location to another in style.