“I’m sorry, Princess,” Colt said, grinning in that maddening way of his as I followed him out of the office and down the hallway toward the back entrance of the club. “I’ll make sure to change my attitude in order to maximize your fun and make sure you have as much enjoyment from my company as is humanly possible.”
When we got outside, I gulped the fresh air into my lungs, thankful to be out of the club. Something about that place felt cloying, the vibe full of darkness that lurked below the surface, just waiting to boil over and burn everything it touched.
“What can I do to make this night fun for you?” Colt asked. “Bowling? Mini golf?”
“Stop being a smart ass,” I said. “It’s unbecoming.”
“Yes, Princess,” he said as he opened the car door for me. I slid into the passenger side and buckled my seatbelt.
A second later, he was next to me, the scent of leather and perfume hanging on him like a cloud.
“How as the after party?” I asked as he started the car.
“Great,” he said.
“Did you have fun?”
“Always.”
I thought about that girl, Ava, with her perfect body and her perfect breasts and her flat stomach and her tiny glitter tattoo.
Forget about it, I told myself. Colt’s a womanizer, the kind of man who had no problem kissing you, almost sleeping with you earlier, and then sleeping with someone else just a few hours later.
Think about Declan.
Declan, who you’re going to be seeing soon.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the seat.
When we got back to Colt’s apartment he went right to the kitchen, opened the fridge and surveyed the contents.
“Hungry?”
I shook my head no.
He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t bothered to turn the kitchen light on, and the glow from the refrigerator illuminated his strong features, his defined jaw, his straight nose, the fullness of his lips.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You have to eat something.” He started pulling things out of the refrigerator and setting them on the island.
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Go take a shower and I’ll bring you something to eat. There are clothes in the bedroom for you.”
“What do you mean there are clothes in the bedroom for me?”
“I had Kendra pick up some things for you.”
Oh, right. Kendra. The housekeeper. “I didn’t know it was a housekeeper’s job to do your shopping.”
“Kendra’s more of an assistant.”
“Ahh. And where is this elusive Kendra?”
“She’s a good assistant.”
“So?”
“So she knows that good assistants aren’t seen.”
I shook my head. Wow. Could he be any more full of himself?
“Olivia,” Colt said. “Go take a shower.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but I was too tired to fight him.
So I walked down the hall to the guest room.
As promised, the dresser drawers were now filled with t-shirts and jeans and sweaters and underwear and all kinds of other things. How the hell did Kendra know my size? I wondered, as I ran my hand through the slips of fabric. Colt must have told her, after I’d had to tell him my size earlier when I was getting my uniform.
I showered, then slipped into a t-shirt and a soft pair of pajama shorts.
A second later, Colt knocked on my bedroom door.
He was holding a bottle of water and a plate of chicken stir-fry. It smelled delicious.
I looked at him skeptically. “You made that?”
“Yes.”
“Like, you heated it up?”
“No, like I made it.” He shook his head and stepped into the room. He set the food down on the nightstand and then walked into the bathroom.
I could hear him in there, rummaging around.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
But he didn’t answer.
When he returned, he began looking around the room, opening drawers, his hands moving through the dresser, checking everything.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked again.
“Making sure there’s nothing in here you can hurt yourself with.”
He turned around and held his hand out. “Give me your bag.”
“No.”
“Give it to me, Olivia.”
“There’s nothing in there,” I said. “You took my razors at the club.”
“I want to check again.”
I picked it up and thrust it at him. “Go ahead,” I said. “Knock yourself out.”
He rummaged through my things. There wasn’t much there. He handed my bag back to me.
“Satisfied?” I asked.
The side of his mouth slid up into a grin and he let his eyes rake over my body. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I wasn’t wearing a bra, and that the shorts I was wearing, while my size, were a little too short, and hardly covered my ass.
My nipples hardened, and I could feel them poking against the sheer fabric
I liked the way he was looking at me, liked the fact that he was staring at my body and not even trying to hide it.
Kiss me.
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before, Princess,” Colt drawled.
“You’re an ass.”
“Eat,” he said. “And go to sleep.” He turned to head for the door.
“Wait,” I said, and he turned around.
“Yeah?”