Kissed (8 page)

He chuckled, even as his fingers toyed with the keys. “You’re going to force me to make out with you here at the curb?”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything.” I sounded about a thousand times more confident than I actually felt. But if he could have seen the butterflies flapping their panicked wings in my stomach right now, he would have, without doubt, exploited it to his benefit.

He smiled and pushed me to the side of the driver’s door, pinning me in place with a hand on my hip. He leaned to my mouth, pausing. “I’m not forcing you to do anything either. You’re here of your own choosing, and you stayed of your own choosing as well.” And then he pressed his lips to mine.

I refused to return the kiss for a moment, but then he reached up, cupped my cheek, and used his thumb on my lower lip to pull my mouth open. “Kiss me,” he said into my mouth, and then he sucked on my lower lip.

I groaned quietly, and the moment I did, he pushed his body hard against mine. He was aroused, and I could feel it against my stomach. I wanted to touch, but I was having a hard enough time coping with my mouth at the moment.

He paused, and I felt his lips trembling against mine. I loved that sensation. I remembered it from the night I’d spent with him. It was a weakness of some sort, though I had no idea what that weakness actually meant. But what I did know was that it was a glimpse of something outside of his control, and I doubted very much there were many things in his world that he didn’t control.

He pulled back slightly, studying me.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered. “And just listen.” His voice was warm and seductive.

I closed my eyes, expecting him to say something more, but he said nothing at all. Instead, he kissed me gently. He kissed again, letting his lips quietly smack against mine.

And then I understood.

He kissed again and again, and I did exactly as he asked. I listened to the sound our mouths made together.

It was this universally powerful sound, more erotic than any other. It sounded wet, but not sloppy. It sounded sweet, but sexy at the same time. It sounded needy and desperate, even though he was taking his time, and when all that was coupled with the warmth of his lips, the taste of his mouth, and the subtle tickle of his breath, it turned into the most incredible moment of my life.

That wasn’t possible.

His head angled as he pressed his mouth harder to mine, and he groaned this breathy sound that caught in his throat when his groin pushed into me hard. It went on and on, sometimes slowing, sometimes speeding nearly out of control, and I closed my eyes tightly, letting the sensation take me someplace I had no business going.

“Whoa,” came a woman’s voice and the nearby click of heels on sidewalk.

Keegan finally parted from my lips, and he pressed his forehead to mine, breathing deeply and ignoring the source of the interruption for a moment. When he pulled back, he glanced at the approaching couple.

“Why don’t you kiss me like that?” the woman asked the man beside her.

The man chuckled. “Thanks for that, pal,” he said to Keegan with a smirk.

“Sorry,” Keegan responded quietly.

And the couple passed on by.

I ran my finger over my lower lip. It was sore, but it was the most pleasant soreness, much like I’d felt after having sex with Keegan, though a different part of my body.

“I have to go.” I put my palms on his chest, holding him at a distance.

He nodded. “I think I should give you a ride. I’m not comfortable—”

At just that moment, a cab rounded the corner with its light on. Fate was definitely telling me something. I stepped between the cars, holding my hand up to flag him down.

“No need,” I said over my shoulder as the cab came to a stop next to me. I opened the back door, standing there and looking at Keegan for a moment.

He was just watching me. He licked his lower lip thoughtlessly and pulled it into his mouth as though his mind were somewhere else, and then I climbed in the cab, refusing to look back.

Chapter 7

Keegan

SHE
was dressed all in black, from the black ornate mask on her face to the long silk gown she wore. And though her eyes were obscured by the mask, there was no question it was her. I knew those lips, and while I much preferred them natural and kissable than painted crimson, as they were now, they were still her lips, and they were still very recognizable even from across the art gallery at the Renaissance Blackstone.

The Mystery Masquerade Ball was an annual event held in mid-October that raised money for…something. I was starting to think all I did was follow David around from one hotel event to another—of course it was more entertaining than sitting through one of his city council meetings. I had no opposition to fundraising events whatsoever. Putting his money in the right places that looked good on paper was never a bad idea.

But I was irritated.

I’d not seen her for nearly two weeks, and the most I could say was that she’d also not seen David, though David had been traveling for a good portion of that time, so I’m not sure it was any great accomplishment. When I asked David about this event and who he intended to take, he’d waved me away dismissively, as though I didn’t have a right to know. He’d given my employers the right to manage this part of his life, and yet the man didn’t seem to like anyone managing anything at all when it came to his personal life. That was not surprising in many ways. The man was a chairman and CEO of a massively successful company, not to mention he’d successfully campaigned his way into the position of alderman for District 43. He didn’t get to the place he was in this life by worrying about every opinion that came his way or bowing down to men significantly his junior who were trying to control what he did with his frisky fucking cock.

Gabe hadn’t called me once, even though I’d left her my number the first night I was with her. And I couldn’t decide, even now that I was watching her from across the room, if I was upset about that, happy about it, or relieved. When David approached me with Gabe, I finally figured it out. I was pissed the hell off. I clamped my teeth down hard as I looked at her. She wasn’t supposed to be here, and she damn well knew it.

Her mask was a simple filigree of woven black satin-wrapped wire. The deep brown of her eyes twinkled under the gallery’s lights, and every time she blinked, her long lashes drew my attention in. Of course her mouth had that ability too, and I found my eyes barely knew how to leave her once she was standing in front of me. It was odd how I could want to do nothing but look at her and yell at her at the same time—maybe touch her too.

“Keegan,” David said stiffly and without a shred of kindness.

David looked like an idiot with his mask on, and I harrumphed and shook my head in irritation. I, on the other hand, had refused to wear one, avoiding the schmuckery altogether. But Gabe made her mask look incredible, not that I wouldn’t prefer to see her entire face.

“Gabrielle, you look lovely.” I turned my attention to her, studying her eyes as she stared back defiantly.

“Careful now,” David said quietly. “We’re incognito tonight. She can be any completely appropriate date I want her to be, and no one will be the wiser. I think I’ll tell everyone she’s a forty-three-year-old genetic engineer specializing in agriculture who spends her time curing world hunger. Think anyone will believe me?”

Gabe’s chest rose and fell deeply, and her jaw was suddenly tense. He’d offended her, but she wasn’t going to say anything. She wasn’t paid to have opinions, after all, but God what I wouldn’t give to hear her voice her anger at David now.

I hummed, and when I stepped up to David to move past him, I angled my head toward his. “Watch yourself. My patience, as well as that of your sponsors, is wearing rather thin.” My focus shifted to Gabe standing next to him, and my heart sped for a moment. Her eyes were wide as she watched me. I nodded subtly before I forced myself to walk away.

I gave them space for nearly an hour. Gabe danced with him, she was introduced to others, and others still seemed to already know her, given the body language and the way they approached her. She’d been around him too long, and he’d kept her entirely too visible. It would be one thing if the damage were limited to what he did with her behind closed doors, but it wasn’t. And it all amounted to a bloody fucking nightmare for me.

This man was a train wreck of insubordination, and there was too much money riding on his ability to behave like the man he publically purported himself to be. And yet, oddly, I was still holding on to the truth of what had happened between Gabe and me weeks prior. Were I holding on to it for any logical, calculated reason that would be one thing, but…I wasn’t. It wasn’t my job to make this decision about Gabe, but I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I was doing. I knew I could tell David I’d slept with her at any time; it would certainly make a statement. But I simply didn’t want to, not that I wouldn’t enjoy sucker-punching him in the balls.

Frankly, David had no business being a leader of any sort, and power was not something he would ever handle appropriately without completely losing whatever shred of humbleness he might still possess, but then Washington was quite full of those. He sure as hell was not a good investment, in my opinion.

He’d been too rich for too long, and after Mommy and Daddy died in a tragic car accident when he was still in his early twenties, his bad habits had simply been allowed to go unchecked. His father had known how to handle himself in the public world—at least I’d learned as much so far. But without the expectations of family keeping David in line, he’d devolved. And now I was supposed to fix the unfixable mess.

When Gabe walked up to the bar to get a drink, I followed.

“And I run into you at a bar yet again,” I said to her as I stepped up beside her. “I’m starting to think you’re a lush.”

She turned to me, but she didn’t smile. “I didn’t know to avoid you last time.”

I ignored the insult. “Dance with me.”

“I’m getting a drink.”

“It can wait. I can’t.”

I offered her my hand, and she looked around for a moment. When she finally placed her hand in mine, I folded my fingers around hers and pulled her away to the dance floor.

“You look stunning,” I said as I tugged her closer to my body and started moving her around the floor. “But out of curiosity, what the
hell
are you doing here?” My teeth were gritted as I spoke, barely allowing my jaw to work, and while my voice was quiet and my body language unassuming to those around us, there was no mistaking the irritation in my tone.

She let out a huff of breath. “I’m doing what I get paid to do. He booked me for this night weeks ago. I couldn’t back out without running the risk of pissing him off, and if he’s pissed, then my employer is pissed.” She was silent for a moment, and her focus shifted to my chest. “I was going to say I didn’t feel well and leave before the end of the eve—”

I cut her off. “What’s the point? There’s a room full of people who’ve already seen you. I’d say the damage is already done.” I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth, but it was too late.

She stopped moving and stared. Her lips were parted, and they trembled slightly as her eyelids fluttered. “I beg to differ,” she said quietly, and then she tried to pull away.

I wouldn’t let her. I held her close, closer than I should for a formal event, and my hand gripped her lower back rather than her shoulder.

“I wish my personal opinions on the topic mattered. I really do, Gabe. But I have a job to do.” I hated the sound of the excuse coming out of my mouth, even though it was the truest statement I’d likely made to her yet.

“Yeah? Well, so do I,” she retorted angrily.

I scoffed, but she was quick to fire back.

“I’m so sick and tired of hearing about what a threat I am to him—his reputation, his career, his future. Did it ever once occur to you that he’s as big a threat to me? You, too, for that matter. This is how I support myself. This is how I survive.”

“There are a hell of lot better ways to survive than this, Gabe.”

“Not for me. This”—she looked around as though searching for the explanation—“pays well and allows me time to deal with my other…responsibilities.”

I scoffed. “Well then you should be thrilled to know he’s paying three thousand dollars a week to keep all those other nuisance cocks away from you.”

She stopped moving then, staring up at me, clearly shocked to hear that.

“That’s right,” I continued. “He’s paying handsomely to keep your calendar nice and clear for you. Let me guess, though, you don’t see a penny of that money, do you?” It wasn’t a question. I already knew full well she didn’t.

Her lips pursed, and I could have sworn her eyes shimmered before she looked down at my chest instead of my eyes. And then she was silent. I moved her slowly around the floor in time with the music, and she let me steer her through the people. She also let me keep our bodies close; of course, I wasn’t really sure she was even aware of what we were doing. She seemed lost in her mind at the moment, and I let her stay there so she could soak up the insult of the situation.

“It doesn’t matter,” she finally said quietly.

“You don’t think so, huh? Then how come you’re so offended right now?” I leaned back, looking down at her face. “He throws down over fifteen K for your pussy a month, and you see a measly three thousand of that. Tell me that’s okay.”

“Three thousand isn’t so measly to me,” she retorted.

“
I
know that.
They
know that.
That’s
my point.”

She looked at me, and when she swallowed, it was a struggle.

“Don’t you get it? You’re always going to be the one left holding the short straw in all this because they’re always going to take advantage of you, knowing full well they can.”

“Just like you,” she said quietly. She stared at me, refusing to look away.

I opened my mouth to argue with that, but I couldn’t, and when I shut my mouth again, I pursed my lips.