Page 140 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10
I could hear Dr. Clark’s voice in the back of my head. He’d say that yoga would help me sleep. I was pretty sure fucking Penny was the only way I’d ever sleep again. As soon as I thought it, my phone buzzed.
The list of people who would be texting me at midnight was pretty slim. My brother being one option. And the other…
I lifted up my phone and stared at the text. The perfect, beautiful, text I’d been waiting for from Penny.
"Any chance I can get a lift?"
I smiled. But then I immediately frowned. If she needed a lift, that meant she was drunk. The thought of her being too wasted to walk herself home was one thing. But the thought of her being drunk and the guy she was out with not walking her home? Not okay. Who the hell was this asshole? I was furious. But also grateful. Because maybe if he’d been a good guy, they’d still be together right now. And I couldn’t stand the thought of someone else touching her. Even if it was as innocent as holding hands. Her hands were only mine to hold. The thought made me pause. I shook my head. I was sleep-deprived. I didn’t know what I was thinking.
"Where are you?" I texted back.
My phone bleeped immediately. "Outside of Kildare's."
"I'll be right there." I was already climbing out of bed, pulling on the nearest clothes: a pair of dark jeans and…I looked around for my shirt from earlier. But all I could find was a zip-up gray hoodie.Screw a shirt.There wasn’t time.
I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Even though I couldn’t fall asleep, I was exhausted. The last thing I wanted was to endanger Penny even more. I brushed my teeth, hoping that the mint flavor would help zap my brain awake. Or maybe I did it because I wanted to kiss her.
Breathe.She was drunk. She was calling me for help. The last thing I was going to do was kiss her. I’d save that for a night that she’d remember. Because I wanted that memory to be seared into her brain forever.
I made my way down to my car as fast as I could. Main Street was pretty empty as I pulled out of the parking garage. Most students were probably still out at parties. If she had called me at one o’clock it would have been a different story. I would have had to drive 10 miles per hour to dodge drunk students. But since it was empty, I sped down the road fast enough for a cop to cite me for reckless driving.
Kildare's was close enough to my apartment that I could have walked. But she’d asked for a lift. And I didn’t mind the idea of her being so close to me. Or the fact that no one would even see us together.Stop. She’s drunk for God’s sake.
It started to drizzle, the rain hitting my windshield like it was pouring because of how fast I was going. I saw her in the distance, sitting on the curb without an umbrella, seemingly notcaring an ounce that she was getting wet. She was even smiling.Definitely drunk.
I pulled the car to a stop right in front of her. She stood up and all I could do was stare at the way her black dress clung to her. It was probably that tight before it was wet, but somehow knowing that she was soaked made it that much more seductive. The hemline barely covered her ass and the neckline plunged to her belly button. There was black mesh material over her cleavage so that she wasn't completely exposed. And a slit up the side that would have been sinful if it were any higher.
But then I saw the broken stiletto in her hand. My eyes wandered down her legs. There was blood dripping down her knees. What the hell happened? I leaned over and opened the car door from the inside. She climbed inside and shut the door.
I wanted to ask her who the fuck left her on the curb like this. I wanted to ask her a million questions really. But I was distracted by the fact that she didn’t smell like a brewery. The sweet smell of cherry blossoms invaded the car. Had she even been drinking?
"Did I wake you?" she asked sweetly.
That was how she was going to start this conversation? She was fucking bleeding. I needed a second to calm down, or else I’d snap at her when what I really wanted to do was kill whoever had been with her. I put the car in drive and focused on the road for a minute. She’d asked me a question. But I didn’t have an appropriate answer. No, I hadn’t been sleeping. I’d been lying in bed wishing I was fucking her instead. But I couldn’t exactly tell her that. "Yes," I finally said.
The rain was picking up. In the silence, the drops began to splash loudly on the windshield. I gripped the wheel tighter.
"You live near here?" she asked.
Was she seriously not going to tell me what the hell had happened tonight? The small talk made me feel like it was bad. Worse than the millions of things running through my head. "Yes."
"Where?"
I stopped at a red light and leaned across her to open the glove compartment. All I wanted to do was turn my head and kiss her. I told myself it wasn’t a possibility because she’d be drunk. But she wasn’t. I didn’t smell any alcohol on her breath. The only smell was those damn cherry blossoms. Everywhere. I smelled her everywhere.
But just because she wasn’t drunk didn’t mean she was in any state to make good decisions tonight. And even if she was, I certainly wasn’t. I was furious. She had been sitting alone on the curb bleeding. I grabbed a tissue and placed it gently on one of her cut knees. Ignoring her question, I asked, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"I fell, that's all," she whispered. Her gaze dropped to my lips.
I’d been dreaming of being alone with her. But not like this. Not when rage was pulsing through my veins. I let go of the tissue and sat back in the driver's seat.
She blotted her knees with the tissue.
"That's all?" I asked, my eyes never leaving her face.
She lifted her stiletto from her lap and shrugged.
That wasn’t the whole story. We both knew it. And I was going to get to the bottom of it. When the light turned green I stepped on the gas. "You enjoyed your date then?"
