Page 5 of The Redemption of Alex Cade
“Right.” I cleared my throat. “I was starting to get the feeling he, uh… wasn’t going to take the hint.”
Alex nodded once, his hard gaze lingering on me for a beat too long before softening again. The tension in the air eased, but my pulse had picked up, my skin prickling with awareness. There was something about Alex’s intensity that was hard to shake, like he could flip between charming and dangerous without a moment’s hesitation.
“So, if this place isn’t your thing, what brought you here?”
As though on cue, my mobile bleeped and vibrated in my hip pocket. Mumbling an apology I pulled it out and opened up the text. I read it quickly and huffed.
“My friend Brendan. The one who caused a scene and got himself thrown out. The message is from one of our friends who came with us.” I held up my phone before I stuffed it into my pocket. “The stupid sod’s on his way home in a cab, lurching from crying to cursing. It’s been a bit of a week, to be honest.” The back of the cab wasn’t the only place where he’d been balling his eyes out or threatening to cut off his ex’s dick and stuff it up his arse, but maybe Alex didn’t need to know that. “He got dumped by his boyfriend a few days ago. Brendan was seeing wedding bells, but his boyfriend wasn’t. Anyway, tonight he decided he wanted to show his ex he was over him. Prove a point, you know?”
Alex’s lips quirked, his expression faintly amused. “So you’re lending him moral support?”
“That was the original idea. Apparently this was the laststop on his revenge tour,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He’s had too much of… well, everything.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “And you stayed behind?”
“I’d meant to keep an eye on him, but I was busy trying to get away from that guy. Before I knew it, Brendan was out the door and the others were on his tail. You know the rest.”
Alex leant forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table. The movement was subtle, but it drew my eyes to the strong line of his shoulders, the way his suit moulded itself to his body. His voice, when he spoke, was softer now, more personal. “It sounds like your friend is lucky to have you looking out for him.”
“Well, I try.” My eyes met Alex’s and held. The air between us seemed to shift, growing heavier, warmer. I looked away, my cheeks burning.
“I should probably get going.” I pushed up from my seat, but my movements were clumsy and I almost toppled over my chair.
Alex got to his feet, everything about him calm and unhurried. “At least let me make sure you get home safely.”
“Oh, no. You don’t need to call me a cab, or anything. That’s really not necessary. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not offering to call you a cab.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’ll have someone drive you.”
“Drive me…?” Every instinct told me to say no, but the thought of the night bus, of the drunks, creeps, and god alone knew what else, made me pause. And Alex… Alex was looking at me like he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I—”
A bouncer appeared out of nowhere. “Take my guest home,” Alex said, his voice brisk and authoritative. He turned back to me, his expression softening just enough tomake my chest tighten. “Goodnight, Kit. I enjoyed meeting you.”
Before I could respond Alex was gone, lost in the crowd.
The bouncer gestured for me to follow, and I let myself be led through the packed club, glancing back once over my shoulder. Alex was nowhere to be seen, and I didn’t know whether I was regretful or relieved.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALEX
The insistent pounding jerked me from sleep, fragments of the previous night’s encounter with Kit still clinging, like cobwebs, to my consciousness. Something about that conversation, abouthim, had burrowed under my skin, leaving an itch I couldn’t scratch.
“All right, all right. Keep your bloody hair on.” I crawled out of bed and stumbled to the front door of my flat. Wrenching it open, Kelvin’s broad frame filled the doorway, mobile in hand.
“Didn’t we agree eleven o’clock? Was about to phone you. Do you know how long I’ve been standing out here?” He slipped past me, the familiar scent of his cologne trailing behind him.
“The security guy is supposed to be there to keep undesirables out, not let them in,” I grumbled.
“You think he’s got the balls to leave me waiting in reception? Though that potted plant does look lovely sitting next to a pile of the latest edition of Hampstead Life. Anyway, theoccasional crisp tenner slipped over the counter ensures an easy, smooth entrance.” Kelvin prowled to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Hampstead Heath, his reflection ghostly in the glass. “Speaking of smooth entrances…” He turned, eyes glinting. “How’d you get on with your blond fantasy last night?”
My shoulders stiffened. “What?”
“That guy we saw on the monitor, the one who needed to wear a blond wig to fulfil all your deepest, dirtiest desires.”
“Nothing. I never went near him.” But Kelvin would already have known that, because he’d have been looking at the monitors. I still wasn’t awake enough to play games. “I had a drink with one of the punters. He was a friend of the guy we chucked out.” Still half asleep, I’d already said too much.
