Glass Hearts (13 page)

I free her breasts from her bra and take advantage of what the cold air is doing to her nipples, teasing and pulling. I turn us so that my back is to the door before lifting her shirt to taste her. The chance that someone could walk in at any minute heightens my senses, but I focus on the girl in front of me. Her hand begins running up and down the front of my jeans giving me a little pleasure as I move my lips back up to meet hers. My fingers rub the sensitive spot between her legs as she throws her head back and closes her eyes. I use my free hand to pull her face back toward me, and kiss her until she’s having trouble catching her breath.

I wrap my arm around her to support her. I think I’m making my girl a little weak in the knees. She breaks the kiss, throwing her head back again. “Dane,” she pants. “Oh my God.”

Something about doing this here makes me feel alive. I press my lips right below her ear. “Come for me, baby,” I whisper against her neck, and she lets go at the same time I cover her mouth to swallow her screams. I feel like I’m in high school again because I almost come from the light touch of her fingers over my denim-covered erection. I remove her hand and rest my forehead against hers. She has that sexy, satisfied look on her face, a look that belongs to me. “I hate watching all the guys in the bar check you out,” I whisper, pulling her shirt back down.

She smiles. “They can look all they want, Dane, but you know I belong to you.”

I close my eyes. “Mine,” I say before opening them again.

“Yours,” she whispers, pressing her lips to mine. She feels and tastes like heaven. I hate when the jealousy sweeps through me, but good things don’t usually last for me. Maybe I’m just waiting for her to realize she can find someone better, someone who can give her the things that she’s used to, someone who hasn’t lived such a fucked up life. She chose me, though. It might take awhile for it to sink in, but my dream girl isn’t a dream anymore.

I hear the door open behind me and quickly place an arm on either side of Alex to shield her. “What’s taking so long in here,” I hear. It’s Jay. He’s probably ready to kill me; the bar is probably packed.

“I’ll be out in just a minute. I had to take care of something,” I say, smiling down at Alex whose biting her lower lip, trying not to giggle.

I glance back to see Jay moving toward us. “Hey, I said give me a minute.”

Alex peeks over my shoulder and I watch a shit eating grin play on Jay’s face. “Okay, I get it but hurry. It’s starting to get crazy again.” As soon as he’s gone, Alex and I work to straighten our clothes, and I help her fix her wild hair. I notice her lip-gloss is smeared and use my thumb to clean her up.

“Here, you have a little on you too,” she says, licking her thumb and rubbing it along the sides of my mouth. I want to taste her again, but if I do, we’ll never get out of here and the last thing I need is Reid popping his head in.

“Thanks, baby,” I say, kissing the tip of her nose. “We should probably get back out there.”

“I’m going to use the bathroom quick and I’ll be right out,” she says, squeezing my arm as she walks past me.

I spend the rest of the night watching her walk back and forth between the bar and tables. I don’t look at the other guys around her even once; the smile she throws my way every time our eyes meet is enough to reassure me that I have nothing to worry about. What she does when we get home to reward me for what I did in the cooler sets it in stone.

Alex lies in bed still deep in sleep when I get out of bed to grab us coffee. It’s almost noon and she hasn’t moved once; her first night on the job did a number on her. Working with Alex might not be as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I just stepped out of Starbucks when my cell phone rings, causing me to shuffle both cups into one hand to answer it. “Hello,” I answer.

“Dane?”

“Yeah, who is this?” I ask. Alex and Nolan are usually the only ones that call me.

“It’s Alex’s dad.” Fuck, why is Alex’s dad calling me? My whole body stiffens.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Riley?” I ask. I don’t really care to hear what he has to say, but I can’t hang up.

He sighs. “How is Alex? We haven’t heard from her, and I want to make sure she’s okay.”

“You could call and ask her yourself,” I reply, leaning up against the building. I know Alex is in a constant tug of war with her self over wanting them to call her and not wanting them to call her. She wants them to change and to accept her for who she is. I hate seeing the pain they put her through, and I’d do anything to keep her from reliving it all again.

“I don’t have her number. She mailed her phone to us after the last time we saw her,” he says.

The weekend we visited for Gwen’s wedding, he pulled me aside. I never told Alex this because I knew what it would do to her. I just didn’t know her parents were doing the same thing to her.

Alex just left with her mom and sister to get her hair done for the wedding. She invited me to go golfing with her father, but I think I’m going to pass because I haven’t spoken to the guy once since I’ve been here. I got a glimpse of him at the rehearsal last night, and that was enough to tell me I wasn’t his choice for his daughter.

I shower and grab the keys Alex left me to take her car for a drive. There has to be something to do in Greenwich. As soon as I hop off the bottom step, I see her father standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He’s not a big man, but the expression on his face is enough to make me take a step back.

“Where are you off to?” he asks, moving in closer to me. I keep my feet locked into place.

“I was going to go run a few errands…maybe grab a cup of coffee and check out Greenwich,” I reply, turning the key chain around my finger.

He points to the keys in my hand. “Don’t you have your own car?” he asks.

“No, sir, I have a motorcycle.”

He takes another step closer. “My daughter deserves better than you,” he says in a threatening voice.

“That’s a matter of opinion,” I reply, eyeing the door.

“Oh yeah? What do you have to offer?”

I snap my eyes back up to him. “Myself.”

He shakes his head. “What if I offer you something to stay away from her? You can go off and buy yourself something really nice and leave my daughter alone.”

“There’s nothing you can do to make me stay away from her,” I say, suddenly feeling too closed off in his big house.

“How about $25,000?” he says, sticking his hands in his pockets.

I can’t believe this jerk is trying to offer me money to stay away from the one person who matters most to me. Alex explained her parents to me, but I wasn’t expecting the things her father is saying to me. They aren’t just controlling, they’re manipulative, self-absorbed assholes.

It’s my turn to take a step closer to him. “There is nothing you can offer me to make me leave her. Ever,” I seethe, pointing my finger at him.

He smiles. “What if I tell you that if you don’t back off, I’ll make your life a living hell? You see, I know things about you. Things I could use to ruin your family.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You can’t hurt my family. We all hit rock bottom a long time ago,” I say, walking past him to the door. “Go ahead and do what you want to do. I’m not leaving her.” I slam the door and quickly walk to the car, not giving the house a second glance. He can do whatever he wants, but I’m not letting him tear us apart. The worst thing he can do to me is ruin my relationship with Alex. After that, nothing else really matters.

He sounds like a different man today, but I still can’t trust him. He’s Alex’s dad, though, and whether or not she has a relationship with him is her decision.

“If I give you her number, will you call her?” I ask, hesitantly.

“Yes. Maybe not today, but I need to talk to her sometime. Don’t tell her I called, okay?” he asks warily.

“Okay, but don’t wait forever. She’s hurting, and I swear to God if you make it any worse-”

“I won’t, I promise,” he interrupts. I’m not convinced, but something in his voice tells me to trust him. I give him her contact info and put my phone back in the front pocket. A part of me wants him to call her and make things right, but the other part is scared she might retreat back to her old life.

Dane Wright is going to be the death of me. Death from orgasm? Death from swooning? I’m not sure which one will kill me first, but it’s bound to happen some day. Last night after the incident in the cooler, I had trouble concentrating on my work. My body was on edge, still tingling from his touch…I practically attacked him as soon as we were through the apartment door.

My first night at work was a different experience. At first I was really nervous, but after completing my orientation with Reid and shadowing Kara, I was feeling pretty comfortable, and it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. The hardest part is remembering orders since we’re not supposed to write them down. I swear, I wanted to slap anyone who interrupted me from the time I took an order and made it to the bar to give it to the bartenders. I perfected the “Just a minute” sign with my hand, pairing it with a friendly smile. It sounds awkward, but it worked.

Neither of us has to work today because it’s Sunday, so Dane invited his mom over for dinner. Sitting through another Wright family dinner has me feeling a little anxious, but since Nolan won’t be here, it can’t be as bad as the last…or I hope not, anyway.

“Hey,” Dane says, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “Do you want to go to the studio for a few hours before we have to start dinner?” The studio has become as much mine as it is his. It’s like our vacation home…a step away from reality.

I turn, wrapping my arms around his neck. “That sounds fabulous. Let me go change and then we can go.”

“Hurry,” he smiles, before kissing my forehead. I slept past noon today, so I’m still in nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. I slip into a pair of cutoff shorts and a Beatles t-shirt before throwing my hair into a knot on the top of my head. I wrap a colorful scarf that I picked up from a street vendor a couple months around my head to keep any loose strands out of my face. Not that I haven’t had paint in my hair before, but getting it out is like World War 3 and everything shows in my blonde hair. I don’t bother with any makeup, surprising Dane by taking less than ten minutes to come out of the bedroom.

“Ready,” I yell, placing my purse over my shoulder. He sits on the couch staring at me, eyes wide. “Are we going to the studio?” I ask.

“Yeah, we’re going to the studio,” he says, getting up from the couch and walking toward me. “I have to do something first, though.” The man in front of me always keeps me on my toes…I never know quite what to expect.

I watch each step he takes until he’s standing right in front of me, cupping my cheeks in his hands. My stomach flutters as I focus on his lips as they move closer to mine, my breath mixing with his before our lips finally touch. He begins by gently massaging each of my lips between his, and then uses his tongue to part my lips, giving him full access. It’s a lingering, soft, sensual kiss that doesn’t stop for minutes and leaves me completely breathless. Dane Wright has a road map to pleasing me and making me feel special.

He pulls back, looking down at me through hooded eyes. “I’m ready now,” he says, his mouth turning up at one side.

“You’re such a tease,” I say, smacking his arm. If he even hinted at it, I would follow him straight into the bedroom and let him have his way with the rest of my body. I wonder if he knows the affect he has on me.

“Oh, baby, I can do more than tease,” he says, walking toward me again.

I place my hand on his chest, stopping him from moving any closer. “We’re going to the studio. We have time for this other stuff later.” Part of me wants him to push me a little. If he asks me one more time, I’m his.

“It’s other stuff now, huh?” he teases, running his hands through his hair. If we continued what we started, I would be running my hands through that hair right now too.

“Let’s go,” I smile, taking his hand in mine and leading him out the door.