Darius (Starkis Family #5) (9 page)

She was wearing a short, low-cut black tank dress with her trademark spiked heels. Her hair was up, presumably because it got hot in the crowded club, and her makeup was heavier than I was used to seeing it. She looked like a different person. Definitely someone I would hit on, if I hadn’t already, but less approachable and more intimidating. She was clearly sending off a “don’t mess with me” vibe, and since she’d barely looked at me since I’d walked in, I was starting to wonder if that warning extended to me.

“Looks like your girlfriend’s taking a break,” Damon said. “Aren’t you gonna chase after her, make sure no one gets too close?”

“Good idea.” I’d deal with their smart-ass comments later. Right now, I was more interested in finding out why Chelsea seemed pissed.

I caught her just before she could sneak into the ladies’ restroom, and I grabbed her arm when it became obvious she was trying to get away from me. “Hey, what’s with the attitude?”

“You have no right to come into my place of business and start making demands!”

“What are you talking about?”

“One of the waitresses said she overheard you tell your cousin, who also happens to be my boss, that you expect security to take care of me.”

“I didn’t say that exactly.” At least I didn’t think I had. “I was just looking out for you. I know you don’t like it when guys come on to you like that, and frankly, neither do I. So I can have Damon deal with it, or I’ll deal with it, but I can promise you won’t like my way.”

She clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with fury. “I don’t need you to take care of my problems for me. I’ve been doing just fine without your help.”

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that she wasn’t used to having someone to watch her back. But she would get used to it ‘cause I wasn’t going anywhere. “Well, now you have my help, whether you like it or not.” I could tell immediately I should have chosen my words more carefully.

When a guy brushed by her on his way to the restroom, getting closer than he had to, I glared at him and ushered her to the end of the hall where we’d have a little more space and privacy.

“Your other little girlfriends may think your alpha vibe is sexy, but I don’t!”

I didn’t know whether to be offended or amused, but to diffuse the situation before it escalated, I went with a smile. “I don’t have any other girlfriends. Just you.”

Looking stunned, she blurted, “I am not your girlfriend. I told you, I don’t do relationships.”

I gestured between us with my index finger. “Huh, ‘cause this sure as hell feels like one to me. And I’m kind of an expert when it comes to the whole male-female thing.”

She rolled her eyes. “I just bet you are.”

“We see each other almost every day, talk every night, text throughout the day…” I backed her against the wall, caging her in with my hands while my lips skimmed her cheek and my erection prodded her belly. “You get me hotter with just your lips than—”

“Stop,” she whispered, pressing her palms into my chest. She sounded a little breathless. “I can’t do this here. This is my workplace.”

“Not for much longer.” Now that I’d seen the way guys here treated her, I’d have been happy to see her walk out and never come back. “You’re going to be managing the comedy club, so you won’t need this job anymore.”

“Sssh,” she said, looking around to make sure no one had overheard. “I can’t give my manager notice yet. You said the renovation will take at least three months, so for now, this is the only source of income I have.”

Damn. I hadn’t considered the fact she would have to be here every night to compensate for the money she was losing while the club was shut down. I could offer to pay her during the renovation, but she would never go for that.

“I need you to come to the Hamptons with me this weekend.” My idea was totally spur of the moment, but I wanted to offer her a reprieve from fending off drunk guys for a few days. “We’re having a family get-together this weekend, and I want you to come and meet everyone.”

She gaped at me. “Are you crazy? I just met you, and now you want me to meet your family?”

It did sound a little crazy when she put it that way, especially since I’d only invited two other girls to meet my parents in my entire life. “It won’t be formal or anything. Just my parents and sisters, aunt, uncle, cousins, and their spouses and kids.”

She shook her head, wide-eyed. “You want me to meet your entire family all at once? Your Uncle Demi and your father?” She held up her hands, and I was pretty sure she would have backed away if she’d had anywhere to go. “No, no, I can’t.”

My uncle and father could be intimidating, but she had nothing to worry about. She was young, beautiful, humorous, and headstrong. They would love her, even though they would never admit as much. My father and especially my uncle Demi pretended they liked passive women, but I knew the truth. They respected women like Chelsea.

“Sure, you can.” I wrapped my hands around her upper arms so she couldn’t run. “Come on, it’ll be fun. When was the last time you went to the beach?”

“I don’t know.” I could tell she was wavering, but she said, “I really can’t afford to miss out on a few days’ pay.”

“Sure, you can. You don’t have to pay rent now, remember?” I hadn’t intended for her to move into my place until next week, when the renovation officially got underway, but this was a perfect solution.

She glared at me, daring me to argue with her. “We’re not staying at your place for nothing.”

If I hadn’t already been convinced that I was falling for this girl, that would have sold me. She actually wanted to pay me to stay in my apartment? How cute was she?

“We can work out the specifics of our little arrangement later. For now, just say you’ll come with me this weekend.” When she bit her lip, looking as if she may be considering my proposal, I went in for the hard sell. “I rent a little house about a quarter mile from my family. Two bedrooms, so plenty of privacy.”

I wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of using both bedrooms, but I couldn’t rush a girl like Chelsea. She’d come around on her own, when she was ready to take our relationship to the next level. I just hoped it wouldn’t take too long. I already craved her.

“When was the last time you took a vacation?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t do vacations. My time is spoken for, you know, earning a living so I can eat and sleep in a bed instead of on the street corner.” She blushed. “You know what I mean.”

Realizing her circumstances were that dire, that she wasn’t exaggerating for dramatic effect, hurt. “All the more reason for you to come with me. Everyone needs a little break now and then. Besides, it would give me a chance to show you what I do, take you to the office, show you a couple of our projects, visit a site or two. What do you say?”

“Is your family celebrating something special? Because I wouldn’t want to intrude on—”

“My sister and brother-in-law just moved into their new house up there, so it’s kind of a housewarming thing, I guess you could say. You wouldn’t be intruding. They’d love to meet you.” I knew my sisters would love Chelsea and go out of their way to make her feel comfortable, especially once I told them a bit about her background.

She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

I framed her face with my hands, smiling when she licked her lips. “You won’t regret it, I promise.”

But in case she needed a little more convincing, I traced the seal of her lips with my tongue before dipping inside. She tasted like red licorice, which I knew was her weakness… and she was mine.

***

“I hope you guys don’t mind if I bring a friend to the party this weekend,” I said to my sister and brother-in-law when we were sitting around the office the next day, discussing the details of our next project.

“No, bring whoever you want. Right, babe?” Dustin said, glancing at his wife.

“Yeah, of course.” Kara’s eyes narrowed. “This friend is a woman?”

“Yeah.” I was trying to downplay our relationship. I didn’t want Chelsea to feel my family was scrutinizing her, trying to decide if she was wife material.

“I can’t remember the last time you brought a date to a family gathering. She must be pretty special.”

“She is special.”

Dustin stood. “I’ll let you two hens finish this conversation in private. There’s an issue with the Byrne property that needs my attention.”

I whipped a pencil at him because I couldn’t let the hen comment go unpunished. “I’m gonna do the site visits in a bit. Will you have time to stop by the Browns’ later? I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Sure.” Dustin checked his watch. “I can be there around four, if that works for you?”

I was hoping to drive into the city to surprise Chelsea and make sure she and Daphne were settling into my apartment, but meeting him at four would leave me plenty of time. “Sounds good.” I waited until Dustin had kissed his wife and left before I said, “So listen, sis. This girl I’m bringing, she, uh, isn’t like all the rest. I don’t want you guys to give her a hard time.”

Looking offended, Kara asked, “When have you ever known me to give anyone a hard time?”

She was right—that was Catia’s department. But I would need Kara’s help to keep Catia in line. “I don’t know Chelsea’s whole story, just that she was hurt in some previous relationship and isn’t looking for anything serious right now.”

Kara grinned. “That should suit you just fine, huh?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” No strings had become like a mantra for me, but with this girl, I wouldn’t have minded a string or two. “But I have to admit, this is kind of a role reversal for me. I seem to be the one pushing for more while she’s trying to keep me at arm’s length.”

Kara pinched her lips together, obviously trying not to smile. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

“Shut up.” I glared at her, though we both knew she was one of the few people I couldn’t get really mad at. “It’s weird. I’m at a loss here. I don’t want to push her too hard, but I feel like just sitting back and doing nothing to move things forward is a mistake too.”

“When did you two meet?”

“Just over a week ago.” That was nothing in the big scheme of things, but I’d usually slept with most girls after dating them for a week.

“Does the three-date rule apply here?” she asked, looking amused.

My sisters could be real pains in the ass, but they always gave good advice about women, and I could use a female’s perspective, so I was willing to put up with Kara’s taunts. “Not even close. I mean, yeah, we’ve been out a few times, but we haven’t even come close to having sex.” I felt like I was back in middle school, where over the clothes petting was the line I couldn’t cross.

“Maybe that’ll change this weekend, when you two have some time alone together.”

“Crazy thing is”—I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to make sense of my feelings—“I’m in no hurry to get her into bed.” I shook my head when my pronouncement made Kara choke on her water. “I’m serious. Having her open up to me is like…” There was no way to say it without sounding like a wuss, so I just went with it and prepared for the teasing. “Better than sex with any other woman because I know it’s rare for her to let her guard down.”

Kara’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God. You’re really serious about her, aren’t you?”

I considered the question carefully, understanding the ramifications of my answer. “I guess so. But she’s made it clear that she isn’t looking for a relationship. We agreed we have fun when we’re together, and we like hanging out. There’s definitely chemistry, but what if it never evolves into more than that?”

“Sounds like you’re taking a big risk. But you know what they say, no reward without risk, right?”

Yeah, but I’d never risked my heart before. My money, my reputation, sure, but never my heart. That was some scary shit. “So you think I should just hold back for now, not push her too hard?”

“It sounds like you could lose her if you push too hard. I think you need to find out why she doesn’t want to get involved. What happened in her previous relationship to make her so guarded?”

Kara was right. I needed to know about her past. Hopefully this weekend, she would be willing to open up to me.

Chelsea

When Darius showed up at
his
door with a bag of Chinese takeout, I could have tackled him. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast since I’d been busy unpacking, and my stomach had been protesting the neglect for the past hour. Since Daphne had ditched me for a date, I’d been considering ramen noodles again, but I was grateful when Darius offered me a tastier alternative.

“You’re spoiling me,” I said, taking the bag from him before we made our way to the kitchen.

Darius chuckled. “You’re the only girl I’ve ever dated who claimed I was spoiling her with takeout. Most would complain I wasn’t taking them to a five-star restaurant and buying them new shoes and a dress to wear.”

What kind of entitled bitches was he used to dating? “What can I say?” I said, shrugging as I set the bag on the counter. “I’m a low-maintenance girl.”

“You’re settling in okay?”

“Yeah, but I still feel bad that you had to put your stuff in storage to make room for our junk.”

Our meager belongings did seem like junk compared to the designer suits and shoes the movers had picked up. Darius may have claimed to like blue jeans and boots, but he clearly wasn’t averse to dressing to impress either.

He shrugged. “Don’t feel bad. My uncle Demi has a hotel in Manhattan. He’s putting me up there until the reno’s over.”

He could have easily offered to put us up in a luxury hotel, but that would have felt too much like charity, and I would have felt like a fish out of water in those fancy digs. I appreciated that he seemed to understand that without having to ask.

“You girls have enough closet space?”

I laughed. “Have you seen the size of the closets in our apartment? We’ve gotten comfortable with the minimalist lifestyle, believe me.” Even though Darius’s apartment wasn’t huge, it felt like a mansion compared to ours, and I was still getting used to having so much space.