Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) (9 page)

Coop and I refrained from laughing as we watched our brother stalk down the hell and slam his bedroom door.

“He took that better than I thought,” I said, sinking into couch cushions and kicking up my feet.

***

I sneaked into the apartment early the next morning, hoping to grab a quick shower and change my clothes before work without having to run into the happy couple. I liked Ace and I thought he was good for Rachel, but I always got the feeling he was sizing me up, trying to figure me out, and it made me uncomfortable.

“Hey,” Ace said, making me jump as I closed and locked the door.

“Shit, you scared me,” I said, hand to chest. “Why’re you up so early?”

“I like to train first thing in the morning,” he said, raising his coffee cup. “I was going to whip up some eggs. You want some?”

My stomach was grumbling, but I wasn’t sure breaking bread with one of York’s best friends was a good idea. “I have to get ready for work.”

“Rachel said you guys didn’t start ‘til nine.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s only six thirty. That’s why I let her sleep. You have plenty of time. Come on, join me. I hate eating alone.”

The lure of freshly brewed coffee finally convinced me. I sat on a stool at the breakfast bar between the small dining area and kitchen, watching him whip up scrambled eggs for himself and a cheese omelet with toast for me.

“So why’d you screw my buddy over?” he asked, tossing a tea towel over his shoulder.

I should have seen that coming. “Is that what he told you?”

He passed me a cup of coffee with sugar, milk, and a smile to soften the blow. “He didn’t have to tell me anything. I’ve known him a long time. When he gets all quiet and broody, I know there’s a reason.”

“And it’s usually a woman?” I asked, adding another teaspoon of sugar to my steaming brew.

“No, it’s rarely a woman. But this time, the pieces fit,” he said, stirring his scrambled eggs in a smaller skillet. “He was psyched about meeting you, then all of a sudden he doesn’t want to talk about it. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out something went wrong.”

“If he doesn’t want to talk about it, what makes you think I would?” I could tell Ace was the kind of guy who didn’t pull any punches, so I felt comfortable calling him out.

He grinned. “I can push you. I can’t push him. There’s a good chance he can kick my ass. You can’t.”

I didn’t appreciate being underestimated, but not many men could stand their ground against Ace Matthews. Even with years of kickboxing under my belt, I still wouldn’t stand a chance. Not that a guy like Ace would ever go toe-to-toe with a woman. I could already tell he was too much of a man for that shit.

His smile slipped, and he tipped his head toward the door. “Since you didn’t come home last night, can I assume there’s someone else?” When I didn’t respond, he said, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him. I wouldn’t do that to him.”

“I spent the night at my brother Ash’s place.”

“Ah, yeah, this brother I keep hearing so much about.” His lips were drawn tight as he set two loaded plates between us.

“Rachel’s talked to you about Ash?” I couldn’t believe she’d talk to her new boyfriend about her ex-boyfriend. What was she thinking?

“Just in passing.” He shrugged, trying to play it off as if it didn’t matter. “She mentioned something about you working for him.”

“Then you know they dated?” I asked before popping a bite of cheese-laden perfection into my mouth.

“Yeah, she said something about it.” He looked wary, as though he was holding his breath. “She said it wasn’t serious though. Was it?”

I thought about Ash’s reaction when he’d found out Rachel was sleeping with someone else. “Um, I don’t think so.” When someone tapped on the door, I gasped, my eyes widening. “Shit, who could that be?”

“Relax,” Ace said, resting his hand on my shoulder. “It’s just my training partner. We’re going to hit the gym.”

He walked to the door and checked the peephole before he opened it. I swore softly when I saw York walk in. Ace couldn’t have warned me?

“Hey,” I said when York’s eyes landed on mine.

“Hey,” he said softly, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.

“I’m just going to get changed and say good-bye to Rachel,” Ace said. “Be right back.”

I gestured to the coffee pot on the counter across from me. “Coffee’s hot. Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

The sight of his broad shoulders in a tight gray T-shirt made my heart thump erratically. If I’d had half a brain, I would have fucked him senseless before I sent him on his way. At least then I would have had memories instead of worthless fantasies.

He turned to face me, taking in my skinny jeans, black tank top, and ballerina flats. “You’re up early. I thought the studio doesn’t open ‘til nine.”

“I just got in.” I sipped my coffee as I waited for his reaction. Testing him was cruel, but I wanted to know if he’d care that I may have been with another man last night.

“You just got in?” He leaned back against the counter, bringing the mug to his lips. “From where?”

At least he wasn’t jumping to conclusions. “I spent the night at my brother’s.” I tipped my head toward the bedrooms. “Thought I’d give those two a little privacy.”

“I asked Rachel why they don’t just spend the night at Ace’s place. You know what she told me?”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to guess. “No. What?”

“She told me that she doesn’t like leaving you alone. She said you have wicked nightmares. What’s that all about?”

Rachel hadn’t known me when Jordan was a part of my life, and since I didn’t talk to anyone outside of my family about my ex, she had assumed I’d suffered from night terrors since childhood, and I let her believe that.

“Who knows why people have night terrors?” I said, tearing my gaze from his. “It’s a mystery, right?”

“Is it?” His eyes locked on mine as though he could hear what I hadn’t said.

I cleared my throat, desperately hoping he’d be willing to change the subject. “So how’ve you been?”

“I’ve been better.” He took a sip of coffee. “You?”

“Same.” With a fork, I pointed at the skillet. “There’re some eggs left over. Help yourself.”

“Did you make them?” he asked with a smirk.

“No, your friend did.”

He shrugged. “They should be edible then.”

“And if I made them, they wouldn’t have been?” I asked, trying to hide my smile.

“I didn’t say that.” He scoured the cupboards until he found a bright pink plate that made him grimace. “Seriously?” He held it up. “You expect me to eat off this thing?”

“What’s wrong? Does it threaten your masculinity, big guy?”

He chuckled before dumping the rest of the scrambled eggs onto his plate. “No. Nothing threatens my masculinity.”

As my eyes trailed over his muscular body, I realized he was right about that. He was all man. No doubt.

He slid his phone across the counter. “You wanna take a picture? Make it last?”

He was so full of himself that I had to laugh. But I was glad he wasn’t making things awkward. After our last meeting, I wasn’t sure what to expect when or if I saw him again. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

York watched me watching him as we both brought forks to our mouths slowly. It was obvious we were both hungry, but not for eggs.

“I figure we should clear the air,” he said. “Since your friend is dating mine, we’ll probably meet up like this from time to time. Might as well be civil, right?”

“Sure.” I’d been preparing for this role my whole life—pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t. “Why not?”

“You still seeing the sleazy car salesman?” he asked, his gaze on his plate.

“I was never really
seeing
him.” I polished off my last bite of food before moving to the sink. I piled the dirty dishes into the sink and added soap to the mix while submerging my hands in the hot water. “Just a few dates.” More like hook-ups, but I wouldn’t tell him that.

York’s chest was suddenly pressed to my backside, his arms curling around me as his empty plate disappeared into the water. I swallowed before holding my breath, wondering what he might do or say next. He was hard.
Everywhere.
I wondered how long it would take him to lose those shorts and whether we could be quiet enough to keep it from Ace and Rachel.

“What are you doing?” I asked when his hands settled on my hips, his lips nuzzling my neck.

“Thinking maybe we could keep it casual.”

Casual sex? Any other time, I would have jumped at the chance, but knowing my ex could be waiting downstairs made me hesitate.

“Unless you’re not into it?” Even before I answered, his hands were working the button and zipper on my jeans. “If not, just say the word.”

No.
It was playing on my lips, but I couldn’t make myself say it, even though I knew I should. My life was already too complicated without adding a lover to the mix.

My only response was a sharp intake of breath when he slipped a hand inside my black lace panties. He took that as a green light. I leaned back into him, needing the support of his big body when his fingers teased me. Circling, probing, thrusting…

“Oh God, York…”

“Sssh,” he whispered, kissing my neck. “We don’t want them to know, do we?” He leaned forward, using his free hand to shut off the tap when the water reached the edge of the sink. “We can keep this just between us. That’s the way you want it, isn’t it?”

I felt as if I should say something, but I couldn’t. All of my focus was centered on the wicked things he was doing with his fingers. He slid his thumb back and forth, the movement hypnotizing. I bit my lip and shuddered as the momentum built.

“Yes… don’t stop…” I rolled my head around like a bobblehead, dropping my chin to my chest as my breath came in short, ragged gasps. Heedless of the water and soap dripping from my hands, I curled them around his neck, into his hair, and thrust my breasts out when he tweaked my nipple through the thin cotton.

Finally wave after wave rolled through me. He slowly stroked me back to sanity, every part of my body still pulsating.

“I got you all wet,” I said, grimacing as I set my hands on the counter, trying to steady my legs.

“I could say the same.”

I laughed, dropping my head as I tried to get my bearings. Before I could, we heard Ace walking down the hall, whistling.

York cleared his throat while pulling my tank down to cover my open jeans. I felt him turn away from me, using his body to block mine.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asked Ace. “We’re running late.”

“Yeah, sure. See you later, Lace.”

“Yeah, later.” I looked over my shoulder just in time to see York wink at me before he closed the door.

“I think I’m in love,” Rachel said, stretching her arms overhead as she walked down the hall.

Shit. I tried to discreetly button and zip my pants, but she was on to me.

“What’re you doing?” she asked, wearing her shit-eating grin.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” She headed to the fridge and took out one of the fruit-and-yogurt concoctions she pre-made for breakfast. “You’ve been up to something.” Her gaze slid over me. “And since York just left, I’m betting it had something to do with him.”

I watched her reach into the drawer for a spoon as my heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “You’re imagining things again.” I turned toward the soapy dishes in the sink, hoping she’d give me a pass just this once.

She rested her elbow on the counter where I was working, the bowl halfway to her lips as she grinned. “You fucked him, didn’t you?” She grimaced before straightening. “Please tell me it wasn’t on the counter.”

“Shut up,” I said, shaking my head. “We just messed around a little, that’s all.”

“But if we hadn’t been here, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t have taken him back to your bedroom and let him have his wicked way with you.” Rachel sat on a stool before digging into her breakfast.

“I thought I was done with him,” I said, trying to make sense of what just happened and where that left us. Would he call me later? Did I want him to? Or did he just sense I’d needed a little help taking off the edge and thought he’d lend his expertise?

“How could you be done with him when you haven’t even done him yet?” Rachel asked, rolling her eyes.

“I told you what happened with him in the park, then later in my brother’s office. I thought that was it, that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again.”

“I’m not going to ask what happened here today, but I’m assuming whatever it was made you question whether you’re really over him?”

“Over him?” I laughed, but it sounded brittle and hollow. “You make it sound like we were dating for years. I barely know the guy.”

“You’ve followed his career for a long time,” Rachel reminded me. “It’s like you knew him even before you met him.”

“Hardly. I only knew what I’d read about him and seen on TV.”

“So let me ask you this,” Rachel said, pointing her spoon at me. “You were into him even before you met him. You’ve told me dozens of times how hot you think he is.”

Something I now regretted saying. “And your point is?” I set the dishes in the drying rack before immersing the skillets in the water.

“Now that you know him, do you think there’s more to him than you thought there would be?”

She was asking me whether he was a bonehead fighter or a real man of substance. I remembered the stories he’d told me about the way he’d grown up and the stories I’d shared with him about my childhood. He may have been a jealous jackass in the park and crossed the line by going to see my brother, but he wouldn’t have done those things if he’d just been looking for another hook-up.

“York is a good guy,” I said.

“Then why’d you cut him loose?”

Though Rachel was one of my few girlfriends, I couldn’t confide in anyone about Jordan. My conscience reminded me that she was putting herself in harm’s way just by living with me and deserved to know she could be in danger, but I didn’t want to make her paranoid. Jordan would be out to get me. Not her.

“I’m not interested in a relationship right now.” I’d told her the same thing a hundred times, so it should come as no surprise. But for the first time in a long time, I’d found a man I could imagine committing to, and the threat of my ex lurking around every corner was making that impossible.