Ruthless (12 page)

She tossed her pen across the table, hitting him square in the chest. “Would you get your head out of your ass, Spencer? We’ve got some important decisions to make.”

He rolled his chair back from the large oval table. “I need a break. Let’s take ten, guys.” Everyone started to stand up. “Uh, Marisa, can you hang back for a minute?”

She thought about refusing but knew that would set an uncomfortable tone for the rest of the meeting, so she eased back into her chair and reviewed her notes while her co-workers filed out of the room.

Luc waited for the last person to leave before crossing the room and securing the double door entry. He perched himself on the edge of the table in front of her. “You wanna tell me what the hell is going on with you today?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He leaned forward, glaring at her. “Damn it, Marisa. You’re treating the lighting technician better than me. Did I do something to piss you off?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “As a matter of fact, you did. You’re treating me like I’m your girlfriend, and I’m not. I haven’t been for a long time.”

“Do you wanna be?”

“No!” She had spent the better part of the last three years in relationships going nowhere, first with Luc, then Tim. The last thing she wanted to do was prolong the agony. She loved Luc, but her days of taking whatever scraps he felt inclined to offer her were over. It was time for her to find the intestinal fortitude to set some boundaries.

He looked stunned. “You’re saying you don’t want to be with me?”

“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand, Luc?”

He crossed his booted feet and scowled at her. “You seemed to want me yesterday. You wanted me the night your niece was born and you came over to my house in the middle of the night.”

She smirked at him. “I didn’t say I don’t find you attractive, Luc.” She let her eyes peruse the long length of his hard body. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t like to...”

He held his hand up to silence her. “If you’re proposing a friendship with benefits...”

She smiled at him. “Would that be so terrible?”

“Damn it, Marisa.” He knelt down in front of her, looking into her eyes. “Are you telling me you don’t love me anymore?”

She cursed his uncharacteristic vulnerability. She had wasted years waiting for him to open up to her, give her the kind of love she craved. But it wasn’t until he was about to lose her that he found the courage to do it. She knew Luc. He wanted what he couldn’t have, and he would continue to want her only as long as he saw her as a challenge. If she bared her soul and told him she loved him more now than she ever had, he would turn tail and run. “I’ve decided to focus on loving myself right now, Luc.”

He closed his eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“No, I guess it doesn’t.”

Trey poked his head in the door. “Can I come in?”

Luc stood up quickly, reclaiming his seat at the end of the table. “Hey, Trey, that kid is back at Jimmy’s tonight, Ty McCall. You wanna go check him out with me?”

“You thinkin’ about signin’ him?”

“Yeah, I’ve been talkin’ to his agent for the past couple of weeks. I think he’s the real deal. Maybe he could even open for you on the second leg of this tour. What do ya think?”

“I don’t know. Let’s see what he’s got.”

Marisa glared at Luc. She knew he was going to Jimmy’s tonight just to irk her, but she would take pleasure in turning the tables on him.

Chapter Ten

Marisa sipped on a glass of white wine as she fielded questions from her friends.

“I still can’t believe Tim would do that,” Lexi said. “I would never have pegged him for that kind of guy.”

“I really don’t want to talk about him anymore.” Marisa said quietly.

Lexi and Sierra both leaned forward, crowding her. “So, where does that leave things between you and Luc?” Sierra asked.

Marisa’s gaze drifted to the small stage. The singer Luc mentioned, Ty McCall, was busy setting up. He certainly had the right look to be a commercial success, and with Luc and Trey in his corner, it would be virtually impossible for him to fail.

Sierra and Lexi both shifted in their seats to find the object of her interest. Lexi chuckled. “If you’re checkin’ out other men, Luc must be out of the picture.”

Ty looked up and caught her staring at him. He grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth. “Wow, that guy is hot,” Marisa said, smiling back at him.

Sierra cleared her throat. “Uh, can we get back to Luc now?”

Marisa forced herself to focus her attention on her friend. “What about him?”

Sierra slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Do you wanna get back together with him or not?”

The waitress saved her from answering the question when she approached their table with a tray of drinks.

“We didn’t order those,” Marisa said.

The waitress nodded her head toward the stage. “That cute singer with the black cowboy hat sent them.”

Marisa raised her eyebrow and smiled at her friends. “Is that so? I’d better go and thank him. Excuse me, girls.” She slid across the bench seat and stood. Winking at Lexi, she whispered, “Wish me luck.”

Lexi giggled. “Go get ‘em, girlfriend.”

Marisa took a deep breath and braced herself for potential rejection. She had no idea whether Ty was interested in her or one of her friends, so she steeled herself for the possibility that she may be setting herself up for disappointment. If not for the two glasses of wine she’d already consumed, she probably wouldn’t have been brave enough to take the risk.

He walked down the steps when he saw her approaching the stage. “I was hoping you’d make your way over here.” He grinned and extended his hand. “Ty McCall.”

Marisa smiled and accepted his outstretched hand. “I know who you are. I’ve heard my brother and his friend mention your name.”

He pulled her closer when a group of rowdy men bumped her from behind. “Is your brother a fan?”

She smiled and looked up into his dark brown eyes. “You better hope he is. I don’t think he’s heard you sing yet.”

He frowned. “Okay, am I missing something here?”

She laughed and slipped her hand free of his. “My name’s Marisa. My brother is Trey Turner.”

He pushed his cowboy hat back on his head. “Well, I’ll be damned. Now if I ask you out it’s gonna sound like I’m just interested in getting an in with your brother.”

Marisa shrugged, trying to hide her smile. “I guess that’s a chance we’re gonna have to take.”

“Would you?” He grinned. “Consider going out with me sometime, I mean?”

She plucked the cell phone out of the front pocket of his western shirt. She found the directory and punched in her name and phone number before slipping it back in his pocket. “I’m lookin’ forward to it.”

He slipped his hand around her waist and drew her closer. “So am I, Marisa. Listen, I’ll be finished up here around midnight. Why don’t you stick around? We can grab a drink.”

She flattened her palms against his ribcage, taking note of the chiseled abs she felt beneath the soft barrier of fabric. “I might just do that.”

His eyes settled on her lips. “Is that a promise?”

Her eyes traced his face, from the full, sensuous lips to the chiseled cheekbones to the blue eyes framed by ridiculously long lashes. The man was gorgeous. “Let’s just play it by ear.”

He groaned. “If you’re playin’ hard to get, I’m game.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Does that mean you like a challenge?”

He wrapped a strand of her long black hair around his finger. “When it’s something I really want, I don’t mind workin’ for it.”

She watched her hair sliding between his calloused fingers. “Are you saying you really want me?”

His eye closed briefly. “I haven’t been this attracted to a woman in a hell of a long time, darlin’.”

He picked up her left hand. “My luck must be changin’ since you’re not wearin’ a ring. I’m hopin’ that’s a good sign?”

She smiled. “You think I would have come over here if I was engaged or married?”

He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time a lady has come on to me just to get even with her husband or boyfriend.”

She felt a niggling of guilt. Is that what she was doing, using Ty to get back at Luc? She didn’t want to believe that was the case. Ty was sweet and sexy; he didn’t deserve to be any woman’s second choice.

“Uh oh, I know that look. There is a boyfriend, isn’t there?” He dropped his hands and took a step back. “Don’t know why I should be surprised. Women as gorgeous as you are rarely available.”

She wanted to argue that she was available, but after spending last night wrapped in Luc’s arms, that didn’t seem like an argument she could state with conviction. “I don’t have a boyfriend, but my ex...”

He held his hand up and chuckled. “I’ve heard this story before.”

She slid her fingers into the belt loops of his blue jeans and drew him closer. “Don’t be like that. I really would like to get to know you better.”

His guitar player slapped him on the back as he walked by with an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. “You ready to do this, Ty?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” he said. He slid his finger under Marisa’s chin and tipped her head until she was looking into his eyes. “Will you stick around? I wanna finish this conversation.”

“You got it.”

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Good.”

Marisa watched him walk up the steps at the side of the stage before turning around to head back to her table. She stopped mid-step when she saw that Lexi and Sierra weren’t alone. Trey and Josh had claimed seats next to their wives and Luc was leaning against the booth, glaring at her. She squared her shoulders and strolled over to their table, determined to act as though nothing had happened. “Hey, guys, you horning in our girls’ night?”

Trey and Josh laughed. “I’m afraid so, Marisa,” Josh said, kissing his wife’s cheek. “I just can’t get enough of this pretty lady.”

“Where’s my beautiful niece?” Marisa asked, looking at Trey.

“She’s with our mama,” Trey said.

Marisa tried to ignore Luc as she claimed her wine glass and took a fortifying sip. “Mama’ll be in heaven, getting to spend quality time with her little princess.” She took another sip of wine, her eyes involuntarily straying to Luc over the top of her glass. “Uh, I think I’ll see if I can’t find us a bigger table.”

“Good idea,” Trey said. “Ashley and Avery are on their way too.”

Lexi looked up at her. “I hope you don’t mind, Marisa? Ashley came by the house to drop the boys off earlier and I thought she might like a night out.”

“No, of course I don’t mind.”

Trey nodded toward Luc. “Yeah, and Luc just texted Avery and asked her to pass by on her way home from the gym.”

Marisa looked at Luc. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, I need her help with something.”

“Whatever.” She refused to show him how much it still hurt to think of him with Avery or any other woman. “Okay, I’m gonna go and see about that table.”

“I’ll join you,” Luc said quickly. He fell into step beside her. “What the hell was going on with you and McCall?”

“Nothing. I just met him.”

“Sure didn’t look like that from where I was standing.” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

“He kissed you.”

“I know. I was there.”

He glared at her. “Don’t be a smart-ass. Why the hell would you let him kiss you?”

She rolled her eyes. Luc was never jealous when they were dating; he never had reason to be. He knew she only had eyes for him. Now that they were no longer a couple, Luc would just have to get used to the idea that she was moving on. “It was just a friendly little peck on the lips, Luc.”

“Didn’t look like he was interested in bein’ your friend, Marisa.”

She looked back at the stage when she heard Ty’s rich voice seep through the microphone.

“This first song is goin’ out to Marisa. I can’t wait to get to know you better, darlin’.”

Marisa felt her toes curl. His voice could make a woman do just about anything.

“That’s it,” Luc said, gripping her arm tighter. “We’re goin’ outside, now.”

She tried to shake him loose. “No way, I want to hear him sing.”

“Too damn bad.” He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd. He stopped at their friends’ table. “We’re gonna go for a drive. Tell Avery I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t let her go anywhere.”

At the mention of Avery’s name, Marisa dug her heels in. He had some nerve, dictating to her who she could and couldn’t spend time with while he was making plans with Avery behind her back.

Lexi winked at Marisa. “Aren’t you gonna stick around to hear him? If he were singin’ that song for me, I’d plant myself front and center.”   

Josh gave Lexi a side-long glance. “Is that so?”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “Honey, I love you, but that man is s-e-x-y.”

Josh looked at Luc. “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste any time getting her out of here, man.”

Luc grunted and tugged on Marisa’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Marisa turned toward the stage. Ty’s eyes were boring through her. “No way, I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

He took a deep breath. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Marisa. You decide.”

She turned to face him warily. She knew Luc wasn’t the kind of man to make idle threats. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you can leave voluntarily, or I can throw you over my shoulder and haul you out of here kicking and screaming.”

Trey laughed. “Now that I’d like to see.”

Sierra elbowed him in the stomach. “Shut up and stay out of this.”

Marisa narrowed her eyes at Luc. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He took a step closer, crowding her. “You know I would.”

She knew he wouldn’t hesitate to make good on his threat. Luc couldn’t care less what people thought of him, a point he proved on a regular basis. “Fine. I’ll give you ten minutes.”

Luc didn’t argue the point; he simply tugged on her hand, leading her out of the bar. He kept her hand firmly ensconced in his until he had unlocked his car door and settled her inside. He didn’t say a word until they were out of the parking lot and stopped at a traffic light. “Okay, how about you tell me what the hell is going on between you and McCall?”