Chapter 16

Once I’d confessed everything—well, almost everything—and fallen silent, Irina played with the olive in a fancy martini. Despite the pop music blasting over the speakers, a strange silence engulfed us for a long time. My heart was unable to decide whether to race or stop, letting me die.

“So, you, um, thought what? That you’d drive me away? That I’d give up?” A single fingernail returned to tap on the back of my hand. “Really, Deke?”

“I’m sorry, Irina.” With a sigh, I shrugged. “Didn’t wanna see you used. Or hurt. Or caught up in whatever weirdness my life is becoming.”

“Let me tell you something, Deacon Hall.” That nail dug a little deeper. “As attractive as Laura is, I want you more. Yes, you’re both in my dreams. Although I miss her as well, I gave you my number way back on that flight. God, it’s been too long. And been hell without seeing you. There, call me obsessive, or desperate, but I had to say it.”

“Why?” My brows knitted as I lifted my glass. “I mean, a beautiful woman like you ... You must get hit on all the time. So, um, why wait for me? Or us?”

“Well, thanks for the compliment, Deke. But I haven’t had a boyfriend in two years.” A lengthy exhale was followed by a slow sip. “You know why? Of course, you don’t. The last one was so nice. A really decent guy. But he never understood me.”

When her eyes drifted across the crowded bar, I started to sigh. But the sudden sliding of the rest of her fingers over my hand got my heartbeat thumping. As those shimmering dark pools returned to me, I gulped.

“Over and over, I’d tell him what I needed, but he just couldn’t...” Although her voice faltered, those deepening eyes remained locked on me. “Anyway, as soon as I spotted you, I knew that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, Deke. I’m no fool. Now that I’ve seen you with Laura. The way she looks at you. My God, out here, she’s in Congress. But, hmm, I can only imagine what you have her doing in private.” She shot a quick scan around the room. “And the things she’d be more than willing to do for a guy like you.”

With her open lips quivering, I was waiting for her to continue speaking. But instead, she lifted the martini and took a long drink.

“I don’t have her doing—” I started.

“Yes, Deke. Yes, you do. You’ve got her wrapped around your finger. Just as she’s tight with you. Oh, I get it. You’ve had your squabbles. And this most recent miscommunication issue. But every couple has them.” The glass shook in her fingers. “The thing is, I’m not like her. I think ... Well, I’m willing to try. I mean, if you’re both still interested.”

“W-We are.”

“Hmm, I get this vibe from you. From you both. So, uh, that’s kept me waiting. Fuck, it’s given me hope.” She stared at the booze swirling in her shaky glass. “And I haven’t had ... Well, it’s been a while. I’m lonely, but not that desperate.” Her eyes flashed back to me. “Not gonna be a side fuck, I’m warning you.”

“Um, of course not.” Heartbeat hammering my ribs, I shook my head. “I, uh, never ... And Laura, she’s been—”

“We’ve been talking.” When she leaned closer, an alluring perfume with hints of jasmine and lilac flooded my nostrils. Or I finally had enough brain cells on-line to notice the aroma. “Did she tell you how scared she was? Little miss gun-on-her-cute-little-hip was terrified she’d lost you.”

“Yeah, she told me.” I nodded while playing with my napkin.

“Well, she was crying every time we talked. Said it was easier to explain to her kids than it was to you. And wanted to know why.”

“Her boys wouldn’t leave her,” I murmured.

“Bingo.”

Just then, the server returned. After downing the last of her drink, Irina wanted a refill. I asked for whiskey, straight. Why I’d thought to stay sober on a night like that, no idea. We sat in silence until our drinks arrived. But as that first heated fluid slithered down my throat, a grin widened on my face. Over the rim of her glass, Irina’s dark jewels sparkled.

“God, you’re so gorgeous,” I whispered.

“Not half-bad yourself, handsome.” After a quiet giggle that reminded me of Laura, she both gnawed at her lips and tightened her brows. “Oh, I almost forgot. You never said what you’d promised that client of yours, Bea.”

Yeah, that was the part of my confession I’d omitted. But she and Laura had been talking.

Just about to respond, I looked up at a sudden low wolf whistle from the front of the restaurant. Damn, I almost whistled as well. It was Laura, in another sexy disguise. Although that wasn’t quite the correct term. But none of the hungry eyes watching her approach had a clue who she really was. So, I guess it was close enough.

With luxurious dark auburn tresses pinned back and much heavier make-up than usual, she strutted towards us. A beaming smile graced her shiny, deep-red lips.

But, oh, my God, what she wore or, to be more accurate, wasn’t wearing. Yeah, after seeing her in conservative, church-going attire or loose jeans and bulky tops while in Colorado all week, my mind was melting.

The dress consisted of only three black satin straps. From her waist, two ran over her jiggling, full chest to meet behind her neck. The third, only long enough to cover the uppermost of both shapely thighs, wrapped that slender waist.

Hunting mode? College party chick? No. One glance at the thicker, shiny black leather around her throat, with its shimmering gold ring at the front, sent ripples through my core. No, she was ... Making a point for sure. Plus, highlighting the hell out of it to anyone watching.

I felt such a fool. When she walked closer, the hunger in those deep brown pools had every muscle in my body pulsing. She was mine, not her ex’s.

And as I got to my feet, a grin skidded onto my face. My heart soared.

“Hey, baby. Mmm, there’s that look I’ve missed,” she said after halting before me. An invisible cloud of alluring perfume and wondrous, flowery scents swirled over me. “I knew you’d appreciate the dress.” She giggled as a shiny red nail slipped into the choker. No, let’s be honest, it was a collar. “Like it? Found it on-line.” Even as words tumbled into place in my wobbling brain, she dropped something on the table before me. A tight coil of thin golden chain twinkled under the bar’s subdued lighting. “It came with this.”

“Uh, y-yes,” I managed, before she lifted onto the toes of her shiny black stilettos to press her waxy, full lips against mine.

Unlike Irina, she wasn’t shy, and her tongue darted into my mouth for a quick swirl. Nope, with her entire body vibrating, she was still riding that edge. A hungry whimper slipped from her when my hands found her little butt.