Totally fixed on the little show that was playing in my head where Kace came at me with that giant salami roll he had between his legs, I missed the fact that the shower had turned off and Kace was now standing in front of me, naked.
“Get a good show?” he asked as he reached for a towel but still not covering up.
I didn’t know what to say other than, “Errrr, doye,” so I kept my mouth shut.
He wiped droplets of water out of his hair as he continued to show off his now growing erection.
He was turned on, from me staring at him and I was turned on because he was so damn sexy that I didn’t have enough confidence to walk away.
“You know, I never stare at you like that so I would hope for the same respect,” Kace said as he wrapped a towel around his waist which still showed off his erection.
Shaking my head out of all the amazing and glorious thoughts of Kace, I looked up at him and said, “Just thought I would show you how I felt every night.”
“I’m pretty sure the members don’t drool,” he said while pointing to the corner of my mouth.
I quickly ran the back of my hand across my lips, wiping away the apparent drool that collected during Kace’s one-eyed monster show.
“There was no drool,” I lied, which made the corner of Kace’s lip twitch.
“You forget the fact I have eyes, Lo. There was drool. Now you can tell me what you’re doing here or you can get the fuck out.”
Always such a moody bastard.
I looked him up and down one last time, taking in his well-defined six pack, the smoothness of his chest and the way his muscles flexed when he got angry. I was working my way back up to his eyes when I spotted more bruising. Automatically, my hand flew to his ribs as I looked up at him.
He flinched from my touch as I said, “What happened to you?”
“Drop it, Lo.” He pulled away and walked to his sink.
“I’m not going to drop it when you have bruises all over your body and you missed a workout. Clearly you were in some kind of trouble and you must be embarrassed or something. You can talk to me, Kace.”
The momentum of his body startled me as he swung around and pinned me against the wall. He got right in my face and said, “First of all, what did I tell you about being friends? It’s never going to fucking happen. Second of all, if I was ever in some kind of trouble, then I would be able to take out whoever came my way.” He raised his fist and said, “Do you see this? This will fucking kill a person so don’t underestimate my ability to take care of myself ever again.”
His tone of voice was so deep, so evil that he was actually scaring me.
“Now, run the fuck along or I’ll tell Jett that I caught you sneaking into my room and watching me shower with your mouth wide open and drool hanging out of it.”
“You’re an asshole! I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Well fucking don’t. I don’t need you, Lo. I was fine before you came here so just leave me the fuck alone.”
I wanted to make a snarky comment back to him about maybe thinking about finding a woman to take care of his mood but I was done with him. There was only so much a girl could take and I was at my limit. Kace could suck it.
Not giving him a chance to say anything else, I turned on my heel and walked out of his room. I was going to leave his door open just to be an ass but thought better of it, I didn’t want to make my workout even harder than it was probably going to be tomorrow, so I turned around and grabbed the door knob to shut it and that’s when I saw it. That was when I saw Kace, sitting on the floor, with his head in his hands, crying.
Wavering between what to do and what not to do, I went against all my instincts and shut the door. Clearly the man was going through some heavy shit and I was the last person in the world that he wanted near him. It hurt to know that after all of the advice and comfort he had lent me in the past, he wouldn’t allow himself to rely on me in return.
I walked back up to my room, feeling sorry for the man and upset that he wouldn’t confide in me. I wanted to be his friend, I knew we had potential to get there but he just wouldn’t break down that wall to let it happen and I didn’t know if it was because of the feelings he harbored for me or if it was because he was just that closed off but whatever it was, it hurt like hell.
When I walked in my room, there was a fresh bouquet of flowers waiting for me on my nightstand. There had to be a little leprechaun in the house that kept replacing them because the moment they started to wilt, they were instantly replaced.
I sauntered over to my nightstand and saw a card that was sitting in the arrangement. I sighed as I pulled it out and smiled to myself. Kace might be irritating and hard to understand but at least I had Jett, the all-encompassing Jett Colby.
I pulled out the letter and read.
Lo,
Thank you for last night. After three long days of business meetings, I was pleased to see you, here, in my home, with open arms. I look forward to many more greetings like that.
-J
The man had his grip wrapped around my lady balls. A simple note could take me out to dream land. I was a goner.
Chapter Four
“Better Days”
Jett
“In the next two weeks your schedule is really going to pick up, sir,” Jeremy, my assistant, said as he started touching his iPad, flipping through whatever the hell he had on there. “You have some meetings and late night events that require your presence.”
“What kind of events?” I asked as I stared at my computer, answering e-mails.
“The socials you asked me to book you so you can hob knob with some of the city planners and officials that have a say in Lot 17.”
Hob knob…only Jeremy would say that.
“How many?” I asked as I was instantly annoyed about Lot 17 being brought up in conversation.
The property was still up for grabs but my dad was one step further than me in claiming the whole damn thing so he could build his hotel that was going to be very uncharacteristic and an eyesore for the historic and classic city of New Orleans. Plus, the lot belonged to the kids, it should be a park, no question about it but my dad was such an evil fuck that all he could think about was himself. It’s a wonder I was able to grow up with such a man.
Jeremy clucked his tongue as he counted on his iPad. “You have about five different events in the next couple of weeks that you have already accepted invitations for.”
I peeked over my computer as I looked at Jeremy. “Five?”
“Yes and they all have a plus one with them.”
Sitting back in my chair, I ran my hand through my hair as I thought about the events that I so desperately did not want to attend.
“Do I have to bring someone?” I asked as I went through a mental rolodex of the women I could invite.
“It would be best if you did. Many of the men you will be talking to have wives and the wives need to be charmed as well.” Jeremy nervously looked up at and said, “You know, Lo might be a very good partner to bring with you—”
“Absolutely not,” I cut him off as I pulled out my address book and started flipping through names.
Clearing his throat, Jeremy pushed his luck. “She has the personality that will win people over, she’s infectious…”
“She’s also a Jett Girl and I don’t want anyone to associate her with the club, it would be detrimental to reveal her persona. No, and don’t suggest it again.”
Jeremy just nodded his head as I flipped through my address book. Most of the women that were in my book were either married or no longer living in New Orleans, had it really been that long since I’ve actually dated? I thought about it and it had been. I started the Lafayette club a while back and haven’t had the need to accompany women since I had them at my disposal in the club. I cringed from thinking about the word, disposal, that was not how I treated them and I chastised myself for thinking of the girls like that. They were by no means disposable…especially Goldie.