AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I stand by what I said,” she says, placing her hands on my chest and trying to push me back a step. “Would you get out of my fucking bubble? You make it impossible to think when you’re acting like that.”
“Acting like what?” I ask, my tone innocent as I smile at her.
“You have got to be the most irritating person that I have ever met. I have no clue how you managed to take control of an entire city when it seems like the only thing you know how to do with any skill is piss people off.”
I grin and shrug. “I don’t know. You seemed to think that I was pretty skilled with my fingers when you were coming all over them.”
Hadley’s cheeks seem impossibly red as she shakes her head. “Is this really the kind of thing we should be talking about at work?”
“Now seems as good a time as any.”
“You’re only doing this to get a reaction out of me.” She opens the door and glares at me. “I’ll go to the meeting with you but I’m not going to stay in this office and let you talk to me this way.”
“Be honest with yourself for once, Hadley.” I step closer to her and reach around to slam the door shut. Thankfully, the club is loud and I’m sure that nobody heard it. I don’t need someone investigating the situation.
“I am honest with myself.”
“I don’t think you are.” I dip my head to trail my lips along her collarbone, grazing the sensitive skin with my teeth. “If you were being honest with yourself, you would admit how turned on you are right now. You would admit that you’re soaking wet because the things I say to you make you want me more.”
“I want you like I want to roll around naked in a patch of poison ivy.”
“That can be arranged.”
She sighs and runs a hand down her face. “I already told you that I would go to this meeting with you. What more could you possibly want from me tonight? I’m really not in the mood to keep playing these games.”
The shift in her tone has me backing off. I study her for a minute, trying to figure out what’s wrong with her. However, the more I look, the clearer it is that her face is a mask entirely void of emotion. If she doesn’t want to let someone in, they aren’t getting in.
Behind it all, I can see the broken little girl still lingering there.
I don’t know what happened to her when she was little, but she has admitted to trauma of some kind.
I’m going to find out who hurt her and then I’m going to make them pay.
“You should go home and get some rest if you are feeling unwell. If you want to go, I can have someone else cover your tables.”
“I’m not going to lose out on the tips just because I feel like shit.” Hadley plasters on a fake smile and opens the door. “I’m going to go back out there and do my job. Just text me all the details about the meeting. I assume you have my number or can get it from my file.”
“I can.” I sigh and walk over to the door, holding it open for her. “I’m going to pay you extra for this meeting but I want to train you in self-defense. The man we’re going to be meeting is a friend, but there are a lot of dangerous people out there and you need to know how to take care of yourself.”
“Alright,” she says with a slight nod. “Send me those details too. A few shooting lessons isn’t the worst idea unless you’re worried about me shooting you in the head.”
“Well, I wasn’t worried about that before, but I might be now,” I say, my tone teasing as she tries to smother the first sign of a smile that she’s had all evening. “Have a good night, Hadley.”
“Good night, Mr. Aguilar,” she says as a waiter walks by.
I close the door behind her and wait a moment before returning to the screens with the camera feeds. Hadley walks over to Kennedy and whispers something in her ear before heading back to her table.
As I settle in for the rest of the night, I wonder what’s bothering her. In the weeks that I’ve known and bothered her, I’ve never seen her look that defeated.
Stop caring about her. Caring about her is going to get her killed. You can’t afford to lose another person. Losing your family nearly ruined you. Losing her would destroy you entirely. Walk away from her now, while you still can.
Though I know the little voice in my head is right, I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen.
If she is my ruination, then I’m opening my arms and welcoming her into my embrace.
11
HADLEY
