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“So bossy.”
“Be careful, little girl. I will lean you against this car and spank your ass for the stunt you pulled in there running away from me. And you will deserve every little sting that my hand can deliver. Get in the car.”
My face flushes with heat over his tirade. Part of me wants to be a bad girl just to see what would happen. All this dirty talk is ruining my panties.
“You put your life in jeopardy tonight,” he continues.
“I don’t need—”
“Get. In. The. Damn. Car.”
“Alright!” I swallow hard and comply with his wish. I slip into the backseat, loving the feel of warm air enveloping me.
“Collins, drive until I tell you to stop. Miss McFee and I have a lot of discussing to do.” He clicks his belt into place, acting like ordering people around is the most natural thing.
I try to hook my belt, but my hands will not cooperate. Each time I almost get it, it slips from my grasp, going back into the keeper. I curse under my breath. He is enjoying my struggle.
“Here,” he whispers seductively in my ear. “I’ll get that for you.” He reaches over the seat and pulls the strap, snapping it into place in under three seconds.
Damn him.
“Wait. My friends will wonder where I am.” Claire and I have a code we follow when we go out together. Just leaving and not saying anything would be wrong.
Graham looks at me and rubs his hand through his hair, ruffling up the free-flowing locks in the process. He takes his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and dials a number.
“Claire, this is Graham. Yes Hoffman, how many Grahams do you know?” He sighs.
I giggle at what I can only imagine Claire is telling him. Graham turns to glare daggers at me, putting a finger against his lips to shush me. He is so not in the mood.
“Does it matter…yes…I have her…promise. No, of course I won’t hurt her.” He lets out another sigh. “If you or your friends need a ride, please call or text me at this number and I’ll send someone…you too.” Ending the call, he places the device in the holder on the door. So he has Claire’s number? When did this develop? I stare at my hands, lacing and unlacing my fingers. “She was just as surprised as you are that I have her number. She works for Entice. I pulled it from the site. That is it.”
He must have done that proactively since it was already saved. Collins pulls out of the parking lot and makes his way down the side road. He takes a direction opposite of where I live. “Um, you are going the wrong way, Collins.” He ignores me, never even flinching.
“Scenic route, Angie. I have a few things I’d like to discuss with you. I’d be lying if I said the idea of having your full attention—by being locked in my car—wasn’t appealing to me.”
“Oh, is that so?” I ask with my best attempt at snark.
“First off, stay away from Tanner.”
This again? Mark isn’t even here and yet his presence is taking up room inside Graham’s head. I turn in my seat to face him, ready for a showdown. He does not get to tell me what I can and cannot do. “When you say things like that, it just irks me and makes me want to do the complete opposite,” I confess. The buzz of alcohol makes me bold and honest, while the pill makes me mellow.
“I am hyper aware, Angie. Trust me. That’s why I’m just going to handle the situation myself.”
“What situation?” What the hell is he talking about? It was a date. One flipping date.
Collins takes a right onto the entrance ramp and merges onto the highway.
“The one where you think catting around the city is appropriate. In my family’s hotel of all places. Either he is taunting me or you are. Which is it?”
His comment on my behavior makes me cringe. I turn my eyes from him and stare out of the tinted windows into the night. This is not the first time he has hinted that I am being trashy. He really thinks that little of me? Tears well in my eyes for the second time tonight. I don’t know if I can hold them back. I hate crying—especially in front of others.
“Work, Graham. It’s called work. You should find some,” I grind out, keeping my eyes anywhere but on his. Being angry is good. Anger helps keep tears at bay.
“Keeping you out of trouble is becoming a full-time job.”
I turn my eyes back on him. I bite my bottom lip that is quivering from the sudden, unexpected fight. Graham’s temper scares me. I stare out the window again and see that we are on the outskirts of the city. I want to tell Collins to just take me back home, but I know that when it comes down to it, his loyalty does not lie with me.
“I’m not your responsibility. I do not answer to you.”
