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“I saw that stream, forever ago, when she was sick.”
“Rox?”
“Yeah. It was like in a second Zairn Lomond went from this famous, aloof, playboy to… he was so gentle with her. I’ve gotta admit, I swooned.”
“You and the rest of the planet.”
“Was that setup?” she asked. “Was it fake?”
“A hundred percent real.”
“But their relationship is tumultuous, right? He can’t be that good for her if they’re breaking up all the time.”
The rumble of his laugh warmed the palm she laid against him. “Zairn and Roxie are solid. So solid that whenever any of us need a little misdirection, they’re game to make a spectacle.”
“The breakups were fake?” she asked, and he nodded. “They pretend to have dramas?”
“Roxanna Kyst is a fucking rock. And there’s nothing Zairn wouldn’t do for her. Nothing. She cares about her girls. It’s becoming tradition when one of our guys gets with a new girl, Roxie acts as a kind of… ambassador. Unofficially.” The smile on his face was proud, yet grateful too. “Getting with guys like us, guys who might be in the spotlight or have some microscope turned on us, isn’t always easy. Roxie and Zairn make it easier by taking heat that might burn the rest of us.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It is. We’ll make sure you’re protected.”
“If this gets that far,” she said, prodding his arm. “I don’t need private islands and fancy jets. What’s wrong with a hotel room and good old-fashioned room service?”
“My life is a hotel room and good old-fashioned room service.”
“Where do you live?” No response. “You don’t have a home?”
“I have this place,” he said. “For another few months anyway.”
“This isn’t your home, it’s your cover.” It didn’t make much sense, but disappointment bloomed. “You don’t have somewhere that’s yours?”
“I’ve never been in one place long enough to settle,” he said. “I go where the deal is.”
What would happen to their friendship while he was hopping from continent to continent?
“Does that make it difficult to keep track of people?”
“Not with modern technology,” he said, tucking her hair back from her face. “I keep the network tight, corporate and personal.”
“I wasn’t asking for me,” she said. “I was asking for you. You don’t have anyone to come home to, anything to look forward to.”
Lance maneuvering Xander into the agreement was beginning to make more sense… if he was truly a good friend.
Brushing his thumb back and forth on her cheek, he wasn’t worried. “Wherever I am, no matter how many miles are between us, I will always be coming home to you at the end of every day, Button.”
Absorbing his sincerity, it was difficult not to be drawn in. He meant it. The words he’d said on the night he first kissed her came back. Love. He’d actually used that word. Lying in bed with him wasn’t playing cool or treading softly.
“You haven’t forgotten that option two came with no guarantees, have you?”
“No,” he said, combing his fingers through her hair. “You’re an incredible woman, Rainie. The most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”
“Stop that,” she said, drawing his hand from her hair. “You can’t turn on the charm when we’re in bed… I’m not wearing a bra.”
He grinned. “I know.”
In his shirt and her panties, her apparel was the same as the other nights she’d stayed over, but the mood wasn’t the same. Nothing was the same.
