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I pulled back from him, frowning. “You realize this is my place, right?”
He laughed, throwing his head back. “Of course, of course. Have you met Kara?” He pushed the small woman toward me. “Kara, this is my cousin, Luc.”
His woman’s cheeks flushed as she raked her big brown eyes over me. There was interest in her gaze, which immediately turned me off, even though she was attractive. Disloyal women were one of my biggest turnoffs, and considering she was here with Vin, she shouldn’t have been looking at me like I was an option for her.
I kept the introductions short and broke away from the two of them. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, so I used that as an excuse to duck into my kitchen. Obviously catered food lined the counters. Every surface was covered with some type of dish.
“Jesus, Vin,” I muttered as I grabbed two bottles of beer from my fridge and the box of prosciutto pizza from the counter.
I took my food and drinks to the part of my condo where I spent most of my time. Even more than my bedroom lately, though that hadn’t been entirely by design. Suddenly working twelve-hour days had taken more out of me than I’d expected. I often found myself startling awake in the morning on my couch in the den, having passed out cold the night before.
Striding by the strangers standing in my halls, I shut myself in the den, locking the door behind me. There was a light on in the bathroom. I didn’t remember leaving it on, but I wouldn’t have put it past myself.
Not bothering to turn on any other lights, I put my beers and pizza on the tray atop the ottoman in front of the sectional, kicked off my shoes, and yanked the tie off my neck. Once that was tossed aside, I unbuttoned my shirt partway and rolled up the cuffs.
Only then did I sit down and release a long exhale.
A glint of light coming through the center window brought me out of my moment of respite. That window was the bane of my fucking existence, with its forever-breaking automatic blinds and direct line of sight to a glaring spotlight on top of a high-rise tower.
Two nights ago, I’d solved the problem by nailing a throw to the window frame since I didn’t have time or the will to call a repair person. Why wasn’t it working now?
I started to get up to see if it had fallen down when I noticed the lump on the other end of the couch. A lump covered with my fucking throw blanket.
“Who are you?” I barked.
The lump stirred, and a soft sound, something like a moan, came from them. The person beneath the blanket straightened, and the light spilling from the bathroom illuminated them.
Her.
She found me in the dark and jumped slightly. “Oh, hi. I think I fell asleep.” Then she pointed to the corner I’d started to settle in before spotting her. “Fair warning, this couch eats your energy like a snack. I wasn’t even tired when I sat down, then boom, I was out like a light.”
I knew that, of course, since the couch belonged to me. But I found myself staring at this woman, trying to understand her presence in my home. In my personal space.
“What’s your name?”
She’d just lifted her wineglass to her lips and answered me around it. “Sasha.” She took a long sip then raised a brow at me. “What’s yours?”
Interesting. She didn’t know who I was. Either that, or she was playing coy. Generally, women in my social circles in Denver recognized me, if not by my face, then by my name. To be completely honest, my name was recognizable far outside of this city too.
“Luc,” I answered, which wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either. If she truly wasn’t aware of who I was, I wanted to keep it that way. It was easier for me.
She nodded toward the pizza box. “I stole some crackers, but I’m impressed with your plunder. Is that a whole pizza?”
“It is.”
“Well”—she scooted forward, her eyes darting from me to the box—“are you going to share? Some of us are starving.”
“I was planning on eating it all myself.”
She shifted closer to me and the pizza. “That isn’t nice, Luc. If I’m going to share my hiding spot with you, it’s only fair you share your food. I promise to only eat two or three slices.”
Reaching an arm out, I snapped on the table lamp beside me, then turned back to my intruder. In full light, she was even more gorgeous than I’d suspected. And I’d suspected she’d be beautiful. A woman didn’t have the type of easy confidence she did if she wasn’t used to moving through the world on a path made by all the lesser beings who willingly stepped aside for her.
“Fine. Two pieces are your limit.”
Her full, pink lips spread into a wide smile, revealing a row of straight pearly-white teeth that were almost too big for her face but suited her impeccably. She leaned forward to flip open the box, and my gaze drifted to the subtle swell of cleavage peeking from the top of her corseted, black dress.
She straightened back up, holding a slice victoriously. “It’s cold, my favorite.”
