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I pulled my face out of his hold and crossed my hands over my stomach. “She called me poor. Am I a charity case to you, Saxon? Is that what this is? Are you being nice to me because you got some poor loser?”
His hand shot out, and he grabbed my neck. “Don’t you ever call yourself a loser. Or a fucking charity case. That’s not what you are, and you damn well know it.”
I glared up at him. “Then, what am I, Saxon? Are we friends now? Is that what we are doing? Because let me tell you that I am so confused by you right now.”
He squeezed my neck and lowered his face to mine. “Is that what you want? Do you want to be friends? You want me to pretend like I don’t think about how fucking sweet you taste? That I don’t jerk off in the shower, remembering how you look when you orgasm?”
I was breathing fast. “No.”
“Then, tell me, Haisley what you want from me.”
“I want you touch me,” I whispered.
“I’m touching you right now. You’re gonna need to be more specific.”
Licking my lips, I stared up at him. His eyes dropped to my mouth.
“If I kiss you right now, we won’t leave this room, and my mom will find us. This will be the first place she looks.”
The hunger in his gaze made me ache.
“Maybe not.” My words sounded desperate.
I inhaled deep and long, and his hand on my neck eased its grip. I wanted to grab it and hold it there. Beg him not to stop. To go with what he was feeling.
“This is my room, Haisley. If she hasn’t realized we’re missing yet, she’ll notice soon and be at that door.”
His hand dropped away, and I let out a shaky breath. My eyes took in the space we were in, and I realized it was a huge bedroom with trophies, footballs, jerseys, a massive flat screen, a sofa, and a king-size bed. This was what he’d grown up with as a bedroom. I wasn’t jealous or envious. I liked knowing he’d had this.
He took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “Let’s go.” His voice was deep and clearly affected by this. By us.
Would he still feel the same when we got back to the house tonight? God, I hoped so.
We walked out of the room, but he took me in a different direction than I had come. Instead, we passed a couple of other doors, then came out the top of the entryway. The chandelier hung just ahead with red berries intertwined throughout it. I wondered who had gotten on a ladder that tall to decorate it. When we reached the stairs, Saxon continued to hold my hand as he led me down the wide, curvy staircase. People were no longer arriving, and the few who still stood around, talking with glasses of champagne, shifted their gazes up to us. It dawned on me that they would assume we had been together in his former bedroom.
My cheeks warmed, and I dropped my gaze to watch my feet as we covered the last few steps. I was already pregnant. I didn’t want everyone here to think I was the girl from the wrong side of town who couldn’t keep her legs together. Who trapped rich guys. I had heard the gossip at school when people talked about my mom and all my siblings. I knew what they thought of me when they saw me.
“Saxon,” a man greeted him as we walked onto the marble floor.
“Tidewell,” Saxon replied. “It’s good to see you.”
“I hear you’re stepping up too. It seems the ranks are all getting a new generation, starting with Blaise,” he said with a bright smile on his face, as if he wanted Saxon’s approval.
Saxon nodded. “It was inevitable.” Then, he turned his attention to me. “Haisley, this is Bartmore Tidewell. He runs one of the casinos in Vegas for the family.” He shifted his gaze back to the man. “Tidewell, this is Haisley Slate.”
The man glanced at our linked hands, and he chuckled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Haisley. Hang on to this one. They don’t get much finer than him. He’s a good guy.”
I wanted to tell him I would hang on as tightly as I could, but I wasn’t sure my grip had much hold. Instead, I returned his smile and said, “I’ll do my best.”
His laugh was full and belly deep. “I doubt it will be difficult. He seems rather taken with you.” His eyes shifted back to Saxon. “I look forward to working with all of you.”
Saxon simply gave him a polite smile. “Yes. I’m sure I’ll see you soon enough. Enjoy the evening, and happy holidays.”
As we walked back into the living room, Saxon leaned down close to my ear. “There are more people I’d like you to meet, but first, I need to go handle the seating for dinner. You will be seated beside me. Not fucking Declan.”
