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I inwardly groaned at seeing my other shoe on the floor only a few inches from him. I placed a hand on the wall to hold myself up and slipped on both shoes. The heat of his body reached for me, and I so badly wanted to wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder.
“We have a tight schedule. Let’s get a move on, Hazel.” His clipped tone rubbed my heart raw. Although, it was good he was acting this way. His behavior would make it easier to go on this date and solidify in my mind we didn’t have a future together. Not in the way I wanted, anyway.
We stood side-by-side in the elevator, and the silence was killing me. “I’m so sorry if I worried you. I had too much to drink and didn’t have my phone on me… ”
He flicked his gaze to mine for a quick second before he turned to stare straight ahead.
Anger churned in my gut, threatening to spill over and explode through my body. I moved to stand in front of him. “You can’t ignore me all day, Jareth.”
No response.
How dare he behave like I did something wrong! “This is absolutely ludicrous. We’re adults, you’re not my father or my boyfriend. I can do whatever I want with my free time. I don’t answer to you.”
“Are you finished?” He raised an eyebrow. No way was I going to let him make me feel like I was overreacting.
“No, I’m not.” I poked my finger into his chest a few times for good measure. “I want you to know I’m over you.”
I ignored the chill that entered his eyes. He’d never directed it at me before, and even though I’d often seen it on his face before he took down a business opponent or an enemy, I didn’t fear him.
“Is that so?” His tone of voice matched the look in his eyes.
“Yes, it is.” Maybe if I said it enough, even I’d believe it.
“You will be over me when I say you are.” The second we reached the lobby, he snapped his jaw shut until we got outside.
“That is the most ridiculous statement I’ve ever heard you make. Are you even listening to yourself?” What was wrong with him?
I shivered as the cold air hit me, realizing I’d never grabbed a coat. Jareth shrugged off his suit jacket and placed it around my shoulders. The instant his accumulated body heat that was trapped inside the fabric wrapped me in its warmth, I sighed in pleasure.
He opened the car’s back door, and I couldn’t help the tiny sniff I gave the lapel as I shimmied into the backseat. I loved his spicy scent.
“Let’s go,” Jareth said to Elias when he was seated and the door shut.
“We are not done with our conversation.” I snapped on my seatbelt and twisted to face him.
He leaned in, towering over me, saying nothing.
I shoved at his chest. “Get back on your side. And don’t think these stupid intimidation tactics work on me, you big idiot.”
A tiny smirk ticked at the corner of his mouth.
The downtown buildings whizzed by, the morning sunlight reflecting off many of the windows in each tall structure. When we turned onto the ramp to Rte. 95 South and not toward the building where we worked, I yelped.
“Elias, what are you doing? You’re going the wrong way.”
“Jareth, is there something you might want to share with Hazel before we get to our destination?” Elias grinned through the rearview mirror.
My eyes widened as we sped down the slightly congested highway. “Sugar honey iced tea. What did you do, Jareth Vizier? I’m not ready for any super important business meeting this morning. My laptop and purse are at home.”
“We’re not headed into a meeting, and I grabbed your laptop and purse. They’re in the trunk.” He sat back sinking into the supple leather and continued to ignore me.
I rubbed my forehead with the tips of my fingers. This felt like a weird Twilight Zone episode-type thing where nothing made sense, but to everyone else, nothing was wrong. “Where are we going?” We’d just passed the exits for Cranston and the first few for Warwick before I noticed we were taking the one for the airport.
I heaved in a shocked breath so fast I choked on my spit. As I sat there hacking, Jareth at least thawed enough to rub my back until I stopped gasping for breath. I hated when I did that.
“Clearly, you’ve noticed we’re heading to the airport.” His dry retort had me rolling my eyes at him.
“Is this just a day thing?” Please, please, please just be a day thing, I silently chanted in my mind.
