I got out of the car and walked towards my door. The dizziness was gone. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I smirked in triumph as I crossed the stairs to my door and opened it.
I liked my little house. It was my parents' rental property, one that had been vacant for a few months; they were still trying to divide the assets from their divorce. When I told my mother that I needed a place to stay, she offered it immediately, no strings attached. That was a perk of having parents who divorced after I went to college. They tried hard to spoil me as an adult, but they were too caught up in their own lives to actually pay attention to mine. They still thought Elijah was a good guy, after all.
"Do you want to come in?" I asked. He glared at me.
"You think I'm going to just drop you off on your doorstep after you fainted at one of the most exclusive events in the city? Hell, no. I'm taking care of you, Willow." He gently pushed me through the door and into the living room before moving past me, wandering into the kitchen of my little two bedroom house.
"You need fluid, and you need something in your stomach." He started rummaging through my fridge before I had a chance to protest. I had to admit, there was something absolutely sexy about a man who took charge when I needed it. About a man who took care of me instead of blaming me.
I watched him in all his male glory as he grabbed a can of soup and a pot from my cupboards. He was still in his tux, his hair all mussed from picking me up. He looked so out of place, yet everything he did came with this confidence that had me mesmerized. Even when he didn't mean to, he looked totally calm, cool, and completely masculine.
"Soup?" I asked. I put a hand over my tummy as I felt it. I'd barely kept anything down all day long, but the idea of something sounded really good.
"Get out of that dress and under a blanket. I'll have it ready in a minute." He shucked off his jacket and pulled off his tie before undoing the top few buttons on his shirt. "It's a damn shame, you look amazing in that dress." Jesus, it was almost enough to make any girl dizzy, let alone one that was sick.
"What?" I asked as I sat down on the couch. All the blood was rushing away from my head, making me doubt what I was thinking, hell, what I was seeing.
"Hold on." He poured the soup into the pot and walked over to me. "Let me do it."
"You know how to take one of these off?" I asked as stood up, his arms keeping me steady.
"You might say I'm an expert." He grinned, that wolfish look returning to his eyes. He found the zipper quicker than I could've and pulled it down as I stepped out of it. I felt a little silly. Hell, I was in nothing but my bra and panties as he pushed me onto the couch and put the throw over me.
"You're too sick to have me staring at you wearing just that. Cover up or I'll want to do more than just take care of you." The danger returned to his voice and I knew that he wasn't kidding. He walked back over to my little kitchen area and stirred the soup.
"Don't you have to go back to work?" I asked. The gala had just started, and he was supposed to be there.
"I want to get you settled first. Leo understands."
I nodded. "I'm sorry I ruined work for you."
"I think you made it more exciting. Hell, I'm pretty sure those rich assholes will be talking about this for quite some time."
That didn't make things better. I blushed and put my hand to my face. I was still a little warm. Zach walked over and handed me the soup. "You should've told me you weren't feeling well. I would've gone alone."
"Or taken another date?" I asked, the pit of my insecurity coming out. I was weak and I was tired. It was hard ignoring the truth, even when I wasn't feeling so week. He was the hottest guy I'd ever seen, and he had a reputation. Hell, his own cousin warned me away from him.
"Alone," he growled. "Is that what you think of me? That the moment you aren't available, I'll just turn and grab someone else?"
"One night. That's all you wanted," I reminded him.
"I couldn't have just one night with you, Willow. It would be stupid not to want more. You're smart, pretty, and the way your body responds to mine... I don't think either of us have ever had that before." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing down my neck, giving me chills. "I'd be crazy if I didn't go after you."
I took a bite of my soup and let the warm liquid wash down my throat. It felt good. Hell, I was hungry for the first time all day. "I'm not trying to be insecure," I explained.
"No, I get it. I was an asshole in high school, and let's be honest, I'm an asshole now. But I'm not a scumbag. I'd do a lot of things, but I wouldn't fuck around with you, not like that." He sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm a man of my word; it's all I have, and if I say something, I mean it. You understand?"
I nodded. He'd lost everything when his mother died, and I knew that all he'd had for so long was his word.
"You aren't going to get out of this so easily," he joked.
When I looked into his eyes, I knew the truth. I didn't want to get out of this. I didn't want anything else but him. It should've been him, all along. But I kept my mouth shut and I just took another bite of that soup. I wanted to keep him for as long as I could, and I was fairly certain telling him that I was falling for him was going to just push him away. I wanted to live in this moment forever.
Chapter Ten
Zach
"Where should I meet you?" I asked as I closed the door to Willow's house. She was upstairs sleeping, a pitcher of water and a glass next to her bed.
"I'll text you the address," Leo said on the other line. "Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine. A tight dress and a touch of the flu," I explained. "Though I did promise her the chance to meet Sloane at some point."
"I'll see what I can do," he said.
"You don't need to-" I protested.
"No, I get it. I've been there before, Zach. Let me help." He must've been talking about Hope. I didn't protest.
"What are we doing?" I asked.
"Tommy Carrington is hosting an after party at his mansion. It's a good opportunity to learn more about these men. To understand what they are up to."
"And to further ingratiate yourself with them."
"You sure you didn't do intelligence when you were in the army?" he asked.
"I did a little bit of everything, Leo. I wasn't just a grunt." I turned my car on and headed out, my GPS locked into the address he texted. "I'll meet you in half an hour."
Navigating the roads wasn't hard; the man lived in a mansion over in Sandy Springs. It was one of the wealthiest suburbs north of Atlanta.
The kind of place most people only wished they lived in.
Not me, though. Lawrenceville was perfect. Small town gone suburb, but it was still my town. They could keep Sandy Springs and all the fortune and the shit that went along with it.
I pulled into the service entrance of the house and parked my car with the rest of the working class. It wasn't out of place, even though it was probably the best among them.
A 1969 Dodge Charger with all the trimmings. It was my mother's first car, well, one just like it. She'd told me all about it, so when I had the chance I bought one and restored it. But it didn't fit in with the various luxury vehicles, and neither did I.
The servants' entrance, that's what I wanted. I breezed through it and down the long corridor towards the party. My suit was disheveled, the tie gone, buttons undone, but hell, I still looked like I belonged. Usually, it was the look I preferred. The one that got me whatever woman I wanted.
Except this time the woman I wanted was at home sleeping off a bug.
Fuck it, I wanted to be there with her, my arms wrapped around her as she slept. There was something about her breathing, about her body next to mine.
It kept at bay all of the shit that I saw in my dreams. All the things I worked so hard at forgetting while I was awake. But when I was with her, none of that shit actually came to pass. Her body, her breathing, it all kept me anchored.
I searched the foyer for Leo, but I didn't' see him there, so I started a sweep of the house. No one said a word to me. No one asked me what I was doing. The key was to always look like I knew exactly where I was going and what I was doing. To always be in charge.
No one questioned confidence.
"What are you doing?" I asked when I finally caught him. He was in a side room, looking through a desk. "Anyone could've come in here and seen you."