“Would it be too forward of me to offer to drive you?” Carson stood and stepped toward her.
Sienna was stunned. She’d never been faced with this type of decision before, and she was speechless. Asher and Mike would pitch a fit. She’d be risking something, everything, or nothing.
“Umm, I think so, but it would have to be cool with Asher and Mike. They take my safety very seriously.” She tilted her head to look up at the man looming over her.
“I’m down with that. You’re a well-protected commodity,” Carson said jokingly.
She thought so. Or at least hoped so.
Sienna joined him, standing up in the middle of her treasured private space, nervous about him seeing an even more protected spot. Her house or her heart; she wasn’t sure. “Let me just get ready and we can walk out and tell them,” she said as she wrapped a little purple scarf around her neck, then threw on a lightweight gray cashmere cardigan over her tank. Slipping her feet into black boots, she grabbed her tote and blew out the candle burning in the corner.
“Come on.” She started out the door because if she didn’t get a move on, she was going to either implode or chicken out.
Carson placed his hand on the small of her back for the second time in one day, and her skin burned just as it had earlier under his light touch. A fire was scorching her entire body from just the light trace of his fingers on her back, and she couldn’t help but to rush a little toward Asher’s office.
She wasn’t sure whether she was hurrying to catch more of Carson’s warmth, or relieve herself of his hand. But Sienna didn’t have time to dwell on it because she found Asher pacing when they entered his office. Obviously he’d learned that Carson had been in her dressing room.
With Asher’s protective instincts on high alert, Sienna knew she had to tread lightly. “Ash, hey. This is Carson. Carson, this is Asher,” she said warily, motioning between them.
The men eyed each other, obviously sizing each other up in that uniquely male way that made her want to roll her eyes. Carson held out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Asher took it, shaking his hand firmly.
“Ash…Carson is going to drive me home instead of the town car.”
Asher’s head snapped toward her. “What? Really? Excuse me, Carson, can you give us a minute,” he asked as he motioned for Carson to wait outside the office.
Carson looked to her, silently asking what she wanted him to do. If he didn’t, Asher would combust, and she wasn’t in the mood for one of his overprotective tirades. So she nodded, and he stepped outside the office to wait.
As soon as Carson was out of earshot, Asher started in on her. “Are you certain, doll? Do you feel comfortable? This is a big step for you, the girl who said she didn’t want to date.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. He can be trusted. I like him. Plus, he’s former FBI. I’m sure he’s capable. It’s just a drive.”
“What if he wants to come in?”
Oh shit. She steadied herself by holding on to the back of Asher’s enormous desk chair, then said, “I don’t think he will.”
Asher shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Sie, he is a male. One who’s been watching you strip onstage all night.”
Sienna squeezed the back of the chair tightly and pasted on a neutral face. Then she shook her head firmly and frowned, silently disagreeing with Asher.
He pressed his lips tightly together, then sighed. “I’ll trust you, but either way I’m going to be five minutes behind you. I’ll be home, just footsteps away, in case you need me.” Then he grabbed her, kissed her forehead, and murmured, “Be careful.”
Asher then opened the door and glared at Carson, warning him with his eyes just what a responsibility he had been tasked with in driving Sienna home.
Luckily, Mike was at the back door, so Sienna was able to let him know the plan. He whispered in her ear, “Want a tail?”
Sienna put on a brave face once more and shook her head. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, she realized—denying her feelings.
Mike turned to Carson, no longer whispering or being gentle, and said, “Hey, man, go get your car. We can’t have Sie walking around front and getting in a car with a customer. The crowd would go nuts, the media would be alerted, and it would be bad for so many reasons.”
Carson couldn’t argue with that, so he pulled his vehicle around back to pick up Sienna. As he grasped her fingers to help her into the low-slung car, Sienna felt a small shiver travel up her spine, wondering if letting Carson take her home was a very, very bad idea.
And she realized that at the moment, she really didn’t give a damn.