Nights of Sin(25)
Within seconds she was fast asleep, and he moved closer, pulling her into his arms. He couldn’t help but notice how perfect she felt within them, against them.
“I never even saw you coming,” he said, kissing her temple.
Chapter Eight
One week later
“Hello, Becca, what’s up?” Alexa asked, holding her cell phone between her shoulder and ear. She was holding shopping bags and trying to get into her apartment at the same time.
“What’s up? What’s up? Tell me, Alexa, what the hell is going on with you and Corey from the club?” Becca asked.
Alexa stood straight, her door opened, and her cell phone dropped to the floor.
“Shit!” She picked it up and placed it against her ear, entering her apartment at the same time. “Are you there?”
“Of course I’m here, and I’m not going to disappear.”
“How do you even know what is going on? You’re not even here?” Alexa kicked the door closed and wondered how her best friend found out what was happening.
“I may be away, but I’ve got my sources.”
“Who?” Alexa wanted to know who was talking about them.
“Fine, William. I called as he let me know you’d taken out a membership within the club. I asked him to keep any eye on you. He let me know that Corey paid special attention to you. What the fuck, Alexa? He’s bad!”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?”
Biting her lip, she moved toward the kitchen, placing the bag of food on the counter. “Corey, he’s not a bad guy. I kind of like him. Actually, there’s no kind of about it. I do like him.” She had been so angry when he invaded her privacy whereas now, she was rather charmed by his persistence. It had to mean something, right?
“He’s the ultimate bad guy. No woman leaves him without a broken heart, honey. He’s not the kind of man for you.”
Alexa thought about the last week where they had divided their time between playing at the club and spending time together in her apartment. He wanted to go to his place, but she didn’t know if she could allow that next step to occur.
“I like him, Becca. He’s, I don’t know, he’s different.”
“Different?”
Releasing a sigh, Alexa rubbed her eyes. “Can you just trust me with this?”
“I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“He’s not going to hurt me. I’m happy, okay.”
“Alexa—”
“No, don’t. I know you worry, but you’re in Italy, and I’m here. You don’t know what he’s like.”
“He’s a player.”
“So what? I wanted a player. I wanted him. If it doesn’t last, then that’s my problem, not yours. I’ve got to go.” Alexa hung up, dropping her phone onto the counter. She felt bad now, and she was hurting. This was why she wanted to try to keep Corey away from her. From the moment she first saw him, she always knew he was different from every other man. He held her attention, and he made her crave what she had tried to bury deep down inside herself.
“I take it you were arguing about me,” Corey said.
She opened her eyes, and saw the man in question leaning against the doorframe.
“How did you get inside?”
“You only kicked the door closed. It was quite easy. I just opened the door.”
Running a hand across her face, she shook her head. “Becca’s worried about me because of us.”
“She doesn’t agree with me being with you?”
“No, she doesn’t. She doesn’t believe you’re good enough for me, and that you’re going to break my heart.” Running fingers through her hair, she started to empty her shopping bag. She was now in the mood to bake more than ever before. Alexa couldn’t recall a time when she had argued with her friend. Becca was usually really supportive of any decision she made. “I shouldn’t have hung up on her.”
“I’m not going to break your heart.”
“I know. We’d have to be in an actual relationship for that to happen. Becca’s back next week, and she’ll see.”
“You don’t think we’re in a relationship?” he asked.
Alexa paused, holding some lemon curd and a tub of cream cheese. “I don’t know how to answer that question.” She was afraid to answer it. It was such a loaded one, and what if he didn’t want to be known to be in a relationship with her? She was so fucking bad at this.
He sighed. “I’ve tried to be subtle as I know I’m not the best choice for having a relationship with. Even I would tell every single woman to run away from me. I’m not a good guy. I’m not even nice.”