“To avoid any conflicts,” Cooper added.
I looked to Gavin to see his nostrils flare.
“I have gallery opening tomorrow night, and a golf outing the next day,” Cooper started.
I nodded along, glancing from Cooper to Quinn as Cooper went on. Still, the longer I refused eye contact with Gavin, the more I could feel him staring at me, making my skin heat.
I tried my best to focus on my lunch and listen to the dizzying conversation by these three distracting men.
A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door and Alyssa popped her head in and looked at Gavin. “Sorry to interrupt, sir. There’s a telephone call for you, and it’s urgent.”
Gavin nodded. “Be right there.”
She smiled big and looked right at me for a moment before directing her attention to Gavin once again. “Sorry, I wouldn’t interrupt if it wasn’t urgent.”
Gavin cleared his throat before he stood and followed her.
“I’ve got to run too. It was lovely to see you again, Emma.” Quinn tipped an imaginary hat at me, and I smiled and tipped an imaginary hat back at him.
Cooper and I remained sitting in Gavin’s office. I finally allowed myself to relax under the warmth of Cooper’s gaze.
“How are you doing, princess? Can you handle the schedule?”
Alyssa appeared again in the doorway before I had a chance to reply. “Gavin had to step out. He’ll call you to fill you in, Cooper.” She seemed pleased with herself as she shut the door to the office, leaving us alone in the space that smelled too much like Gavin.
His voice played back in my head on a loop. Naughty girl. I wondered if he’d used the same words with other women, if he took them on similar dates in his limo with Ben in the front seat.
Huffing out a deep sigh, I tried to forget what had happened in the back seat. I pushed my salad away on the table, no longer hungry.
“That bad, huh?” Cooper asked. He was so handsome and sweet.
“To be honest, it’s all a little overwhelming.”
I loved that I could tell Cooper how I was feeling. Gavin might be a walking sex bomb, but he was also cocky and rude. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to tell him he could keep his thousand dollars. I’d rather have my self-respect. And given my past, I didn’t trust myself around men like him.
Maybe it was time to move on and forget this ever happened. Maybe I didn’t need this shit. Maybe I could say I’d only go on dates with Cooper.
But, who was I kidding? Gavin would haunt my dreams if I didn’t see this through to the end.
Cooper would never take control like that. He was too . . . what was the word? Polite, respectful? Did that mean that Gavin wasn’t those things? The evidence that I was repeating an unhealthy pattern was mounting.
“Does that mean you’re out?” Cooper asked, and though his face was impassive, I knew the answer meant a lot to him.
I shook my head, much to my own surprise. “No. I’m going to make it work. I do need to get going though. I told my coworkers I was running an errand.”
Cooper smiled and walked me to the door. I stepped out onto the busy sidewalk and noticed a woman glaring at me. Maybe she knew what these offices were for, even though there was no name on the door.
“Emma.”
I heard my name and turned to see Gavin standing on the curb in front of the building.
“What are you doing here? I thought you left,” I said, butterflies exploding into flight in my belly.
“Damn drivers. Ben is out today, unfortunately.”
The mention of Ben instantly brought me back to the limo. I could feel my cheeks burning, which earned me a smile from Gavin for the first time today. I tried to swallow the lump building in my throat.
“Oh, well, see you later.” I turned to walk away but Gavin grabbed my wrist, pulling me back toward him.
“What’s wrong, little minx?”
I tried to find the words offensive instead of arousing. It didn’t work.
“What happened in the limo . . .” My mouth went dry, and I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to ask him for round two or if I ought to tell him it could never happen again. For Cooper’s sake. For the sake of my ever-dwindling dignity.
“You rode my fingers,” he said quite loudly.
A man passing by on the sidewalk whipped his head in our direction.
“You wouldn’t let me touch you, though.” I whispered the words.
Gavin grinned. “Touching me is a privilege you have to earn.” He stroked his fingertips down my bare arms. “But you’re mine to play with, so I can touch you anytime I want.”
I let out a small gasp, feeling breathless at his words. What arrogance, and yet I wanted to earn it. I wanted him to touch me anytime he wanted to.
When I said nothing, warring with myself, he pulled me closer still. God, I loved the feel of him. And damn it if this didn’t make me a whore, but the library was truthfully on the brink of closure. After the hard winter last year, the roof was leaking so badly, we had buckets collecting water. A crew was already hard at work repairing it because of Gavin’s donation. If it weren’t for him, I might not have either of my two jobs at this point.
Still, that didn’t give him the right to toy with me.
“Look, Gavin, I really appreciate what you’ve done for me . . .” I started a speech of protest, but he pulled me in close. I could feel the heat from him.
“What’s wrong? Scared you that you liked it rough?” His hot breath fanned my cheek, and I shivered despite myself.
My head swam, and I fought to find the words to describe how I felt. I couldn’t answer because he wasn’t wrong, and I wasn’t willing to give him the satisfaction of a yes.
“I . . .”
Gavin put his finger to my lips to stop me.
A black town car pulled up in front of us at the curb, and the driver stepped out. “Mr. Kingsley?”
Cooper burst through the building’s door at the same moment and looked right at us, huddled close together. He lifted his hand in a small wave to me before turning to walk down the street.
“I’ve got to go,” Gavin said plainly, and like a switch, the magic was gone and the asshole was back, leaving me alone, staring after him.
The sense of shame washed over me again and stuck with me as I sat alone on the dirty train, jerking back and forth as we snaked back toward the musty library.
Back to reality. Back to my mundane, boring life. And in that moment, I knew I wouldn’t say no. Not to Gavin.
Not to anything he asked of me.
Chapter Fifteen
Gavin
“What the fuck are you two up to?” Quinn’s assessing gaze darted between Cooper and me.
The hum of the air-conditioning in Quinn’s office was the only source of distraction. It was the end of the day, and ever since Emma strutted out of the office at midday, the day had dragged by at a snail’s pace.
“Whatever do you mean, brother dearest?” Cooper asked, a smirk on his lips.
“This pissing match.” Quinn waved his hand between us. “One of you needs to fuck her and get this over with.”
Cooper’s nostrils flared, and he looked like he was ready to punch something. I felt the same way.
“Don’t see how that will help,” I muttered under my breath.
“Then lay claim to her. End this bullshit arrangement. Admit you want her in your life,” Cooper taunted. “I’ll back off.”
That wasn’t going to happen. At least, not while I still had my wits about me.
“Not everything ends in death and devastation. Sometimes there are happily-ever-afters,” Quinn said. “Or so I’ve heard.” He forced a smile, and for a second, I wondered if even he believed the shit coming out of his mouth.
“And when has any of us experienced anything close to that?” I barked.
My brothers stayed silent.
“Exactly. Never.”
“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen,” Quinn said.
“Drop it, asshole,” I warned.
Quinn rose to his feet, hefting out a sigh as though rising from the chair took a great amount of effort. He suddenly looked much older than his thirty-six years. “Don’t let it affect your work.”