Page 23 of Silver Edge
“I guess you must’ve been a bit out of it. After you got done kicking both their asses, the entire club gave you a standing ovation.”
What?“Really?”
He scooted closer, so close I could feel his breath on my face. “You need to come back to the club with me. You can’t stay here.”
“You’re my boss at work, not at home.”
He retracted, scrubbed his jaw, and glanced around the room. “It’s not about being your boss. I’m also your friend, someone who doesn’t want to see you get hurt in a place like this.”
“I’ve lived in worse.”
A grumble sounded from somewhere in his throat, but he stopped it before it turned into a full growl. “I know you can handle yourself, but you don’t need to stay here. You can stay at the club until we can find something for you.”
“We? I take care of myself. I always have, and I always will.” I’d learned a long time ago not to rely on others. The second you did, they’d leave.
His expression morphed from furrowed-brow Neanderthal to blank-affect politician. “We need you at the club. How will I ever pull off the Battle of the Bands without you? Not to mention Walter threatened to kick my ass if I didn’t bring you back. And you know, I’m almost as scared of him as I am rodents.”
I chuckled aloud. I couldn’t remember the last time someone made me laugh. Ton was always so serious, spouting his montage of no drugs, no lying, no promiscuity. He taught us how to keep ourselves in check. My finger brushed the X on the back of my wrist. The world of Straight Edge would be safe for me, a place where I knew the rules and how to follow them.
But I didn’t want safe.
“That’s a sound I could get used to. It’s been a while since I’ve laughed with anyone.”
I dared to look at him, his eyes, his stubbled jawline…his lips. My gaze held there for a moment. My mind hurtled over my fears and landed on a thought. A thought of his kiss.
“I know I’m risking a major sexual harassment suit here, but there’s something I’ve been wanting to do for weeks.” He eliminated the last of the space between us. The heat of him, or my excitement, or the joy or fear, warmed my chest and flushed my face. His lips pressed to mine—firm, quick, electric.
Then it was no more. No more pressure on my lips, no more arousing aroma, no more touch, yet my heart continued to thunder inside my chest faster than a snare drum in a pop-punk show.
I couldn’t remember ever feeling like that, not from a kiss. Heck, I didn’t like kissing. Just the idea of exchanging slobber was gross, but…that wasn’t. Far from being grossed out, I craved more.
After hesitating, I mimicked his movement by leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. For a moment, I lingered, enjoying the soft pressure. Then my lips did something unthinkable. They parted, and my tongue slid across the seam of his mouth.
Horrified, I retreated to my space, my mind racing with this newfound touch. My fingers absently brushed my mouth.
“So, does that mean you won’t be pressing charges for sexual harassment in the work place?”
I laughed. The weight of nine years in the social services system felt lighter, the tension in my shoulders easing. Somehow, he made me feel airy, as if I could fly away on a cool breeze.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
He glanced around the small room then back at me. “Come back to the club with me. You don’t belong here anymore.”
“No. I can manage.”
He sighed. “Oh, I have no doubt, but it’s not about that. The thought of anything happening to you here…” His voice cracked. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I don’t want to lose someone else.”
The quiver in his voice clawed at my resolve. He understood loss, the way I did.
“You need to—”
“I need to be alone.”
He leaned away from me, his posture rigid. I’d offended him, but I couldn’t go back with him, not right now. As Ton would put it, I needed a sensory break. Music, sleep, no people. “I know you’re used to getting what you want, and I know you don’t understand, but I need to be here alone tonight.” I bowed my head, knowing how messed up that sounded.
He pressed his lips together as if to stop his next words, then he pushed from the ground and nodded. “I can’t force you, but I urge you to think about it.” He made his way to the pipe with a slight side step at a noise along the wall. In a matter of seconds, he climbed down, and I could hear him scoop up his phone and slam the door closed behind him.
I crumbled into a ball, blocking the world from my craziness. Images of my mother holding me, telling me to take a chance on life again filled my dreams. Sometime in the morning, I woke from the most delicious dream. Drake held me in his arms and I felt cocooned in warmth and pleasure, my body satisfied and relaxed.
