In a Fix (Torus Intercession 2)

“I assure you I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about.” Brig’s reply was clipped, and his posture was uneasy, as evidenced by the way he leaned into my space, putting me between him and Dallas.

Dallas eyed me and then squinted as though he’d had a revelation. “Tell me, Croy, are you strapped?”

And it hit me. “I am. As are you, I suspect.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but shut down as more people drew near. The sound of the elevator arriving prompted my full attention, and I turned to shield Brig as the doors opened. When we got on, the three of us crushed together, I maneuvered Brig into the corner, with me in front, and Dallas squeezed in against me, his back to my chest.

The ride up was mostly silent, awkward only in the way strangers crammed shoulder to shoulder in a box could be. When the elevator dinged, indicating we’d arrived at our floor, a group of us poured out and scattered in various directions.

“You got a concealed carry license?” he asked, turning his head to the left, speaking softly over his shoulder.

“I do,” I informed him, taking the moment to slip in behind him and snake my hand under his left arm, making it appear like I was steering him in the direction we needed to go, to feel for the holster I knew was there.

He grabbed hold of my hand and held it there briefly, but long enough that I could feel how defined his chest was; through the jacket, beneath the leather of the holster, and under the shirt was hard muscle, and I felt a powerful surge of regret, for just a moment, that my hand was not stroking his skin. This close, I could smell his hair, and I inhaled deeply. He smelled like an ocean breeze, of all things, briny, but with an underlying scent of lime and teakwood, vetiver and musk. I had a terrible urge to shove my nose against his nape, where his gold-streaked autumn hair fell in thick, messy waves.

The man was not pressed and polished like the others, like Digby, but instead was rumpled, tousled, like he’d just rolled out of bed, and I felt the throb of arousal pulse through me, imagining it was my hands tangled in his hair, my body holding him down, my kisses stealing his breath that made him look that way.

It was annoying as hell that he could distract me so easily.

“Jesus, that took forever,” Digby greeted us loudly, striding up and throwing one arm around Dallas and the other around Brig to lead us down the long hallway. He didn’t check to see if I was following or not.

“You coming?” Dallas called over his shoulder.

“Right behind you.”

“What is this?” Brig asked, easing out from under Digby’s arm. The suite was enormous, with the music playing, and while not loud, it was clear Brig wasn’t expecting it, evidenced by the discomfort in his gaze when he glanced over at me.

“Just a party,” Digby said, letting go of Dallas, who was scoping out the people and the space as well.

Dallas’s scowl was dark, his annoyance tangible. He wasn’t happy about being in the suite any more than I was.

“I thought we were going to a club?” Brig was unsettled. I felt it pouring off him in waves as he took it all in. He didn’t want to be there either.

“Let’s go,” I suggested, and gave him a nod when he turned to look at me.

“I don’t want to ruin the night,” he replied, hesitating.

Chase moved up on his left. “What’s going on?”

I cleared my throat. “I think Brig would rather go sit somewhere quiet and have drinks.”

“Oh yeah,” Chase agreed quickly, his face lighting up. “Let’s do that.”

“You don’t mind?” Brig asked. “I mean—it’s your weekend.”

“No, seriously, that sounds great,” he assured, almost implored, him. Chase looked ready to resort to outright begging if it came to that.

“We can do this tomorrow,” Brig went on, still appeasing. “It’s just that—it’s our first night here; we don’t have to do everything. We’ve got lots of time.”

“I one hundred percent agree.” Chase was almost beaming.

“Okay, good,” Brig rushed out, relieved. “Whoever wants to stay, can stay,” he told Digby. “You can let everyone know.”

“Wait,” he snarled, reaching for Brig. “You can’t just––”

And that was my cue. Grabbing Brig’s bicep, I yanked him after me and didn’t stop moving until we were outside in the hall.

“Careful,” Chase warned me as he caught up to us, but his expression softened the moment I let go of Brig.

Digby came charging out after us and right up to me, getting in my face. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” he spat at me.

“That,” I said, pointing over his shoulder, “is a party, with drugs and paid escorts, and maybe that was fine in the past, maybe that’s what all you guys are into, but Brig is about to be the CEO of his family’s company, you clueless fuck, and Chase just made partner at his law firm. That shit in there? It’s called a scandal just waiting to happen.”