He didn’t grin. Didn’t respond. Didn’t do anything for a moment and I wasn’t sure if I said something wrong until his hand slid into mine and our fingers interlocked. He briefly squeezed.
I thought he might kiss me when he moved in closer, but instead, his mouth hovered close to my ear as he whispered in the sexiest voice ever, “No, orchid. I’m not sharing the first time you give in and kiss me with anyone.”
I hated dropping her off at this fuckin’ place. It made me uneasy that there was no security in the building, not even cameras. Then there was the smell of marijuana in the stairwell. A stairwell she had to take because the fuckin’ elevator didn’t work. My only consolation was as of three days ago, I had Roman—part of Luke’s security team—keeping an eye on the place in the evenings.
Bottom line was I had to get her out of here. I just didn’t know how to do that yet without pissing her off. Savvy may be kindhearted and sweet and thought everyone had good bits, but insisting she move could shatter anything I’d built so far.
Yet leaving her here didn’t sit well. My instinct was to protect. To make sure those I cared for weren’t threatened in any way. Fuck, Logan and I had put all the money we had into buying a farm for Emily so she’d feel safe after what happened to her.
“I don’t like you living here.”
She half laughed as she turned the key in the lock. “Well, this is where I live.”
“Savvy, it’s a dump.” And she deserved better than this.
She smiled, leaning back against the door, her hand behind her on the doorknob. “So what, are you going to burn it down so I have to move?”
I shrugged. “If I have to.”
She snorted, and it was so damn cute it took everything I had not to kiss her.
“It’s unsafe.”
“I’ve been here for months, and there hasn’t been one incident.”
“It only takes one,” I replied.
“Trevor’s across the hall.”
“The hacker,” I said. “Who makes fake concert passes and whatever else. And therefore has God knows who knocking at his door.” Trevor wasn’t the problem. I had Luke look into him. The guy was a genius and had graduated with two degrees. What I didn’t like was who came to his door for his illegal hacking services.
“Are you embarrassed to date a girl who lives here?”
I jolted, scowling. “Fuck, Savvy. No. You know I don’t give a shit what people say. I’ve never been like that.”
“But you’re dating me for your reputation. Isn’t that a little contradictory.”
I put my hand on her hip and nearly groaned out loud when I felt her shiver in response. “I think you know this has nothing to do with my reputation.”
She tensed. Then within a breath, she relaxed again. “Thank you for tonight.”
She stood on her tiptoes, and before I knew what she was doing, she kissed me. It was brief, but the touch of velvet plush lips against mine was irresistible. And when she pulled back, our lips clung for a second as if not wanting to let go.
Fuck. “Savvy,” I murmured, fingers tightening on her hip and dragging her into me.
My cock jerked, and it took all my control to not scoop her up into my arms, kick open her door and carry her to bed. But this was about her, not me.
And this was far more than fucking her one night. This was letting her in and having all of her. If I fucked her while I was paying her to date me… she’d regret it. I couldn’t have that.
The creak of the door handle turned and then her door was opening, and she disappeared inside, quietly shutting the door behind her.
I stood in the hallway for a minute staring at the door and listening to her heels click on the hardwood floors inside.
“Don’t hurt her.”
I stiffened, slowly turning to see Trevor leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. “I don’t plan on it.”
“Yeah, well, you’re a rock star with a shit track record. Actually, no track record because you don’t date. Except suddenly you’re dating Savvy and giving her a new car and telling her she can’t live here.”
“You heard.”
Trevor knocked on the wall. “Like you said, a dump. Thin walls.”
“Babe, are you coming back to bed?” a female voice called from inside his place.
Trevor ignored her. “I like you because I think you care about her. And you rock on the drums.” Trevor pushed off the doorframe. “But this bogus dating thing is bad news.”
“She told you?” Fuck, the fewer people who knew about our arrangement, the better. I didn’t want Savvy to get hurt by it because the media might not be so kind if they found out, even if the truth was I wasn’t fake dating at all.