“It’s—a private affair. And no, other employees will not be attending,” Falcon replies. Creed stays quiet.
“I forgot my purse,” I say.
Falcon responds straight away, not slowing down or stopping. “You won’t need ID or a purse, will she, Creed?” Falcon looks to Creed who still does not speak.
I have no idea why they picked me up or even why I’m going. Creed has only said a few words to me in the last few days. I’m not sure why, so this outing is a very big surprise to me considering I just left work. The silence is almost deafening, not once does Creed offer to make conversation or even Falcon. They seem to be lost in their own worlds. The car slows down as we arrive at a house, a house right on the beach.
How long were we driving? Must have been an hour at least to get to the beach.
I slip my heels back on as we come to a stop. The guys get out as Creed opens my door, offering me his hand. Placing mine in his, I pull it away the minute both of my feet touch the ground—careful not to break his boundaries. Obviously, we are no longer two people who like to kiss. Now we’re two strangers who travel in silence.
His eyes find mine, but I’m trying not to give attention to what I just did when I pulled my grasp away from him, so I don’t look at him. It’s easier that way.
“Whose place is this?” I ask as we walk up to a large white door. I can feel him lingering behind me as I walk away.
Falcon pulls it open, letting me step in first, and I feel him come up behind me as we make our way inside. The music is loud and there are very few people here.
“Darby’s,” Falcon says, and I stop in my tracks. Creed once again is behind me. His hand rests on my waist as he leans down and whispers in my ear, “What’s wrong, Elicea, don’t you want to party with us?” He says it in the most teasing way, and shivers break over my body.
I whip around to look him in the eyes, we’re so close that our noses almost touch. Instead of asking him what he means and why he asked me, I say the first thing that pops into my head. “He doesn’t like me.”
Creed drops his hand from my waist and steps forward so he’s standing next to me. He cracks his neck as he looks around. Falcon’s already left so it’s now just us two standing there in the entryway.
“You’re observant, aren’t you?” he asks like it’s a surprise. I shrug as he looks around then back to me. “He doesn’t dislike you, he just doesn’t like what you do to me.” He walks off, leaving me alone. Shivers run through my body at his words.
What do I do to him?
I don’t even know.
We didn’t get far enough to work it out. He gave me a job and we kissed twice. That has been our extent. I don’t even know him.
“And who are you?”
I turn to see yet another god lookalike—he reminds me of Thor with his blond hair and tanned muscles. I point to where the guys left, then drop my hand to my side. “Elicea,” I answer him.
He nods, walks up to me and asks for my hand. Placing my hand in his, he leans down and kisses the top of my hand. His tongue darts out and it’s slow before he pulls away, standing tall again. “It’s a pleasure, I’m sure.”
Too stunned for words, I do nothing but stare, and he does the same thing as he puts his drink to his lips. That’s when Darby walks up behind him, slapping him harder than he probably should have on the shoulder. Darby’s eyes find mine, assessing me before he looks behind me, trying to determine who brought me here.
“Which one, Falcon or Creed?” he asks, his hand not leaving the man’s shoulder. I still don’t know his name, but Thor sounds good to me.
I smile, looking down to my shoes. Darby isn’t a man to be won over by a pretty smile, and right now I don’t feel like smiling. My eyes lift from the floor to see Darby watching me intently, and I’ve only spoken to him a few times. His eyes are not like the others, he’s all business and the most serious man I’ve ever met.
“Both.”
He shakes his head swearing under his breath. “I’m sure you’re a nice woman—”
“Elicea,” I say, and he nods.
“But those two—they don’t need to be distracted.”
The blonde says nothing as he watches our interaction, highly amused by the situation.
“If anyone’s being distracted, it’s me. I didn’t ask to be taken out after work tonight. I was getting ready for bed when they showed up. So, if you would be so kind, and possibly tell me the number for a cab service, I’ll go back to exactly what I was doing before you guys decided it was best to take me out for one of your fun nights. Which, I might add, was distracting me.” My voice gets louder as I speak, realizing the ridiculousness of the entire chain of events. Thor whistles loudly, shaking his head, and throws an arm around me, pulling me from Darby—who is looking at me like I have grown a second head.