Along for the Ride

She glanced over at Cal. Through the darkness she could make out his concentration. He, too, was following each movement intently, the stillness of his body and the angle of his head conveying his attention. In a splinter of a second, his eyes flickered over to meet hers. His glance was deep and expressive. The knowledge of deepest intimacy passed between them in a flash. Georgie fe

lt their physical passion travel across the space, carried on the waves of sound that aroused them both. When his mouth gave her a subtle smile of acknowledgment, that familiar dense heat sprang up in the pit of her belly.

The applause seemed like an intrusion, but Jason rose and greeted it with pleasure, nodding and smiling as he backed from the stage. When he rejoined them, he looked to them first for their appreciation, which they gave him in words and looks and touches, before a crowd of eager devotees descended. While he chatted with them, Georgie and Cal looked on, their attention dancing back toward each other occasionally. Each glance contained a shared promise, constantly reaffirmed.

Later, they spilled out into the party next door and danced into the night. By the time they left, Jason was more than slightly intoxicated on the many drinks that had been bought for him. Georgie led him, one arm beneath his, as Cal closed behind them, watching his friend’s steps. It was late. The streets were empty, and they moved toward the busier part of the district in search of a cab.

Georgie felt a sense of discomfort descending as they walked through the empty streets. A creeping doubt nagged at her spine, but she tried to dismiss it, assuming it was a hangover from her meeting with Richard. What bad luck it had been, bumping into him. Talk about ruining the moment. She tried to push the thought away and hugged against Jason’s side, dancing along with his footsteps. They paused beneath a street lamp, and Jason grew quiet and looked around him as if he knew there was someone watching.

After a moment, a man stepped out of the shadows. Georgie gasped at the intrusion, but Jason and Cal didn’t seem surprised when the lurking figure walked toward them. Georgie wondered who he was.

Cal groaned aloud, his eyes rolling. “Don’t you ever give up?”

The man gave him a dismissive glance. “Jason.” He directed a curt nod at Jason.

Jason drew himself up, sobering quickly, glancing coolly at the man who had planted himself forcibly in their path. He was shorter, older, and swarthier than Jason, his body more stocky and aggressive in its stance, but a resemblance between the two was apparent, and the man had a more obvious Scottish accent.

“Greg ... I would say it’s good to see you, but, alas ...” Jason’s hands spread out as he shrugged and gave a wry smile. His attitude seemed to rile the man, because he stepped forward, closing on Jason, a tight expression around his mouth.

“You’ve switched your mobile off, haven’t you?” There was anger in his tone.

“Too right. I was sick of the sound of your voice.” Jason reacted to his approach by turning away to face Georgie. “I’m afraid to have to admit that this is my cousin Gregory, Georgie.”

The man threw her what appeared to be a threatening glance. Jason didn’t take any notice, but it was more than enough to quell any response she might have made.

Cal stepped in at that moment, confronting the older man. “Let it go, Greg. It’s just not going to happen, so why don’t you leave Jason alone?”

“What’s it to you?” Greg snapped at him, his heavily accented voice lashing out at the still night air. The atmosphere crackled with tension. “This is a personal matter between us, nothing to do with you. Keep out of it, or I’ll make it your business, too.” He held Cal’s attention with the threatening expression in his face, then spat on the ground near Cal’s feet.

In a heartbeat, Jason strode up against him, his hands on the collar of Gregory’s jacket. His eyes were wild, his teeth gritted as he seethed rage in response. The other man gave a nasty laugh. This was the response he had been hoping for, obviously. He wanted a fight.

Cal groaned, shook his head, and walked away from the other two, giving them space. He seemed weary of whatever this was about. Jason stepped back, but his attention never left his cousin. Greg began to fold his arms over his chest, slowly, in a gesture of defiance as he tried to assert himself over Jason’s more nonchalant pose.

“I’ve waited long enough. Give me the goods.”

“I don’t owe you anything.” Jason sighed.

“Knowledge is power. I know you’ve got the goodies. I want them.”

“I can’t; it’s not in me to ruin a career.”

“Zoë’s career will probably benefit from the exposure, and you know it.” His voice held that threatening tone again. “You should have destroyed the material when she made it big. You would have done that if you had really cared about her like you said you did.” He held Jason with the threat implicit in his actions.

Jason’s lips were tight and bloodless. Georgie could see he was holding back his instinct to hit his cousin.

“I’m leaving for Edinburgh in a couple of days, and you’re coming with me.” Gregory flashed a malevolent grin. “I’m sure Zoë will be very pleased to see us again.” He turned on his heel and walked back into the darkness.

“I very much doubt it,” Jason muttered in the direction of his retreating back.

Chapter Five

Georgie watched Cal as he circled the classroom. He held a long, tapered pointer in one hand, tapping it rhythmically against the length of his leg as he paced. His expression was serious, and it gave him a dark, brooding quality that suggested he was about to whip the pointer loudly against the nearest easel. It was getting harder and harder for her to concentrate on her pose with him looking so demonically sexy like that, so close, and yet so far out of her reach.

“Is he a good fuck?” Justine whispered, her mouth close against Georgie’s ear. Cal had posed them as two nymphs of the source, each with a water jug held on a shoulder with one hand, the other resting on the opposite shoulder of her companion. That way all the fine art students looked on the naked back of one woman, and the front view of the other. Cal had asked her if she could bring another model for the final session of the year, and Justine had, of course, jumped at the chance.

Georgie turned her head slightly to meet the curious look in Justine’s expression. She wondered what Justine would make of the news that she was now in a ménage with Cal and his naughty-boy sidekick, Jason. She smiled, her cheeks heating.

They could both see Cal as he walked around the circle of easels, looking at the students working. Justine’s eyes glittered as they followed his movements.