Tragic (Rook and Ronin 1)

Even though my general rule is no models in the bedroom, I've dated them before and I know each and every one of them has an eating disorder. Maybe it never gets serious, maybe it only manifests as small, barely noticeable rationing, but we all know that if the girls get too big, they can't wear the clothes. And if they can't wear the clothes, they're out of a job.

Rook doesn't know this yet, but it won't take her long to figure it out. And I like her the way she is—her body is f**king hot. And I think it might break my heart if she traded those curves in for bones.

"So what movie are we watching?" I ask.

"The Last Samurai," she says with a coy grin.

"You think you're clever, don't you, Gidget? Got it all figured out?" She plops down on the couch and I sit just far enough away to make her wonder what my intentions are. I have no intentions. Well, maybe I do, but they are fairly innocent right now.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. This movie has Tom I-have-no-shirt-on-and-I-kill-people-with-swords Cruise in it."

She's got me here. "So you have no idea what my name means?"

"Hmmm," she says. "Larue, that's French, right?"

I laugh. "Really? You have no idea?"

She smiles and leans back into the couch, her cute little bare feet doing a dance as they rest on the coffee table. "Everything I do is done with purpose, Ronin. The waitress wrote your name on the ticket that first night I ate at Cookie's, so I knew right then it wasn't Irish, even though your last name is Flynn and that is Irish. But I didn't choose this movie to impress you with my knowledge of your name."

I laugh again. Like hell she didn't.

"I chose it because it's got cherry trees, is deeply philosophical, and is cinematically beautiful."

I just stare at her.

"And because Tom Cruise gets to kick ass with a stick."

"Bokken," I correct her as I smile with satisfaction. I kick my feet up on the coffee table next to hers and click play on the remote. Every time she opens her mouth she surprises me. "So tomorrow, you have any questions about tomorrow?"

"Just wash the heads, right? And do them like I did you?"

My grin is so big now I have to hide it with my hand as I look over at her. "You're bad."

"No," she says as she lies down and rests her head on my thigh. "I'm good, I swear. I'm Gidget, remember? Not tragic."

I play with her hair and watch the movie and before I know it, we're curled up together on the couch, her back pressing against my chest and my arm tucked around her middle, breathing deeply and falling asleep.

Chapter Twenty - ROOK

I've always been a deep sleeper but how Ronin got his hand under my shirt and cupping my breast is a little beyond the scope of any past sleeping experiences I've ever had with an almost complete stranger. I'm not sure what to do. Besides his hold on one of my girls, he's got his other hand very low down on my belly. Pretty much slipped inside the waistband of my jeans, it's dangerously close to descending past a point of no return.

And I'm basically lying here with a racing heart from these simple touches. I cannot even imagine how turned on I'd be if his fingers slid between my legs.

I'd be undone for sure.

He's also pressing himself up against my ass, making it hard to ignore a feature of men in the morning the world over. The wood.

I giggle a little at my thoughts and he stirs awake.

Oh, shit! Now he's gonna wonder why I didn't move his hands!

I'm saved by a loud knock on the door.

"Shit," Ronin says, obviously awake because that was not a husky I-just-woke-up voice. He disentangles himself from me and makes his way to the door.

It's Elise. I can sorta hear them, but not really because they talk low. I do catch something about me being here and then it sounds like Elise is asking a bunch of questions. I sit up on the couch and straighten out my shirt, feeling a little bit like an intruder as I wait for the conversation to be over.

The door closes with a quiet little click and then Ronin comes around the corner and smiles. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"What time is it? I can't believe I slept here on your couch."

"It's five thirty, and I enjoyed you sleeping here. I hope you'll do it again tonight, actually."

"Oh," is all I can say to that.

He shoots me a grin. "But right now I'm gonna walk you back to the garden apartment so you can sleep in. Mondays are crazy busy and Elise just excused you from shampoo duty. She says for you to come by the salon around two o'clock. That sound cool?"

I make a face. "So I have to spend the whole day in my apartment?"

He shrugs. "You can spend it here if you want, but it's gonna get noisy."

"No, I didn't mean that, I just meant…" What the hell did I mean? "Never mind, yeah, it's better to go back to my apartment. I need to hang up all those clothes anyway. What should I wear when I show up for Elise?"

"Jeans, whatever. She'll tell you what she wants you to wear."

"Oh," I say again. "I thought you ran the clothes?"

"I do, but I have to take care of something today. That's what Elise came to tell me. So I'll miss your big debut and we'll do those cherry tree pics tomorrow."

I shrug on the outside, but inside I'm wondering just what this is all about. He's got to leave for an entire day? I slip my Converse on and he opens the front door for me. I feel a little cheap as I make my way down the stairs and then when he says goodbye at the terrace door, holding it open for me so I can pass through alone, I almost feel dirty.