Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

When I looked up, I immediately cowered. His eyes were black with rage. “You are never, I mean never allowed to be alone with him,” he boomed. “Am I clear?”

“He has a temper,” I said. “As do you.”

“Am I clear?” he yelled into the quiet lobby. I shivered at his anger, acutely aware that everyone’s eyes were on us. He stared at me until I nodded barely. “What happened?” he demanded, looking between all of our startled faces. “What happened before I got here?”

“I don’t know, man,” Brian said. “I ran over here when I saw him dragging Olivia away, and he was calling Gretchen names.”

David’s gaze whipped back to me, and my entire body flinched when he reached for my arm. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said incredulously.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Does it hurt?” he asked, touching my elbow.

“It’s fine. I’m worried about you.” My hand hovered where the punch had landed.

“I’m okay,” he said, grasping my face in his hands. “I’m so sorry. I know that must have been hard to watch, but he had it coming.”

I shifted in my heels and held his gaze. “I know you want him to be the bad guy, but he’s not. He’s going through a lot too.”

“There’s no excuse for coming at you like that.”

“Are you okay, really?”

He leaned in and pecked me on the lips. He rested his forehead on mine and sighed.

“David?” I asked. “Are you hurt? What about your hand?”

“It’s good.”

“What if you broke something? Should we get an x-ray?”

“No,” he said with a small smile. “I know how to properly throw a punch.”

“Um, excuse me?” Brian asked, tapping David on the shoulder.

David pulled back and looked me in the eye. “Next time come get me, scream at the top of your lungs if you have to,” he whispered. “Don’t try to do this on your own.”

“Can someone please inform me what the devil is going on?” Brian asked.

We all looked at his confused expression.

“Oh, God, you are so out of it,” Gretchen said.

Brian sneered. “You’re welcome for sticking up for you, princess. I didn’t exactly see your boyfriend helping out.”

“I was in the bathroom,” Greg said defensively.

“Jesus Christ,” David muttered, looking over Greg and Brian. “What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there?”

“I would have defended her honor,” Brian said, puffing up.

There was a moment of crackling silence before we burst into laughter.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re such a kook,” Gretchen said.

“Now can we go home?” David asked, stroking my hair.

“I’m sorry,” Brian interrupted, leaning between us. “Home? Am I to understand that you two are . . . ?”

“Dude,” David said. “Get lost. Yes, we are.”

“I didn’t realize you were looking, Olivia,” Brian said. “I would have thrown my name in the pot.” I laughed, but David gave him a menacing snarl and Brian covered his nose. “Point taken. I’m only ribbing you, Dylan.” Brian sighed loftily and kissed me on the cheek as David fumed. “I’ll leave you to it then. Good evening,” he said as he pivoted and walked away.

I looked back to David, and my face folded. “I’m so embarrassed. I ruined your night and in front of all your colleagues.”

“I could give two shits right now. I just want to take you home,” he purred into my ear, and I shuddered at his breath on my neck.

“We have to go,” I told Gretchen and Greg, who were watching the whole thing. My voice was high-pitched, and Gretchen rolled her eyes at me knowingly.

“Bye,” she said exaggeratedly. “Come on, Greg, let’s get another drink.”

“Or we could go home too.” I laughed at Greg’s suggestion as they walked off.

“We’re ready to leave, and make it quick,” David said into his phone and hung up. “Brian’s such an asshole.”

“He’s only picking on you because you react.”

“I react because he’s a good guy, and that makes him a worthy opponent.”

“Opponent?”

He took my hand and led me outside. “Every man is an opponent for your attention, but very few of them are worthy.”

“I’m not a gold medal, you know.”

“Oh, but you are, my golden honeybee,” he said gruffly, but his eyes softened. “Are you sure you’re all right? You fell hard.”

“Nothing is that bad as long as you’re here,” I said honestly.

He lifted our interlocked hands and wrapped me close to his side as we walked to meet the car.

“I really am sorry to have embarrassed you.”

He looked down at me. “Don’t say that again. It wasn’t your fault.”

“He’s mad about the house. I knew it would hurt his feelings, and I was too chicken shit to tell him sooner.”

“Thank fuck you didn’t, if that’s how he was going to react.”

“I’m sorry,” I said a last time.

“I’m just thanking my lucky stars every time I’m with you, even if it’s messy.”

“Yes. And it’s going to get very messy,” I said to myself.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

I thought for a moment. “He sent me an e-mail earlier.”

“What’d it say?”

I pulled it up on my phone and handed it to him. As we waited for the car, he scanned the screen, still holding me close with his other hand. His grip on my shoulder tightened, and he gave it back to me. “A player?” he grumbled. “He doesn’t believe it’s over – at least he didn’t when he wrote this. Do I need to worry about that?”

“No. Let it go. I just want to forget all of this for a little bit.”

“For now,” he agreed.

He opened the door to the town car when it arrived and motioned for me to get in. He folded his large frame in after me and the driver pulled away from the curb.

“Come here,” he said.

I scooted to his side of the car.

“Closer,” he said in a lowered voice. I inched toward him until our legs were touching. In a quick motion, he gripped my hips and lifted me onto his lap. He sighed into my

hair. “Did I tell you how amazing you look in this dress?”

I smiled to myself. “Yes.”

“Did I tell you that all night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the look on your face when you came all over my fingers this afternoon?”

I moaned softly and writhed in his lap. One hand dug into my hip as the other slipped inside my dress to grasp my breast. My mouth parted with a sharp inhale when he pinched my nipple between his fingers.

“I can’t believe I get you all to myself tonight,” he said, his thumb and index finger tightening beneath the fabric. His voice sank into a low, gritty rumble. “Nowhere for you to run.”

“I won’t run,” I uttered, arousal whirring through me and clouding my mind. I bent my head to his ear. “I’m all yours, all night.”

His answering groan echoed through the car. Embarrassed that the driver heard, I giggled softly and buried my nose into his shoulder.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Can’t help it.” He released my nipple but his big hand slid up and ran leisurely over my collarbone.

“What are your plans tomorrow?” I asked.

“My plans are your plans, baby. Reminds me, though. How often do you walk the dogs from the animal shelter?”

“Oh. Twice a month or so. I know it’s not very much, but it’s what I can manage right now.”

“You’re incredible, you know that? I love you a little more every minute. But this minute is a big one.”

I was already flushed, but his warm words left me blushing harder.

“Did Bill ever go with you?” he asked.

“No. You know how it is because you work as much as he does. If he wasn’t swamped with paperwork on the weekends, he just wanted to relax.”

“Never?”

“No.”

“Not once?”

I giggled again and shook my head.

“Tomorrow is supposed to be warm,” he said, brushing hair from my face. “My family is barbequing again. We could get a couple dogs and go see them. If you’re not ready for that, we can just walk the dogs.”

“Really?” I asked with surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Sure? I can’t think of anything better to do on a Sunday. Well, that’s not true, but we’ll have the whole day to fill.”