Isa glanced up at the clock and gave Lana a pleading look. She misinterpreted because she gave another thumbs-up, this time with an encouraging smile. The prick wouldn’t keep his hands off her, and each time she moved them from indecent territory, he only became more persistent.
His mouth devoured her neck, as she wouldn’t let him kiss her again. She needed to put a stop to the insistent pawing, but she didn’t really want to create a scene either. Blondy could kiss, she had to admit, but he was putting off some serious heebie-jeebie vibes.
At first she thought the problem might only be Toryn’s warning echoing through her head. She’d been interested in the beginning, but now was heading toward pissed-as-hell.
The DJ finally announced last call as Blondy’s hands made another run at slipping under her dress.
“Excuse me,” she managed to sound calm, “I need to stop at the restroom before we leave.” The separately went unsaid.
Feeling sick to her stomach and filthy dirty, she headed for the bathrooms, but stepped into the kitchen and slipped out the back door.
Despite the breakneck-heeled boots, Isadora jogged down the alley and up the hill to her street. She ran into someone as she turned the corner, barely containing the scream as she started to fall.
The guy had enough decency to catch her, pulling her upright, against a familiar hard body.
Toryn’s eyebrow arched as she looked up into his vibrant blue eyes.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
Is that a hint of humor in the bastard’s tone? She wanted to strangle him for being so damned smug.
“Fuck,” Isadora snarled, “you scared the hell out of me.” With a dirty look, she smoothed out her dress.
He stifled a laugh and slid an arm around her shoulders, “Are you all right?” he asked again. This time his concern was more genuine.
She glared back. “Fine. Now I need some coffee.”
Passing her building, they walked quickly toward their favorite all-night coffee shop, for their closing-time ritual.
“Didn’t bring lover-boy home?” he asked, sounding overly pleased.
Her hand itched to slap the smirk off his face. “Nope.” She managed a nonchalant shrug, even though venom raced through her twisted emotions. “Ditched him at last call. Something was off.”
She wanted Toryn to drop the last couple hours. Besides, it was his fault she needed to get laid. The encounter with Blondy was a mess, but seemed the only available option to help get Toryn off her mind.
And there he was, rubbing it in that she was going home alone. Again.
“You enjoyed your first dance.”
Was that jealousy? Nope, I’m definitely drunk if I’m entertaining such a ridiculous notion.
Toryn had Leon. Hot, sexy, definitely fuckable, Leon. Yeah, she was a tad jealous of the man, but she still liked him, so she dealt with it.
Isa shook off her overactive imagination, and explained, “Somewhere along the way, Blondy creeped me out so I bounced. I didn’t like how grabby he was.” Her hands started to tremble, and she needed a distraction. She pulled her braid out, letting her hair fall around her in waves. Under the soft blanket, she felt less self-conscious, something she rarely struggled with.
“Good. I still think he’s bad news,” he grumped, but didn’t look convinced.
That ticked her off and she went from freaking-out to bitch in an instant. Ice chilled her tone. “Where’s Leon?”
Then she paused. How the fuck does he know about what happened? Toryn was gone before things got out of hand. She knew because she had looked for him a few times, ready to beg him for any excuse to get away from the sleaze-ball.
Disappointed, he sighed. “He has to work early in the morning. Business as usual.”
There was a pang of guilt in her chest. “Sorry, that wasn’t fair.”
“Eh, I deserved it.” He lifted a shoulder in a sheepish shrug. “I could have been more tactful.”
The tension between them eased as their easy companionship fell back into place. They stepped into the café and ordered their usual coffee.
Upstairs, on the balcony, their favorite table was available.
While they settled in, her mind kept rounding back to one serious question. “What did you mean when you warned he would hurt me?”
Toryn ran a hand through his hair, before capturing her gaze. “Exactly that. He strikes me as one of those guys who likes it rough. Not in a good way. Something about him rubbed me wrong, especially the way he relished your resistance.”
“Hmm?” she murmured.
He saw that?
She stared out the window, and froze when she thought she saw Blondy in the alley across the street, but when she blinked, he was gone. Her imagination was really getting the better of her.
Placing a comforting hand on her thigh, he gave her a squeeze. “It’s just a hunch, but he’s bad news. He will throw your whole world into upheaval.”
Toryn wasn’t the type to judge without reason. He always accepted everyone until they gave him a reason not to. So it made her wonder what he knew when his attitude was so different about this guy.
“All right.” She sipped at her coffee. Unlike most people, coffee calmed her. Much like a lot of things tended to have the opposite effect for Isa. Coffee could help her unwind enough to sleep while sleeping pills made her jittery.
Then an explanation dawned on her, and she turned back to look into Toryn’s stunning blue eyes. “Did you come back to check on me?”
He didn’t answer.
Her brow arched, holding eye contact. As much as she hated it, he was always right, and generally looked out for her. Her own rogue knight in leather. His seemingly cryptic warnings were always dead on, and as long as she listened to them, she stayed out of trouble.
He gave her a sideways grin. “Leon and I left the bar for a bit. I came back to check on you after he took off. Leon had a feeling you would go home alone, and I was lonely.”
“Aw, you are such a sweetheart.” She kissed his cheek. “I seriously hope you would have intervened if I hadn’t snuck out when I did.”
“I had you covered,” he promised.
That was one of the many reasons she loved him. She wished like hell it was the platonic sort, but she had been in love with Toryn from the very beginning. It was getting harder to pretend she wasn’t when he was absolutely everything she ever wanted.
* * * *
Like most nights, he walked her home, his arm wound around her waist as she snuggled close. If she only knew how much he craved these quiet, stolen moments, and how much he really felt for her… she’d probably hate him.
Isa unlocked her door, but leaned back before opening it, considering him. “So, tomorrow night, right?” Why did she sound so hopeful? Could she be feeling even an inkling of what he felt?
“Our gig?” He was a bit breathless. “Yeah, we play tomorrow.” He gave her a grin, and futilely tried to shut off his heart. “I hear Mike’s supposed to be coming too.” At least Mike was safe. She would never fall in love with him, even if she did sleep with him from time to time. They were buddies, but they fought like cats and dogs, so a relationship was out of the question.
Mike was a great guy, and Toryn honestly felt bad for him. Somewhere along the way he had developed real feelings for Isa, but she didn’t reciprocate. He felt some guilt for being relieved Mike and Isa would never be anything more than fuck buddies.
Toryn remained terrified that one day she would fall in love with someone, forcing him to let her go. He wasn’t sure he was capable. Since the dreams about their possible future started, he found it impossible to ignore the love he’d confined all these years.
“So, I should dress to kill?” Isa purred, her smile turning wicked. “Seeing how I didn’t get anything out of my system tonight.” Some raw emotion, he was afraid to interpret, passed over her face as she looked away.
Oh, what he wouldn’t give to help her get some relief, but he couldn’t, and he had to continually remind himself. If he did have her, even once, he would never let her go. And with the way things stood now, he would have to, at least for a time.
Toryn managed a chuckle. “Yeah, you need to get laid. You were pretty frisky tonight.” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. He licked his lips and before he could think, the words tumbled out, “Oh, don’t think I didn’t notice. You had me all muddled up. I was ready to help Leon convince you to come back home with the two of us.” He kissed her on the cheek, but it really was the outermost corner of her luscious mouth.
“Liar,” she accused breathlessly.
“I have never, ever, lied to you, Princess. Trust me, I was truly considering it.” Besides, he couldn’t lie—he could evade, mislead, even omit, but never lie. “Sweet dreams, Isadora.”
“You too,” she whispered as she watched him back toward the stairs. There was something in her eyes, something he didn’t believe, couldn’t believe, because he didn’t dare risk hope with the stakes so high.