A smile crossed his face, and I couldn’t tell if it was because I took the job or if it was because he “won,” and I suppose it didn’t matter which. His smile meant I could go follow the guy.
“Tomorrow… call me first thing.” He barked out the order as if I were his assistant. And given I was probably his employee now, that tracked.
“I will,” I promised and then headed in the direction I hoped the termite man was heading.
I despised how my father could get under my skin, my financial woes bouncing around now. I’d managed to push them downdeep to forget about them. But now that he had thrown it in my face, that was no longer possible. Fuck. How many paintings would I need to sell before I no longer had to worry?
I wormed my way through the club, following the scent, but at every turn someone got in the way. They weren’t intentionally being dicks. Just either walking in front of me or saying, “Hello.” But I didn’t have time for any of it.
Finally, I got outside. Here I could embrace more of my animal side to find him, only I didn’t need to. I was barely out the door when I saw him leaving out the gate. Why did that hurt? He was just a random guy who happened to smell good, and here I was feeling his loss.
“You’re just lonely,” I grumbled to myself.
Loneliness was such a fickle companion. It sat with you, never leaving. Sure, you can pretend it wasn’t not there, but that never worked for long.
As fucked up as my parents’ relationship had been, I hadn’t fully given up on the idea of finding that one true love, the one that would be with you through thick and thin, who would create a family with you, who would grow old with you.
Too many shifters embraced their human side too fully. Gone were the days of mating, and here were the days of marriages. It was sad, really. And I was fully aware that I sounded like an old person remembering the days of old.
But so be it. That was the reality of it. No mated shifter would ever cheat. But mating had become a relic in these circles, and I hated it. It was the reason my mom… No, I refused to think that. Had she mated my father… I couldn’t bear to think what her lifewould’ve been like. Scarily it would’ve been worse. Of that I was sure.
The man was no longer in sight, so I went back inside and found the head doorman.
“Did you see that person who left ahead of me?” I described him and was ashamed to admit, termites came into the description.
“I did, sir.”
“Can you help me figure out who he is?” I asked.
The man rubbed his pointer finger and thumb together at his side. He wanted money. Of course he did. Wasn’t that the way around here. From the highest-earning member to the least-paid dishwasher, the entire operation was all about the Benjamins.
I pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to him. “Why yes, sir, I can indeed.”
Chapter 9
Oh, hell no!
Heston
That guy staring should’ve creeped me out. It should’ve.
His gaze was so intense, almost feral. But I was almost drawn to him. He was pulling me toward him, urging me to come closer, and I almost did, as though he were a magnet and I was a piece of metal.
If I’d had the car, I could have slammed the door, put my foot down, and zoomed out of the stuffy country club where I didn’t belong. I didn’t have the right clothes or the ability to talk about money. Nor did I have the right vehicle, though today I had none. I’d bet no guest had ever arrived in a chauffeur-driven car and left on foot.
Don’t look back, I told myself as I did exactly that, though I pretended my shoelace was undone, and as I squatted, I glanced back the way I’d come. He hadn’t moved, and his gaze was so intoxicating, it pinned me in place.
But that wasn’t my only response. My cock, which should have been minding its own business, swelled, pressing against my zipper as beads of sweat dotted my upper lip. My chest heaved,reminding me of when I belonged to an athletic club in college and finished a race.
The phone beeping snapped me out of my daze, and I tore my gaze away from the guy on the clubhouse stairs and studied the message.
I need an answer by tomorrow.
Only Sebastian would expect me to make a huge commitment based on nothing. He hadn’t told me where, when, what, or how much regarding this super-secret job he was dangling in front of me.
I got up and tapped out a message while conscious of those eyes on me, like tentacles that wrapped around my body, threatening to drag me to the source which was that damned guy.
Can you give me some details? It’s not illegal, is it?
