Page 51 of Dead Serious with Benefits
“We’ll see. Enjoy the rest of your night,” she said with the flash of a smile, and then she got up from the table and walked away. She brushed past Ward, who gave her a sharp look before walking back to the table.
I looked him over and blinked when I saw barely contained rage seething in him. It was almost as uncomfortable as sitting next to her while she poked and prodded. Except this was hot and sparking, like the air around me would be consumed in flames and smoke at any moment, rather than the brittle icy chill she exuded.
“What did she say?” he asked in a cold voice.
“You were right about two things,” I said with a little smile. “Someone did think you’d bring an escort, and it is perhaps a good time for us to leave.”
“That—”
“Ward.”
“What?”
“Ward,” I repeated, setting my hand over his and squeezing it. His jaw released its grip the barest fraction, and I took that as a good sign. “I am not upset. I’m not hurt. I’m not angry. And I’m not going to have you drop me off so I can go inside and pretend that tonight or you never existed.”
He glanced back at me, and he let out a low breath. “What did you say?”
I told him how the conversation went, seeing no point in lying. I saw his jaw give a tick of anger when I told him a few things she’d said, but at the end, he gave a harsh snort.
“That makes me feel a lot better,” he said, chuckling. “That explains why she had nothing to say to me when she passed.”
“What, did I convince her?”
“No, she doesn’t trust me, and she still thinks you’re a well-paid, well-behaved escort. Or in her mind, whore. The uglier she thinks about someone, the more content she is. No, Arlo, you managed to piss her off by being completely and absolutely yourself.”
“Not my intention.”
“No, and that’s what’s helping to piss her off. You were straightforward with her, honest, earnest, and didn’t let her get under your skin. All that will have infuriated her when she was trying to dominate that conversation. But you are incapable of being dominated.”
My mouth crooked at one corner. “Don’t be so sure.”
The last of his anger disappeared in a flash of lust. “You know, you’re right. We need to get out of here. The sooner, the better.”
“That works for me,” I said, standing up. “But we should at least say goodbye to Eleanor. She was a delight, and I don’t want to leave without properly saying goodbye.”
“Come on then,” he said, a new hunger in his voice as he looped his arm through mine. “She was at the bar last I saw.”
She was at the bar, her cheeks flushed and her smile bright when she saw us coming. “Well, hello, you look like two people with more interesting places to be and far more fun things to do.”
“It’s time for us to leave,” Ward told her, bending down to kiss her cheek.
“I don’t doubt that for a minute,” she said with a laugh, kissing him back. “How nice of you to stop and give this old woman a goodbye.”
“Of course,” I said, pleased by her warmth. I bent down to give her a light hug and a kiss on the cheek, and she squeezed me back.
“Seduced yet?” she asked with a light chuckle.
“At least let me get home first,” I teased, pulling away.
“Let it never be said that you only choose the classless and tasteless,” Eleanor told Ward. “I hope you’ve grown up enough to see the potential in this one, Warden. And if you don’t, more fool you.”
“We’ll see,” Ward said, glancing nervously at me. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I said, amused by the sudden awkwardness from a man who was usually so confident; nothing fazed him.
“Quit looking at me like that,” Ward grumbled as we entered the grand foyer.
“Like what?”
