Page 46 of Bitter Desire
She bit her bottom lip, and I had to fight to keep my eyes on her face and not on the plump flesh her teeth were now nibbling. If I did that I wouldn’t be going anywhere and I had a very important visit to pay a certain sonofabitch.
“Fine.”
“Thank you, princess.”
I kissed her again and nudged her towards the dining room. “Go finish breakfast. I’ll be back soon.” I turned and hit the button for the private elevator that would take me down to the garage where Taylor was waiting. Honey did as I asked and went back to the dining room. I watched her walk back towards the table and I knew she’d sit and read. Bathed in golden light and content in the peace of a quiet morning.
It was a good thought to take with me on the way to visit a man that had no business existing in the same world as my girl.
Taylor met me at the elevator door with a nod.
“I’ve got the address,” he said, falling into step with me toward the row of cars that were mine.
“Good.” I nodded towards a sleek black SUV, instead of the normal car we took. “We’re going in that.”
“Good choice, sir.”
The ride to the neighborhood in SoHo gave me time to think about what I’d do to Christian O’Hanon when I saw him. His face flashed in my memory. Blond, clean cut, the kind of look to him that made you think of some idiot in a clothing advertisement for the All-American type. He looked like the kind of man you’d be happy to see walk through your door when he had someone you cared about on his arm. He was always put together, no tattoos, decent shape, and enough pull to get you in a nice spot for dinner. We couldn’t have been more different if we tried.
As far as dating went in New York City, on the outside Christian O’Hanon was the model of perfection.
But I knew better.
I’d seen the fear in Honey’s eyes. The way she tensed up when he’d been around—and Connie had filled me in on what she knew. He wasn’t a dream boat or the All-American good boy he looked like. He was a predator. Someone who took advantage of those with less power than him, which in business?
Sure. You played the game, you knew the risks.
But in life? Love?
What kind of spineless fuck did that?
And to Honey of all people.
I didn’t deserve to be with a woman that was good through and through, but whatever Christian had told himself, the lies he believed about himself—they had to be grade A to let him sleep at night after what he’d done to Honey.
Thank fuck we were nothing alike.
I hadn’t given much thought to him outside of the club, and that had been forced. The man had stepped in, tried to get between Honey and I, and I hadn’t been having a fucking second of it. I rubbed my hands against my thighs thinking about the entitled little shit having the balls to try and tell my woman what to do when I had her in my arms. He was lucky there were rules at the Cairn that kept him safe. I’d used words instead of my fists to send the message that Honey was with me.
I leaned back in the seat and watched the city glide by. I didn’t even remember what I’d said to the man. He hadn’t been important, hadn’t existed in my world outside of the role he played in Honey’s world. And she was afraid of him. That wouldn’t stand now that she was mine.
She hadn’t even been mine in the club. Not all the way, and I still hadn’t liked that she was scared of him. Honey could have left the Cairn her own woman and without me, and I would have made sure her ex never bothered her again.
But seeing as she was…
Christian was going to learn to keep his goddamn texts to himself. My hands clenched, the texts he’d sent coming to my memory, but I refused to think too much on them. If I did I’d get angry, and I couldn’t do that. I had to stay focused on what I was about to do. When the SUV came to a stop it was in front of brick building that looked about right for the kind of money I knew Christian’s family had. It was flashy, but the security for it would be nonexistent.
Perfect.
“Stay here,” I told Taylor when we were both standing on the sidewalk. “If he comes running out of the building, I want you to knock his ass down. Keep him down till I show. Don’t give a shit how much he screams. Do it.”
Taylor nodded, lips turning up in a smile. “Got it.” He’d be all too happy to knock the little shit down on his ass in front of the entire city block. He’d always liked causing a scene.
I walked towards the building and almost shook my head when I saw the simple pad of gleaming silver buttons needed to gain entry. There was no door staff, no one kept watch, and that meant that all I had to do was get the code right. And courtesy of the code Charlaine had texted along with the address—I did.
I punched in the code and when the door lock clicked open, I walked in and headed to apartment 212. The walk was quick and I didn’t see a single soul on the way, which I liked.
Less people to remember me, even though I was sure there was a camera on me, but that could be taken care of. I knocked on the door, just a slight rap of my knuckles and stepped back, waiting for Christian to get the door. I knew he was home. Charlaine had sent a schedule she’d gamed out from tracking his phone’s movements.
