Page 105 of Touch in the Dark

“Yeah?” he asks. He takes my hand and holds it steady against his chest. “These lunatics, no matter how hard I try to get rid of them, come as part of the deal.”

I laugh, I can think of nothing better. Nick leans down and kisses me. My core clenches as his tongue enters my mouth. Nick lifts his arm so it’s hiding our faces as the others all start cheering and laughing. He doesn’t stop kissing me till he is good and ready. I laugh as I pull back.

Brooke is walking out the door.

“Is she alright?” I ask in shock.

“She got a call,” Jenna taps her nose. Everyone looks around at each other. Ah, I get it. Ciro. The girls all know the deal. It’s just like Brooke to up and leave.

“What?” Archer asks looking around at everyone.

“This guy hooked up with Madison Mackenzie,” Nick slaps Archer’s shoulder.

“I told you not to fucking say anything,” Archer glares at him. Adam and Jordan start yelling about it, the girls have no idea what they’re all going nuts about, neither do I. Nick has successfully diverted attention away from Brooke’s illicit and secret affair with Ciro. I feel bad because it looks like Archer is the only one who doesn’t know, but he’s too busy defending himself to care about Brooke, or where she is now.

“You guys are all fucking shit stirrers,” Joey says from where he has been sitting quietly with Meg, taking a long sip on his beer.

“You have no fucking idea,” Adam mutters.

“Welcome to the crew, Slayer!” Jordan slaps Joey’s shoulder with a grin.

It’s four AM when we get back to Nick and Archer’s apartment. Poor Lou left the keys with us at two AM so he could get home to his wife. He swore he would kill us all if we did anything stupid to his bar. He was glaring at Jordan at the time. Rightly so, he was behind the bar pouring out shots at the time.

Archer is singing on his way to his room as Nick leads me to his. At least they’re on opposite ends of the apartment because Nick grabs me and sets me on his dresser, strips off my jeans and underwear and spreads my legs apart, going in without any warning. I grab his head and push my hips up to his face. He doesn’t stop till I’m practically begging him to get away, because I can’t take any more. I’m a breathless, boneless mess. He just looks smug about it as he carries me to bed.

The last time I look at the clock just before we fall asleep wrapped around each other, it’s six in the morning.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It’s the day before Christmas Eve. We still have no clue what Jordan and Sandy have planned, but Alessa came back from Vegas to be here with him. Jordan hasn’t invited anyone from Red Alert except his girlfriend. Even he doesn’t want to open that can of worms with Brooke and Ciro.

I’m currently standing in the middle of a stock room in the Warwick warehouse with Alessa. I had a meeting with them to discuss some more promotion for them, which involves getting another guitar, which I’m not going to complain about. Alessa came along, because this is her idea of heaven, and Jordan asked me to take her, for his own reasons. She’s sat on a huge wooden drum, an electric blue five string thumb bass in her arms. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as happy as she is right now.

Jordan wants to get her a new guitar for Christmas and seen as how I had a meeting with the Warwick people, I suggested she come with me, and I can see what she likes at the same time. This particular model is close to eight grand, not one of their most expensive models but it’s a fucking awesome bass. Even though we’ve looked at a few different ones, her eye keeps coming back to this one. She thinks she is here to help me pick one and to enjoy being around and playing some cool guitars.

I snap a photograph of her and send it to Jordan. Her eyes are closed, she’s lost in the music she’s making. He replies straight away telling me to work my magic with the Warwick people and get that guitar as a surprise for her. I’d ask if he is sure, but I already know myself, that is the one she would want if she thought she could get herself a Warwick. While she is chatting with one of the reps, I go over to another and quietly tell him to get that one gift wrapped after we’ve left and send it to Jordan.

Alessa is the perfect person to spend the day with, because she doesn’t do personal feelings. She isn’t the type to want to talk if she thinks there is something wrong. She doesn’t want to know a single thing about what is going on in my life, all she wanted to do was look at guitars and use my skills and knowledge of my friend, the same way Jordan is. As in, find out what to get him as a secret gift for Christmas. I’m pretty sure Alessa knows what I’m up to inviting her to Warwick, but she keeps it to herself.

After we leave Warwick, we head to the place of an artist friend of mine, where we are collecting the bespoke four-foot piece of art Alessa has commissioned. It is a soundwave print of the music to Sweet Child O Mine by Guns n Roses. She chose for it to be purple and black like her hair. It’s a sweet ass gift, one I know Jordan will love. It’s a good job we brought Stone and his huge truck to fit it in.

Once we’ve dropped her at her place and carried the huge thing up the stairs to her third-floor apartment, she neglected to mention there was no elevator, Stone drives me back to my place. I’m still totally stuck for ideas on what to get Elsa. I hadn’t been planning on having a girlfriend in time for Christmas, so it threw me. Everything people are suggesting just seems too trite, or not… Elsa. I’m panicking pretty good now.

I’m stunned by how easily she has slotted into my life. All those years I’ve feared relationships, shying away from letting feelings get involved with any woman I’m with, whether it’s brief or casually dating, always making people believe they would never get anything meaningful from me. It took days for Elsa to get under my skin. We’ve barely been apart. Archer is threatening to kick me out.

I know why she is sticking so close, after the first outpouring when I got back to New York, I’ve clammed up completely about Derrick Atwater. I wish I’d never found that photograph or heard his name. The man means less than shit to me.

The only thing I thought about in relation to him is finding out who he hired to spy on me and have them sued. I talked myself out of it. That was giving him space in my head, and he doesn’t deserve that. I’ve chosen to move on. And decided I won’t tell Doris. I don’t want to upset her, and knowing what I do now, it will hurt her that I went behind her back to find him. I’ll have to live with that knowledge, but I’d rather that than upset her or have her look at me differently. Doris has always meant the world to me, but knowing what I do now, the love I feel for that woman is insurmountable.

As Stone pulls up at my building, my cell rings. I grin at the display. It’s a photograph of Elsa sitting on my bed, wrapped up in a sheet with her hands out in front of her, hiding her face from the camera. I can see her smile through her fingers though, her hair a tangled mess from my fingers gripping it before I grabbed my camera to take that picture.

“Jesus, get the fuck out of my car,” Stone grunts, seeing the look on my face.

I laugh.

“It’s bad enough Adam and Jordan… Now you. See you tomorrow.”

“Sorry man, thanks for today.”

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