Page 70 of The Playboy

“Asshole.” She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“Women tend to be a little on the more forward side with me, yes.”

Where the hell was all this coming from? These were accusations she hadn’t thrown at me before. It hadn’t seemed like she even cared enough to. But now, here, she was suddenly questioning whether I was the man I’d said I was. If she had these questions, why hadn’t she called me? Why had she avoided me? Why had she let these feelings simmer to the point where they obviously reached a boil?

“Women have treated me that way my entire adult life. Sometimes, I bite. Sometimes, I don’t. I can tell you that since we started hooking up, I haven’t been with anyone else. I haven’t wanted to.” I waited for her to say something. “I’m not lying to you, Brooklyn. I wouldn’t lie. And I realize those are just words, that I can’t exactly prove it to you, but I hope you believe me.” I looked toward the entrance of the club and chuckled. “The bouncers over there will confirm I’ve been coming here every evening for you. I’ve been lining their pockets in hundreds just so I didn’t have to wait in that line. Tell me, what fucking idiot would do that if he felt nothing?”

She remained quiet, but continued to stare at me, almost like she was looking at me for the first time. “What do you want, Macon?”

I wanted to fly her to Napa for a long weekend. I wanted to buy her fifty new black dresses.

But I got the sense that I would be hit with no after no.

So, I started small and said, “I want to take you out for dinner.”

Those gorgeous tits rose as she filled her lungs. “If I decline, will you keep coming here to look for me?”

“Even if you say yes, I’m going to keep coming here.”

I earned myself a small grin, and she immediately shook her head as if she was trying to force it off her face.

“I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“And I’ve never met anyone like you. That’s why I want this. Why I want you.” I grabbed the stage next to her feet. “When can I take you out?”

She shrugged.

I didn’t want to let this moment go. It seemed that I was warming her up just a little, and if we spent any time apart, that could change.

“How about now?” I suggested.

“Likenow, now?”

I nodded. “There’s a twenty-four-hour diner not far from the hotel.”

I was met with more silence until, “Would you take no as an answer?”

My smile grew. “Fuck no.”

“Then, I guess … let’s go.”

TEN

Brooklyn

What am I doing?

That was the question that had been repeating in my head since I’d followed Macon to the diner, taking a seat across from him in the booth. My thought was that if I had my car, I wouldn’t be persuaded to go to the hotel with him afterward since I certainly couldn’t pull up to the front and take the risk of my car and me being recognized by one of the bellhops.

It was one thing to hide my face and keep my eyes low, like I’d done the last time. It was a whole other thing to hand my keys to someone and give them my last name—a requirement of all guests and visitors.

That was why driving here was the safest option.

But I was learning, when it came to Macon Spade, there was no safe option.

How many times had I told myself tonight, while I was putting on my black dress and swiping gloss over my lips, that I wouldn’t speak to him? That I wouldn’t leave with him? That I was most definitely not going to allow him to touch me?

As I’d jumped off the stage and into his arms, I’d broken every one of those rules.

---