Game of Love (6 page)

Ellie
.

What the hell was he going to do about Ellie?

His mind ran in circles as he and Regina hashed out the issues while Mitch played devil’s advocate, pointing out each of the worst-case scenarios. At four o’clock in the morning, Mitch pulled on his sweatshirt and headed for the door.

“Tomorrow, dude. Office?” Mitch asked.

“I’ll be there at some point.” He had an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Would Ellie be gone by morning? He had to stop worrying about that shit. She was in the city interviewing for jobs. She was a twenty-five-year-old woman who wasn’t there to see him.

Regina stretched her arms over her head and turned toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “Good night, Dex.”

“Night, Reg.”

She hesitated. “Listen, if you want to talk about the girl, I'm a good listener.” Her bony shoulders lifted in a shrug.

“I know. I’m good. She’s a friend. Nothing more.”

Regina nodded. “Okay. I’ve just never seen you go all…focused on a woman before.”

Dex walked past her toward his bedroom, ignoring her comment. What was he going to do? Lie to Regina? He’d never had a woman steal his focus before. And why he was focused on a woman as frustrating as Ellie was beyond him.

“Good night, Reg,” he said before closing his bedroom door.

He opened the window a crack, as he’d done since the very first time Ellie had come to his bedroom in the middle of the night, allowing the night air to clear his mind. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed, trying like hell not to think of Ellie, just a few long blocks away, on some stranger’s couch.

ELLIE AWOKE TO hot, rancid breath on her face. Her eyes sprang open, and she pushed the man hovering over her away and jumped to her feet.

“What the hell?” she yelled. Her eyes darted to the open bedroom door. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and every muscle tensed. Memories of when she was a teenager came rushing back to her. She snagged her phone from the couch and shoved it into the pocket of her sweats with one thing on her mind. Getting the hell out of there.

“Chill out.” The guy from the bar stood before her wearing nothing but a T-shirt, and he was clearly aroused.

“Dina?” she called out.

“Shh.” He stumbled backward. “She’s asleep,” the guy said. He stretched, and his erection bounced against him.

“Jesus. Why are you out here? Get some clothes on.” Ellie pushed her feet into her boots. No matter what this guy’s excuse was for standing there with his dick out, there was no way it would be a good one. She stuffed her toiletry bag into her suitcase.

“I came out to use the bathroom and saw you on the couch. Dee didn’t say anything about a roommate.” He yawned, looking entirely too comfortable with his nudity.

“Dina,” she snapped. “Her name is Dina.” She stuffed her clothes into her bag and zipped it up. This was all she needed. There was no way in hell she was staying here.

“Yeah, whatever. What are you doing?” He took a step closer to her.

“Stop.” She held her hand up. “Just…stay there. I’m going to a friend’s. Tell Dina I said thanks for everything.” She left the key on the counter and walked out the door.

“You don’t have to leave,” he said before it slammed.

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Ellie hurried down the stairs with her purse over her shoulder and her suitcase
thunking
down the steps behind her. Seeing a naked guy was nothing new to her. Living in the dorms and then sharing an apartment with three women meant seeing more unclothed men than she cared to admit, usually running into them coming or going in the middle of the night on their way to the bathroom or coming out of the shower. But waking up to him so close to her had caught her completely off guard. And after what had happened when she lived on Carlisle Street, her mind screamed,
Run. Get out. Now.

The night air stung her cheeks. The streets were eerily quiet, except for the
cachunk, cachunk
of her suitcase as she dragged it along the sidewalk.
Now what am I going to do?
Her interview was in a few short hours, and she desperately needed to shower before showing up, not to mention sleep. She stopped into the nearest diner open at 4:45 in the morning for a cup of coffee, then leaned against the front of the building, both hands wrapped around the cup to warm them. She never saw the hooded man until he was already upon her. He slowed just long enough to snag her purse right off her arm, sending her coffee into the air, and took off down the alley.

“Hey!” She grabbed her suitcase and ran after him, giving up a block later when he disappeared into the pre-dawn darkness. Ellie stomped her foot. “Fuck!” She went back out to the main drag, willing away the tears that threatened to send her legs crumbling beneath her.
Suck it up. You’re fine. Figure it out.

She had no money, no place to stay, and an interview she’d surely bomb on the horizon. She was screwed.

Ellie pulled out her best pep talk.
I made it through ten foster homes, almost being raped, college, and Bruce. I can’t give up now. This is a setback. That’s it. Figure it the fuck out.

Dexy.

No. She couldn’t do that to him. She shivered from the situation and from the cool air.
I’m not a sixteen-year-old kid in the system anymore.
Her asshole social worker’s voice came back to her—
Once the system touches you, you’re always a product of the system
—whatever the hell that meant. She’d said it with a slant of negativity in her voice. That damn social worker was the impetus for Ellie to pursue her master’s in minority and urban education. Even though she had no idea what she’d meant by “always a product of the system,” Ellie had felt the need to prove her wrong. Even if it took forever. Even if it sucked along the way.

Ellie pulled her shoulders back and tucked her pride somewhere deep within her, where she could pull it out when she needed it, but not close enough to the surface to make her stop from going to the only place she could. And maybe even the only place she wanted to.

DEX ROLLED OVER to silence the banging noise in his head. He needed sleep, and whatever Regina was doing, she’d better stop. Now.

His bedroom door opened, and Regina’s voice filtered into his exhausted mind. “Dex?”

He flipped onto his back and laid his arm over his eyes. “Hmm?”

“Were you expecting someone?”

“What?” He lowered his arm and pushed himself up on one elbow. Regina stood in her tank top and underwear. Without a bra, she had little breast buds, almost nonexistent, her hip bones jutted out above the slim lines of her silk panties, and her straight black hair was now tangled and mussed. Dex had become so used to seeing her in her various states of undress that he had no reaction, as if she were his sister.

“There’s a knock at the door. I was gonna get it, but…”

“What? Knock?” Shit. Now what? He pulled himself from the bed and lumbered down the hall with Regina on his heels. He ran through the possibilities. Mitch? Had a key. Siena? Had a key. Another of his siblings? They’d have called. He looked out the peephole and unlocked the door as quickly as he could.

“Ellie?”

She blushed. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled her inside and shut the door. “What’s wrong?” He looked her up and down, as if the answer might be written in indelible ink for all to see. He knew better.

She lifted her eyes to Regina and took a step back. “I’m sorry. I’ll go. I just—”

Dex looked from Regina to Ellie, then back again.
Shit
. “It’s not what it looks like.” He glared at Regina as if she’d done something wrong.

Regina folded her arms over her stomach.

“Ellie, come in.” He set her suitcase by the door and guided her past Regina and into the living room. “Reg, can you make some coffee?”

“On it,” she answered.

Ellie was trembling. She had that faraway look in her eyes again.

“Ellie, what happened? Did something happen with your friend?” The protective urges he’d carried with him whenever she was around came back in full force. Every muscle tensed.

She licked her lips and fiddled with the edge of her T-shirt. Her eyes skirted over his chest, lingering at each of his tattoos. “Nothing happened with her.” She dropped her eyes and they locked on his boxers and held just long enough for his body to warm.

Shit
. No matter how much he tried, Dex couldn’t separate his feelings for Ellie from his need to remain numb and protect his heart, and if she continued to stare at his groin, it would take less than a minute before she’d see just how much he wanted her.

She looked away, and Dex let out a relieved sigh. He watched her survey his belongings. The distressed leather sofa, marble fireplace, expansive hardwood floors, and balcony overlooking Central Park. He could almost see the doors to her emotions slamming and locking as she noted each item. Dex glanced behind him, seeing his apartment through Ellie’s eyes for the first time. Exclusive. Extravagant. Even if not furnished as such, with recycled furniture and eclectic pieces that looked distressed, more worn than new. He took her hand and pulled her down beside him on the sofa.

Regina came out with two cups of coffee. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“I’m so embarrassed. I’m sorry I woke you guys up.” She pushed to her feet, and Dex tugged her down again.

“Sit.”

“No, really—” She tried to rise to her feet again, but he held on tight, pinning her to the couch.

“Ellie, tell me what happened.”

She looked at Regina, then lowered her eyes again.

“You know, I think I’ll go back to bed. Sorry for whatever happened, Ellie, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be okay. Dex is good at fixing things.” She flashed a friendly smile and left the room.

“Oh my God, Dex. You should have told me. I never would have showed up,” she whispered, whipping her head around toward the hall.

“Would you stop? Regina and I aren’t…we don’t…she’s a friend, and not that kind of friend. We worked until four in the morning, so she crashed here.”

Ellie pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows in a gesture that Dex remembered to mean,
You don’t think I believe that, do you?

“Ellie, come here.” He tugged her to her feet, glad to feel her trembling had subsided, and he walked her to the hall. “See the open door? That’s my bedroom.” He pointed to another door. “See that one? Guest room. That’s where Regina stays.”

“You don’t have to answer to me. I’m not even sure what I’m doing here. I just had no place else to go.” She headed for the front door, and he settled a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t run, Ellie.”

She stood stock-still. Silent.

Dex couldn’t believe he’d said it aloud. He’d never called Ellie on her inability to stick around before. She’d stopped. She was still there.
Thank God
. He stepped in front of her and brushed her hair from in front of her face, noting the fear that still hovered in her eyes. He pulled her close and felt her resist. He wondered what it would be like if she didn’t resist one day. Her face rested on his chest, and he held her there, fighting against her tension and holding her still once again, until her demons left her and her body melted into his. Only then did he take her hand and guide her back to the couch.

“Wanna tell me about it?” he asked, but he already knew the answer. Her silent head shake confirmed his thoughts. “Just tell me this. Do I need to get dressed and go kill someone?”

She leaned against his chest and shook her head. Her hand pressed against his abs, and despite his best intentions, his body reacted to having her close again. He scooted away before she could notice and crouched to remove her boots.

“Let’s take these off.” He set her boots on the floor, as he’d done a million times when they were kids. He placed his hand on the couch, and she set hers on top of it.

“Old habits die hard, huh?”

He shifted his eyes from her hand and nodded. The cold, determined Ellie he’d seen earlier in the evening was gone, replaced with the vulnerable girl he’d known as a teenager. Her eyes softened, drawing him in, and he felt his numbness fall away.

“I’m not that girl anymore, Dexy. I don’t need to climb in your window.”

Of course she’d read his thoughts. He probably had his feelings written all over his face. If he couldn’t deny them, how could he expect to hide them from Ellie? She knew him better than anyone in the world did.

“Tonight just threw me for a loop, and I really had nowhere to go.” She sat up, and he slid in beside her.

Had he misread her? Or was she hiding again, too? “I know you’re not. But, Ellie, clue me in here. You can stay here as long as you need to or as long as you want to, but at least give me a hint as to what’s going on.”

She stared at him for a long time. Dex’s chest tightened as he waited. He’d pushed too hard. He should have let it go. He knew better. Hell, he knew better than to let his heart open to her again. She’d already crushed it twice, but he’d felt it soften with each passing second they were together.

“You have tattoos. Lots of them.” She reached up and traced the dragon that wrapped around his forearm. She nibbled on her lower lip and touched a larger, heavily scaled dragon that started above his biceps, its tail traveling lower in a sexy, dangerous sway across his muscle.

“I guess,” he said.

Ellie hesitated before reaching for the markings on the left side of his chest.

“It’s okay. You can touch them.” Every gentle stroke of her finger sent searing heat to him down below. She closed her eyes as she traced the fringe of the tattoo that rode over his shoulder and touched his collarbone. Christ, how he loved her touch. By the time they were teenagers, he’d craved so much more of her than just friendship, and when she’d come to him four years ago, he’d thought they’d finally fall into each other’s arms for good and he’d be able to finally show her how much he loved her. But at first she’d just wanted to be close to him. She needed him to hold her as he had when they were teens, and he respected that, because he’d needed it just as much as she had. But when they’d laid together as adults rather than teenagers, the love he felt for her multiplied, and he’d told her how he felt. And the next morning she was gone. He’d thought about what it would feel like to be touched by Ellie ever since, but nothing came close to feeling her delicate fingers trailing along his skin.