Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Charlotte Mitchell

I follow Nix into the kitchen and lean my hip against the island while he heads to the corner cabinet. As he reaches inside it, I study his backside. I still don’t know what he looks like out of that jacket he’s so fond of wearing. I only got a glimpse of his arms in the bedroom the other night, but it was shrouded by purple hues. Besides his cock and upper thighs, I don’t even know what he looks like underneath his regular clothes.

As I watch him grab the liquor, I wonder if I’ll ever. There’s something different about Nix, something I can’t put my finger on. He’s not like most guys, more reserved, yet there’s this ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe going on. He’s in absolutely no rush for anything, yet he seems to hold possessions close. Maybe even the world in his palm.

It makes me wonder how he got this fast-paced job and why, if at all, he likes it.

It also makes me wonder how dark he can go because of this job. It takes a sick and twisted fuckwad to do what ultimately happens in this business, and I’d do well to remember that than fantasizing about what he looks like naked and raw, both physically and emotionally.

The stinging scent of liquor reaches my nose before he grasps the two glasses and pivots toward me. Wordlessly, he passes me one.

We watch each other as we both take a sip, and there’s zero awkwardness about it. It’s more of a challenge over who will say something first and what, exactly, they’ll say. I won’t break, even though I have a million questions. He may be alpha here, but I have some alpha vibes of my own. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have gone against my captain’s orders, and I wouldn’t have inserted myself into a project that could very well end with my intestines strung around someone’s dick like Christmas garland.

His eyes narrow a little when I don’t spit out anything, when I simply take a sip and watch him with an open expression. I get a sick sort of satisfaction out of the fact that he’s forced to speak first. “Go ahead.”

For winning, I hide my grin behind another sip and let the burn go all the way down before I ask, “With?”

“You’re not a closed book as you like to think you are.” He sets his glass down. “I can feel your unspoken thoughts beating against my skin.”

“Technically, it’d be the jacket since the only exposed skin you ever share is your face and your hands.”

I study the flex of his jaw, noting how he doesn’t like to be challenged. This man stole his power from the sun. I knew that, but I wanted to test my own boundaries since things seem to be different between us than what I’d expect from a boss and employee. After all, why would he take it upon himself to be in a video when he has plenty of other men who could do it for him?

“Charlie,” he grinds out in warning.

“Fine,” I begin, setting down my glass next to his. “I’ve been wondering. . . Are you the boss? Or is Andre?”

His eyes narrow. “Andre has nothing to do with porn. I’m in charge.”

My eyebrows rise. “So Andre is just an employee of yours?”

Several seconds tick by as he considers answering me. “He has his own things he’s in charge of.”

“Oh,” I say because I had already drawn that conclusion myself. I just wanted to see if I was right. “So you’re partners?”

A quick shift of his eyes over my shoulder tells me what I already know – that they’re not. It was such a quick movement that most wouldn’t notice. His eyes return to mine, and he grits out, “Change the subject.”

Man, he really is closed off, but I shouldn’t have expected to get any answers, and truth be told, I was probably pushing it too soon. I pick up the glass and take another sip just to busy my hands as I come up with something else that I can ask that has nothing to do with Andre. “How long have you been doing this? You seem to know what you’re doing.”

“Long enough.”

My shoulders deflate. I have to say I’m a little disappointed in his clipped answer, but it doesn’t discourage me from continuing to question him. “Is this something you’ve always wanted to do?”

Again with that jaw flexing. It’s almost like I hit a memory he doesn’t like to revisit, and I desperately want to ask about it. However, instead of answering, he says, “I have to use the restroom. ”

I frown as he moves past me and out of the kitchen, but when I hear a door click within the house, I instantly move. Using my free hand, I quietly but quickly open and close drawers. With each drawer, I grow more impatient and my stomach sinks a little further into my gut. There’s nothing in them, not a damn thing. Each is as empty as the last.

I reach the last empty drawer; then I bite the inside of my cheek before raising my attention to the cabinets. “Worth a shot,” I murmur to myself, but when I reach the cabinets, the front door opens, and a whistle follows whoever just walked into the condo.

My heart thuds loudly twice in my ears.

As fast as I can, I soundlessly shut the cabinet door and lean my ass against the counter. I have no idea who just walked into the house, but even I know I’d be a dead woman if I was caught snooping.

Footsteps head down the hall, and I nearly recoil when Andre himself steps into the kitchen. His suit is as crisp as ever, as if he doesn’t spend his days doing dark deeds, whatever those may be. If he’s not in porn, my bet is that he’s got his dirty little fingers into the sex trafficking. He’d be the type, I realize. That only means that he wants me dead since he’s so interested in what I offer. The thought doesn’t settle well with me.

“Charlie,” he greets lovingly before glancing at the glass in my hand then the abandoned one that Nix left behind. “Having a little party?”

“Something like that,” I say more clearly than I feel inside with my revelations still stirring about.

He grins, and it’s about as welcoming as slug slime. He digs out his wallet and keys from his pocket, drops them on the counter, and asks, “Before or after work?”

I tip my head a little to the side. Even though he gives me the creeps and I know exactly what he wants to do with my body, I won’t give him the satisfaction of cowering before him. “Does it matter?”

He shrugs a little. “I suppose I’ll find out one way or another if a video is uploaded by tomorrow.”

I pucker my lips because his words are like sucking on a sour lemon wedge. I don’t know why, but I don’t like the fact that he watches my videos. I’m not stupid though; I know men that I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole watch them, but still, I could do without knowing he does.

His gaze swivels around the kitchen to the dining room until his eyes land on the flowers. “Those must be yours.”

“Why would you say that?”

Heading to them, picking them up, and taking a whiff, he explains, “It’s been a long time since flowers were delivered here.” He looks up at me and then crosses the rooms until he’s standing before me. As he holds them out for me, he adds, “It’d be a coincidence if they weren’t yours. Your first hit video was uploaded just the other day after all.”

I set my glass down to take the flowers. “It was just an audition video, nothing more.”

“Not to them.” He leans a little toward me, and I have to force myself not to lean away. “Not to me, either.”

I keep eye contact with him for a few seconds. “What do you want from me, Andre?” Because I know there’s more for this visit than just . . . whatever else he could be doing here. No. He knew I’d be here. I can tell by the glint in his eye that this meeting isn’t just a happy accident.

“Let me take you to my side of the business.” His grin only grows, knowing he’d been caught but not giving a shit about it at all.

“I have a feeling I wouldn’t like your side of the business.”

“You don’t even know what I do. ”

I give a little shake of my head and fight the urge to shove him away. “And I don’t want to. I’m Nix’s property, and I draw the line there.”

Finally, he leans away. He raises an eyebrow and studies my face then sweeps my body with his gaze. “Loyal already. I wonder why that is.” He props his elbow with his other arm and cups his chin as if he were in deep thought.

Footsteps down the hall halt whatever I had planned to say next, and Nix’s appearance draws both of our attention. Relief fills me even though Nix’s expression is anything but pleasant. He glares at Andre until Andre takes a step away from me, holding his hands up in surrender.

“I see the loyalty goes both ways.”

To me, Nix says, “I called you a cab, Charlie.”

“Thanks,” I murmur while I readjust my grip on the roses.

“Go wait outside for it.” To Andre, he demands, “Other room. Now.”

Andre peeks at me one more time and wiggles his eyebrows before following Nix into the living room. I stand there for a moment, wondering what sort of mess Andre will create for me, before my eyes land on the wallet and keys on the counter.

My heart skips a beat, and I tip-toe as quietly as I can in heels, making my way to them. With a peek down the hall to make sure they’re not in it, I gently flip the wallet open and read his full name from his ID.

The name burns a hole into my mind, and my adrenaline spikes with this new information. I may not know Nix’s, but I sure as hell have Andre’s, and now I have something to work with. Something to research. A key to a door I hadn’t had before .

As I shut the wallet and walk down the hall toward the door, I can’t help the grin on my face.