Chapter 6

SIX

BASH

He was lying.

I’d known it all along, and all along, I’d told myself it didn’t matter—that I could fuck a handsome liar as easily and uncomplicated-ly as I could fuck anyone else. But then I’d kissed the man… and found myself forgetting.

Holding Rowe in my arms had sent shock waves through me. Like an idiot, I’d stood there indulging in the most passionate, incredibly overwhelming kiss of my life with a man who hadn’t said more than a handful of truths in the few hours I’d known him, and every cell in my body had wanted to rub itself up against the tiny fraudster.

Even now, having put several feet of space between us and invoked the name of Justin fucking Hardy, which should have killed off any lingering lust in an instant, tension still saturated the air between us, and my hands ached to pull Rowe against me again.

It was a lowering moment… and an enlightening one.

There had been a small part of me, back when we’d first learned just how big an asshole Justin was and how comprehensively he’d screwed Silas over, that had been almost angry with my best friend. I’d never told Silas that, obviously, and I never would, but I’d wondered how the hell a man brilliant enough to win a full-tuition scholarship to Yale and people-savvy enough that Fortune 500 companies consulted him on their organizational structures could be fooled by a pissant idiot like Justin.

Now, I was starting to think I understood.

Maybe Kenji was right. Maybe sometimes you couldn’t see the danger until it was too late.

Rowe stared back at me, swaying slightly on the balls of his feet. His cheeks were flushed a dark pink, and his hair was even more disheveled than before, like a pair of large hands had raked through them. My hands. A bolt of longing pierced my gut, and my dick, which still saw absolutely no problem with the situation, swelled uncomfortably in my pants.

When Starlight whickered softly, I seized on the excuse to turn my attention to the mare, stroking her head and ears soothingly.

“You’re, uh… you’re sure I didn’t do anything wrong?” Rowe asked hesitantly after a moment.

Fuck, the man sounded nervous as a virgin. Like he’d never actually kissed anyone before today—and, Christ, if I spent any amount of time dwelling on that idea, I wasn’t going to be able to turn around without embarrassing myself.

“Positive,” I gritted out.

“Good. Okay. Only…” He swallowed so hard his throat clicked audibly. “Only you seem kind of upset? And I wonder if I might, ah, owe you an apology for taking advantage? I swear to you, Bash, I’ve never done that before with anyone. Anyone I employed , I mean,” he tacked on belatedly. “And I am truly sorry.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The man was apologizing for taking advantage of me, sounding genuinely, acutely miserable, when it was taking all my self-control not to grab him, shove him into the nearest empty stall, and kiss him until there was no doubt in his mind that he was doing it right because he couldn’t possibly do it wrong.

“You didn’t take advantage,” I assured him. “It’s like I said: we need to focus on the reason we’re here.” Unfortunately for me, it was getting harder and harder to remember what that was.

I’d originally intended to make Rowe squirm all day—to keep him out of his element, feed him ridiculous foods that were “Sterling Chase’s favorite,” flirt with him outrageously, and see whether I could make him confess everything before I got him into bed. Now, being within five feet of him felt like a threat to my equilibrium.

Thankfully, Devon McKay happened to be just on the other side of this barn. And for maybe the first time, I couldn’t even be sad that life had hardened Dev into one of the most suspicious, grumpy men I knew. Thanks to Silas lighting up our group chat with a play-by-play from last night’s gala like he worked for TMZ, Dev knew exactly who Rowe was, and he’d already given me a ration of shit about the situation via text this morning. Dev didn’t suffer fools, he was impossible to con, and he’d have no trouble helping me rebuild my defenses against the sexy little liar… before I decided I didn’t want to get rid of him at all.

After a final stroke of Starlight’s blaze, I took Rowe’s elbow and led him deeper into the stables toward Trigger’s stall. Sure enough, Dev was crouched down on the floor, tending his precious stallion.

Dev turned when he heard us approaching, straightened to his full, impressive height, and for a single second before he pulled me in for a tight hug, his face lit with the broad, open grin he so rarely wore anymore.

“Bash,” he said warmly, thumping my back. “Shit, it’s good to see you.”

“Same. How was your trip from Texas? “

“Eh.” Dev shrugged and stepped away. “Little engine trouble outside Christiansburg, but we survived.” He threw one heavily muscled arm around his horse’s neck, causing the rolled cuff of his sleeve to ride up. “At least Trigger got to enjoy his new trailer.”

Of course the horse got a swanky new trailer while Dev still drove the same beat-up truck he’d had for years. My smile slipped a fraction, but I knew better than to comment on how Dev spent—or didn’t spend—his money.

“New ink?” I nodded at the lines of black on his forearm.

“Yep.” He tugged his sleeve down before I could see the design and immediately shifted his attention to the man at my side. His smile disappeared as he folded his arms over his chest and gave Rowe a long, thorough up-down. “And who’s this, then? New fuck buddy? Could you not afford a full-sized one?”

Rowe, who’d been steadily inching behind me, froze. His gaze ping-ponged from Devon to the horse and back, like he wasn’t sure which was the greater threat.

I shot Dev a glare. I hadn’t expected Dev to be friendly to Rowe—I’d even hoped he wouldn’t —but fucking with Rowe was one thing. Being mean about it was another.

Dev gave me a blank look in return.

“I’m afraid you’ve misread the situation,” I returned, warning in my tone. “This is the Sterling Chase, founder of Sterling Chase. My boss. Your boss, too, in a way. He goes by Rowe.”

“Rowe.” Dev made the word sound like a threat. “Middle name?”

Rowe blinked. “A-actually… yes.” He sounded almost surprised that he was able to tell the truth for once, and my lips twitched. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally, Devon, after so many years of you serving on the… my … board.” He leaned around me to offer Dev a handshake.

Dev’s huge hand engulfed Rowe’s for a second. “It’s Dev. Nobody but my mother calls me Devon, Sterling. As I’m sure you recall from our many telephone conversations.”

Rowe’s face, which was still pleasantly pink from our kiss, went red, and he stepped back immediately. “Right. Yes. Sorry. Silly me. Dev . That’s, um, a fine horse you’ve got there. Very…” He gestured vaguely with his hands. “Shiny.”

Dev seemed unsure whether Rowe was making fun of him or not. He made a noncommittal noise and stroked the horse’s flank. “Rowe, meet Trigger by Noble out of Zephyr Lake by Legendary Lake.”

“Oh. Wow. I see now why he’s so big. He’d have to be, to carry a name like that.” Rowe gave the horse a tiny, formal bow. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’d love to introduce you to my own fine horses sometime. Perhaps we could have a small dinner party. Bash, please make a note.”

Dev shot me a look— Is this guy for real? —and I shrugged minutely. None of Rowe was real. And, I was starting to think, all of him was.

“Silas mentioned that you had some business you wanted to discuss with me, Sterling.” Dev set his jaw. “What’s that about?”

“Oh, no, I… Well. Maybe? There’s a project. Project Daisy Chain.” He flushed hard and gnawed at his lip for a second. “That’s just a working title, of course. I… I mean, the inventor will think up a much more professional title eventually. Right now, it’s just a basic app and a whole lot of research and notes on ways to improve it so that it can be brought to market, but the inventor has, ah… reached the limits of their knowledge. They need help.”

Dev glanced at me, but I could only shrug again. Rowe had just given Dev more information on this topic than he’d ever given me… though, to be fair, I’d been too mesmerized by the man to think about his business.

“And why not develop this project in-house at Sterling Chase?” Dev wondered.

“Good question. Great question. I actually, um, initially thought it would be a good fit for Sterling Chase. Did you know— fun fact —I founded the company because I created a prototype for a stoplight communication system that reduced the arrival time of first responders to emergencies? ETC is a killer innovation… Well, you know it, obviously.”

“Of course we know,” Dev said dryly. “Brilliant idea you came up with.”

Rowe nodded, and just like last night when he’d started speaking passionately about fashion, once he’d warmed to his subject, all of his stuttering and hesitation disappeared. “It’s an amazing tech. Recent studies have shown that response times are down by nearly thirty percent in municipalities that use the… our … system. Fatalities from auto collisions due to emergency response have gone down by nearly ten percent.”

I frowned. Those specifics weren’t a secret, but they weren’t exactly available on our website. Rowe had done some research. I felt a frisson of mingled worry and excitement race down my spine.

“But as great as all that is,” Rowe went on earnestly, “there’s so much more to be done. So many other brilliant ideas out there to improve lives, if someone would just look for them instead of… spending their time sending out rude, terse form-letter rejections.”

I wanted to tell him that people were looking for them. That Sterling Chase was, right then, working on technology that would help tremendously. But I held back. That was proprietary information, and it was none of his damn business.

“Of course, our company is already exceptionally busy right now.” Rowe slipped back into his “quirky billionaire liar” voice, so different from his genuine excited tone that the effect was jarring. “So many great ideas, so little time, right? Like that app that interacts with your coffee maker to make sure your cup is brewed before you wake up. Really thrilling stuff.”

I opened my mouth and shut it again. I wanted to inform him defensively that the CaffApp had been a highly profitable endeavor, and it did improve people’s lives, and it was none of his business which projects Sterling Chase chose to contract for… but the words got stuck in my throat because a tiny part of me agreed with him.

“Now, I know I could simply ask you, as my loyal board of directors, to intervene and push my project through, but that hardly seems fair. That’s why I’m suggesting that the inventor take his project elsewhere. To Justin Hardy, perhaps, or anyone else you believe might be interested.” Rowe gave Dev a bright smile. “With Sterling Chase’s personal recommendation.”

The look of outrage Dev shot me should have sent the barn up in flames. “Bash, I need to speak to you a moment. Alone.” He shoved me back toward the main area of the barn. “ Now. ”

Before I turned, I saw Rowe’s smile turn to panic. “But… shouldn’t you look after Trigger? He’s not in his cage. What if he bites someone?”

Cage ?

“He’s a free-range horse,” Dev said, rolling his eyes, though Rowe couldn’t see. “Feed him an apple from the bag on the table, and the two of you can chat.”

He dragged me away from Rowe and around the corner toward the trainer’s office before hissing at me, exactly as Silas had the night before, “What the fuck?”

Since my insides were screaming the same question, I had no answer. “I know.”

“ Sterling Chase’s personal recommendation ? He’s using you to gain access to people who can invest in his little project, and you’re helping him. I don’t care how hot a piece of ass he is, Bash—”

“Stop! It’s not like that.” I paused, then admitted, “Not entirely like that. And I’m not helping him do anything—”

“Silas said you spoke to the guy for twenty minutes last night. You showed up with him today. You don’t think people noticed? You don’t think that gives your little liar credibility?”

Christ . I remembered the way Constance Baxter-Hicks had looked at me holding Rowe’s hand and groaned.

“I brought him here to figure out his game,” I shot back, temporarily glossing over the other half of my plan for the day. “If he’s targeting our business, shouldn’t we figure out how and why?”

“Sure. What did he say when you confronted him?”

“I…” I opened and closed my mouth like a fish.

“Right.” Dev folded his arms smugly.

“He’s… I just… I like being around him.” It felt like I was confessing a dark sin. “He’s kind and ridiculously innocent. He lies through his teeth, but even that is amusing. He makes me laugh. He makes me want to make him laugh. He’s… beautiful. And I keep putting things off because I… I want more time with him.”

“Bash.” Dev shook his head sadly. “You wanna fuck him, fuck him. But the more time you spend with him, the more chance you’re giving him to dig his claws into you. There are lots of ways people lie about who they really are.”

Shit. “Dev, your brother—”

He made a slashing motion through the air. “We’re not talking about me. You gotta promise you’ll confront this guy. Today. Ideally, right now.”

I blew out a breath. As much as I hated it, this was the advice I needed to hear. There was a reason it had taken all of our brotherhood to make Sterling Chase successful. “Yeah. I promise. Today.”

“Good. Now, let’s go make sure your beautiful liar hasn’t fucking caged my horse.” Dev huffed in amusement and shook his head as we turned and walked back. “You sure know how to pick ’em, Bash.”

But as we rounded the corner, we found Rowe stroking Trigger’s neck and murmuring to him gently. Dev froze and yanked me to a halt, too, just out of Rowe’s sight.

“You’re actually a very good boy, aren’t you?” Rowe asked, brushing his hand down Trigger’s deep brown coat. “I apologize for misjudging you. It’s just that my only experience with a horse before today was… not positive.”

Trigger nickered.

“Yes, it was unfortunate. Thank you. His name was Apple Butter, and he was known far and wide—well, far and wide around Linden, Indiana, so not particularly far or wide—for being unfriendly.” Rowe paused. “A kicker .”

The horse whuffled, making Rowe chuckle, and beside me, Dev made a low, startled noise before covering his mouth with his hand.

“But maybe it’s not all that surprising that he had a chip on his shoulder, now that I think about it,” Rowe went on, stroking the horse’s ears. “Since they named him for a breakfast condiment. Give a creature a name like Noble or Legendary or Sterling Chase and they’re automatically taken seriously. But when you’re named Apple Butter—or plain, old Rowe Prince—you’ve kinda gotta misbehave to get your point across.”

Dev darted a look at me. I had no idea what expression my face wore, but it was probably something sappy and sympathetic. Whatever it was made Dev come to some kind of decision. Without a word to me, he stepped fully into the open with a deliberate clomp of his boots that Rowe couldn’t miss. Frowning at his back, I followed.

Rowe turned, looking suddenly nervous again, and rubbed a thumb over a spot on his hip in that nervous gesture I’d seen him do before. “Oh. Hello. Trigger and I were just having a pleasant chat.”

Dev took this in stride. “Trigger’s an excellent conversationalist. Look, Sterling, I’m afraid I haven’t really kept up with who’s investing in what recently. I’m not the best person to help you make connections. It’s possible that another member of the board would know better. I think most of us are going to be in town for the Innovation Awards in a couple weeks since Sterling Chase’s projects have been nominated for several awards. You could maybe meet some of them then.”

Rowe blinked. “I could?”

“He could?” I said at the exact same time. What had happened to confront him immediately ?

Dev looped his arm over Trigger’s neck and gave me a small shrug, and I thought I understood his sudden about-face. My friend loved his horse more than most people. Hell, maybe more than any people. Clearly, Rowe had made an impression on Dev without intending to.

A sound outside announced that the match was about to begin, and Rowe squared his shoulders resolutely. “Well. Thank you anyway, Dev. I’ll take the Innovation Awards under advisement if I haven’t managed to find another investor in the meantime. I suppose I should go… spectate now.”

Now that Rowe’s nervousness had returned, he sounded as enthusiastic about joining the crowd as a man facing a firing squad.

Dev regarded Rowe for a long moment. “No one will be interested in talking about business while the match is going on. If you’d rather watch from a quieter spot, you and Bash can head up on the roof.” He pointed to the far end of the building. “There’s a ladder that leads to an access door.”

“Oh, I… yes.” Rowe turned his huge brown eyes on me. “Could we? It feels like it’s been a long day already.”

More time alone with Rowe? It was the unwisest possible choice. “Sure,” I found myself saying. “You’re the boss.”

“Oh, right.” Rowe grinned. “I guess I am.”

“I just need a quick word with Dev about… horses,” I said. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

Rowe gave Trigger a final loving pat and took off in the direction Dev had pointed before calling over his shoulder politely. “Thank you so much, Dev!”

Meanwhile, I stayed where I was, arms folded, staring at my friend. “Confront him, Bash . He’s a liar and a user, Bash . Don’t spend time alone with him, Bash . But also, Bash, take him up on the roof.”

“Wipe the stupid smile off your face,” Dev grumbled. “Look, I’m still almost positive this guy’s a duplicitous, scheming fraudster bent on destroying everything you’ve— we’ve —built…”

“But?”

Dev pushed past me to grab a currying comb. “But… he reminded me that maybe I should reserve judgment, that’s all. Sometimes people do things because they don’t think they have a choice.” He shrugged, his back to me. “Besides, Trigger likes him.”

“Oh, well, if Trigger likes him…” I rolled my eyes.

Dev shot me a look over his shoulder. “Go figure out what this guy’s story is, Sebastian. What’s his endgame? Why the fuck is he doing what he’s doing? And,” he warned, “for god’s sake, do it without listening to his project pitch. You’re already in way too deep with a guy you barely know. The only way you could make this clusterfuck worse is by getting into business with him, too.”

“I wouldn’t!”

“You would. If I know you—and I do—you’re already dying to know what his project is all about and whether it would be a good fit for Sterling Chase. Am I wrong?”

Damn it. I set my teeth. “Curiosity is not the same as commitment—”

Dev shook his head, clearly amused, and turned away again. “You wanted more time with the pint-sized liar, so go have your day in the sunshine. But I’m warning you, it’s not gonna last forever.”