Chapter Four

Chapter FourBriar showed up at my door the following morning, a huge smile on her pretty face. “So, how did your little rendezvous with Delaney go?”Feeling my mouth cant up, I stepped aside to let her pass and then closed the door. “It went very, very well. Okay, that was something of an understatement. The bloke deserves a medal of sexual honor. ” Hence the happy buzz that bubbled through me like champagne fizz.Humor glinted in her eyes. “Delaney’s got it going on in the bedroom, then?” she asked, her hands clasped.“Most definitely.”She did a little clap. “I suspected as much. He has that sexually competent look about him.”And so he should. “Want a drink or anything?”“No, I just had coffee. I came to get the gossip-goods.” She followed me to the living area and sank onto the sofa beside me. “Did you make use of a private room?”“No, he booked one of the boxes. And I was not disappointed.”Her eyes sharpened. “A box? Interesting. What was it like? I’ve never used one.”“It’s kind of like a changing room in a clothes shop. Only the walls are glass and there are leather handles hanging from the ceiling.”“Handles, huh? So you held on for the ride?”I smiled. “So to speak.”“All in all, then, it was a good night?”“It was.” I felt my nose wrinkle. “Though I wasn’t a fan of how long he made me wait before I could come. Repeatedly.”“He’s into orgasm denial?”“No. It was about reducing me to nothing but his—and I quote—shaking, mindless, cock-hungry baby that wants only one thing.” I paused. “To come.”Letting her head fall back, Briar fanned her face. “In your shoes, I might have orgasmed just from that comment alone.” A grin curved her mouth as she righted her head and gently elbowed me. “Told you he’d show up, didn’t I? I was right. You should listen to me more often.”I huffed. “I knew you’d gloat.”“So, what happens next? I’m hoping you two aren’t going to leave it at a one-night thing, because I can tell that you like him. No, don’t try downplaying it—I have a mother who chronically lies, I’ll see through your crap without a struggle.”I sighed. “I like him, yes.” A lot. “He was very clear that he wants nothing that has any strings, he’s focused on his career. The way he spoke, I don’t get the sense that he’d want an arrangement either.”“If anyone could reshuffle his priorities, it’s you—you’re smart and funny and beautiful and have a very nice butt.”I snorted in amusement. “Well thanks.”“You’re very welcome. Now back to my question, are you planning to see him again or was it a one-off?”“He wants to meet up at the Vault again next weekend. I’m absolutely up for that, so we exchanged numbers. I made it clear that I wouldn’t blame him if he at any point decided to stick a pin in this until the Ryland mess blows over.”Her smile fading, Briar chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Speaking of Ryland … I didn’t only come here this morning to ask how things went with Delaney, I came to let you know that Ryland showed up at our building last night.”I went very still, my happy buzz coming to a screeching halt. “Say that again.”“He pressed my buzzer, asking where you were. He tried giving me some spiel about how he was innocent in the article extravaganza and that he needed to talk to you. But I cut him off and told him to leave.”My cheeks flushed with aggravation. “He’s got some bloody nerve coming here. What in the holy ghost goes through his head?”“Not a lot, from what I can tell.” She put a hand on my arm. “I get that you’re mad, but don’tplay into his hands by calling him. He wants you to react. So far, you haven’t in any way responded to the article. It’s probably driving him crazy wondering what you’re thinking and feeling. He obviously figured that he needed to give you an additional push, so he turned up here.”“Yeah, I get that he’s pushing harder. But why do it this way? He had to have known that he wouldn’t get the argument he wanted by coming here; that I wouldn’t let him enter my home. I didn’t even bring him here when we were part of an arrangement.”“But he might have thought that you would go outside to give him a verbal lashing. He probably planned to sneakily record it with his phone. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d had someone standing nearby ready to video or snap pictures of the confrontation. If he comes back, don’t fall into his trap. Keep your cool, look bored, and give him nothing worth using or selling.”I clenched my fist. “It won’t be easy when I long to punch him right in the throat while holding a fountain pen.”“You’d regret it when the arterial spray found its way on your skin and clothes.”“Don’t be so sure,” I muttered.“Hitting him wouldn’t annoy him even half as much as you being apathetic will. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having Alondra as my mother, it’s that hiding your anger often annoys people way more than yelling or cursing at them does. Indifference makes people feel irrelevant. Ryland is confident, but he seeks validation from others just like my mother does.”Having noticed that myself, I nodded. “It was one of the reasons I didn’t feel I could give up control to him. I don’t see the strength in him that I’m looking for in a bloke.” But I saw it in Cole.“Because he doesn’t possess it. That’s why he likes to own pretty, unique things. It makes him feel important. It’s why he wants to own you. It’s also why he reacted so badly when you walked away—it was a massive hit to his fragile ego. Don’t massage said ego by reacting to anything he does or says.”“I already told you yesterday that I’d give him no response.”“But you weren’t feeling homicidal yesterday. He made it worse by coming to your home. Please tell me you’ll ignore him as best you can.”I sighed, resigned. “I won’t give him what he wants, no matter how much joy it would bring me to crush his dick with an iron.”Briar gave a satisfied nod. “Now that that’s done and dusted, let’s move onto a topic that doesn’t make you itch to commit violence. Any ideas for what I could get Ansel for his birthday?” she asked, referring to her biological dad, who was as famous an actor as her mother. “It’s hard to buy something for a man who has everything.”I often had the same struggle when it came to my own father. I took a breath and then asked, “When is his birthday?”“Not for a couple of weeks. I’m taking him, Troy, and both their parents out for a meal. But I also want to buy Ansel something. I’m stuck.”I bit the inside of my cheek. “Let me have a think and I’ll get back to you on it. Have you thought of asking Troy for advice?”Troy was Briar’s other dad, who was initially a model before getting into the acting business. He walked away from it years ago, not much liking how the industry operated.“I would have done, but he called me for advice,” Briar replied. “He might be Ansel’s husband, but he finds it just as tricky. Like I said, it’s hard to buy for a dude who has everything. I have this problem every year. It’s easier with Alondra. She might have everything, but if you offer her something that sparkles, she’ll happily have that, too.”I snickered. “Have you seen much of her lately?”“She’s on location shooting a movie right now. She called me a week ago to rant at me for not inviting her to Ansel’s upcoming birthday meal, despite that not only is she unable to make it—what with her being in a whole other country—but she’d decline anyway. Her real problem is that I’m making a fuss of him for his birthday. In her view, he doesn’t deserve it, and I should acknowledge that and take her ‘side.’”I puffed out a disbelieving breath. “It’s crazy how she likes to see herself as a victim in the scenario when, really, she bloody orchestrated it.”“I doubt she ever thought that pushing Ansel into a threesome with Troy would lead to the two men falling for each other—it shocked even them. But it never occurs to her that, hey, if she had just not pushed Ansel to try something he wasn’t initially comfortable with all those years ago, things wouldn’t have played out the way they did. The stuff she says and the way she behaves … you’d think the threesome had been his idea and she’d been coerced into it.” Briar gave her head a fast shake. “Anyway, what are your plans for today?”“Same as always. I intend to head out with my camera. I don’t have a particular destination in mind yet.”“You should come with me, then. I’m going to one of my favorite fabric stores. You can take shots of the patterns and materials and all that stuff.”I felt my brows inch up. “That’ll work.”“I’m full of great ideas. Here’s another one—when it’s your turn to book a private room at the Vault, go for the lap dancing room.”I blinked. “There’s a lap dancing room?”Her lips curled. “Oh, yeah. It’s set up as if it’s part of a strip club.”“You’ve used it?”“Uh-huh.” Her eyes gleamed. “And you know what is a typical rule for lap dances, right? Clients aren’t allowed to touch. I’d say giving Delaney a lap dance, making him wait for what he wants as long as you want him to wait, will be the perfect revenge for the orgasm delay he subjected you to.”I felt a slow smile shape my mouth. “I like how you think, Briar.”“All people should like how I think. I’m freaking brilliant. Now go grab your camera and whatever else you need. We have places to be.”***Having parked in the lot outside my apartment building the following Thursday, I grabbed my purse and camera bag from the front passenger seat. I’d spent a few hours at the local botanical garden, taking picture after picture. I’d kept on my cap and sunglasses the entire time, hoping to remain unrecognized while I worked. I didn’t need idiotic males heckling or throwing out creepy comments about spanking or whatever.The media attention in regards to the article hadn’t yet died down, but said attention was slowly beginning to be diverted by other pieces of online news. Inaya was no doubt right that the article would soon be buried beneath other juicier rumors—she knew from personal experience that media attention was a fickle thing that never lasted long. The tabloids printed stuff about her all the time.She, Cat, and Briar were coming to my apartment later for pizza, wine, and face masks—the latter was all Cat, she loved them. She had masks for places on the body I didn’t even know were available to purchase.I planned on gently prodding her on why she seemed to believe that Danton wasn’t as into her as she was him, because it was clearly getting her down. It probably wouldn’t be easy to get her to cough up the answer. Cat tended to keep her own counsel, but it was more reflex than anything else. She was used to holding what she thought and felt inside. Which, given her family situation, was pretty understandable.A little wine might help loosen her tongue. Then again, she seemed to have a high alcohol tolerance, so maybe not.I exited the car, locked it with a button on the key fob, and then began making my way to the—“Izzy?” a male voice tentatively asked as a figure came out from behind an SUV.My step faltering, I had to fight a snarl. Unreal. The bloke was un-bloody-real.I’d known that there was a chance Ryland would return to my building. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t let him get a rise out of me. But it was so hard to keep that promise when it would be oh so satisfying to kick him right in the balls.No. No, I was not going to react. At least not in the way he hoped for.Instead of stopping, I kept walking toward my building and shot him a blank look. “You should go.”“It wasn’t me who talked to the journalist, Izzy, I swear.” He rushed to me, blocking my path. “After I left the Vault last weekend, I went to a friend’s house, got blitzed, said a little too much … and he twisted the whole thing to make it juicy for the journalist.”“He’s not much of a friend, then.” If said friend even existed. Which I doubted.Ryland sighed. “Can we talk? Please?”“I don’t have anything to say to you that I haven’t already said.”His shoulders drooped. “Look, I know I fucked up. But Genevieve—”“I don’t need to hear it, none of it matters now.”His eyes went hard. “Because you spent some private time with Cole Delaney?” he asked a little bitterly.“No, because you don’t matter.”Ryland winced.“See ya.” I rounded him and made a beeline for the entrance to my building.The little sod kept pace with me, saying, “He’s dangerous, Izzy. Have you not seen the guy fight? He’s like a fucking machine in the ring. He can flatten a person with one punch. One.”“I know. It’s impressive.”“Impressive?” Huffing, Ryland rolled his shoulders. “I heard something about him. Heard he smacked around one of his ex-girlfriends.”I barely hid my surprise.“You don’t want to be the next woman he hurts.”I found it incredibly difficult to believe that Cole would ever put his hands on a woman. Abusers were good at hiding what they were, yes, but my gut told me that Ryland had pulled that claim right out of his arse. Rather than getting into a dispute with him over it, I merely said, “Don’t you worry about me, I can take care of myself.”Ryland’s eyes flashed. “So you don’t care if he’s touching you with hands that beat up another woman?”“You said you heard he did it, you didn’t say that you saw it. False information floats around about people all the time. You and I know that well, don’t we?”“I had nothing to do with that article, I promise you.”“Thanks for letting me know.”His hand snapped around my upper arm, yanking me to a stop. “Goddammit, Izzy!”Rage simmering in my blood, I glared down at the offending hand. Don’t slap him, don’t slap him, don’t slap him. “You need to let me go, Ryland, and you need to do it now.”“What I need is for you to listen to me.”“I did. Now I’m done. So let. Me. Go.” The latter word was almost a growl.“But we have to—”“Do it. Now.”“Manhandling a woman, Ryland? Really?”We both turned our heads at the sound of Briar’s voice dripping with contempt. She stood a few feet away, holding up her phone.Ryland released me in a rush. “I was hardly manhandling her.”Briar’s brow winged up. “No? Hmm. Looked to me like you grabbed her arm, refused to let go, and tried to hold her somewhere she didn’t want to be held. And hey, guess what, I have the whole thing on camera.”He opened his mouth to speak but then pressed his lips together.Briar closed in on him. “Hear me well, Ryland. If any other articles or rumors pop up about Izzy, I’ll sell this footage … or maybe just post it online myself—it’ll depend what mood I’m in. Either way, the video will be seen far and wide, and we both know how the world will react to it. So back the hell off and move on with your life. You said what you came here to say. Izzy has given it the credit she feels it deserves, and now it’s over. Be gone, and stay gone.”I didn’t wait for him to respond to Briar’s threat. I keyed the code into the pad near the front entrance to unlock it and then held the door open for her. She backed inside, still holding up her phone. I followed her into the building without looking back at him, kicking the door closed behind me.I blew out a breath as we walked toward the elevator. “It’s a really good thing you popped up out of nowhere, Briar, because I came unbelievably close to punching that wanker.”“Yeah, I noticed your hand ball up into a fist.” She patted my back, pocketing her phone with her other hand. “You did good and stayed calm, though. I’m proud of you.”“Well, thanks, I guess.”“I was in the lobby checking my post box when I saw him appear out of nowhere. I was not liking that. I hurried out the side exit so he wouldn’t see me; I decided it might be wise to record the conversation.”“How much of it did you get?” I asked as we reached the elevator.She jabbed the ‘up’ button. “I pressed ‘record’ around the time he started claiming he’d heard that Delaney smacked around his ex.”I sniffed. “I don’t buy that. If Ryland had really heard that from someone, he would have quoted them to add weight to his comment. He probably made the whole thing up. I know I barely know Cole, but I really don’t think he’s the type to take his fists to a woman. That isn’t me believing what I want to believe. That’s my gut instinct.”“I don’t know Delaney, but I know Ryland. It has recently become abundantly clear that the weasel has no problem making false claims about people, so I don’t find it hard to believe that he lied just now.”The elevator doors slid open.Just as we stepped inside, my cell chimed. I felt my lips thin. “This had better not be Ryland.”Checking my phone, I saw that it was actually a message from Cole: Is there a good time for you to meet up tomorrow night? I’d rather not wait until Saturday. I want to get my hands on you again soon.“You have a very interesting look on your face,” said Briar. “All warm and soft. So I take it that message isn’t from Ryland.”“It’s from Cole.” I read it aloud.She smiled. “The dude doesn’t mince his words, huh?”“He’s very forward. I like it.”“Hmm, well, it seems that he wasn’t lying when he claimed that he wouldn’t let Ryland’s shit-fest keep him away. That’s good. It shows he has staying power and that he’s a man who keeps his word.”I typed a quick reply: Tomorrow night works for me. Btw, your hands can do whatever they want.His response came wicked fast: Oh, they will.I snickered, debating whether to ask him to elaborate, but then another message came through: Want to meet at the lounge for dinner first?I felt my mouth hike up. “He’s asking if I’d like to eat at the lounge before we go play.”“So he’s making it clear that he isn’t only interested in boning you. Even better. I like Delaney.”I typed: Sure. 7pm ok?He replied: 7 is great. See you then.I looked up at Briar. “When I told him that Ryland cheated, he asked how a bloke could want anyone else when he had me.”“Okay, so I really, really like Delaney.”I stuffed my phone in my purse. “You know something? So do I.”