Diesel was quiet after his father left. He didn’t seem angry, but he wasn’t himself either. Even though he already had taken a shower when he got home, he took another. I took that as a hint that he wanted some space.

I stayed in the living room and worked on my laptop, giving him all the time he needed. If he were truly angry with me, he would just return to his penthouse and not call me for a few days.

He walked into the living room over an hour later in his black sweatpants that he wore low on his hips. The bottom two abs of his stomach were just as ripped as the six up above. For a man so busy, he still devoted time to his physical fitness. He was thirty-five but had the physique of someone in his mid-twenties.

He made a drink at my bar then took his time coming into the living room. His bare feet thudded against the hardwood floor as he walked. Like a shark that made its presence known in just its silence, he circled the couch as he approached me.

I shut my laptop.

Diesel sat beside me and parted his knees, his long legs stretching out in front of him. He was a large man, tall and built, and he took up a lot of space. My king-size bed felt much smaller when I shared it with someone, but when a man was his size, his chest turned into my mattress.

He took another drink of his scotch before he set it on the coffee table. He sat back, looking at the black TV screen.

I waited for him to speak first so I’d understand his mood better. Right now, he seemed thoughtful and quiet. If he were angry, I’d be able to feel it ooze from his pores. Whenever he was hostile, it was usually easy to notice.

At least, for me.

When five minutes of silence stretched on, it didn’t seem as if he was going to say anything at all.

“You still want me to make it up to you?” I whispered, choosing to talk about sex because it was the easiest topic to discuss. The foundation of our relationship had always been fucking. It was the one thing we always agreed on. Through time, our romance had deepened into the most loving and intense relationship I’d ever known. Sex moved into the background as love took up our focus.

He didn’t hesitate before he answered. “Yes.”

“And how would you like me to do that?”

His eyes never shifted to me. “Have dinner with me.”

“I have dinner with you every night.”

“In public.”

My heart stopped.

“In a nice restaurant. The two of us holding hands. Not giving a damn what the world thinks of us. That’s what I want, Titan. And you’re going to give it to me.”

That sounded like a dream come true, stepping into the sunlight and letting the world see us for who we really were. But it wasn’t the right time, not until I figured out my situation with Thorn. “Okay…in time.”

His jaw clenched slightly in anger, but he wasn’t as livid as he usually was when it came to this topic.

It didn’t seem like he would ever mention his father. “Do you not want to talk about it?”

Silence.

I took that as a yes. “I’m here if you change your mind.”

After a long sigh, he spoke. “I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Take some time to think it over, and you’ll find an answer.”

He rested his arm over the back of the couch, his skin lightly pressing against the nape of my neck. “I never expected my father to say any of those things to me. I feel like I’m talking to a different person.”

“Because you are. He’s different now, Diesel.”

“Just a few weeks ago, he was ruining my life,” he said in a dark tone. “I don’t think people change that quickly.”

“They do when they realize what they’ve lost.” I moved my hand to his muscular thigh and felt the hardness under my fingertips.

“He lost me a long time ago…”

“You lost him too.”

He turned his face toward me, his gaze looking into mine. “He’s right about one thing. None of this would have been possible without you…whether this ends up being a good or a bad decision.”

“It’ll be a good decision,” I said with confidence. “A man can’t say things like that and not mean them. Anytime I’ve been around him, he’s been nothing but a gentleman. I believe he has the ability to be a kind person. He just needed some compassion…”

Diesel continued to watch me with his dark eyes, silently wrapping his presence around me. “Not all people deserve compassion, Titan.”

“No. But most do.”

His fingers moved to my neck, and his thumb rested on my bottom lip. He gently tugged on the skin, sliding his finger down and smearing my lipstick. “I know exactly what I want from you.” His thumb traced my mouth, following the curve from one corner to the other. “I want this lipstick smeared around the base of my dick. And I want my come sitting in your stomach. Now.”

As the intensity grew between us, the area between my legs began to ache. His fingertips were warm, and the searing gaze he gave me was hot enough to make me melt. My lips parted with the need to obey him, to give him what he wanted. I got his father here because I wanted to repair their broken relationship. But I also liked owing him something…because I knew exactly what he would want as payment. “Yes, Boss Man.”

---

The instant I stepped inside Rio’s, the hostess recognized me and greeted me with a handshake. “This way, Ms. Titan. Mr. Livingston is already here.” She guided me to the table, where Kyle was browsing his menu.

He looked up when he noticed me. “Titan.” He rose to his feet and shook my hand.

I did the same. “How are you, Mr. Livingston?”

“Pleased, as I’m sure you are.”

We sat down and got straight to business. Our beta testing had revealed how well his products did on my shelves, and conversely, my products had an amazing start on the opposite side of the world. The marketing we did for each other definitely paid off.

“We’re certainly hitting the right market without competing with current customers,” he said. “We pulled it off, and I’m looking forward to see where this will go.”

His products weren’t luxury items like mine were. His were directed toward young adults and those in their early twenties. They were made for enhancement, sharpness. My products were designed for women in their late twenties and older. I specialized in skin rejuvenation creams, serums that eliminated crow’s feet, and mature makeup that working women in high positions needed to lead their companies. We didn’t directly compete with each other, going for markets in different age groups. “As am I. I think we should discuss launching our first real campaign.”

“Me too.”

We got down to our ideas, and we ordered lunch in between. I had an iced tea and nibbled on a piece of bread as we spoke. I expected Kyle to ask about my public breakup with Thorn, but thankfully, he didn’t. Perhaps he understood it was irrelevant to our business venture, and any question he asked would go unanswered.

But then I saw Thorn walk inside. In a gray suit with a black tie, he entered the room and turned heads naturally. Over six feet in height with a handsome face, he would turn heads even if he weren’t all over the news.

The hostess guided him to a table, and he was on a trajectory to walk right past me.

Looking at him only reminded me of how much I’d lost. It made me miss our intimate friendship, the way we could tell each other anything and know we would never betray each other’s secrets. I missed the way he looked out for me, concern that I never needed and I never appreciated. I missed the way his eyes lit up slightly when he saw me. He didn’t usually smile, but that was because he didn’t express himself in that way. I was in tune with all of his slight reactions, and I knew exactly what each one of them meant.

He came closer, walking with one hand in his pocket. He scanned the room ahead, looking for whomever he was meeting that afternoon.

Without thinking it through, I rose to my feet to intercept him. I didn’t have any expectation for a friendly greeting. The most he might do was look at me. But he wouldn’t stop to say more than a few words to me.

But I wasn’t thinking.

His eyes turned to me, and his look immediately sharpened as he recognized my features. He obviously hadn’t spotted me until that moment, and he couldn’t control his surprise. For just an instant, there wasn’t the indifference he usually gave me. There was some kind of emotion, some kind of reaction.

He stopped when he was a foot away from me. His other hand moved into his pocket, and a scowl slowly started to form on his face.

I was in the middle of a lunch meeting, but Kyle didn’t seem important anymore. One of the two people who meant the most to me was standing right in front of me. I’d do anything to hug him, to know he was my friend. “Hey…” I couldn’t fight my expression and the way it fell. I couldn’t keep the sadness out of my tone, not even in Kyle’s presence.

Thorn turned to Kyle and shook his hand. “How are you, Kyle?”

“I’m well. And you?”

“Never better.” He turned back to me, ice-cold. “Titan.”

I wasn’t the recipient of a handshake. All I got was the cold shoulder as he walked off and headed to his table.

It took me a moment to recover, a moment before I found my seat again. I was aware of some people watching me, curious how my first public encounter with Thorn would go. I faced Kyle again.

He looked at me with sympathy, clearly thinking about everything he’d read in the headlines.

I cleared my throat. “I can get products on the shelf as early as next month.”