Chapter Seven
Riley
When Colin approached my limo, my heart pounded. I was still in shock he’d agreed to come work for me. I’d had myself convinced he was going to reject me, so when he’d said he was willing, I’d been flabbergasted.
He opened the door instead of waiting for the driver and slid in. “Hey, boss.”
“You made it.”
“I did indeed.” I couldn’t see his eyes because he wore dark glasses. But his smile was warm.
“Welcome aboard.” We shook hands and my fingers still tingled after he let go. As the driver accelerated and pulled out of the parking lot, I was pressed back against the leather seat.
Colin lifted his sunglasses and looked around the inside of the car. “Where’s Tom?”
“He’s meeting us at the airport. He had some things left to do at the hotel.”
He smirked. “Right. That and he can’t stand me.”
“Nah. He really did have work.” It was hard not to notice how sexy Colin looked in his fitted suit and tie. He gave off a more serious vibe than when I’d met him at my concert.
“So where are we flying to?”
“Denver. I have five shows there. Then we’re off to Texas for a week.”
“Sounds good.” He stared straight ahead.
I’d promised I’d keep my hands to myself, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. He looked even more tempting than I’d remembered, and his cologne brought back all sorts of sensual memories. “What changed your mind?”
“You mean to come work for you?”
“Yeah.”
He turned his head toward me, and while I couldn’t see his expression, the pulse at the base of his throat beat swiftly. “Someone’s got to keep you safe.”
“Good answer.”
He just smiled.
I sighed. “It’s such a relief to have a professional on the job again. You wouldn’t believe the jokers Tom had watching over me lately.”
“I think I might. I met one of them, remember?”
“True.” I laughed. “The next guy he hired was almost worse. He couldn’t get my name right to save his life.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“Right?” I squelched my desire to put my head on his broad shoulder. There was just something about him that made me want to curl up next to him. “Am I your first job for Shield?”
“Yep.”
“But you were in the business before?” I grabbed a bottle of water from the cup holder.
“I was. It was a smaller company than Shield. They filled my position when I left, and there weren’t any openings there once I was ready to come back. Otherwise I might have just gone back to work for them instead of Shield. My boss was pretty cool.”
“Why did you leave them?”
His face shuttered and he looked out the window. “Family stuff.”
I didn’t know anything about his family, and I couldn’t help but be curious. But it was obvious from his tense jaw he wasn’t exactly excited about the subject. Still, I figured we’d slept together and he was going to spend a lot of time with me. I deserved to know a little about his personal life. “Do you come from a big family?” I asked tentatively.
He didn’t respond right away. In fact, he took so long to answer I thought he was going to ignore my question. But then he cleared his throat and spoke softly. “No. I have—had—one twin brother.”
I bit my lip. “Oh.” I grimaced. “Are your parents still alive?”
“My dad is, but we’re not very close.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I guess. He left my mom when me and Garrett were just five.”
“Garrett was your brother?”
A tender smile touched his lips. “Yeah.”
“God, how does a man abandon his family like that?”
He shrugged. “My mom and him fought constantly. To be honest, it was a relief when he left. He wasn’t hugely loving. He was just there and a source of friction.”
“I see.”
“I looked him up when I was older, and we got together a few times last year, trying to reconnect. But we have nothing in common. He’s basically an alcoholic and really into sports and shit. I’m just not.” His laugh was gruff. “I’d rather talk about music and movies. Garrett didn’t even bother to connect with him. He resented him for leaving us.”
“I can see why.”
Colin sighed. “I never saw the point of holding grudges.” His mouth hardened. “Not until Garrett died.”
I couldn’t help it, and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. He stiffened and glanced toward me, his expression still hidden behind his shades. “How did your brother die?”
“Complications from… surgery.”
“Shit.”
A muscle worked in his jaw, and he pulled his arm from my grasp. “Yeah. It was a nightmare.” He was trying to hide his emotions; I could tell in the way he shifted and tensed. But it was obvious he was still hugely grieving his brother’s death.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat and sat up straight. “Life sucks sometimes, right?”
“It can.”
“Look at you and your family. It had to hurt to have your parents kick you out of their home.”
I grimaced, wondering if he had brought that painful subject up simply to stop me asking questions about his family life. “Obviously.” The alpha in me wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. I wanted to know him better, and the only way that happened was if he opened up to me more. “How long ago did your brother die?”
He pressed his lips together and didn’t respond.
“You know all about me, but I hardly know anything about you.” I tried to coax him to open up more.
“I don’t really like talking about my brother,” he said gruffly.
“Why?”
He chuffed. “Why? It must be obvious why.”
“It hurts too much?”
He swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s only been ten months. It’s still pretty raw.”
“I’ve never lost anyone that close to me.”
He hung his head. “I sometimes wake up and it takes me a second to remember he’s gone.” His voice was hushed.
My chest ached at the pain that painted his words, but I was glad he’d answered my question. It gave me hope we could be closer, like I wanted. “I’ve heard twins are connected on a level regular people can’t understand.”
“We shared the same thoughts sometimes.” His voice wobbled. “He was more impulsive than me. That’s what got him into trouble.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
His mouth tensed and he glanced at me. He studied me in silence for a few moments, and I could sense his inner struggle. Finally he spoke, “He got involved with an alpha who was all wrong for him.”
“Damn.” I frowned.
His fists were clenched and his knuckles white. “He wouldn’t listen. He wouldn’t leave him. It was so frustrating to watch him just give everything to Alan and leave nothing for himself.”
“In what way?”
“Alan was the kind of alpha I hate. Arrogant, violent—basically everything had to be his way or he threw a fit.”
“Did you try and step in?”
He scowled. “Of course. Alan would be on his best behavior when I was around, but then he’d just lose his shit when I wasn’t. I was powerless to help Garrett. And then—” He stopped and bit his lower lips. “Then Garrett got… sick… and Alan neglected him.”
“Shit. I’m going to assume you tried to help.”
He nodded. “But he threw Garrett out and took up with another omega. I couldn’t find Garrett. By the time I tracked him down and took my brother to the… right kind of doctors… it was too late.” He was white as a sheet of paper. He pulled his glasses off and wiped his eyes roughly. “Sorry. This is why I hate talking about it. I get too emotional.”
His vulnerability made my heart ache. I leaned toward him, needing to comfort him. He turned his head, and his red-rimmed eyes met mine. “It’s okay. I like seeing the real you,” I said softly.
He blinked at me, and his expression became wary. “You shouldn’t ask this kind of stuff.”
“Why?”
“I just want to work. I don’t want to talk about my past.”
“Okay. I’ll back off.”
Some tension left his shoulders. “Thanks.”
“It won’t be easy though.” I held his pretty gaze as I spoke. “Maybe this sounds dumb, but I actually do care about you. The alpha part of me wants to take care of you.”
“No.” He frowned. “I’m here to take care of you.”
“I know.” My voice was gruff. “But I can’t help what I feel.”
His light gaze fell to my mouth. “Maybe this was a mistake.”
I held up my hands. “It’s not. See, I’m keeping my hands to myself.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, but can I keep mine off of you?”
His words made my pulse skip faster. “Just for the record, as far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to.”
He clenched his jaw. “But I do have to, Riley.”
I sighed with frustration. “Because I’m not out?”
He gave a curt nod.
I groaned and rested my head against the seat. “This sucks.”
“It’s not too late for me to bail. I could have a replacement here by tomorrow.”
“No,” I said quickly. Way too quickly to keep my pride intact. “I want you here. We can do this.”
He pushed his sunglasses back into place, hiding his expression again. “Let’s just focus on business.”
“Right. Business.” I’ll just ignore how your pants cling to your muscled thighs and that the scent of your cologne reminds me of fucking you.
“Other than Denver and Texas, which other cities will you be performing in?”
His tone was professional and courteous. There was nothing overly interested or personal in his voice. I named off the other cities that were on the tour, and we talked about superficial stuff until we reached the airport.
Once on the private jet, Tom arrived, but he chose to stay at the back of the plane, where he proceeded to yell at people on the phone. Colin and I sat across from each other more toward the front of the jet, where the stewardess plied me with champagne and snacks.
Colin stuck to bottled water, but I had two glasses of bubbly. Maybe the alcohol was what made it difficult to ignore my attraction to Colin. It was hard not to fixate on the way his lips moved when he spoke and the curve of his neck where it met his shoulder. Having slept together, I knew the sexy angles of his body beneath his clothes. Now and then, when he’d breathe out, the memory of his gasps of pleasure when I’d been deep inside him came rushing back to me.
I’d known being around Colin would be tempting. But I don’t think I’d realized how hard it would be to accept not touching him or being intimate with him at all. It was obvious he couldn’t handle any sort physical contact. I knew instinctively if I made any attempt to push for more he’d quit. His determination to remain aloof was etched in the hard line of his jaw.
But frustrating or not, the fact remained that he was great to hang out with and good at the job. Ultimately, that was why he was here. Maybe I couldn’t sleep with him, but he also wasn’t going to be on his phone ignoring me the entire time.
I studied Colin as he sat tapping his finger against the seat of his chair. He was alert but relaxed, his phone nowhere in sight. I knew that Tony would have been in his own world by now with his earbuds in. My gut warmed just having Colin with me again. I felt at peace. Something about him piqued the interest of my alpha, and there wasn’t anything I could do about that.
When I yawned, Colin’s lips twitched. “You should nap.”
I didn’t have an actual show until tomorrow, but I did have a full rehearsal, which entailed performing the entire show to work out any potential kinks. “Promise you won’t mock me if I snore?” I laughed.
“Promise.”
“I don’t have to worry about any YouTube video surfacing with me drooling?”
“Well, not from me.” He grinned.
I snuggled down in my seat. “Maybe I will. We have another hour before we land, and I’m tired.”
His mouth softened. “I’ll watch out for you.” His voice was husky and sincere.
“I know,” I said quietly. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax and drift off, secure in the knowledge that Colin was by my side.