Chapter 1
Dillon
I grabbed the cell phone sitting on the bar next to me and chucked it at the head of the stupid asshole standing in front of me. Blake ducked, but if he hadn’t he would have had a nice iPhone shaped bruise on his forehead. The dickhead deserved it. He flinched when I grabbed his clothes sitting on the sofa and flung them out the front door of my condo, leaving him standing there in his boxers. At least the next door neighbors would have something to gossip about this week.
“Dillon! Mother fucker!” he cursed. “That’s Armani! Damn it! Stop!” He grabbed at the suit jacket, but I dodged his hand. I whipped back around to him, my long blonde hair flying behind me as I tossed them down the hall. His eyes dipped down to where my chest peeked out from my robe.
Fucking prick.
“And just why shouldn’t I kick your sorry ass out?” I demanded.
There wasn’t an answer he could give me that was good enough not to, but I wanted to see what he would come up with. Surely he had a good imagination if he’d been able to play me for this long.
“Just because I’m married doesn’t mean we need to end this, baby?”
I threw my hands up in the air dramatically. “Oh no big deal, wedding vows don’t mean anything,” I said sarcastically. “Are you fucking stupid? How did you even finish law school? Of course we’re through. You’re married and she’s pregnant.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. He tried to smooth out his expression, hide all his shame behind an indecipherable mask, but I could see he at least felt a little guilty about cheating on his wife. Just not bad enough not to pick up women at Starbucks.
He tried to take a step closer, but my death glare made him hesitate. “It’s nothing. We both knew the rules going in, no falling in love. Right?”
I rolled my eyes. “You also told me you were unattached. That was rule number one.”
He shook his head. “No, I said I wasn’t in love with anyone because I’m not.”
I narrowed my eyes even further. This guy was dumber than dirt. If I could incinerate him into the hardwood floors I would. At least he had the decency to blush while I stared at him with disdain written all over my face.
“Get out.”
He looked down at his boxers. “You just threw all my clothes out the front door.”
I pointed in the direction of the door. “They’ll be easy for you to grab as you go by. Go ahead. I’m sure they’re still there.”
He set his jaw and tried to act like this didn’t bother him. “You’re such a bitch, Dillon. I should’ve known better than to get involved with you. All my friends tried to warn me.”
I stood there with my hand standing on my hips. “I’m glad my reputation precedes me. But here’s the thing, you shouldn’t have cheated on your wife, you stupid asshole.” I crossed the room and stood with my hand resting on the door, waiting for him to leave. “I’ll messenger all your shit to your office. Oh, and tell your wife I’m sorry that she’s married to such a prick.”
I slammed the door behind him as he stomped into the hallway. His voice carried down the hall, but it didn’t matter. The prick could call me a cunt all he wanted, my neighbors wouldn’t care. And it also wouldn’t change the fact that I was done letting him have his cake and eat it too.
My entire body shook as I came down from the adrenalin rush of kicking his sorry butt out of my apartment. I couldn’t believe I’d been so damn stupid. So naive. I knew better. From day one I should have checked my facts. Our relationship, for lack of better words, would’ve never started if I’d known he was married. It was dumb luck that I saw the text from his wife flash across his screen.
I wrapped my robe around me tighter. Men were scum. They were all pigs just trying to stick their penis somewhere warm and wet. The newest assistant district attorney, aka Blake the asshole, had pulled it off for the three months while he was able to hide the other part of his life from me.
How did I always find the worst of the worst?
The familiar routine of starting the bath and picking out a new bath bomb made me feel a little calmer. My rules were simple. Be unattached. Don’t fall in love. It wasn’t that hard, so why couldn’t they get it?
The warm water and vanilla scent soothed my wounded pride as I climbed into my huge soaker tub. This room was probably my favorite in my whole apartment, with its amazing view and ability to help me forget all about my problems, it was a safe haven. Except from jerks who cheat on their wives. I sighed. No amount of aromatherapy helped with that one.
Men were only good for orgasms and buying you presents. And if they couldn’t get the orgasm part right then why in the hell would you keep them around.
* * *
My brother stared over his menu at me and I deftly ignored the weight of his glare. We didn’t need to discuss my relationship status every week, even though he always insisted. Our Saturday brunches were routine and we hadn’t missed one in years. It was one thing I could always count on. The only problem was that he had some misguided idea that he needed to protect me from the big bad men in my life. He didn’t realize that I was probably the one these men needed to be protected from. Or he just ignored that fact.
“Quit deflecting, Dillon.”
I frowned at him and tried not to make eye contact. “Jake, just stop please. I’m not getting into this again.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Aren’t you getting a little old to still be playing these games?”
I sighed and finally met his gaze. “You sound like dad,” I muttered. “Look, I know you’re my big brother and you’re just trying to take care of me, but seriously, butt the fuck out.”
“Dilly, you’ve been running the same pattern for years. One of these days it’s going to bite you in the ass.” He smirked. “Or you’re going to meet your match and fall in love.”
I narrowed my eyes. “One, it’s not a pattern. I’m straight with them from the start. Two, I’ll never fall in love. I don’t think there’s a man out there that can go toe to toe with me.”
He threw his head back and laughed. A few women in the diner turned our direction, clearly appreciating the husky sound. I rolled my eyes. It was like this anytime I went anywhere with him. Every girl I knew had a crush on my brother, the sexy cop. At least he wasn’t in uniform this morning or it would be even worse. He was attractive. I’d give him that. With his light brown hair that he wore messy, chiseled cheekbones and pouty lips a model would kill for, he was quite the catch. But yuck.
“You’re a hot mess, little sister.” I shrugged and took a drink of my coffee, ignoring his pointed stare. “And I for one can’t wait until it happens. I’m sure Dad will be thrilled to see you settled back down too.”
Been there, done that.
I restrained myself from rolling my eyes again. My brother was just as annoying now as he was when we were kids. “So what happened with you and what’s her face anyway?”
“Her name is Courtney and you know that. Don’t be a brat. It doesn’t matter anyway, we broke up last week. She wanted a commitment and I wasn’t ready.”
I looked at him in disbelief. Pot, meet kettle. “Let me get this straight, you’re busting my chops, yet you just broke up with your girlfriend because you’re a commitment phobe. Yeah, that seems fair. You’re thirty-six, don’t you think that’s old enough for commitment?”
“I’m not avoiding commitment. She was twenty. A sixteen year age difference doesn’t really make for stable relationships.”
I made a face at him. “You’re a pig.”
He grinned. “So what do you want for breakfast?”
Of course he could change the subject. Asshole.
“I think I want an omelet.”
The waitress stared at my brother in awe as he ordered the trucker’s special. She couldn’t be more obvious about it if she tried. I tried to ignore her ditzy behavior. I’d never understand how he could eat that much food and never gain an ounce of fat. Another thing that wasn’t fair in my life.
When we were alone again, Jake cleared his throat. “What’s the next article you’re working on? Are you revealing a corrupt oil tycoon? Calling out our next dirty politician? Or is it—”
“None of those.” I shook my head and laughed. While my brother loved me, and supported what I did, he tended to make fun of my flair for the dramatic side of investigative journalism. He enjoyed teasing me, saying I was a superhero in better heels. I lowered my voice. “I think I’ve found the source of the drug ring around the city.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “Dillon, you need to be careful. This is normally my area of expertise. These people are dangerous. You can get really hurt if you target the wrong—”
I looked around, making sure no one had overheard him even though he was talking as low as I was. “Jake, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been doing this for a long time now.”
“This isn’t a joke, D.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “I never said it was. Do you really think I’m not aware of what I’m attempting to do?”
His knuckles turned white as he gripped his glass. “I know you’re careful, but this is…not what I expected. You’re targeting some people that will do anything to stay under the radar.”
“And you need to trust that I’m doing my job well enough to help you do yours.”
We sat there in tense silence while the waitress dropped off our plates. Instead of lingering like she’d done before, seeing if she could get Jake’s attention, she hightailed it out of there as she picked up on the tension between us.
“I know you’re good at what you do, but this is dangerous territory. People get killed just for pointing fingers in the wrong direction when it comes to drug money. Don’t fuck with these people.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to name names, and I’m going to turn over everything I dig up before publishing the article. If it results in any arrests, I’ll make sure that whoever is involved won’t get a chance to run. When have I ever let you down, Jake?”
He clenched his jaw and I saw the small tick that told me he was about to lose his temper because he thought I was being flippant. “This isn’t about letting me down.”
I reached across the table and took his hand in mine. His gaze met mine and I held it so he would know how serious I was. “I promise I’ll be careful. I won’t take any unnecessary risks and I’ll make sure that I have a kick ass cover story.”
He finally relented, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Tell me more about it.”
I offered up an amused smirk.
“Next week I’ve got an appointment with a doctor.”
* * *
Piper handed me a shot and we slammed them back at the same time. Tequila. I fucking hate tequila. I swear she picks it just to piss me off. She’s my best friend in the world and I don’t know what I would do without her though, bad taste in liquor aside. Shots weren’t my typical evening either, but I had promised her I would go out with her tonight. She’d been dying to go to this new club and I didn’t want to disappoint her, but country club lunches and glasses of Bollinger Grande Annee Rose were more my speed.
It was never too early to start looking for my next boyfriend or at least a fuck buddy for the time being. The night would at least be entertaining. I highly doubted I would find my type of guy here—one with a large bank account and great taste in whiskey and cigars. Maybe a night of fun, but definitely not someone I would want to keep around for more than a few nights.
I took Piper’s hand and tugged her to the dance floor with me. Some fun techno remix was playing. As we danced our asses off my eyes met a pair of stormy grey ones staring at me across the bar. Even from the distance I could see his built arms and chest through his jacket. His straight nose and full lips weren’t hurting him either. He was probably the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. I almost had to wipe the drool from my mouth.
Holy. Hell.
The dark-haired sex god took a sip of his beer without taking his eyes from me, making my temperature skyrocket. I’d never had this instant of an attraction with anyone, but one look at this man and I wanted to find a bedroom. It took everything I had not to glance down his front and see if he was affected as I was.
I pulled away from his hypnotic gaze and refocused on Piper. She was one of those energetic, full of life people that were infectious to be around. Tonight I needed that. If he wanted me, he was going to have to come to me. My arms rose above my head and I lost myself in the music. Before the song ended hands were gripping my hips and someone was grinding against me from behind. I didn’t even look behind me to see who it was. I leaned back into the muscled chest.
“Get away from her,” an unrecognizable voice growled.
My ass hit the ground as I tipped back, unable to catch my balance as the person behind me moved away quickly. I couldn’t catch myself in my stilettos. People around us scattered, probably to avoid the wrath of the dark brooding sex god. I stared up at him, and couldn’t decide if I was pissed off or amused. He offered his hand to help me stand up and I took it. A small gasp left me as he pulled me into his chest.
There were muscles on top of muscles under that leather jacket. My hands traveled over his chest lightly and he smirked when I looked up at him. His liquid quicksilver eyes seemed to suck me in.
“Are you okay?”
Dear God, his voice was a husky mix of smoke and gravel. I could already feel my panties getting damp just from hearing him speak.
“I’m good, just a little shocked.”
“Dillon, are you okay?” Piper asked from behind me. I nodded and rubbed at my elbow. Mr. Brooding looked me up and down.
“Dillon huh? It suits you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And what’s your name, sugar?”
He smirked and leaned in closer to speak in my ear. “I’ll tell you if you leave with me.”
He caught me by surprise and a bubble of laughter came out. “My momma taught me better than that. You look like you would be a hell of a lot of fun, but I’m trying this new thing called self-restraint.”
The feel of his stubble against my neck almost brought me to my knees. This guy was sin personified in his leather jacket and tight dark jeans, and I really wanted to give in. He probably drove a Harley and had a new woman in his bed every night, but damned if I didn’t want to be one of them.
“Too bad.” He pulled back and bit down on his full bottom lip. I wanted to bite down on it for him. “See you around, Dillon.”
I watched him walk away, and his backside looked just as good as his front as he went. Piper grabbed my arm, lacing hers through mine. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know.”
She gave me a look. “Why didn’t you go home with him? He was obviously digging you. Are you still hung up on the DA?”
“Hell no.” I shook my head. “It’s just not that kind of night.”
She huffed out a breath. “Dillon, you need to loosen up. You were so uptight in college, but lately you’ve been so damn tense that I’m afraid you’re going to lose it one day. It doesn’t help that you keep bringing home these copycat versions of—”
“I’m fine. This just isn’t my scene. And as much as I want to get laid, I’m not so hard up that I need to fuck a construction worker in a bathroom stall,” I said, pointedly. She grinned.
“I’m not like you miss high and mighty journalist,” she said flipping her hair over her shoulder haughtily. “And it was one time, as Elsa says, ‘Let It Go.’”
I laughed, and for the first time in forever I wondered where my life was going. She was right, I have been so wound up that I feel like if the littlest thing goes wrong my life is going to come crumbling down around me. I was set up for my success. Nothing would deter me from my path. Been there, made those mistakes, never again. I would have a Pulitzer Prize to my name by the time I was forty if it killed me. But maybe I needed to take the time for…fun.
Such an odd idea.
The pounding base was almost deafening and being surrounded by all these people was suddenly suffocating. I had to get out.
“I’m heading home.”
She nodded, looking disappointed, but not surprised. Maybe I needed to work on that too.