“Badly, but I’m not taking anything stronger than ibuprofen.”
Derek narrowed his gaze. “Why suffer if you don’t have to?”
Kade didn’t often spill his guts with a clear head, but when he did it was to this man. “Because apparently I talk too much when I’m drugged.”
“Ouch.” Derek winced.
Yeah. The memory came back to him with too much clarity considering the fuzziness he’d been experiencing while opening his big mouth. He’d told Lexie that he’d been accused of date rape. Exposed not just himself but his partners to another person who could use the information against them. God. He’d have to handle her ASAP, make sure she understood the gravity of the information she held.
Recalling his gut-spilling made him antsy, and he reached for the Patek Philipe watch, the first piece he’d bought with his own hard-earned money from Blink. Holding it steady against his hurt hand, he pulled out the crown and began to wind the watch. It was a difficult endeavor with his hand, but he’d learned early on that the motion soothed him. He had other watches that he wore more often now, but he kept this one on his nightstand and wound it daily when he woke up.
“Pop the crown back in?” he asked Derek, who took the watch and did as Kade asked before handing it back.
Kade placed the timepiece on his nightstand and ran his good hand over his dry eyes, feeling marginally better about what he’d told Lexie. He didn’t want to think she’d betray him, but he’d been wrong about women before. Still, he didn’t want to give Derek any more to worry about, so he didn’t go into detail.
“Was talking all you two did?” Derek asked. “Because when I showed up, Lexie was flustered, and she looked like a woman who’d been well kissed.” He grinned. “I have to give you credit. Even doped up, you managed to make a move. You’re slick, I’ll give you that.”
Kade rolled his eyes, refusing to give his friend the satisfaction of a reply. The fact was, Kade hadn’t been slick, he’d been, as Derek said, drugged. With his defenses down due to the narcotic, he’d kissed Lexie and enjoyed every damned second.
He had a thing for sweets and could get addicted to her honeyed taste very quickly—if he let himself. But this morning his barriers and his brain were functioning again, and he couldn’t let any woman get inside his head.
No matter how much he liked Lexie, he couldn’t allow himself to forget hard-won lessons. Women screwed him over.
“She’s not like her,” Derek said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Who’s not like who?” Kade asked. Because he had so many women who’d betrayed him in his background, he actually had his pick.
His mother, the woman who was supposed to take care of him but had walked out on him instead. Lila with her date rape accusation. And Angela, his girlfriend just as Blink was gaining popularity, who’d enjoyed the money his father sent him and the things Kade bought her but was selling them for cash instead … stealing from him at the same time she was pretending to be in love.
Derek rose to a standing position. “I was going to say Lexie’s not like Lila, but since you obviously have them all on the brain, she’s not like any of the females in your past. She’s a woman who needs a job, is capable of putting up with your shit, and knows how to handle you.”
“Maybe.” He ran a hand over his short hair. He’d like to think Derek was right about Lexie. “But I can’t take the risk.”
Derek groaned. “You are a fucking hard nut to crack. Okay, fine. Have it your way. Are you coming to work today?”
“Yeah.” Even if he got nothing accomplished, he’d rather keep himself busy there than be alone here with too much time to think—about Lexie, why he couldn’t take things any further, and what in the hell he was going to do about her now.
* * *
I kissed my boss and I liked it. The refrain had run through Lexie’s head ever since leaving Kade’s apartment. Running from it, actually, without looking back. She knew Derek would take care of his friend, and she’d needed to get away, but that kiss had followed her … home and into her dreams.
She fell asleep with the feel of his lips on hers, the cherry taste of his mouth lingering, and she dreamt of much more than a kiss—her entire body was engaged, her hands dragging up his shirt, molding over his hard chest and defined ab muscles. Her breasts were heavy, her nipples hard because he was tweaking them with his hands. Big hands, large enough to cup her heavy breasts, palm them, and make her feel heaven with his touch.
She woke up aching and empty, her panties soaked with evidence of her desire for a man she shouldn’t want. Couldn’t have. And had to face this morning.
She chose her wardrobe like armor today, picking a pair of loose trousers that didn’t define her curves, a man-tailored blouse, and a pair of medium heels. Nothing sexy about it, she thought as she sat at her desk, waiting for the ding of the elevator and a glimpse of Kade’s dark hair.
Dark brown hair she dreamed of running her fingers through, though in reality it was too short for that. When her nipples started to tighten, she wrapped her hands around her cold bottle of water, hoping to stop any further hot, inappropriate thoughts.
As if she could.
It was almost a relief when he stepped off the elevator and she could put the awkward first hello behind her. She rose and immediately made his coffee, only to find they were out of the strong brew K-cups. She grabbed the Breakfast Blend, knowing it was a lighter flavor, and hoped for the best, mixing it exactly the way he liked it.