The One For Me (Danver #8) (12 page)

“Thank you.” He smiled and then turned to look toward her parents’ house. “I’m, er—going to walk around front and leave, if you don’t mind. I think I’ve had my fill of your mother for one evening.”

She couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing in delight. Dear Lord, maybe the man had changed. Even when she’d begged, he’d never skipped out on a long, extended farewell before. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked before giving him a conspiratorial wink. “I’ll text her before I pull out and let her know that we both had to leave.”

“That works for me,” he beamed as they walked quickly but quietly around the side of the house and to the driveway. “I’ll call you soon, all right?”

She nodded her agreement and then sent off a text to her mother before following Bill down the road. He honked his horn once, when he took the turn that would lead to their old house, while she continued.

Her mother’s emotional abuse tonight wasn’t really a surprise. But Bill going to therapy and wanting to reconcile—there was the big shocker. She could tell that he hadn’t been just telling her what he thought
she wanted to hear either. He had been different. She would have never left the man who poured his heart out to her tonight. Though it was all too little, too late—wasn’t it? She’d moved on with her life, and she liked the person she had become since her divorce. She loved her job and the friends that she had made. She’d barely existed outside of being Bill’s wife when she was married.

Good grief, the man never even argued about visiting her parents—until tonight. Whenever she’d complained about her mother, he’d always seemed to take the other woman’s side without even listening.

She was still playing their conversation over in her mind when she pulled into a parking spot at her apartment. Then it hit her—she was supposed to go to Mark’s. She slumped back in her seat, feeling more tired that she had in a long time. She would love to curl into Mark’s strong chest and sleep away the feelings of unease that were choking her. But they didn’t know each other well enough for her to dump her problems at his door. She’d text him when she got inside and let him know she was too tired for a visit. She was beginning to see a pattern in texting to avoid confrontations—but wasn’t that what everyone did now?

She pulled her phone from her purse when she walked in the door and ignored the string of responses from her mother. It was then that she realized that she didn’t know Mark’s number. Despite all of their recent interactions, apparently she’d never gotten that information. It took her another ten minutes and a rundown of the evening to Ella before she got Mark’s number
from Declan. Then she took an additional five minutes to compose her message.
Rough night. Tired so needed to come home. Talk soon.
She added a smiley face at the end, just to pretend that she was happy, before hitting
SEND
. As she was putting her phone down, her mother sent another text, demanding an explanation for what happened with Bill. Crystal let out a snort of disgust, and then promptly turned the thing off. She then walked straight into her bedroom and face-planted onto her bed. As she started to drift off to sleep, she couldn’t help but wish that Mark were beside her. She liked the woman that she had become with him—his Angel.

•   •   •

Mark looked at his watch and wondered what was keeping Crystal. He’d never admit the number of times that he’d looked out the window tonight thinking he heard her car—then swallowed a pang of disappointment when he was wrong. He got to his feet, intending to have a drink of something strong enough to take his mind off her when his phone chimed with a text.
Rough night. Tired so needed to come home. Talk soon.
What in the ever-loving fuck? She was standing him up?
So this is what the other side of things feels like.
He read her words again, looking for some hidden meaning. Was she blowing him off because she wasn’t interested, or had her bitch of a mother upset her? Before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and walked out to his Porsche. He
wasn’t some boy who was left hanging by a woman. He’d told her to come to him tonight, and he damn well planned to find out why she hadn’t. If he found her lounging in front of the TV looking calm and relaxed, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.

He was pissed when he pounded on her door. He had gone beyond that after a few minutes when there was no reply. He called her phone and it went immediately to voice mail. He was rapping on the door one last time, when he heard the security chain inside rattling. Then the door was flung open and a fully dressed—and quite angry—woman glared at him from inside the doorway. Crystal’s clothing was wrinkled and her hair was sticking up in every direction—but, fuck, she looked beautiful. She opened her mouth, obviously intent on blasting him, but he stepped forward, pushing his way inside. Her shriek of outrage made his ears ring, but he ignored it. Instead of replying, he pushed her backward against the nearest wall and fastened his lips on hers. He ate at her mouth as if starving for her taste. She resisted for a moment before giving in with a groan of her own. “Angel,” he breathed against her lips as he sucked her tongue into his mouth.

He had no idea how he managed it—possibly he was more talented than he knew, but almost before he could process it, they were both naked. Her legs wrapped around his waist, he was inches away from plunging into her when he remembered the condom. He cursed, extricating himself from their embrace and then feeling for his pants. As he pulled a condom from his wallet, he thanked whatever god was responsible
for ensuring every guy over the age of fifteen had a rubber stored somewhere on him at all times. Her nails were raking his back in impatience as he deftly sheathed himself. His Angel was somewhat of an animal when she was turned on and he loved it. He’d proudly bear the marks of her eagerness tomorrow. “Now, please, Mark,” she cried out, the impatience in her voice snapping his tenuous control. He hooked her leg around his hip and drove into her hard. “Yes!” she screamed as he pounded her greedy core. He was close, so he dropped his hand to rub her clit, but before he could make contact, she contracted around his cock as she came. Damn, this woman had no idea what a sexual creature she was. He’d yet to touch her when she wasn’t eager, wet, and damn near halfway to orgasm before he penetrated her.

She was slumped against him once he found his release, and he used what little reserves he had left to follow her sleepy directions to the bedroom. He held her with one hand while stumbling along until he made contact with the lamp on her bedside table. He flipped it on, and then deposited her gently onto the bed. She immediately curled a hand under her cheek and shut her eyes. He located her bathroom and some washcloths. Returning, he cleaned between her legs and tossed the cloth toward the bathroom before flipping the light off. “Angel, baby, move over,” he murmured against her cheek as he attempted to shift her lax body.

“I love it when you do that,” she mumbled.

“What?” he asked as he finally managed to wedge in beside of her.

“Wash me. No one’s ever taken care of me like that,” she said softly before throwing a leg over his and collapsing on his chest.

He shifted until he had her cradled in his arms. He ran a hand idly through her dark tresses, rubbing her scalp soothingly. He didn’t know if she was asleep yet, but he couldn’t resist asking, “What happened at your parents’ tonight, baby?”

There was nothing but silence for at least a full minute, and then she sighed. “It was a setup. I didn’t find out until I was already there that Ella wasn’t invited. Instead, my ex-husband showed up shortly after I arrived. My mother is still determined that I go back to him, and she never misses an opportunity to throw us together.” When she hissed, “Ouch,” he realized that his hand had tightened painfully in her hair.

“Sorry, Angel,” he said as he forced himself to relax once again. He’d never even met the woman, but he wanted to strangle her meddling mother. Curious, he asked, “Why didn’t you just leave?”

Her finger drew circles on his chest, making his cock twitch to life. It was getting to the point that if she even looked in his direction, he was hard. He’d jacked off more in the last few days while thinking of her than he had in years. He was so distracted when she finally answered him that he had to ask her to repeat herself. “It’s always been easier to go with the flow and not rock the boat. Dad called it humoring her. Ella and I learned long ago that it was pointless to argue and that it just prolonged our misery if we did.”

Blowing out an exasperated breath, he said, “Angel—that’s not humoring her, that’s being
subservient. Plus, you’re divorced now. Why in the world would she think it was okay for her to continue to invite your ex-husband over? If they have a close relationship, then she should see him when you aren’t there. Unless you want him back.” The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he fought the urge to get up and leave the room in a show of anger.

Her hand stilled, and he could feel her eyes on him in the dark. “What? No! Of course not. I was the one who left him. I mean, he said some things tonight that were surprising, and I’m flattered that he wants us to see a marriage counselor together—but it’s too late.”

Mark wondered if she was aware that the last part of her sentence sounded more like a question than a statement. So what did he do? Instead of being understanding and giving her the support that she no doubt needed after what she’d been through, he pushed her away and stood. Without saying a word, he made his way back through the dark apartment to the living room where their clothes were still lying in a pile. He dressed quickly and turned to find her standing just inches away. “I need to get home,” he forced out. He was angry with her, and he had no right to be. He was being a complete and utter asshole, and he knew it.

He wanted her to say something snide to justify him stomping off, but she simply said, “All right.” The part of him that wasn’t a bastard had him walking to her and dropping a kiss on her mouth. And that was it. He’d made the trip across town, had amazing sex, and then turned his back when things got complicated. It was his MO and what he did best. He got what he wanted and didn’t spare a thought for the woman
afterward. Though as he got into his car and drove away, he knew that was no longer true. This time he’d taken off because he was shaken by the two things that were choking him—jealousy and fear.

For the first time in his life, he had something to lose. Why was he so scared to lose something that wasn’t his to begin with?

“He treated you like a booty call,” Mia snarled as soon as she had heard. “I don’t care how hot he is, the man is a dickhead.”

Gwen nodded solemnly, before taking a bite of her pizza. “I agree,” she managed to say around the food in her mouth.

Crystal grimaced and chanced a look at her boss, Lydia, across the table. She hadn’t intended to get into her night with Mark when she’d invited Lydia to lunch with them, but Mia as always had picked right up on her glum expression. “Maybe he’s one of those guys who can only sleep in his own bed,” Mia offered hopefully.

The truth was, she was beyond depressed over Mark’s hasty exit from her bedroom and her apartment. He’d run out as if his ass were on fire. And, even more strange, he’d seemed pissed. She could understand if he was angry on her behalf at her mother’s deception, but that wasn’t what it was. She’d felt like his anger was directed at her, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Lydia looked intrigued. Crystal had a feeling this was like a real-life soap opera playing out in front of
her boss. “So who is this guy? You haven’t mentioned that you were seeing anyone.”

“It’s Mark DeStudo—er . . . DeSanto,” Mia blurted out before Crystal could stop her.

“Nooo!” Lydia gaped. “Not Mr. Big!”

“Mr. Big?” Gwen asked as she finished her pizza and laid a hand on her baby bump.

Lydia giggled, fanning herself. “That’s what I call him. I swear, he reminds me of Mr. Big from
Sex and the City
. You know, in the first episodes when Chris Noth was younger. He’s all tall, dark, brooding, and he flipping rocks those power suits.” Then her eyes widened as she asked reverently, “Oh, my God, have you really slept with him?”

Crystal’s mind was still stuck on how accurate the Mr. Big analogy was when Mia elbowed her. “The woman asked you a question, Crys, and since I’ve already let the cat out of the bag once, I’ll let you take this one.” She had managed to tell Mia, Gwen, and, of course, Ella, about her first sexual encounter with Mark, but that was the extent of it. Even though she was friends with Lydia, she’d been hesitant about sharing it with her. She hadn’t wanted to upset the other woman since she was still mourning the loss of her fiancé. Now it looked like she didn’t have a choice.

“Um—yeah, I have. I mean it’s not serious between us or anything. Actually, I don’t know what it is,” she admitted.

Lydia propped her head in her hands and gave her a sappy smile. “Was it good?” Before Crystal could answer, Lydia slapped her forehead dramatically.
“What am I saying? Of course it was! That man is like a walking G-spot stimulator.”

Mia started cackling so loud, Crystal was afraid she was going to pass out. Her face turned an alarming shade of red before she finally managed to take a breath. “You’re my new best friend, Lydia,” she managed to wheeze out. “That was brilliant!”

Lydia looked tickled with the compliment and did a fist bump with her new BFF. “Honey, I just call ’em like I see ’em. There’s so much testosterone around Danvers that my hoo-ha is quivering some days.” Pointing at Gwen, she shook her head before adding, “And your man and his band of G.I. Joes are prime panty-melting material. I don’t know how you normally function because I’d be resorting to humping his leg or something during the workday.”

Instead of looking offended, Gwen raised her glass of tea in a salute and chimed in with “Hear, hear. Don’t I know it. You should try to live with a man who looks the way he does naked. I’m in perpetual heat.”

Crystal could only gawk at her boss. Here she’d been avoiding talking about men in front of her out of respect for her feelings, and she was now finding out that the woman was something of a pervert. It was the best news she’d had all day! Deciding to test her theory, she asked, “So, Lydia . . . if you had to pick a favorite from the hot men of Danvers, who would it be? Don’t be shy—Gwen won’t beat you up if it’s Dominic, and I’ll certainly understand if it’s Mr. Big.”

Lydia pursed her lips, and then looked around the crowded restaurant as if to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation. Lowering her voice she
said, “All right, please don’t repeat this, but Jacob Hay makes me weak in the knees. I swear I’d agree to have the man’s children, clean his house, and drive a freaking station wagon if he said the word.”

“Who’s that?” Crystal asked, racking her memory. “The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.”

“Oh, baby,” Mia cooed, “you’ve got great taste there.”

“I don’t know him either,” Gwen admitted. “Do you have any stalker pictures of him like Crystal has of Mark?”

Lydia looked at Crystal in surprise. “I can’t believe you don’t know him if you’ve been watching Mark. Jacob works for him. From what I’ve gathered through my . . . research, he’s the number two man at DeSanto Group.”

“So, Mr. Big, Junior,” Gwen smirked. “I’m liking this a lot. How did you meet him?”

Laughing, Lydia admitted, “It was the whole damsel-in-distress thing. I worked late and then ended up in a deserted parking garage with a car that wouldn’t start. I was on my way back in the building to call my auto club when I ran smack into someone.” Looking slightly embarrassed, she added, “I kind of thought I was being mugged and started screaming for help.”

“No way,” Mia winced. “I bet he’s not used to women yelling anything other than his name.”

“I’m pretty sure he was afraid I was insane,” Lydia agreed. “He held his hands out in front of him, and then actually showed me his company identification badge. When I finally calmed down, I was humiliated
because this was the most gorgeous man I’d seen in ages and I’d made a total ass of myself.”

Propping her elbows on the table, Gwen mused, “So I guess he didn’t leave you stranded, right?”

Lydia fanned herself. “Nope, when I explained my car issue to him, he rolled up his sleeves and had me pop the hood latch. Then he proceeded to fix the thing right there. I still have no idea what was wrong with it, but can you believe the man was actually willing to work on my car? I know he was wearing expensive clothing. He ended up with an oil stain on his shirtsleeve, but he refused to let me take care of the cleaning bill.”

“Sweet mother,” Mia moaned. “Now I want to have his babies too.”

“I’m sorry”—Lydia shook her head—“but I’m Jacob’s future baby mama. Plus, he’s friends with your man, Seth, and his brother, Ash.”

“I know.” Mia snorted. “He’s been to our place before. He does seem like a nice guy, and apparently, he’s mechanical as well. You know what that means, right?” When everyone shook their heads, she added, “He’s good with his hands.”

“Ohhh!” Gwen wiggled her brows. “I like that in a man.”

“Don’t get any ideas about Lydia’s man,” Crystal teased. “You’re Dominic’s baby mama, and I have a feeling he doesn’t share.”

They joked around for a few more minutes before Mia asked, “So, what’re you going to do about Mark?”

All humor left her as Crystal once again focused on her problem. “I don’t know. I mean, it was kind of hot
the way he showed up out of the blue and . . . took charge of things. We were lying in my bed afterward, and he asked how dinner went at my parents. I even told him about my ex-husband and how he wanted me to go to marriage counseling with him.”

“Whoa,” Gwen interrupted, holding her hand up. “I think I missed something here. What exactly happened with Bill?”

Crystal quickly filled them in on her latest unpleasant parental encounter. “So, as you can imagine, that was kind of unexpected. Bill had never admitted that he shared the blame in the breakup of our marriage. I was reeling when I left there, which is why I didn’t go to Mark’s as I’d planned to do. I just sent him a text and went home to bed. Then he showed up sometime later pounding on the door and acting all . . . sexy. Now you’re up-to-date.”

Lydia put her hand over Crystal’s arm. “Honey, I know I’ve been out of the whole dating game for a while, but the problem here is obvious to me.”

“Me too,” Mia piped in, while Gwen nodded her agreement as well.

Confused, Crystal looked at her friends and said, “Well, then someone clue me in. Is this just how a booty call goes or something?”

“I don’t think that’s what his visit was about at all,” Lydia began. “I believe he was upset because you broke your plans to go see him via a text message. You can rest assured that stuff like that doesn’t happen to Mark DeStudo. Then after he rocked your world with his sexiness, you told him all about how your ex-husband wants you back.”

“That’s like two strikes against his manhood,” Mia agreed.

“Well, what was the third strike that caused him to leave?” Crystal asked, beginning to understand that she might have been a tad too loose-lipped with him the previous night. Too much information—not good.

“I don’t really know him,” Gwen inserted, “but I’m guessing Mark is an alpha male, like Dominic. If so, then there are no three strikes. Two big hits like that would push him to leave and regroup.”

“Bu-but,” Crystal sputtered, before putting her hand over her face. “I’m so far out of my league. I’ve gone straight from a Toyota to some fancy sports car.”

“Crys, if the hickey on the side of your neck is any indication, girl, then you’re somewhere around a Ferrari level.”

“What?” Crystal shrieked. She’d been so distracted when she was getting dressed this morning that she hadn’t noticed anything. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Without looking, Lydia shook her head. “Afraid not, sweetie. I saw it myself but figured it was from a curling iron since neither you nor I have seen much action in a while.”

“It’s only noticeable when you turn your head a certain way,” Gwen added helpfully. “Just stare straight ahead when you’re talking to people.”

“That’s great,” Crystal mumbled as she attempted to pull the collar of her blouse higher. “I have a hickey for the first time ever, and I ran Mark off last night by telling him the truth.” Throwing her hands up in the
air, she snapped, “There are just some weeks you’re born to lose!”

“You haven’t necessarily lost anything,” Mia said thoughtfully. “Having an alpha man myself, I can tell you one thing. They’re only pissed at a woman if she matters to him. The fact that Mark got his undies in a wad over you seeing Bill tells me that he was jealous, and it’s probably not a feeling that he’s well acquainted with.”

“So true,” Gwen agreed dryly. “In my long and disappointing love life before Dominic, I can tell you that men couldn’t give a shit about stuff like that unless they are emotionally involved. I once dated a guy who brought up my ex-boyfriend constantly, even encouraging me to give the guy another chance. You’re under Mark’s skin, and he’s out of his league with you as well.”

“So what do I do now?” Crystal exhaled loudly. “I have one man wanting me back and another one running from me.”

“It’s quite simple.” Lydia grinned. “Which one do you want to catch you?”

Gwen twisted her lips, looking the definition of devious as she said, “Actually, you don’t need to do a thing, Crys. If Mark is who I think he is, then he’ll come to you and your ex-husband will as well.”

“But I don’t need two men in my life,” Crystal cried. “I just want one guy, the one who can give me what I need without me having to beg.”

“Well, don’t tell us.” Mia chuckled evilly. “Tell it to Twitter.”

•   •   •

Lydia left for a meeting after they returned from lunch. Crystal worked steadily for the next few hours before blowing out a long, frustrated breath and deciding that she needed a break. She got up and shut her office door before returning to her desk and Googling “booty call quotes.” Even though Mia had encouraged her to tweet something at Mark, she’d been hesitant. That wasn’t exactly the mature approach, was it? Scanning through the page, she read one that seemed to apply to how she was feeling about the previous night.

So, before she could talk herself out of it, she replied to Mark’s last tweet with
“If you get a booty call at three a.m., you probably weren’t first on the list.” Unknown. #Angel.
Then she dusted her hands off in satisfaction. It took approximately sixty seconds for her to regret her impulsive social media slap down. She frantically pulled up the Twitter page and could hardly believe her eyes when she tried to log back in.
Sorry, we’re overloaded. Please try again in a few moments.
“Shit!” she hissed as she desperately tried to enter the Twittersphere. Crystal had been pressing
REFRESH
for what seemed like hours with no luck, when she heard her office door open. Her head jerked up and the blood drained from her face. Mark stood there and if the way he was scowling was any indication, he’d already read her tweet. “Oh crap,” she murmured.

He took what looked like carefully measured strides into her office before turning to close the door quietly behind him. “Good afternoon, Angel,” he said in a neutral voice. “Having a good day?”

“Um, sure,” she mumbled. His words were polite, but there was something about his eyes. They seemed
to blaze down at her behind his careful veneer. “How about you?”

He strolled closer, stopping just inches from where she was sitting before propping a hip on her desk. “It was going well—until my assistant burst into my office to share something with me.”

Should I beg for forgiveness or go the defiant route? Or maybe just act dumb for a bit longer and attempt to defuse the situation.

“Well, whatever it was, I’m sure the person meant no harm. Sometimes people say the first thing that pops into their head and then regret it. The person might even attempt to take it back, but is unable to.”

Mark raised a brow as he studied her in silence for a time. Finally, he said, “Is that so? My question in that instance would be why say it to begin with? I’ve always found that unfiltered thoughts tend to contain the most truths.”

Frustrated by his calm wordplay, Crystal snapped, “Oh, for heaven’s sake, admit you’re mad at me for dissing you on Twitter! I can’t take much more of this civilized bullying.”

She shut her eyes, waiting for him to blow. When nothing happened, she opened one eye, only to find him grinning at her with what almost looked like delight. “My Angel has claws. I’ve seen the evidence of that on my back—but I wasn’t convinced until now. Even when you’ve been a bad girl, you still come out swinging. I like that—a lot.”