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What the fuck?
It took me a second to understand why: Drew knew I wouldn’t attack him for fear it would damage the priceless artifact.
Well played, Andy. He knew me so well. The statue was his insurance.
I’d known Andy for most of my life, but it wasn’t until now that I’d acknowledged his attractiveness. He was barefoot but dressed casually in snug dark wash jeans and a T-shirt that stretched over a pair of strong shoulders and a sculpted chest. His dark brown hair was mussed up, as if he’d been lying on the couch.
It was no wonder Ciaran had been drawn to Andy. The glint in Andy’s forest-green eyes conveyed he was enjoying this.
Andy’s heated gaze flicked down to our feet, then up our bodies, before landing again on our faces again. It was like he was drinking us in, taking his time savoring a dessert he’d just ordered.
A skeevy shiver slithered up my spine.
I chanced a glance at Ciaran, but his face was stony.
“Hello, boys,” Andy said smoothly. “I’ve been expecting you.”
51
CIARAN
We were already inside Drew’s modern loft apartment and standing in the living room before I’d truly come to my senses.
Matty and I were giving him plenty of space since Drew was carrying the heavy fertility statue like it was a personal shield. We wouldn’t touch him as long as it was in his arms.
Drew’s home was as I remembered. It even smelled the same, like wild mint and sage, with a hint of his normal cologne, which was a masculine scent of ambergris and a spicy saffron. It brought back many memories.
He was meticulous in his decorations and he had an amazing view of the Vegas Strip and the surrounding mountain range due to the unit’s large windows and balcony.
“Well,” Drew was saying, “you two are on an adventurous streak these days.” He looked at me like I was a snack. “I was going to ask if you were acclimating well at the Vaulteneau Estate, but you’re already looking like a million bucks, Ciaran.” He’d indicated my new wardrobe. “Certainly much better than your usual attire of athletic shorts, though,” he said with a knowing wink as he walked deeper into his apartment, “athletic shorts are much easier to remove, right?”
Drew’s eyes flickered to Matty before returning to me.
My face felt hot but I ignored his barb. I knew it would be the only way I’d survive the situation with my pride and dignity still intact.
“Fuck off, Andy,” Matty said. Thankfully, Matty wasn’t cowed by the older man. “You know why we’re here.”
Drew’s home was on the smaller side but expensively furnished with a pair of dove-gray couches and rich gray walls filled with black and white photos of the various places he’d visited, like Paris, Rome, and Sydney. The coffee table between the couches contained an open bottle of red wine and three empty glasses.
It was clear that Drew was confident Matty and I would show up together, but what made him think we’d sit down and share a glass of wine with him?
“But why hurry things along? You just got here,” Drew answered casually, as if he had the upper hand, and maybe he did. He gestured around his apartment. It was no less impressive than the first time I’d come here. Drew’s bookcase along a side wall had back lighting and I remember being dazzled the first time I saw his collection of old books. It was how he got me to come to his apartment in the first place. “You’ve been on the road for hours,” Drew said, his eyes locked on me. “Hungry? Thirsty? Interested in perusing my new book acquisitions? Mi casa es su casa.”
“Andy,” Matty hissed in warning.
“Matty.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. The muscles beneath my fingers were tight and vibrating with pent-up anger. Matty seemed seconds away from jumping on Drew like a mountain lion, so I’d taken on a calmer persona ever since entering the apartment. “He’s just trying to rile us.”
Dangling old books was an easy way to lure someone like me. Drew once offered to give me one, but I protested. He only laughed at me, saying he could easily replace it with another older, rarer book.
Turned out he wasn’t lying. Drew was wealthy enough to buy whatever—or whoever—he wanted.
My shame and guilt returned. Was I that easily bought? That gullible?
Apparently I was.
“I’ll rip off his fucking head,” Matty said.
“Maybe Matty needs a nap.” Drew’s lips were tight as he pointed upward, though his attention was laser focused on how my hand was touching Matty’s shoulder.
