Eruption (The Hunted Series Book 3) (15 page)

"Then he should probably stop hitting on you."

"He's not. And what about Sierra hitting on you?" I
gave him a playful smile.

James laughed. "I think she's had too much to
drink."

"I hope that's the reason. I mean, I'm sitting right
there. What is her problem?"

He grabbed my hand and spun me around before pulling me back
in close.

"I don't think any of them really care to get to know
me, " I said. "They just wanted to meet you."

"I'm sure that isn't true."

"The only one talking to me was Zach and he was doing it
to piss you off."

James laughed.

"The woes of dating a celebrity."

"Baby, I'm not a celebrity."

"You basically are. And everyone that works for you
idolizes you."

"I only care about what you think of me."

I stared into his eyes. "Do you wish you were an
author?"

"I'm happy exactly where I am."

"You know, if you wrote a book it would automatically be
a best seller. You already have name recognition."

"I'm happy exactly where I am," he repeated.
"I wouldn't change a thing."

I stared into his eyes. "What do you and Mason talk
about when you run together?"

James smiled. "Guy stuff."

"What does that mean?"

James spun me around again.

"Does that mean you talk about me and Bee?"

"Sometimes."

"Good or bad things?"

"Let's just say I know who's going to win our bet."

"What?! You know when Mason is going to propose to
Bee?!"

"I can't say anything else."

"James, you have to tell me."

He laughed. "There's no way I'm telling you. I have
inside information. And you're just going to leak it to Bee."

"I won't, I promise."

"Penny, you're a terrible liar. I told Mason I wouldn't
tell anyone."

I pursed my lips. "Husbands and wives don't keep secrets
from each other."

"Some bro code breaks marriage code."

"It does not."

"No, it doesn't. But we're not married yet. Ask me again
next Saturday and I'll tell you."

"Fine." I sighed. "I was thinking about
calling off the wedding, but I guess I can't now."

"Very funny."

I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him. His hands slid down
to the top of my ass as he kissed me back. He didn't seem to care at all that
his employees could see us. And the way he was kissing me made me not care
either.

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. His
voice was low and seductive.

"Are you caving?"

"No, but I think I'll be able to get you to."

I shook my head back and forth. "If you cave we can
leave right now, though. And you can do whatever you want to me."

He lowered his eyebrows.

"If not, your new friends are waiting for you."

James laughed. "You mean your new friends." He leaned
in a little closer to me. "I'm not caving, Penny. But I guarantee that
this game will be over by the end of the week."

"Is that so?"

He winked at me and grabbed my hand. I reluctantly followed
him back to the table.

"We have a game to play," Sierra said.

Hopefully it wasn't who could flirt better with James.
"What's the game?" I asked.

"Two truths, one lie. We'll go around and each say two
truths and one lie about ourselves, and then everyone else will guess which
thing is a lie."

"Okay, let's play." I took a sip of my beer.

"I'll go first," she said. "I haven't been to
church in years. I flunked chemistry in high school. And I have never had a one
night stand."

"The last one was a lie," Tavon said.

"Nope." Sierra's cheeks blushed.

"What do you mean that's not a lie?" Tavon asked.

Sierra shrugged. "It wasn't my lie."

"We're going to have to fix that."

Sierra laughed.

"Well, you probably didn't flunk chemistry," Zach
said. "So I'm gonna say that's the lie."

Sierra shook her head.

"You really flunked chemistry?" I asked. "I
hated science too."

She laughed. "Yeah, I had to retake it. I just hated
that class so much."

"How on earth did you get this internship?" Tavon
asked and lightly touched her shoulder.

I tried not to laugh. Tavon had clearly found his mission for
the night. Sierra was in trouble.

"Okay," Tavon said and cracked his knuckles.
"I've lost more money in blackjack than I care to admit. I've never broken
a bone. And I have a huge penis."

"The huge penis thing is a little subjective, don't you
think?" Zach asked.

James laughed. This was the most inappropriate game ever to
play with your boss. James smiled at me. But he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Now that the inquisition was over, he probably felt a little more comfortable.

"Oh, no. It's huge." He winked at Sierra. Her
cheeks got even redder.

"The blackjack thing?" I asked. I couldn't picture
Tavon in a casino.

"Yeah. You got me. I don't even know how to play
blackjack."

"Okay, my turn," Zach said. "I've been in
several bar fights. I was in foster care growing up. And I play the
piano."

I pressed my lips together. Was that why he knew what abuse
looked like? Because he was in foster care? Was he abused? I felt bad for
giving him a hard time. He was just trying to help me.

"Well, there's no way you play piano," Tavon said.

"No, I do play."

"Really?" Sierra asked. "Are you really
good?"

Zach shrugged. "I'm okay."

"You're lying about the bar fights," James said.

Zach nodded. "Yeah, when you grow up in foster care, you
don't need to go out seeking fights. Your turn Penny."

I didn't know what to say. I felt like I needed to apologize
to him for being so defensive when he was just trying to help me. But James
wasn't abusive. I'd try to talk to Zach about it again later. Maybe he'd
believe me now that he had hung out with James. "Um. Well, I didn't have a
date to prom. I was seduced by my college professor. And I've...gone skinny
dipping."

"I'm sure you had a date to prom," Zach said.
"That's your lie."

I shook my head. "Nope. I never even had a normal date
until college."

"You're kidding," Tavon said.

"No.

"What's her lie, James?" Tavon asked.

James smiled at me. "The second one. But that's
subjective too. She thinks she was the one that seduced me, not the other way
around."

"Yeah right," Sierra said. She cleared her throat.
"Sorry."

James laughed. "I disagree too. I definitely seduced
her."

I rolled my eyes. We loved to disagree about this. But
really, we both seduced each other. It had been pretty clear from the start
what we both desired. "We agree to disagree."

"Your turn, James," Zach said.

"Okay, let's see. I've lost more money in blackjack than
I care to admit," he said.

Tavon laughed.

"I used to hate romantic comedies but now I love them.
And teaching was the best decision I ever made."

"Which one is a lie, Penny?" Sierra asked.

James raised his left eyebrow at me.

I had no idea. It was possible that James had been into
gambling at one point. He certainly had a lot of money he could lose. James and
I didn't watch that much T.V. but we had watched a few romcoms together. It was
possible that he liked them now that he was happy. I could imagine that he
hated them when he was married to Isabella. James certainly loved teaching. And
if he hadn't taught at the University of New Castle, we never would have met. I
smiled back at him. "The last one."

James nodded. "It was only the second best decision I
ever made."

"What was the first?" Sierra asked.

"Asking Penny to marry me."

It suddenly felt like we were the only two in the room. Next
Saturday I would be the luckiest girl in the world.

"Aww," Sierra said, interrupting the trance I was
in. "You guys are so cute."

"How much did you lose in blackjack?" Tavon asked.

James laughed. "I don't remember. You'd have to ask my
friend Mason. I'm pretty sure I blacked out the last time I went to a
casino."

I shook my head. I was glad the two of them talked about real
estate now. Blacking out at casinos was probably best to leave in the past.

Friday

James was hanging out with his friends tonight. Normally I'd
be watching T.V. with Tyler, but I hadn't heard from him or Melissa since
Tuesday. I wasn't going to push them. Fridays were the one night a week that
James and I usually didn't spend together. And just because two of my best
friends weren't speaking to me, it didn't mean James had to skip his night out.

So instead of going to Tyler's, I had made plans with Bee.
When James hung out with his friends, it usually meant Mason was also a part of
the shenanigans, which left Bee free to hang out. Most Fridays Bee came over
and hung out at Tyler's with me. They had known each other back at the
University of New Castle too. And apparently Tyler had never liked Bee's ex
fiancé, which made them bond instantly.

But sometimes Bee would hang out with her other friends. So
tonight I was crashing her girls' night at a bar near her advertising agency. I
had spent time with Marie and Kendra before. And despite the fact that they
were both really nice, I always felt a little out of place. Like Bee, they were
super successful women and I was just a girl who had been given her first
marketing job. Maybe they'd have some advice for me.

I stepped out of the subway and made my way up the stairs.
James hated that I used the subway. But he also refused to let me drive any of
his cars while we were in the city because he deemed it unsafe. Which didn't
bother me at all. I had no desire to drive through the crazy busy streets of
New York City. The thought scared me too. However, Ian was our only driver,
which usually resulted in me saying James could take the car. I didn't mind the
subway. I had gotten used to the smell of urine and the random homeless people
sleeping in the corners of the subway cars. Besides, it made me feel like a
normal New Yorker.

All week long I had tried to tempt James into seduction.
Apparently I wasn't great at being sexy, because he hadn't caved yet. But he
had said he'd have me begging by the end of the week and I couldn't wait to see
what he had in store. I silently laughed to myself. He had successfully turned
it into a competition despite me sincerely thinking it would be good to wait
till our wedding night. He had already gotten his way.

Every now and then I found James' behavior frustrating. But
for the most part, I liked that he always knew what he wanted and what was best
for me. I knew that from the outside looking in, it may look like I was a
pushover. That wasn't how it felt though. We both gave and took a lot from our
relationship. Just because I wasn't rich and successful didn't mean I didn't
have anything to offer him. And even though people judging me bothered me
sometimes like James' control issues, for the most part I had learned to ignore
it. I didn't care that people didn't understand why James wanted to be with me.
The important thing was that I knew he wanted to be.

I opened up the door to the bar and stepped inside. The air
conditioning was on full blast and it made me shiver. James and I had never
gone this long without having sex and strange things were turning me on. I
swallowed hard and reminded myself that the shivers weren't from him but from
cold air. Hopefully James was as amped up as I was and tonight he would confess
that he couldn't go another day without having me. Especially since tonight I
was planning on pulling out all the stops that I was too tired to last night.
The thought made me smile as I made my way over to Bee, who was waving her arm
in the air to call me over.

"Hey!" I said and sat down in the empty stool.

"Girl, I can't wait till your wedding," Kendra said
with a huge smile. "So what's the situation with the single guys that are
going to be there?"

I laughed. "You mean like how many will be there?"

"Mhm."

"There's a bunch of James' friends from college that are
coming that I've never met. I think most of them didn't say they were bringing
a plus one. And a few of his colleagues who I know are single. I can't
remember, have you already met Rob and Matt?"

"What, is that like a gay couple or something? I'm
talking about straight, single guys here, Penny."

Bee laughed. "She's met them. Matt is Mason's younger
brother and Rob is James' younger brother. They were at my birthday
party." She paused for a second. "Now that you mention it though,
they would make kind of a cute gay couple."

"Oh, those two." She rolled her eyes. "You're
right, I have met them. They're too young for me. But the other options sound
promising. I am so getting laid."

Marie laughed. "Okay, now that the important question is
out of the way...are you getting nervous?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm not, actually." I had
thought after Isabella's threat that she would have been horrible all week, but
I hadn't heard from her. And James' parents hadn't contacted us at all. Those
had been the only two things I was stressed about. The wedding itself didn't
make me nervous. It felt like I had been waiting forever to marry James.
"I'm just so excited."

Marie smiled. "That's good. God, I was so nervous the
week before I got married. I just kept thinking about all the things that could
go wrong. Like tripping down the aisle, or..."

Bee lightly pushed Marie's shoulder. "Don't make her
worry. It's good that you're excited, Penny. We're all so excited for
you."

A waiter came by and dropped off four cosmopolitans. Bee and
her friends always ordered them when they went out. It gave the whole night a
Sex in the City vibe, although Kendra was the only one that was single.

"How's the new job going?" Bee asked and took a sip
of her drink.

Luckily my bruise had faded so I wouldn't have to talk about
being called Fight Club. "It was a weird first week. Having to tell the
other interns that I was basically just handed the job was embarrassing. You're
all so successful. And I..."

"Okay, you can stop right there. Marie and Kendra,
absolutely," Bee said. "But you know how I got my job. James only
gave you an internship. You still have to work your way up. You still get to
prove your worth."

I laughed. "I forgot about that, actually."

"And everyone's going to forget that James gave you your
first marketing job. It's not a big deal. Besides, you're marrying him. You're
taking his last name. People are going to automatically respect you."

"Do I sense a hint of jealousy?" Marie asked.

Bee laughed. "Mason and I are enjoying the here and now.
And we're too busy to get married."

That's how I had felt while I was still in school. Bee and
Mason were growing their business together. They worked all the time.

"Mhm," Kendra said. "So when do you think
Mason will pop the question?"

Bee shrugged. "Sometime before we have kids? I don't
know."

"Are you seriously thinking about having kids
soon?" Kendra asked. "Ugh, they're always so sticky."

Marie laughed. "Sticky? Actually, that's a pretty good
way to describe the little monsters."

"Not soon soon," Bee said. "Like I just said,
I'd want to get married first. So it's a few years out. We have talked about it
though."

"I'm thinking pretty soon myself," Marie said with
a smile.

"Nooooo!" Kendra yelled. Some people in the bar
turned to look at us. "You can't have kids yet. None of you can. I'm not
ready."

"You're not ready?" Marie asked. "You're not
the one who's body is going to turn into a watermelon."

Kendra laughed. "True. But I'll be an unofficial aunt.
Which means I have to agree to the when. And I say not yet. I need these girls'
nights. I can't have you guys all fat in here. How will I ever pick up men that
way?"

"But you'll look so good in comparison," Bee said.

"No. Pregnant women have that whole glowing skin thing
going on. You're all trying to ruin my life." Kendra turned to me.
"And you're awfully quiet. Does that mean you're going to start popping
babies out right away too, miss soon to be missus?"

"Oh, I...no, I don't know if that's...well, probably
not." I took a huge sip of my cosmo.
God is this strong.
I coughed
and looked back up. They were all staring at me.

Kendra's face got a little softer and she glanced at Bee.

Bee gave me an encouraging smile. "What, James doesn't
want a million little kids running around?"

I looked down at my drink. "We just haven't talked about
it much." I knew he was worried about being a bad father. But he was
stronger than he realized. He wasn't going to break again. His life was good
now. We were good.

"Isn't that kind of something you're supposed to talk
about before getting married?" Kendra asked. "Ow!" she yelped. I
looked up to see her giving Marie a death stare.

"You're so young," Marie said. "You two have
plenty of time to figure it out. Besides, you're just starting your career.
You'll probably want to work for several years before starting a family."

"Mhm." I wasn't so sure about that. But I was
young. Being with James always made me try to act older than I was. I had
plenty of time to convince him that it was a good idea, though. Right now I
just wanted to focus on us.

Bee pulled out her phone. "Oh, no." Her face drained
of color.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Bee looked up at me. "I thought you said you'd tell
James to not let Mason throw his bachelor party? You said you'd talk to
him."

"James said he didn't want one and then he never
mentioned it again. I figured it didn't matter. I meant to ask you about that,
though. What's wrong with Mason throwing it?"

Bee's face went from pale to bright red.
"Ummm...well..."

"I'm really sorry, I kind of thought you were just
joking around about it."

"I wasn't joking, Penny. This is a disaster."

"I mean, I can talk to James tonight if it's that big of
a deal..."

"It's too late. They already left."

"What?"

"They kidnapped him." She tossed me her phone. It
was a text from Mason:

"I hope you had a good day at work, baby. Also...we
kidnapped James for the weekend. We'll all be back late Sunday night. And we
stole James' phone. So tell Penny so she doesn't worry. I love you! P.S. Don't
be mad. I promise to make it up to you Sunday night."

I couldn't help but laugh, but I immediately stopped when I
saw Bee's face. "Bee, they'll have fun. Don't worry about it. Plus it
sounds like you're going to have a fun Sunday night."

She snatched her phone from me and started texting Mason
back.

"Will you just tell me what's bothering you?"

"Mason used to be a man-whore," Kendra offered.

"Kendra! Penny is marrying his best friend. Don't tell
her that." Bee looked so embarrassed.

I laughed. "Bee, I already knew that. And I don't see
why that matters. He
used to be
is the key there. He's not now."

"Wait, you knew about his side business when we first
met and you didn't tell me? A little heads up would have been nice." She
laughed and instantly seemed a little more relaxed. But I had no idea what she
was talking about.

"What side business?"

"You didn't know? What is wrong with me?" She put
her face in her hands.

I looked over at Kendra and Marie but neither of them seemed
to want to say anything now. I didn't care what Mason's embarrassing side
business was. "If you're worried about him cheating on you or something,
you have nothing..."

"Oh, God, no. Mason wouldn't do that. At least, I can't
picture him doing that."

"He wouldn't," Marie said. "He's head over
heels for you."

"So, it's fine," I said.

"No, I mean, I'm worried about James. Mason isn't good
at...pacing himself." She drew her eyebrows together.

I knew Mason knew about James' problems. But I hadn't
realized that Bee knew. It made sense though. I knew that Mason was a man-whore
because James had told me. And she knew about James because Mason had told her.

"James knows how to pace himself." I didn't want to
be having this conversation in front of Marie and Kendra. "It's going to
be fine. They're just gonna have fun." Now I was trying to convince
myself. I thought about what James had said yesterday when we were playing two
truths, one lie. One time he was with Mason he had gotten so drunk that he
blacked out and lost a ton of money gambling. That was probably a long time
ago, though. James didn't do that kind of stuff now.

Bee nodded. "But I don't know what kind of place Mason's
taking him to. It could be really bad. Mason's really good at doing stuff like
this. I'm worried he's going to take it too far."

I swallowed hard. I still didn't really understand what she
was getting at, but I had an unsettling feeling in my stomach. I hadn't had sex
with James all week. He was just as horny as me. And Mason had just taken him
God knows where. "I'm just going to call him real quick." I pulled
out my phone and pressed on his name, even though I knew Mason had said they
had taken his phone. It went straight to voicemail. "Where do you think
they went?" I tried to make my voice sound normal as I put my phone back
in my purse, but I'm pretty sure I sounded panicky.

"I don't know," Bee said.

"What's Mason's side business?"

"He doesn't do it anymore. He's retired." She gave
me a small smile, but it was far from encouraging.

"Bee, please just tell me."