unfocused for a moment before he seemed to return to her. He was seriously distracted.
She didn’t like the look on his face. His jaw was like steel, and his lips were mashed in a grim line. He seemed resolute about whatever had just played out privately in his head. Whatever it was, it didn’t make her feel any better.
He offered a hand to help her off his desk. “Charley might be around. I saw his truck out front, but not his bike. If you can find him, show him how you throw knives. It’ll really freak him out.”
She smiled in spite of her unease, knowing Ford’s attempt at lightheartedness was a front for whatever he was really feeling. She didn’t say anything else to him, but took her time in gathering up her bag.
They met eyes again as she turned to go, and again Ford couldn’t seem to hold her gaze, dropping his beautiful emerald eyes and running a hand through his hair in an uncharacteristically anxious gesture.
Evie closed the library door behind her reluctantly, vowing to find Charley and take him out to the garage to look at Ford’s car, but her biker man was nowhere to be found. She slowly climbed the stairs back to her room, so many thoughts snarling in her brain that she didn’t know what to think about first.
After showering, she grabbed a short, silky robe and wrapped it around her naked body, too distracted to pick out an outfit. Dropping heavily onto her bed, she stared out the window for a long time, mulling over the idea of asking Ford for enough of her salary in advance to pay John back immediately.
She hadn’t wanted to do that, and she knew it would cause an issue with Ford. He’d give her the money—she was sure of that—but it would change things. It was important to Ford that she had the free choice to leave at any moment, and if she borrowed money, she’d be beholden to him. She didn’t think Ford would continue their…relationship, for lack of a better word, if she owed him money.
And she wasn’t ready to give that up. Charley and Ford were giving Evie the only real happiness she’d had in years, maybe ever. To feel loved and desired and safe…well, she just couldn’t bring herself to change things.
She pondered how to get the money without altering their deal, but after an hour she gave up in frustration. If Ford gave her the money it would change the delicate balance between them, and Evie didn’t want that to happen. She had more than herself to think of—Charley was a part of this too. If she altered her relationship with Ford, who knew what effect it’d have on Charley and Ford. And she was not going to be the cause of Charley’s fresh heartbreak.
She left her room in search of both men, seeking comfort and an answer that wasn’t there. But she wanted to see them, needing to be reassured of her safety and theirs.
Instead of turning right out of her room and heading for the stairs, as had been her plan, she went left toward Ford’s room, her heartbeat racing. If he was in there, he might be angry at her for seeking him in his private quarters. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the spot in the hallway where Ford had made her suck him before demanding she fuck Charley alone. She shivered. So many things had gone on among the three of them. They’d been connected in ways that were beyond her wildest imaginings only weeks before. No wonder their feelings had grown so intense so quickly.
At least they had for her and for Charley. How could Ford remain unaffected?
She rapped hesitantly at his door, entering when she heard a distant, “Come in.” Ford was in his bathroom. She’d never been in his room before, so she followed the direction she’d heard his voice.
Upon entering the bathroom, she was struck by two overwhelming sights. The first was the architectural masterpiece that was his en suite . If Evie could imagine what the master bathroom might look like in the penthouse floor of a luxury Las Vegas hotel suite, she still couldn’t have come up with