Secret Cravings Read Free Page B

brush-off junk. He wanted to tell them to fuck off, but they were both right. He shouldn’t have assumed they would come up for a threesome. Not everyone in the world was a skank. Messing with Christopher had jaded him. “I understand,” Luke said, though he wanted to plead with them to come up and just cuddle with him. Anything to fill the huge hole in his heart. Nichole and Bryan turned towards the exit and Luke felt despair sliding over him. Nichole stopped walking and turned around.
    “I have a new set of clients next month. This neighbourhood. I’ll be at the usual spot on Mondays in two weeks. I would love to talk, if you aren’t too pissed off at the letdown.”
    Luke couldn’t believe she’d thrown him a bone. Maybe taking it slow with this girl would work. But in a month he would have to be in London. The small amount of hope that had flared in his mind was soon dashed. His work was tough on relationships—few people stuck around once they realised he had depth and wasn’t only pretty to look at. Too bad Bryan wasn’t interested, because he was the one Luke really wanted to get to know.
    “I live off of Sixty-Eighth, just around the corner. Green awning—if you are in the neighbourhood.” He stared at Bryan, praying the man would take him up on the offer.
    The pair disappeared from his view, and he walked out of the garage and around the building to his place. Martin was at the door and let him in. He said nothing, just went to his private elevator and swiped his card. The ride to his floor was long and lonely, but Bryan and Nichole coming up here would have been a mistake, one he’d made way too often when it came to relationships. Quick fucks might give his body relief, but his soul craved a deeper connection.
    The elevator came to a halt and Luke stepped out into his living area. He loved his apartment, his things. For the next two weeks he’d stay here and read, maybe watch some movies. The outside world could just go fuck itself until Nichole showed up at the park on Mondays. He couldn’t wait.
     
    * * * *
     
    Amy explained for the third time that she wasn’t going to submit to a drug test. She had rights and she knew them. The cops had taken her for a stupid bimbo, too dumb to know what was happening.
    When she’d first seen the cops, her eyes had darted around the dance floor, searching for the cute girl in pink. God, she hoped the girl had got out. In the hour and a half since the raid, she’d not seen Pink, which was what she’d affectionately begun to call the girl in her mind.
    The cops had let a few people go, but they were bringing in the paddy wagons to arrest a multitude. It was too bad her firm didn’t do criminal law—she’d be catching a ton of business. She’d already texted Robert, her boss, telling him what was what. He’d called and she’d answered, even with the cops shooting her dirty looks. Robert had had the gall to laugh when she’d explained the situation fully. When she’d told him how the cops had targeted her, he’d said very seriously that she needed to text him a picture, so, of course, she had. That was when his giggle fit had erupted. Five days a week she played the role of über-responsible adult, dressing in business suits, working twelve hours a day to pull down enough billable hours to get the partners to notice her efforts. Robert, a partner in the firm and her boss, had been impressed from day one, but weekend nights were her time. So what if she dolled up a bit when cutting loose? Before she’d hung up with him, she’d made him swear he wouldn’t hold this against her.
    He’d made some comment about holding her and she’d reminded him that she played for the other team. All in all, it hadn’t been too bad because he’d sobered quickly, telling her that he would be deleting the picture and that the only time he’d ever mention it again would be once she made partner, which would happen sooner rather than later.
    Amy had ended the phone