Page 7 of Alex (Men of Forbidden Temptation #4)

ELISE

Laughing with Kate is nothing new, especially when alcohol is involved, but having Alex a part of the group warms my insides.

He fits in like he is a vital piece of my puzzle. Like he and I belong together.

My phone dings with a message a second before it rings. Who could be calling me this late? It’s Friday and there’s no outstanding work that needs to be done.

Can’t a girl just enjoy a night out with friends?

Reaching into my purse, I dig my phone out and smile when I look at the caller ID and see it’s Peter.

I push the answer button and hold it up to my ear. “Hey, Peter. What’s going on?”

His normal confident and easy going mood is nowhere to be found. He’s panicking and frantic. “The silent alarm was triggered and I’m calling to see if you’re still in the building and you accidentally triggered it somehow. ”

My gaze moves over to Alex, who’s looking at me with jealousy swirling in his eyes. Does Alex think I have a thing for Peter?

Shaking that thought away, I get back to the problem at hand. “No, I’m not at the office. I left over an hour ago. I’m at the bar with friends. Is Mr. Strickland still inside? Maybe he accidentally triggered it when he came back to finish up some work? He comes and goes a lot.”

Peter lets out a shaky sigh. “No one is here as far as I can tell. My car is the only one parked in the parking lot. That’s why I thought maybe it was you.”

Peter seems freaked out, but we’ve never had a problem with the alarm before.

“Unfortunately, it’s not me setting off the alarm. Maybe there’s something wrong with the alarm system. It could have glitched if there was an update today. I wouldn’t think anything of the alarm. This is a safe town.”

Alex quirks his eyebrow at my statement. Is he thinking that something is really wrong at the office? Or is he saying the town isn’t safe?

How would he really know what the town is really like? He lives in a mansion that’s gated and far from other houses with his own section of private beach.

I’ve seen the “wrong side of the tracks” hell, I live there now and nothing bad happens if you keep your nose out of others’ business.

Beeping sounds from the other end of the call before Peter continues with his freak out. “Elise, I can’t get the alarm turned off, and now I’m going to have to call Mr. Strickland this late at night on the weekend. Pray for me.”

“Wait. There’s no need to be so dramatic. I know the system override code, so we can restart the alarm system. I’ll come help you. The last thing we need to do is pull Mr. Strickland away from whatever he’s doing.”

Peter lets out a long sigh of relief before chuckling. “He’s probably busy buying another business.”

I let out a laugh that surprises both Alex and Kate. She looks like she’s ready to continue drinking the night away, while he looks like he wants to throw me over his shoulder and remind me of the night we had together.

I’m more than willing to let him rock my world for another night and give me several orgasms before he gets his, but I have responsibilities to handle first.

Peter’s voice brings me out of my daydream. “I don’t want to pull you away from your friends, Elise. I can just call Mr. Strickland.”

That would be a huge mistake.

Mr. Strickland looks like the type of man to be all work and no play. Not that I want to think of him playing. I’ll leave that to Kate’s imagination since she has a thing for older men. But disturbing him this late on a Friday night won’t end well.

For any of us .

I glance at Kate and Alex before saying, “Peter, just sit tight. I’ll be there in like fifteen to twenty minutes.”

“Thank you, Elise, and I’m sorry to bother you on your night off while you are with friends.”

He seems relieved, and that makes me believe I’m making the right choice to leave Kate and Alex to go back to the office to help.

I end the call and toss my phone into my purse. Looking up, I try to find the right words to explain the situation, but Alex is already moving.

He takes his empty beer bottle along with my glass and places them on the bar top.

When he tries to grab Kate’s glass, she protests. “Aww, come on, just one more shot. You haven’t had a shot with us yet.”

Alex’s expression turns serious as he stares at her. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”

Kate shakes her head animatedly and says, “No. I planned to have a few more, actually.”

Alex narrows his eyes at her. “Are you serious? You’ve had like four shots already since I’ve been here.”

I chime in, hoping to keep the peace between the two. “Alex, that might be true, but they were half shots. The bartender mixes half a shot with half soda for us so we don’t get too wasted.”

He lets out a huff of breath. “Fine, one more. I’ll go pay the tab and then I’ll drive you home.”

He pushes his way through the crowd and heads to the other end of the bar to pay our tab .

Kate snags Michael before he can head down to Alex. “Hey, Michael, can we have another shot? This time, make them full ones.”

Michael nods and fills two shot glasses to the brim with our favorite whiskey.

Kate picks the shots up and tries to hand one to me, but I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m all good. I have to go back to the office, and I don’t need to be tipsy or smell like whiskey in case Mr. Strickland does show up.”

He might be the type of business owner to get the alarms to his phone and is already on his way to check things out.

I won’t know until I get there. Thankfully, I don’t have to walk there since Alex is determined to be a part of this situation.

Kate holds both shot glasses in her hands, clinks them together as if she’s giving herself a toast, and then proceeds to down one right after the other.

“Whew! That burned, but I’m going to feel amazing.” She laughs and places the empty glasses on the bar top.

My gaze goes to the end of the bar where Alex is making his way back to us. His gaze locks onto mine.

The alcohol lowers my inhibitions, and I give him a wink.

It’s an innocent wink in my head, but I watch his eyes darken and his steps get faster. My heart pounds in my chest as his dark gaze gets closer and closer .

When he is just a few steps away, Kate throws herself at my side and wraps her arms around my arms. “Thank you for coming out with me.”

I give Alex a sympathetic look. “I think we should get her home.”

Kate chuckles. “I need to get ready in case Michael wants to hang out after his shift.”

Alex lets out a low growl as he ushers the two of us outside to his car. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he drives a very expensive sports car.

This car screams luxury and wealth from the upgraded electronics and ambient lighting to the soft leather seats that nestle around my curves. I settle deeper into the passenger seat as Kate gets in the backseat.

Alex rolls the front windows down and opens the sunroof so we can enjoy the pleasant breeze.

I shake my head. “Kate, I think you should wait until tomorrow to see Michael. You need to get home and sleep this off.”

“You’re a party pooper. Like him.”

She jabs her finger into Alex’s shoulder, but Alex doesn’t flinch. He glances at me with a look that’s begging me to handle my best friend.

“Kate, you may think we’re being party poopers, but we just want to keep you safe and make sure everything is consensual.”

I should have known that tonight was more about Kate letting go and getting drunk for her birthday than it was for two best friends to catch up and have a couple of drinks together .

Kate is my best friend and I love her more than anyone, but her priority right now is drinking, having sex, and living it up like she doesn’t have any cares in the world. She doesn’t, so it’s her right to party.

But I have different priorities in my life. They are working and paying off debt.

I look at Alex, who is watching my every move, and give him Kate’s address. He types it into his map before driving to her house. It’s on the way to the office, so it’s not out of our way.

Plus, Peter thinks it will be upwards of twenty minutes until I get there, so there’s plenty of time to drop Kate off.

The drive to her house is quiet. I watch Alex out of the corner of my eye. He stares straight ahead at the road without speaking a word.

Alex parks his car along the curb and lets Kate out. She reaches through my open window and gives me an enormous hug. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Maybe we can meet back up.”

“That sounds great. Get inside and go to bed. Bye.” I yell as she stumbles up the steps to her family’s house.

When she’s safely inside her house, Alex drives off in the direction of the office. He’s still silent and staring straight ahead.

Wanting to clear the awkwardness between us, I say, “Thanks for driving her home and driving me to work to check on the alarm.”

Alex doesn’t glance at me when he says, “You’re welcome.”

Just two words.

Why is he in such a bad mood? One moment he was fine and laughing along with us, then the next moment he’s grumpy and refusing to speak to me.

He pulls up to the office, parking right in front of the doors. He rolls up the windows and closes the sunroof before turning the car off and climbing out.

I stumble out of the car and Alex catches me. His touch is electrifying and causes me to let out a soft gasp.

My heart beats faster and my pussy clenches with need as our gazes lock. His heated gaze stays locked on mine as I regain my balance and stand up.

I feel a little unstable, and I’m not sure if that’s because of Alex’s arms wrapped around me or the small amount of alcohol coursing through me.

Maybe drinking on an empty stomach wasn’t such a great idea, even if it was only two full shots.

I try to head to the front door, but I can’t take more than one step away from Alex’s tight grasp. “I can walk, you know.”

His warm breath tickles my ear. “Can you? Because I don’t think you can.”

His tone is sharp, like he’s angry, but I’m a little tipsy and don’t really care about what’s got him in such a sour mood.

I need to help Peter before he has a full-blown anxiety attack, or worse, calls Mr. Strickland .

I turn around in Alex’s grasp. Our lips almost brush against one another.

“What’s got your briefs in a bunch?”

I try to put as much annoyance into my tone, but it falls flat. Being this close to him, in his arms, makes my body relax as if he’s pulling the imaginary strings inside my heart.

At the mention of his undergarments, his erection comes to life and presses against my abdomen.

Alex’s muscles tense as I push closer to him. He doesn’t answer my question as he lets me go and heads toward the front door.

I let out a huff of breath to try to steady my rapidly beating heart before speed walking to catch up to him.

Another question pops up in my mind, and against my better judgment, I open my mouth and let the words tumble out. “Or are you a boxers type of guy?”

I know he probably won’t answer my question, but I’m too curious now. The only time I was with him, he was wearing swimming trunks. If things keep progressing tonight the way they have been, I’ll find out sooner than later.