Page 25 of Bargain With The Boss (Crescent Cove: The Moguls #2)

Xavier

The text tone came near dusk, and I hopped up to grab my phone.

“Come find me,” I whispered.

She’d barely let me know she was going out of town let alone where she was.

Shit.

Her red curls were wild, blocking the thin straps around her shoulders, making it look like she wasn’t wearing anything.

Her eyes were soft and unfocused, much like when I watched her come for me.

How the hell was I supposed to find her?

I saved the photo, but she was careful enough not to have information in her photo. I was thankful and frustrated at the same time. I wanted to find her.

To talk to her.

Convince her not to end us before we even began.

Annoyed, I quickly packed an overnight bag then grabbed my keys.

I had one idea to find her. I just hoped Claire Maitland was willing to help me out.

The Maitland mansion was on the same side of the lake as my house making it a quick trip into the enemy compound. The Cape Cod house was lit up and cars lined the drive.

Hell.

The timing couldn’t be better for this mission. I parked my Boxter on the edges of the lawn and caught a glint of something near the water.

“This is not your brightest idea,” I muttered to myself as I headed down the grass toward the boathouse. The path was lit tonight unlike the last time I’d been there. A few guests for whatever soiree Maitland had going on were walking around with flutes of champagne and some fizzy pink drink.

The clink of something metal on metal dragged me deeper into the brush to the side of the boathouse.

Heath had his suit coat thrown over the door of a gorgeous blue ’65 Shelby Cobra with a white stripe down the hood. The hood was up and he was half-hidden, his dress shirt in his back pocket along with a red rag in the other.

I’d bet fifty bucks he went for the wrong one at least once tonight.

“Maitland.”

He popped his head up, banging it on the hood. “Fuck.” He looked over his shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here?”

I snickered when he grabbed his shirt and swore.

“You owe me fifty.”

He frowned as he tossed the dress shirt on the grass and wiped his fingers with the red rag. “For what?”

“Never mind. I was mentally betting you’d grab the shirt instead of the rag.”

“Yeah, well I was distracted by an asshole. Again, why are you here?” He dipped into a cooler for a beer, then leaned his thigh against the car as he twisted off the top on the bottle.

“I need a favor.”

His sun-bleached brows shot up as he finished his sip. “Right.”

“I’m looking for Sydney.”

“Not catching the hint there, shithead.”

I tipped my head back. “This time she asked me to come find her.”

Heath wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sure.”

“Do you know where she is or not?”

“Maybe.” He kicked the cooler toward me.

I shook my head. “Hopefully I’ll be heading out to find her.”

“Hmm. Bit of a drive for that one.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know where she is?”

He shrugged.

“Look, man. She told me to come find her.”

“Sure she did.”

I dug out my phone and flashed it to him.

Heath took it and zoomed in on the photo.

I grabbed it back. “Back off.”

He huffed out a laugh. “She sure is a beautiful woman. Definitely too good for you.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

He took another long sip, his gaze steady. “She’s in the Adirondacks with my sister.”

“Care to be a bit more specific?”

“Not really.” He pushed off the car and pitched his empty bottle in the green cooler filled with ice.

“Look, we had...not really a fight. Hell, I don’t know what we had. She jetted on me the next morning, if you know what I mean.”

“Not really.” He grinned. “Women don’t generally run from me.”

I shook my head and tried not to laugh. I didn’t want to like him, dammit. I hated what his family stood for in this town.

“And why did she run?”

I opened my mouth to tell him it was none of his business, but the look on his face told me that I’d lose any hope of an answer if I did.

“Things got too real for her I think.”

“And for you?”

“Real as it gets. And maybe I scared her.”

Because I wanted too much. And it wasn’t fading with a new day. Getting worse if I was honest.

I wanted to learn what made her tick. What made her laugh out loud with abandon. What she’d look like in my bed on a Sunday morning.

I wanted a damn lot, and I was afraid I’d already lost out on something amazing.

But how the hell did I explain that to a virtual stranger?

And the son of the man who could fuck up the town I wanted to protect.

“I don’t know Syd very well yet, but I do know she’s different from other women I’ve known. Fuck things up with her and I’ll be there to clean up the tears and show her how a real man can treat her.”

I took two steps closer, my hand fisted.

His face broke out in a wide grin, eyes crinkled at the corners in glee. “Yeah, you got it bad.” He turned back to his car and picked up a socket wrench. “She’s at the Earl in Lake George with my sister.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Don’t fuck it up!” he called out, but I was already down the path to my car.

I put the name of the place in my Maps app and swore at how many hours it would take to get to her. Hell, the entire place would probably be buttoned up for the night.

But I had to try.

I gunned my engine and hit the curve of Lake Road at ninety miles per hour.

I hoped the cops weren’t on the beat over there tonight.

I managed to get on the highway in record time and the east thruway felt like it took forever. I managed to shave thirty minutes off the main part of the drive, but once the signs for Lake George came up, I had to throttle it back.

It was a small town much like Crescent Cove, but their downtown life was much more congested. Bars and restaurants were doing a late business in deference to the sultry May night. The holiday was coming, which would kick off the season in the sleepy little town.

I slowed as downtown opened up into a lakeview that rivaled my hometown.

The Earl was right on the water and an impressive stone structure.

Signs for a wedding were everywhere. The parking lot was valet only and there was a line under the overhang of the front of the venue.

I rolled down my window and a hit from the early aughts floated down from the side of the building.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s anthem rolled out as I got to the valet.

I hopped out and barely pocketed my ticket before I was taking off for the party on the side of the building. I didn’t know anyone, but it looked like the drinks had been free flowing.

A few people were sloppy drunk, but for the most part it seemed like everyone was just having a good time.

A filmy dress caught my eye. The light brown hair was the wrong woman, but she could lead me to the right one. “Claire!”

She twirled around, a huge smile on her face that slowly slid away. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Where’s Syd?”

“None of your business. What are you, some sort of stalker? She can spend one weekend away from you, Xavier.”

I didn’t want to explain anything, dammit. I just wanted to find Syd.

I scanned the crowd. “Is she still here?”

“You have some nerve coming after her. She needs some time to think about things, you jerk.”

“She asked me to come.”

Claire frowned. “She did?”

I nodded. Then a woman with familiar red curls glided through the dancers on the patio.

She gave me a soft smile as she threaded through the people.

She wore the dress from the window at Ember’s place.

It had been shortened and skimmed the middle of her thighs, showing off toned legs that went for miles ending in strappy heels that made her hips sway deliciously.

A beer dangled from her fingertips. She took a slow sip before dropping it off on one of the tables.

A man caught her around the waist and tried to urge her back to the dance floor, but she just shook him off with a soft word that left him smiling and staring after her.

Who was this siren?

This wasn’t the woman who’d come to Crescent Cove a little over a week ago.

“What’s in those drinks?”

Claire sighed. “She’s been making friends and having a good time. Why are you here to ruin it?”

“Maybe I’m just here for her.” I glanced down at Claire, but only for a second. I couldn’t keep my gaze off Sydney. Her curls lifted from the wind off the water and she practically glowed from the overhead string lights illuminating the patio.

“You found me.” Her voice was breathless and low.

“I’ll always find you, Duchess.”

Her cheeks pinked. She touched Claire’s arm. “I texted him. Are you mad?”

Claire shook her head. “No. Maybe a little jealous. I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy drive hours to see me.”

I hadn’t even paused. Hell, I practically ran for her.

Syd gave her happy smile, then held a hand out to me. “Dance with me.”

I let her lead me to the dance floor where a sultry beat pulsed from the speakers. The voice was low and raspy and spoke of a woman being the death of him.

I could relate.

She would end me, I was sure of it.

I pulled her into me until our thighs brushed and her wrists draped over my shoulder.

I lowered to touch my forehead to hers. She closed her eyes and clung to me, our bodies lined up as if they were made for one another.

I fisted the layers of filmy fabric until I found skin.

The dress was backless under the dozens of filmy layers.

I trailed my fingers along the soft skin at the base of her spine.

She swayed against me, her knee slipping between my thigh until she was close enough to feel how hard I was for her.

Her lips parted as she brushed her hips against me again and again.

She slipped one hand down to my chest to flirt with a button of my dress shirt I hadn’t taken the time to change out of before I left.

She pushed the small buttons through the holes until there was nothing but my tank undershirt between us.

The beat of the song emboldened her, and she flirted with the belt of my pants, then dragged the back of her knuckle over my stiff length tenting my zipper.