Page 18 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 18

SKY

“ Y ou’re sure?” Cory asked the next day, his voice coming through my car’s stereo system loud enough I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

“Yes.”

“I don’t have to.”

“It’s fine,” I exhaled. “I’ll text you the address.”

I could practically hear the smile on his face. “Okay.”

Cory still didn’t know where I lived. But when he’d called about taking me out last minute to a formal event, it made more sense logistically for him to just pick me up than to meet him somewhere or go to his place.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be ready.” And waiting downstairs in the lobby.

I still didn’t feel comfortable with him seeing the sad, tiny space we called home. It was silly. At this point I knew he wouldn’t judge me for it. But there was some lingering anxiety around it that I couldn’t shake. And since we were just business partners, there was no need for me to show him. We were doing fine just like this.

Elle was all too eager to stay late, once she knew it was for a date with Cory. She even helped me pick out a dress. And given the wa y Cory was looking at me when I met him outside my building, he agreed with her suggestion.

“You look stunning,” he said, holding the door open for me and offering his hand to help me into his truck.

“You said it was fancier than normal, so I hope this is good enough.” This was the longest dress I had that fit the bill. It was black with a simple halter neck and a long slit up the leg—the unmarked leg. I didn’t think the purple-yellow gash on my knee would make for a very stylish accessory.

Cory paused, his hand on the door. “I told you, you never have to worry about that. Wear whatever you like, because I can promise you, I’ll like it too.”

His smile was more sincere than the cheeky winks that were his trademark, and it made my neck hot.

Everything seemed normal until we got on the highway headed north, and he started to fidget. Before he’d even opened his mouth, I knew something was coming.

“You feeling good tonight?” he asked, his thumb tapping the wheel.

I gave him a long look out of the corner of my eye. “Whatever it is, just spit it out.”

A gust of air huffed out of him. “I wanted to see if you’d be okay stepping things up tonight.”

My gut spun, like being on the teacup ride as a kid with Ronnie at the helm. “What does that mean?” I asked, keeping my voice even despite the spike in adrenaline.

“It means,” he reached across the console, and took my hand. He laced his fingers in mine and squeezed. He hadn’t touched me much since the fight and it felt far too good to be connected to him again. “We got some great shots of us the other night, but tonight I’d like to show up a little... more obviously. There’s going to be press at this event. A red carpet.”

“Ahh,” I sighed, the picture getting clearer. No more hiding in the bushes, this time there’d be flashes in my face.

“Are you up for it? ”

When I’d signed the papers, I’d considered this part. But truthfully, I’d been entirely too focused on the reality of spending time with a man I was convinced was nothing more than a shallow jerk. I’d thought the challenge was going to be enduring him . Now, that I knew better who Cory was, the thing I probably should have feared was upon me.

“Sure,” I answered a little too lightly.

“Skylar,” he said my name so softly, it pulled my eyes up to meet his. He cleared his throat, and I knew there was more. “We also need to discuss...” Hesitating, he gave me a quick glance, a deep curve to his brow. “It would be helpful for the narrative, if we were photographed after. And if that photo showed us getting closer .”

Now I got it. “You want to kiss me.”

Air rushed out of him in relief. “Yeah. If that would be okay?”

The prospect of kissing Cory had my whole body lit up like the dashboard lights of my Honda Civic when I was seventeen and forgot to change the oil. Traitor.

This was part of the deal, right? I always knew we’d end up here. But that fact didn’t stop me from falling headlong into a metaphorical vat of equal parts jittery nerves and eager anticipation. This felt like taking the complications of our last few weeks and pouring gasoline all over them.

“It’s what you’re paying me for,” I said flatly, trying to cage my racing pulse with a reminder that this was about business. But my irritation with myself made it come out more defensively than I meant, and I winced when I saw Cory’s expression drop before he turned back to the road.

“Okay. We’ll see how it goes.”

We sat in silence the rest of the way, and I felt more and more guilty. I’d sounded annoyed with him, like I was upset he’d asked, and he hadn’t deserved that.

We’d pulled into a parking garage and Cory was getting ready to get out when I stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned back to me, fresh worry on his face .

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s okay,” he said, offering me a forgiving smile.

I took a breath, and even though it felt like jumping off a cliff, I forced the words out. “I might feel more comfortable if we practiced first.”

Cory’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to practice? Kissing?”

“Yeah,” I huffed. “We’ve never done that, and if there’s going to be lasting proof of this thing, I’d like to make sure it’s not any more humiliating than it has to be.”

That was mostly true. But the bigger issue was that I felt like a bottle of champagne that had been shaken, all bubbly and tight. I wanted to uncork this anticipation before we went in front of swarms of cameras and I had a very real reaction to a very fake kiss.

Cory’s smile was sweet, almost bashful, as he shook his head. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I sighed, turning in my seat to face him.

I was ready for him to just lean in and go for it, but he didn’t. Instead he shifted slowly, taking his time as he looked in my eyes, and then floated his gaze over my features. His easy, appreciative smile was one I’d never seen before and I couldn’t fight the pink that rushed to my cheeks. He laughed, raising his hand to brush the backs of his knuckle across it.

“You do that so much.”

“It’s embarrassing,” I muttered, looking away.

He bent his finger under my chin and gently tugged me back up to look at him, a warming sincerity in his eyes. “It’s not. Not even close.”

His thumb grazed my jaw, and he held my gaze before leaning across the console, my stomach fisting as he drew near. He was so careful, his lips barely sifting over mine, his tenderness almost admirable, if it wasn’t also sending my pulse rioting. He slid his hand through my hair and pulled me closer. I sighed into the gentle touch as it radiated through my whole body.

Damn . It had been too long .

He slanted his mouth over mine and I was all too eager to grant him passage. With such patience it was unnerving, he deepened the kiss. My toes curled. My belly flopped over on itself. The tiny hairs on my body stood at attention, pointing to the sky like they were sending up a prayer of thanks. Because god, this felt good.

Soft lips, stroking tongue, the tiniest nibble as we went for a breath. He was the opposite of rushed. It was as if the man was savoring this moment, savoring me, like he’d been just as hungry for it, but knew better than to let his anticipation steal a single second of goodness.

I hadn’t realized it, but my fingers had curled themselves into the lapel of his suit and Cory huffed out a low laugh when I gave him a rough tug closer.

He pulled back, his thumb tracing the edge of my lip as his eyes danced around my face. “You feel better now?” he asked, humor in his eyes as he glanced down at my hands.

More blood rushed to my cheeks as I quickly dropped them to my lap. “Sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”

Cory took my hands in his, placing them back on his chest. “Don’t you dare apologize for any of that. You can grab me like this any time you want.”

“A perk of the job?” I quipped, running my hands over the soft fabric, the sturdy feel of his chest beneath a cruel temptation to kiss him some more.

“Exactly.” He brushed a hair from my cheek, all traces of the disappointment from before long gone. “Enough practice?”

I choked on a laugh. I’d never want to leave his truck if we didn’t get this show started. “Yeah.”

“You sure you’re ready? It’s going to be loud in there.”

The compassion in Cory’s eyes tamped down the kneejerk urge to tell him to stop worrying about me. He was showing he cared, not doubting me. It was so rare to have someone looking out for me for a change, I hadn’t been able to see the difference.

I’d done press junkets with Ronnie plenty of times. But never in a s linky black dress or in the role of fake girlfriend, but I had some idea of how this would go. “I’ll be fine. They only really care about you, anyway.”

Cory tilted his head side to side. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, Sky. But after tonight, you won’t just have to take my word for it.”

I scoffed, reaching for my purse. “As if any woman was ever done any favors by listening to the press’s opinion of her?”

With his hand on the door, Cory paused to look back at me over his shoulder. “You’re right. Fuck what they say, just listen to me.” He winked, and then hopped out to come open my door.

Cory wanted me to only care about what he thought. It made me laugh at first, because two months ago I couldn’t have cared less about the man, let alone his opinion of me.

But now? Now I was starting to care, all right. Maybe too much.