Page 114 of Tracking Luxe

She laughed and followed behind, out of his room, down the long corridor and into a spacious communal kitchen area.

They weren’t alone in the kitchen, a slim dark-haired woman dressed in a three-quarter jumpsuit was assembling a platter of what looked like hot wings. The woman turned hearing them, her smile was beaming. For Nathan.

Looking up at him Luxe raised her brow when he seemed uncomfortable. Placing his hand on her back he shuffled her to the table. “Take a seat, love. Let me see what I can grab for you.”

“Hey, Grinder!” the woman smiled. “I’m bringing these out for Zara.”

He was heading to the fridge, and didn’t afford the woman a glance. “Okay.” He stated. The bland attitude didn’t seem to dampen the woman’s enthusiasm as she sidled up to him, a hip cocked out she fluffed her silky hair and asked. “Are you going to be around later? I thought we could spend some time together again like the other week and---”

“No. I’m taking my girl home.”

It was around the same time that something tickled in the back of Luxe’s skull watching how her man steadily tried to ignore another woman as if she didn’t exist.

As a woman tended to do, Luxe had a full internal conversation with herself before she showed a flicker of reaction. He’d spent time with this woman recently? In the same period as being with her?

Sure, they were nothing official then, were they? It shouldn’t matter, should it?

Yet there was that stab in her heart, digging deep, burrowing hard.Fucking hell.

“Are you sure, I mean---”

“Dani. I’m takingmy girlhome.” He stressedmy girlso vehemently the other woman looked Luxe’s way finally and shrugged, her face crestfallen. “Oh. Alright. I should get these out to everyone. Bye.” She told Luxe even though the woman hadn’t said hello to begin with. She was gone a moment later carrying the large pan of meat.

“There’s some salad and cheese.” Grinder called out over his shoulder, half of his large body still buried within the belly of the fridge. “And I can make garlic bread. Snake has a chocolate thing in here, you can have that, tough shit for him if he wanted it.”

“Are we sweeping over the fact a woman just talked about being on your dick the other week?”

His head whipped up and shame stained his face for a second before it was gone.

But Luxe saw.

“She wasnoton my dick, Luxe. Jesus.”

“She sounded pretty sure. It’s not something a woman forgets.”

Dropping food on the table, his forehead was a mass of puckered wrinkles as he stared at her.

He ran a hand over his beard.

She waited.

And waited.

“I didn’t fuck her.”

It didn’t go unnoticed he dropped his eyes from hers and something cold settled in her belly.

It shouldn’t matter, she tried to tell herself. It shouldn’t. He could sleep with who he wanted then.

But there was no holding back the stab of hurt she was feeling.

Almost like a betrayal.

“But something happened …” she led him to the answer. Her voice strange to her own ears, she had to stand, nervous energy was suddenly zipping through her body and she needed to move.

“Luxe,” his sigh puffed hard enough to fell forests. “Baby. Don’t look at me as though I’ve hurt you. Fuck, don’t. I haven’t been with anyone but you for months.”

He strode in three big steps and took hold of her arms. It shouldn’t matter, she told herself. She was absolutely fine about it.Let it go, drop it.