“ ‘When’?” My question comes out breathlessly, my eyes nearly fluttering closed as he continues, brushing his lips along my jaw.
“Yeah, when,” he murmurs, curling his fingers into my hair. “Because even though you think you won’t, you will. I’ll make it impossible for you not to, but I have a feeling you’re gonna do the same fucking thing to me. So we’ll be even. Good?”
“Good,” I say, my heart rioting, wondering if he’ll be the first to crack it open.
With a slow smile, Brock captures my bottom lip between his teeth, gently sucking as he continues. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me. I’ve been playing this game for a few years. Besides playing it very well, I know the ins and outs of it. Everyone working under me does too. No one in my circle’s a fool.”
Ryder hijacks my thoughts, pushing through every crevice of my skull. I hadn’t expected him to say anything about being a part of this setup, but considering how much we spilled today, a small part of me can’t help but feel the same slice of betrayal it’s feeling for Brock.
Either way, I got schooled by two guys.
Big-time.
One fit the drug-dealer stereotype in every sense of the word. Tattoos, a proper piercing, and an I don’t give a fuck bad-boy persona.
The other?
A true enigma. The all-American boy gone bad. Really bad.
I’m aware both illusionists could be toxic to my mental state and heart. Doing what I do best, I disconnect, shoving Ryder out of my head. “I watch television. Dealers and their crews get taken down all the time.”
Brock chuckles again, this one full-bodied. “I’m not going down, and if I do, it’s gonna make national news.”
“Is that an attempt at making me feel better?” I cock a brow, still in awe that I’m having this conversation. I’d be lying if I said my mind’s not warring with the fact that I’m on a date with a dealer. “If it is, it’s not working.”
He kisses my forehead, a smirk plastered to his lips as he leans back and checks the side-view mirror. “Don’t worry your pretty little self, all right?”
“Uh, okay?”
“And I need you to promise me something,” he says, his voice serious as he eases onto the road.
I stare at him, waiting for him to go on.
“I want you. I think I’ve made that very clear.” He brings his hand to my cheek, sliding his thumb under my chin. “But if you’re going to be with me, you can’t ask questions about anything I do. You’ll be a part of my life, but you’ll never be a part of that life.”
I blink and face him. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s obvious you’re setting boundaries. I’m not stupid. But for the simple fact that I don’t take orders well from others—even though I’m disturbingly turned on by your dominance—I need you to elaborate some.”
“You’re turned on by this?” he asks with a lazy grin, his playfulness making a resurgence.
I sigh, unwilling to admit just how much I’m turned on. “Get to the point.”
“You have no clue how disturbingly kinky I can get.” He smoothes his palm up my leg, his fingers toying with the hem of my skirt. “Just preparing you.”
I sigh again, but I really want to moan. “Point, Cunningham. Make. It. Now.”
“Right.” He shoves a hand through his hair, his grin disappearing. “I pick up once a month from my guy. Sometimes I’m gone for a few hours, sometimes I’m gone a few days. You can’t come with me.”
“Why?” I cross my arms, feeling like a child.
He glances at me. “Do you really need to ask why?”
“You’re the one who made it sound like it’s not dangerous.”
“I never said it wasn’t dangerous, Ber. There’s nothing about it that’s not dangerous. What I said was that I know how to maneuver around the assholes I deal with.” Flicking on his blinker, he squeezes my thigh. “And the assholes I deal with are assholes you’ll never be anywhere around. Ever. It’s not gonna happen.”
A few silent minutes go by before the need to test him strikes me. “Is it dangerous enough that you have to . . . carry a gun?”
He kicks me another glance, this one sharp. “No questions, baby. Remember what I said. None.”
I swallow hard, the effort twisting my throat. He’s said all I need to know. All I’m sure he’s ever going to let me in on.
“You good?” he asks, his voice soft.
I nod. Despite everything dumped in my lap in the last fifteen minutes, I think I am.
“Cool.” He lifts his hand and twirls my hair between his fingers. “So are you curious where I’m taking you?”
“A little.” Through several texts during the week, he’s dropped hints here and there—some shit about visiting a time warp—but I’m still not sure where we’re going.
“A little?”
“Yeah, a little.”
The corner of his mouth lifts in a grin. “I thought I told you, nothing about me is little.”
“Ah, that’s right.” I giggle, tension disappearing from my shoulders. “Forgive me.”
“All’s forgiven.”
The second the words fall from his mouth, we pull into the parking lot of a top-notch condominium complex in downtown Annapolis. Reserved for those who possess enough cash for such accommodations as living on the bay, it’s an area I’ll never be able to afford. At least not until I’m finished with school.