He says my name softly as I turn to face him. When my gaze hits his face, my stomach lurches, my pulse booms in my head, and my eyes go sort of blurry. I feel so fucking weird, it sort of scares me.
Then his hand is reaching for mine. His big hand is crushing mine—and my eyes fix anew on his face. Luke. Every thing about him grips me, sucking me into some sort of vortex where the want I feel for him—the sense of need—blows my goddamn mind.
Our gazes lock. His feline eyes are stark, and I can’t read them. His hand lets mine go.
“Vance.”
I know from just that word—from the hardness in it. To someone else, it might sound casual, but I can hear the hard clamp of his anger in the way he says the end part.
Again, this wave of…I don’t know what rolls over me. I blink at him as my heart pounds just like a fucking drum, and I feel like my legs might give way.
“So nice to meet you.” He smiles. “I’m not sure Pearl mentioned, but I’m a big fan of your work.”
My jaw locks, molars clenching as I suck a breath in through my nose and wonder if I might pass out. I’ve never passed out. I’m so shocked, there’s no thoughts rolling through my head as I hear myself say, “Oh yeah?”
“I have a piece at home. On the Ocean at Night.”
I feel sweat slick my skin as I wonder whether there’s a camera in this room.
“I remember that one. Yeah…I sold it,” I stammer. “Few years back.”
“When I heard Pearl had recommended you to the selection team, I was excited to see what you could do.”
My face is so hot, I fucking swear my eyes are watering. I take a long, deep breath and nod twice. “Yeah. She went over themes and there’s a lot of good ones. I’m sure it’ll come out good.”
“I’m sure.” He smiles. It’s hard and strange.
I hear Pearl’s shoes click on the floor before I see her. Luke takes a smooth step away. “Nice to meet you, Vance, and thanks for taking this on. Pearl will take care of anything you need.”
And then he strolls off like he owns the place.
Because he does.SixVance
I find a spot off Centennial Drive and watch the water glimmer gold then pink and later black as the sun sets behind me. Then I turn the Prius on and head toward Haight.
I’ve decided that I’m staying. They hired me, and I’m here now, and so is centaur—well, will be tomorrow. Also…pride. My fucking ego. I don’t have a big one, but it’s there. It got kicked around today, but I can take it. I’m not leaving just because he wants me to. And he wants me to. He wore that on his face—the part of him that could speak freely in a room where, turns out, there are four cameras mounted on the ceiling.
I park in the townhome’s garage, then go out the garage door to a burger stand a few blocks down. I get a vegan burger in a paper sack and return to the house through the front door. There’s a bench in the foyer; I sit on it and unwrap the burger.
I take a big bite, and that’s when he clears his throat.
Something thick and hot and heavy fills my insides, making me feel slow and stuck in place. Like from where he’s standing behind me, Pastor Luke just pressed “pause.”
I turn my head, feeling light behind the eyes and heavy in my stomach. He’s got one thick shoulder propped against the arched doorway between foyer and living room. He looks flawless in his sleeves-rolled, pale pink button up and charcoal dress pants.
“Came right over, did you?”
I turn back away from him, so I’m staring at the front door. Luke saunters in front of me and folds his thick, tanned forearms.
“Yeah. I did.”
I keep my gaze fixed on the same spot as long as I can. Then it snaps to his face like a magnet. “Fancy seeing a stranger at my place. Little fucking weird, McDowell.”
His lips twitch a little. Then he does a real good goddamn job of wiping all the humanity off his saintly face.
I lift my brows. “Come out all this way to tell me to go home?”
His features harden.
There’s a part of me that almost wants to taunt him. Pearl talked about what a real nice fucking guy he is, one of the best guys ever, and she told me that he’s dating—a woman, I’m sure.
“Don’t be worried, cocksucker. I’m not gonna keep you from your new-girl pussy.”
I lock my jaw.
“I didn’t know you were coming.” His words are quiet and softer than I thought they would be.
“Yeah, I get it. Pearl.” I take another bite of my burger. My jaw feels too tired to chew, and it hurts to swallow—like my throat has drawn up too tight make room for the bite. Still, I flick my gaze back up to his face and try to act normal. “We’re good, dude. I’m down with strangers.”