That was the problem. He might have lady friends, but he didn’t have much in the way of friends who were ladies. To be honest, Jules pretty much summed it up. There was no one he…well, “trusted” was a good word. There was no one he trusted to take with him who wouldn’t look too much into the invitation, which would only make a bad situation worse.
“Jules said I would make a good wall, and she’s right. Have you ever seen me walk through a crowded room?”
Aubry hesitated. “Only at Jules’s wedding.”
“Then you know for a fact I can clear a space in front of me. When I walk, people get out of the way.”
Another hesitation. She was cracking. “Only because you’re so gigantic, they’re probably afraid you’re going to trample them to death.”
Yep. He definitely had her interest. He could see it. She must really want to go to this convention if she was actually considering going with him. He took a step back and spread his arms. “So then let me be your wall—both at the convention and at the wedding. What have you got to lose, except missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”
…
Deathmatch had driven Aubry out of her goddamn mind. That was the only explanation for her actually toying with the idea of saying yes. Either that, or Jules had rubbed off on her more than she ever could have guessed. Aubry might talk a good game, but the truth was when it came to pulling off plans, her friend was the one who threw herself into motion and made it happen. It’s how she ended up owning her very own cat café before she turned thirty, and it was how she’d ended up with Adam Meyer, town bad boy. She was the force of nature. Aubry was the one who sat in her safe little corner and kept up an ongoing commentary.
What if I took the risk? Just this once.
Sure, last time she’d gone out on a limb, her asshole family had chopped the damn tree down, but this wasn’t the same situation. Quinn might be an ass, but he was hardly going to throw her under the bus just for the sake of doing it.
She hoped.
She put her laptop into her bag and faced him. “If I think about doing this—if—I require clear terms.”
“Tit for tat.” His face gave nothing away. “We’ll share a room—both at the convention hotel and at the wedding itself. Don’t look at me like that. You know damn well DeathCon’s hotel has likely been sold out for months, and I’m not going to do you a damn bit of good if I’m staying somewhere else. At the wedding, we’ll share because my family knows me too well to believe I’d wait for marriage to have sex.” Aubry snorted, but he kept going. “You have to sell this. You can snarl and do that adorable snarky comment thing you do, but you can’t look at me like I’m dog shit on the bottom of your shoe.”
He thought she was adorable. She hated the faint heat she could feel in her cheeks at that realization. “I think you’re asking the impossible.”
“Do you? I think you’re just a bit disappointed that you don’t get to experience all I have to offer.” He leaned forward, giving her another whiff of that tantalizing cologne. “I think the lady doth protest too much when it comes to wanting me.”
Aubry burst out laughing. “Oh my God, does that line actually work with women?” She tried to keep her tone light, but she knew she was blushing. Worse, she knew Quinn could see it.
Sure enough, his blue eyes tracked over her cheeks, and his grin made her stomach do a slow turn. “I think it just did.” Before she could screech at him, he continued. “But it’s not meant to this time. This arrangement is purely business.”
As much as she wanted to tell him to take a hike, Aubry would never forgive herself if she passed up this chance. She straightened, took a deep breath, and held out her hand. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Deal?”
“Deal.” He ignored her hand and took a step closer, towering over her even though she was wearing thick-soled boots. “And, sweet cheeks, if you’re going to pretend to be my girlfriend, you should know damn well that we seal this with a kiss.”
“What are you, a demon from Supernatural? That’s not how people seal bargains.”
“It is when it’s like ours.”
Before she could do more than sputter, he hooked the back of her neck and kissed her.
Aubry hadn’t been kissed in a truly embarrassing amount of time, which was why she froze and didn’t immediately shove his larger-than-life ass away from her. Or that was what she told herself as her hands came to rest on his chest—his very nicely muscled chest. His hand was hot on her neck, his grip tight enough that she was fully aware of who was in control of this situation, but his mouth was light on hers.