15
Chapter 15
Vinnie’s POV
What the…?I thought I was up here alone, packing away the lighting equipment. I was on the verge of singing to myself because I was so convinced that I was by myself, but a small sliver of light crept in through the darkened room, alerting me to someone else's presence just in time.
"Who's there?" I called out, just as the door clicked behind the person. "Do you need me for something?" What the hell was going on? "Hello?"
"Hey there." Before I could start to get weirded out by the whole situation, a pair of arms snaked around me and an all too familiar floral, citrusy smell infiltrated my nostrils. Paisley. I would know here anywhere. "I've been looking for you."
"Well, I'm always looking for you, so what's going on?"
I wrapped my arms tightly around her and held her to my chest. It didn't matter that this hadn't happened before, it felt like the most natural thing on the planet. To just have her, to be close to her, to feel her warmth… I'd been wanting something to happen between us for what felt like forever, but I'd gotten to the point where I had given up hope. Our time working together in Las Vegas ended tonight, so clearly, it was just one of those losses I was going to have to live with.
But now she was here. Now she was in my arms. It was so confusing. But all I wanted to do was nestle against her and just drink her in. I slid my eyes closed and breathed her in deeply, knowing this was a moment I wanted to keep in my mind forever. Especially if she was about to slip through my fingers.
Eventually, she pulled back and looked up at me. I could see the desire dancing in her eyes even in the dark. What was going on? I didn't find out until she rose up onto her tiptoes to lightly brush her lips to mine in such a sweet gesture, she almost knocked me from my feet completely.
Wow. I'd fantasized a lot about kissing Paisley, but I never could have imagined it feeling like this. This was…I couldn't even describe it. My eyes locked on hers for a moment as I attempted to catch my breath. But within seconds, I knotted my fingers in the back of her hair and tugged her back to me.
She had ignited a fire within me, an addiction had been sparked, and I couldn't get enough. I needed another hit of her right away. Fuck, her lips were delicious, and the tingles racing all the way through my body were utterly overwhelming.
I pushed her backward, pressing her up against the nearest desk, and pressed myself between her thighs. The heat surging between us was just too much. Thank God we were alone because I didn't know if I could stop.
Eventually, I had to pull away just for a moment, just to get my head in order. I was dumbfounded, frazzled, and I wanted to catch my breath.
"Come to my room," she whispered as she backed away from me, passion still dancing in her eyes. "When you're done here."
I nodded while swallowing hard. I couldn't gather enough energy to speak. She had absolutely ripped the air from my lungs. Especially with the suggestion that this was going to go further. Not here in the dirty old office, which was probably for the best. Although I could have easily gotten carried away.
But no, our first time was going to be in her bed, which I definitely preferred.
Once Paisley slipped out of the room, plunging me into darkness once more, my head was all over the place, my brain scrambled.
"What is going on?" I rubbed my forehead hard. "My God."
That was something else. That was incredible. I could only imagine what was coming next. Maybe it would really be the start of something between us as well. I didn't know what that would mean for my future with RedEye, but that wasn't about to be a deciding factor here. Not when I hadn't been able to get Paisley off my mind ever since I first met her.
I tried to get all my work done without losing my absolute shit, which wasn't the easiest thing to do when my head was all over the place, but I did it. When I crept out the room, I saw Daisy gathering everyone up for a meeting, which was not where I needed to be right now. I probably could have joined them for the last meeting before all of this was over, but I just didn't want to. I couldn't stand around everyone, among my RedEye friends, and act like everything was normal. Instead, I crept outside to get some fresh air.
Paisley's hotel was just across the street, so I could have headed over right away, but I wanted a moment first. I needed to get my head in order before I faced her. I mean, this was going to be a monumental night for me, for the both of us, and I did not want to screw it up because I was so freaking nervous.
"What is wrong with me?" I hissed to myself. "I'm never like this."
I had always been known as a smooth guy. Not a ladies' man exactly, but never someone who would get all weak in the knees, someone who didn't quite know what to say around a woman. Paisley had me all tied up in knots; she affected me in a way I never thought I could be, which was insane.
She was too much, and I needed so much more from her.
"Hey, Vinnie." Before I could take my very first step across the road, Sly rested his hand on my shoulder and shook me from my thoughts. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." I forced myself to smile. "I got everything done. Sorry I didn't see the meeting with Daisy until it was too late."
"You don't need to worry about that. She didn't say much. Just that she would hire us again if there's the opportunity to do so."
He didn't look as happy about that as I thought he might. I thought Sly would be over the moon about that. He liked to know where his next paycheck was coming from, but he seemed about as distracted as I felt.
What did that mean? That was really intriguing.
"Jake and Ollie are still in there." Sly pointed back behind him. "If you want to see them before we pack up our shit and get out of here."
I nodded and headed back inside, following exactly what Sly wanted me to do without even thinking what this could mean. It didn't hit me that Sly's actions were a little strange until I almost walked head first into Ollie.
"Oh, hey." Ollie looked like he had some mission in mind as well. There was seriously something in the air. "Are you okay, Ollie?" Sly didn't share too much of himself with people because he was a tough alpha male type, whereas Ollie was different. I wanted him to know that I was here if he wanted to talk to me. I could be there for him, even now.
"Yeah, I just…" He pointed behind him before his hand fell back down. "I was just on my way to see Paisley." My heart leapt up into my throat. Did he just say that he was going to see Paisley too? That would put a dampener on our evening. "She asked me to meet with her and I just—"
"Wait, what?" I held up my hands to silence him. "She asked you to meet her in her hotel room?” Was I being played? All of a sudden, the happy heat that had been surging through my body only moments before was long gone. This couldn’t be what I thought it was. I was a fool. “She asked me to meet her too.”
“She did?” It was Ollie’s turn to look stunned. “Oh, right…"
"And now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like Sly was headed in that direction as well." My stomach churned. "Oh God, I have been a fool."
I held my head in my hands for a moment as pain ricocheted through me. This was my fault actually. I was the one dumb enough to think that a kiss on the last night we were working together would lead somewhere.
"I just thought…" Ollie started, before he shook his head dejectedly. My heartache was mirrored in his expression. Shit. "Never mind."
I wanted to reassure Ollie, but I wanted him to reassure me too. Fuck, this was a lot sadder than it should be. Just because I liked Paisley didn't mean she had to like me back. Damn it, I allowed myself to get carried away.
"Hey, guys." Jake stood between us, darting his eyes between us both. "What the hell is going on? You look like your worlds have come to an end."
"It's…" Shit, this was harder to admit than I anticipated. "Paisley."
"Oh, did you guys get the message from Paisley about seeing her in her room?" He stared at his cell phone. "Because she just messaged me too."
"You as well?" My heart sunk even further. "I see. Do you know what this is about? Because I don't know if I'm going to bother going."
"You like her, though, right?" Jake shrugged as if this was totally obvious. "You both do. So I don't know why you wouldn't want to see her."
"Um…" I furrowed my brows and glanced at Ollie, who looked about as confused as I was. "Yeah, I do like her, but why would she want to see all of us?"
Jake tossed his head back and laughed. "Oh, no, guys! Can you not see what's going on here? What Paisley wants? It's something that is very much within our nature. It's actually because it's natural for us that Paisley decided on it."
I cocked my head to one side curiously. There was a lot that was within our nature. Being a wolf shifter was a bit of a mine field, so I couldn't always wrap my head around all of it. Jake and Sly had been at this a lot longer, so they knew more.
"Harems, guys," Jake continued. "You know how wolves are known for living more in harems than in traditional relationships." Ollie opened his mouth, but no words came out. "I know over time, our kind drifted in to more one-on-one relationships to fit in with society better, but things are changing. People are growing and now we can be more ourselves. That's what Paisley wants."
"Oh." My eyebrows rose high. Now that was brand new information that I didn't quite know what to do with. It was shocking, but really something. It wasn't a rejection, which I liked a whole lot. "Wow, that's…"
"Yeah," Ollie agreed. He nodded a few times too many. "So, she wants us all?"
"Right," Jake affirmed. "I actually had a talk with her about it last week. She didn't tell me what she wanted to do, but we discussed the possibility. Now, I guess she's made her decision. We should go and find out."
Jake started to walk toward Paisley's hotel, leaving Ollie and me standing in shock in the doorway. I exchanged a look with him, and he shrugged his shoulders. It seemed like Ollie was on board with this. He wasn't quite as uptight as I thought he was. If he was going to hear Paisley out, then I was too.
That sudden and determined decision didn't stop my heart from hammering like crazy against my ribcage. I felt like my breaths were rasping as they fell from my mouth. Jake was way ahead of us, confident in his decision, and Ollie didn't seem too confused either. I was the only one who seemed to have trepidation in each and every step. This was massive. This was going to be a huge decision. Whichever way I decided to go, it was going to change my life.
I liked Paisley, I liked her more than I had ever liked anyone before. And I suppose if I really thought about it, I could feel the natural urge to get locked into a harem. Just because it wasn't something that I'd ever thought about before, didn't mean I rejected the concept, but I still needed a moment to process everything.
It was all happening too fast, my brain was darting all over the place way too quickly, I felt like I was spiraling out of control. Like the world was twisting and turning too rapidly underneath me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
And then we were in the elevator. Annoyingly, there was a couple, a very nice couple probably, trapped in that small space with us, so we couldn't even talk about things as we ascended through the hotel. Luckily, the couple were so intertwined with one another they didn't even seem to notice that my pulse was freaking racing. They didn't notice that Ollie's eyes were all over the place. They didn't see Jake frowning at the us as if we were going crazy.
This was okay for him because he'd had a few days to adjust to this new possible reality. For me, it was a lot harder. I needed a moment.
"Okay, here we are," Jake declared almost warningly as we reached our floor. "You ready to get out of here, guys? Is everything alright?"
Ollie nodded emphatically and stepped out of the tight, enclosed space. I did the same thing even though I was a lot less sure. I kept my head down and walked forward, trying my hardest to calm the hell down.
"Vinnie, wait." Jake grabbed me and stopped me from going too quickly. He didn't say anything else until the elevator doors closed behind him and took the couple of out sight. "Are you okay? You're really pale."
"I just…" I threw my hands in the air in frustration. "I don't know. I'm not sure. This is all just a lot. I've only just shared my first kiss with Paisley tonight, and now I'm thinking about giving up everything for her. For a harem."
Jake nodded understandingly. "I know. It's wild. But try to think about what your life will be like if you don't take this opportunity. Think about what will happen if you walk away from Paisley. Will you ever find happiness like this again?"
My eyebrows rose up once more. I already knew she had a strong effect on me, one that I hadn't experienced before. I already knew she was different, and worth everything. But Jake had me seeing things in a different light. In a light which I knew I absolutely had to step into. Didn't I?
"Yeah, you're right. I won't find happiness like Paisley makes me feel with anyone else." I nodded vigorously. "I wouldn't have even made it this far if I wasn't sure this is what I want. Yeah, I'm all for this actually. It'll be an adventure."
"Yeah? You sure?" Jake smiled and patted my shoulder, relief flooding him, and Ollie too. "Come on, then. Let's go. Paisley is waiting for us."
Excitement took the place of my nervousness as we headed to Paisley's room. Jake went to knock on the door, but as it turned out, he didn't need to. The door swung open and we found ourselves staring at Paisley passionately making out with Sly, her whole body pretty much wrapped around him tightly.
Yeah, if I wasn't convinced that Jake's words were true, that Paisley did want a harem, this would have changed my mind. She was definitely hungry for all of us, and I actually kind of liked that idea after all.