Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,4

Annie had gone.

I stood, smoothing my skirt. “Congratulations on all of your success,” I muttered, shooting him a dirty look. “And welcome back.”

I strode across the room, looking for Annie. Torn between ordering a few shots or storming out of the place. I was halfway to the bar when a hand on my arm stopped me. I spun to say something witty to him, but lost my balance on the heels as he pulled me toward the waiting darkness of a coat closet.

Chapter 2

I caught only a glimpse of him before the door slammed shut behind us, plunging us into the dark.

“What the hell, Landon!” I said, swatting his hand off of my arm.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, with no trace of the amusement I’d heard earlier.

I wrenched my arm away. “In a freaking closet? Who exactly are we hiding from?”

Silence fell, and I wished I could see his expression in the shadows. Instead I could only smell him, a rich and masculine cologne that had me dangerously close to leaning in.

“You didn’t seem to mind a closet before, as I recall-”

I smacked his chest with two hands, intending to push him back. But he was like a brick wall, and it backfired. He grabbed my wrists.

“I came back for you.”

His words made me still, the need and urgency in his voice silencing all of my fury and anger and even my fluttering heart.

But then it all returned with a vengeance.

His words would’ve meant more a few years ago. Back when I was a confused, lost eighteen-year- old, desperate for his call, his letter, his anything.

But I wasn’t that girl anymore, and I didn’t want to fall for him all over again. No matter how well he filled out his clothes, no matter how good he looked in his expensive suit.

I laughed, and it came out twisted and bitter. “I’m supposed to just believe that, huh?”

He leaned in, and I could feel his breath hot against my cheek. “Maybe not right away. But you will.”

“The thing is, Landon, I don’t want to believe you any more. You wrecked me when you disappeared, and I’m not willing to risk that again. No matter how convincing you can be.”

I leaned back, pulling my arms away from him, but he only held tighter, and the momentum made me crash back into his chest. The air left my lungs as my skirt swung against his legs. His pants felt smooth as silk against my bare calves, and I was suddenly short of breath.

“Please,” I said, quietly, no longer sure what I wanted, what I was asking him for.

But when he leaned down, his lips brushing against mine, I knew.

If he hadn’t been holding me up, pinning me against his chest, I would’ve fallen, my knees buckling underneath me as my eyes slammed shut. His mouth was familiar and foreign all at once, my memories crashing back into me. I could picture him like he’d been those few years back….his taut body hovering over me, just before he pressed me into the mattress, leaving me breathless.

And then suddenly he pulled back abruptly, leaving me short of breath and feeling empty. The past and the present had merged for a short time, leaving me confused now that I was firmly in the now once more.

I opened my eyes, confused, and then blinked against the light.

Wait.

The light? Someone had turned on the overhead bulb.

I spun around, taking in a strange man standing at the door, one hand still on the knob. The closet light shone over his head, illuminating his bright hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair. He grinned, his eyes sparkling as he stared past me, right at Landon. “Landon, buddy, not this again…” he said, waggling a finger at Landon. “Didn’t I tell you before, there are these places called hotels you can get when you want to do your business?”

“Rylan,” Landon said, his voice low with warning.

“One of these days, maybe I’ll learn to stop following you into darkened rooms…or maybe you’ll get some common sense and take your business somewhere a bit more private.” Rylan’s grin widened and he spun on his heel, slamming the door shut once again.

His meaning was clear, and I felt dirty. Used.

And stupid. Landon hadn’t changed. He was the same guy who’d left me behind all those years before. Maybe worse, because he was old enough to know better. I turned around and shoved him, hard. “Same old, same old, huh?”

“Taryn-”

“I don’t want to hear