Entranced (The ROGUES Billionaire #1) - Tracie Delaney Page 0,42

means more, then you need to talk to Elliot. Athena is a grown woman, not a little girl. Elliot needs to realize that. His biggest worry will be that you’ll jerk her around. If you’re serious about a relationship with her, then talk to him. He’ll get over it.” He smiled. “Eventually. And in the intervening period, I’ll warn the board to wear crash helmets.”

I laughed, despite the despondency weighing heavily on me. Oliver clapped my shoulder.

“Just think about what I’ve said.”

I nodded. As Oliver went to walk away, I called him back. “Keep it zipped, yeah?”

He winked. “Mum’s the word. Or rather, Athena’s the word.”

“I mean it, Oliver,” I warned.

“Relax, Ryker. Your secret is safe with me, regardless of whether you choose to act on it or not.”

He wandered off. I sipped my drink, my gaze returning to Athena who’d taken a seat on the other side of the room, her asswipe of a date sitting opposite. Laughing at something he said, she leaned forward and squeezed his hand.

I turned away, unable to stomach the sight for another second. I thought about what Oliver had said. Could there be a slim chance Elliot might accept a relationship between Athena and me, especially if I managed to convince him she meant much more to me than a quick fuck? And was I willing to take the risk that my admission could ruin a life-long friendship?

14

Athena

I am a horrible person.

Poor Peter. He asked me out on a date my first week working at ROGUES which, of course, I’d declined. But that hadn’t deterred him. He continued to ask me out once a week ever since. Okay, so that was only four weeks in total, but still, I admired his persistence. When he invited me to attend the ROGUES Christmas party as his date, his eyes beseeching me to accede, I reluctantly agreed.

And now, I was having regrets.

When Ryker left me alone at the cabin, I’d thought long and hard about what to do next. I was absolutely certain of one thing: Ryker wanted me as much as I wanted him. His body, all urgent and hard and erect, confirmed that he found me physically attractive. And contrasted with the tenderness of his touch, the feel of his lips on my skin, the devastation in his eyes as he’d pulled away, that convinced me his feelings went deeper than purely physical. He could fall in love with me if he’d only find a way to square the circle with the terrible guilt he carried inside him. He’d kept me at arm’s length for years as a way of protecting himself and his relationship with Elliot—a virtual no-win situation—not to mention how tricky things would be at ROGUES if he and Elliot fell out.

Finally, I’d come to a decision. I had to find a way to force Ryker to face the cold, hard facts that we were meant to be. Neither of us was happy apart and, although I completely understood his fierce reticence in regard to Elliot, by working together and standing together, we could find a way to break the news to my brother at the right time.

And poor Peter was my unknowing pawn. I’d stayed away from men after realizing I compared them all to Ryker, which meant I couldn’t commit to a relationship. But seeing Ryker’s angry response to Charles had lit a spark of an idea. I originally asked Charles to accompany me, but he was overseas for the holiday season. When Peter asked me if I’d go with him as his date, I’d leaped at an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Cruel? Absolutely. Desperate people did desperate things. And not one person in this room was as desperate as me.

Except it wasn’t working. Ryker had barely cast a glance in my direction since I’d arrived an hour ago. I sneaked a peek out of the corner of my eye. I’d expected him to have a date on his arm, but from what I’d gleaned with my surreptitious perusals, he appeared to be alone.

“Would you like to dance, Peter?” I asked, plan B forming at an exponential rate.

“Indeed, I would,” he replied formally.

I suppressed a giggle. Peter was an old-school kinda guy. Polite to a fault, gentlemanly, considerate. The exact opposite of Ryker. Peter would never grab my hair and kiss me forcefully, make me feel things I craved to experience over and over. And that, in the end, was the issue. I didn’t want a polite guy