Boost by Vi Summers

 

Chapter 6

-Greer-

 

 

“Ooooh, Greer, did you see the way he was looking at you? Girl, he was eating you alive without so much as opening his mouth. Hot damn, and that lip lick!” Roxiee groaned dramatically and fanned herself.

I snorted and pretended I was one-hundred percent unaffected by his sex appeal. I studied my manicure. “Really? I hardly noticed.”

A single sideways glance at Rox told me she didn’t believe a single word. I rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine, he was a little hot.”

“A little. I saw you get all breathy and flustered back there.”

“I was not flustered!”

Rox pursed her lips and arched one brow, and a low chuckle came from the front seat.

I leaned forward and playfully slapped Jethro’s shoulder. “I don’t need sniggering from you, Mr. Pickney.”

His laugh grew louder. “It’s three in the morning, Miss Landon, and I’m driving you around the back streets of L.A. Sniggering is part of the job at this hour.”

Roxiee and I shared a giggle. Jethro had been my driver for the last few years, and while he went beyond the call of duty, this was the first time I’d ever called him away from his family in the middle of the night. And he would, without fail or complaint, be waiting to pick me up from my apartment block at seven AM on the dot.

I huffed at the thought of only getting three hours' sleep before rising to tackle the new day.

Roxiee tugged her barely-there dress lower and reached for her phone with a devilish smirk. I anticipated her next move before she made it.

“Raf,” she said, while searching up his name.

“Ortiz,” I added, while looking out of the side window.

It was him, without a shade of a doubt. The photo in the media hadn’t done him justice. In the flesh he was utterly breathtaking—all sharp edges and dark features, inked and oozing bad-boy sex appeal, all the while holding a complete disregard for personal space.

The memory of the heat radiating from his chest onto mine made my pulse spike.

Colton wanted me to experience the street racing scene first-hand, and between the cars, music, people, neon lights, weed, and alcohol, I definitely received a crash-course in illegal racing. While I saw why it might appeal to some, I didn’t understand it. Not when I sat high in my office tower by day and actually liked to sleep at night. 

“Rafael Ortiz,” Roxiee announced. She flashed me a picture of him that burned his sexy smirk further into my retinas. “That’s him for sure. Do you think he’s Colton’s guy?”

I shook my head despite wondering the same thing. “Not a chance. He’s too…” I paused, and searched for the appropriate word. “Reckless.”

Roxiee snickered. “You mean, a PR nightmare.”

“That’s exactly what I mean, Rox. Can you imagine what kind of attention a man like that would draw to a foundation trying to find its feet?”

She hummed and zoomed in on his photo. “The guy’s fine, I’ll give him that. He’s going to be hella disappointed that he’s not taking you home tonight.”

I pushed down a similar kick of disappointment; oh, the many fantasies a man like that would fulfil. It had been too long since I’d scratched that itch, and tonight Rafael unexpectedly woke my sexual appetite with no more than a single touch and a searing look.

I snorted to dissipate the gathering lust. “Guys like him are all talk.”

I didn’t need to stick around to find out whether he won or lost; that wasn’t the point of the task. We went, we saw, and we will conquer because of it.

The truth was, I never did one-night stands, and the thought of dating gave me cold sweats. I hadn’t let a guy completely into my life since Christian, and that entirely ended when we went into business together. On the rare occasion that I did date, the guy normally wore a suit, not neck and knuckle tats.

Jethro pulled up to the front steps of my condo block and twisted in his seat. “See you in a few hours, Miss Landon.”

“Thanks, Jethro, you’re a true gentleman. Tell Shanna I said sorry for keeping you out so late.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He exited the car and opened my door. No matter how many times I insisted on opening it myself, he remained admirably persistent about doing his job to the best of his ability. So, if that meant my door had to be opened, he was doing it whether I wanted it or not.

I rushed a quick conversation with Roxiee while shouldering my handbag. “Take a late start tomorrow. You’ve earned a few hours' extra sleep.”

“You know I won’t,” she countered.

I swung my feet to the sidewalk. “I know, but the offer is there. Goodnight, Jethro.”

“Night, Miss Landon.”

He waited until I was safely inside the building before pulling away from the curb to drop Roxiee home.

I leaned against the elevator wall as it smoothly guided me to the third level. A buzz lingered in my veins. The atmosphere tonight was indescribable. It left me pinching myself as if it had all been a dream.

And then there was Rafael. The self-made King of the street-racing world. Idolized and lusted after. Gazed upon like he was dipped in gold. Awakening and stirring desires deep within my soul. As much as he left me acutely aware of what I was missing out on, people like him and I weren’t meant to be anything more to each other than a fleeting fantasy. A lingering impression—a mystery left in our minds that would never be solved.

I snorted and pushed off the rear wall, exiting into the long corridor. Each step of my stilettos was muted by the clean, gray carpet that led to my condo door.

Removing my heels once I got inside, I welcomed the relief of my bare feet adjusting to their normal form. I flexed my toes against the cool, wooden floorboards and sighed aloud. The reprieve on my arches was nothing short of bliss.

I passed through the shadows cast by the moon as I made my way to my bedroom. Standing at the window, I looked out over the street. The city never slept. Even at three in the morning, it was as wired as I felt.

I contemplated tonight, along with the smooth stranger I’d met. Men like him were panty-melters in search of nothing more than a good time. Yet still, tendrils of lasciviousness wove low in my abdomen. He’d looked at me like no other man had; not caring to hide the blatant desires that left my thighs clenching.

I tsked to myself and drew the curtains. My mind ran a mile a minute as I peeled off the skin-tight clothes and tossed them aside. I reached for my silk negligee and welcomed the cool fabric floating over my curves as I tugged it on. Thoughts of Rafael’s words whispering over the shell of my ear and his touch ghosting across my waist made me shiver.

My nipples pebbled against the silk as I climbed into bed, and although my body was already alight and yearning to spark, I refused to give into the needy ache that tempted my hand to travel further down my body.

Rafael Ortiz had a lot to answer for.

Although Roxiee had Googled him during the car-ride home, I lifted my phone off the nightstand and typed in his name, silently cursing him as I waited on the search to yield results.

My pulse jumped as soon as his picture appeared. The white light emanating from the screen was bright and dazzling, but it was his cocky smirk that caused my breath to snag.

Sexy. Lop-sided. The same one he wore tonight while looking me up and down. Licking places of my body that shouldn’t feel exposed under a layer of clothing.

I lost an entire hour to Rafael Ortiz—finally putting my phone down as the time clicked over to four.

In merely two hours' time, I would rise to tackle another day, propped up on Louboutin stilettos and fueled by caffeine.