Alliance – Chapter 25

Sunday, March 21

“Wow.” I tossed the paperback book near my feet on the couch.  “How do people come up with that stuff?”

I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the clock.  Nearly ten-thirty.  True to his word, the weekend had indeed been mine.  It struck me as odd that I didn’t know what to do with the spare time.  Not long ago I worked completely alone and never minded the endless hours stretched out before me, but now that I had a real plan, and someone who had a connection to Raptor, it annoyed me to spend a single minute on anything else.

More than that, I think catching up on my reading annoyed me. My choice of fiction did little to take my mind off things. In fact, everything I read reminded me either of my father’s murder or the criminal I was out to get.

But, if nothing else, the weekend was enough alone time to get my impulses back under control. Hopping into bed with Parker would be a mistake, regardless of how hot he was or how many times the idea crossed my mind. I barely knew him. What I did know of him, I wasn’t sure I liked.

I stood up to stretch, but was interrupted by the ringing of my phone.

“Hello.”

“Sky, did I wake you?”

“No, Reyna, I was just reading.  What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to let you know I went by the florist today and the arrangements you picked out look great.”

I frowned at the phone.  “Are you in the habit of checking up on what you assign everyone else to do?”

Reyna laughed.  “Actually, yes.”

“Doesn’t that just make more work for you?”

“It does, but when you’ve seen some of the things the others have picked out, you tend to be more cautious.  Don’t worry. I now trust your judgment one hundred percent,” she replied breezily.

“Well, I suppose that’s good to know.” Was I really supposed to care? My purpose in life wasn’t to be committee member of the year.

“Anyway, I called to make sure you knew the next meeting was tomorrow night.  Same time and same place.”

“I’ll be there, Reyna.”

“Oh, I also wanted to let you know that I have a dinner at my house every year for the committee members.  You know, to thank everyone for their help.  It’s next Sunday night at six.  I hope you’ll be able to make it.  Of course, you can feel free to bring a guest.”

I sighed.  I wasn’t really looking forward to spending more time with her and Eric than necessary, but it could give me more of an opportunity to observe everyone if Raptor didn’t show himself at Saturday’s gala.

“I’ll try to make it.”

“Good,” she began cheerfully.  “I’ll see you next Sunday, then.  Oh, and I’ll also see you tomorrow night.”

Something seemed different when I hung up the phone and I glanced around the room in expectation.  I could sense Parker’s presence.  A smile crept across my lips, but I suppressed it. I had to remind myself I wasn’t happy to see him.

Mostly.

“I thought the weekend was mine, Ramsey,” I said into the empty room.

Parker walked out of my bedroom and leaned against the doorframe.  “Weekend’s over, sweetheart.  Where is it you’ll try to make it to?”

“Reyna is having a dinner next Sunday at her house for all of the committee members.  I get to bring a guest.”

Parker smiled.  “Good.  We’ll be there.”

“Very presumptuous of you to think I’ll be inviting you,” I said as I plopped back down on the couch.

“I didn’t realize you had another fake boyfriend to escort you places.”

“Never said it was a fake boyfriend. I do okay with the guys, you know.”

“Of course. That explains why you’re always alone when I come over.” He continued before I could say something smart in reply. “I guess I’ll have to start working on acting fake boyfriend jealous.”

Since I didn’t even have another fake boyfriend in the wings, much less a real one, I let that part of the conversation die. “I presume we have something to do since my weekend is over?”

“Very presumptuous, but yes Skylar, we do.  Get dressed.  We need to get going.”

I could tell he was mocking me with his tone and word choice, but I chose to ignore it.  I had to pick my battles with this guy. Pointing out I didn’t like the way he was always so amused by me didn’t rate high on my list of things to bicker about tonight. Besides, he always touched me when our arguments turned heated.

And the combination of heated argument adrenaline and his touch always made me think about doing him on the carpet right in the middle of the room.

I didn’t give myself long to dwell on that mental image in my head since we had to go somewhere, even if that didn’t make much sense. Where could we possibly need to go this time of night on a Sunday?  Wherever it was, I knew I would end up with more questions than answers.

I looked down at myself.  “I’m not wearing the sweater everyone hates.  What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Parker eyed me cautiously.  “The color of your sweatshirt is better, but the frump girl thing would draw too much attention where we’re going.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”  He must have caught the question in my eyes because he added, “Just show a little skin.”

“Is that to fit in where we’re going or because you want to see me in less?” Why did I ask that?  I didn’t need to know the answer when I was trying to avoid conversations that would lead to me wanting him.

His grin widened. He was amused again. “The attire would be place appropriate, but we can call it a bonus for me, if you like.”

“That wasn’t an answer, Ramsey.” Seriously, shut the hell up, Skylar.

“It wasn’t meant to be.” He placed his hands on the back of the couch and leaned close enough for me to feel his breath on my ear. “Now I suggest you go change so we can leave. Unless you need help getting out of these clothes, that is.”

I jumped up, putting immediate space between us. “Nope. I’m good. Just be a minute.”

I hated the faint sound of chuckling as I retreated to the privacy of my bedroom. Though it was nearly over as it was, this was going to be a long night.

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