Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Of course,” I said, reading the signs as I made my way up the steps and onto the street.
Only I would take the train right into the worst neighborhood in Brooklyn just to get away from Soren and my overwhelming urge to say screw it to my job—and common decency laws—and demand he fuck me right up against the wall at the platform.
Not in the mood for another trip underground, I flagged down a cab that took me all the way back to where we started from, dropping me off outside my apartment building.
Where I promptly reached for my phone and shot off the text I promised I would.
“Thank you. Get some rest,” was his almost immediate response.
I made a beeline for my comfy chair where I yanked off the stupid heels, pulled the blanket up over my bare legs, and reached for one of my books.
But not one of the murdery ones.
Nope.
This was a night that called for one of the spicy ones.
And so what if the hero who was telling the heroine she was a good girl and to drink her water suddenly morphed into Soren in my mind?
It was no more absurd than falling asleep in his damn jacket.
And having vivid, sweaty dreams about him that were so real that I woke up damn near close to orgasming.
Great.
So much for keeping those lines unblurred.
CHAPTER NINE
Soren
We both knew she was a willing, active participant in the dance and the kiss that followed it.
Contrary to popular belief, an apology was a power move.
In this case, it not only allowed the deal to move forward, but it gave me more chances to be in Saff’s company.
Because there was no way now that I’d gotten a taste, that I was going to be happy with just one taste.
Once the paperwork was signed and filed, there was no going back on the deal. There was nothing stopping us from exploring what was clearly sizzling between us.
We were both adults.
We could give in to our desires in our personal time and still manage to professionally work together.
Or, at least, that was what I was telling myself as I grabbed my tablet. I’d spent the morning creating design boards and digitally drawing up potential changes to the club floor plan.
“Go on and head out early,” I told Teresa as I made my way out of my office.
“What?” she asked, brows scrunched. “It’s one in the afternoon. You sick? Should I be calling an ambulance? Come here,” she went on, getting to her feet and waving both hands at me. “Come here, let me check you for a temperature.”
“I’m fine, T,” I said, shaking my head at her. “I have a meeting with Miss Amato at her office.”
“What about after?”
“I dunno. But I’m not coming back here.”
“You’re not…” Teresa moved around her desk. “What are you flinching for?” she asked, throwing up her hand and pressing the inside of her wrist to my forehead. “Hmm. I don’t think you’re warm,” she said, putting both her hands to the side of my neck to be sure. “You’re not… dying or something, are you? Some news from the doctor making you reevaluate your priorities…”
“Think about that, T,” I said, smiling at her concern. “You didn’t set up any doctor appointments for me.”
“True, but, hey, you never know. You men and your aversion to the doctor. You should have heard the stink I had to throw to get my Marty to agree to get his damn colonoscopy. And I mean, I get it. No one wants something up their ass. At least not without dinner and a nice set of diamond earrings, anyway. But you gotta do what you gotta do to make sure all the parts are working.”
“All my parts are working,” I assured her.
“I don’t know if I believe you,” she said, eyes narrowing. “I’ve been with you for years now. I’ve never known you to blow off more than half a day of work. Something’s up.”
Teresa was a dog with a bone when she was suspicious of something. Her poor sons likely didn’t get away with anything.
As a general rule, I didn’t like to lie to T. She was too important. But just this once, just to get her off my back, I decided to.
“I have some life shit to catch up on,” I told her. “Kitchen is bare, personal care items are all but empty, dry cleaning needs to be picked up…”
Hell, none of that was actually a lie. My kitchen was bare. But it almost always was. My items were all on their last drops, but I had that on auto-ship. And my dry cleaning, well, that was a never-ending errand.
“And I missed the gym this morning.”
“You missed the gym?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“That’s like me saying I missed brushing my teeth. You never miss the gym.”