Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
He stares at me like I just slapped him with the bottle. His jaw tightens, and if he grits his teeth any harder, they’ll shatter.
He glares so intently at me it’s like he’s trying to will my head to spontaneously combust.
Finally, he bares his teeth and says, “Card.”
He holds up his platinum card which I take from him gleefully and run through the card machine.
When I hand it back to him, he leans on the bar and tilts his head toward me so no one else can hear. “If I were you, I’d keep your opinions to yourself.”
It’s a threat.
And I don’t do very well with those.
I lean closer to him. “If I were you, I’d enjoy her company while you can. Because let’s face it, buddy, you’re punching above your weight. I know it. You know it. And by what I’ve seen tonight, she’ll know it sooner than you can say, ‘I need to be schooled in how to treat women.’”
Again, the jerk lets his blazing glare speak for him.
It’s like a face-off between Titans. I won’t look away until my last breath. And he knows if he looks away that I’ve won.
It takes Massimo interrupting us to bring it to an end.
“Is there a problem here?”
The jerk keeps looking at me, and I keep looking at him. Tell him, I fucking dare you.
“Are you the boss?” he asks Massimo without removing his glare from me.
Massimo leans against the bar, his interest piqued. “I own the establishment. Can I help you?”
Finally, the jerk looks away. The standoff is over.
“Thanks for the free bottle of champagne,” he says to Massimo before ushering his date toward a booth at the back of the club.
Massimo turns to me. “We’re giving away free champagne now?”
“This club is about good experiences, right? Well, I figured she needed one. He’s a condescending jerk, Massimo. And I know I shouldn’t get involved, blah blah blah, but come on…”
I expect him to be annoyed. Instead, he fights the smile tugging at his lips. “So the little monster has a heart.”
“Yes, a very, very black one, but a heart, nonetheless. What can I get you?”
“A Macallan. And bring it to my booth.”
“Are you going to fire me?”
“If I wanted to fire you, I’d do it right here. I don’t need to sit you down to do it.” He gestures to the cheap jerk sitting at one of the tables toward the dance floor. “You were right when you said I’d throw him out for being a dick.”
“You heard that?”
“I hear everything,” he says.
And I don’t doubt him.
“One Macallan coming up.”
He walks away and it takes a lot to rip my gaze from him. The way his body moves when he walks is like crack to my swoony black heart.
I turn away and pour his whiskey. I’m under no illusion that entertaining thoughts about Massimo and what he might look like under his clothes is doing me any favors.
When I take his drink to his booth, he’s tapping a message on his phone and looks up. “Take a seat.”
I slide into the booth, observing him across the gleaming table.
He’s changed a lot since our night together. There is something harder about him. Colder.
He smiles, and it takes me back to the first time I felt those lips on mine. Their taste. Their warmth. The way they took command. And I remember so clearly how he made me feel like no other human being had ever made me feel. Wanted.
But that man is gone, and our encounter is nothing but a memory tucked away in a locked box somewhere in my heart because I have to remain focused on getting my money back.
“Dario tells me he caught you sneaking out of the Peep Arcade.”
My eyes dart to his. Dario, the little rat.
“To be fair, I didn’t know what the arcade was,” I say.
“You were surprised.”
Is an understatement.
“Yes.”
“A pleasant surprise, I hope,” he says, taking a sip of his drink.
“I wasn’t expecting to see what I saw.” Massimo’s gaze warms my skin. “I didn’t realize this was a club for voyeurs.”
“And now that you do?”
I like it.
“I want to know more.”
His eyes flare but his expression doesn’t change. He’s composed. His strong jaw set. His body relaxed.
“It interests you?” He asks.
“I think so.”
I hate that my voice sounds feeble. But what’s a girl to do when the most handsome man in the world is sitting opposite you, looking all gorgeous and kissable, and you know how he tastes and feels beneath you when you come on his lap.
Oh Jesus. Focus.
“Lair offers a lot of different fantasies, Bianca. What is your pleasure?”
He doesn’t shift his intense gaze from me.
My cheeks grow hot.
What is my pleasure?
I sink my teeth into my lips.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
“Then maybe you’ll find it here.” The seductive rumble in his voice hits me right between my thighs.