Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“I’m starving,” he said as soon as I parked the car in his space in the parking garage.
“Yeah, I could definitely use something to eat,” I agreed.
We dropped our things off in our respective apartments, then Kage came and picked me up. We headed down to the Grotto together. The whole way there, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we looked different now. That everyone could see what we’d done— what we were to each other.
Steve accosted us when we were walking through the empty lobby. As if pulling the words straight out of my head, he said, “Hey, you two look different!”
We both stopped mid-stride and made a detour to the front desk, where Steve stood alone. I gave him a nervous smile. “What do you mean, different?”
“You look nice and tan, like you’ve been to the beach. I need to lay out before I disappear with this white-ass skin of mine. Where have you guys been going, up on the roof?”
“Oh,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound as relieved as I felt. “Our tans.”
Kage smirked at me and took over. “We went out of town for a couple of days on business, and we took my car with the top down.”
“Lucky!” Steve said with a pout. “You still got that black Corvette?”
Kage nodded.
“He let me drive it,” I said, instantly realizing how bratty I sounded.
“No need to rub it in, Jamie.” Steve crossed his arms and fixed me with a mock glare. “We can’t all be as hot as you, coming in here with those big brown fuck-me eyes and wrapping the boss man around your little wee-wee.”
“That is ridiculous!” My mouth fell open. Kage just laughed, and I stared helplessly at him. I looked around behind us to make sure we were still alone. “Do you just let your employees say shit like that? What if someone heard him and believed that?”
Kage stopped laughing and smiled at me. “You want me to set him straight?”
I nodded emphatically. “Yes.”
Kage put on his serious face and took a deep breath. “Steve, just so you know, Jamie’s wee-wee is not little.”
“I knew it. I fucking knew it.” A huge grin overtook Steve’s face, and he covered his mouth with the fingers of one hand, his glitter nail polish sparkling under the fluorescents. Then he did a little hip shake behind the counter and pumped his hands in the air. “The minute Aldo brought this beautiful boy through the front door and said he was your intern, I said, Mmm hmm. I see where this is going. And then the way you’ve been acting? So obvious.”
I was still shocked and pissed about the whole direction of the conversation. We were supposed to be keeping a low profile, and here Kage was encouraging lewd comments from big-mouth Steve. Hell, he had basically just admitted that we’d been intimate.
“Remember what we talked about earlier, Kage?” I grated under my breath. “Career on the line.”
Kage reached out and touched my face, cupping my cheek in his palm and running the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip. “Chill, baby. Steve and I are friends. He won’t say anything, and there’s nobody else around.”
I glanced behind me again at the empty lobby, then into the darkened casino, where a couple of elderly ladies were playing slots with their backs to us.
Steve winked and pointed discreetly at a security camera. “Just don’t forget about those,” he warned in a sing-song voice.
Kage balked. “I don’t give a fuck. I can touch his face if I want. Fuck the cameras. Fuck my uncle, fuck the public...” His voice got louder and louder, until he was nearly yelling. “I’m a grown man.”
“Uh-oh,” Steve said. “I feel a Kage rage coming on. Jamie, you need to get your man in there and get him some food in his belly. Then take him upstairs and give him some good loving. We don’t need him going all ragey on us.”
“Shut up, Steve,” Kage said. “Come on, Jamie. Let’s get to the Grotto and see what Enzo’s got on special today.”
When Enzo heard we were in the restaurant, he bustled out, wiping his meaty fingers on his apron. “Kage, Jamie… So glad to see you today. I have something extra special. You like lobster?”
I nodded, licking my lips. “With butter sauce?”
“Of course with butter sauce. My special herb butter sauce will have you begging for more.”
“I think I already want more,” I told him. “Bring it on.”
Kage just sat back and watched me with one of his smug cat smiles. His eyelids were at half mast, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was imagining me naked. Enzo took one look at him and beamed, so I was pretty sure he saw it, too.
“Anything special today, Kage?” he asked. “How about some white wine, and a tiny little itty-bitty piece of cake for dessert?”