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)
His right fist flexed at his side. It didn’t look like a threat so much as a reflex, which made it all the more intimidating.
“You snooze, you lose,” Mark said with a cocky smirk.
In that moment, I realized Mark truly was an idiot. He was the kind of guy who would climb into a lion’s cage just to prove he was a man, and Kage was the lion who would eat him just because he could.
Vanessa Hale leaned in toward me, swaying a little on her feet, sticking her heart-shaped face right in front of mine. “Oh, Mikey, this is Jamie? He’s adorable. If my lashes were that long, I’d never have to wear falsies on a photo shoot again.” She studied me with big eyes that looked green under the low lights. Tendrils of dark hair curled at her temples and twisted around her narrow shoulders. “Can he hang with us? Pretty please? I’d love to get to know the guy who’s going to help you get famous.”
“I don’t think so,” Mark interrupted. “Jamie and I were just about to find a couple of hotties to spend the rest of the evening with. We’ve got a few on the line already, and we were just narrowing our selection.”
Oh, Jesus. How lame does that make me sound?
“Jamie has a girlfriend,” Kage said matter-of-factly, as if he’d never considered for a moment that I might cheat. I liked that.
I didn’t correct him about the girlfriend thing, though, because I would’ve had to admit I’d lied. That was the problem with lies; they had a tendency to compound and to get out of control. I figured in this case, silence was the best plan of action.
Kage waved a hand dismissively at Vanessa. “Whatever you want, Nessy. If he wants to come with us, it’s fine with me. I’m just ready to go home and watch a movie or something.” He seemed awfully sullen compared to the guy who had just been galloping around the dance floor with a famous model on his back.
Vanessa grinned, assuming already that she’d gotten her way. With a face and body nice enough to rate a Victoria’s Secret gig, I was pretty sure she was used to getting her way in all things. Personally, I didn’t particularly want to let her get her way, but the prospect of having a legitimate escape from Mark was too tempting to pass up.
I leaned over and whispered in his ear.
“Sorry, dude. Between you and a Victoria’s Secret model, I’ve gotta go with the model. I’m sure you understand.”
Mark gave me a sour look, but he knew he’d been outbid for my company. “Go,” he said. “Have fun, and fill me in on Monday. See if you can get some pictures.”
I stifled a laugh. Mark really was a shameless sleaze bag.
8
KAGE’S apartment was similar to mine in style, but about five times bigger. I had no idea how many bedrooms it had, but the center was an enormous great room with a living area, a dining area, and a stainless kitchen. The view from the wall-sized window was astonishing.
Vanessa danced into the apartment and fell onto the pale blue sectional, clearly comfortable in Kage’s apartment. She’s definitely been here before. I sat awkwardly on the sectional as far from her as I could get, because the last thing I needed was to get an MMA fighter jealous by sitting next to his girl. Apparently Vanessa didn’t understand that concept, because she scooted right over next to me, kicked off her strappy sandals, and pulled her legs into the seat Indian style. She sat sideways facing me, but I faced straight forward, looking about as geeky and nervous as a guy possibly could.
A supermodel, I thought. Sitting right next to me. And then on the heels of that thought… Kage’s girlfriend.
That really put things into perspective. I glanced around for Kage, who had disappeared as soon as we’d entered the apartment. I wondered what he was doing, and when he was going to come back.
“Mikey and I are just friends,” Vanessa said, as if reading my mind.
I whipped around to face her, wishing it wasn’t so obvious that her comment had affected me. “Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other,” I said. “That’s your business.”
She smiled, revealing teeth that had a slight gap between them. Rather than being unattractive, the imperfection had the opposite effect, amping her sex appeal tenfold.
Like Kage, she had the kind of face you couldn’t get enough of looking at, each glance revealing a new facet of attractiveness. Her kohl-rimmed eyes were unnaturally large, her nose slim, lips full and slicked with a clear balm. My eyes kept wanting to drop to the swell of her breasts and the trim waist beneath, just to see what society’s ideal looked like in person.