“You ask a lot of questions, beautiful. Too many for two in the morning.”
I pout because gin and tonics that are three quarters gin will do that to a girl.
He smirks at the sight of my lip jutting out. “My fierce girl’s gonna pout? Trick will be sorry he missed it. He loves pouty girls.”
“You guys have a strange relationship. Has anyone ever told you, you’re weirdly close to your enforcers?”
He laughs. “If they had, do you think I would’ve given a shit?”
“I guess not.”
In his bedroom, he takes a gun from the pocket of his robe and sets it in a safe that’s standing open. There are stacks of cash, another gun, and a small lockbox. He shuts the door of the safe and spins the dial.
He shrugs off the robe, revealing his gorgeous naked body. “You can keep your panties on if you want, but the rest comes off,” he says, getting in bed.
I look down at my wool coat.
“I’m tired, Zoe. Don’t fool around.”
I quickly shed my clothes, keeping my panties on and get in bed. He turns off the light.
“Did you send them to watch my place because—why did you send them?”
“I sent Trick to be sure no one tried to take you from your place.”
“Why would they?”
“Because people saw the way I was with you backstage.”
“So?”
“So someone could think that if they had you, they’d have leverage over me.”
“That’s why I said we should keep things secret.”
“If I wanted it to be a secret, it would be.”
“Are you using me as bait?” I ask softly.
“No, beautiful. That’s something I would never do.”
“So what are you doing then?”
“Staking my claim.”
My stomach flutters. “I didn’t agree to this.”
“Yes, you did.”
The memory of the way I took off my panties and knelt between his knees on command comes roaring back. I’ve been under his spell, blindly turned on by his good looks and power. But I really had no idea how deeply I was getting myself in.
“I didn’t understand what would happen. This is—it’s so fast. What if I want to change my mind?”
“We’ll sort things out tomorrow,” he says, but I’m not sure he means it in the way I want him to.
