“I…”
“Fucknugget! Fucknugget! Fucknugget!” Josh’s blue macaw squawked at the top of his lungs. I thought it was funny when I first taught him that word while I was recuperating at Josh’s house from my concussion. Then Savage started to squawk it nearly every time he saw me and it wasn’t so funny, especially when I was trying to spy. I decided to start working with him on new words.
Josh poked his head around the corner of the kitchen. “Surprise!” I held up the brown sack of food. “Hungry?”
Josh chewed on his bottom lip while his eyes raked up and down my body. “Starved.” I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the food or me.
DAMNGABRIELWYATT ANDall his manly yumminess. He distracted me to the point of insanity. I was more addicted to him than Andrew Christian underwear and that was saying a lot. Hell, it had only been a few hours since his dick had been inside me and I was already jonesing for more.
“I’m out of here.” Chaz grabbed Meredith’s elbow and tugged her behind him.
“You never let me have any fun,” I heard her tell Chaz, which was opposite of how it really was. Meredith was usually the one pulling Chaz out the door so that Gabe and I could have alone time.
“Mmmm, that smells good.” I finally got a whiff of the food inside the carryout bag and my brain focused on something besides sex. “What did you get me?” I held up my hand to stop Gabe when he started to answer. “Let me guess.” I sucked air into my nose dramatically and said, “I smell beef and mashed potatoes. That could be several items from the menu.” I took another sniff and thought I caught a hint of honey glazed carrots. “Mmmm. You ordered me the pot roast dinner.” I smiled at him triumphantly.
“You’re good,” Gabe said. He pulled me by the back of the neck and dropped a quick kiss on my lips. “So damn good.”
I snatched the bag from him and set it on the table. “None of that or I’ll lose my focus. Don’t force me to ban you from the salon during business hours.”
Gabe snorted as he took a seat. “Feed me and then I’ll get out of your hair.” Gabe smiled widely at his pun before continuing. “I won’t even act like I want to take you up the stairs and peel off your clothes so I can kiss every inch of you. Nope, that’s the furthest thing on my mind when you stare at my lips like that.”
I was so close to saying “take me right now,” but my growling stomach beat me to the punch. I unpacked and distributed our food then dug into the heaping pile of roast beef, gravy, and mashed potato heaven. “You didn’t get country fried steak?” I asked.
“You’ve ruined me,” he replied. His answer brought a smile to my face just like it did every time I asked the question and he answered in the same way.My country fried steak is the bomb!“Had an interesting morning, but I’m sure you’ve already heard all about it at the Come In and Gossip.”
It was a good thing I hadn’t taken a bite of food because it would’ve fallen out when my mouth gaped open.Did he just mock my salon?“Oh, no you didn’t!” I clutched my chest with one hand and tried to look affronted.
“Oh, yes I did.” Gabe didn’t look a bit guilty for slandering my precious business. I would’ve been pissed if it hadn’t been the God’s honest truth.
“Yeah, I heard about the bust before you were even on the scene,” I confessed.
“Jesus,” Gabe mumbled around a bite of his buttery roll.
I pointed my fork at Gabe and said, “Leave him out of this.” He smiled because it was the same exchange we had after sex the first time. “How big is big?” I asked. The leering smile on his face said his brain was still back in his bedroom on that cold, fall morning when I rode him like a bronco. “The drug bust,” I prompted.
Gabe pinned me with a stern look. “What I tell you stays confidential.”
“Goes without saying,” I replied saucily. My clients might be full of gossip and chatter, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t keep a secret. I was damn good at keeping secrets. Besides, Gabe wasn’t telling me that Mrs. Jenkins switched laundry detergent or Mr. Hopkins stared a little too long at Mrs. Mayweather’s ass in the Sac-N-Save parking lot. He was trusting me with something that could jeopardize his career. “Wait.” I held up my finger when he started to talk. I got up and looked to see who might be lounging in the sitting room while waiting for their appointment. I had clients with hearing so acute they’d make the CIA envious. The sitting room was empty, but I shut the door in between the rooms for good measure.
“Huge!” Gabe said once I returned to my chair.
“Yes, babe, but what about the drugs?” I couldn’t resist teasing him.
I thought Gabe was going to get up and strut like a peacock from my praise. “Almost as huge,” he replied with a grin. Then he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Seriously, we’re talking a street value of a hundred thousand dollars or more. At first we thought maybe ten or twenty thousand, but it came back with a much higher value once we logged the evidence into the system.”
“In a high school locker?” It was staggering to think that a kid in the school had the connections to gain access to a drug stash that size. “Whose locker was it?” I asked, even though I knew he wouldn’t tell me.
“I don’t know and I wouldn’t tell you if I did.” Gabe said exactly what I thought he would. “I’ll let your three o’clock appointment tell you. I’m sure they’ll know before I do.” I was too hungry to comment on that snarkfabulous remark.
Who the hell was I trying to fool?“Just for that, I refuse to be your confidential informant.” My response was met with a snort that I did choose to ignore.
I looked at my watch and saw that I didn’t have much time before my next appointment arrived. I buckled down and ate the delicious lunch Gabe bought me. The small gestures of his affection meant more to me than if he bought me a fancy Michael Kors watch.
“That was so good, but now I need a nap.” I rubbed my belly and said, “Carb City.”
“I have an idea of how you can work some of it off later,” Gabe said, reaching for me. “I still haven’t seen your attic studio.”
I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t shown him my pole dancing studio yet. I didn’t think it was performance anxiety because I had competed in competitions, but then again, none of the spectators were Gabe. They were faceless people where he was my…something. What he thought mattered to me more than I ever thought I’d allow again.
