“You ain’t notice I kind of lost my shit?” He grabbed the back of his neck with a chuckle.
She giggled. “Yeah, I guess I did. What was that all about?”
Curiosity swam in her eyes as she gazed at him.
Savio took a step closer to her and decided to be straight up. “I ain’t like seein’ that nigga talkin’ to you.”
Her normally mean ass features twisted into a grin. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. What you think ’bout that?” He took another step closer.
Her head tilted back so she could look up at him. “I think you should probably get your temper under control.”
Her tone was light and playful. His hand found her cheek, and she inhaled sharply.
“I agree. So, you gon’ stop being mean to me since I almost deaded a nigga over you and all?” He smiled down at her, his hand still on her cheek.
With a deep blush, Cashmere shook her head with a grin. “I guess I can be nicer to you, since you almost deaded a nigga over me and all.”
They laughed together as she gently pushed at his chest. He captured her hand with his and asked, “Friends, then?”
Cashmere squinted her eyes at him. “I don’t really have friends.”
“You got Cassydie and Cell,” he pointed out.
She thought about it. “True, but it took them a long time to get to friend status.”
“You gonna make me put in all that time, Precious?”
She gazed at him for a moment before she shook her head. “No, I won’t. Friends.”
Her hand squeezed his. He lifted it to kiss the back of her hand before he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He couldn’t help himself.
“Get some rest. I have no doubt you have a long ass day for us tomorrow.”
He took a step back, because if he didn’t now, he would kiss her. Savio knew she wasn’t ready for all that, but damn he wanted to.
“You get some rest too. See you in the morning.”
He nodded and turned to walk out of the kitchen, already counting down the seconds until he could see Cashmere Taylor again.
“Take a left into this parking lot,”Cashmere said as she looked at the secured app on her phone. It was created by Tech, who was a part of the council. All council information went through this app because it couldn’t be traced. Directions, messages, reports, . . . you name it. Tech was good as hell at his job, and though the council couldn’t be touched by the law, they liked to always add several extra layers of protection, just in case.
Once they parked, Sav cut the car off and turned to her. “You gonna tell me where we are and what we’re doin’ here?”
It had been a couple of weeks since she and Savio decided to be friends, and things had honestly been going well. She couldn’t believe that she got along so well with her bodyguard. In the years she’d been with the council, this had never happened. She always found one reason or another to fire her head of security because she didn’t like being told what to do or like she was being babysat. Savio had a way of disarming her, and she secretly hoped he would stay in this position forever.
“I have a meeting,” Cashmere said casually.
“In the Bay?”
They were in Desmore Bay, right off the coast. It was normal for them to meet in surrounding cities, but how did she explain that to Savio without giving up the details of the council? Rule number one of being one of the elites was never tell anyone else about the council. Period. She could never tell Savio who she really was or what she was really a part of.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Cell and Cassydie will be here too. We just have to talk about a few things, and then we can be on our way.”
Savio eyed her for a moment. Over the past couple of weeks, she could tell he got increasingly curious about her career. She did her best to keep it light and give him the basis, but Savio wasn’t stupid. Cashmere could tell he knew there was more to it.
“Aight,” he finally said before he got out of the car. Cashmere stayed seated. She’d learned that Savio preferred to scan the area and open her door for her. Yet another thing she decided to stop fighting him on. He opened her door, but he blocked her from getting out. When he leaned forward and invaded her personal space, her heart rate picked up. “You gonna ever let me see the real you?”
