“My shower didn’t take long.”
“Who is this?”
He growls. “Expecting a call from another man, Serafina? I don’t share.”
“Neither do I,” I confess. Not until after Thursday.
“I need you to know how hard this is . . .” His deep voice trails off. “Waiting. I’m not a patient man—not even a nice one. When I see something I want, I take it.”
“Is that what I am? An object?”
“You know what I meant.”
“Did you come?” I cover my mouth with one hand, shocked I’m being so blunt. Only with Eagle. His dirty talk always made me feel bolder than I truly was.
“All over your tits.”
My nipples go instantly hard. I stare up at the ceiling, tempted to touch myself while we’re talking on the phone. But if I do, I’ll want him to keep talking dirty to me. “You came in your hand.” I laugh.
“Gotta work with what I have. Right?”
“Pretty sure you can snap your fingers and get whatever girl you want.” A fact I had to live with when we were together. Not that Eagle ever did anything to make me jealous, but girls were just naturally attracted to him. And since he’s even better looking now, I know he hasn’t lived the life of a monk.
“Ditto,” he says with humor in his voice. “You must beat the men off with sticks.”
He’s so wrong . . . “I’ve never . . . it’s been a long time for me.”
“How long, baby?”
“Years.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all. Reminding myself of the life I’ve been deprived of is really depressing.
“That’s a long time, Serafina. Why don’t you let me take care of that little problem?”
Always the problem solver. I roll my eyes and can’t hold back the snort. “Thanks for the offer, Eagle.”
“What the fuck?” He laughs. “Are you turning me down?”
All joking aside, I open up a little, letting him get a taste of how serious I am. “I don’t put myself in situations where men have a chance to get too close. I’m very dedicated to my education.”
“How’d you end up working as a stripper, then? Just doesn’t seem to fit your personality type.”
I give him the basic details, sharing about how my boss tricked me into signing the contract before I knew he owned a striptease company instead of a lingerie modeling business.
“That sonofabitch lied to you?”
“More like manipulated me.”
“I can fix it with one phone call, Serafina.”
I consider it for a split second, imagining Eagle and a couple of the brothers showing up at my boss’s plush downtown office with baseball bats in their hands, ready to convince him to cancel my contract. Only in my fantasy world though. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a big girl, Eagle.”
“Not as big and badass as you think.”
“Tougher than most.” Because I have to be, not because I want to. I sit down in the closest chair, wondering where we’d be right now if I’d never staged my own death. Would we be married with kids, living that happily-ever-after? Or divorced and hating each other?
