Page 64 of Savage Saint

Pocket Doc eats without pretending she isn’t hungry, which I appreciate. No pushing food around her plate or taking three bites before claiming she’s full. Genesis eats. Savors each bite. She talks, laughs, glances my way a few times, and steals something from Katia’s plate—gets her hand slapped playfully—and waits less than a minute before doing it again.

The other friend does the same, but to Genesis.

You can tell they’re close.

The next time she tries to borrow her friend’s bacon, she catches me watching. Her expression is one of surprise, as if she had forgotten for a moment that I was sitting here, and I raise a brow.

Her answer? The brat pops the bite into her mouth and chews slowly.

My cock twitches. Definitely a brat.

Their conversation jumps around as they eat: work, a hair appointment—a man named Jose who believes the woman named Katia is innocent. That makes Genesis laugh, loud and carefree, and I feel it. This warmth I’m not used to pulses beneath my skin. I don’t welcome it, but I also don’t push it away.

Just let it be. My reaction to her.

After a while, I stop listening and just watch until a name piques my interest.

“Do you think Emilio paid for our lunch to make up for annoying me today? He called while I was getting the warm stone massage on my legs.”

“Again?” Katia groans, pursing her lips as she and Pocket Doc exchange a look. They don’t like this Emilio. “That’s seven texts and two phone calls since we met up. Literally before you said hello to me, his ringtone interrupted.”

“Yes, again.” Tatiana takes a sip of her coffee. She’s dropped the earlier boastful grin, her expression pensive. “I know I was joking before, but it’s really starting to get on my nerves.”

“The questions, or him in general?” That comes from Pocket Doc, who looks down at her phone before typing something out, then pocketing the device. “Because if it’s the latter, that’s an entirely different conversation.”

Tatiana lets out a heavy sigh. “Yesterday it was the marina again. Then he wanted to know which hotels are busiest during the week, with a written spreadsheet by the hour. After that, it was, ‘Can you find me a listing for all the beachfront properties with owner information? Also, what backroads are used to avoid tourist traps, and where the locals shop?’ He’s draining me.”

My fingers stop against my coffee cup.

Marina.

Properties.

Routes.

Interesting.

“Maybe it really is for his dad,” Katia says, placing what is meant to be a comforting hand on Tatiana’s arm. “You said Enrique wants to invest here.”

Enrique. Emilio.

I don’t believe in coincidences.

“The Montalvos have money. A stupid amount.” Another exhausted sound from her friend. “Emilio says his father’s always looking for new investments, but I’m getting tired of every conversation turning into twenty questions about Puerto Plata and not one about us.”

“Nothing is going to get better until you talk to him.”

“I’ve tried, Geni. Multiple times.”

“No.” Genesis’s brown eyes narrow, and she points a freshly manicured finger at her friend. “You’ve complained to us, but have you actually told him the questions and pushiness are making you uncomfortable?” Her friend’s silence is answer enough. “That right there is the problem. You can like him and still tell him when something isn’t working. I’m not saying break up with Emilio, but put your sexiest thong on and make him understand you don’t work for him. Bounce on his lap until he’s begging, and after he agrees, give the man a lesson he’ll never forget.”

My cock jerks, and I bite back a groan. You naughty fucking girl.

Her friends laugh, while Genesis shrugs.

Tatiana calms down first. For a few seconds, she’s silent—weighing something in her mind—then taps her pointer finger on the table. “What if he gets defensive, though?”

“We don’t do toxic here, Tatiana Alvarez. You know that.”