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“I’m a whore,” I said softly. “Have been for a long time.”
“You can be anything you want to be, Cecilia.”
“Right. I hear you.” He had no idea how wrong he was. I still flashed him a cocky grin. “Maybe today I’ll be one of those sophisticated bitches in Manalapan. I’ll crook my finger and everyone will do my bidding.”
He grinned at me. “I absolutely believe you could get everyone around you to do your bidding.”
Before the conversation could continue, my phone buzzed. Ettore. I shivered, knowing I was already late. I should have been at Marco’s ten minutes ago. I was surprised either man had let it go this long before reaching out to find out where the fuck I was.
“You gonna answer that?” Atticus raised an eyebrow and nodded toward my phone.
“Spam,” I muttered, sending the call to voicemail and shoving it into my handbag. I took a deep breath. “You know what? Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer. Be spontaneous. Right?”
“Yeah.” His drawl was sexy as shit. Even though he’d said there were no strings, I wasn’t certain I wanted it that way. What would it be like to have sex with someone of my own choosing? That was something I’d never experienced. God knew, if I could pick someone for sex, it would be Atticus. “Spontaneity can be fun.”
“If you were serious about that offer?” I really hoped he wasn’t fucking with me.
“Absolutely serious, CeCe. No strings. No expectations.”
I took a bite of my pie. The only bite I’d managed so far. Decision made, my stomach settled. I’d deal with tomorrow. If this was my last night on Earth, I was going to enjoy myself to the fullest.
Chapter Three
Bullet
Christ, I had to be careful. Underneath all the bluster and the shroud of indifference she draped over herself, CeCe was a woman hurting. I knew from experience in medicine she likely equated her worth with her sexuality. I counted it a win she was willing to take shelter with me from the storm that was supposed to hit later tonight. It meant that, on some level, she trusted me. Trust was the first step in getting her out of the bad situation I suspected she was in.
I paid the bill -- she protested when I paid for her pie, but Teddy overruled her, saying her money was no good to him when she had a perfectly good man willing to pay -- and took her to my bike.
“Wow,” she breathed. “Nice ride.” For the first time since I’d met CeCe, the smile on her face was genuine. No shadows. No guarding her reaction.
“You can ride with me or, if you have your own ride, I can give you directions and you can meet me.”
“No. Sometimes I take the bus, but usually I walk. It helps clear my head.”
I grinned. “And work off the sugar buzz?”
“Most definitely the sugar.”
She hiked up her short skirt and climbed on the bike, as I held out my hand to help her. “Be mindful of the pipes, honey. Don’t burn yourself.”
“Well, if I do, will I get that free medical advice I said I didn’t want?”
“Honey, you can have anything at all you want. All you have to do is ask.” She sucked in a breath before shaking her head slightly and climbing on behind me. I ignored her sudden discomfort and reached for her arms. Wrapping them around my waist, I said, “Hang on. Now that you made it on without burning yourself, I don’t want you falling off the back.”
“You sure you’re not just trying to get me to feel you up?”
“Never said that.”
“Fine. But if I accidentally brush my fingers over your dick, I don’t want to hear any complaints.”
I glanced over my shoulder and gave her a smirk. “Honey, you touch my dick, I guarantee you there will be no complaints whatsoever.”
Her laughter was the sweetest music. She actually sounded happy. Was there any better sound? Yeah. I was fucking fucked. Shit was, I wasn’t broken up about it. What I was concerned about was coaxing her to stay with me. Not just tonight, but… for a while. Because if she went back to Ettore Alfonso, I couldn’t keep her safe from the bastard. While I was confident I could satisfy her intellectually, I had to be careful about her feeling like she didn’t have choices. I absolutely wouldn’t take her from one life with no choices to another.
But I was getting ahead of myself. And I wasn’t sure what I’d do if she wanted to stay anyway. I couldn’t take her back to the club. At least, not right away. Not only would she likely freak out -- going from a mafia kingpin to an outlaw biker wasn’t exactly what I’d call a step up in the world -- but I’d need to get permission from Rocket. Or Lemon. I grinned. Yeah. I could get Lemon to agree to let CeCe in the club for protection whether or not I made her mine. Which wasn’t likely.
“Want to take a walk on the beach first?” I asked the question spontaneously. I hadn’t really planned to do anything other than get her home, comfortable, and maybe get her to drink a little alcohol so she’d sleep. I absolutely wanted to do everything I could to get her to stay with me.
