She laughs and bites her lip as she looks up at me her long eyelashes flutter. She bats me in the chest with her hand. “Cason, you’re silly. I’m twenty-one now, remember? My birthday was two months ago. You sent me that Happy Birthday text. My dad can’t tell me if I’m allowed to drink or not. He just told me to not get drunk in front of our guests.”
If it could, my jaw would be dropped on the floor. I remembered texting her, “Happy Birthday, Kiddo.” but my brain didn’t catch up with the fact she would be turning twenty-one this year. In my head, she was still a kid, even though logically I know that’s not possible.
I clear my throat. “Wow, you look so... so grown up. I didn’t even recognize you at first. You should’ve said you would be here.” The bartender puts my scotch down and I pick it up before taking a large gulp. I need something to distract me from how my dick wants to take on a life of its own.
She runs her hands over her narrow sides and down her round hips. The motion shouldn’t be sexy, but fucking hell it is. “You think? I feel so out of place in this dress, but my mother made me wear it. Does it look okay? I feel like I look awful.”
I take another deep drink of my scotch and set it down the counter. “Another, please.”
She picks up her own drink, something pink and fizzy in a tall glass, she stirs it with her straw and then drinks from it. Watching her glossy lips curve around that straw and suck is going to be the death of me. I glance over at Michail, knowing he’s here will hopefully keep my dick in line. This woman is so off-limits no matter how sexy she is.
“You look beautiful, Josie.”
She grins and her cheeks take on a pink hue. “Thank you, Cason.”
I glance around, I don’t see any guy keeping an eye on her. “So, did you bring a date? Any guys I have to rough up and tell them if they break your heart I’ll break them?”
My heart hammers at the thought of any man getting to lay their hands on her in any fashion. It makes me want to punch something, even though I could never lay any claim on her.
Her cheeks flush to a deep red. “I... I don’t have a boyfriend.”
I raise a brow. “Girlfriend perhaps?”
She shakes her head. “No. I was studying business too much to have time for dating. I just made friends, but none of them are here with me.”
A car’s engine screeches as it tries to turn over and I jump awake to find Sacha opening his car door and walking around to let Josie in on the passenger side. Why Michail never made him upgrade that piece of shit he drives her around in, I’ll never know.
I follow them to the bakery while keeping my distance. I don’t trust the bastard at all, and if he so much as has harms a hair on her head I’ll end him then and there. They get to the bakery in one piece and then I stay until she opens up to customers waiting outside. I don’t want to leave her, but I have to go home, change my car, and my clothes, so she doesn’t think I was out all night. It’ll be time soon for our morning meet up and I don’t miss those for anything.
The plan has been set into motion. I’ll come back tonight and end Sacha, clean it up, and it’ll be like it never happened. Most importantly, there will be no witnesses. There can never be any witnesses, or they die, too.
Chapter Four
Josie
I drummy nails on the front counter at the bakery. It’s a slow Wednesday, but it’s always slow in the middle of the week. I keep my gaze trained outside. Any minute now Cason should be coming in. He’s always been like clockwork. Ever since I took this place over from my dad’s old friend, making the pastries better and adding the addition of specialty coffees, the place has been booming and seeing a four-hundred percent increase in profit over the year. I swear, it was like the last guy didn’t care if the place did well or not and my father let him. The place was a money pit, but ever since I took it over and have been back in town, I can count on Cason to be here every day for his sweet treat and a chai latte.
Sacha clears his throat gruffly and I glance over at him, sending him a glare. He’s lounging in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his pooch sticks out. His eyes are closed. Is the lazy bastard sleeping? My lip curls. God, I hate him. He’s an eyesore, and there’s no good reason for him to be here. My father is just overprotective and has way too much money. I don’t need a bodyguard. Who is he going to defend me from? The elderly people, and hipsters that come to sit? Not once in the year that I’ve been back from college has anyone tried to hurt me.
Father says that with his corporation he’s made some enemies and he doesn’t want any of them to find a way to use me against him. Thus, I have a bodyguard who’s always with me. He’ll even follow me through the grocery store. The only time I get away from him is once I’m in my apartment. I don’t know where he goes after that, but in this city, I don’t want to be going out at night by myself, so I never do anything once I get home. Clubbing with Ensley isn’t my thing. I rather be a homebody who gets to go to the farmer’s market alone on the weekend, but as soon as 4 A.M. hits Sacha is outside my place. I want to tell my father he can let him go, but he’s too busy to take my calls most days.
The door chimes and I stand straighter as Cason walks through the door. His suit fits him nicely, showing off his broad shoulders. Sometimes, I wish I could see him in something that wasn’t business formal so I could get a good look at the muscles in his arms, chest, and stomach. The suit hides so much from view, but he’s still sexy as hell. Taking off his sunglasses he sticks them in his front pocket. His chocolate brown eyes meet mine and he grins.
“I came at the right time. No line. Good morning, Jo.”
He’s called me that for a long as I can remember. It used to be Joie, but he stopped using that last year when I came back, I don’t know what changed. He’s seemed a little different since the Christmas party, but I can’t put my finger on why. He no longer seems relaxed around me like he once was. There used to be no wall between us, and now there’s one that’s a mile high and I don’t know how to break through it.
“Good morning, Cason. And what can I get for you this morning?” I grin at him and lean forward, hoping that he’ll notice the top that I’m wearing, it’s lacy and blue, his favorite color. It shows off my breasts. I paired it with a skirt that goes above my knees. I can’t be certain, but I think he can see my legs when he looks at the display case, even though he gets the same thing every day. I want to give him an eyeful.
I know there’s a rule, but Ensley is right, I should be more forward. Maybe we can run away together or something. If he wants to be with me, I would do anything. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved in a non-platonic way.
He tugs at his pants before he crouches and runs his hand through his salt and pepper hair, he’s been letting it grow out some, the strands touch the middle of his ears and arch over his forehead in a lazy waterfall. His hair turned grey years ago. A gift he got from his father. My fingers still itch to comb through it. Is it as soft as it looks? Or is it coarse like most grey hair. He would look like a god if he let it grow out to his shoulders, like Thor, but ten-thousand times sexier than Chris Hemsworth, in my opinion.
I lean onto one leg and lift the other allowing the fabric to bunch up enough to show more of my thigh. I lick my lips as he lingers longer than he normally does, I can see he’s not looking at anything in the display case of baked goods, he’s watching my legs. Maybe there’s a bit of hope for me yet.
Sacha clears his throat, again, and Cason stands quickly to glance over at the man who’s still feigning sleep.
Cason bites his lip as he looks at me. “You know what, I think I’ll have something different today. What would you recommend, Jo?”
