She jerked her hands back as if the cover burnt her. “You don’t sleep here!”
“I could start,” I said with a smirk and advanced.
Rae pressed into the bookshelf, fingers splayed at her side.
Standing next to the bed, I blocked her escape and took a moment to enjoy the way her chest rose and fell. “Maybe you could sneak up here and tuck me in?”
“It will be a cold day in hell when I kiss you again,” she snapped.
It hit me. How had I not remembered before now?
Erase the tattoos, push the wild mane of curls back with a headband…and I remembered the butler’s niece.
“Cazzo,” I hissed, swiping the pad of my thumb over my bottom lip.
“Yeah, well, I know better than to meddle with the boss’s son.” Rae pushed off the shelf and grabbed her bucket.
She used it as a shield.
But there was no protecting her from me.
Not now that I’d noticed her. Every day since she walked into that pub and lit my world on fire, I’dburnedto have a taste. If I was lucky enough to earn her consent, I would make sure it was the best time she’d ever had.
“What are you staring at?” she demanded. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“No.”
Glaring at me, Rae swiped a cloth from the bucket of supplies and began to dust my bookshelf. She purposefully put her back to me. Such a good little show she put on. But I wasn’t fooled. The look in her eye was more than enough but coupled with the red tinge on her cheeks that she didn’t hide fast enough, it was powerfully addicting.
I prowled closer, steps feather light, until she was inches away. I leaned down to whisper, “I like watching you work for me.”
Her scent….
Dio sacro, that scent!
Tropical flowers bloomed from her skin.
“It’s not for you,” she snapped and turned. But the moment she brushed against me, she jumped back. “I’m done here, anyways.”
Her hip bumped into the shelf, making the staged décor rattle. Rae moved away, putting distance between us.
I had to hold myself back from pursuing her.
“Pity.” I tossed my gun, phone, and wallet onto the desk. The last item in my pocket made me smile internally. The heavy wad of cash, secured with a silver clip, fell on top of the pile. “Have a good rest of your Saturday, Rae.”
She grumped something in reply, gathering her things. Chuckling silently to myself, I went to the bathroom, closed the door, and pressed against it to listen. There was a brief pause. I wished like mad I could see through the damn thing. Had she walked away? Or was the temptation too great? The sound of the bedroom door opening and closing boomed a moment later.
Smiling like a man possessed, I hurried out. Everything was on the desk where I left it. The pile was exact. Gun tilted to the side, wallet pressed next to it. The phone lay face up, and the money clip sprawled exactly where I tossed it.
I wasn’t fooled. Rae was good. Picking up the wad of cash, I thumbed through the bills.
“Would you look at that,” I chuckled. Forty bucks were gone. Such a meager sum.
The little thief took the bait. And I fucking loved it.
My money was tucked in her pocket.
“No,” I mused. Rae wouldn’t put it somewhere so risky. It was either in her bra, or in her shoe. Either way, Ilikedknowing she had it. I liked it too much, tempting her to steal from me.
