She cut into her chicken and took a bite as she stared at me across the table, her eyes still a little angry.
I smirked. “Still mad, huh?”
“Oh, I’m gonna be mad for the rest of the night.”
I took a bite of my food and smiled while I chewed. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, baby.”
“Want some ice for your cheek?”
“Nope.” I loved the way it burned, like my face was on fire. Don Mancini and Leo had given me weird looks when I’d left Francesca’s office, but no one had asked me why my face was so red. If they had, I would have told them the truth.
“You ask your other girls to hit you?”
“No, just you.”
She continued to eat, casting me dark looks.
“You turn me on when you’re angry.”
“Why?”
“Because it shows me how you really feel.” Anger was the rawest feeling known to humankind. It was primal and intoxicating and addictive. Rage was the gate to the adrenaline surge I searched for high and low. “Shows that you’re just as balls deep in this as I am.”
She focused on her food, her eyes averted to her plate.
I stared at her as I ate, only breaking my look to cut into my chicken, which was crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside, full of lemon juice and herbs. She had a lot of qualities that impressed me, but her ability to cook took the cake.
“Were you going to tell me?” she asked.
“Tell you what?”
“About what happened with the sex worker.”
I appreciated that she didn’t use the word “whore” again after I’d said I didn’t like the term. Probably figured out it had something to do with my mother. “Only if you asked me.”
She stopped eating, and her eyes flicked up to me. “Excuse me?”
“Not really much to tell. We played cards.”
“But if you had told me about it before Leo mentioned it, that big misunderstanding wouldn’t have happened.”
I smirked. “And that would have been a shame.”
“Wolfe.”
“What?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. I’m glad it happened, and I’m not the least bit sorry.”
She gave me this look, like she was about to erupt like Mount Etna. “You’re playing with fire right now.”
“Ooh…burn me, baby.”
“I’m gonna chuck this damn plate at your head.”
“Looks like we’ve leveled up from slapping.”
