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“And?”
“You seem to know her. So, maybe you can tell me who she is?”
“What is your interest in her?”
“My interest? Aside from the fact that she looks like a juicy piece of ass I want to pound, I think she might be the girl Julio’s been asking about.”
Staring at his slightly pointed nose, small mouth, and eyes set too close together leaves me wondering if he’d look like an asshole with hemorrhoids, if I punched him in the face right now and it swelled up. “This island is brimming with strays, and unfortunately, I tend to scare away the feral variety of cats. So I can’t help you.”
“I guess that’s the difference between you and me. If the pussy is young and pretty, I don’t mind taking in a stray. Or two, for that matter.”
“How very noble, for a man of the law.”
“Every man has a good side and a bad side, I suppose. What’s your good side, Bergeron?”
I don’t have one. The closest I come to benevolence is the care I put into my sister, but even that has its limitations. “Your time is up. I have a number of important matters to attend this afternoon.”
“If you know where to find this girl, I suggest you speak up. I find it awfully coincidental that you were at the same hotel last night. You have no idea who, or what, you’re fucking with.”
“Enlighten me.”
His brows wing up, as if he’s suddenly surprised by my apathy. As if we haven’t been playing this game of see-if-I-give-a-shit for the last six months that I’ve had to put up with this walking anal gland. “Maybe I’ll give Julio a call. Let him know you’re bullshitting him on her whereabouts.”
“Yes. Let’s call Julio. Allow me to set up the conference, as I, too, have something to inform him about. Namely, the cash you’ve been skimming. Only a couple thousand at a time, nothing to ring any bells, but I don’t need to remind you of the cartel’s response to stealing.”
Enough rounds of card games with the bastard has taught me the twitching thing he does is some kind of involuntary response to losing, and the guy is practically seizing right now.
Wearing a smug grin, Aric pushes up from his chair and taps his knuckles on the desktop. “I trust you’ll tell me if you see the girl.”
I don’t bother to respond to that. He knows I won’t.
“One more thing, Aric,” I say, stopping him on his way out the door. “If you ever lay a hand on one of my dancers again, I’ll break every finger to the knuckle.”
“You’re threatening me now?”
“A threat is oftentimes an empty promise. What I’m telling you is a blueprint for your future, should you decide to challenge me on it.”
Jaw shifting with his obvious anger, he exits my office, slamming the door behind him.
I push to my feet and swipe up my drink, moving to stand before the wide window, from where I watch him keep on shuffling through the tables on the main floor below.
Whatever Céleste might’ve been worth before our meeting, her value just shot up. If having her stay with me a few days means keeping her from that sorry prick, it’s worth the headache.
As I’ve gathered, Julio is expected to return in two weeks. It’ll give Aric the chance to look completely incompetent, which may offer me some leverage, should I decide to strike a bargain with Julio.
The real question is, can I stand having a woman in my home for that long? It’s not enough that Céleste is a walking disaster, but she’s got an addiction on top of it. One I’ll have to break before she does something stupid after those pills run out. I could easily replenish her supply, I suppose, with the contacts I keep, but I don’t trust the shit they put in them. Could be worse than dealing with the withdrawals.
On the stage below, a few of the dancers rehearse for the evening show. Clad in flesh-colored skimpy tops and bikinis, they’re practically naked, gyrating and swaying in a way that’ll have the limpest of dicks taking notice later tonight.
Unfortunately, my mind is wrapped around a twenty-year-old, with lazy curls and a sharp tongue. One who’ll be sleeping in my bed tonight. That thought alone sends an unwelcomed rush of blood straight to my dick, and the urge to throttle it.
I need to get this woman out of my head. Out of my system. If I don’t fuck something soon, I risk blowing a valuable exchange for freedom.
And a couple of weeks-worth of pent up tension.
One of the girls below, Jackie, looks a bit like Céleste, with her curly hair and small frame. Sort of. Unfortunately, trying to imagine her lips around my dick is like trying to concentrate on a complex calculus equation. My mind keeps diverting to lazier curls, bigger tits, and those wide innocent eyes that make Céleste look like a caricature out of an anime show. I swallow back the rest of my drink, to erase the visual of my annoying little houseguest pinned beneath me, but hell if the drink doesn’t only add a nice burn to the fantasy. That small spike of discomfort paired with what I imagine would be one hell of a good night. A night I’m hellbent on denying myself, because something tells me, once I’ve had a taste of this girl, once won’t be enough. Fucking her would end up fucking me twice as hard.
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