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Rowena grinned like a cat, tapping away on her phone. Her smile grew wider as her eyes moved over a message before looking up at Jimmy. “He’s around,” she said innocently. “Just had some business to take care of… But he’s back.”

“Back? Where?”

Rowena cleared her throat, nodding toward the stage.

Jerking his head around, Jimmy gasped when he saw Boss Cold standing next to Dario’s piano, holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He wore a three-piece suit as always, this one a rich charcoal pinstripe that made Jimmy’s knees weak. Cold smirked, setting down the glasses and beckoning Jimmy over with a crook of his finger.

Rowena hummed loudly, very pleased with herself as she said, “Mm, well, I hope you boys have a wonderful time! I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” She gave Jimmy a big hug and kissed his cheek. “You really did great, sweetie. Good night!”

“Good night.” Jimmy shifted his attention right back to Cold waiting patiently for him on stage. He hurried behind the curtains, but he stumbled awkwardly once they were face to face again.

Singing to Cold had felt so intimate, almost spiritual, and the air between them seemed charged with a different kind of energy than usual. He smiled sweetly up at the gangster, eyeing the champagne. “Are we celebrating?”

“We have a lot to celebrate,” Cold drawled, setting the bottle next to the glasses. He lifted a sly brow, and his gaze darkened with lust as he taunted, “And we also have to discuss your punishment, of course.”

“Punishment?” Jimmy’s face dropped.

“Yes, Mr. Poe.” Cold leisurely sat at the piano. “You were instructed to return to me by midnight, and it’s well past that now. Perhaps you’re in need of another lesson, hmm?” Jimmy gulped. Oh crap.

Chapter thirteen

Apunishment, Cold had said.

Jimmy’s stomach danced with trepidation and excitement, his loins stirring. He knew what kind of punishments Cold enjoyed, and he couldn’t deny how much he liked them as well.

But still, how was this fair?

“Rowena said she talked to you,” Jimmy argued stubbornly. “She told you—”

“Is your arrangement with Rowena?” Cold asked abruptly, popping the cork off the champagne bottle. He snorted at Jimmy as he poured them each a glass. “No, your arrangement is with me. And if I give you an order, I expect it to be followed.”

“But the show—”

“Was incredible.” Cold raised his brows. “But you still disobeyed me.”

Jimmy’s pulse raced, causing him to squeak the tip of his sneaker against the stage floor as he tried to step closer. The compliment won over his frustration, and he smiled in spite of his nerves. “You really liked it?”

Cold offered him a glass of champagne. “Mm, well, we are celebrating, aren’t we?”

“How did you know?” Jimmy asked after taking a gleeful sip.

“Know what?” Cold countered coyly.

“That I could sing.”

“You’re not exactly quiet in the shower, Mr. Poe,” Cold said with a tiny hint of a smile before slowly drinking his champagne.

“So, this was your plan all along, huh?”

“Perhaps.” Cold stood and rested his hand on the side of Jimmy’s neck, thumb gently tracing along his jaw.

Jimmy gulped down the rest of his champagne, and his head swam from Cold’s seductive touch.

“Tell me,” Cold said in a smooth drawl. “Did you like it? Everyone watching you?”

“Yes.” Jimmy closed his eyes. “But I liked you watching me the best.”

Cold hummed at that, finishing off his champagne too and then setting his glass on top of the piano. He took Jimmy’s away to join it, and he sighed as he drank in Jimmy’s lean frame with a different kind of thirst. He slowly loosened Jimmy’s bow tie, then opened up his shirt and slid it off along with his jacket.