Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
When the hell did she take my invitation? Better question, why did she take it?
I don't know, but I intend to find out.
If she wants to play, she'll play with me. No one else will fucking touch her. They won't even look at her. She's mine, goddammit. I've tried to give her the space she wants. I've tried to fight it for her sake.
I'm done. If she wanted me to keep my hands to myself, she shouldn't have taken what didn't belong to her. She can pay for her crimes on her back with her juices coating my tongue.
"Figured you'd want to know so you could handle it," Bronx says.
"Does Roman know?"
"Nope. Don't see a reason to tell him, either."
"Fuck." I blow out a breath. Roman is a good guy, but he takes security and privacy seriously at the club. If he finds out that Elodie stole my invitation, he'll be pissed. Since Slade, who owns the shop, and Roman are business partners, I'd rather not have him pissed about the invitation. Elodie may end up fired before she ever even starts. That won't work for me. "Thanks, man. I'll handle it."
"No problem." Bronx taps a finger against the invitation. "But you might want to leave the damn thing at home from now on instead of locked in your desk at work."
"Yeah, no shit." I grab a coffee pod and drop it into the Keurig before starting it. I'm not nearly awake enough to process any of this right now. "You want coffee?"
"I'm not staying. I've got shit to do. I just wanted to drop this off."
"What do you have to do? You work tonight."
"Took the night off," he grunts.
I slowly turn to face him, shocked. One thing Bronx doesn't do is take time off. Ever. "You took the night off."
"I have a life outside of work, motherfucker."
"The hell you do," I snort. "You work, eat, sleep, shit, and bug the fuck out of me."
"Man, fuck you. I have a life."
"You're a damn liar too. Why the fuck are you off tonight?"
"Not your business."
I eye him closely, noticing the lightness in his eyes and the smile on his lips. Both are new. Both are interesting as hell. Bronx is a crabby son of a bitch all day, every day. The furrow between his brows is permanent. At least, I was beginning to think it was. But it's noticeably absent now.
"Well, goddamn." I rub my hands together and smirk. "Big bro finally met a girl."
"Fuck off, Coby." He hoists his middle finger in the air, striding toward the front door. "I didn't meet a girl."
"Liar."
"I met the girl, motherfucker," he says, pulling the front door open and stepping outside.
I blanche, shocked as fuck.
He laughs, pulling the door closed.
"Bronx!" I shout, wanting details or an explanation or fucking something.
He closes the door, ignoring me.
"Bronx, you big bastard! Who is she?"
He doesn't answer. Fucking typical.
Shit, at least one of us is happy, though.
My gaze drifts back to the invitation sitting on the island. I sigh heavily and snatch it up. I don't know what Elodie was thinking when she took it, but I hope she's prepared for the consequences tomorrow.
Jesus. Tomorrow.
Less than twenty-four hours until she's in my space day after day, working side-by-side with me and Keegan. Less than twenty-four hours until she learns what it's going to cost her.
There's no way I'm going to survive the price I'm setting. Absolutely none.
And yet…I can't fucking wait to exact it from her perfect body anyway.
I smile at the thought, sipping my coffee.
Chapter Four
Elodie
"Crap," I whisper, lingering outside the doors to Bleaker Street Tattoo when I catch sight of Coby pacing the lobby. He looks extra cranky today. Which means he looks extra hot today, too. I am not mentally prepared to deal with either fact. Especially since I'm pretty sure he knows I stole his invitation to The Sterling Rope.
I shouldn't have taken it, but I can only plead temporary insanity. The thought of him going to the club made me crazy. Taking the invitation seemed like a good idea when his warning that he didn't want me working at the shop was still ringing in my ears.
Gemma used it to get into the club the night before last. At least, that was her plan. Coby's brother, Bronx, caught her red-handed and immediately knew the invitation wasn't meant for her. He managed to confuse her into telling him where she got it from. As soon as Gemma told him that she got it from me, I'm sure he was able to figure out where I got it from.
I'm not naïve enough to believe he didn't run straight to Coby.
I avoided the shop yesterday to forestall the inevitable, but I can't avoid it today.
Stealing the invite was a stupid, thoughtless plan, borne in a fit of desperation. I wanted Coby to see me, the woman who has been falling for him for months. Instead, I probably only reinforced what he already thinks about me.