Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“And?” Ember asked.
I felt my temper threatening to boil over. “And I needed to make sure you weren’t…” I struggled for the words, clenching my jaw in annoyance.
“You thought I was over here telling him dirty secrets about you? Was that it? Or maybe you’re thinking about hiring me now that you’ve seen how well I get along with your clients?”
I licked my lips. In truth, I stormed over because I didn’t like watching him flirt with her. And that was a truth I would never utter so long as I lived. “You shouldn’t be here,” I said instead.
She gave a half smile at that. “Your sister invited me. Remember?”
“Just… stay away from my clients and potential clients. That’s all I ask.”
“Oh, is that all?” Ember asked sweetly. “Are you going to provide me with a list of your clients? Because I have no idea who any of these people are, except you, Remmy, and, uh—” she pulled the card Huxley gave her from her cleavage, turned it, and narrowed her eyes as she read. “Huxley Cane. Sheesh. That sounds like an evil villain’s name, doesn’t it?”
I snatched the card from her fingertips and tore it in half, then stuffed it in my pocket.
Ember stared in disbelief, then laughed. “What the hell was that?”
“You don’t want to call him. The man is a snake.”
She put a hand on her hip, emphasizing her distracting curves as she slowly licked her lips, eyes scanning me up and down. “I can’t decide if that was an act of immature jealousy, a statement on what a control freak you are, or just the cold, calculating action of a work robot who only thinks about his company.”
I moved behind her, pointing to a pair of women across the room. I also carefully ignored each of her accusations, all of which touched on at least a fraction of truth. “Kira and Aubrey Dublin. Clients,” I said. I pointed again to a tall, lanky older man. “Wilfred Manchester. Client.” I pointed at Huxley Cane, who was already talking to a group of two pretty young women. “Huxley Cane. Client and snake. Feel free to talk to anybody else here.”
Ember turned, but she didn’t step away, which meant her breasts were nearly pressing against my stomach as she craned her neck to look up at me. Her smile was pure mischief. “What about Orion Foster? Am I allowed to talk to him?”
“I would advise against it,” I said, nostrils full of her floral scent and body painfully aware of her proximity.
“That’s the thing about me…” she said, voice low and seductive. “When people tell me not to do something, it makes me really, really want to do it.”
My jaw clenched. I leaned closer, my voice dropping further. “You should walk away and keep your distance from me, Ember.”
Her head titled and a frustratingly attractive smile touched her lips. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you just asked me to keep you company, Orion Foster.”
“I told you to keep your distance.”
“Mhm,” she said, smiling wider and stepping closer.
I turned my back to her with great difficulty and walked to a balcony where the crowd was thinnest and the music was little more than a distant hum. I didn’t look to confirm she was following, but I could feel Ember’s presence drifting behind me.
To my great annoyance, the not-so-subtle flirtation filled me with something like electricity.
I couldn’t say why she had such an effect on me, but it was beginning to seem ridiculous to deny something was there. Maybe it was her defiant nature. Maybe it was the grudging respect I gave her for being willing to stand up to me time and time again when everybody else fled at the slightest hint of my anger.
Or maybe it was just that goddamn dress.
Ember slid in beside me at the elaborately carved stone balcony overlooking the city two stories below. The city’s light highlighted every tantalizing curve and the swell of her form. My eyes lingered on the shape of her breasts and the white half-moons of light on her exposed cleavage.
When I met her eyes, they twinkled with knowing amusement.
“I’m not used to people ignoring my requests,” I said.
“Yeah?” Ember said. “Well, your mouth is saying one thing, but your eyes are saying something entirely different.”
“I apologize for my eyes,” I said.
Ember laughed suddenly. The change in her expression was mesmerizing. She had an infectious smile and ease to her that was a contrast to everything I knew and felt. My days were defined by gritting my teeth, clinging to self-control, and willing myself to push past every discomfort and selfish need until I achieved my goals.
Ember was… free. It was in every gesture and word that came out of her mouth.
“You apologize for your eyes, huh?” she said, stepping closer to me. “And what if I don’t mind them?”