Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“Some investment company,” I said, not wanting to admit that Bastien had hooked me up with the job.
“Some investment company?” Gabriel said with a laugh. “You don’t know what it’s called?”
“I gave her a job at the office,” Bastien said. “You fucking pricks.”
“Just trying to get to know your girlfriend a little better,” Luca said.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Bastien said.
I was both relieved by that interjection and simultaneously disappointed. I walked that line every moment I was in Bastien’s presence. I’d never wanted a man more in my life, but that also marked him as the single most dangerous person in the world. The man who could burn down what little foundation I had left.
“Pussies have girlfriends. Men have women—and she’s my woman.”
He claimed me in no uncertain terms right in front of his boys. It was a turn-on, made me want to jump his bones right there in the booth, but I kept my eyes on the table and tried to be invisible. The warmth in my belly was quickly replaced by ice-cold fear.
Luca stared at Bastien for a long time, and a silent conversation passed between them.
What I wouldn’t give to know the details.
The tab came, and all three men threw a hundred-euro-bill into the pile, even though brunch couldn’t have possibly cost that much.
“We’re going out tonight,” Luca said. “You in?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” Bastien said.
Luca scooted out of the booth first. “Nice to meet you, Fleur.”
“You too,” I said quietly.
Gabriel gave me a nod before he walked out with Luca. They stepped onto the sidewalk, and then a black SUV appeared just like Bastien’s. They disappeared from the curb and drove down the street.
Bastien pulled out his phone and texted his driver. “Ready, sweetheart?”
“Sure.”
He opened the door for me and stepped onto the sidewalk, sunshine visible between the buildings because it was a cloudless day, unusually warm for the spring. When he stood next to me, he was like the Eiffel Tower and I was the Seine. His friends were guys I would hit on in a bar, but they didn’t hold a candle to the man beside me, with blue eyes that were warmer than a summer evening.
“Your friends were nice.”
“They were assholes, and you know it.” He looked down the street and saw his driver coming around the corner. “You want to come back to my place, or should I drop you off?”
It felt like a trick question. Was he inviting me back to his place to be polite, or did he actually want me there? He said he was honest to a fault, so I just asked. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to fuck me then take a nap with me.”
I never had to wonder what he was thinking because he just told me—and that was refreshing. “Sounds good to me.”
Chapter 14
Bastien
I sat at the bar and drank alone as I waited for Luca to get there.
He walked in a couple minutes later, wearing his leather jacket with his motorcycle helmet under his arm. He took the seat beside me and placed his helmet on the counter. He tapped his fingers against the bar to get the bartender’s attention. “Gin and tonic.”
The bartender threw his drink together and served it with a smile that asked for more than a tip.
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
“No problem, babe.” She walked away to serve the people who had been waiting at the bar a lot longer than Luca.
“Where’s Gabriel?”
Luca shrugged before he took a drink. “I don’t fucking know.”
My fingers rested on the top of my glass, and I looked at my reflection in the mirror, saw the way Luca stared at the side of my face.
“So, you’ve got a woman now?”
“Is that a problem?” I turned in the swivel chair to look at him directly.
“She’s still married.”
“You act like she’s having an affair.”
“It is an affair—technically.”
“Even if it were an affair, I wouldn’t give a damn,” I said. “And I don’t give a damn that you don’t like her.”
“I never said I don’t like her.”
“You sure act like it.” I took a drink.
“I just think you shouldn’t get involved with a woman with so much baggage.”
“I can lift a car—so I can carry her fucking baggage.” I looked at the front of the bar again, seeing him stare at the side of my face in the mirror.
“When you called her your woman, she had this look on her face, like she didn’t like it…or she was uncomfortable.”
She could push me away all she wanted, but I would just pull tighter—like a fucking viper.
“Did you hear what I said—”
“What do you want from me, Luca?” I turned back to him. “I don’t care that she’s married. I don’t care that she’s getting divorced. I don’t care if she says she’s not ready for a relationship. She’s my woman—period. You better get fucking used to it.”