Page 29 of The Wages of Sin

“Right,” she said, shooting one more smile. “Then I guess you leave me no choice.”

“That’s the idea,” I called out as she disappeared around the corner.

A moment later, the sound of the door opening and closing echoed down the hall…and I was alone again.

After a few seconds, I turned on my heel and headed back into the bedroom.

The time with Kiera had been amazing, and I hadn’t wanted it to end, but now it was time to get back to real life.

I picked my phone up from the bedside table and dialed Matteo.

He answered after a single ring. “Brother.”

“We need to talk. Grab Gabriel and meet me down at the docks in thirty.” The waterfront was one of the few places we could be sure no one was listening to our conversations.

“I take it that means you have news.”

“Yeah.” I sure as hell did. “But you’re not going to like it.”

Chapter Ten

KIERA

The next day, it took me twenty minutes to clean three windows—a job that usually took me no more than five.

There was no denying I was distracted. I had been all day, but the longer time stretched on, the worse I became. What had started out as a couple moments lost in thought with my first client that morning had turned into a handful of daydreams by the second. Now, at the third and final job of the day, I was officially running behind schedule, more caught up in the memories swirling in my head than the work in front of me.

It didn’t matter how many times I tried to shake myself out of it and focus; my concentration never lasted long. A few swipes of a sponge or a feather duster and my head was right back to being filled with images of Dorian’s cobalt blue eyes burning me with their intimate stare as his cock filled me all the way up, satisfying me in a way I never thought possible.

All I could think about was the feel of his hands on my body, grasping my waist, tangling in my hair, as I ground against him.

I picked up the bottle of glass cleaner and sprayed the window in front of me…only to realize that I’d just finished cleaning it a moment ago.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself, picking up the white cloth and starting to wipe it down again.

I really needed to pull myself together. Especially if I wanted to get home before dark.

Oh, and I had plans for the night.

Usually, I grabbed a book or turned on the television when I got back to the cramped single room that I paid for weekly in cash. But not tonight.

Nope, tonight I was going to skip all that and slip right into bed. Then, I would let those memories run wild in my head while I attempted to recreate a little bit of Dorian’s erotic magic with my own hand.

The thought was so absorbing that I didn’t notice the footsteps coming up behind me.

“Hey, Mary,” a smarmy voice said far too close. A cold shiver ran up my spine. “You’re taking your sweet time in here today.”

Urg. This client was one of my worst.

A thickset, oily wiseguy type, he never failed to give me a serious case of the ick on his best day. Still, today, he seemed to be laying it on particularly thick.

“My apologies, sir,” I said, always happy to keep my head down and my eyes on the floor when he was around. “I’ll finish up as quickly as I can.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I ain’t complaining.” From the corner of my eye, I watched his hairy arm extend out. He propped his palm against the window, leaving a greasy print right where I’d just cleaned. “You take all the time you want.”

That cold shiver turned into a full-on shudder.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, turning the other way to try to move away and put some distance between us. “But I’m sure Laura wants to leave on time.”

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