Page 32 of King of Temptation

“There’s a third?” I say tugging a little harder until Leo surrenders the money.

“I’m driving you home.”

“What?” I run my hand over the money, feeling silly tears well in my eyes again. It would take two months for me to earn this at Rebel’s.

“I know you won’t pay for an Uber and I’m not letting you walk with that kind of cash.” It’s not a request, not a question. And honestly, I don’t argue. I could say I’m too tired but holding almost half of my tuition has eliminated the exhaustion that was pulling at my limbs.

“All right.”

“No fight?” He steps closer, running his fingertips down my spine.

“Not tonight,” I answer as I shake my head, clutching the cash in both hands against my chest. “Tonight I just want to enjoy one of my problems disappearing.”

He grins at me, dropping his forehead to mine. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

I didn’t bring my bag into his office or any of my other stuff, so I hand him back the money. “I need to get my bag.” I don’t want to walk past the other dancers with this.

He stuffs the cash in his front pocket, and I stop midway out the door. Two grand is still smaller than his erection in his pants.

He sees me staring, his grin turning wicked. “Come on, princess. Let’s go.”

I jerk my chin in agreement and rush to the locker room. It’s already cleared out except for Melissa who straightens when she sees me. “Really great job tonight.”

“Thank you,” I answer, genuinely surprised. “And thanks for hiring me. It’s really great working here.”

She laughs. “I didn’t hire you, to be fair. That was all Mr. Kincaid. But he clearly knew what he was doing. Always does. Since he took over the club, he’s doubled our profits.” She gives me a wink. “And you are obviously very special to him.”

I stare at her, wondering if I should believe the words. But they also give me a little tingle of concern. Am I worried about the favoritism he’s showing me? Or something else in Melissa’s words?

She closes a few of the locker doors and tosses some towels in a basket in the corner. I grab my bag, say goodnight, and head back to Leo’s office. He meets me in the hall, and we head out the back door where a sleek black sports car waits.

My brows raise as he clicks a button on the key fob and then opens the door for me so that I slide in.

The seats are surprisingly comfortable, not that I relax into them. For the first time in actual weeks, I feel awake.

I guess money can do that. But I’m restless and as Leo climbs in, he hands me my money before he fires up the car.

He pulls out of the club, weaving his way through the Las Vegas streets, neither of us saying much.

My body is humming from the feel of the engine, the money in my bag, and, most of all, the man next to me.

An ache is pulsing between my legs as I watch him drive. It’s a standard transmission and he’s working the gears back and forth, his movements as fluid and agile as the car itself.

“I have a question,” the words pop out of my mouth before I can take them back. But the ache is building, energy humming through me, and I watch his hand on the stick shift, my lips so dry I have to lick them.

A wild thought is working through my brain. I’m feeling giddy again, like I did at the wedding.

And today has been so great, I don’t want it to end. And honestly, I don’t want to spend another night in my bed alone…thinking about him and what he might be doing in his.

“What’s that?”

I run my hands over my thighs, knowing that I am about to push us even deeper into the grey space we’ve been in since he showed up at my apartment. And I know this is where trouble happens. “Do you think…”

“Princess,” he growls, a low rumble that makes me even hotter.

“Would…umm…masturbating…together…count as sex?”

His gaze slides to mine, his eyes holding the sort of promise that makes my breath hitch. And then, he snaps the blinker and turns left, heading back toward 55. My brow crinkles in confusion. “Where are we going?”

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