Page 39 of Root

“It’s their day off.”

“Damn.” A little smile lightens her pretty face.

I kiss the top of her head and she tries to push me away. Fuck, her buttons are so damn easy and fun to push.

“C’mon, I’ll feed you before we do the tour. I’m betting Mia’s got cookies and they’re the best.”

I lead her to the kitchen.

“Are you five, Rush?”

“When it comes to cookies, I’m always and forever five.”

Mia isn’t in the kitchen and we have minimal staff at best which, considering the way Rose and Nikolai carry on is probably best. I sure as shit don’t want to pay for therapy for innocent people who work here.

Is anyone who works here innocent?

I start to forage in the cupboards.

“Lay it out, Rush,” she says behind me. “Am I a prisoner?”

I go still for a nanosecond, right as I spy a container with very familiar things in it. Grabbing the cookies, I say, “Look, this is the inner sanctum. Nikolai’s protective of us all.”

“Poor baby Rush, needs a protector.”

I narrow my eyes and turn. She’s on the island counter so I cross, setting the cookies down and slamming a hand either side of her. “He’s protective and he’s deadly. But I’m not helpless, neither is Rose. Or Dante.”

She frowns. “Who the fuck is Dante?”

With a meow, Dante appears from fucking nowhere, leaping up onto the counter where Mia doesn’t let him go. But Dante does what Dante wants, and I’m not sure who he reminds me of most. This chick? Fucking Rose? Big, scary Nikolai?

Dante gives me a long feline look, one filled with contempt, and I scratch his ears. “I’m the one who built you a condo, little dude.”

“I knew there was a cat,” she mutters, taking the cookies and opening the container. The scent of chocolate and sugary goodness fills the room. “Oh. My. God.”

I snatch it away and set it down, before getting a morsel of Nikolai’s poached chicken breast. Honestly, that man. Dante meows loudly and pounces on it.

My gaze shifts to Jess. “Why’s he so interested in who owns Bunny Munroe?” I ask. “It’s a low-rent dive—no offense—so the people aren’t ever gonna be savory. But it’s never caused us trouble.”

Until now.

She breathes out. “He’s your cousin.” Her fingers edge to the container. “You tell me.”

I shrug. “I don’t have much to do with the business.”

“Me either. I tend bar, that’s it.” Then she looks at me and my cock pays way too much attention.

I slide my hands along her thighs, parting them so I can step between them. She’s warm and pliant. When I was young, I’d take this and run. Now?

Oh, I’m still going to take. The beauty of being a player is I know when someone tries to play me.

And Jess is trying to play me.

When the time comes, I need to play it slow, cool, like I’m hunting a skittish animal. Like I imagine I’d hunt a skittish animal. I’ve never been hunting. I’ve killed. From the ripe age of nine, but I’m not the hunter that Nikolai is.

She might need a delicate hand.

She’ll also feed me my balls if she has any inkling to my thoughts. But the thing is, she just looks and feels and smells so good.

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