Page 29 of Filthy Hot

“It was amazing,” I whisper.

She hums. “But?”

Shaking my head, I look to the side, then shift my attention back to hers. “No buts,” I murmur.

“You fell in love with the dick, didn’t you?”

Pressing my lips together, I shift my gaze up, past her shoulder and toward the door. He’s standing there, in his leather and boots, his focus on me and only me. I feel like the only person on this whole earth.

“I did,” I say, my eyes staying focused on his and only his. “Completely.”

GNAW

“The Southern Mafiais going to be a problem,” Atomic announces as soon as I step into his office after dropping Kyle off at work.

“Why?” I demand.

Atomic hums, leaning back in his chair as his eyes find mine. He clears his throat and lets out a heavy sigh before he speaks. “They broke into Sal’s Bar. They didn’t take anything.”

“Why not?” I ask.

He snorts. “They wanted to show us that they could. It was a show of power.”

My back straightens thinking about Kyle and the bar. "What else are these assholes willing to do to show their sense of power?” I demand.

I suck in a breath as I wait for him to answer me. I already know what he’s going to say, that it doesn’t matter because we’re going to end this before it even begins.

And that is exactly what Atomic says.

“So, what now?” I ask.

He shrugs a shoulder and stands from his chair, and I watch as he makes his way over to the window. His back is to me, and he rocks back on his heels before he spins around to face me again.

“We wait. If we strike too soon, we’ll do nothing but fuck up the whole thing.”

Nodding, I take a step backward. “I have some shit to do with warehouse scheduling,” I murmur.

“Gnaw,” Atomic calls out after I’ve already turned my back to him and started walking toward the door.

I stop to look over my shoulder at him. He’s watching me, but I can’t quite read his expression, which is odd for him. Considering I’ve known him for decades, and I can pretty much read each expression he wears on his face, this strikes me as odd.

I open my mouth to ask him what the problem is, but he shakes his head, and the expression vanishes.

“I’m ready to take the Southern Mafia down, but at the same time, I’m not going to make the first move. They broke in to establish dominance. We cannot let that go unchecked.”

Grinning, I can’t stop myself from thinking about the ways we could establish our dominance when it comes to the Southern Mafia. I would absolutely fucking love to start some shit with them.

“We can’t take them down yet, but we can play,” Atomic says.

“The game is fucking on,” I chuckle. “Just let me know what you want me to do. I’m ready,” I say as I begin to think of all the ways I would love to take those assholes down. I could think of some serious scenarios, too, but I don’t get the chance because Atomic speaks.

“Get King and a couple of the guys together, and we’ll come up with a plan. I don’t want to rush into anything, but I do want to make it clear that we know exactly what the fuck is up.”

“Do we?” I ask on a muttered voice.

He hums. “We do. Crystal fucking clear.”

“Then we’ll have a meeting and set a plan,” I state. Atomic’s eyes almost light up at my words. “I’ll make sure I invite you when we make a plan.”

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