Page 38 of Vicious Rule

Sasha’s eyebrows shoot up into her forehead. “Really? We’re making plans for the future? I didn’t realize we were to that point yet.”

I shrug, knowing she still doesn’t fully believe me. “You and I are going to be working together forever. Whether we’re actually together all that time remains to be seen. I’m up for it if you are.”

She slides her palms over my chest and down to my waist, grazing my hard cock as she touches my pants. “People usually have more discussions about forever than just saying it, Alex.”

“Why? You want me. I want you. We’re great together. What do we have to talk about? You’re as much a part of the Rule world as I am, and that’s not going to change. This is your life now. You’ve known that from the day you agreed to work for me. The only difference is you’re not only working for me anymore.”

She sighs, blowing the air out of her lungs in a rush. “I guess a girl just likes some romance with her forever.”

“That’s what the trip is for. You decide where you want to go, and the first time I make money from my partnership with Nico, you and I will leave and go wherever you want.”

That piques her interest. “Wherever I want?” she asks with a playful tone to her voice.

I think for a few seconds and decide there’s only one place in the world I don’t want to spend my holiday away with Sasha. “Okay, anywhere but that damn hotel of my brother’s.”

Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head. “You know, I wasn’t thinking of that at all. In fact, I’m thinking somewhere in Spain or France. Maybe a few days in the south of France lying on the beach.”

“Perfect,” I say before planting a kiss on that beautiful mouth of hers. “You, me, and as much sun and fun as we can handle.”

It won’t be long before the money from my side gig comes rolling in. I’m actually looking forward to a vacation away with Sasha. It’ll be nice to leave the world of this villa behind for a little while, and who deserves it more than me?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sasha

Lost in thought about what Alex said earlier about a trip somewhere just the two of us, I don’t hear my phone until someone walks by my office and taps on the door. Looking up, I see Micah smiling at me.

“Your phone has been ringing for the past few minutes. I figured you must not be in and came down to check. Everything okay?”

I nod at the man Alex keeps around to handle unruly guests at his parties. Huge at nearly seven foot tall, he’s got muscles on top of muscles. Not a bad looking man, he also has scars all over his face and neck which look like they might be from knife wounds. I’ve never asked Alex about them, but I think there’s a story there.

“Oh, thank you!” I hurriedly say, composing myself to answer the call. “I was daydreaming, I guess.”

Micah smiles as I answer the call to hear Helix on the other end. “Sasha, I’ve been trying to get in touch with Alex for hours. Where is he?” he demands.

I check the time and see it’s at least an hour past when Alex was due back from visiting the contessa. Unsure how much his father knows about his dealings with her, I choose to answer as vaguely as possible.

“He went out to visit some people. He told me he’d be back an hour ago, so I don’t know what happened, Helix.”

Lying to a man who kills people for kicks makes me nervous. I don’t have a choice, though. Once again, his son hasn’t told me enough about someone to know if I should include them in my answers to Helix.

Mumbling, he says, “Probably can’t find his way out of her bed. Tell him I want to speak to him as soon as he comes in.”

As jealousy spikes inside me, I try to keep myself sounding professional. “I certainly will, Helix.”

I hate that my voice shakes with each word, but even worse is he notices and asks, “Is everything okay with you, Sasha? You don’t sound right. Is there anything I should know?”

Fantastic. Now not only has he made my mind spiral with an offhand comment about his son that would make perfect sense because he has no idea we’re together as a couple now, but he thinks I’m hiding something because of the way I sound.

“No, everything’s fine, Helix. Just worried since I now realize it’s an hour after Alex was supposed to return and he usually tells me when he’s running late.”

Needing something to deflect from me as a topic, I quickly add, “He’s definitely no Gideon. That’s for sure. Your other son was always on time. You could set your watch by him.”

That does the trick, and a second later, Helix laughs. “It’s like they’re night and day, isn’t it? I imagine that’s been a little hard to get used to for you. Coming from a boss who followed a schedule to a T to one who barely looks at the time, much less pays attention to it.”

I sigh at the obvious differences between Gideon and Alex. I might not want Gideon romantically anymore, but I wouldn’t be unhappy if Alex behaved a little bit more like his brother when it comes to business.

“There’s definitely been a learning curve,” I answer with a chuckle I hope doesn’t sound too nervous.

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