Page 10 of Unexpected Temptation

“You’re redirecting possible employees to Raffie’s club,” I snap, slamming my fist on the desk.

Guido’s staring at me wide-eyed, with the fear I’ve seen many times before. It doesn’t make me proud, but knowing I can inspire that in men is good. It’s good to know I have that level of respect. It’s the only thing that allows me to pick my own path in this fucked-up world.

“I’m doing my job,” he says, but an unmistakable air of caution surrounds him. It’s like he’s suddenly found himself locked in a cage with a big cat. “I’m not trying to steal your business.”

“That would be foolish, but why do you have to send girls there?”

I sit down, adjusting my tone, taking on an “I want to understand”attitude. I can’t let him see how badly I want to smack him across the face for trying to turn young women into strippers. That’s mainly because I can’t let myself think about it too deeply. It’s not her. It’s not Maya making my heart beat so hard with so much purpose.

“Just … to make money. What else? I didn’t mean to …”

He falls short of words, which isn’t unusual when I’m questioning some punk, but Guido isn’t justsome punk. My ties with Raffie buy me some small favor—or maybe it’s just tolerance—and I’ve proven myself more than once, but I shouldn’t push it. It’s not like Maya is going to do that kind of work. If she did, with all those eyes on her …“Just get your shit together.”

Turning, I storm out of the small office, my hands opening and closing into fists as though they’ve got minds of their own. I need to relax. Nothing has happened, not really.

Back at work, I walk into the open-air area and scratch Loki on top of his head. He’s all over me, sniffing like crazy.

“Why did you go all the way across the city for her, boy?”

He opens his mouth, letting his tongue hang, keeping his secrets from me. It makes no sense that he’d go so far out of his way, but maybe I’m jumping to conclusions. Perhaps he stopped at several houses, and hers was only one along the way—the only one that matters.

“Come on,” I say, giving Loki a nudge. “I’m sure there’s some crap to clean up.”

As I do my work, Simone calls over, “What should I do with this?”

I look up to find her holding the resumé. I almost tell her to toss it in the trash. Simone was telling the truth when she said we weren’t hiring. That hasn’t magically changed in the last thirty minutes, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

“Leave it on my desk for now.”

Simone leaves, and I try not to think about Maya in a strip club. My mind shifts. Maya is stripping, but it’s a solo show. She sways her hips slowly and temptingly from side to side for me, stroking herself from her hips to her breasts and back again. She sinks her hands into her tits, emphasizing her voluptuousness.

I push the thought away or try to. Damn, she’s hot.

CHAPTER SIX

MAYA

As usual, I feel ready to collapse when I walk through the door. Lacey, one of Mom’s nurses, rises to meet me, a magazine in her hand. She’s clearly been waiting to leave. I know that her mom takes care of her kids, but she doesn’t like to push her luck.

“How’s she been?” I ask, typical of our usual quick conversation when we cross paths like this.

“Quiet,” Lacey says. “I think she’s depressed, but she won’t talk to me. She didn’t even want to do the crossword today.”

I nod, ignoring the pity in Lacey’s eyes. It’s not a cruel kind of pity or anything like that. It’s not like she’s judging me either. It’s more that she knows there’s no coming back from something like this. It’s more that she, like Mom, doesn’t want me working myself to death when it’ll all be over soon anyway.

“Thank you,” I say, probably firmer than I needed to. I’m just getting sick of that look, and my feet are sore from my shift. “See you soon.”

“Bye, Maya.”

Once she’s gone, I go to the downstairs bedroom to check on Mom. She’s sleeping, her machines beeping and humming. This is the only time she looks truly peaceful these days. I like to lean against the doorway and watch her. This story isn’t going to have a happy ending. She’s too far gone for that, but I’ll take as many small, happy moments as possible.

I don’t think I’ll open the back door tonight. Weirdly, I don’t want to see Loki. I don’t want to think about the dog home or Tristan. It was weird sitting in the car with him. He kept looking at me, even though he tried to play it off, and I found myself thinking, wondering.

I’ve got too much on my mind to worry about him or any man, for that matter.

I lie on my bed, the mattress springs digging into my back. I won’t let myself complain about something like that, even in my head. I can’t think about anything except for the look in Lacey’s eyes just now and how, in bed, Mom looked so small and fragile, ready to let go.

Turning over, I shove my face into the pillow. Riley always says I should try living and going into the world, but I prefer analyzing from afar. That’s why I want to think about Tristan sitting across from me in the car and then remember being there. There’s no awkwardness as I picture his head of shiny black hair, a little long and wild, his shadowy beard covering a strong, sharp, jaw.

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