Page 5 of Chasing Danger

“Yeah.” I leaned a little farther over the counter so I could watch him work. “Lucky me.”

His hands were long and delicate, and moved with perfect precision. I’d bet my entire fortune that the man was an artist. It was too easy to picture him holding a paintbrush, creating masterpieces with a mere stroke of his fingers.

It was also easy to picture other things his hands could do for me, but I kept those thoughts to myself.

For now.

He also wore a surprising amount of jewelry. There were several rings on his fingers, along with multiple necklaces of varying lengths. However, what caught my eye was the ear cuff. It lookedlike a golden snake curling around the shell of his ear like it was whispering secrets to him, and a small apple charm hung from his earlobe.

The young man presented a charming portrait of contradictions. He was not only an olive branch of peace, but also a creature of wicked temptation.

If I didn’t have such an important meeting lined up, I would definitely try to coax this man into my bed. Whatever Alex needed from me had better be important.

The drink took a few minutes to complete, and I noticed him doing something complicated with the milk pitcher. I wasn’t complaining, since it gave me more time to watch him, but I was pleasantly surprised by the final result. A tall cup of rich coffee was carefully placed before me, filled all the way to the brim. The lid still sat beside the cup, showing off the artwork that had been created on the drink’s surface.

I’d seen plenty of latte art before, but this was much more than the fancy heart or leaf that most barista’s could do. This was very clearly a phoenix. I could even see the individual feathers, and the flames that rose up from its wings.

Taking out my phone, I snapped a picture of the drink. “Impressive. I knew you were an artist.” I hated covering up the art, but I needed to put the lid on the cup in order to take it with me. The phoenix would just have to be content with living immortalized on my phone.

“Y-you knew? How?”

I handed over my credit card, and although Oliver was distracted staring at me in awe and confusion, he still managed to slide the card through the cash register without fumbling.

“You’ve got the look of an artist.” When he handed the card back, I let our fingers brush. “Plus, you’re obviously good with your hands.”

With one finger, he nervously twirled a lock of his wavy hair. It was a cute gesture, but also allowed him to discreetly block my view of the scar on his face.

If I did take this man to bed, I’d tie up his hands so he couldn’t hide from me.

For a moment, I was half-tempted to push back my meeting with Alex. He owed me a favor after I helped him when he was kidnapped.

The sound of a throat clearing drew my attention. Eva stood in the door of the cafe, scowling at me as she tapped her watch.

My break was over. It was time to get back to business.

I stuffed some cash into the tip jar on the counter, not even paying attention to how much. “Thanks for this.” I saluted Oliver with the cup. “Sorry for keeping you so long. I’ll let you finish closing up.”

As I headed out the door, I heard the barista stutter over his words. “It’s… uh, you’re a pleasure.”

I stopped just before the door could close behind me and looked back at him, one eyebrow raised in a silent question.

Realizing what he’d said, Oliver’s face bloomed a bright crimson red. “I mean… you’re welcome. It’s my pleasure.”

Taking a moment to sip my coffee, which was just as strong as promised, I regarded him from head to toe. “Hmm. Not yet, it’s not. Ciao bella.”

With that cryptic remark hanging in the air, I left without further explanation. It was entirely by design. I was certain the beautiful effeminate man would be turning my words over for a while, wondering what I meant and if my suggestive tone was intentional.

Good. I liked the idea of living in his brain long after I was gone.

As we headed back to the car, I could feel Eva giving me a judging look out of the corner of her eye.

“Something to say?” I asked before taking another sip of my coffee.

“You just killed your previous lover a few hours ago.”

“Yes.” I waited while Gavriil opened the car door for me. “Which means I am in need of another one. Maybe this one won’t try to stab me in the neck with a syringe.”

For a moment, she looked like she would argue, but something in my expression must have tipped her off that I wasn’t in the mood, for she looked back at the cafe with a thoughtful expression.

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