Page 41 of Queens and Monsters

With the shampoo bottle in one hand, I hurriedly opened the glass door and threw the bottle of shampoo. It narrowly missed the naked woman.

Naked woman?

“What the fuck?”

Long dark hair, made-up eyes with too much eyeshadow, and bright red lips were where I tried to concentrate my attention. The woman looked down at the bottle on the floor and shook her head. “Hola,Rei. I’m Julia.SeñorRuiz sent me up here to show his appreciation.”

Wiping the water from my eyes and hair, I blinked before the realization of my nudity hit me. I reached for a towel and wrapped it around my waist.

Julia giggled. “Don’t be shy. I didn’t see anything to be shy about.” She took a step toward me. “I promisedSeñorRuiz to make you happy.”

Fuck.

I never turned down a free fuck.

Never.

Stepping out of the stall, I reached for a second towel and handed it to Julia. “Wrap this around yourself,por favor. You can tell Nicolas that I’m not up for it today.”

Her eyes widened. “If that wasn’t up, I can’t wait to see what is.”

“Towel,” I reminded her.

Reluctantly, she covered herself.

I shook my head. “Listen…” I’ve decided to commit to someone. I told her that I was her only one—only kisses, only touches, only pleasure. She deserved the same.

Okay, I didn’t say all that.

“…I have a long drive back to Sacramento.” I went to the vanity where my wallet lay beside my phone and key fob. Opening the wallet, I took out two one-hundred-dollar bills and handed them to her. “Take these.”

Julia looked down at the bills and back up. Her lower lip was in a full pout. “SeñorRuiz will be upset.”

“Don’t tell him. Tell him that I fucked your mouth and blew a whole wad. You swallowed like a champ. My cock is still painted with your lipstick. I’ll back up the story completely.”

“You’ll lie to the boss?”

A smirk curled my lips. “I wouldn’t lie to the boss.”Mí padre. “I’d lie to Nicolas Ruiz without an ounce of regret. If you get into any trouble over this, tellSeñoraRoríguez. She can get a message to me.”

“Señora…Mia?”

“Okay, she goes by her first name. Yes, her.”

Julia looked at the shower still running. “May I? It will be more believable if we’re both wet.”

Fuck, I could carry that conversation further. But I didn’t want to. If instead of a thin and pretty Latina, I was standing nearly naked next to a beautiful, curved-in-all-the-right-places redhead, I’d definitely ask if she was indeed…wet.

I gestured toward the shower.

Julia dropped her towel to the floor and stepped behind the glass door. “Wait for a minute to leave.” Her red-painted lips curled. “You would not come so fast.”

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of Nicolas’s office, a few minutes after Julia left ahead of me. Nicolas was waiting beyond the door with a shit-eating grin on his face. My words came forth in a primitive growl. “Don’t ever fucking do that again.”

“If you prefer redheads?—”

Lifting my forearm to his neck, I pressed against histhroat, interrupting his words and pushing him backward. Our collective weight crashed into the wall. “If I were you, I’d think twice before you finish that sentence.”

Nicolas’s eyes bugged out before I released the pressure.

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