Page 53 of Ten

“Oh. Well—you have to go.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You cannot skip a drug test and mess up your parole because of me.”

“You come before my parole officer. You’re my priority.”

“And if you get picked up? If they revoke your parole and send you back to prison? Then what? Huh?” Nisha crossed her arms, and he couldn’t help but gaze longingly at her tits framed so beautifully on top of them. She suddenly snapped her fingers. “Eyes up here, Anton.”

“Yes, ma’am.”Fuck me.Those snapping fingers and that commanding tone made his dick ache. “Do you have a pencil skirt?”

“What?”

“Not here with you, obviously, but like back home in your closet?”

Nisha huffed. “Are you seriously asking me to dress up for you?”

“Okay, hear me out.” He slipped off the bed and prowled toward her. “You in a sexy librarian or boss bitch outfit. Fake glasses. A ruler. Snapping those fingers. Barking orders at me.”

“Ten,” she warned with a poke of her finger. “You better behave yourself. You are not going to distract me with your fantasies.”

“Not even a little bit?” He eased his hand along her hip. “I’ll be a very good boy for you.”

“I’m sure you would.” She patted his chest with her elegant hand. “Anton, you have to go.”

“I’m not leaving you here.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“You’re not leaving this cabin.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, then we have a problem.”

“Yes, we’re at an impasse.”

“Big word.” She drew the letters on his chest. “What if I call Eric?”

Ten didn’t like that suggestion one bit. “No.”

“Why not?” She poked his chest. “Eric has always been a good friend to me. He offered to help.”

“He’s a cop.”

“Yes, and a damn good one.”

Ten hated that she was right. Eric was a good choice. “I’ll call Kostya first, and if he can’t send Ilya or one of the other boys, we’ll reach out to Eric.”

“It’s that or I call the Texas Rangers and accept their offer for protective custody.”

He liked that idea even less. “Fine.”

“I’m not trying to make trouble.” She traced her finger along the star adorning the right side of his chest. “I don’t want you to go back to prison, not when you’re so close to being done with your sentence.”

He had been wondering since Kostya spent the evening with her whether or not she was going to ask him about Tony. He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her all about that night, if for no other reason than to raise himself in her eyes. He wanted her to know what kind of man he really was.