Page 44 of Merciless Sinner

Whoa. I looked at my glass and then set it down on the table between us. That was enough alcohol for me.

I also slammed the door on that train of thought and locked it up tight.

“Here, you look like you could do with some more of this.” Zia leaned over to pour some more wine in my glass and I yanked it away.

“Nah. I’m good.”

“You sure about that? Turning beet red over a little comment about the size of your boyfriend’s dick is a little extreme even for you.”

I narrowed my eyes and gave her a look. “Stop obsessing, Zia. It’s not pretty.”

She threw back her head and laughed. “You know I can’t help it. Up until a few weeks ago your level of apathy toward the opposite sex was driving me crazy. Now you’re in bed with literally the most eligible bachelor in New York and you think I’m not going to talk about his dick? Come on. Have you met me? You have got to give me something.”

“I was not apathetic.”

She leveled another glare at me.

“Okay, okay, maybe a little. But you have to admit I’ve been a little busy for a while now. Priorities, right? Our chosen profession is stressful. Who knew opening a dessert bar in midtown would result in all out chaos?”

“Excuses,” she pouted, tapping her fingernails on the side of her glass. “That’s all I’m hearing.”

“Oh for God’s sake. I’m practically living with the guy now, isn’t that enough? Plus, you saw the gift he gave me for our first date.”

She grinned. “I know, kinky right? It’s definitely a good start. I mean look at this place. A girl could get used to it.”

“This from the woman who’s about to open a restaurant in some posh casino resort in Las Vegas. Don’t they put you up in a fancy suite every time you fly out there?”

“If you think that compares to this place, you have got to get out more. In fact, you should come with me the next time I have to go. We could hit the strip, go to some parties…”

“I would if my boss wasn’t such a slave driver. She keeps me so damned busy I barely have time to come home to my boyfriend’s enormous dick.”

Zia choked on her wine. “Bitch.”

I sat back and smiled while downing the rest of my own glass. Screw it. If she was going to grill me all night about Alex I needed to fortify.

I might have been waypast tipsy when Alex came in because I didn’t even hear him. Not until he bent down and whispered in my ear.

“Hey, kitten. Did you miss me?”

Startled, I tried to jump up and couldn’t move. Apparently, my arms and legs were pinned down by a heavy weight that turned out to be his big body.

“Did you have a good time with your friend?” He leaned down and licked the side of my neck, sending a chill straight down my spine.

“Zia’s a little crazy, but yeah, I really like spending time with her.”

“Good,” he grinned before nipping at my lower lip. “Gerard mentioned the two of you might have drank a little wine.”

A giggle slipped from my mouth. “Did Gerard tattle on us? That isn’t very nice.”

“Gerard is here to take care of you when I can’t. And apparently when your friend drunkenly tried to hail a cab, our doorman intervened and called Gerard. He drove her home.”

I wasn’t sure how to take Alex’s words right then. Was that censure in his voice or was I too drunk to recognize it? I struggled again to move from under him, but he wasn’t having it and I wasn’t able to budge.

“I’m sure that wasn’t necessary. Zia’s a big girl. We both are. We know our way home.”

Alex frowned and suddenly stood. “You belong to me now, Harper. That means I set the rules on your safety, not you. And that extends to any visitors you invite into our home.”

My brain tried to process his words, but it was a little slow on the uptake. Plus, it had kind of zeroed in on the last two words, ‘our home’. Did he really mean that?

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