Page 51 of Undercover Desires

I slide my hands into my skirt pockets, feeling uncomfortable in his presence. He made me feel something last night I’ve never experienced before. It was like freedom from the confines of the life I have created for myself. An escape from my reality. And I liked it way too much. “This place isn’t close to The Joker; it seems like an odd choice,” I murmur, trying to sound unimpressed. I can’t let him know how much he’s affecting me. Last night was a slipup. A simple lapse in judgment. I won’t let it happen again.

He glances over his shoulder. “They have the best coffee around. Right, Moreen?” he asks the server behind him with a charming smile. He could charm the pants off anyone, even the graying server who is probably in her sixties.

“That’s right, son,” she confirms with a broad smile, as if they are old friends. How often does he come here? My house is literally right across the street from this place, and he has a full view of it from where he is currently seated at the counter. She slides a coffee in a takeaway cup across to him.

“So, I guess you won’t be at Queen of Hearts tonight then?” I ask, praying that’s the case. I need space from him. Every part of my body is on high alert around him. The sex-starved side of me trying to get his attention to tell him I want more of what he can offer. The practical side telling me to run the hell away as fast as I can.

He looks me over. He feels this too, this crazy energy. It hasn’t extinguished. It’s hotter than ever between us. “Not tonight, so you better behave,” he says playfully.

“I always do,” I say, not sure what he’s implying.

“Yeah, you do. You’re such a good girl, aren’t you, sugarplum? Bet you’ve never done anything bad in your whole life.”

I shake my head, unable to form a sentence. He knows I have. Last night was bad on so many levels, but he brings out that side in me. He makes me want to forget my hopes and dreams and just live on the wrong side of town for a little while, with him as my big bad master.

“Are you okay? After what you found out yesterday, I thought you might need some time off work,” he suggests. I look him over, wondering why he’s suddenly being so nice to me.

“What happened to Wyatt was awful, but I can’t do anything to change it, so I just need to get on with my life now,” I say, hoping that saying the words out loud will make me believe them.

“You don’t owe him anything,” he agrees with me.

“I know,” I say sadly.

“What brings you in here today then?” he asks, I think trying to change the subject.

“I’m having lunch with Hazel and Summer. They wanted to take me shopping at their flagship store this afternoon. We decided to meet for lunch first,” I tell him, not sure why. He doesn’t need to know what I do in my free time, and I should have said as much, but my brain seems to turn to mush around him these days.

“You and Hazel are close suddenly,” he remarks, and I’m not sure he likes it. That I have made friends with his brother’s girlfriend. It looks as though it makes him uncomfortable. Good, something to make him squirm like he does me.

“I don’t know many people around here. They’ve been nice to me,” I reply, trying to explain. And it’s the truth. On top of thatfact, she’s an open book and has given me snippets of insight into the family.

The girls walk through the door. Hazel waves at us, looking between us with a knowing glance in Kobe’s direction. I wonder what that was.

“Hey, Bella,” the girls greet me, slotting into a table near the window quickly. Summer looks awkward, and I know I need to wrap this conversation up. I feel bad enough I screwed the man she has a thing for. I turn away from him.

“Bella,” he calls.

“Yes, Kobe,” I respond, turning back to him.

“Mr. Rivera,” he corrects me with a sinister smirk.

I raise a brow. Is he messing with me, wanting me to call him that outside of work? “Mr. Rivera,” I repeat with an eye roll. He has to be kidding me. There were none of those games last night. I feel like he was just plain Kobe for the night, and now, he’s back to messing with me. I sigh, not up for games today.

“Why did you come right out of that house if you live in the new apartments on the other side of it?” Kobe questions, pointing to my place across the street.

My heart kicks up a beat. Fuckity fuck. I try to think quickly, feeling the pressure of his scrutiny. “I lied,” I admit, having nothing better to go with.

“I realized that, but why?” He tilts his head to the side as he watches my eyes. His own are dark and scary, boring right through me. He’s pissed at me for lying to him.

I don’t want to fuck this job up already. There is too much riding on it, and I have come so far getting this in with his family. I figure a half-truth will look the most realistic. “I didn’t want you to know where I lived,” I reply, trying to sound reasonable.

“Why?” he persists.

I take a deep breath, hoping to explain myself convincingly. “You said it yourself, I should do what I can to protect myselfand be safe. It hardly seems safe to give some guy who just gave me a job my home address, now, does it? I didn’t know you from a bar of soap. From all I knew, you could be some sort of serial killer.”

He studies me for a moment, deep in thought, his lips turning up at the side. “I’m hardly just some guy, though, am I?” His words hold more meaning than they should, and I know he’s referring to what happened between us in his office last night.

I sigh, feeling guilty. I hate lying, this isn’t me at all. It makes me feel really uncomfortable, but this job is important, and I don’t want to screw it up. Even though now when I think of what I’m trying to do, I feel sick to my stomach. I shouldn’t have let myself get close to him. He’s a criminal. “Look, I’m sorry. I have trust issues, and you were giving off vibes that made me want to protect myself, so I gave you a fake ID and address.”

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