Page 51 of His Juliet

“Are you tired? You should sleep.”

“Nah, I want to hear about your day.”

Warm and fuzzy feelings blanketed my body at how he genuinely wanted to know about my life. “It was uneventful.”

He hummed. “You gotta give me more than that. Did the old people come in?”

I’d told Romeo about an elderly man and woman who had met at the store the other day. They’d both ended up at the desk at the same time to pay, and the woman had looked the man up and down and told him she expected him to ask her out the next time they saw each other.

“Yes, they did.”

“And?”

“And he totally asked her out. She said it was about time and agreed to dinner.”

“Mmm, you think it’s going to work out?”

“I hope so. She definitely seems to know what she wants.” I wished I was as assertive as her. Then maybe I could demand more from Romeo. My cheeks burned just thinking about it.

I kept talking about my day, telling him all the little things I never had a chance to share with anyone. Romeo murmured and asked follow-up questions. After a while, he fell quiet and all I could hear through the phone was his breathing. I smiled, happy that he’d finally fallen asleep.

The intimacy of the moment wrapped around me. I kept my phone pressed to my ear and closed my eyes, imagining what it would be like to sleep next to Romeo. Maybe I would curl up against him, or even rest my head on his chest. I imagined how his face would relax as he slept, the lines of tension softening as he wrapped his warm body around mine.

I didn’t want to hang up. Instead, I turned off my lamp and pulled the covers over my head.

27

ROMEO

Dimitri’s clubwas dark and luxurious, exactly the sort of place I would expect the new, mysterious Pakhan to own.

It was also the exact sort of place I would have loved to come and play in the past. But now, as we headed deeper inside, I no longer found the appeal in the almost-naked women trying to catch my attention. The only thing I wanted to do was to check my phone to see if Juliet had texted. How was it that a woman I’d never had sex with, hadn’t even seen naked, could capture my attention like this? The longer I was away from her, the more sure I became in my decision—I wanted more with her. I wanted her to bemine.

Dimitri led us to a large booth in the corner. Maxim sat beside the Pakhan, and his enforcer stood with my guys in front of the booth.

A topless woman with pierced nipples came over. She leaned down slightly, pushing her breasts with their dangling jewelry closer to my face. My jaw tightened.

“What can I get you, gentlemen?”

“Scotch neat,” I said before angling my body away from her.

The others ordered, and the woman left our table. The air was filled with low pulsing music, moans of pleasure, and the occasional scream. A raised stage at the front of the room showed a naked woman tied to a St. Andrew’s Cross as a man dressed in leather whipped her with a flogger. In the booth next to ours, a woman with a collar and leash knelt in front of a group of men. One of them gently stroked her hair as he spoke to the others. A picture of Juliet kneeling in front of me flashed before my eyes, but I immediately rejected it. If she were here, I’d want her in her rightful place—perched on my lap like the queen she was.

“What do you think?” Dimitri asked, leaning back in his seat.

“Impressive.” It wasn’t a lie. Everything had been designed with extravagance in mind, and I noticed staff members around the room monitoring everything to ensure safety.

“We’ve been working hard to clean things up.” From what I knew, Dimitri had no love for his deceased father, the former Pakhan. “We have safeguards to ensure everyone who enters is here willingly, and profits are up significantly even after raising staff salaries.”

Laughter drew my eyes to another corner of the large room, and I spotted our waitress sitting on the lap of a U.S. senator. Matteo had clubs as well, and we used them for similar purposes. Some of our businesses existed as fronts for laundering money, weapons, or drugs. Others existed to gain information and influence.

“What do you know of Ronan Finnegan?” Maxim asked.

I arched an eyebrow. “You interested in an alliance with the Irish?”

“I’m a businessman,” Dimitri said. “I need to consider all potential avenues, and Boston is a good port to access.”

I drummed my fingers on the table. “We have a truce with the Irish. Not a formal alliance.”

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