Page 7 of Duped

Portland stood. “Court. Hey. How have you been?” They hugged.

Tarek’s heart dropped. While he had heard the rumors about Portland recently losing his longtime escort to marriage, and he had heard the name, he had never actually seen Court. Tarek couldn’t compete. That was a point driven home by the way Portland looked at Court. It was as if the world had disappeared. Tarek went back to staring at the menu.

“I’m Heath. You work at the Luna, correct?”

Without the mention of his job, Tarek wouldn’t have realized the quietly spoken words were for him. He set the menu aside again and accepted Heath’s outstretched hand. “Yeah. That’s me. You’ve been to my table several times. I’m Tarek.”

Heath briefly shook his hand and nodded. “I actually actively always pick your table. You’re uniquely entertaining for such a serious job.”

A laugh burst from Tarek. He had never heard anyone call his job serious. In a way, it was. He never forgot he worked for the mob. “I’m glad you choose me. You never seem to take the game too seriously. I do a lot of talking people down from the ledge all night.”

“Meh. It’s not serious. Hey. Meet my husband.” He grabbed Court’s hand and pulled him mid-word from his conversation with Portland. “My husband, Court.”

Despite whom he was introducing, Tarek couldn’t stop smiling. Heath was obviously a giant child. Court looked used to this behavior.

“Tarek,” Tarek said, dipping his chin.

Court shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Portland was just telling me the story of how you two met.”

Tarek’s gaze slid Portland’s way for a moment. He refused to let his smile slip. “Was he now?” Tarek’s blood boiled. He shouldn’t care that Portland obviously tried to make Court jealous by using him. That was how he felt, though. Used.

“It’s very sweet. I’m glad to see him so happy.”

“Me too.”

They exchanged a smile.

“It looks like our table is ready.” Heath nodded toward a spot across the room. He focused on Tarek again. “It was good seeing you. Enjoy your breakfast.”

Tarek nodded and kept smiling through the parting pleasantries. All he could think about was the way Portland looked at Court. He wasn’t supposed to be jealous. Why in the fuck did he feel this way?

“It’s always awkward to run into your ex.”

Portland froze. “How did you…”

“It’s the way you looked at him. It was pretty obvious.”

Portland winced. “Sorry about that. Truthfully, he isn’t technically my ex. We were never much more than me fruitlessly chasing him.”

Tarek glanced toward the table where Court sat. “I can see why. He’s incredibly beautiful.”

“That’s not why I chased him.”

That brought Tarek’s gaze back to Portland. Portland looked so dark and serious; Tarek had to know. “Why?” As soon as he asked, Tarek felt dumb. The guy was obviously amazing in other ways than looks. Of course, Portland would chase him.

But Portland shocked him. “Because I knew I could own him. I knew the difference in our financial situations left him vulnerable to me, and he would be loyal if I forced his hand.”

Tarek wasn’t dumb. He saw Portland and heard all the warning bells. Tarek didn’t know if it was the thrill of danger or his need to win, but he was completely on board. “Do you feel the same about us?” He had already told Portland he didn’t like games. Tarek preferred they be upfront.

“I’m already much deeper with you than I ever was with him. That should probably scare you.”

Tarek wanted to ask why Portland hadn’t pushed Court beyond Court being a well-known escort who made his living dating other people. Portland could have kept Court in any lifestyle of his choosing. Tarek was afraid the answer might hurt his feelings—like Court had a world of other options Tarek didn’t have.

Portland’s gaze moved over Tarek’s face, as if he read his mind. Then, he proved he did. “You look at me in a way he never did. I knew if I won him with money, that was all it would ever be, and that might never be enough to hold him. If you want my money, it’s not all you want.”

God. His pride wanted to sting a hair over getting called out for his thirst, but fuck. Portland wasn’t wrong. Tarek hadn’t expected this deep of an attraction, but he wasn’t disappointed because he felt pretty damn sure it went both ways.

“Accepting that dinner date is starting to feel like one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

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