Page 51 of High Roller

Luke squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t worry about your car. She’s in excellent hands, I promise.”

I smile at the bearded Irishman. “Thanks. I appreciate you and the club handling the expense. Four tires would be a lot for my budget right now.”

Luke nods. “You do a lot for us. We’re happy to help you with anything we can. I hope you know that.”

When he’s gone, I return to Lili’s room, jingling my keys.

“Looks like I’m free to leave. Victor is working until midnight.”

“Understood. I don’t suppose there’s a chance of you letting me go home with you is there?”

Her expression makes me laugh. “I like you, Lili, but not more than I’m scared of Victor.”

Lili chuckles. “It was worth a shot. When will I see you again?”

“I have to be back to work at ten in the morning. But if you’ll tell me more of your story, I’ll bring breakfast and come in early. I usually stop at Bagels and Brew on my way in.”

Lili licks her lips. “I love their candied black pepper bacon breakfast bagel, but Finn wouldn’t be caught dead there.”

The longing in her voice over a simple bagel makes me laugh. “I’ll bring you one then. I’ll be back around nine. Hope you get a good night’s sleep.”

Lili stands and offers me a surprising hug. “You too, pretty girl. And I hope Victor wasn’t too hard on you last night. I’m sorry if I got you into trouble.”

My shoulders tense at her words. Victor and I have entered uncharted territory, and I’m unsure of how much I want to share with a woman he’s slept with.

I slip out of the room before she can say anything else, offering her a little wave before I head for my car—or rather Luke’s borrowed town car—and head for home.

When I unlock the door to my apartment, Sabrina is adding water to a fresh bouquet of purple roses, and I groan. “Another one?”

She nods with a mischievous smile. “You’ve got quite the secret admirer. And what is with these cards?”

I pick up the small card and flip it over. This time, the letter is L.

None of it makes any sense. I pocket the card and take it to my room, not in the mood for my chatty roommate’s questions tonight. With a sigh, I snap a photo of the card and text it to Victor. But if he’s working, I know he won’t see it until he goes on break.

At first, I wasn’t convinced of his paranoia about me having a stalker, but with the tires this morning convinced me.

In my bed, I let myself relive the feeling of being sandwiched between Victor and Lili. It was different from the last time I slept between two people. It’s been more than five years since that relationship ended, but now I’ve thought of Kara and Sampson twice in the last few days.

The memories aren’t always fond, and I would rather keep fantasizing about Victor and for some reason Lili is included in that, so I shove the memories to the edges of my brain and focus on the warmth of Victor’s body next to mine, and the sweet smell of Liliana’s hair as I open my night stand, and pull out a slim vibrator.

Chapter 16

Lili

Mysleepthatnightis restless, but I find myself dreaming of Victor and our time together before he discovered who I was.

It was a night like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The vivid dreams wake me up with a need that no vibrator could quench, so I go to the bathroom and take a cold shower. And when I doze off again, my dreams are filled with a cherub face and chin length curls on her knees between my thighs. I slept with a number of women in college, but none I’ve found as attractive as Grace. There’s nothing specific I can point to that stirs these feelings, but they are there just the same.

I wake again just as needy and curse my body for finding these people so damn erotic. My eyes land on the door and I remind myself that they’re holding me hostage. These fantasies aren’t going to do me any good, and I need to put a stop to them.

But my body doesn’t seem interested in listening to logical me, so I get up and rummage around in the room just to see what sorts of things get stocked in a sex-club bedroom. In the top drawer of the wardrobe, I find a medium-sized canvas bag with a zipper. A label in bold font says ‘If you use me, take me home’.

I unzip it and laugh. It’s a collection of vibrators and other sex toys that are likely to get bodily fluid on them. I shudder at the sight of the butt plug collection. Phineas has a thing for really rough anal with not enough lubrication, and my thighs are proof that it’s not safe to say no.

I select a small clitoral stimulator and settle back on the bed just hoping to ease some of the ache between my legs.

I close my eyes and find two faces waiting for me. So much for not fantasizing about Grace or Victor. I sigh and give in to my fantasies as I touch the toy to my clit. It’s not hurting anything to imagine them in my bed, is it?

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