Page 21 of Purr For Me
Lexie’s breath caught, and she choked a little, making her voice sound froggy. “Have dinner with you?”
“Yeah.”
Lexie planted her hands on her hips in annoyance. “We talked about this, Kade.”
“Lexie, why are you so afraid of a friendly dinner?”
Like a cat, her name being said in the same sentence as the word “afraid” made her hackles rise. If she could, she’d spit and scratch his face.
“I’m not afraid, Kade, I just don’t need any complications at work, or any more in my life, period.”
“I don’t want to complicate your life. I’d just like to show you a nice time. That’s all. But if you don’t have the stones to take a gamble and play me…” His unspoken challenge hung in the air between them.
He’d caught her in a trap. She was all about saving face.
“All right. You’re on.”
He didn’t care about hiding his grin. He was having fun. “Awesome. Let’s get to it.”
Lexie chuckled and racked the balls. Kade broke, and the game was on. The stakes were even higher now, and Lexie approached each shot with painstaking caution. Kade wasn’t taking any prisoners and sank three of his balls in a row, leaving only the 8-ball.
“So, Lex, what night is good for you?” he asked as he prepared to take his next shot.
“Cocky, aren’t ya. It’s not over yet. Are you ready to lose thirty bucks?” she countered.
Kade smiled and took aim.
To his surprise Lexie folded her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and giving him a great view down her bra. She was playing dirty.
He inwardly laughed as he took his shot after taking in the show. She barely kept from dropping her head as defeat smacked her in the face. He wouldn’t gloat; that would see her spitting tacks.
Taking a breath, she put a resigned smile on her face. “Guess I better dust off my nice clothes. Congrats, Kade.”
“You sound like having dinner with me is the kiss of death.”
“I’m just wondering at the motive. Why are you so desperate to wine and dine me? I’ve told you Jason’s safe from a jail cell—well, frommeanyway.”
Kade gritted his teeth. He wondered at his own motives, too. “I really don’t know. How’s that for honesty?”
Lexie’s mouth dropped open. She closed it and asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“That’s a surprise. What time is good for you?” What the hell was he doing? And why? Why did this woman stir him so?
“Okay. Pick me up at the shop around six,” she said. “I get off at five and I can be ready by then.”
He wanted to high-five someone, but he just said, “Six it is, then.”
On a smile that said she knew he was full of crap, she added, “Say hi to your friend in the band for me. I’ll catch him next time. I’m heading out. See you.”
Kade said, “Ok. Good night.”
He watched her weave her way through the crowded bar, and his groin tightened. He should feel the guilt start about now, but it didn’t.
Just then, his phone rang. When he saw the number, he merely said, “What’s the news?”
“It’s hard to follow a money trail when Jason’s got so much cash. But he is in Chicago. Just not in his usual haunts. No one’s seen him, except a cab driver that picked him up from the airport. He dropped him at a motel near the waterfront, but he left the next day.”
“Damn. Keep looking.”
