Page 29 of Sweet Possession (Criminal Underground 1)

“No, I have the opening shift tomorrow. Need to start saving up money so I don’t have another month where I can’t afford rent.”

“How responsible of you; sounds like little Mary is all grown up. A real woman now,” Archer teased, his words were thick with heat, his double meaning clear in tone.

Smirking, I shook my head and stepped back, away from the table. “You would know just how much of a real woman I am, wouldn’t you?” I countered, loving the growing need that slicked my core. This was what got me every time, the back and forth banter dragging out the tension.

Three sets of eyes heated, the chemistry between us thickening until I swore I could feel it move tangibly over my skin. Before they could respond, I tucked my pen behind my ear and pivoted where I stood, striding back into the kitchen. Their gazes burned against my ass as I walked.

I stayed in the kitchen—hiding out like the coward I was—until I was sure the guys had left. When I stepped back out to check on the dining room, I found that I was right. They’d disappeared—probably going back to the house that they’d taken me to. For a brief moment, panic assaulted me as thoughts of abandonment flooded my mind. My chest tightened. I was torn—I didn’t want to be alone, but that was a selfish desire.

It’d been five fucking years for Christ’s sake. Five years of crying alone, of sleeping alone. And in those five years, nothing bad had really happened. Maybe it was okay to just let them do as they pleased. As I finished cleaning my tables and preparing for the end of my shift, I noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor near the hostess stand.Huh, probably just some scraps of paper someone dropped or an old receipt, I surmised, picking it up to throw away. When I opened it though, there was a small precise script that looked familiar written inside.

Mare,

She is beauty incarnate.

Her will strong

Her life palpable in my hands.

I look forward to our next meeting.

Yours Truly

“So cliché,” I muttered, but try as I might, I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across my face. First, they asked me out, and now it seemed they were actually trying this sweet, romantic thing.

Who would have thought?

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