Page 105 of When Sinners Dare

“Bite again, little lady. Try it.”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Kai,” she spits. “Don’t you dare bring that attitude at me. This is for us – for you and me. Get out of wherever you’re at. This is a two-way street. This is our future. Together. And you asked me to bring you back from wherever you’d go. I’m trying but, god, you’re being a complete fucking ass.” Her arms fold across each other, and she stares out the front window. “In fact, take your pissy self right out of this car and have a goddamn word with yourself. I’m done.”

I do just that.

I open the door and get out, slamming it shut behind me before I say or do something I’ll regret.

“Asshole!” she shouts.

I look up at the sky, attempting to calm down and see some light. She’s right. She’s been all sweetness and loving trying to cool me down, and all I’ve done is wallow in this shit I’ve been enjoying the thought of.

“Have you finished yet?” she shouts again. “Because, honestly, whilst mean and moody is hot as fuck, I haven’t got time for it at the moment.” A small smile lifts on my face. “I mean, I might even let you get some of that out later if you start behaving like a human rather than this Neanderthal dick on steroids. After seeing this last apartment, anyway.” I look back at the window and watch her lean out of it. She smiles, long and wide, and winks at me. Chin on her hands. Long hair framing her face. “Could be fun, don’t you think?”

Yeah. That could be a whole load of fun.

EPILOGUE

MARIANA

The first day was the hardest. I undestood that.

Considering everything, we made it through without tearing each other apart, and he did come back to me.

He was in a fucking bad mood, but I did what I promised, and it worked. Standing up to him when a part of me wanted to cave and let him have his dark place was hard. Feeling like a bitch isn’t new to me, but I don’t want to be like that with the man I love.

It was the first time for both of us, and it will get easier. I hope.

We’re still at the house until we can find something we both want to call home. I didn’t learn much from him based on the first set of appointments. It hasn’t deterred me, though, and I have a few others set up for later in the week. I’m really excited about one, but I need this to be something we choose together. I’m sure once he has his own home, it will help him balance things, too. Light and dark, so to speak.

I head out to meet the contractor at Apartment B. The plans are in, and we’re expanding. The books have been solid for the past few weeks, and it might be fast, but I have every confidence in what we’re doing. Plus, I invested money in the first renovation to enable this to be achievable. And with the shackles from Abel and my brothers apparently now gone, I’m not holding back.

Sasha meets me in the empty space downstairs, and I roll out the papers under the light of a naked bulb on a stack of wooden pallets. “So, here they are,” I muse, tapping the paper. “The concept is the same. Private rooms, but more down here, less communal or social space. Plus an additional bar and office, and backroom space to accommodate our needs.”

“I like it. We’re struggling to keep the turnaround on the rooms with the lack of cleaning and access.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve looked at putting this in.” I point to a second access corridor behind one row of rooms. “These will serve for our fast turnovers. Hour bookings. These will have longer, and the ones upstairs will be bookable for the night only. It removes the ugliness and keeps the fantasy.”

“Great. Practical and business savvy.”

“I hope so. Now we need to get it in under budget.”

Sasha looks at me. “That didn’t seem to be a priority last time.”

“I overspent on purpose to accommodate the elevator. And Knox did okay it. This time I want to do better. The stakes are higher.”

The contractor arrives, and we go over the timetable. We can’t shut down anything upstairs, and can only work when we’re not open, so Sasha goes to draw up a timetable that can work. My hope is that we’ll be open with the expansion within three months. I smile to myself – we’ll get there.

~

Two days later, I’m bouncing outside the house, waiting on Kai. “Come on, come on,” I encourage excitedly, waiting for him to get his ass in gear.

“It’s a house, Mer.”

“Yes, but it could be our home. Let me get excited. I wish you would,” I jibe. “This is your day off, clear head, nothing but us today. Got it.”

“I’m sorry. Got it. Come on.”

He opens the door to his Mustang, and I slide in and start to pull the address up.

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