Page 35 of Wicked Attraction

He was bossier, more ruthless, and more focused on every little detail of every Ashby business. It was exhausting to watch so I knew he must be beyond fatigued.

I stepped inside to find Jasper on the phone. Signs of exhaustion appeared around his eyes and mouth, the tense set of his shoulders, and the way his brows were fixed in a perma-frown. His dark hair, though? Not a strand out of place.

When he stood, I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that not his shirt or his pants would dare hold a wrinkle. Even the high-end fabric was terrified of its ruthless wearer. He held up a finger without looking my way, giving me plenty of time to drink him in.

Why did he have to be so damn appealing?

“What do you want,” he barked when he caught me staring.

I blinked and glanced at the phone in his hand, noticing the black screen. “Two of Glitz’s finest are at the back table waiting for a word with you.”

Jasper’s lips twitched with a knowing smile as if he could read my thoughts. He walked closer and closer until he was in my personal space, right in my face, and licked his lush pink lips. “Was that all you wanted?”

Ah, grumpy fucker was in the mood to flirt. Too bad I wasn’t in the mood, not even for him.

“From you? Yes.” I ignored how my body pulsed with need at his woodsy masculine scent. The way my clit zinged to life as I caught the flare of desire in his green eyes.

I wanted him, without a doubt, but Jasper Ashby was the head of an international crime organization, not to mention CEO of a billion-dollar business.

He was the exact opposite of the settling down type. There were no white picket fences or baby showers in his future. It was blood and guts and mayhem for him for the foreseeable future. Until he took his last, violent breath.

“They’re waiting,” I told him and sauntered off to get the beers for the officers and a Velvet Fire for Jasper.

I knew the deal with Jasper and the business. That was a big part of why I lived in a penthouse suite at Emerald Isle and got chauffeured around town like a goddamn mafia princess. I knew family secrets, and more than that, I knew how to shut my mouth.

Ashby's secrets were vaulted, and, as Sadie promised all those years ago, I was rewarded handsomely for that.

So when I strolled up to the table with three drinks on my tray, I pretended not to notice Jasper sliding an envelope to the older of the two uniformed officers. It was no big deal to me, nothing I hadn’t seen before. Heard it too.

I knew they owned plenty of law officers, especially in Glitz, Vegas, and Mayhem, but also all around the state. It was how they operated, how they stayed ahead of the law, and I accepted it all as normal.

“Anything else you fellas need?”

The younger officer looked up with an appreciative smile and opened his mouth to order.

“No,” Jasper barked, his tone extra annoyed like it was all the time lately. Everything pissed him off these days, including me.

“Okay,” I said quickly, as if his words didn’t hurt. “Holler if you need anything.”

I stood a little taller as I walked away to check on my other tables, and that was the last I saw of Jasper until he approached me just as I was leaving for the day.

“I need you to work Lucky Lopez tonight. Ten-thirty to three.” Without waiting for an answer, he walked away, so sure I’d step in to help him out because I always did.

Sadly, I probably always would.

With that fucked up thought, I made my way home and took a quick nap, thoughts of Jasper and the baby heavy on my mind.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Jasper

It was late as fuck, and here I was, still wasting my time in the back office at Lucky Lopez. As much as I bitched and moaned about Sadie taking it over, I was happy to give the place back to her.

I had no interest in running a titty bar, especially one like this that was a logistical fucking nightmare to start with. But with an extra floor and double the capacity of drunk, horny customers, this place was a shit show waiting to happen.

The increase in security had done fuck all to deter customers. If anything, they came back night after night, hoping to relive the excitement of Sadie’s shooting.

Sadie would love to see this shit, and I was sure Thomas told her all about it because he spent all of his daytime hours at her side. The truth was, I didn’t even know when the fuck he slept because he was here from sundown until closing, making sure this place looked just as Sadie wanted it when she woke up. Which she still hadn’t fucking done yet.

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