Page 39 of Of Desire And Deception

Stop it, Remi. No good could come of thinking of him like that. Not if I wanted to keep him from sweeping the cobwebs from my crevices with his cock.

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” I let out a grumble of tepid agreement as she offered me a sympathetic smile. “Check in after the date. Code reference will be birth control side effects.”

“Who the fuck even comes up with that shit?” I muttered, gathering all the clothes.

“Who knows?” Selena giggled and shook her head. “Good luck, Black.”

“Thanks.”

She slipped from the dressing room, and I followed as she disappeared into the next stall. I hung the clothes I wasn’t buying on the rack at the dressing room entrance and found the saleswoman standing behind the register, oblivious to my approach, as she focused on her phone.

“Hi,” I finally said after a few moments. “I’d like to buy the dress.”

She glanced up at me, bored. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“Yeah.” I was over the small talk and anxious to leave the store. My fingers drummed impatiently on the counter as I tapped my card to the reader. The saleswoman handed me a little bag with my dress, and I offered my thanks before getting my ass out of there.

The pretzel vendor was practically calling my name, so I splurged on the taxpayer dime, grabbed another pretzel, and munched on it while I waited for the bus. The quick meeting took up hours of my day, leaving me little time to prepare for work when I returned to my apartment.

I pulled the black dress out of the bag and hung it on a hanger, running my fingers over the soft fabric. Awareness shot through me as I realized I’d be alone with Cosimo in a little over twenty-four hours. My face flushed, and I shoved the dress into the small closet.

Those feelings that wouldn’t fucking go away were supposed to be reserved for romantics and dreamers. Not people ruled by their logic. Not me.

I donned my uniform and did my makeup, then pulled my hair into a high ponytail and braided it to keep it out of my way. Saturdays kept me running around from the start of my shift until closing.

Rain pelted the hood of my coat as I ran to the bus stop. Saturday evening partygoers joined my journey, forgoing their vehicles for the chance to drink and forget themselves. I half listened to the surrounding conversations, but thoughts of my boss constantly broke through. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I rushed through the pouring rain into Deception, where the front door guard lifted his chin in greeting.

I waved at him and skirted the room, calling out to Zach on my way to drop my things off in the employee room. A quick look in the mirror showed my hair had survived the weather. I adjusted my breasts in the vest and pulled my shoulders back, ready to face the evening.

“Eight hours, and you can crash,” I quipped as I moved past Zach to sign in to the computer. The bar was already full, with patrons lining up behind the filled stools to shout out orders over the heavy bass of the music. People were living it up before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

“Take half,” he panted, grabbing more vodka from the shelf. Nodding toward the far side of the floor, he added, “There’s a bachelor party.”

I swore silently. They would undoubtedly get rowdy, and I was already on my last shred of sanity. Instead of thinking of that waiting disaster, I focused on the regulars, who were smart enough to get their seats early.

The first few hours of my shift kept me so busy that I didn’t think about my hot boss once. Until I felt the hairs at the back of my neck rise as I reached for a bottle of Johnny Blue. I knew it was Cosimo before I turned and found him staring at me from the last seat at the bar, nearly fading into the shadows in his black t-shirt and leather jacket. He lifted a brow and tapped two fingers on the bar top.

My lip stung from how hard I pinched it between my teeth, but I turned away from Cosimo and finished making a drink for another customer. Why did it feel like I was playing with fire? His eyes bore into my back, and I took a deep breath before turning around and meandering to where he sat.

Plastering a grin on my face, I wiggled my fingers in greeting. “Hey, boss.”

“Goldilocks,” Cosimo’s deep voice returned, making me shiver. My nipples pebbled, sensitive against the fabric of my bra. “I’m in the mood for something sweet.”

There was no mistaking the double entendre as his teeth bared in a seductive smile. I felt my upturned lips falter and gulped, trying to hold on to the last bit of my professionalism even as my hormones screamed at me to launch myself over the bar and wrap myself around that gorgeous tattooed man.

In the end, sense won out, and I threw together a lemon drop to tease Cosimo, setting it down on a little black napkin before him. His eyes narrowed at the beverage. “What’s this?”

“Something sweet,” I teased. “Be careful. There’s a bit of bite to it.”

His gaze snapped to mine, and I heard the dark rumble of a chuckle over the music. “Perfect.”

My mouth fell open when he lifted the glass to his lips, but instead of taking a drink like any other normal human being, his tongue trailed along the sugared rim. He licked the sweet crystals in a long, languid motion before curling his tongue and sipping slowly.

I knew I should turn away, but my feet wouldn’t obey the alarms sounding in the distant recesses of my mind. Why couldn’t I enjoy the show again?

Criminal. Murderer.

I lowered my lashes, breaking the silent staring contest Cosimo was holding with me. It was as good as admitting defeat, but I’d rather lose a battle than the war. When I’d made it safely to the other end of the bar, I looked back only to find his seat abandoned, the empty glass taunting me.

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