Page 7 of Rhoni & Dreaux

“Fuck no.” I grinned and lifted my glass. Once it was empty, I refilled it, thinking about how I’d gotten my hands on six point nine million. Untraceable and sitting securely until I finished this bid. The quarter million they knew about had been intentional. That was where Shi fucked up. Had she listened and let me do what I needed, she would have been a benefactor to my hard work. Too fucking bad for her.

“I guess I can’t argue that point. You don’t know me.”

“Yet…”

Her eyes rolled so damn quickly I was surprised them shits didn’t get stuck. We settled into a comfortable conversation that was less personal and the time rolled by without either of us paying much attention to how long we had been there, or so I’d thought until she made her move to escape.

“As much as I enjoyed your company and free drinks, I think it’s time for me to head out.”

Now the fun begins.

“Where are we going?”

“We?” She stood and gripped the back of the chair she had just vacated. “I’m going home. You can go wherever you want. My two hours are up. I even gave you an extra twenty-two minutes,” she asserted in a cocky manner like she was pleased to embrace a victory.

One that hadn’t been earned.

“The deal was two hours completely alone. For the past two hours and twenty-two minutes we’ve been here, in this bar, with all of these people.”

Her mouth dropped open then slammed shut. “Alone, in the corner away from everyone else.”

“But still notcompletelyalone.”

“That’s not what I agreed to.”

“Is that not what I said?” I raised a brow, stealing her cocky grin.

“You said…”

“Two hourscompletelyalone. If I’m wrong I’ll walk you to your car to make sure you get home safely, but if I’m not, you can decide where we’re going.” I stood and walked around the table. She watched me cautiously until I ended up behind her, hooking her waist with my arm, pulling her into my body. My mouth grazed her ear when I added, “And for the record, being completely alone with me will be well worth you being open to the idea.”

I eased my hand down her body but she caught my wrist before I could reach my destination, then pushed me away, turning so we were face to face.

“My apartment and not because you’re forcing my hand or promising to make it worth my time. I’m only agreeing because my father raised me with the understanding that honoring your word was about the only thing in life you can control. So you better keep yours and deliver.”

I smirked and nodded, closing the space between us but this time I kept my hands to myself. “Be careful what you ask for.”

“I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine but you might want to be careful who you strong arm into your bed.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m pretty sure I can handle whatever you have in mind.”

She lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug. “Then let's go.”

three

Rhoni.

I only lived ten minutes from the bar, so we arrived at my complex a lot faster than I could process. I would have loved time to thoroughly consider what I was about to do but unfortunately that wasn’t happening. I parked in a spot near the front and a black Charger pulled in beside me. My eyes darted to the left but the tint was thick, so I wasn’t able to see inside. My gut clenched with the feeling that he was watching me.

Dreaux.

The man was hard to deny with his sharp jaw and prominent cheekbones. The neatly groomed sheen of inky black hair covering the lower half of his face had my fingers curling into my palms to control the ache of wanting to drag my nails through it. I could just imagine those deep brown eyes paired with dark lashes that weren’t aggressive but still visible and his body…

Handcrafted to perfection. The exposed skin was embellished with tattoos. One of my weaknesses but also one that tended to scream fuckboy. Not that any of this mattered. At the moment I was considering sex with a man who I never planned on seeing again. He was hopefully on the same page. He had to be since his immediate future involved a concrete cell.

I assumed he was waiting for my next move because when I stepped out of my car, he exited his, following me to the rear of my building where my unit was. I didn’t say a word and forced myself to remain quiet while I unlocked the door and stepped inside, gripping the door while he waited.

“You coming?”

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