Page 27 of The Shy Waitress and Her Boss

Swiveling his chair away from his desk, he turned towards the window, but the edges of his mood only turned sharper and increasingly jagged when he saw that the skies, which had been midnight-black when he entered his study, now spread out in a multitude of colors.

What the fuck was he going to do with Kady?

He should never have crossed the line, dammit. He should've contented himself with teasing and torturing her with words and playful touches. That would've been the smartest and safest thing to do, and as long as it didn't involve the welfare of his parents or baby sister, Slade had never taken any uncalculated risk.

Until now.

It had been all impulse, a foolish, devil-may-care whim that had made the billionaire ignore his personal rule against mixing business with pleasure. Pissed beyond belief at seeing Kady relaxed and comfortable with other guys while still jumping away from him in fright, he had given his common sense the finger and taken a taste of her.

And that had been the beginning of the end.

There was just something about her he couldn't get enough of, and if not for the timely interruption of Humbug's call, he was grimly certain her breasts wouldn't have been the only part of her body that his mouth would be acquainted with.

Cursing under his breath, Slade swung his seat back and tried for the nth time to get some work done. His teeth gnashed as he stared at the words and numbers listed on the screen, but they had suddenly become as incomprehensible asBaybayinand the moment he closed his eyes, all he could see was how they had been in the ride back to the cafe, a nervous Kady trembling next to him and avoiding his gaze as she said tremulously,'If you want things to go back to normal, it's fine with me.'

The words had stunned the hell out of him, and instead of making him feel relieved, the billionaire had actually found himself making up excuses for thingsnotto go back to normal.

If your ex finds out I was never your boyfriend to start with, do you think he's the type to blab it all over your hometown?

What about your best friend? Do you think she'd be the type to fuss over you for this and end up turning you into an object of pity?

And your parents? If our little deception reaches them, do you think they'd make a big deal out of it?

By the time he had finished outlining Kady's worst nightmare in vivid detail, her face had been ghostly pale, and she had been staring at him like he had just killed her (nonexistent) firstborn. And when her lips had started to tremble and her eyes had begun to fill with tears of distress, the sight had been enough to rouse his often-dormant conscience into an acute state of guilt. It had almost made him want to take the words back.

Almost.

Until, that was, a ghastly alternative scenario popped in his mind: of things going back to normal, just as Kady had suggested, and with every day that passed, she would drift further and further away from him while drawing closer and closer to another man's arms.Another man,who would then have the right to stake a claim on the body he had only the most fleeting taste of.

And that had been it.

So when he had the truck parked in front of the cafe, and Kady, instead of stepping out, had turned to face him and pleaded for advice...

'What do you suggest I do?"

Words had rolled smoothly off his tongue like the finest, deadliest trap—-

'Let me help you get back at Humbug, and I'll even toss in your former best friend's just desserts as a bonus.'

And when she had asked him why he was going to such lengths to help her...

'Don't you really know?'

He had taken her hand while speaking, guiding her fingers to his mouth, and as his lips parted, he saw her eyes widen, saw her swallow and tremble even harder...just before heeding his silent command. Her finger slipping into his mouth. Her gasp as he began to suck. Her moan as he sucked harder. And after one last nip that had her whispering his name -

'Is that answer enough for you?'

****

Kady was already freshlyshowered and dressed by the time the first song of Farica's morning playlist kicked in, andWhy Do Fools Fall In Loveby Frankie Lymons & The Teenagers started playing. Was it just her, or was the older woman truly prescient when it came to her choice of music?

She had barely slept at all, but instead of feeling exhausted and sluggish, she felt insanely lightheaded, almost like she was about to fly and dance in the air any second. Sitting herself in front of the vanity, she shakily ran her brush through her hair, but instead of her reflection staring back at her, Kady's gaze was lost in memories of last night.

His mouth on her nipple...his mouth on her neck...her finger in his...

All those things, and possibly more, she thought dizzily,could continue to happen...

She just had to say yes.

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