Page 49 of Play With Me
She giggles, and at the same time, a throat clears behind us. We turn to find Carmela standing there, one eyebrow raised and arms crossed over her chest. Mick is behind her, scowling at me.
“A word, Brooks.” His tone is absolute before he storms out of the house.
The slamming door makes Carmela wince before she walks further into the kitchen, placing her hands on Maya’s shoulders and kissing the top of her head. “The mix looks perfect, mijita.”
“It doesnow. Anders had to help me.” Maya beams up at her after she throws me a sweet smile. It’s only stupid pancake mix, but a sense of pride fills my chest as Carmela’s face morphs into grateful affection. “Are you staying for breakfast?”
“I should probably head back to the city, little one.” I reach out and ruffle Maya’s mess of raven hair when she frowns and mumbles ‘I’m not little’under her breath. “Maybe another time.”
Carmela’s cheeks turn rosy, and her hand is warm when I grab it and pull her away from Maya.
“You okay?”
She nods, peering over my shoulder where Mickis pacing outside the house. “I’m fine. He’s an ass, I’m used to it. He threatened to send you back to California. You’d think he’d know by now I don’t really put much stock into threats. Someone is threatening to kill me, yet I still go to the club and perform. If he tries to fire you, I’ll just hire you back.” She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck.
My thumbs stroke the soft skin of her sides as I pull her closer. We both acknowledge that we have morning breath, dodging kisses in favor of nuzzling necks. Her heady scent hits me straight between the legs. “That morning alarm sucked. I would have rathered woken you up with my head between your legs.”
“Oh, trust me, you’ll be down there tonight. You might be a cocky jerk most of the time, but your tongue is my second most favorite body part of yours.” She lets out a little laugh against my skin before pulling back. “Go. Before he comes back in here and upsets Maya more.”
“See you tonight?” I reluctantly let her go. It’s wild to think how quickly our dynamic went from wanting to tear each other apart to this soft display of tenderness. I’m still apprehensive about how things will go once we see each other again.
Will a few hours cool her off? Will I show up at the club tonight and find the hellcat instead of this cuddly kitten?
Carmela nods, turning to join Maya. “Yeah. I’llsee you later. And don’t let Mick be a jerk. Just ignore him.”
I’d already planned on doing that, but as soon as I step foot outside, Mick’s face is blotchy, and he’s practically vibrating with anger. “I didn’t hire you to fuck her, Brooks.”
“That’s funny.” I begin walking around the side of the house toward the street. “I seem to remember you being the one to offer me up to fake fuck her.” He’s hot on my heels, chest puffed up like an overgrown peacock, but I don’t slow as I pull out my phone and order an Uber.
The air is cool, licking at my face like chilly sandpaper. I’d hoped to be off the East Coast by the time snow fell, but now that the circumstances have changed, I’m not sure what will happen. I can’t leave my mom to take care of my grandma by herself. But now, I don’t want to leave Cara, either.
I look over the shoulder that Mick isn’t crowding at the flowered walkway with its neatly trimmed hedges. Mom would love it here, and Grandma, too. Problem is, neither of them will be able to handle the cold weather in the winter months.
“Because I thought you were a professional. You know, when I asked Paul to find me someone for the job, he picked you because of your background. Because you worked in this specific field numerous times and never had any issues with your emotions getting in the way,” Mick bellows.
I want to tell him that he must not have looked that closely because the last big case I had blew upbecauseof my emotions.
Instead, I shrug. “I retired from that life years ago. I was perfectly happy on desk duty before you plucked me from the sunshine and dumped me here on my knees in front of an infuriating goddess. Don’t get pissed that I decided to switch religions and worship at the altar between her legs. Or that you’ve taken her for granted all this time.”
His fingers dig into the skin of my bicep to stop me. I whirl around, the other fist clenching as I get in his face, forcing him to let me go and retreat a few steps. “Don’t fucking put your hands on me unless you want to get beat the fuck down, you hear me?”
The harsh verbiage doesn’t even phase him as he puffs out his chest and steps back into me. “Do you really think she’ll stay with you? If you haven’t figured it out already, Brooks, let me educate you on my and Carmela’s history. She will come back to me. Shealwayscomes back to me. When it comes to her, I always win. So keep that in mind when you’re in bed with her. You’re just keeping it warm.”
Tires crunching over gravel reach my ears as he grins at me triumphantly. My phone goes off with a ding, signaling my ride is here. I choose not to respond, not trusting myself to say something that won’t make him turn around and march back into Carmela’s house.
“I’ll be at the club tonight!” he calls out behind me like that information will scare me.
“Great,” I call back. “I’ll make sure we put on a good show for you!”
Mick’s earlier words drill a hole in my brain for the rest of the afternoon.
By the time I arrive at the club, I’m a fucking ball of tension, ready to snap and unleash my frustrations on my newly acquired girlfriend.
Is she my girlfriend?
We’re in our thirties—I’m nearly forty—labels seem stupid at our age.
Plus, we haven’t spoken all day. The chances of me walking into her office and having her tell me last night was a fluke is pretty fucking high and only serves to heighten my anxiety.