Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
I chuckled. “If you saw her, you’d have a hard-as-fuck time being discreet too. At first, I thought she was just a mistress…had no idea she was his daughter.”
A subtle grin was still on his face as he took a drink.
“Her boyfriend dumped her at a party, and all I did was comfort her…and he went apeshit on me.”
“Did you actually comfort her or just try to fuck her?”
“She was the one who suggested we cross the street and hook up at the Tuscan Rose.”
“And you said no?” he asked incredulously.
I gave a subtle shake of my head. “I’m not a fucking rebound.” I grabbed the glass and took another drink. “I’m too good for that shit. Anyway, he took me into a private room and lost his shit…threatened me to stay the fuck away from her. I reminded him that she’s a fucking adult and she can sleep with whomever she wants, but that just made it worse.”
“You don’t say…”
“That’s when he told me I’m not good enough for her.” My voice fell flat. I didn’t care what Dante thought of me, but the message bothered me all the same. My reputation had been destroyed overnight, and it would follow me around for the rest of my life.
Theo’s eyes dropped momentarily, staring at his glass.
“And she basically told me the same thing.”
He stared at his glass for a while. “So you are fucking her?”
I looked out the window, seeing his SUV sitting there, purposely blocking the window in case there was a hit. “I suspect he’s going to try to fuck me over.”
Theo rested his curled fingers underneath his chin.
“Once he has his ducks in a row, he’ll try to dispose of me.”
“You think he’s that stupid?”
“I think he’s that arrogant.” I finished off my drink then slammed the glass down to get his guy’s attention. He made another glass and set it at the table, taking the empty one away and leaving us to speak again.
“You think he knows about the two of you?”
“Probably.”
“And you don’t care?”
“She’s the one who came on to me.” Dropped that fine ass right in my lap and chased away my admirer. Felt my hard dick underneath her and knew she wanted to see it in the flesh. “And not as a rebound.”
“You’re risking a good business relationship for pussy.”
“He’s the one risking the good business relationship,” I snapped. “He had it out for me when I’d only treated his daughter with respect. Had already decided to eliminate me just because I stared at her for too long. She’s a grown-ass woman and can pursue whatever relationship she desires. This medieval bullshit is ridiculous.”
He studied me for a moment. “You like her.”
“Of course I like her,” I declared. “Have you listened to anything I said?”
“I misspoke,” he said. “You care about her. Deeply.”
I held his gaze as I chewed the inside of my cheek.
“You’re a good man, Axel. If she thinks you aren’t good enough for her, then she’s the one not good enough for you.”
I chuckled. “I’m a good man? Look at us.” I raised my glass and gestured to the room. “We push drugs on the streets and kill anyone who stands in our way. Not exactly upstanding citizens.”
“A good man isn’t defined by how he earns his money,” he said simply. “He’s defined by his honesty and his integrity. You have both of those, Axel. Anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn’t know you. Fuck Dante. And fuck her too.”
“She’s just under his thumb.”
“What’s with the sick codependent relationship?”
I took a drink. “He’s the father of the year. Raised her as a single dad. Not only does she love him, but she feels gratitude too.”
“She owes him nothing.”
“I guess her mother wanted an abortion, but he wanted to keep her. If he hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t be here right now. So she does feel gratitude. I’ll never compete with that. If her father disapproves of me, that’s the end of it… It’s fine.”
“Why would you want her father’s approval if you’re just fucking?”
I stared at my glass. “I was open to the possibility of something more.”
He stared at me but kept his thoughts to himself.
“I’m not anymore.” I took another drink. I’d closed my heart permanently when she said those words to me, that we had no future because her father didn’t like me. I would never be more than a fuck buddy. “He’s selected her as his successor, and that worries me. She’s smart and has decent reflexes, but she’s too sheltered to know what a life like this is really like. She’s in way over her head, and I don’t understand why a loving father would want his only daughter to have a target on her back.”
“That is perplexing.”
“It doesn’t make any goddamn sense,” I said. “He told me he had plans for her.”