Page 67 of Wicked Dares
He wags his finger. “I disagree. I call those thingsadventures. They make life interesting.”
I laugh, then I bite down on my back teeth when I note how serious he looks. “You’re not going to let me say no, are you?”
“You’re learning fast, Butterfly.” He winks.
I sigh, releasing a slow, thoughtful breath, then I nod just as slowly. “Okay. I will hang out with you at the club. But…”
“But what?”
“I can’t stay long. I’m staying over at Alexis’ place. She’s going with me to a viewing the next day.”
“Then I won’t keep you out for long. See you at eight.”
“See you at eight.”
He grins then does that cute thing from the other day where he presses his fingers to his lips, then touches them to mine. There he lingers, and the simple, harmless gesture is almost more powerful than the kiss we shared earlier.
He backs away, winks at me, then he’s gone.
I walk inside my apartment and lean against the door after I close it.
This is hard, and it’s just the beginning.
And now I have what is technically another date with Levi Vale.
Something outside our arrangement.
I’m breaking the rules, too.
But it doesn’t feel like a bad thing.
Chapter Fifteen
LEVI
“Finally, things are looking up,” I say to Locke as he walks through the door.
“And you’re causing quite a stir again.”
I lean back in my chair and laugh.
We’re in our private lounge at the club. We make it a point to meet here every Wednesday evening for an hour to go over figures. On the other nights, we take turns to manage the place. That way, one of us is always here.
Locke and I do a lot together outside of Vale Global. Wicked Dares is one of the best ideas we’ve ever had.
It’s also the first to solve a major problem for me in a way I never imagined.
My club of dares brought me Piper Andrews, the angel who fixed one of the biggest problems.
“You talking about this?” I hold up today’s newspaper so Locke can see, then lay it on the table. I smile at the image on the front cover of Piper and me kissing at the event last night.
“Damn right I’m talking about that.” Locke chuckles. “Everyoneis talking about that.” He moves over to the counter and pours himself a glass of scotch.
The press went wild starting early this morning. My PR team contacted me at the crack of dawn wanting to know if they should clean it up, like they usually do. Instead, I told them to fan the flames, spread the story to all corners of the country so everyone would know. And they did.
I grabbed the newspaper on my way to the club as a keepsake.
I gaze at Piper.
