Page 61 of Villains Never Die

The voices murmured something behind me, as if they’d been holding their breath this entire time and finally had something to say about it. I ignored them.

“Unbelievable. I should kick you out.”

“You won’t.” He brushed his leg against mine under the table. “You’re a sore loser, but I did promise I’d make it up to you.”

Despite my defeat, I fought a smile as he slipped beneath the table and unbuckled my belt.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Is it day or night?” Rook groaned with his face halfway in the pillow next to me.

The room was darkened and he was pressed against my back. I reached out and grabbed the remote control that worked the blinds and opened them. Sunlight doused us and we both cursed and covered our eyes at the same time. I picked up my cell phone.

“Eight twenty-six,” I said, then tossed it back onto the bedside table and rolled over to hide my face from the sun.

“You could just close the blind again,” Rook mumbled against my neck.

“Yes, but then I would go back to sleep and I still have about fifty pages of inventory coming and a dozen phone calls to make.”

“Tell them all to fuck off and stay here.” He tightened his arm around my waist and yanked me closer.

There were a thousand reasons I should get out of bed and put pants on, and I considered placing every one of them on a shelf to deal with later.

My phone buzzed.

I picked it up and realized there were 10 missed text messages and two calls from Gray.

“Gray wants to know where I am.”

Rook yawned and propped himself on one elbow as I scrambled out of bed and began gathering clothes.

“Tell him you’re recovering from having the life sucked out of you through your dick. I’m serious. You might only have eight now.”

I glanced over my shoulder with my underwear halfway up my legs. “Cheeky.”

“Like your ass I’m staring at right now.”

I shook my head, failing to even come up with words to describe how ridiculous and insufferable he was, or to describe how perfect he was with my sheets bunched around his waist while he watched me like I was someone worth observing.

“What’s his deal—Gray?” he asked.

“He beat me in a game of cards,” I said as I donned pants and a button up, “so I gave him a job.”

“Weirdest application process ever.” He watched me get ready for my day, but made no move to stop lounging in my bed. A thrill swam through my stomach when I imagined him still there when I got home, even though I knew he wouldn’t be.

“His wife had just kicked him out and he was wallowing in a gambling den, which made him desperate and exactly the kind of man I needed working for me.” I pulled a jacket off a hanger.

“No jacket,” he said. “You look less intimidating without it. Never show your hand.”

I placed the jacket back on the hanger and straightened it.

“You’re full of shit, by the way. That was pity, not a business decision. You saved Gray because you felt sorry for him.”

“‘Felt sorry’ implies softness, and I have none.”

“That’s not true. You said he’s your friend.”

I fixed my sleeves that didn’t need fixing. “He’s the closest thing I have, and he thinks we are. He knows about…” I gestured between us.