Chapter 8 #2
“Wow. Just wow.” After studying me with dissection in mind, she sat back in her chair. “Oh. My. God. You fucked him.”
Another mouthful of wine spewed from my mouth like a volcano. This time hitting the bullseye.
While I groaned, she laughed while grabbing her cocktail napkin. “You did.”
“I know the music is loud, but try and keep your voice down. Please?”
“Honey, I don’t think anyone in this town is the least bit concerned about your sex life. This is the most sinful city on Earth.”
“I thought that was Las Vegas.”
“You know what I mean. Anything goes here. And I do mean anything.” She fanned her face in yet another dramatic representation of her personality. “I am concerned about you. That’s not typical behavior for you.”
“Said from personal experience?” I avoided being hit by the balled-up wet napkin. “And you’re right, it’s not typical, but I’m soon to be twenty-nine years old and all I do is work. Which I love, but still.”
She shook her head. “I get it. I do. All kidding and horniness aside, did you grill this man before you did the hokey pokey?”
“Hokey pokey? How the hell old are you and how was I supposed to grill this man?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Get his social security number and run it through the police database. His name as well. At the same time, you should have checked for a criminal record. And if you really wanted to be certain, you should have forced him to show you the balance of his bank account.”
I stared at her incredulously. “Now I know why you rarely go on dates.”
“Bitch.”
“Cunt.” I grinned. “No, I didn’t grill him. He was nice. I do know he has a black credit card. He was intelligent and an above average dresser.”
“So do I. So what? They mean nothing any longer.” She grabbed her phone. “What’s his last name? I can take care of the grilling needs right now.”
My bestie wasn’t kidding me. I placed my hand on her phone, pushing it to the table. “I appreciate the gesture, but I’m a big girl. I think I can weed out a serial killer.”
The haughty look was followed by one of those light bulb moments going off in her head. “You don’t know his last name. Do you?”
“If it makes you feel any better, we’re not going to see each other again. There were no promises made, no phone numbers exchanged.” God knows with the way she was acting, I certainly wasn’t going to confess to giving him a business card. Hell, no. I’d never hear the end of it.
“Let me get this straight. You know nothing about him except a trumped-up first name that could only be provided by parents who were criminals or hated their child. He, on the other hand, knows your first and last name and where you live. Did you give him a key?”
“Stop being melodramatic.” But she did have a point. “He seemed perfectly normal.” My thoughts drifted away from the filthy desires and images I’d enjoyed popping into my mind throughout the last two days to the thumps heard over the music.
I suddenly felt a little creepy, as if I was being watched. Great. Now I was drifting back to past realities instead of gifting myself pleasant afterthoughts from the most incredible sex I’d ever had in my life.
“You of all people should know better than to trust anything, including your own instinct. Criminals are damn good at being manipulators.”
“Then I guess if he had been, I wouldn’t be enjoying my glass of wine on a beautiful evening with my best friend. Now, would I?”
“I don’t know.”
“No, I’d be lying in a morgue somewhere with a toe tag or spending all my free time talking to insurance adjusters about my house being ransacked. He’s not some criminal. Okay? Can we just agree that spending time with him after the horrible incident with Indiana has been good for my psyche?”
The way she wrinkled her nose while rolling her eyes had me wanting to punch her. Playfully.
“It’s not that incident that troubles me.” When I glared at her, she shook her head, throwing up her hands. “Fine, Jose. Maybe you’re right. But you know why I’m a tiny bit overprotective.”
“And I love you for it. I was lucky enough to let my guard down and it was… fabulous. Be happy for me.”
“I am,” Tilly insisted, still frowning. Her mind still spinning. I had a feeling if she learned his last name, she’d run the background check whether I wanted her to or not.
The sinful images returned, although I’d already promised myself that after tonight, they would be placed in a lovely little box in the back of my mind. I could pull them out occasionally when I needed a boost, but life moved on. And I had my share of problems.
“So…” she pushed. “Was he hot?”
“I already told you he was handsome.”
“No, you did not. Give me all the details. What did he look like? Did he still have a full head of hair? Did he have a dad bod or something hotter?”
“Are you suggesting I’m only going to be able to date older men?”
“Well, you aren’t getting any younger.”
“God, you are a bitch.” She could make me laugh like no one else. “Next you’re going to ask me how good he was in bed.”
“Yes, I will. So start talking.”
When I was younger, everything used to make me blush. Hell, even when my father called me his princess my face turned a dark crimson. Once I’d lost the softness in body and spirit, nothing had managed to embarrass me. Now I was hot all over, including between my legs from just thinking about Sin.
“Okay, listen up because you’re only going to hear this once.
” I stretched my body across the table, staring my bestie directly in the eyes.
“He’s tall, dark, and handsome with the thickest ebony hair.
The kind you want to dive your fingers into, twisting and tugging while he fucks you long and hard.
He has ice blue eyes that could melt a woman’s heart, piercing while accentuating his dangerous aura.
His body isn’t just built for sin. He was created by God himself, the perfect Adam for every woman’s Eve.
He was the mold, all other paling against his utter chiseled greatness.
And his cock…” I purposely took a sip of wine, making her sick with anticipation given the way she’d berated me.
“His cock is, well… The star of a masterclass of hot, wicked sex.”
I purposely sat back, curious as to her reaction.
“Holy. Fuck.” She gulped the remainder of her vodka tonic, immediately holding the glass in the air and searching for a waiter. I burst into laughter.
“It’s good to see I haven’t lost my edge.”
“No, you’ve still got it. Damn, girl. Does he have a brother?” She threw up her hand. “How would you know?” She joined in my laughter, her entire face lit up.
At least I hadn’t lied. It was exactly what the man had been like.
Although I could say even more, including that his mouth and tongue should be considered weapons or that his fingers were those of a piano maestro.
Or that he was masterful at everything he did, including the number of orgasms he’d sent through my body. However, that was just gloating. So I bit my tongue.
“Seriously. There’s no need to worry about me. It was a onetime experience that I’ll enjoy over and over again in my mind.”
“You would. And you’re going to rub my face in the fact you had a glorious time while every man I meet on a scale of one to ten is a minus eleven.”
“Maybe you need to broaden your horizons and date some of those criminals you help prosecute.”
“So what delicious coffee did he bring?”
Now I wrinkled my nose. “From Indulgence.”
“Ugh.” She looked at me sheepishly. “Although I admit their mocha Frappuccino isn’t half bad.”
“Traitor.”
“Wait a minute. You selected the restaurant,” Tilly chided.
“Yeah, so?”
“So that’s Indulgence right across the street. You were hoping lightning struck twice. Weren’t you? Now, I’ll call you a conniving little bitch.”
Shrugging, I grabbed my wine, allowing my gaze to drift to the entrance of the restaurant. Maybe I was hoping to accidentally run into him again. Although I doubted lightning would strike twice. “That’s not what I’m doing.” Sighing, I continued sipping my wine.
A jolt of electricity tore through me and I sat up in my seat.
“What’s wrong?” Tilly immediately followed my line of sight. “What are you looking at?”
Oh, my God. It was him. The shimmer of lights over the festive entrance provided a perfect highlight, accentuating his broad shoulders. Well, maybe it was him. He certainly wasn’t looking in my direction.
“Nothing’s wrong. I just thought I saw someone I knew.”
Tilly half stood, craning her neck. “The guy in the dark suit going into Indulgence?”
“That’s the one.”
“Is that him?”
“Maybe.”
She whistled. “Go talk to him.”
“You were worried he was a horrible criminal determined to do something heinous before. Now you want me to run across the street and throw my arms around his neck?”
“Maybe not that obvious, but yeah, you only live once. He looks hot even from behind. I mean you can tell he has a great butt.”
“You’re incorrigible.” Just then he turned, now chatting with someone who’d come up behind him.
I hadn’t realized I’d stood until I was leaning over the railing separating the patio tables from the sidewalk.
Very slowly, he turned his head. I could swear he was locking eyes with mine. No way. He couldn’t see me. The darkness of the night, the distance from one side of the road to the other, and the neon lights would prevent him from seeing me clearly,
But I could see him, so…
“Wait a minute,” Tilly said, her tone entirely different than before. There was an urgency to the sound.
“What?” By the time I looked down at her and back to the Indulgence entrance, he’d gone inside or had walked away.
“I know him.” Tilly shook her head. “Yeah, I know him.”
“What do you mean you know him?”
She was already fiddling with her phone, her fingers flying. “Sin. Right?”
“Yes, that’s what I told you. I have no clue who he is.”
Tipping her head briefly, she glared at me. “That’s because you’re not a social butterfly like I am.”
“Okay. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just wait. I know I can find a picture.”
While Tilly was searching, I glanced back across the street. I guess a small part of me truly did want to see him again. Even the mystery surrounding him was enticing.
“I found it. Is this your Sin?”
She thrust her phone in my direction. “He’s not my Sin.” It took me a few seconds to focus. When I did, I pulled her iPhone into my hand. “What is this?”
“Well, one of several photographs I’m sure you can find on the internet.” Tilly was suddenly agitated.
“Okay. Cut to the chase. Who is he?”
“He brought you Indulgence coffee because he and his brothers and sister own the entire block over there as well as dozens of other commercial and residential buildings. That’s not all.”
“Okay. So he’s rich. I already suspected that.”
“You’re not getting it. His name is Sinclair Prince.” She cocked her head as if I was immediately supposed to know who he was.
“I’m not understanding.”
“Jose,” she muttered. “Yes, he’s wealthy as well… sin. That’s not what’s important.”
“He’s married.”
“I don’t think so. Just listen to me. You really don’t know about the Prince family.”
“The name sounds vaguely familiar. Just tell me, for God’s sake.”
When she glanced around the patio as if fearful the people closest would hear us, I became anxious. “The Prince family. Princes of Darkness? Anything?”
I shook my head, although something was tickling my mind.
“They are mafia. Dark, dangerous. Ruthless. They kill people who get in their way?” She was exasperated.
So was I.
“What?”
“You know as in shoot ‘em up dead mafia. As in the worst kind of criminals because they have money and an army backing them. They also have very influential friends, if you know what I mean. They use acts of extortion and blackmail to get what they want. And bestie, people they don’t like disappear. Forever.”