Chapter Ten-Luc
CHAPTER TEN-LUC
I hold the passenger door of my matte black muscle car and watch Maria slide into the seat.
Fuck. Me.
She is so fucking gorgeous.
This woman is going to be the goddamn death of me.
“Wow. This is beautiful,” she says, but she looks so stiff in her seat it takes me a minute to figure out what she’s talking about.
“The car? Thanks,” I murmur, shifting gears as we move into traffic.
“I thought you all had drivers.”
“When I travel with the boss, we have a driver. But I prefer to be in control,” I tell her.
I bite my lip, looking forward to being in charge of other things tonight.
“So, you went to law school, right?” she asks, surprising me.
I dip my chin.
“Why do you do this, then?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re obviously smart and talented, I wonder why you don’t do your own thing. Be your own boss,” she says.
I pause. It’s a good question. An interesting one. But I wasn’t expecting it.
Maria mistakes my silence for anger, and she starts apologizing right away.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business. Shit. I shouldn’t have asked you that. I am so sorry,” she says, and she’s wringing her hands on her lap.
I stop at a red light, and I turn to face her, covering her hands with one of mine.
“Baby Girl, you can ask me anything, okay? I just wasn’t ready to answer the question,” I explain, and like I want her to, she settles.
“No, you don’t have to answer that. I need to mind my own business.”
She huffs, looking at our entwined hands.
I don’t miss the tremble that rolls through her. And fuck, it’s like it goes straight to my dick.
“To answer your question,” I say as the light turns green and I’m forced to use both hands to shift into gear, “Angel, Nico, and I are the original members of the Vipers. But a snake has got to have one head, or it will tear itself apart going in different directions. Nico is the right man for the job.”
Now, it’s her turn to be silent. I sneak a glance and I catch her expression.
It’s contemplative.
Thoughtful.
Once again, this woman surprises me.
But right then, I have no idea how many more surprises she has in store for me.