But I don’t usually make a habit out of mistreating women.
This one was a special case.
I purse my lips and shrug. “I also may have pointed a gun at her head while I was questioning her.” I tell him in case there’s some mess we need to clean up from the fallout. Hopefully Sondra won’t kick up a fuss. I don’t think she will.
And for some reason that bugs the hell out of me.
I have terrible taste in men.
Smart, well-educated, smoking hot little number like her shouldn’t be walking around with that fatal flaw that puts her in danger. Especially not in Vegas.
Except it’s probably that terrible taste that turned her supple and pliant in my arms, too. Those incredible nipples pebbled up, that pussy turned wet for me. And I hadn’t even been coming on to her. I was rough-handling her like a deranged lunatic.
Fuck.
Tony shoves his hands in his pockets. “Jesus, Nico. The lack of sleep has you paranoid.”
“I know.” I run my hand through my hair.
“You need to take something. Have you tried the drugs?”
I have a whole shelfful of pharmaceuticals that are supposed to help me sleep, but either they don’t work or I don’t like the way they make me feel afterward. Not that I like the delirium I’m under now. “Nah. I think I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”
“That’s what you said last night.”
I look out the wall of windows that make up my penthouse suite. “So you got her home? Was she okay?”
“She was skittish. You pay her off?”
The words pay her off set my teeth on edge, even though that’s exactly what I did. Still, it sounds so sordid when associated with her. It’s the same reason I don’t want to see her dealing on my floor. She shouldn’t be sullied by all the shit that goes down at this hotel casino.
She shouldn’t be sullied by me.
Too bad I want to dirty her in every possible way.
If I were a better man, I would make certain our paths never cross again. But I’m not. I’m not a good man. I put her right back in the lion’s den.
I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if she’s as smart she looks and she vows to never set foot in this place again.
Sondra
I take a shower and exit the bathroom, unsurprised to find Dean lurking just outside it, ostensibly in the kitchen. I haven’t figured out how to tell Corey I think her boyfriend’s a lecherous, no-good cheating asshole. I don’t have any proof—just the way he looks at me, and seems way more interested in talking to me or hanging out when we’re alone.
Considering I’m a magnet for cheating boyfriends, I know the vibe.
I usually make it a habit not to be around when Dean is at the townhouse without Corey, but Tacone’s guy drove me home too quickly. I try to make the best of it. “Hey, Dean. You feel like driving me to the grocery store? I got paid today.” For getting strip searched.
This time when the memory of Mr. Tacone’s—Nico’s—large hot hands roaming over my body flashed back, the fear is gone. A brief fantasy flickers in my mind—him peeling my panties down my legs for a different reason...
You know how much a guy like me would spend for a night with a girl like you?
Five thousand dollars!
Stop thinking about him!
I need to forget Nico Tacone is exactly the kind of man who makes my toes curl. Dark. Dangerous. Unpredictable. The ultimate bad boy.
Yes, I’m in danger of falling to the dark side again. Big time.
I need to stay strong.
Corey’s boyfriend sighs and rolls his eyes—apparently it’s a huge inconvenience to give me a ride to the store. He’s been generally insinuating how much I owe them since the day I showed up. “Yeah, okay, I’ll take you.” He’s probably just disappointed we aren’t going to be alone together at the townhouse.
I don’t care about Lame-o’s reaction to having me crash at their place. Corey and I are practically sisters. We grew up in small-town Michigan, cousins living across the street from each other. Her dad’s in law enforcement and he was an abusive asshole before he walked out on her mom, so she spent most of her time at my place.
But a guy has never come between us before, and Dean seems like the type of guy to create any number of dramas. I need to get out of here before things get even more awkward. Yet another reason to go to work tomorrow.
Chapter 3
Sondra
“What in the hell happened yesterday?” My boss, Marissa, demands the minute I show up in the housekeeping area.
I try to keep my face blank. I don’t know how much she knows, but I sure as hell don’t want the whole staff hearing I got stripped down to my panties in Mr. Tacone’s bathroom. Or that he paid me six hundred cash for it. Or that two dozen peach roses arrived for me at Corey’s townhouse last night.