Fighter in Lingerie (Lingerie 14)

How many other men would have done that?

Not many.

I was heartbroken watching her throw herself at him, assuming Bosco would go through with it when there was no way for me to find out. But seeing him blow her off did a number on my heart. It made it skip a beat, made it throb in pain because his actions meant so much to me.

Only a real man could turn down a woman like that.

I was distracted all day thinking about it, unsure what I would say to Bosco when I got home. Would I act like nothing happened? Would I wait for him to tell me what happened? Was that something he would even tell me?

When the day was over, I locked up the shop and walked to Vanessa’s gallery. It was a few blocks away, and even though I didn’t see Bosco’s men anywhere, I knew there were at least ten of them watching me, all armed and ready for a man dumb enough to cross me.

I stepped inside the gallery, seeing Vanessa closing up for the day. “How’s it going?”

“Hey, girl.” Vanessa rose from her desk and hugged me. “Nice to have you drop by.”

I noticed the huge man lurking in the corner, watching every move I made. I glanced at him and smiled. “How are you doing?”

All I got was a quiet growl in response.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Carl, this is my cousin. She’s cool.”

He made another growl before he walked away.

When he left us alone, my eyebrows rose almost off my face. “You have to deal with that guy all day, every day?”

“He’s a lot nicer when it’s just the two of us. He doesn’t like or trust other people.” Vanessa was in black leggings and a long-sleeved dress. Her stomach was getting bigger every week, and she was deep in her second trimester. “He’s actually a very nice guy…when he shows it.”

“I’ll just take your word for it.”

“So, what’s up?” she asked. “I would ask you to dinner, but I need to get home. Griffin probably already has dinner on the table. Unless you’d like to come over?”

Having Bosco’s men follow me to Griffin’s territory sounded like a terrible idea. “No thanks. I should be getting home.”

“You mean, to Bosco’s home,” she teased.

The penthouse already felt like mine, even though it’d only been a month. The bed was far more comfortable than mine had ever been. Or maybe it was just the beautiful man sharing the sheets with me. I liked everything about the place, from the masculine furniture to the design of the bathroom. “I actually wanted to talk to you about him…” The scene I saw earlier that day had been eating me alive since I’d witnessed it. I wasn’t angry at Bosco’s reaction. In fact, I was incredibly touched…and that’s what worried me.

“Was is it?” she asked, turning serious. “Everything alright?”

I told her the story, admitted I spied on his conversation because I’d run back to the penthouse to retrieve my keys.

“Wow,” she said, her eyes wide with surprise. “First of all, who the hell is this Ruby skank?”

“No idea.” I shook my head. “But yes, she’s a fucking skank.”

“And a snake.”

“Yes.” She wouldn’t hear an argument from me.

“She showed off her tits and tried to get Bosco into bed?” she asked.

“Said she wanted to be his queen…basically said she wanted him to take care of her. What kind of woman just asks a man that?”

She looked away. “Well, if I said that to Bones, he’d be inside me so fast… That’s like his dream. He would love it if I stayed home all day and spent his money. But at the same time, I know he loves me because I’m not like that, because I don’t actually need his money.”

“Thankfully, Bosco wasn’t into it. And this woman was gorgeous. Like…supermodel status.”

“It’s pretty impressive he said no,” Vanessa said. “Not all men would have the strength to resist something like that. Not just because this woman is attractive, but because she showed up to his house and basically begged him to take her. That’s a fantasy for a lot of men.”

“She had nice tits.”

“I bet they were fake,” Vanessa snapped. “Like the rest of her.”

Fake or not fake, they were nice.

“It doesn’t matter,” Vanessa said. “He turned her down—because he’s loyal to you.”

That was the part that made me so confused. “I know…” I took a deep breath, feeling so much relief that I was terrified.

“If this is a good thing, why do you look so sad?” She crossed her arms over her chest, making her belly stick out even more.

There were no words to describe what I was feeling. “I don’t know…I can’t explain it. I kept expecting him to grab her tits then take her clothes off, but he didn’t seem remotely interested in her. Then he said I had class and she didn’t. It was just…”