Hot Boss - Anne Marsh Page 0,23

simply been looking for a hookup or sex, I might ask if I could take her home or sweep her away to a palatial hotel in San Francisco. It’s not as if there’s a billionaire code of conduct that gets passed out when your bank account hits ten digits, but I’m literate and Hazel keeps stacks of Harlequins on her bedside table. As a member of the billionaire-boys club, I’m supposed to wine, dine and charm, preferably in a Maserati, a Hugo Boss suit and a penthouse suite.

“Bonjour, mon chéri.” Blonde Hazel throws her arms around my neck in an octopus hold and swoops in.

Holy shit.

Her hands cup the side of my head, angling it until she has me exactly where she wants me, and then her mouth covers mine. It’s the kind of aggressively hot kiss that goes from zero to sixty in under a second. Her tongue strokes along my upper lip, I open and she takes full advantage. Our kiss gets hungrier, noisier. There is nothing subtle about how she kisses me—it’s balls-out, loud, messy and the hottest thing ever. I feel her arms tighten, her breasts pressing against my chest. She’s practically giving me a lap dance and we’re sitting in a bar.

In public.

In front of May.

This is not the plan I would have gone with, but nevertheless I find myself falling into our kiss, my tongue dueling with hers because Hazel tastes amazing and this is...fun.

Hazel comes up for air and I grab her hands because I’m not sure how far she’ll take this. She looks over her shoulder and winks at May. “C’est moi.”

I’m no French expert but I don’t think that makes sense.

“I’m calling an Uber,” May says with fierce dignity.

I nod because she’s a grown woman and we both know this isn’t going to work.

The bartender slips a new, folded-up cocktail napkin to May. I’m pretty certain that it’s his number, but whatever it is—number, grocery list, scathing indictment of my social skills—she tucks it into her purse with exaggerated care.

I should say something to her. Instead, I lift Hazel off my lap, set her down on the bar stool next to me and walk May outside. She doesn’t say anything while we stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalk, staring at the car icon crawling across the screen of her phone.

When the Uber pulls up to the curb, I make sure she’s shared her ride details with a friend and I give her my number so she can text me that she’s arrived home safely. And then I open the door so she can slide inside, except that she pauses, the open door between us. From the corner of my eye, I spot the Uber driver grinning at me. Even he knows I was overly optimistic about how this night would turn out. I flick him a salute and decide that I’ll date again. When hell freezes over.

I lean down—the advantage of being built like a Viking—and brush my mouth over her cheek. “Thanks for having dinner with me.”

She bends toward me as if she’s thinking of what to say. “You could—”

“Be safe.” I take a step back, fingers curling around the door handle.

I’m not thrilled that she’s going to be riding home in the dark with a total stranger, but if I offer her a ride, she’s going to read things into it. Conceited? Not really. She’s staring at me like I’m a piece of chocolate cake with extra frosting and she hasn’t quite decided if I’m worth breaking her diet and the extra time in the gym.

When the car drives off and I turn around, I find Hazel grinning like a loon as she throws her arms wide. Her T-shirt stretches over her boobs in a way that’s either alarming or fabulous.

“Congratulations—you’re a free man.”

My smile feels lopsided. “Thanks.”

Hazel’s gaze slides over my face. “You’re terrible at dating. Why did we run May off?”

Even I know I should definitely not answer the question. Instead, I take the most direct course toward my car. You might think that living in California means I’m eco-friendly and carbon conscious and all the rest of those laudable things, but the truth is that I like knowing where my exit points are. Having a car close by means I’m not dependent on anyone—or anyone’s app—for my getaway. Ergo, I’m valet parked.

Hazel clicks along at my side. I’m constantly amazed by her speed in those ridiculous boots she loves. She keeps up effortlessly for the two blocks