Giorgio (Vigilance #1) - Silvia Violet Page 0,39

way, and we’ve got a great local business association here.”

“That’s fantastic,” Lane said. “Do you have a favorite gallery where I could buy some locally-made art?”

I gave him a sharp look, wanting to remind him not to give too much information about himself.

“My aunt was really hoping we’d bring her something back, and she loves supporting local artists.” Apparently he remembered.

Cathy smiled. “Of course. There are lots of options, but my favorite is just down the street. It’s called Marshall Street Emporium, but they’re not open today. They’re only open Wednesday through Saturday.”

“We’ll try to come back then. Thank you.”

She rang us up, and Lane insisted on paying. He was the client and normally that would be standard procedure, but for some reason I wanted to step in and take over. Hell, I always wanted to step in and take over with him. I wanted to do everything for him—and to him. I wanted him to surrender, but while he loved that in bed, I knew better than to try it elsewhere unless his safety was in question. If I needed to protect him, I would step in and override him, no matter what. I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything hurt him.

“What’s wrong?” Lane asked.

Shit. I couldn’t even remember to keep my expression neutral around him. “Nothing. I was just thinking about”—I glanced at Cathy—“work.”

“Yeah, your work is pretty stressful.”

I gave him a pointed look. “It sure is hell is.”

We sat at one of the small tables, and Cathy brought our drinks over a few minutes later. “I hope you enjoy them, but if you don’t, let me know and I’ll make you something else.”

“Thank you so much.” Lane gave her his most charming smile.

He took a sip and then called out to her, “This is fabulous!”

She turned around and her face lit up. “I’m so glad.”

“You’re right. It is better than your competitor’s.”

“Mine’s good too,” I told her. It was. I rarely drank anything but black coffee, but this place could probably change that.

I’d initially thought Lane was a spoiled brat, and he could be, but most of the time he showed that he cared about people. He’d been worried about me when we’d heard a car pull up to the cabin. He was polite to Cathy, not demanding like he’d been with me earlier. He obviously wanted her to know how much he liked the coffee because he knew it would make her feel good.

Lane took another long sip and moaned. The sound was way too much like the noises he’d made in bed. I had to tell my cock this was not the time to remember how good he’d felt under me.

I imagined X’s eyes going cold when someone told him what I’d done, and my semi deflated instantly.

“We are totally coming back here,” Lane insisted.

He looked so damn young sitting there drinking his caramel confection. I watched as he dipped a finger into the whipped cream topping, brought it to his mouth, and sucked on it.

“Don’t do that again.”

He looked up, startled, and I realized he hadn’t been trying to tempt me. He really just wanted to taste the whipped cream.

“This?” He did it again, holding my gaze this time as he sucked on his finger. He closed his eyes, making it look like he was enjoying the hell out of it.

My cock forgot my stern warning and made it clear it was ready to get back in the game.

“So good,” Lane sighed as he popped his finger out of his mouth.

“You do understand what ‘don’t do that’ means, right?”

“It means it’s really going to annoy you, so it’s a good idea.”

“Annoying me is not a good idea. Most people get that. Why don’t you?”

“Because you make it so much fun. Also, you deserve it. You’ve been an ass to me.”

I had, but there were reasons for it. Reasons I couldn’t explain to him. I fucking hated this. I was never wishing for a mission again.

Instead of responding, I took another sip of my coffee. It really was delicious.

We hung around for a few more minutes. Neither of us saw anyone we recognized.

On our way out, I stopped by the counter. “Cathy, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“I remember a friend of mine lives around here, but I’ve lost his contact information. I know this may seem a little crazy, but if I showed you a picture of him, could you tell me if you recognize him