So if he does have it wired, who knows what he’s heard.”
“I have Ox coming to sweep. You talk to David?”
“Yeah, not happy. Making Charlie close the diner early.”
“What are you guys doing here?” Charlie snips as she walks out of the kitchen carrying four plates, two stacked on each arm. “Turn down the music.” She eyes us as she passes.
“I’m taking Antoinette out of here.”
“Perfect,” Edge says. “I have to deal with them.” His eyes swing to Cindy and Charlie, but truly I think he’s more scared of Joy who’s making her way straight toward us.
“Good luck with them.” I grin and swing open the kitchen door, instantly smelling bleach. Victor is humming to old-school Santana as he lifts the rubber black mat, preparing to spray it down in the back alley. He stops and nods at me, but it lacks his usual jovial demeanor. That’s okay. He likes my ballerina and I’m the asshole who’s gonna break her heart. I’m man enough to respect him for that.
“Carl.” I nod at the busboy who’s busy spraying dishes.
“Hey, dude.” He salutes me. He’s Bobcat’s kid and is constantly trying to become a prospect. Not to brag, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have the ability. He stupidly plastered his tattoo of the Disciples symbol all over social media without permission. We voted no to prospect after that even though his old man is as good as you can get. He seems determined, though I have a hunch all he wants is pussy and notoriety rather than the life.
I knock on the office door and scan the large kitchen. There are plenty of places where someone could have hidden cameras.
She peeks out the door. And my heart hurts, giving me that urge to rub my chest again.
“Baby, it’s me.”
“Axel.” She throws her arms around my neck, crawling up my body. In an instant, that rage pulses through me. How dare anyone scare her? I hold her tight and let her straddle me, her ballerina legs easily holding on to me.
I let myself smell her, feel her. Fuck, I let myself have this with her, savoring her vanilla and grapefruit smell along with her cunt pressing against my erection. She buries her nose in my neck.
“Goddamn it.” I kick the office door shut and my mouth takes hers. It’s this kind of insanity that I need to get ahold of. But thinking it and doing it are two different things. Our tongues tangle and everything fades but us. The need to pull her jeans down and fuck her is so great that I force myself to pull away. If the sicko does have cameras, he doesn’t get to see my girl come.
“Get your stuff. Let’s go,” I growl in her ear.
“What?” Her eyes are slightly puffy, probably from crying. Nothing about this day has been great.
“Not now.” I adjust myself. She looks confused but grabs her bag, and I lace our hands together as I walk us out.
A cool breeze flows in through the back door to the kitchen. Rather than deal with questions from Cindy and Charlie, I steer us around the bucket of soapy water that props open the door. Victor is busy spraying the mats as we pass, and Antoinette smiles and waves at him. Smiling back, he shakes his finger at me.
“I’ll take good care of her, Victor. Don’t you worry.”
“I have faith.” He smiles and for a second, I’m uncomfortable. What the fuck am I doing?
“Today’s been rough. Let’s go home and order pizza. We can watch whatever you want.” She looks up at me and flashes a genuine smile. Stopping, I pull her to me, our lips inches apart. “I want to fuck you in your ballet shoes.”
She tilts her head so that her puffy lips almost touch mine. “They’re called pointe. You want black, pink, or white?”
“Well, black of course. You gonna dance for me?” I inhale and take her lips as if we’re one. She moans, and her nails dig into my shirt as I deepen the kiss. Something is changing. Maybe it’s the adrenaline of the day, the thought that something bad could have happened. Whatever it is, I want her home, in my bed.
“Let’s go.”
ANTOINETTE
My stomach, which was iffy all day, has magically recovered. I guess all I needed was him. Maybe the crappy start of my birthday will end strong, considering his vibe is different. It’s much better than when he pulls away. To be honest, this roller coaster is exhausting. If we