Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I ticked them off on my fingers. “The first didn’t count because the airline decided not to press charges in the end.”
“They banned you for life!”
I scrunched up my face. “Yet they’ll still take my money for your first-class seats. Don’t think I didn’t notice and write them a strongly worded letter.”
“And the second?” he asked, unable to keep from rolling his eyes.
“That’s the one you actually posted bail for. And there were… extenuating circumstances.” I deliberately didn’t explain further. “As for the third and most recent, you weren’t even there. And that one I also had a good reason for, if you’ll recall. I was trying to let Zane get into a little trouble without getting into a lot of trouble like he wanted.”
“Go back to the middle one,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Tell me what really happened. I always had a sense there was more to that story.”
I scratched my neck and moved him off my lap. It was easier to focus when I wasn’t distracted by his body. “Remember the Vencari contract a few years ago? The one where I did a catalog cover shoot, then Milan Fashion Week, then a shoot for a big formalwear ad spread?”
He frowned, trying to place it.
“And then suddenly, they added a swimsuit shoot and tried to pretend it was a language mix-up?”
I could tell by the sudden twitch of his jaw he remembered. “That guy was an ass, and your agent was even worse. Wasn’t that the job that led to you hiring Lamar?”
I nodded. “That guy—the one who hired me, not my old agent—cornered me in a hotel room and tried to have his wicked way with me. I decided to turn it into a fistfight instead.”
Kenji stared at me. “Please, baby. Please tell me you’re pulling my leg right now.”
I shrugged. “Wish I was.”
“Why? Why didn’t you say something? Call the guy out? Burn his career to the ground!”
My little hellcat was practically vibrating with the urge to Wolverine his way through an Italian fashion house, and honestly, the sight couldn’t have made me happier.
I took his hand in mine and caressed it soothingly. “Because I didn’t deserve the hit to my reputation.”
“You were arrested for public intoxication and assault, Landry!”
I sighed. “Yeah, well.”
“Landry.”
I cut him off with a firm kiss before pulling back. “I love you. They couldn’t prove the intoxication, and the assault was pled down to disorderly conduct and probation. Remember?”
“Of course I remember! I thought you’d been in a fucking drunken fistfight with a colleague! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me the truth.”
I couldn’t keep my hands off him. With my fingers back in his hair, I murmured, “And what would you have done if you’d known? How would you have kept it quiet?”
This time, he was the one ticking things off with his fingers. “Homicide, for one. Kidnapping, for another. Bribery. And the most scathing and stealthy whisper campaign you can ever imagine. Which, by the way, has no statute of limitations, so I will be starting on my—mpfh!”
I tackled him onto the sheets and proceeded to distract him… thoroughly.
I sucked his cock until his threats turned to babbling nonsense, then flipped him over and ate his ass with my hand wrapped tight around his cock. As soon as his release hit, I moved behind him and jacked myself until hot spunk hit the crease of his ass and lower back.
We fell asleep empty and spent, and I woke up a short time later with a raging hangover—too much alcohol, not nearly enough water. I rolled out of bed in search of Kenji’s fancy water, only to find the bottle empty and Kenji gone.
I threw on a bathrobe and made my way downstairs. As I approached the kitchen, I heard Kenji’s voice.
“I heard she was a beautiful woman.”
“She was,” Dad said, “but so is my Nan, you know. Just don’t bring a lobster near the girl.”
Kenji sounded surprised. “Near Nan? I think you mean Landry. He’s the one who doesn’t like lobsters. Thinks they have nefarious intentions.”
I grinned and stepped closer without entering the room. Was eavesdropping rude as hell? Yep. Was I going to do it anyway? Hundred percent.
Dad chuckled. “How do you think he acquired the shellfish bigotry, son? When he was little, we were in Padstow for a meeting at Prideaux Place. The lobster hatchery’s nearby, so Nan took him over as a bit of a day jaunt while I was tied up in my meeting.”
He continued to tell the story with impressive clarity… until he got to the punchline. “And wouldn’t you know, Olivia ended up with several lobsters attached to her dress, all to keep the poor boy from going for a swim in the tanks!”
I saw the flicker of confusion on Kenji’s face, saw him wonder if my mother had actually been there that day—she hadn’t—or if my father had gotten confused, but he rolled with it.