Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Sure, Sir,” he responded, the irritation and disappointment evident in his tone. “You might want to study up on aftercare, though. Yours sucks!”
I left the room, knowing he was right. I’d never dismissed a sub so…coldly. I knew where my response came from and it scared the breath from my lungs. Baker Daley was everything I’d ever dreamed of…but nothing I could ever have.
Once outside the playroom, I strode to my bedroom suite, rushed to take a quick shower, and pulled on some sweat pants and a T-shirt. I tried to wipe away all memories of what just took place, but even if I could remove them from my body, there was no erasing them from my head. Snapshots of Baker submitting so beautifully to me kept blasting through my mind, tempting me. Angrily, I shoved them aside and strode into the living room a full five minutes before Baker should be crawling out of my bed.
One of Landon’s eyebrows arched upward as he stared at me. He slowly looked me up and down and then settled on locking with my eyes. “How the mighty are fallen,” he whispered, but there wasn’t any cockiness or laughter in his voice. “Are you going to be able to pull this off, Seth? I never once thought that maybe this would be difficult for you.”
“Of course, I can do this. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled, shutting down his father/son talk before he could get it off the ground. Now wasn’t the time. No, never would be more like the best time for that discussion. “Did you bring the portfolio for the assignment?” I asked, swiftly changing the subject. “How quickly can we get started?”
Landon huffed in irritation but pulled two portfolio folders from his briefcase. He tossed one in my direction and held the other in his hand. “Will Agent Daley be joining us?”
I glanced down at my watch and calculated the time it would take him to get dressed. He was pissed, so he’d be fast. “Any second now,” I answered.
At that moment the door to the playroom opened and then slammed shut hard enough that the neighbors below would probably wonder if I’d just keeled over dead and would be coming through the floor. As much as it pissed me off, I still had to bite back a smile. I liked sassy, just another one of my boxes Baker could check off. Perfect.
Landon took over the meeting, giving both of us time to sulk, I supposed.
“Have a seat, Agent Daley. Wonderful performance. Agent Wilkinson feels confident the two of you together will attract enough attention that our mark won’t be able to pass you up.” He handed a portfolio to Baker and motioned for him to take a seat next to me on the sofa.
He took the far end, opposite me.
“Review the file and know everything in there, upside down and inside out, before this weekend. We’ve already rented you a penthouse suite located four blocks from the club that seems to generate all the unwanted attention from this…admirer. Javier Flores owns the club and is the man who hired us. He’s beefed up his security at the club, but all the subs have been taken from different places—none from the club. Not only is this nut job ruining Javier’s business, he’s murdered two close friends. The local PD is doing their thing, but, needless to say, they aren’t willing to get as…involved as we are. I would like for us to avoid having to deal with them at all, but you know the rules, we don’t piss in their backyard.” Landon got up from his seat and started pacing around the room. “Since Agent Daley will be the likely target, if our perp keeps the same MO, I don’t feel at all comfortable allowing him to be alone at any time.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at both of us, and I knew what was coming. Lord help me, I knew what he was going to insist upon. Hell, I even understood it and would have demanded the same thing. I also knew it was going to be virtually impossible for me to not cross a line with Baker, living under the same roof and participating in scenes.
A line had already been crossed—he made me feel something.
“You’ll be living together in the penthouse as a couple.” He held up his hand and said, “Before either of you start complaining, I assure you there’s two equally large bedrooms and another room that can serve as a playroom,” he paused, smiled, and added, “for practice, of course.”
I heard Baker snort in disgust. That or he’d dozed off. I glanced over, his eyes were alert and the frown on his face looked like it would be cemented there for the duration of our assignment.