Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“Baby?” Lance’s deep voice flowed over her. “Should I be concerned that you’re so close to Michel?”
“Of course not. You know I like men with meat between their legs. From what I can tell, he’s struggling for two inches.” She didn’t look away from Michel as she spoke, instead holding his gaze and seeing the single bead of sweat that trickled down his face between his eye and nose.
“Let’s go.”
“Be right there.” Another jab. “Do we understand each other? I know words are hard so just blink twice if you understand exactly what I’m saying.”
Two slow but deliberate blinks came.
She knew her smile hovered far closer to a feral snarl crossed as she stepped back, hiding her gun as she turned her back on Michel and returned to Lance, who watched with a mixture of anger and… Was that jealousy in his gaze?
He snaked an arm around her, kissed her once and led her inside the opulent home.
“Damn.” The word slipped from her lips.
“Yeah, thought the same thing the first time I was here.” Another kiss to her temple. “Let’s go, and please stop antagonizing his son.”
She didn’t respond to that, just let him lead her over white marble floors. The décor in here was enough to make her wonder if this house ever had a child running through these halls, it looked coldly perfect and she doubted they did. If the art and paintings hanging weren’t originals, they were damn good replicas. The custom lighting and window treatments added to the opulence.
Dusan sat behind a large, dark-mahogany desk as they walked in his office, his expression serious as he looked them both over. The furniture filling the rest of the space matched—dark, heavy, upholstered wood.
“You look like you just got up.”
“Your son interrupted our morning. Trust me, being here in front of you wasn’t on our list.” Lance rubbed his hand up and down Jasmine’s back.
“You can leave, Lance. I wish to speak to your woman.”
“Fine.” He tipped her face up to his, eyes direct and honest. “I’ll be out there waiting, baby. You need me, you call.”
She smiled and rested her hand on his torso. Not because she wanted to touch him, of course. All for the ruse. Right?
Right.
Right.
Shrugging as if she didn’t have a care in the world, she pushed up on her toes for a quick kiss. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. Although not sure why he wouldn’t want you to hear who I have pegged as a cop. But…not my business.”
She went to a chair and sat down, slouching back, legs spread, one arm along the back as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Truth was, she was fucking freaked out. But hell, this wasn’t anything new for her.
The man before her watched her with the same intensity she gazed upon him. Many people had their assumptions about this man. In truth, they had them about heads of crime families and those who were involved in the shit this one was. Thing about it though, this man was fucking smart.
There had to be a reason, more than luck, that he’d not been caught or stopped. And she knew it and wasn’t foolish enough to think that she could talk to him like she had the previous night. She bet that he had a weapon on her or Lance right now to have the upper hand should her mouth get out of control.
He watched her, his blue eyes cold and shrewd. Dusan Jankovic wasn’t an overly large man, his body was not small but wiry with lean muscles. She didn’t flinch as he leveled what she realized he considered his ”I’m going to make you squirm” stare.
Hah.
Joke was on him because she’d faced down far scarier than this man. And she excelled at the waiting game.
Five minutes of silence stretched between them, after which he lifted one black eyebrow.
“You aren’t scared of me.” He tipped his head to the side. “Why aren’t you scared of me? I’ve never met a woman who wasn’t. Even my wife is scared of me.”
She blinked slowly, weighing her words. “I’ve been through enough shit in my life to only be scared of a few things. I’m also not foolish. I know you’re a dangerous man, Mr. Jankovic.”
His lips twitched and she knew that was what he had been wanting. He twirled a finger in her direction and she took it as a sign to continue.
“We both know you put up with my behavior last night because of Lance. I appreciate that. I don’t like people getting in my personal space but I should have been,” she paused, making a moue with her mouth, “a bit more careful.”
“Not going to say anything about my son?”
She flashed a grin that wasn’t the slightest bit nice. “The words I could say about him wouldn’t be the slightest bit flattering.”