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  Then I made a huge mistake.

  I walked away, calling back loudly, “No, thanks. I’ll be taking my business to Bleeding Hearts.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Laredo

  My mouth parted in shock. I watched the woman leave, my heart beating fast.

  Alessio came to my side. “What should I do, Pop?”

  My eyes turned to focus on the man she had argued with. “Ban him.”

  My son stilled and I felt Alessio’s shock. “What? Why? They had words, that’s all. No big deal.”

  I shook my head. “This is a safe environment, figlio. He brought that shit into my club and killed the mood. I won’t tolerate it.” My mind made up, I repeated myself, “Ban him.”

  Alessio left to do my bidding, but I was still focused on the exit. I was sure I’d seen a ghost.

  “Clara,” I whispered to myself. I needed to see her again, see her up close, with my own eyes.

  And I knew just where I’d find her.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mina

  We drove back to Bleeding Hearts in silence. Vik caught the panicked look in my eyes and rushed me into the car. Lev was driving before the passenger door even closed.

  “What happened?” Vik asked as Lev kept his eyes on the road.

  I unhooked the button-disguised camera and handed it back to him. “Nothing.”

  It was stupid to lie. Vik would see what happened when he watched the footage. I suppose part of me was hoping he wouldn’t watch it to the end.

  No. Hope was too weak of a word. I prayed he wouldn’t watch it to the end.

  Had I known that sandwich guy was going to be at Aphrodite’s Kiss, I would never have offered to play spy. The man had humiliated me now on two occasions. He would go to sleep tonight without giving me a second thought, and he would haunt me for a time to come. I knew I was giving him power by doing that, but crap, it was hard to stop myself.

  As we arrived back at the club, Lev helped me out of the car and, without meaning to, I attached myself to him, wrapping my arm around his waist and looking up at him, a pleading look in my eyes, asking for silent permission.

  He didn’t disappoint. He gave me what I needed, his arm tightening around me, pulling me into his side.

  A soft sigh escaped me. When Lev held me, I felt as if nothing could touch me. He played the protector role well, and although I fought the fact that I needed it, it made me feel worth something, and that was more than I’d had in years.

  We walked inside and down the long hall to Sasha’s office. Vik opened the door and Sasha paused, mid-pace. He looked up from his pensive state, and as his eyes settled on me, his lip curled.

  I was getting real tired of his shit. I couldn’t figure out what it was he had against me. At first, I thought it was the whole wallet debacle, but as time went on, I saw it was more. I just couldn’t put my finger on what.

  Sasha looked from me, to Lev’s arm that was fastened around my shoulders, then over to Vik, who he asked politely, “Got it?”

  Vik held up the button camera, shaking it lightly before moving around Sasha’s desk to plug it into his laptop. He worked quickly, bringing up the file. Before he pressed play on the media player, Vik looked to me. “I think Nas is going to want to see this.”

  This is going to be a group viewing?

  My heart sank, but I took the hint and found Nas sitting in the dark corner of the bar, sipping a whiskey sour. As soon as she saw me, her face brightened. She stood, walked over to me, and took my arm. “Finally,” she muttered. “While you’ve been off playing Maxwell Smart, I’ve been dying of boredom. Why do you get to have all the fun?”

  “Who the hell is Maxwell Smart?” I asked and she huffed out a laugh, ignoring my question.

  A single glance around the floor and I knew what she meant. We had almost no patrons at all.

  I walked Nas down the long hall, but before following her inside, I pause, pulling back. My nerves sizzled. “I’ll just leave you to it.”

  “What?” she asked, a frown distorting her pretty face. “Sit with me.”

  It wasn’t a request. Nas did not ask.

  She ordered.

  Hesitation held me back until, finally, I swallowed hard, walked into the office, and shut the door behind me. Lev sat on the guest chair, opposite Sasha. Vik stood, while Nas sat on the arm of Lev’s chair.

  I huddled into the back corner by the door, feeling cold and hugging myself.

  The footage was skimmed over until the show started. The second ChaCha was revealed, Nas spat out a string of outrageous and clever cuss words. Sasha looked ready to shoot someone. Namely ChaCha.

  Twenty-five minutes into the footage, I piped up from my corner. “That’s it,” I stated. “I get up to leave in a minute.”

  Vik turned to Sasha. “It’s a show,” he uttered with a small shrug, like he didn’t know what the big deal was.

  Nas got it though. “Yeah, it’s a show,” she began. “But did you see the way the men reacted to it. It was positive and light. Not sordid. And the way they’ve done up the place.” She looked to Sasha. “It looks nice.”

  Sasha nodded as if he were answering an unasked question. “We have to improve our show, improve our image. We’re gonna lose more business if we don’t give ‘em something to talk about.”

  As this conversation was happening, I was watching the media player, still playing the file, with my body cold with anxiety. On the screen, I had just stood from my table at Aphrodite’s Kiss and was walking away when…

  “Hey, I know you,” was heard loud and clear. “You’re the homeless chick.”

  All conversation stopped. All eyes turned to the screen.

  “Please turn it off,” I begged on a whisper, my voice trembling.

  But no one listened. They were too enthralled in the altercation happening on the screen.

  “Too bad you’re not hungry anymore.” I bit the inside of my lip, my heart racing. “Damn, you’re a pretty one.” My throat closed and my arms tightened around my body. “I’m regretting not taking you up on your offer that night. My cock craves you mouth, baby.” Tears filled my eyes and I closed them tight, not giving him the satisfaction of crying over his actions one more time. “What would it take for the offer to be reinstated?”

  “Hell to freeze over, you dirty asshole.”

  I heard the low whine of someone standing from a chair. I knew he was in front of me before I even opened my eyes. Instead, I squeezed them closed tighter. “I’m sorry,” I told him.

  I heard myself on the laptop. “Is that how you let men in your club treat women?” I cringed, slapping my hands over my face, knowing what was coming next. “No, thanks. I’ll be taking my business to Bleeding Hearts.”

  Speaking through my hands, I let out a muffled, “Oh, God.”

  I heard someone chuckle quietly. Nas spat out, “It’s not funny!” shutting them down before they could humiliate me anymore.

  Sasha spoke. “I know it’s not funny. I’m not laughing out of humor.” His voice held a key note of derision. “Not only did she cause a scene, but her crazy ass announced that she’d be coming here.” He scoffed. “Yeah. There goes the rest of our customers.”

  “Shut up, Sash,” Nas hissed. Her voice softened a great deal when she asked, “Mina, you know that guy?”

  I shook my head.

  When Lev spoke, I felt his fury. “You said nothing happened. That wasn’t nothing.”

  It was then that I opened my eyes and, sad as they were, they settled on Lev. “I didn’t want you to hear what he said.”

  “Why?” he asked, bordering irate.

  I bit the inside of my lip and spoke through the thickness in my throat. “Because what he said…” Oh, God, I was so ashamed. “It’s true.” I sniffled, the first of many tears trickling down my flaming red cheek. “He owns a sandwich bar. I asked him for food. He told me to suck his dick. At first, I refused, but,” a ragged breath escaped me, “but I was so hungry, Lev. So h
ungry,” I stressed. “And when I finally agreed, he told me it was too late and left me crying out in the street.” I looked down at the ground. “He didn’t get his blowjob. And I didn’t get anything to eat.” My voice turned to a whisper. “That was the day before I met you. That was why I stole Sasha’s wallet.” I looked up through my blurry eyes to lock eyes with Sasha. My whisper was hoarse. “I was desperate.”

  No one spoke for a while. I didn’t want anyone to speak. I didn’t want looks of pity. I didn’t want sympathy. I wanted to go home.

  “Okay,” Lev murmured in that soft way of his, and it was almost as if he’d read my mind, because he turned to the others in the room and stated, “I’m taking Mina home.”

  Even though he wasn’t asking for permission, Sasha gave it in the only way I imagined he could. “Yeah, whatever. It’s not like we got customers to serve.”

  We drove in long, comfortable silence, holding hands over the center console.

  When we arrived home, we went about getting ready for bed. Lev undressed all the way down to his boxers, no longer afraid of dashing my mild sensibilities, and I dressed in my ‘hideous’ yellow pajamas. Lev locked the bedroom door, pulled out the sofa, climbed in, and turned off his lamp. My lamp followed suit as I climbed into the ginormous king bed.

  I lay there a long while, unable to get comfortable or find sleep.

  It took a long, stern, mental pep-talk, but I made my decision.

  Sliding out of bed, I shuffled over to the sofa bed, climbed onto the mattress, and wasn’t a little bit surprised that Lev had predicted my move, lifting the sheets to let me under. He spooned me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me back into his warm, strong body.

  His scent was warm and manly. He was toasty, and his hard body cocooned mine. It calmed me. Comfort hit me immediately and I yawned.

  I felt Lev’s lips press lightly at the base of my neck. “Goodnight, Mina.”

  “Night, sweetie.” My eyes turned heavy, and soon, I was lost to slumber.

  We slept that way until dawn.

  The next morning, as I walked out of the bathroom dressed in my black yoga pants and white off-the-shoulder tee, I was brought to a stop by Lev sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for me.

  Brushing out my wet hair, I smiled softly at the sight of him in his sweats, tee, and hoodie. “Morning.”

  A frown at his brow, he stood and came forward, a small turquoise box in his hand. He strode forth, a decisive gleam in his eyes, and when he stopped an inch in front of me, I knew what was coming next.

  Lev leaned in low, close, and breathing in his warm, manly scent, I closed my eyes, awaiting the kiss I had been waiting for my entire life.

  I stood on my tiptoes, my face turned up, ready to receive it.

  This kiss would be the kiss I judged all others by. I felt it deep in my bones. This kiss would be groundbreaking. This kiss would push me over the edge and would finally fall for Lev Leokov.

  This kiss…

  Never happened.

  His hands worked swiftly, fastening something behind my neck.

  I looked down.

  A silver anchor on a long, delicate silver chain sat just above the valley of my breasts. The disappointment from my non-kiss faded, but only marginally.

  “It’s not my birthday,” I told him.

  Turns out, I didn’t need a groundbreaking kiss to fall in love with Lev Leokov. I knew this, because what he said then settled the matter. “This is for all the birthdays you missed out on.” He reached out to brush the anchor pendant, his finger sweeping across the top of my breast accidentally. “For the birthdays that were never acknowledged when they should have been.”

  My eyes began to sting.

  Ugh! Not again.

  I was turning into a blubbering mess. I didn’t want to cry, but the moment was more than I ever expected in this lifetime, and Lev’s sincere delivery hoisted me over the edge.

  The man had no idea how dreamy he was, and proved it when he drew me close, wrapping me up and speaking softly, “Please don’t cry, Mina. I’m sorry. I’m not good with words.”

  I laughed through my tears at the absurdity of his statement. Cupping his cheeks, I pulled his face down, pressing a soft lingering kiss to his mouth. Pulling back, I noticed his slack look of shock, but chose to ignore it. I fingered the pendant and beamed, “I love it, Lev. Thank you. I’ll never take it off.”

  Later that night, after another night at the club with only a handful of loyal patrons, Lev and I left a little after two a.m.

  I noticed a theme happening.

  During the car ride home, we held hands over the center console, and once home, we undressed and went to our separate beds. We turned off our lamps and settled in.

  Fifteen minutes passed, and sleep had not found me.

  I bit the inside of my lip before I called into the darkness, “Lev?”

  His immediate grunt of response told me he hadn’t yet fallen asleep.

  I went for it, the whole hog. “You know, there’s plenty of room in this bed for the both of us.”

  A long silence followed, and I wanted to slap my forehead.

  I pushed too hard.

  Just as I opened my mouth to blurt out an awkward goodnight, I heard the sheets rustle. I saw the outline of him approach the bed. He came around to the left side and slid under the covers. My relief evident, I scooched toward him before tucking myself into his side, my head at his chest and my arm resting on his abdomen.

  “This okay?” I asked, knowing full well it was perfect.

  His strong arm came around me and he sighed, “Perfect.”

  I smiled into Lev’s bare chest, breathing in the warm scent of him, and fell asleep hoping I would find myself smiling my way to sleep more often.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mina

  Finding a moment alone wasn’t hard to do between the hours of ten and twelve. Those were the hours Lev disappeared to workout. He always left at ten and he was always back by twelve, if not twelve on the dot. I did not know what he did during his workout. I do know, whatever the activity, he came back dripping with sweat.

  I made myself clear on more than one occasion that I found Lev attractive. He was, by far, the most handsome man I had ever seen. With his golden eyes, harsh angles of his face, dark hair worn styled, and his tall, built frame, I found myself wondering what it would be like to be bare under that body, naked and sweating from a different type of workout.

  Whenever Lev came home, his sweatpants and tee damp and sticking to him, my tongue would swell and I’d barely contain my panting.

  Lev was sexy, plain and simple.

  With our changed sleeping arrangement now becoming a permanent thing, it didn’t escape my notice that I woke with a long, thick erection pressed up against my butt, or thigh, or wherever it happened to be pressed in the mornings.

  We both played it cool, not bringing attention to it, but we both knew it was there. It was obvious, painfully so.

  This morning went a little different, however. Having barely woken with that hard cock pressed into the crack of my ass for the third day in a row, I acted unconsciously in my sleepy state, arching my back and letting out a sigh of ecstasy as the solid length rubbed me in a most delicious way.

  For a moment there, I thought Lev was a dream.

  I was (obviously) wrong.

  My body, acting of it’s own accord, ground back into him one more wonderful time, and Lev let out a soft growl of approval. The hidden cleft between my legs pulsed gently, and suddenly I was hot all over. A want spread through me, and before I knew it, that want had increased to a desperate need.

  I needed more. I was desperate for contact. I wanted that hard cock inside me, filling me, stretching me.

  That was the moment Lev gently extracted himself, and a second later, I heard the bathroom door close behind him. The shower started, and that was when I woke fully, realizing what had just happened.

  My neck itched with heat and
my face flamed.

  I had dry-humped Lev in my sleep.

  That wasn’t very polite, Mina.

  I thought about apologizing, but knew that would be as awkward as the situation itself. So I did the next best thing, the thing Lev and I did well.

  Feigning sleep, I pretended it never happened, breathing as heavily and evenly as possible as Lev exited the bathroom.

  The shuffle of clothing sounded, the bedroom door was unlocked, and I found myself alone in a bed built for two.

  I turned to lay on my back and sighed. My hand glanced my breast over my pajamas, slid down over my stomach, and my fingers slipped under the elastic of my panties to where I needed them most. Closing my eyes, I thought about Lev’s long fingers, his full lips, and his taut butt as I brought myself to release. But it was hollow.

  The satisfaction I craved never surfaced.

  I waited for the sound of the back door to close before I arose. I showered quickly, opened the bedroom curtains, and sat in the center of the rumpled bed, legs crossed. My phone in front of me, I stared down at the business card and thought hard about making the call.

  My stomach turned as I picked up my phone and dialed. It rang twice before he answered with a swift hello.

  “It’s Mina,” I began. I bit the inside of my lip and told him what I needed. “You know that contact you have? I’m ready to see them.”

  Silence followed, then he told me where I needed to go.

  “Okay.” I wanted to smile, but couldn’t because my heart was caught in my throat. “Thanks, Pox.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, I called Nas and asked her a favor.

  I needed a ride.

  The clinic was small but clean, and a small woman dressed in scrubs saw me to an empty room. I didn’t want to go alone. Nas sat in one of the chairs, going through her phone.

  I swallowed hard. “Hey,” I called, my tongue sticking to the roof of my dry mouth. “You coming?”

  She blinked at me, searching my face a moment before seeing the fear in my eyes. She stood, and I breathed a sigh of relief as she followed me into the exam room.