Page 10 of Dangerous Men (Fortune City Mafia #1)

ASHTON

I could have sworn Sebastian said she was a brunette.

The woman behind the counter is cute, sure, but…

That’s definitely some bright purple hair she’s sporting, isn’t it?

But I haven’t seen another woman working here so far, so just in case, I give her my biggest, sweetest smile.

The smile that’s dropped a thousand panties.

The smile that’s practically an invitation to sit on my face and stay there as long as they want.

“I’ll have a chocolate chip blended ice coffee,” I tell the woman behind the counter. “Extra pump of syrup. The biggest size you’ve got.”

I watch her make the drink, careful not to stare too intently or in a way that might make her uncomfortable.

Honestly, Sebastian must be going crazy, because she doesn’t really look like Alec’s usual type at all.

And, yeah, she’s gorgeous, in an alternative punk rocker kind of way, but I can’t imagine she’s the woman he’s been coming here to see every day. She’s just not very… him .

Not very us .

When she hands me the drink, I slip a twenty in the tip jar, just in case I’m wrong and she is the girl Alec is spending time with.

Hell, even if I’m right, it always pays to overtip when you can afford it.

And we can definitely afford it. The pretty grin she gives me as I saunter away with my treat is well worth the cash.

I take a big gulp of the sugary drink as I wander through the rest of the shop, stopping now and then to check out some books and make it look like I’m a real, honest-to-goodness bibliophile just popping in to sample the wares.

Nothing suspicious here, folks. Just your regular run-of-the-mill bookworm.

The place is cute. Every aisle is clean and tidy, with fun displays on the ends advertising new releases and highlighting local authors.

Some even have merchandise for the store itself, and I stop to admire a collection of Book Boutique and Bakery mugs and tote bags, grinning at the logo.

There are a few different styles, some featuring adorable cartoon baked goods, with massive, animated eyes.

Cute.

I slurp more of my drink noisily through the straw and wander down another aisle. I still haven’t seen any other employees. Maybe Sebastian was wrong. Maybe there is a girl Alec has been coming here to see, but she’s a customer. Maybe?—

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” a familiar voice stops me.

I grin. Busted.

“Shopping for books,” I answer, not turning around to acknowledge Alec at all. I pull a book from the shelf at random and make a show of reading the blurb on the back before putting it back where it came from. “What does it look like I’m doing? ”

“Cut the shit, Ashton,” Alec snaps.

I turn around, my free hand and iced drink raised in surrender. Okay , I smile, you caught me .

“Look,” I admit. “Doc noticed you’d been spending a lot of time here. We just wanted to figure out why, that’s all. No harm, no foul.”

“And Sebastian didn’t think to ask me ?” he asks through gritted teeth.

“You and I both know Doc is more of a watcher, not an asker.” I chuckle. “And you’re not exactly the most approachable guy lately, boss. Even with us.”

Exhibit fucking A, he looks like he might shatter a tooth with how hard his jaw is clenched.

“We’re giving you your space, okay?” I tell him. “As you requested.”

“This is not giving me my space,” Alec argues.

“Well, this is about the best we can do.” I laugh, moving down the aisle and toward the next section, turning to talk to him over my shoulder. “You know us, boss, we’re just as big of control freaks as you are, so if you think?—”

I slam into someone, not looking where I’m going. My drink spills, the cup crushing against my chest and splashing ice-cold coffee over the front of my shirt.

I barely even notice.

For the first time in my life, I’m left completely speechless, as I stare down into the most delicious pair of brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

Chocolate eyes. Sweet as a chocolate chip blended iced coffee with an extra pump of syrup.

Wild brown curls, and the cutest little nose that’s ever existed.

Now this woman…this is our—I mean his —type.

“Shit!” The woman in front of me yelps. She’s holding a huge cardboard box against her chest, and I’m relieved to see that none of my drink spilled onto her.

As if catching herself, she readjusts her features and looks up at me.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you, and—” She gasps, twisting the box away to see the mess of ice and sugar running down my shirt. “Your shirt! Oh, no!”

Her face crumbles, and I nearly trip over myself trying to reassure her.

“Completely my fault,” I say, because truthfully, it was. Of course she couldn’t see over that massive box, and I’m the dickhead not looking where I’m going, just barreling into everything, as usual. “Are you—are you all right?”

She ignores the question entirely, staring at the mess running down my front.

“That shirt is going to be ruined. That will never come out.” She lets out a deep breath. “I’m so sorry about that, I?—”

The shirt. The shirt is upsetting her. That’s fixable. Not stopping to think, I thrust what’s left of my drink behind me toward Alec, and pull my shirt off, turning it inside out and balling it up to make sure I don’t accidentally drip on anything.

“There we go,” I tell her. “All better, see?”

“I don’t think that… oh.” Her eyes go straight to my abs. She swallows, gaze trailing up my chest, and slowly back down to the waistline of my jeans. “ Oh .”

Christ, she’s adorable. I’ve never been so thankful for 5 AM workouts with my trainer in all my life. A blush creeps over her cheeks, staining them a delightfully naughty pink.

This girl could be the death of me.

“Let me take that from you,” Alec says, stepping around me and reaching for the box she’s carrying.

“Oh. Oh no, that’s all right. I’m—” But he’s already taking it, tossing my drink in the trash in the process. Asshole. What a waste. There was still plenty left. Eh, easy come, easy go, I guess. I toss my ruined shirt into the bin right after it .

“Are you sure you’re all right?” I ask as Alec sets the box down on the shop floor and starts to open it for her.

“Uh-huh,” she answers, hooded eyes locked on my chest. The tip of her tongue comes out to wet her lips. “Never better.”

Naughty girl.

I reach out, touching her chin and angling her head up until she makes eye contact with me. God, those eyes of hers. So fucking sweet.

“Are you okay?” I repeat.

She clears her throat. “Yes,” she finally answers. “I’m… I’m fine, thank you.”

“Is this the final book in The Prince’s Knife series?” Alec asks. He sounds excited, eager even, and I shoot him a surprised look. Since when does he even read?

“What? Oh! Oh, yes! We got them in a few weeks ago, but I can finally start putting them out for sale after we close,” she answers him.

“Would you put one aside for me, Sydney?” he asks her.

Sydney. I nearly groan. The name suits her. Sinfully sweet Sydney. Yeah, I like that.

Curious, I reach for a book, lifting it out of the box. There’s a dragon on the cover, and that’s cool, I fuck with dragons.

“One for me, too,” I tell her, reading the back. A lot of complicated names, here.

“It’s the third in a series,” our naughty girl— Sydney —objects, as I flip through the pages. “You should read the other two first. They aren’t stand-alone books.”

“Nah, it’s chill.” I watch action flicks out of order all the time. What’s the difference? “I’ll figure it out. So, does she ride the dragons, or hunt the dragons? What’s the story there because I love?—”

I stop, eyes widening as they flick over the page.

This scene has nothing at all to do with dragons.

“I need that back. I’m not supposed to let anyone have them until after midnight,” Sydney says, a little firmly, reaching out to take the book from me. But I pivot away from her, holding it up higher until she can’t reach.

Because this?

I could fuck with this.

“Is she…” I swallow, flipping the page. “Is she fucking three guys at once here?”

Alec’s eyes snap up.

“ Three ?” he asks. “What do you mean, three? Who’s the third?”

“How should I know? There’s a Zayden… Malachi, and some guy named...” I try to pronounce the word, mouthing it before I say it. “Damascus?”

Sydney gasps, a hand flying up to cover her mouth.

“No!” she squeals, the words muffled from her fingers. “The prince?”

“Wow, he is hung ,” I mutter, flipping to the next page. “Is she… holy shit, there is a lot of double penetration happening here. I don’t think this position is even physically possible, but I guess if you had a railing, you could...”

“That’s enough,” Alec says, shooting to his feet and yanking the book out of my hands.

My cock twitches in disappointment. It was just getting good.

“First of all,” he snaps at me, “no fucking spoilers. And second of all, she told you no one is supposed to read it until midnight. You’re going to get her in trouble. ”

He hands the book back to her, and she clutches it to her chest, looking stunned.

“Sydney, please excuse him. This is my… coworker, Ashton. ”

Coworker? Okay, ouch , we’re practically brothers. But, fine, I get it.

“You can call me Ash,” I tell her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ash,” she says, sounding a little dazed.

“I am sorry about that, Sydney,” I tell her, grinning and rubbing at the back of my neck. “I got a little caught up in the, uh, story.”

I wink, and the way she blushes in return is sweeter than any iced coffee with extra syrup I’ve ever had.

“It’s okay,” she assures me. “But I, uh… I really need you to put on a shirt. It’s café policy. All customers have to…you know, wear clothing.”

She sets the book back in the box and looks around, eyes landing on the display of The Book Boutique merchandise.

“What size are you?” she asks, walking over to the display and kneeling in front of it. I watch as she pulls out a stack of simple white shirts with their store logo.

“XXL,” I tell her with a smug smile. Next to me, Alec rolls his eyes, but so what? It’s true.

Sydney frowns, selecting a shirt from the pile and standing up. “I’m so sorry, the biggest size we have is a large. Will this work?”

She hands it to me, and I grin. There’s a muffin on the front of it, with big sparkly eyes. I pull it on over my head, yanking on the fabric to cover my stomach.

It’s useless. The shirt doesn’t reach my belt, and the sleeves are so tight around my arms I feel like I’m going to burst through the seams. I’m one hard flex away from ripping the entire thing into pieces.

But the way her eyes linger on my body, the tip of her pink tongue coming out to wet her lips again, has me grinning .

“It’s perfect,” I tell her.

And for the first time, I don’t give a fuck whether Alec wants to share.

Because I won’t be able to stay away from this one.