Page 59 of The Pretender

Balt nods, gazing at me with that sultry look in his eyes. “Thankyoufor sharing your body so freely. I don’t take it for granted.”

“I know. That’s probably why I feel free with you.” I glance around the office. “I guess we should get back to work.”

Balt nods, but his eyes linger on me. I reach down and rub between his legs, noting how hard his dick is.

“You do want me, don’t you?”

“Very much so.”

I bite my bottom lip as I gaze into his eyes, already planning some ways to turn him out. “You’re very unexpected.”

“I could say the same to you.” He leans in and kisses me briefly. “Best workday I’ve ever had.”

“Me too.” Dragging a hand through my hair, I glance back at the files I was working on. “Focus.”

“For now. We’ll be alone again in a few hours.”

“We sure will.”

I walk away on shaky legs. I’m all aflutter with excitement now. I’ve never edged a man, but if anyone could inspire me, it’s this sexy beast.

EIGHTEEN

balthazar

While Deo is distractedwith his family in the kitchen, I slip away to the quiet living room to check my work phone. It’s been days since I last checked in, and after I sent the text saying I was in California, it’s been eerily quiet. Silence, while desired, is suspicious. If they believed me, I’m sure there would’ve been a follow-up of some kind.

I turn my phone on and wait as it powers up. Once all the apps have loaded, I exhale in a huff. No new messages. I’m about to power it down again, but right before I do, a bunch of notifications flood my inbox.

With shaky fingers, I tap the text message icon and brace myself for what I’m going to read.

There must be fifty or more messages, all from Vin, a stream of consciousness no doubt delivered during one of his drug-fueled evenings.

It’s nothing but swear words, threats, and garbled nonsense. I click through each of them, realizing they just keep getting worse, until I get to the last one. The one that leaves me trembling.

I’m gonna fucking kill you.

He means it, too. Vin isn’t a man who makes idle threats. I’ve been so wrapped up in helping Deo and his family that I haven’t given any thought to helping myself. I scrub my hands over my face, unsure what to do next. Obviously, sending them the last message didn’t help my cause. Denying that I’ve done anything won’t work. It never does. I’ve witnessed plenty of bloodshed from people I’m pretty sure were innocent.

I feel more than hear a presence behind me, and I snap my head up to look around. Deo is standing there, a worried look on his face as he gazes down at the cell phone in my hand.

“What’s going on?”

“Um…” I swipe the app closed, thinking fast. “I told you I’m having trouble with one of my clients.”

“That was a death threat, Balt. I saw it.”

“Yeah, he’s pretty over the top.” I attempt a chuckle to pretend I’m not nervous. “He does substances sometimes that get him in a mood. He doesn’t mean it.” Fuck, I wish that were true.

“Hope he’s paying you well to put up with that.”

“He is. Don’t worry about it though. I’ll handle him.”

Deo searches my eyes, and I mentally prepare for the onslaught of questions likely coming my way.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with a person like him.”

“Thank you. It’s fine.”