Page 29

Dustin

I t’s almost too easy. I envision myself reeling in my catch—a little guppy I should throw back, but fuck that noise. I’m a man of opportunity. And this right here is what I call serendipitous.

I address the first order of business. “So, what you’re saying is, you need me to take care of the loan shark?”

The exasperated sound she makes is like music to my ears.

Sitting across from me at the conference table, Colin frowns, no doubt hearing both sides of my conversation and not liking it one bit. Too bad. He has his way and I have mine. I make a V with my pointer and middle fingers and wiggle my tongue between the digits. If he thinks the disgusted look on his face will change the outcome of this phone call, he’s wrong. I sat back and did nothing once before. Not again.

When she says yes, victory runs through my veins like sweet honey, but there’s no sense in letting her off too easy. “Yes, what?”

She speaks from what sounds like gritted teeth. “Please, will you help me?”

Mentally, I’m rubbing my hands together. The line between Colin’s brows gets deeper, but he can fuck right off with his lover-not-a-fighter attitude. I’m a fighter to the bone. “Consider it done.” Before she can thank me, I lower the hammer. “On one condition.”

Her next pause is so long I check my phone to make sure the call isn’t disconnected. Her voice comes through the line, leery with good reason. It makes my dick twitch. “What condition?”

“You do what I want,” I say, and she sucks in a breath, probably gearing up to argue, but I steamroll right over her. “Whenever I want.”

She laughs. “You’re joking.”

“Not even a little bit,” I say. “Take it or leave it, but I’ve heard some pretty sketchy things about loan sharks. I’m not so sure I’d take my chances if I were you.”

“Fine,” she bites out just before the line goes dead. I spin a three-sixty in my chair with a whoop then open my text thread with Aldo.

ME: Worked like a charm.

His response comes quickly.

ALDO: Sweet. I guess I’m a better actor than I thought.

ME: I owe you one.

ALDO: Fuck off, boy. Me and your pops went way back. You don’t owe me shit. Plus, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, even if it begins morally gray.

Laughing, I set my phone on the table and face Colin.

“Feeling pretty good about yourself?”

I put my hands behind my head, threading my fingers together. “Good? More like fucking fantastic.” Finally, I see everything I’ve ever wanted within my underhanded grasp. Nothing and no one will get in my way this time. Not Connor. Not Fuckface. Not even Tina.

Colin shakes his head and begins cleaning up his files with jerky, angry moves. Together we’ve hired all the staff for the Vegas branch. The last interview left shortly before Tina’s call came through, rounding out my day on a high note. “She doesn’t deserve the games, man.”

Over Colin’s shoulder, I watch Blanche make her way to the conference room’s glass door. I tip my chin for her to enter, grateful for the interruption. “Hey,” she says. “Some of us are going out for drinks. Would you guys like to join us?”

I think about my lonely dick. Before Tina barged back into my life, I would’ve taken Blanche out and seen where it went without hesitation. As it is, my dick is showing no signs of life, but beer sounds fucking fabulous right now. “Sure, we’ll meet you down in the lobby.”

“ You’ll meet her down in the lobby,” Colin says after she closes the door. “I’m going home to my wife.”

“Come on,” I coax. “Let’s go celebrate a job well done before you ditch me again. Plus, doesn’t Stacy deserve a break from your dick?”

“You’re an asshole,” he says, but his shoulders shake with the laughter he’s holding back while he pulls out his phone.

“Yeah, we’ve established that.”

“This isn’t like you, bro,” Colin says, not looking away from his phone. “If you’re not careful, this whole thing is going to blow up in your face.”

Maybe, but I’m confident once Tina gets the full Dustin treatment, she’ll see there was never anyone else for her.

Colin looks up, sighing at my blank stare. “God, you’re stubborn.”

I stand, grabbing my coat. “So, drinks or what?”

“Fine. Let’s go. But you’re buying and, fair warning, my wife and I are mighty thirsty.”

“Oh, I’m aware.”

Unable to wait any longer, I open the camera app on my phone and watch Tina storm around my room. She stops abruptly and I do the same right in the middle of the office like we’re connected somehow. Sheesh. Good thing I wasn’t in the middle of traffic.

“Dude.” Colin curses and slams a palm on the elevator door, keeping it open for me.

My feet are rooted in place as I watch Tina strip out of her loose pants and shirt. Suddenly, what I’d thought was basic sensible underwear is anything but. The flesh color blends so perfectly with her skin. I groan when she crawls on top of my bed and lies on her back. She brings one of my pillows to her face. I squint to get a better look. Is she… smelling me? She jumps from my bed, tits bouncing, and stomps to my dresser. I cock my head, watching her, barely breathing, while she paws through the drawers, smelling my T-shirts. She does all this while practically naked. Anyone walking by outside, could look up and see her through the window.

Shit.

My gaze jerks to the bedroom window on screen with the curtains open. All day, Tucker has been following her around, feeding me updates on the regular. The trip to Aldo’s. The packing. The moving. But right now, he is suspiciously silent. Grinding my teeth, I shoot off a text.

ME: You better not be watching her, motherfucker, or you won’t be seeing anything through your swollen eyes as soon as I get my hands on you.

TUCK: I don’t know what you mean.

The thought of him seeing what’s mine, mostly naked, is enough to make me book a flight home.

ME: I can be there in two hours, asshole. Avert. Your. Eyes.

TUCK: You’re lucky you asked me to watch her. Anyone else would love to sit here all night and watch her innocent striptease. It’s hot as fuck knowing she doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing, isn’t it?

I squeeze my phone so hard, I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter in my hand.

TUCK: Maybe I should go tell her she has witnesses, hmm? I bet she’d like to know she’s got cameras on her right now.

Bastard.

ME: What do you want?

It’s like he’s been sitting on this for hours, that’s how fast his response comes through.

TUCK: Gym membership dues for a year should do it.

Later, while I’m being serenaded yet again by Colin and Stacy’s headboard banging against my bedroom wall, I watch on my app as Tina gets ready for bed. She disappears into the bathroom to change into whatever PJs she’s chosen for the night. Not for the first time, I wish I’d put up more of a fight when Lucius refused to put cameras in there.

“I’ll miss all the good stuff,” I argued when he told me under no circumstances would he put cameras in the bathrooms.

“You’ll have to see it the way the rest of us do,” he said. “With permission.”

She emerges from the bathroom in a pink shorts set. All the liquor in the damn world couldn’t give Blanche a leg-up, but as soon as Tina bends to throw back the bedcovers, giving me a peek of her plump ass, my cock springs to life.

She checks her phone and frown lines form between her brows. Is she missing me? I text her and switch the app to the TV in my room so I can watch and text at the same time. The dark room lights up with a larger image of my girl. Perfect.

ME: What are you wearing?

I laugh when she throws her phone on the bed as if startled. It takes her a second before picking it back up to read my message. She rolls her eyes, then starts typing.

MOUSE: None of your business.

I smile. This will be fun.

ME: What I want, whenever I want, remember. Try again.

She looks to the ceiling, lips moving as if she’s cursing the universe.

MOUSE: Shorts and a top.

ME: Do better.

She falls back on the bed, and I imagine I can hear her groaning.

MOUSE: God, you’re a pain in my ass.

ME: I can make that happen when you get here. For now, tell me what the fabric feels like on your skin.

Eyes fixed on the larger screen, I watch her skim her torso. I think she’ll stop there but she slips her fingers beneath the elastic waist and spreads her legs. Her hips move in a rolling motion as she touches herself.

I groan and palm my rock-hard cock through my boxers, texting with my free hand.

ME: Are you touching yourself?

She rolls to her stomach, pumping her hips a few times before typing out a message with one hand like me.

MOUSE: No.

My sexy little liar. I send her a picture of my hand around my cock.

ME: I need a visual aid.

She rolls to her back again, staring at the photo I sent. Her hand moves faster in her shorts. Her hairline begins to dampen, and a flush covers her face and neck. I sit up straight when she begins unbuttoning her top. I squeeze the head of my cock to stave off my release. Her nipples are hard little points and my mouth waters for a taste. I can practically feel the little ridges on her areolas on my tongue.

I spit in my hand and work myself into a frenzy, the veins pulsing against my palm. She’s pinching her nipples with one hand and working between her legs with the other, keeping pace with me. Her mouth opens with a silent scream and her back bows. I groan and cum in my hand. Fuck. Reluctantly, I head to the bathroom to clean up. When I return, she’s dressed again and typing on her phone.

When mine chimes I can’t open it fast enough.

MOUSE: Goodnight, Dusty.

I turn off the light and fall asleep watching Tina’s sleeping form on the screen.