Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Such a brat. “Uh, I think you’ll be working with me.”
“We’ll see about that,” she vowed and leaned over, brushing her lips against his.
There was a rustling sound, and he realized they were no longer alone. A man in a chef’s jacket walked in with two servers. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, and he probably got all the ladies he wanted. Or all the guys. The man could likely get whoever he wanted in bed, and Ben felt a well of jealousy.
“Good evening, special guests,” the chef said with a knowing smirk. “I’ve got an amuse-bouche before your first course. Are you enjoying the Scotch? Ke… Ms. Trent told me to send you nothing but the best.”
Maggie slid off his lap and resettled herself. “Tell your dad I’ll pay him back.” She looked his way. “This is Luke. He’s my cousin. I live here in Dallas, and we should talk about my name.”
Her name? A cousin? He knew Dallas was her base and that her team was different from other Agency teams, but other than that he’d been able to find nothing. Was she about to tell him the truth?
Luke’s eyes went wide. “Wait? We’re doing this here? Because if we are, I should make some calls.”
“This is not a spectator sport, Luke,” Maggie replied, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, but there are so many bets on this,” Luke shot back, and now it was easy to see how comfortable they were with each other. Like they’d grown up together. Actually, he could see some resemblance between them. Right in the eyes and the shape of the jaw.
How different was her team?
“Nope,” Maggie said, waving her cousin off. “No bets. If all goes well, you can tell everyone that we’ll be at The Hideout later tonight.”
The club. Fuck. The idea of getting her in that club made his cock twitch. She’d taken him through once and they’d watched scenes, and ever since he’d been studying. Because he’d known he wanted to be more than her boyfriend. He wanted to be her Dom.
The server placed a small dish in front of him.
“Caviar vol au vents,” Luke explained, going back into professional mode. “You’ll find my cousin here has some expensive tastes and is picky when it comes to both caviar and vodka.”
Two tall shot glasses of chilly vodka were placed next to the small, caviar-covered pastries.
Maggie downed hers with the grace of a pro. “I simply like what I like.” She smiled Ben’s way. “And I like you.”
She was going to kill him. When was the last time he had a good relationship with a woman? A normal relationship where they dated and talked and enjoyed each other’s company without him worried she was a plant from Manny.
The doors to the private dining room opened again and Tasha and Dare were there.
For a moment he thought Tash and his former friend were there to save Maggie from him.
“Hey, Kara,” Tash began. “I’m afraid I need to talk to you. I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have a situation.”
Ben stood. Situation?
Maggie joined Tash, while Dare moved into Maggie’s now empty seat.
“Hey, it’s work. It’s nothing to worry about, but Kara needs to deal with it. I thought we should talk since it looks like we’re going to be something like family.” Dare sat back. “We were friends, right? I know I’ve pushed you away, but I need…either some closure or to forgive you.”
Ben felt his heart clench. What he’d done to Dare… Well, he regretted it deeply. “We were friends.”
“I’m sorry, but I need to go,” Maggie said.
“You okay?” He wouldn’t make a big deal. He understood what it meant to work in intelligence.
“Something’s come up with Zach,” she replied.
Ah, Zach Reed. He’d gotten some intel on the man. Zach had walked away from his team during the same mission in Toronto that had caused Maggie so much pain. “Go. We’ll talk later. I’m in town for a couple of days.”
She gave him a smile. “Have fun with Dare.”
She walked away, but Ben was feeling lighter than before.
* * * *
She was going to have a seriously long talk with her sister.
Kenzie followed Tasha out of the private dining room. “Is Kala at The Hideout? I know Mom and Dad are worried, but she’ll be there. She’s hiding from Cooper and probably pissed at me since Ben showed up and she had to handle him. Did you know she cupped his ass? Next time I see Coop, I’m planting my hand right on his butt.”
See how she handled that.
Of course, Kala had made a major sacrifice for her today. She’d allowed Ben to kiss her and that had likely set her twin off on a desperate attempt to get rid of the cooties. Hopefully someone had found the bottle of vodka they left in the bar. It was a good antiseptic.