Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
This was also a familiar chorus. “Now you sound like my grandfather,” I accused with a smile.
Al-Qadiri returned the smile. “He was a smart man.” He tapped a finger on the table over a symbol of family. “And he loved your grandmother very much. And his grandchildren and dogs and boats.”
I huffed out a soft laugh, remembering summer days with my grandfather on his sailboat, his old black Lab asleep at his feet.
“That’s not really my scene,” I admitted. “I enjoy city life, and I enjoy my work.”
He smiled and tilted his head toward Vraj Nanda, who sat on the other side of me. “Maybe you need to talk to our friend here about balance. He will do a better job than I will convincing you of its powers.”
“What do you do for balance?” I asked.
“I have my family. My hobbies. We need things that help us remember we are men and not gods.” His face widened into a smile. “A love of horses is something my wife and I have in common. Her passion is for showing, and mine is for racing.” He chuckled. “I never go to the racetrack without my family. It is possible to enjoy such things together.”
“Like when I take my sister shopping in London?” I suggested. “Because I do that more often than I care to admit.”
He laughed and clapped my shoulder. “Celeste will keep you on your toes. But she is too much about work as well. The two of you need to remember to play.”
I thought again about Jett. About using his body for my pleasure only a few hours ago. “I do play, Sidi,” I said, trying not to smirk. “Trust me, I play.”
He laughed. “I do not mean the ladies, Locke. I have seen your picture everywhere with pretty girls.”
“If you ask me when I’m going to settle down, I’ll think your wife has been in your ear too long,” I warned before drinking the last sip of water from my glass.
Al-Qadiri pushed back his chair from the table and stretched. “Ahh, no. I am no matchmaker, and marriage and children are not for everyone. But I know that time away from work and stress is for everyone. And that is all I will say to you about that for fear of sounding too much like an old man.”
Esteban must have been listening to our conversation because he came over to pile on. “Saleem is right. And it is time for me to play. It is hard to be cooped up in here while the ladies are laid out so lovely in the late afternoon sun. Let’s go.”
While I hadn’t seen who’d traveled here with Esteban other than his son, I knew the older man usually brought along a mistress or two. Never his wife, and never the same woman twice.
As we filed out of the room and collected our electronics, I caught sight through the open doors of the women laid out in chaises by the pool. Most of them were beautiful, slim and sexy in various types of revealing swimsuits.
But surprisingly, it was a man who caught my eye.
Jett was sprawled on a double-wide chaise alongside a sexy young woman in a tiny bikini. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of small swim shorts in a familiar blue checked pattern. Even from here, I could see ab muscles and the curves of shoulder and thigh muscles.
He laughed at something the woman said, and she leaned over to whisper something else, making both of them laugh again.
Jett Davis was fucking Kryptonite. Worse than that, he was like loitering munitions. Hanging around seemingly benign, but ready to cause mass destruction at any time.
My dick filled just watching him. Despite fucking him earlier, I wanted him again. To plant myself inside him over and fucking over until I couldn’t get it up anymore.
“Mr. Maris, would you like me to call Mr. Davis back inside?” an attendant inquired softly after seeing me watching Jett with a scowl on my face.
“Yes, please. Tell him to meet me in my suite. Thank you.”
The woman nodded and disappeared through a side door, moving swiftly down the stairs to the lower terrace level. I watched her approach him if only to see how disappointed he would be when his fun was interrupted, but disappointment wasn’t what I saw.
His face brightened, and he jumped up, tossing unknown words over his shoulder to his chaise mate before grabbing his shirt and yanking it on. Within moments, he was hurrying toward the house on the lower level.
I turned to our suite and moved just as swiftly, not wanting to be caught watching.
Unfortunately, when I got to the suite, my phone started pinging with messages from the office, reminding me of a critical video conference I had with one of our largest customers.