Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“It does?”
“Yeah. A teapot… It’s a symbol of my friendship with Maddox. The very first thing we ever bonded over was our mutual love of tea. We came from different backgrounds, but we found some common ground there.”
“Interesting. And does anyone besides the two of you know about that?”
I frown. “I don’t think so. Maddox might have mentioned it to some other people. It’s not like it was this dark secret.”
“Not like keeping human hearts in a cooler behind a toilet,” she murmurs.
I exhale sharply. “Exactly.”
She bites her lip. “I guess you’re right. It might not necessarily be Chet. It could be someone we don’t even know, someone lurking in the shadows, clearing a path for us to figure out how to bring my sister to justice.”
“Or it’s a trap,” I add weakly.
“Yes, but if this music box is our only lead, we need to follow it. If there’s any chance it will save lives, it’s our moral duty to see this through.”
I swallow. “Agreed. But again, I have no idea where to start. The tune sounds like some of the notes are wrong, and there’s a weird pause toward the beginning that’s out of time. A long note in the middle, too. And four notes at the beginning that are completely separate from the rest of it.”
“Can you play it for me?” she asks.
I wind up the teapot again, let the macabre waltz play again.
She listens. “It does sound disjointed. But I don’t know the actual song. I don’t know which notes are wrong and which ones belong.” Her eyes light up. “But you know who might recognize the tune?”
“Who?”
“Didn’t Dinah mention that Alissa has two degrees in music?”
I slap my palm across my forehead. “Shit. You’re right.”
Bianca smiles. “She might know. Do you think she’ll be feeling well enough to give this a listen?”
I nod. “I think so. Even if she’s tired, she’ll want to help. But not tonight.”
“Why?”
“I was just at the hospital. That’s how I was able to get a ride home after I left Aces. Dinah called me an Uber.”
“Right.” Her gaze falls. “Sorry I threw you out on the street with no clothes, by the way.”
I wave the concern away. “Now that I know what you discovered, it makes total sense. But Dinah told me they were both resting. We should give them the night. Start fresh in the morning.”
“That sounds good to me. Speaking of which.” She grabs my hand. “Do you mind if I crash here tonight? I feel like I’d be a sitting duck if I went back to my own apartment.”
I squeeze her hand gently. “There’s no one I’d rather have in my bed than you.”
I peel off the Clubs shorts and slip into a fresh pair of boxer briefs. Bianca’s in my bathroom, wiping off her makeup. She emerges wearing an oversized T-shirt I loaned her.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her not dressed to the nines.
And my God. She looks ravishing.
She walks over to my bed, a frown on her pretty little face. “I’m afraid I might have stained the hand towel in your bathroom removing my makeup. I should have used a black one. I’m sorry.”
I grab her by the arm and take her into an embrace. “Bianca. I couldn’t give less of a fuck about that damned towel.” I lower my head to hers and kiss her.
She wraps her arms around me and squeezes my bare chest. We keep kissing, and it deepens. It’s not too long before her tongue is probing the seam of my lips. I’m happy to let her in.
She runs it over my teeth before tangling it with my own.
But then she breaks the kiss, her cheeks flushed.
“What is it?” I ask. “Bad breath?”
“No, of course not.” She swallows. “It’s just… I shouldn’t kiss you like that. Not… Not after what I saw tonight.”
I reel her back in, kiss her forehead. “Maybe it’s precisely because of what you saw tonight that you should kiss me like that.”
She looks up at me, her mouth open. “I… I…”
“Yes?”
She narrows her eyes. “I…can’t argue with that logic.” She gets on her tiptoes and kisses me again, this time with the desperation of a woman who’s seen the unimaginable, who needs to be taken away, if only for a moment.
I’ll gladly be her guide.
Our kiss crescendos in intensity, and soon she jumps up and wraps her legs around me. I squeeze her sweet ass.
Eventually I bring us both down onto the bed and lie back. She peppers kisses over my chest, over both of my nipples, down my abdomen until she arrives at my boxer briefs. She runs a hand over the outline of my dick, sending a shiver through me.
But she doesn’t remove my undies. Not yet. Little tease.
She keeps kissing down my legs. Down my thigh, my calf. She lands on my feet, planting a delicate kiss on each of my toes. It tickles in the best way.