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)
I press my lips together. I remember the last King of Hearts. I didn’t interact with him a whole lot, since he mostly stood in the corner of the Hearts section staring ahead stoically like a Buckingham Palace guard. I have no idea what he might have done to get fired.
“She went on, telling me I would no longer be expected to sell my body to the club patrons, that my compensation from just serving as a King would double the current amount I’m making.”
“But don’t the Kings… Don’t they service Rouge herself? Like…sexually?”
“Yeah. She mentioned that. But she told me she was aware of my sexual orientation, that I wasn’t into women. She said the other three Kings could take care of her in that way. She would just need me to be emotionally available, the way I am to you.”
My eyebrows nearly fly off my forehead. “She’s aware that we’re friends?”
“I don’t think there’s anything that goes on at Aces that Rouge isn’t aware of,” he replies. “But anyway, after that it started getting weird. She pulled out a little red pouch, a little bigger than a coin purse. She then produced this stringy-looking mushroom.”
I cock my head. “What?”
The sound of the front door of our room opening knocks me out of my thoughts.
My pulse quickens, but it ebbs as I realize it’s Harrison, back from getting breakfast.
He’s been gone a while.
I started rousing right as he left. I found the note he left for me. It’s been nearly a half hour since then. Did he go halfway across town to get breakfast?
But no. He’s holding bags from Jubb & Jubb Bagels, which is just around the corner.
Maybe they were slow this morning.
I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a kiss. “Morning, handsome.”
“Morning, beautiful.” He sets the bag on the table. “This place claims to be the best New-York-style bagel in Chicago.”
“They’re pretty good,” I say. “I’ve gone there before.”
He pulls out an everything bagel. “They put a lot of cream cheese on this one.”
“I’ll take it.” I giggle. “You’ll find I’m able to consume an unnatural amount of cream cheese.”
He grins. “My kind of woman.”
I take a bagel, bite into it. It’s not quite the quality of my favorite place in midtown Manhattan, but it’s pretty damned close.
Maybe it’s just the company.
I like Harrison. I love Harrison.
And even though we have plans to accomplish the unthinkable this evening, I’m not going to let that ruin the entire day I have with him.
I chew through my bite and swallow. “So, Doctor. We have the whole day to ourselves. What would you like to do?”
18
HARRISON
You, is my first thought.
Even with sesame seeds on her lips from the everything bagel, even with the onion breath she’s going to have after eating the whole thing, even with the adorable smudge of cream cheese in the corner of her mouth…
Bianca is the most beautiful woman on this planet.
The woman I love more than anything, despite having known her for barely a week.
Funny. That’s how Maddox told me he felt about Alissa, and I held back laughter then.
Now I get it.
When you meet the right person, it’s instantaneous. I fell in love with Bianca practically the moment I met her.
More importantly, I now know she loves me back.
I scoot my chair in the hotel room’s breakfast nook next to hers. “I’d like to keep a low profile today, obviously. Definitely want to check in with Alissa and Maddox.”
“Of course. That’s a given.” She takes another bite of her bagel and swallows. “Anything else? I grew up in Chicago, and I’ve been back for five years, but I’ve never done the tourist traps.”
I flash her a smile. “Neither have I, if I’m honest.” I lean back in my chair. “We could take a walk through Millennium Park, maybe to Navy Pier, see what’s going on there. Stop in Lou Malnati’s or Pequod’s and grab some deep dish. As long as we keep to ourselves, we won’t have to worry about your sister finding out what we’re up to.”
She wipes some cream cheese off her chin. “How about the botanical gardens? I’ve heard they’re lovely.”
“I’ve heard the same.” I lean in and brush my lips against hers. “Though no flower can match your beauty.”
She smirks. “Why do I feel like you’ve used that line on a woman before?”
“Maybe I have.” I shrug. “But I mean it when I say it to you.”
She blushes at my words. “Honestly, I don’t care what we do. As long as we’re together. Hell, as far as I’m concerned, we could just hang out in the hotel room naked all day.”
I immediately start getting hard. I was already halfway there just from her presence, but now I’m at full mast. I give her a grin. “There are worse ways to spend a day.”