Barely Breathing(29)

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I said, shifting to relieve the pressure on my neck.

Viv slid off me and stood up. “You want coffee?” she asked, combing her hands through her messy waves of hair.

“No, I need to get going. I was planning to stop by the club when I left here last night and make sure things were going okay. I need to go count the deposits and make sure no one f*cked ‘em up.”

I used her bathroom, put my boots on and slid into my leather jacket. She was sitting on the couch, elbows on her knees, looking lost in thought.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said. “I was hoping we’d be waking up together this morning, but not like this.”

Her sheepish smile tugged at me, and I walked over and sat down next to her. “Hey. Don’t apologize. Shit happens.”

“When do I get to see you again?”

I was taken aback by the hope in her eyes. She wanted to see me again soon. Really wanted to. And not like most women, who looked at me this way after I’d f*cked them senseless. There was something about the most boring, average parts of me that Viv liked. It blew my f*cking mind every time I realized it.

“How ‘bout Sunday night?” I said. “Or is that a bad night since you have to work Monday?”

“No, Sunday’s good.”

“I’d say tonight, but I can’t miss a Friday night and a Saturday night at work back to back.”

She kissed my cheek just above the line of my beard, her soft lips brushing over my skin with just a touch of wetness. “Sunday’s good, Kane.”

I stood. “I’ll call you. And uh . . . if you feel like stopping in at the club tonight for a drink, you know . . . you can.”

I sounded gruff, though I didn’t mean to. It was damn hard, this dating thing. Or whatever it was called. I wasn’t a nose-rubbing, can’t wait to see you again, pookie type of guy.

“Okay,” she said as I turned for the door. “Thanks for staying last night.”

I turned back to face her. “If Grayson comes back, don’t let him in. Don’t give him money. Call me if you need help.”

“I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

I walked to the door and reached for the handle. “I’d kiss you, but my breath probably reeks right now.”

“It’s okay.” She grinned at me. “Mine’s probably not great, either.”

“See you later.”

“Bye, Kane.”

I left, heaving out an exhale after I’d closed the door. Normally I was out the door once the sex was over, but this thing with Viv was new territory for me. We hadn’t even slept together and I’d stayed the night. My sore as shit neck would be reminding me of it all day. And truthfully, I liked where things were with Viv. Though if she was ready for more Sunday night and her deadbeat * of a brother didn’t get in the way again, I aimed to please her.



I couldn’t keep my eyes off the front door of the club for more than a minute at a time. Every time I tried to focus on something else, I ended up looking up front to see if Viv had walked in. I had a good vantage point from the balcony of one of the sky suites.

A deep roar, followed by the sound of breaking glass, pulled my attention to the suite behind me.

“You f*ckin’ prick!” Gary Kelso bellowed. “No one’s that lucky.”

I came in from the balcony and closed the door behind me, sealing out the sounds of thumping music from below.

Gary was pissed as f*ck. A vein in his neck bulged as he pointed at the man across from him, who held his hands up in mock surrender.

This monthly high-stakes poker game was no joke. The players took it very seriously.

Two other guys held on to Gary as he threatened to cut the other player’s nuts off and shove them up his ass. The pieces of a shattered glass tumbler sat forgotten on the floor.

“You can bill me for that, Kane,” Gary said, glaring at the younger guy whose nuts were apparently in danger.

“I’m not worried about it,” I said. “I’ll send someone in to clean it up. Did you guys want to order food now or later?”

“I’m starved,” one of the players said, standing up and tossing his cards to the table. “Let’s order now.”

“Yeah, okay,” Gary said, shaking out of the hold the two men had on him.

Food never failed to break up a brawl in this group. They were all wealthy businessmen who had plenty of money to lose, but hated the ego-thumping of a loss.

I jogged down the wide marble staircase and assigned a server to get appetizers into the poker room and find someone to clean up the broken glass. I caught Rosie’s eye from across the crowded room and he gave a slight tilt of his head. I walked over and spoke in his ear over the loud music.

“What’s up?”

He turned to speak in my ear. “Your woman’s here and she’s lookin’ fine.”

“Viv?” I looked from side to side. Rosie gestured at a tall table along the wall.

Fuck me hard. Viv sat on a high-backed stool, her long, sexy legs bare beneath a short skirt. She had a dark shirt and a colorful scarf and her hair was piled on top of her head loosely, a few curls framing her face.

I walked over, the sight of Viv laughing making me look at the other side of the table. Her blond friend Cara was there, wearing a tight black dress and hooker boots.