Men of Mayhem (20 page)

“Of course.” I gestured for her to follow me into my office, giving Dani a signal to not disturb me. “I’m Victor, by the way,” I said to her as she moved past me and into my space. Fuck me, she even smelled like sunshine—warm, sweet, and fresh.

“Lauren,” she said. “I’ve heard about you, Victor, that you do great work.”

“You heard right. Here, have a seat and tell me about yourself.”

She sat down in the chair and I was distracted by her legs when she crossed them at the ankle.

“Okay, I’m new to town and just started my first real job. The tattoo is a gift to me and a way of commemorating how far I’ve come.”

Lauren looked down at her hands curled on her lap, but not before I saw her eyes shimmer with tears. Ah shit, a crier. I fucking hated criers.

“If this tattoo has anything to do with getting over an ex, don’t get it. You’ll have tattoo regret. Trust me, I’ve been in this business long enough to know.”

“No,” she blurted out and actually laughed. “God, no. I’m not an idiot. No boyfriend or ex-boyfriend in the picture.”

“All right then, continue.” I smiled at her, pleased to learn she was single. That was one less obstacle to worry about. This would be easy.

I was not prepared for what happened next.

Lauren unbuttoned her blouse with fingers that trembled slightly. I found myself holding my breath as more skin was revealed. She wore a simple tan cotton bra and her nipples beaded up when she shrugged her shirt off, but my attention was quickly diverted by a long scar that started about two inches above her bellybutton and ran in a jagged line, disappearing beneath the waistband of her skirt.

“What the fuck happened?” I asked. “Did someone hurt you?” Inexplicable rage coursed through my veins at the sight of her damaged skin.

“I was in a car accident when I was thirteen. It was an accident, no one hurt me.” Lauren placed a hand over mine to calm me down, and that’s when I realized it had subconsciously curled into a fist. “My parents didn’t make it, though.” I heard the sadness in her voice, but when she met my eyes, hers were dry. “I want to cover the scar, make it beautiful. Can you do that for me?”

“Sweetheart, you’re already beautiful.” I cupped her cheek before I even realized what I was doing. I felt it grow warm beneath my touch and then shift when she smiled.

“Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.”

What the fuck was going on? It was like this woman had me under a spell the moment she walked into my shop. No woman ever made me get all touchy-feely like this before.

We spent the next hour talking through her ideas. When I went to trace the scar, to get a feel for the bumpiness of the surface, she gasped.

“Is it still sensitive?” I asked, glancing up at her to find her sucking on her lower lip.

“No.”

“Are you ticklish?”

She shook her head then placed her hand on top of mine, pressing it down so my palm was flat against her stomach. Her breathing was erratic, and goose bumps dotted her skin even though she felt warm to the touch. We stared at each other and maintained that simple contact, but we might as well as have had sex for how intimate it felt. I knew my next appointment would be knocking on the back door any minute, but I didn’t want to let go.

I finally pulled away, severing the connection, but still sensed it pulsing in the air around us. I made room in my schedule for Lauren to come back the next week for her first session.

“See you later, sweetheart,” I said, watching with disappointment as she buttoned her shirt.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Lauren surprised me when she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “Good night, Victor,” she whispered in my ear, and that alone made my dick twitch.

Just as she left there was a sharp knock on the private entrance. Shaking off the lingering effects of Lauren’s spell, I crossed the room to let my next client in, but my head wasn’t in the game the rest of the night. Like tectonic plates, something had shifted inside of me when Lauren walked into my shop, and I didn’t have a clue how to handle it.

Lauren

As soon as I was around the corner from Victor’s shop, I leaned against the concrete wall and let out a deep breath. My assignment was to get close to him, to see if I could learn inside information on the large heroin operation Victor’s boss, Gio, was involved in. There wasn’t a lot of time and my supervisor expected me to use my feminine wiles. I had been resistant to the whole idea as it made me feel cheap, but it was a reasonable approach. Expecting to have to force the attraction, I was surprised to discover it came naturally between us, inspiring hope that I could pull off the assignment after all. The trick was to be as truthful about my background as possible in case Victor had the ability to sniff out lies. What I told him about my parents was true, and I was new to town and starting a new job. Being able to use my first name helped too. Holding a hand against my belly to quell the butterflies, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. When I moved away from the wall, I had a big smile on my face knowing that I’d be seeing Victor again.

I spent the next morning in my office, but frequent intel from my team was constantly being fed to me regarding Victor’s movements, so when he stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant down the street, I was ordered to go there and casually bump into him. I grabbed my bag, popped a mint into my mouth, and quickly left.

Victor was eating at a local burger joint that had a line out the door for takeout. Spying an empty seat at the bar, I squeezed through the line, fortunately snagging the stool. I quickly ordered an iced tea with lemon and a turkey burger with a side salad. When the bartender left after taking my order, I casually glanced around the restaurant. Someone touched my elbow and I jumped, swiveling around to find Victor standing next to me.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey yourself, sweetheart. What are the odds of running into you here?”

“Well, it is lunchtime and this is close to my office, so…” He grinned at my response.

“Eating alone?” Victor looked at the men on either side of me while sucking on his piercing, a small silver hoop on the left side of his bottom lip. Damn, that was sexy. Shaking off the distracting thoughts, I focused on the conversation at hand.

“Yes, alone. Unless you want to join me? We can try to get a table…” Before I could flag down the hostess, Victor got the bartender’s attention and gestured at the businessman sitting next to me. Moments later the man’s lunch was packed up and he was gone. With a shit eating grin, Victor sat down on the now vacant stool. I knew he had influence, but witnessing it firsthand was something else. Part of me was secretly thrilled that he exerted his power to have lunch with me, and another part was intimidated because I knew I was in way over my head for this assignment. I couldn’t afford to screw it up, though. I had come too far and worked too damn hard to get this job.

Victor had already eaten, but he stayed while I ate my lunch. He gesticulated a lot when he spoke and the tattoos on his arms were distracting when he moved. His muscular forearms were a colorful storyboard that I wanted to read. When he wasn’t talking, his right arm was slung over the back of my stool and he leaned toward me. He filled me in on the neighborhoods to avoid and which beaches were the best. After I finished eating, the bartender gave me the bill, but Victor snatched it up and handed the guy a twenty.

“Hey, you didn’t have to pay for my lunch.”

“I don’t mind, sweetheart. So, where are you off to next?” We stood and left the crowded restaurant.

“Back to the office. I have a conference call at two.”

“I’ll walk with you,” he said and placed his hand on the small of my back. Victor was a big guy and people on the sidewalk moved around us. I considered myself tall at five-foot-eight, but felt like a dwarf next to Victor with the top of my head barely reaching his shoulders. It was a brief walk back to my office building and I thought Victor would leave me at the door, but he surprised me when he held it open and followed me inside and onto the elevator.

“You don’t have to literally walk me to my office,” I teased.

“Hey, you saw mine now you get to show me yours,” he said with a grin and I laughed as he had seen a lot more of me than I of him.

The entire front of the suite was frosted glass etched with the agency’s logo. Victor held one of the double doors open for me and we stepped inside. Cindy, the front receptionist, looked up and stared open-mouthed at Victor. I felt her stare until we reached my office. Katherine’s door was shut and the other recruiter had gone on vacation, so the space was relatively quiet.

“This is me. It’s not much and I still have to decorate,” I explained to Victor as he took in the bare walls. He stepped in behind me and there wasn’t a lot of space for the two of us. I was increasingly aware of his scent, like cloves and some other spices, as well as his size. Knowing his history, I should have been intimidated, but he had been nothing but gentle and generous.

“I want to see you again. How about dinner tomorrow night?” he asked, taking a step closer. I stepped back and was stopped by the desk against my ass.

“Sure…yes, dinner sounds good.” I licked my lips and his heavy gaze dropped to them. Suddenly his hands were buried in my hair and his mouth was on mine. I gasped and grabbed onto his black t-shirt, gripping the soft cotton in my fists. His piercing pressed against my bottom lip and I gently nibbled on it. His tongue slipped between my lips and he deepened the kiss. Victor stepped forward again and I was trapped between his hard body and the desk. I felt drugged and electrified at the same time. My nipples hardened in response and I shifted so he fit between my legs, causing a reaction to erupt deeper and lower. I forgot about my assignment, my cover, and everything else at that moment. All I thought about was having Victor take me right there, bent over my desk. Fortunately he had some self-control left and broke the kiss. My lips felt hot and swollen, and my pulse was all over the place. We were both breathing heavy and when Victor stepped away, his dark eyes were hooded and full of promises of more to come.

“I’ll call you tomorrow to make plans,” he said and snagged a business card off my desk. All I could do was nod, and this made him smile. “Until then, sweetheart.” He left and I stared after him, unable to move since my legs were shaky and it felt like I had melted and become glued to the desk.

Seconds later my cell phone chimed, prompting me to move. The text message was from my boss.

Boss: How did it go?

Me: Good. Dinner date tomorrow.

Boss: Excellent work. Keep it up.

I slipped the phone back in my bag and sat down. My endorphins were still fired up from the amazing kiss. I’d had boyfriends before, but this was the first time my whole body felt consumed by a man’s touch.
This is an assignment, so don’t fuck it up
. With a deep sigh, I focused on the agenda for my upcoming conference call, putting thoughts of Victor aside.