“Sure, and I was going to get me one of them. Her entire life would revolve around making me happy and serving my loud-mouth kids.”
“Good luck with that,” I say, turning around in my seat.
“Then I met you.”
“If your loud-mouth kids piss me off, I’m spanking their loud-mouth asses.”
“I bet you can’t even make decent spaghetti,” Dino says, and the comment cuts me deep.
“Sure, I can. It’s just meat, a can of tomato sauce, and a box of pasta. Fucking done.”
Dino grimaces. “And I know you won’t shut the fuck up when I tell you to.”
“And if you tell me to go away so you can have space, I won’t come back.”
“Exactly. I guess our ideas of the perfect mates ain’t happening. You’ll need to give up your dream of the book reading, animal loving weenie.”
“He would write me poetry.”
“Yeah, but would the weenie fuck you properly?”
Smirking, I open the car door. “No, but I’m pretty amazing with a vibrator.”
“I don’t believe you,” he says, getting out of the SUV and running after me. “I think you ought to prove it.”
“Oh, really?”
“Sure.”
“Won’t you be jealous?”
“Probably.”
“We might get shot at tonight,” I whisper as we enter the building.
“As long as I’m not shot in the crotch, I won’t care about anything besides you and the vibrator.”
We arrive upstairs to our floor, and I check my phone to see if the room had any breaches.
“It’s clear,” I say as he wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Do you read at all?”
Dino shakes his head. “Do you?”
“Sure. Magazines and I read those trending stories on Facebook.”
Grinning, he slides his hand into my back pocket while I use the keycard. I bump him away from me and act like I plan to shut the door on him. Dino gives me a puppy dog pout until I sigh dramatically.
“Fine, but only because you begged like a little bitch.”
Dino winks at me before entering. I lock the door, turn off the internal cameras, and send a message to Rafael about our messy evening. While I focus on the job, Dino digs around in my suitcase looking for my vibrator. I just hope he doesn’t get jealous and try to separate me from my old friend.
15
Minka
Life Gets Complicated
The next morning, Dino digs into his pancakes like a starving man. I’m hungry too, but my stomach hurts. All night long, I used Dino’s hot body to distract me from his other qualities. He’s sweeter than I expected. He’s also full of shit, which is exactly what I expected.
“Not hungry?” he asks, before taking his fork and stealing one of my sausage links.
“Did you really stop sleeping around after meeting me?”
“Yep.”
I study him, but he isn’t easy to read. The guy worked around paranoid mobsters. Lying is second nature to him, and Dino likely knows how to keep his cool when caught in a lie.
“Why?”
“You were worth waiting for.”
“Why?”
Dino finishes chewing and wipes his mouth. “You’re sexy and smart. You thought I was sexy too. I saw that in your eyes. When I pissed you off, though, you punched me. How does a man not chase that kind of woman?”
“Your dream woman is obedient. I’m not that woman.”
“No, but you wanted a man who reads, and I’m not that man. We were wrong.”
Hugging my body, I study him. “What is your long term play here? You talk about kids and how I’m special. You act as if falling for someone is like choosing a hairstyle. I don’t believe in forcing things.”
“I’m not forcing anything. You want this too.”
“Hey, you’re hot. I’m not denying I’ve wanted to rub against you since we met. That’s not the same as what you’re pretending.”
“I’m not pretending shit. Maybe you need more coffee because you’re coming off grumpy.”
Leaning forward, I frown hard at him. “You talked about going with me to visit my mom. That’s real deal stuff. Sex is one thing, but you’re talking about things that aren’t happening.”
“What’s the problem? Are you getting premenstrual on me?”
“Stop being an asshole.”
“Stop being a bitch.”
“Never,” I mutter. “I don’t like being played.”
Dino plays with the butter knife on the table. “You know I’m not playing. I could have gotten in your pants without saying anything about waiting or talking about your mom. I don’t need to say any of that stuff. We could have fun in bed, and then I could walk away. You never needed the romance, so why would I waste time promising you anything?”
“I don’t know. You’re a tricky guy.”
“Or you’re paranoid.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“No.”
I roll my eyes and sip my coffee. “I’ll drop it.”
“That’s best.”
Dino steals another sausage link, so I push the plate towards him. He finishes my breakfast and stretches.
“What’s the plan for today?”