Read Online Nocturnes by Kendall Grey - Free Book Online Page A

him off any longer, so I grabbed this guy I knew. He swore he wouldn’t tell anyone what went on down there, and I’m confident he won’t.” Shit, I’m digging a deeper grave with every lie falling from my lips, but this may be the only way to save myself.
    “Plus, we both know that sometimes clients bring in outsiders as part of their entertainment package, so I thought it would be okay just this once. I swear I had no other options. You said the customer is always right. This guy didn’t seem interested in waiting. I did the best I could.”
    “You should have called me. I would’ve taken care of it.”
    “You said you didn’t want to be bothered,” I remind him. I’m sure he was busy coking it up at his mansion with his personal stash of silicone crack whores.
    “For the client, I can always put aside pleasure. I’d have had someone there within five minutes.”
    “On Mardi Gras? I don’t think so.” Too bold, Eve. Don’t push him . “Given the circumstances, I didn’t see a better option. I made a call based on the information I had. Maybe it was a bad one, but I stand by it.
    “I’d really appreciate it if you could give me another chance.” I meet his cold eyes and swallow. “Please, Rico. I’ll do whatever it takes to win back your trust. And Charlie’s.”
    His lip twitches at the mention of our boss. “Charlie’s not here right now. You’re dealing with me, and me alone.”
    “What can I do to convince you?” Thoroughly disgusted with what I’m about to suggest, I lock down the overworked emotional power plant of my brain and drop my gaze to his belt. Bile surfaces at the top of my throat as I plaster a pair of imitation balls of steel to my loins.
    A wry grin props his cheeks. “You think fucking me will absolve you of your sins, angel?”
    I stand. “No. I’m not allowed to fuck nonmembers of Heaven.” Thank God. “But I’m told I suck a mean dick. I won’t tell if you don’t.” I step around the desk, grasp the arm rails of his chair and spin him to face me. I poke out a pouty bottom lip. “Please?”
    His gaze slithers from my mouth to my breasts. Hating myself almost as much as I hate Rico, I lay a hand on the bulge in his pants and squeeze. Do not throw up, Eve. Do not.
    His talons seize my wrist, and he roughly urges me downward. “Looks like we might be able to renegotiate the terms of your contract after all.”
    I stare up at him, my blood churning with raw, toxic venom, and my lips curled into a submissive smile. He stretches his back into the leather and puffs the disgusting cigar as I unlatch his belt buckle, the gold cold between my fingers.
    “Anything for you, Rico.”

Side A: “Money”
    I’m not sure if my hard-as-a-rock boner or my throbbing head hurts worse, but either way, I’m awake. I swallow over the foul-tasting cotton coating my mouth. Smack my lips a few times to get the salivary glands pumping again.
    “Toombs?” I pat the bed beside me. The dream fades. My vision clears. Reality kicks me in the balls. Again. He’s been gone for a week, yet every day, I wake up expecting him to be here.
    Toombs ain’t coming back, homeboy. Neither is Jinx. Move on to the liquor cabinet. It’s always open for business, and it’s loyal, unlike your “friends.”

    Muscles aching, I struggle to sit, and then rub my swollen eyes. I wince at the pain from the slow-healing bruises on my face.
    Memories of Toombs beating the shit out of me in this very room resurface. Funny how our roles reversed. Before that night, I was always the one who did the hitting. Toombs gets off on pain. Me? I get off on inflicting it—physically, mentally, emotionally. As long as someone suffers, I’m happy. Just goes to show, what comes around goes around.
    Karma and all that.
    It’s a good thing he and Jinx weren’t around for Mardi Gras. Not sure I could’ve stomached any more of their pity. Or those gag-worthy puppy eyes they constantly make at each other.
    I guess their