across her chest again. Easier to keep from dancing into his arms or throwing herself at him.
“Please, sit with us?” He gestured to the table, and Kiki glance down at Minion. The imp gave her a wide- eyed shrug and bounced her booster seat to the side. Perching on the seat, with one leg out, Kiki knew she could bolt at anytime. Across the room, Stan leaned against the wall. As promised, she’d told him when she planned to head out, and he merely nodded.
Where she typically resented his watchfulness, she appreciated it tonight.
“I don’t know how long I will stay this time.” She lied, recklessly abandoning her plan to get laid. Minion leaned against her arm, comforting and supportive in the same innocent gesture.
Richard sat slowly. Like the night before, he dressed in comfortable, casual elegance in a blue button-down shirt and midnight-black pants. He wore them as though they had been tailored just for him.
Who knew, maybe they had?
“I was hoping you would spend the rest of the night with me.” He poured a second glass of wine and slid the glass across to her. Minion reached for it, but Kiki slapped her hand lightly.
The imp growled, and Kiki bared her teeth at her until Minion giggled. “I just wanted a sip.”
“Uh huh and the last time you had wine, you teleported all of the shoes around the casino, and it took us hours to find them. No way.” Amused, but watchful, the dancer picked up the wine and swirled it in the glass. Her stomach cramped with hunger at the sinfully sweet scent. She didn’t gulp the wine, but the first flush taste of it against her tongue doubled the hunger. Richard watched her with a vibrant intensity in his eyes.
“We have plenty,” he soothed. “Drink all you want.”
“Answer my question, and maybe I will.” Defiance unfurled. No matter how much she longed to drain the bottle, she would pace herself until he answered the mystery frustrating her.
He glanced at Minion briefly and then to her, eyebrows lifted.
“Minion, sweetie, can you excuse us for a bit?” She swallowed the rest of the wine. The coppery undertones coated her tongue like ambrosia. Sighing, she slid the glass across to Richard, and he refilled it with a small smile.
“But I brought you the file you wanted.” Minion tapped her claws against the folder. “I was sneaky careful and everything.”
Ignoring the fresh wine, she wrapped her arms around the imp and gave her a hug. “Thank you, sweetie—I appreciate it. Really. And you can totally go play with my clothes and my makeup.”
Minion’s eyes widened in disbelieving joy. “Really?”
“Absolutely. Anything you want, you go right ahead and do.” She knew she’d just invited a hurricane to blast through her closet and cosmetics table, but Minion deserved a reward.
“Thank you!” Minion bounced, kissed her cheek and squeezed Kiki super hard before
“She’s adorable.” The surprise in his voice tickled her senses.
Shrugging, Kiki picked up the wine and pulled the folder toward her. Now that she had it, her gut twisted with uncertainty. “She’s a friend.”
“I can tell. She doesn’t want me to take you away from here.”
“Good.” Kiki nodded once, drinking down half the glass. The warmth in her belly seeped out to her limbs, relaxing the unease. Hunger still seemed to gnaw at her backbone, and the ache in her teeth left her jaw humming. “Do you mind if we order some food?”
Richard’s gaze narrowed. “Of course not—allow me to order it?”
“Sure. Let’s see if you know what I like.” She drained the wine and started to flip the file folder open. His hand blocked the action, keeping it closed.
“Kristina, I have one favor to ask you.” The wild intensity in his gaze arrested her complaint.
“What?”
“Don’t read that yet.” He exhaled the request on a slow breath, as though it cost him to even make the suggestion. “If it is your file, it probably has some of the answers you want—but I am starting to believe that may not be the journey we need to take.”
Confusion fisted in her stomach. “You make me crazy.”
His quick grin made her pulse jump. “The feeling is mutual, darling. I want to answer your questions and I have more than a few of my own—but tonight I just want to be with you, talk to you and spend time together. The past—let’s leave it there tonight.”
“Yes.” No flowery declarations, no passionate oaths—just one simple word ringing with absolute certainty.
Chewing her lips, she drummed her fingers against the folder. “Did I love you?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. He covered her nervous fingers with his hand.
Her heart thudded against her ribs. “Can I trust you?”
“Yes.”
She believed him. She couldn’t explain why or sort out the tangles of it in her mind, but she believed him. “Okay. I won’t read it tonight but I want answers.”
“So do I.” He squeezed her hand and motioned to one of the succubi. The flirty little bitch came over and gave Richard a fuck-me-now smile.
Kiki growled, but Richard rolled his thumb along the side of her hand, soothing the anger. She pulled her gaze from the waitress to meet his apologetic, if amused, eyes. She barely heard the order he gave to the waitress or the request for another bottle and a different drink. She didn’t calm until the waitress sashayed away.
“Your teeth are showing, my love.” The tease didn’t settle the irritated anger flaming through her. “And they need not. I have exactly who I want right here.”
Barely mollified, she pulled her hand away and drank her wine. “She all but tried to climb into your lap.”
“She’s a succubus. They thrive on sexual tension and feed off pleasure. But she isn’t who I want.” The heat of his gaze scorched her, and her sex clenched at the memory of his pounding into her, the fever on his skin, the pleasure winding through her. No, he definitely didn’t look at the succubus with the raw need he displayed then.
As if reading her thoughts, Richard laughed softly and linked his pinky around hers. She knew she should pull away, but the intimate, possessive gesture unlocked some of her tension.
“Did you like the show?”
“I loved the show.” His immediate response surprised—and delighted—her. “I didn’t particularly like you strutting nude up there, but you were magnificent.”
“Well, I wasn’t completely naked. I had on a lot of diamonds—and glitter dust—all strategically placed. See?” She pulled her dress to the side and bared one breast. Her nipple twinkled, outlined by gleaming cosmetic gems. Lust rippled across his expression and tightened his jaw. His hand locked around hers.
He flicked a look at his men, and they came together, backs to the table. He didn’t want anyone else to see, and they complied, blocking her breast on display from the nearby tables. Not that she cared, but he obviously did. Excitement scrambled through her. Her nipple hardened, and the quivering in her thighs doubled.
“It’s exceptionally lovely.” The strained words sounded forced. Maybe she shouldn’t tease him. If they were closer, she would settle his hand against the breast just to see what he would do. Another thrill skated over her skin. The table wasn’t that wide. She could slide around, lay his hand to her breast and slide her hands over that silk shirt.
Would he make love to her right here? Temptation tingled up her spine, and she squeezed her legs together. Sliding the fabric of her dress closed, she couldn’t suppress a shiver at the whisper of aching need racing from her nipple to her sex and back again.
He exhaled noisily and picked up his wine glass, she claimed hers and held it out. “To unexpected delight?”
“To familiar pleasure.” Their glasses clinked together and she drank. The waitress returned and set out two
