Page 50 of Cocky Jerk

“You’re smiling. That’s just as good as glowing in my book.”

Subconsciously I lift a hand to my lips and wouldn’t you know it, he’s right. I’m smiling and it’s not even noon.

“Let’s go, before you’re late and she thinks it’s because we had a quickie in the backseat.”

He exits the car and I hurry to do the same, fearing if he rounds the car and opens the door for me, he’ll spot Ritmo. I slam the door shut and hurry toward him. Grabbing his hand, I pull him toward the building. Once we hit the doors to the elevator, Marco stabs the button with his thumb and I glance over my shoulder, stealing a glance at Ritmo, who slowly walks toward us. The elevator doors open and Marco steps in. Knowing as soon as he turns around, he’ll be face to face with Ritmo, I push Marco against the wall of the elevator and press my lips to his. It’s the perfect distraction and by the time the elevator doors close, Marco’s got both hands on my ass and I’m fisting his shirt. The elevator dings, and we pull apart.

“What was that for?”

“I’m glowing, remember?” I reply, wiping the lipstick from his lips.

“Yeah, we’re a dead giveaway,” he mutters as the doors open.

Pulling away from him, I step off the elevator first and find Penelope and Soraya arguing at the reception desk. Their bickering comes to a halt as Marco lets out a whistle and both their gazes shoot to us.

“Good morning, dollface,” Marco greets.

Soraya eyes him skeptically.

“Why are you so chipper? Did you arrest a little old lady for jaywalking?”

I laugh and instantly regret it because her eyes dart to me. Crossing her arms over her chest, she raises an eyebrow.

“I guess the edible fruit arrangement worked.”

“Like a fucking charm,” Marco says, throwing an arm around my shoulders. He pulls me into the crook of his arm and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Good news, I have it all worked out for next Saturday.”

“You figured out how to get them to the party?”

“Yep. After going on and on about Antonia here, Tig told me he wanted to meet her. Antonia has agreed to take one for the team and instead of cutting me loose, she’s going to go on another date with me. I’ll call him when I get off work and set it up, but I don’t see him saying no when it was his idea.”

“So, you actually didn’t figure out shit.”

“Not exactly,” he admits. “But it’s all taken care of.”

Soraya rolls her eyes before looking at me.

“Well, thanks, Antonia. You know, for suffering through another week with this guy,” she teases, a smirk playing on her lips.

“No problem,” I laugh, feeling embarrassment creep into my cheeks.

“I gotta get out of here,” Marco says. “There are bad drivers out there and old lady jaywalkers that I need to save New York City from.” If I didn’t already want to crawl into a hole and die, you can bet I do the moment he grabs my ass and places a smacking kiss on my lips.

* * *

I was soflabbergasted by the kiss, I didn’t think what might happen if Marco bumped into Ritmo on his way to work. So for the last hour, I’ve been debating on whether I should call him or not—you know, just to be sure some crazy biker didn’t kidnap him or something.

On top of that, I was prolonging the call to my father.

With any luck, Ritmo didn’t kidnap Marco and kill him. Instead, he called my dad and reported that I was safe and sound. I’d still get reamed out when I got back to the compound, but at least the odds of him showing up here with half the club were slim to none.

The sound of Penelope clearing her throat jars my thoughts and I look up at her. In the short time I’ve known her, I don’t think I’ve seen her smile and judging by the scowl on her face, today’s not the day.

“Can I help you with something?” I ask.

“I know what you’re doing,” she hisses.

I look from her to my computer screen.

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