Page 55 of That Mafioso Magic
There was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it. Seems like you two don’t need any interruptions,” Shi said as she walked toward the door.
“Oh, Shi, where is Xavier?” I asked, because it was what I was going to originally ask her when I first encountered her cleaning her gun.
“He left earlier, said he needed a shower and clean clothes,” Shi said, then opened the door. She walked away, leaving the other female to enter and close the door behind herself.
Like Shi, this new chick was quite the looker. Her hair had loose curls at the top, but cut low on the sides and the back. One of those cutesy hair cuts that could mean business or pleasure with a flip of the curl. She was about five-seven in the flats she was wearing. She also dressed casually. Jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket. One thing she wasn’t lacking was curves, and she had them in all the places I knew Xavier liked to look. My friend did enjoy the ladies, but I wondered how he’d feel about having one as our bodyguard?
“Just a moment, Jewel,” Sage said, and I returned my attention to him. “Back to what I was saying. What do you want me to do with your friend knowing what you know?”
“Is this a test?” I asked.
“It’s an offer.”
Was this really happening? And if it was, would Xavier also be willing to take Sage up on his offer? Only one way to find out. “If you can give Xavier an apartment here, I’d greatly appreciate it. I mean, just until we get to the bottom of this.”
Sage smiled. “Yeah… sure. But you know, if for some reason you two decide to stay here, past the case, I’m sure we can make even better arrangements. I like the idea of keeping you close to me. Besides, having a better storefront for your business may actually bring you some fresh clientele.”
I shook my head at that. “Wait, what? What do you mean?”
He stepped up close to me, pulling me to him by my waist, and kissed me. “God, I love when you look flustered.”
I slapped his bicep. Even through the plushness of his comfy bathrobe, I could feel the solidness of his muscles. “Answer me.”
He smiled, then took a step back, though his hands were still on my waist. “The first four levels are business, not residential. I rent the spaces out as another taxable income. I would be more than happy to do the same for you at a fraction of the price of what you pay for that shithole you’re in now. I mean, I would just give you the space, but something tells me that charity will only go so far with you. So, I’ll charge you and you’ll get an upgrade that will get you more high-class clientele. Besides, living here and paying pennies for your space means you can do more pro bono work. Something tells me you tend to end up with a lot of those kinds of cases.”
“People who need help, but can’t afford it—yeah.”
“Bleeding heart,” Shi commented. “Saint Adrian.”
Sage tossed her a look. “Retract those claws,” he said, then turned back to me. He cupped my chin, then kissed me. Just a gentle brushing of his lips against mine. “A generous heart. One that I want to protect.”
This was almost too much for me. Where in the hell had this all come from? And was I even worthy? I could feel my heart swelling and I had to swallow before the tears came. “Let me think about it all, okay?” was all I could come up with as the sorry reply for the amazing generosity Sage was offering me.
“Sure,” he said, then kissed me again. He looked at Jewel. “Take care of him.”
She gave him a curt nod. “Of course, my king.”
My king… the lion king was my lover. Wow, it was turning out to be one hell of a week. “I’ll see you later,” I said for the second time that morning.
“All right, you better,” Sage replied with a wink.
I quickly left with Jewel, because if I didn’t leave at that moment, I was surely going to fuck his brains out since I was buzzing with the promise of a life that was filled with happiness. No more struggling, and with a man who seemed to understand me. Like he knew I would want to at least pay something for the office space. And he knew I really enjoyed helping people who needed it, which was one of the reasons why I was in dire financial straits. He was giving me the opportunity to pay it forward. I took a deep breath of fresh air once I was on the elevator. I felt overwhelmed by it all. I leaned against the wall and watched the numbers light up as we descended.
“Are you all right?” Jewel asked me.
I looked at her. “Oh… yeah… just thinking.”
She laughed. “Yeah, my king can be a bit much. Especially when he wants something. He doesn’t stop until he gets it.”
“Has he ever been this way with anyone else?”
“Offering them a place in his fortress?” She laughed then. “Not that I know of. He fucks the pretty boys and sends them home, sometimes with a meal in their stomachs and a load in their asses.”
Graphic much? “So, I’m special?”
The doors opened and we stepped off. “Must be. He’s never asked me to guard anyone else before.”
