Page 107 of Steal My Heart
“Yes, your majesty.”
His lips lift slightly. “You were the one queening me last night, your highness.”
“Filthy,” I say, my cheeks flaming yet again. And yes, I’ve discovered I do love riding the man’s face.
He chuckles, pressing a kiss to my lips before walking out.
Angelo
“Morning,” I tell my sister, joining her in the kitchen in an especially good mood.
She scowls at me. “Why can’t I see Fabien? He’s getting released soon anyway. You’re delaying the inevitable.”
There goes my good mood out the window. “He has you so deceived you’d offer him up for sainthood.”
“I know who he is; has it ever crossed your mind that maybeyou’rethe one who doesn’t know the real Fabien?” She storms out of the room, and I resist the urge to punch a hole in the wall.
Instead, I march outside and to the pool house, finding some of my old running gear. I change, and find Nola waiting for me at the door with both her leash and harness in her mouth. “How did you even get out here?” I ask, getting her harness situated before connecting the leash.
Shemeows, but unlike Remi, whom I’m fairly certain communicates with the cat, I’m not fluent in feline.
“I’m going for a run. Can you keep up?”
Nola answers that question by taking off, and now, the question becomes whether I can keep up with her. She keeps me at a brisk pace around the entire property, my shirt getting tossed to the ground near the two-mile mark.
Mile three, I’m sucking wind. Slowing our pace, I come to a stop and bend over with my hands on my knees, catching my breath. “Corrine tells me you’ve been breaking things. I think it’s because you’re bored, and you need more physical activity,” I tell Nola. “If there were a way you could let yourself outside safely. An enclosure of sorts, like they have at the zoo.”
A lightbulb goes off, and I grab my phone, calling a fellow hospital board member and the architect for the city zoo. “Mr. Calvani. Funny that you called, I was just thinking about calling you.”
“How fortuitous. I’m calling because I need an enclosure for an exotic cat designed and constructed.”
Nola hisses at the C word, but I ignore her, continuing, “Enrichment, physical activity, and safety being the three main priorities.”
“Absolutely. Is this some sort of exotic cat rescue?”
“More of a pet project.”
“I’ll work on the design and get that sent over to you right away.”
“Excellent. And what was on your mind that you wanted to call me?” I ask.
“I sent you an email about this?—”
“And my apologies. My hands have been full lately.”
“So I heard. Word is you’re in a little spat with our new mayor,” he says with humor in his voice.
As suspected, good gossip travels fast.
“You’ve a cooler head than me, that’s for damn sure. Is this going to be the driving force that makes you toss your hat in the political ring?”
“The thought’s never crossed my mind, honestly,” I tell him.
“You’d have my backing if that’s the route you went. But what I wanted to talk to you about, there’s a rumor floating around that our charitable fund at the hospital has already run out of cash.”
“That can’t be right. The take from our last charity gala should be enough to float all projects through next year.”
“That’s my thought as well.”
