I nodded. “But the trick is… you have to eat it every night it’s on your plate for it to work. Otherwise, you lose your powers.”
She looked down at the plate as if considering whether these secret powers were really worth the trouble. I sat back in my chair, giving her mind time to contemplate her options.
Leo scooted closer to me, his arm brushing up against mine. “So we’ve resorted to lying, have we?” he asked quietly so Macy couldn’t hear.
I grinned, turning my face toward him, not realizing he was so close. My lips almost brushed against his cheek as he bent his head to talk to me. “It’s not about lying. It’s about giving them an enticement to eat the damn vegetables. By the time they figure out that it’s not true, they’re so used to the taste of them that eating them isn’t a big deal anymore.”
His eyes moved past me, and I followed his gaze to see Macy popping a piece of carrot into her mouth. She chewed it silently before going back for another.
“Fuck me,” Leo muttered.
My smile grew as I watch the beautiful little girl pick at her dinner, no fuss, no complaints.
“I might just take you up on that later if the offer still stands.” I laughed.
He didn’t comment, but when I turned to look back at him the fire in his eyes told me that he had no objections to the idea.
I hadn’t known Leo for long, but sometimes connections are just instant. It starts with chemistry. If you’re attracted to one another, there’s a certain pull to that person. It makes you want to know them, to find out who they are and what they’re like.
Sexual energy was one thing, I had it with most of the men here—at least the ones that utilized the services a club girl was there to offer. But the emotional connection was another level. It was more than sex, it was looking forward to seeing them every day. It was wondering whether they felt the same. It was wanting to make them happy and going out of your way to care for them, and the people that were important to them.
Macy with her beautiful brown eyes and ringlet hair had stolen my heart even before I knew she belonged to Leo. But now, I’d seen them together and observed the relationship he had with her, just made me want to see more and know more. He lit my body on fire, but that same burn also warmed my heart.
“Hadley.” I looked up to see Slider standing across the table from me. He was smiling, but it was so obviously forced. I hadn’t spoken to him since yesterday when he’d left my room in a flurry. “I’ll meet you in your room in five minutes?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
He was gone as quickly as he’d appeared.
Rose laughed softly. “Slider is so taken by you.”
I looked at her around Leo, trying not to pay any attention to the way his body seemed to tense at her comment. “You think?”
“Yeah, the kid is usually fucking the club girls on a rotation every damn night.” This coming from Blizzard. “Ain’t seen him with many since you showed up, though.”
Bet I could guess why.
Slider and I had spent a bit of time together over the last couple weeks. But usually, it was harmless. I wasn’t sure if the attraction was there or not. When he’d kiss me it had felt different. Forced. Not the kind of kiss you feel in the heat of the moment.
I shrugged off their comments. “I suppose. He’s cool. He makes me laugh.”
Both Blizzard and Rose chuckled. “He likes to joke, but he’s been a lot more serious recently. Maybe he’s ready to settle down?” Rose hinted, wiggling her eyebrows.
I laughed. “Girl, you’ve got romance on the mind. You know that’s not what I’m here for.”
My stomach twisted at the words. No, it wasn’t what I was here for, but shit like that tends to hit you when you least expect it.
I looked up at Leo, who was staring at the table. He was trying to make like he wasn’t listening.
Yeah, it hits you when you least expect it.
Like a fucking avalanche.