“Of course I am. He’s my cousin. He’s practically my brother.”
“I know. I just thought you had to be more formal with him because he’s your boss.”
“He’s both.”
She shrugged. “You’re right. I don’t know anything.”
“You’ll learn. Come on.”
I had to resist the urge to take her hand on our way into the store. I had to get my head clear. I was on a job here.
That conversation we had in the car rattled me. I pulled myself out of the clouds and searched the store for anyone acting out of the ordinary.
She migrated between the racks, taking things down. I took a tour around the store’s perimeter to make sure the coast was clear and then stopped by to check in with the manager.
By the time I got back to Ariana, she had an armload of stuff from skirts and dresses to sweaters, jeans, and blouses.
“Don’t forget underwear,” I teased.
She blushed and glared at me. “How about you keep your mind off my underwear?”
Now it was my turn to blush. “That might be impossible.”
She snarled at me and turned her back on me, but I couldn’t stop snickering. I couldn’t stop thinking about it now that I started.
I started undressing her in my mind and tried again to shake those thoughts out of my head. I had to concentrate on the job, and that didn’t help.
I kept thinking about hugging her and carrying her around when she was little. She would probably never let me touch her again, but that was the price of growing up.
She collected a massive pile of clothes and headed for the dressing room. She stepped inside and started to shut the door when I dodged through with her. “What the fuck are you doing? Get out!”
I leaned against the wall in the corner. “I told you. The Padrino told me to keep an eye on you. Do you think you’re going to escape from inhere?” I crossed my legs and waved toward her clothes. “Go on. We don’t have all day.”
She glared at me even more ferociously. “You can’t do this. The manager will throw you out, and then what will your precious Padrino say?”
“The manager is married to one of our bookies. She works for the family, so she knows all about it.” I took out my phone. “I can wait, but we aren’t leaving until you pick out some clothes.”
She hurled the clothes on the stool and turned her back to me again. I started scrolling on my phone while secretly watching her undress. She pulled her T-shirt off and then shucked off her sweats.
“Like what you see?” she asked.
I looked all the way up, and my eyes almost fell out of my head when she turned around to face me in her bra and panties. She looked as incredible as I imagined. Her broad, shapely hips tapered to a slim waist, and her bra squeezed her breasts together to form a perfect furrow of cleavage.
She took a step toward me, and her lips curled up in a smile. Her eyes sparkled with something more than strategic determination. “You wouldn’t shoot me to stop me from escaping, would you, Dominic? You would never hurt me. I know you too well.”
I shoved my phone in my pocket and tried to act casual about this. “If you really want me to get an eyeful, why don’t you go all the way and strip down to nothing? I’ve seen it all before.”
“I’m sure you have.” She approached even nearer until she stood right in front of me. “Would you like to take it all off and strip me down to nothing?”
“Just change your clothes and quick fucking with me.”
“Would you like me to fuck with you—or would you like to fuck withme?” She grabbed my hands and planted them on her breasts. “I want you to. Come on. Show me how you’d like to fuck with me.”
I yanked my hands away. “Knock it off! Quit screwing around.”
She only smiled and glided all the way up against me. She rubbed her body all over me, and before I could stop her, she slipped her hand between my legs.
“Do I turn you on, Dom? Did you think about this the other night after you brought me in? Did you think about coming into my room and taking my clothes off?”