“Devi, please stop,” he commanded, though he softened his tone. “Seriously.”
I almost groaned when I realized what I was telling him. The man loaned me thirty-thousand dollars, and here I was, explaining how I had been creating a budget because I might have trouble paying him back. Of course, he wanted me to stop talking. I mean, how stupid could I be?
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear how I have to rearrange my finances to pay you back.”
Cassius cocked his head, regarding me a bit, before he walked up to me, slid his warm hand up my neck, while the other warmed my hip, and those hazel eyes scanned my face before saying, “Baby, you really don’t think I’m going to make you pay me back that money, do you?”
Shock wasn’t the word I’d use to describe what I was feeling at his words. Hell, I didn’t think there wasanyword that could describe what I was feeling right now.Of course, I had to pay this man back his money. If nothing else, for the sheer fact that I hadn’t even borrowed it for myself. I borrowed it to pay off my brother’s gambling debt.
“Cass-”
His head bent, he whispered in my ear, “Do you feel it, Devi?” I almost moaned. “Do you feel what you do to me?”
“I’m…” I had to clear my throat. “I’m not sleeping with you for thirty-thousand dollars,” I quietly mumbled, afraid that I just might. That’s how attracted I was to this man.
I could feel Cassius’ hands tighten on my body, and when he pulled back to look down at me, his face looked thunderous. “I’m not Alvin Fischer,” he snapped. “That’s not what this, Devi.”
“That’s not what I mea-”
“Listen to me, and listen well,” he said, cutting me off. “I take care of what’s mine. And from the moment I saw you rushing into The Opera yesterday, looking a frantic mess, searching for Kimberly Alba, you became mine.”What?“You coming to me for help only kept me from having to go look for you, Devi.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was at The Opera yesterday.”
“You were?” He nodded, his grip relaxing on both my hip and neck. “Why?”
His hazel eyes narrowed at bit, and I was sure he was going to tell me something shady, but because I hadn’t been hit with enough surprised these past few days, he said, “I own it.”
My body jerked back. “Uhm, no you don’t,” I refuted. “It’s owned by The Vaudeville Corporation. It says so on my paychecks.”
His smirk was that sexy kind that just made you want to lick a man. “Baby, I own The Vaudeville Corporation,” he stated, like it was no big deal. “It’s the parent company for all my legitimate businesses.”
“What?” Really, this was too much. These past two days have been just too fucking much.
“I own The Vaudeville Corporation,” he repeated. “My brother, Atticus, is my accounts manager, and my best friend, Xavier, is my business manager. We were there yesterday conducting interviews based on Kimberly Alba’s official complaint against Hugh Hamel.”
Talk about dealing with the devil you don’t know. I knew nothing about this man, other than he lent money illegally and the way his touch made me feel. “So…you own businesses? You really are a legitimate businessman?”
“I own The Opera, The Symphony, The Orchestra, The Tenor, and The Alto,” he divulged. “So, yes, baby, I really am a legitimate businessman.”
“Who deals in a bit of crime on the side?”What kind of world did I just fall into?
“Let’s just say I have a vast number of hobbies.” I narrowed my eyes at him. The asshole was laughing at me.
Getting back to the subject at hand, I stepped back, forcing his hands to drop from my person. “Cassius, that money-”
“Devi, like I said, I take care of what’s mine,” he repeated. “Forget the fucking money.”
“Forget thirty-thousand dollars?” I screeched. “Are you high?”
“I plan on having a long discussion with your brother,” he said, surprising me again. “The debt will be taken care of. You don’t need to worry about it.”
I could feel my shoulders sag with exhaustion. “All this because you’re attracted to me?”
Cassius shook his head. “No, baby. All this because you’re mine,” he corrected. “I think I’ve already made that clear.”
I sighed. “I don’t mean to sound…self-deprecating, but you can have any woman you want, Cassius. Why on earth do you want to get involved with a waitress, who can’t even afford a car, and has an addict for a brother? I mean, seriously. I’m thinking you can do better.”
