Julie dashed all hope of close contact with Viv when she sat between them. Soon after, the only waitress in the joint leaned over their table far enough to offer an ample view of her cleavage as she batted her lashes at him. “What’ll ya have, handsome?”
Kage gestured at the girls. “Ladies first.”
“Wine’s fine,” Julie said.
“Long Island Iced Tea, please,” Vivienne murmured. “Double the tequila.”
Interesting. Liquid courage?
Julie’s eyes widened on Viv before she spoke to the waitress. “Something to munch on too, please.”
“Sure.” The waitress tossed down a menu. Her eyes never left Kage. “And you, sweetheart?”
“Whatever you have on tap’s fine.” He winked just to see if Viv reacted. “The stronger, the better.”
Viv didn’t react. Not outwardly. But he got the impression the waitress had a target on her back.
“So, Julie.” Kage rested his arm on the back of Julie’s seat, yet another test to see how her assistant would react. “Tell me more about yourself.” He offered a casual smile. One designed to cultivate trust. “Running a P.I. business sounds intriguing.”
“It does…it is.” Julie nodded. “Very intriguing.”
“I’d love to hear more.”
“Yeah, sure.” Julie began pressing the pad of her thumb against the edge of the table as though trying to pinpoint how to spin her bullshit tale. “It’s…complicated.”
As complicated as not having researched her lie before telling it.
“Complicated, how?”
“Like, just…well, you know…”
He warmed his smile even more. “I’m afraid I don’t.”
Julie swallowed, her eyes glued to his as she tried to come up with something.
“It’s complicated because it’s detective work,” Viv cut in as the waitress plopped their drinks down, didn’t bother with a food order but flashed five fingers at him, winked then sauntered off. He supposed that meant she’d be available for sex out back in five.
Figure the odds.
“Well, then, tell me about detective work.” He grinned at Viv. “Is it as boring as it sounds?” A languid grin curled his lips. “Or can you make it sound exciting?”
He didn’t miss the catch of her breath.
“I suppose that depends on what you’re investigating,” she replied before she brought the straw to her lips and sucked.
He’d been around a lot of beautiful women who offered to do all sorts of creative things with their mouths, but nothing compared to the way Viv worked a straw. A bolt of lust slammed into him as her sexy-as-sin lips wrapped around that little bit of plastic and sucked up over half her drink.
There was no stopping his arousal.
Or his low growl.
He didn’t care who she was or if she might have been planted by the enemy, he wanted her. And it didn’t matter where. His eyes skirted from the bathrooms to the rear entrance to the damn linen closet. Then his eyes dropped to the table. All it would take was a little dragon magic, and he could bend her right over this. None would be the wiser.
And if she wanted to keep sucking on that little straw the whole time, who was he to judge?
Meanwhile, Julie’s eyes were wide as saucers on him, and Viv had gone perfectly still. Too still. That’s when it hit him. A scent unlike any other. Sweet. Spicy.
Female dragon.
But not just any female.
Her.
Vivienne.
