Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
He yanked his sweatshirt off, no longer needing it in the cozy space, and walked up to the counter. “Medium vanilla latte, please,” he said. “And is the Wi-Fi open or do I need a code?”
The woman at the counter turned around, moved her gaze from his face down his chest, and then back up again. Then she raised a pierced eyebrow and grinned. “Well, aren’t you a pretty one?”
Daniel blushed, dipped his head so his hair fell back over his face, and dug through his messenger bag for his baseball cap, pulling it on so it sat low and covered his face.
“Hey, now, don’t worry, pretty boy. I was just yanking your chain. I like ’em with a little more on top.” She grasped her breasts and winked. “No need to hide.”
He wasn’t hiding. Okay, well, maybe he was. He lifted his chin and found a smile for the woman. “How much do I owe you?”
She finished making his latte and slid it across the counter. “This one’s on the house,” she said.
“Oh, no. I can’t let you do that.” Daniel shook his head and opened his wallet.
“I insist. You’re a new customer and I want to make sure you come back. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Most of the boys that look like you soak up the compliments.”
Daniel shrugged. What could he say? He knew how he looked, had been hearing it all his life. Plus, he had access to a mirror. He wasn’t going to complain about being attractive, but the come-ons didn’t appeal to him.
“I, uh, thanks for the latte.”
“I’m Lindsey.” The woman held her hand out.
Daniel looked at the huge chalkboard hanging on the wall with the menu. The coffee shop’s name was scrawled across the top: Lindsey and Anita’s.
“Lindsey as in Lindsey,” he said with a grin.
“That’s the one. Owner, barista, cashier extraordinaire. Anita’s my partner. I keep her in back chained to the oven. Oh, and her name’s the password for our Wi-Fi. Very high security operation we’re running.” She winked at Daniel again and picked up a cloth to wipe the counter. “Enjoy your coffee, pretty.”
It turned out that the latte was good, the Wi-Fi connection fast, and the seats plush and comfortable. Daniel had his headphones on and was engrossed in the work he was doing on his computer when a guy slid into the empty seat at his table. Daniel glanced up. There were plenty of empty tables in the coffee shop. He took off his headphones and looked at the guy expectantly.
“Hi,” he said. “That’s a great-looking laptop you got there.” He tapped Daniel’s Macbook. “Almost as good-looking as its owner.” Daniel snorted out a laugh. The guy smiled broadly. “Yeah, I know. It’s a crappy line. Still working out the kinks.” He held his hand out to Daniel. “Name’s Marc Dorey. I think I saw you leaving my building this morning. You just move in?”
Daniel took his hand. “Daniel Tover. Yeah, I’m, ah, living with Asher Penaz. You know him?”
“Know him? Not so much. Drooled after him a lot, though. He’s got that dangerous vibe going. It’s hot.”
“Yeah,” Daniel grinned and nodded. “He’s definitely drool-worthy.”
“So what do you do? That looked like some sort of keyboard on your screen.”
Daniel closed his laptop. “Oh, yeah, that’s a program I have. Uh, why? Do you play?”
“No.” Marc shook his head. “I cook. I’m the head chef at Salvador’s. You heard of it?”
“No, but I’ve lived here for about two minutes. Actually, I was thinking about taking up cooking. Asher works crazy long hours and I’ve got time during the day.”
“I’m jealous. I need to find a man to take care of me so I can do the whole Suzie Homemaker thing, but until then, I have to slave away,” Marc said dramatically. Then he smiled and picked up his coffee as he got up. “Seriously, though, I was getting my coffee on the way into work when I saw you, so I stopped to say hi, but I’ll be late if I don’t get going. If you want any tips in the kitchen, come by. I live three doors down from Asher and I’m usually home in the mornings.”
“I’ll definitely take you up on that,” Daniel said. “Thanks for the offer.”
Chapter 12
THE hallway smelled off, but it wasn’t the first time odors from the street or the neighbors had permeated the air outside of Asher’s apartment, so it didn’t strike him as particularly unusual. In fact, it didn’t do much more than register vaguely in the back of his mind. Back behind what he was going to do about an officer who was too short-tempered and red-eyed lately, an arrest that wasn’t going anywhere if they didn’t find some solid evidence once they obtained a warrant the following day, the annual visit he had from the parents of a kid who was killed ten years ago and was still waiting for justice, and how Daniel kept his skin feeling so smooth, his lips always slightly red, and his ass so damn round that Asher wanted to sink his teeth into it and leave his mark.