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“Very good, sir.” Gerald nods. “If you’ll both follow me, I’ll set you up with scanners, and then you can get started.” He turns to lead us to the back, gifting us a moment of privacy as we trail behind him.
Reaching down, I pinch and twist the skin of his forearm still positioned around my waist. The sleeves of his dress shirt have been rolled up to his elbows, granting me unobstructed access. Nicky hisses in response, ripping his arm away to rub frantically at the mark left behind.
“Shit, demon. Warn a man before them claws come out to play.”
“What are you even doing here?!” My hushed words rush out in annoyance.
“Keeping you company. You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to kill your sister.”
Gerald glances back at us over his shoulder, and we both force smiles in response.
“Why J?” Nicky whispers once our associate’s gaze returns straight ahead.
“Because she’s the only one besides me and Luc who knew about today.”
“Calm down, Daph. Maybe she knew you’d need my style input. God knows white girls can’t be trusted to make reasonable design selections that don’t result in an overabundance of Live Laugh Love decor.”
“Bite me, dick.”
“Bend over so I have something to sink my teeth into, demon.”
I stop short, turning to face him as I thrust my finger in his face. “Let me tell you some—”
His large palm clamps down over my mouth, effectively silencing me. “For the sake of time constraints, Imma move this along. Yes, you’re very strong and capable. Go Team Vagina. You hate me and you’re over my shit. Noted. You don’t need the help of any man. I’m aware. But considering you’re supposed to be registering for your wedding—an event that requires two people last I checked—I’m inclined to think that while you may not need a man, you’d certainly like the input of one.”
Nicky finishes his rant, slowly lowering his hand from my mouth.
“And what, pray tell, makes you think I give a flying fuck about your input?”
“The fact that you could’ve ended this little ruse the second I lied about who I was, but yet here we are, a whole six and a half minutes later, about to register for gifts.”
My mouth snaps shut at his assessment of our current predicament.
“Mr. Devoreaux? Ms. Burke?” Gerald calls our attention to him up ahead, where he stands in the doorway of a small office, clutching two small electronic devices in his hands.
Nicky holds up a finger, signaling to Gerald to give us a minute before returning his attention to me.
“Truce?” Nicky holds out his hand between us.
I eye him warily, knowing full well I should tell him to get lost. And yet…
“Fine.” Against my better judgment, I thrust my hand into his, sealing our ceasefire with a shake.
“See now, demon? That wasn’t so hard.” His palm moves quickly, making contact with my ass cheek with an audible slap. I yelp, gripping hold of my backside as the arrogant asshole continues on toward Gerald’s office.
“Fuck me,” I mutter followed by a low string of expletives, cursing whatever karma has landed me in this hell.
Nicky freezes, glancing back at me over his shoulder with a sly smirk. “Seems a bit forward, but if you insist.”
“Go!” I command, shoving him in the direction of our sales associate whose face is now tinged pink with embarrassment.
***
“Okay, now I know you’re doing it on purpose.”
Nicky turns to face me, clutching a hideous bronze vase in the shape of a koala bear.
