She’d hoped things would be a little more low-key that morning following the drama that had overshadowed the previous night.
No such luck. If anything, the Fat Cats’ participants were even more amped up for the second day of lurid merrymaking.
She and Hill had returned to the previous evening’s opening mixer to find the crowd still in party mode. They were however, a bit wary when the unofficial guest of honor returned.
Persephone noticed that Sondrio had taken his leave of the festivities, but there had been little time to celebrate that.
Despite the presence of some wary guests, there were many more eager to pat the back of the badass who had gotten the ‘man’s world’ mentality of the weekend off to its appropriate start.
Persephone had expected a crushed hand by the end of the night with Hill keeping it so snug inside his own. She’d began to regret urging him to ‘hold onto her’.
She was certain Hill’s peers would’ve accused him of not holding true to the Fat Cats’ code had they known he’d shown her to her room when they left the party last night. Though her room adjoined his, he’d left her there alone.
Conversation had blessedly moved onto another topic by the time Persephone checked back into the present situation. Hill had unclenched his fist and had entwined his fingers with hers.
“So what’d you do last night?” She asked, happy for the semi-privacy of the moment. She smiled when he squeezed her fingers.
“Last night I tried to take my mind off how much I wanted to be in bed with you.”
Persephone glanced around to see if anyone had heard him. Meanwhile, arousal had its way with her. “What’d you do to help with that?” She asked.
“Read a book.”
Persephone gaped.
Quiet laughter followed Hill’s smile. “Is that strange?” He asked.
“Oh uh...well,” she worked desperately to downplay her surprise. “Was it business?”
“Did it have to be, Goddess?”
“I um...no-no I just…I don’t think I’ve ever seen you read for...fun…”
“Depends on the material and this is quite good.”
“May I ask?” Persephone reached for her tea cup.
“‘Alone in the Crowd’ by Michaela Sellars.”
“Are you serious?” Persephone set down her cup, her expression bright. “She’ll be thrilled. What’s it about?”
“Family out of North Dakota,” Hill reached for the beer he’d requested as opposed to a more common breakfast beverage. “A black family living all the way up there, can you believe that?”
“Mick sure can pick ‘em,” Persephone sipped from her tea.
“Damn right she can,” Hill swigged his beer, studied the bottle a moment. “She wants to pick me for her next Great American Novel.”
Again, Persephone gaped.
He chuckled. “Well goddamn, Sef are all things literary, shocking to you?”
“When they concern you? Yes.”
More soft laughter carried between them and they enjoyed breakfast in peace for over ten minutes before the next hint of drama arrived. Persephone saw Sondrio before Hill noticed him. She focused on freshening her tea and hoped Sondrio would head elsewhere.
No such luck.
Sondrio filled his plate along the lengthy buffet spread and then came to claim a seat at the table.
“So is the good doctor allowed to talk business now, Cuz?”
Hill didn’t look up when he spoke around the steak he was devouring. “There she is. Ask her.”
“Oh? Is talking allowed?”
“It is, so long as you’ve got a working jaw.”
Other conversations gradually softened around the table. Anticipation ran high in expectation of more brutality. Next to sexual displays, violence rated highest on the list.
“We can talk anytime, Sondrio,” Persephone said.
“Well then, may I suggest we take our breakfast-”
“So long as she stays where I can see her.” Hill threw in. Looking up from the table then, he fixed his cousin with a predatory grin. “She’s just so fuckin’ beautiful. I don’t want her out of my sight.”
Sondrio slammed his silverware to the table. “She wasn’t brought here for your personal use.”
“Nor yours. She stays.”
