Sweet Tooth by Cassie Mint

Author:Cassie Mint [Mint, Cassie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Cherry Publishing
Published: 2022-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

Seven

Julian

Once again, I am the only soul at Irving & Vance not to taste one of Lola’s sweet little cake pops. I’ve tasted other things, of course—her lips, her sugared breath, her warm, bare skin—but still. It rankles.

I shouldn’t go to her apartment. It’s late, and she needs rest, but I’ve denied myself all pleasures for so long that our kiss has opened my flood gates. I’m weakened. Desperate for more. My system is overwhelmed.

I curse my own name, standing on the sidewalk and staring at her buzzer. It’s old fashioned, made of bronze. Her place is very nice, as befits the Briggs family fortune.

Lola’s first apartment is more expensive than any I could afford, even now. Even with a steep pay rise and fat bonus coming my way.

One day. One day, every block in this city will be open to me, and men like Lola’s Uncle Ray will beg for me to represent them. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. It’ll be for me to decide.

I blow out a harsh breath and press Lola’s buzzer. She’s on the top floor—naturally.

“Hello?” She sounds sleepy, like I caught her napping on the sofa. Is she wearing pajamas? Does she have those pillow creases on her cheek? I check my watch: it’s 9pm.

“Hello, Lola.”

Her gasp crackles through the bronze grate. Then there’s a loud buzz, and I push through to the lobby with a savage grin.

She let me in so quickly. Like she’s as eager for this as I am.

I’ll reward her for that.

It’s dark in here, lit by dim sconces on the wall, and the post boxes lining one wall are made of the same bronze as the buzzer. My feet drum against the tiles, and then I’m pounding up the staircase, my palm sweeping up the banister.

I’ve never come this far before. There are only four floors, but it feels like an age before I crest the top step. Stars wink through a large glass window in one wall, and an abandoned pink marker lays in one corner. I scoop it up, brushing off the dust. When Lola’s door swings open, I hold it out like an offering.

“A casualty of last week, I think.”

Lola takes the marker from me, cheeks burning. “I wish you’d forget that.”

“Never, darling.” Forget the first time I laid eyes on Lola? It’d be easier to forget my own name.

Plus, this way I can tease her, can work that adorable flush onto her cheeks. I follow her inside.

This feels so instinctive. Second nature, like of course I’d appear at her door late in the evening. Of course she’d lead me inside, even though she’s barefoot with only tiny black shorts and a green tank top covering her up. Lola takes me to a small kitchen with high ceilings and a breakfast bar, and nods at a stool.

“Coffee? Or something stronger?”

No, she’s not surprised to see me at all. After all, she practically invited me here earlier. Well, you know where I live, she said. Fuck, it’s been bouncing around my skull ever since.

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