Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I could tell by Cameron’s tone that he didn’t actually believe Kage’s threat any more than I did. He was just trying to get me to spill the beans on my mysterious boyfriend. And I was tempted. I needed to share with someone.
“I’m not telling you, Cam.”
“Fine, but listen. You can trust me, okay? I have no desire to out anyone. I don’t care if he’s the President of the United States. I don’t care if it’s the biggest movie star in Hollywood. I would never tell your secret.”
I sighed, reached into my bedside table, and brought out the magazine with Kage and Vanessa on the cover. I tossed it onto the bed beside Cameron.
Cameron grinned. “He’s in this magazine?”
“He’s on the cover of it.”
When Cameron finally got over his shock and had stared at Kage for what felt like forty-five minutes, he said, “You’re shitting me.” I just looked at him.
He flipped through the entire article and memorized the details of every picture before handing the magazine back to me.
“Wow, he’s hot.”
I laughed. “Really? That’s all you’ve got to say? How about, Jamie you’ve really gotten in over your head with this one?”
“Nope, just pretty much he’s hot. That’s all I’ve got. It’s a bit overwhelming, and I must say a bit hard to believe.”
I punched him in the arm. “You think I’m lying?”
“No. But I wouldn’t put it past you to be messing with me.”
“Why would I do that? You just talked to him.”
“I just talked to someone.”
“Fuck you, Cameron. I just confided in you, and now you’re calling me a liar.”
“Not a liar. Just possibly a really devious prankster.”
“Oh, what an idiot I am. I have pictures of us together. Irrefutable proof.”
“Now you’re talking. Let me see.”
Cameron looked on over my shoulder as I opened my phone and saw the text notification I’d received while we’d been talking to Kage. I clicked on it out of habit, and what I saw there was very odd. There was no phone number associated with the text at all. The space where it would have been listed was blank.
I opened the text and discovered a link that contained mine and Kage’s names and what looked like a date. Maybe the text was from Kage after all. I clicked on it.
What came on the screen next defied all logic, and yet it was there. A clear, high-quality video of the first time Kage and I had slept together. It wasn’t the whole thing, only about a ten second snippet playing on a loop. But it was loud and raunchy and hot, and it put me right back in the moment.
“What the hell,” Cameron said, laughing. “A picture would have worked. Jesus.” He didn’t pull his eyes away from the screen, though. Neither one of us could. At that point, I didn’t even care that Cameron was in the room. I was only concerned with two things: reliving the hot scene, and wondering who had sent it.
Was this a message from Kage? Had he been secretly filming us the whole time?
CHAPTER 15
(KAGE)
Santori knocked on my door just after four in the afternoon, ostensibly to wish me luck.
“It’s nice having the fight in Vegas, isn’t it?” he asked, strolling past me, silently inspecting my apartment. “Being able to fight in your own backyard has got to be an advantage.”
“I guess.” I ran a hand over my head and padded barefoot to the living area, wearing nothing but a pair of worn sweatpants. “Would you like to sit down?”
I prayed he didn’t take me up on my offer.
“I suppose.” He lowered himself into the leather chair facing my sectional. No one ever chose that seat but him. “Are you ready for the fight?”
“Of course. I’m fighting Welterweight this time, where I’m supposed to be. The weight cut was a walk in the park, and now I’m all fluffed back up.”
“You still look like a crackhead to me, but what do I know? That’s Marco’s area of expertise.”
“Actually, Jamie did some research after the last cut. He found this technique that recommends soaking in a hot tub instead of sweating in a sauna. We made some modifications to my diet leading up to the cut, so I was able to drink more water and eat more food. I’ll tell you, I wish I’d known before I nearly killed myself last time. I feel so much better.”
“We’re still talking about that intern? I thought we were done with him.” Santori sat forward on the chair, rested his elbows on his knees. Then he looked down at his steepled hands and frowned. “Where are your manners, Michael? I’ve been in your apartment for several minutes. Why do I not have a drink in my hand?”
I had just settled into the sectional across from him, but I pushed immediately back up and went to the refrigerator. When I returned with a bottle of water, his lip curled in disgust.