Confusion mars her features. “Okay. And?”
“You need to move out.”
“What for?”
My jaw muscles tense. “That hostel may as well be a halfway house. I don’t want you there.”
Anger flares inside her eyes. “You don’t want me there? Where I live is none of your business.”
It became my business the moment my lips touched hers. I open a desk drawer, pull out a wad of cash, and slide it toward her. “Use this for a deposit on a nice place.”
She’s shocked at first, but it doesn’t take long for that shock to morph into fury.
“Are you trying to buy me?”
I was about to tell her she can quit her job and I’d pay for all her things, but her outrage makes me backtrack on that idea.
“No. I’m trying to help you,” I say. “And I’m also trying to get you into my bed again, but those are separate things. Take it.”
She peers at the rubber-banded stack and shakes her head. “I don’t want a handout. I know it’s not the best place, but I can wait to move until I save up enough.”
Clearly, she hasn’t spent any time looking at the price of places in Ibiza. “It’ll take months for you to earn enough for a deposit at your current pay.”
“Then promote me,” she says, tipping her chin up. “Make me a server.”
“Take the cash, and you can consider it done.”
She squeezes her lips together and nods. “I’ll pay it all back,” she says. “You can take it off my paycheck until I’ve reimbursed you.”
I flick my fingers dismissively. “My payroll team has better things to do than calculating that.”
“Then I’ll pay you back in cash.”
“Sure,” I say only to appease her pride. Not a chance I’ll take a single euro off her hands. My lips curve into a smirk. “Now, let’s get back to that fantasy of mine.”
“I don’t get it,” she says, putting the mop down and crossing her arms over her chest. “Why would you want me after how I reacted last time?”
Is she embarrassed about her crying? Cazzo, this woman really has no idea what she does to me. “You cried because you were overwhelmed at how well I made you come with my tongue. You really think that’s a turnoff, Ale?”
Her cheeks turn pink again. “So you’re turned on by my inexperience.”
“And by all the things I can teach you. If you let me.”
I rise from my seat and move to stand behind her. She’s very still as I brush her hair from her neck and inhale her delicious scent. “I can be gentle, Ale.” My lips trail against her skin. “And patient. I can do things to you that will make Thursday night pale in comparison.”
Her breath quickens. She tilts her head to give me better access and releases a pent-up sigh. “You said you didn’t need a distraction.”
“I changed my mind.”
A throat clears behind us.
I look over and swallow down a curse word. It’s Ras. Can he have any worse timing?
Ale quickly moves away from me, and Ras purses his lips. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I shoot him a glare. “Knock next time.”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
“I’ll leave you two to it,” Ale says as she hurries out. When she passes Ras, he gives her a wary look.
I know he’s not going to be shy about sharing his opinions with me.
Just as Ale is about to disappear, I see the money still lying on my desk.
“Wait,” I call out.
She halts halfway out the door and turns around.
I lift the cash in my hand. “You forgot this.”
Her posture stiffens, and Ras’s expression darkens some more. I half expect her to argue, but instead, she plucks the money out of my hand and walks out the door.
It feels like a victory. At this pace, it won’t take long for me to wear down her resistance, and then, I can explore that body for all it has to offer.
Ras crosses his arms over his chest.
“What?”
“I looked into her.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“As far as I can tell, Ale Romero doesn’t exist.”
I glance away. The news isn’t a complete surprise, but I still dislike hearing it. Now that her and I are involved, I can’t afford to turn a blind eye to her omissions. It’s time to dig up the truth.
“What did you find out?” I ask.
Ras sits down across from me. “There are twenty-four women alive with that name. I checked into all of them, and none of them are her.”
“So you know who she’s not, but you don’t know who she is.”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you before I spend more time on it.” He props his ankle on his knee. “Is this serious?”
“You know I don’t do serious.”
“What is it then?”