Arranged love

ALEXA

I SIT IN my car outside of Kingdom, my fingers hovering over the text that I got from Cross earlier today.

Cross: Good morning, gorgeous. See you tonight?

Gorgeous? Why do I smile like an idiot every time I read that? I’m not the type of woman who cares about pet names. Or so I wasn’t. And the see you tonight part? I’m glad he’s keeping it sexual and not trying to take me to dinner. I can buy myself dinner.

Placing my cell in my purse, I exit my car just as a guy walks up to me dressed in a three-piece black suit.

“Good afternoon, miss. Are you checking into the hotel?”

“No. Just here to try my luck,” I say, handing over my keys. Half true. I’m not here to gamble, but I’m not sure how well Cross will take to me just dropping by to say hi. Casual sex and clingy woman can look the same to a man.

I make my way up the stairs and step into the casino. Machine’s ding, and people are hollering at the tables. I’ve never been much of a gambler and haven’t stepped foot in a casino as much as I have in this week at Kingdom.

I’m not sure where to find him exactly. I know that tower one is for the Kings only and where their suite is, but it’s midday. I know he’s not in bed. I pull my cell out of my purse and call Jasmine.

“Hello?” she answers, sounding half asleep.

“Quick question. If I was at Kingdom looking for Cross, where would he be?” It’s a long shot, but the best one I’ve gotten at the moment.

“Tit for Tat,” she answers through a yawn.

“And what is that exactly?”

“It’s his tattoo shop. If he’s not there, then he’s on the thirteenth floor of tower one. That’s where their offices are.”

“Okay. Thank you. Go back to bed now.” I laugh.

“No. No. I need to get my ass up. In fact, I need some food. You’re at Kingdom now?” she inquires.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“Yeah,” I say, looking around to see where the hell Tit for Tat is.

“Lunch at Empire? Give me an hour?” I hear her shower come on.

“Yep. Meet you at the restaurant.” I hang up and see that I had a new text message come through while I was on it.

CUNT: Please call me. I need to talk to you.

Ignore.

A cocktail waitress dressed in a black halter top with black booty shorts walks by, carrying a tray of drinks. I step out and stop her. “Excuse me? Where’s Tit for Tat?”

“Walk past the poker tables and take a right. You can’t miss it,” she says, nodding toward the tables to my left.

I thank her and adjust my purse on my shoulder. My heels dig into the soft black carpet covered in what looks like gold confetti. This place is a dream-literally. People come here hoping to win big and return home a completely different person-a wealthy one.

I pay attention to the gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to avoid the fact that I woke up this morning and shaved my entire body after reading his text. Even though he’s already seen it, I wanted it to be as smooth as possible and smell amazing. I even did a conditioning treatment. Like hello? What the fuck am I doing? This is not how a woman acts over a fuck boy. But then I remind myself nothing is wrong with self-care, and my mind was back on track. Hygiene is important.

Passing the end of the poker tables, I turn right and see the red neon sign that reads Tit for Tat above the black tinted windows.

Bingo!

Reaching up, I fix my hair to frame my face and take in a deep breath, smoothing my shirt down. Then I walk over to the door. Opening it up, I have a smile on my face, but it drops off the moment I step inside and see the woman standing behind the desk.

“Alexa!” She swallows nervously.

What in the actual fuck? Rachel Myers stands before me in the flesh. The same girl I caught Mitch cheating on me with. She works for Cross? I knew this was too good to be true. Can’t a girl just find a good fuck without any drama?

She has a spike between her eyes and a hoop hanging from her nose. Her jet-black hair is up in a high ponytail, and she’s got several tattoos all over. I always wondered what he saw in her. I mean, I’m not saying she’s not pretty, but I’m just curious how he could want both me and her? We’re so different. “Uh …” She averts her eyes to the notebook in front of her. “Do you have an appointment?” she asks, flipping through the pages quickly.

“No. I’m here to see …”

“Alexa,” Cross says, coming from around the corner with a smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”

My eyes drop to his black combat boots. They run up his ripped jeans and black Kingdom T-shirt. He’s got the sleeves rolled up, showing off his tatted forearms.

“She doesn’t have an appointment,” Rachel growls, still looking for my name in the book.

“I thought that text this morning was an invitation,” I answer his previous question, ignoring hers. I said all I needed to say to her when I found her naked in my bed with Mitch.

Reaching up, he rubs his stubble and smiles at me. “It was.” Taking my hand, he pulls me down the hallway, both of us ignoring the bitch at the front desk.

I’ve got so many questions right now, but I shove them down for two reasons. One, they’re none of my business. And two, like Haven once said, I’m probably better off not knowing.

He opens a door at the end of the hall and pulls me inside. It only takes a second for us to get undressed before he’s fucking me on a tattoo chair.