JaguarintheSun Read Free Page B

arrival of the waiter gave her a moment to
catch her breath, and diverted Xbal’s attention.
    It also seemed to break the tension between them, and by the
time they’d made their choices and the waiter left, they slipped back into the
easy friendship they’d enjoyed for years.
    Xbal leaned forward and took a sip of his
raicilla-and-passion-fruit-juice cocktail before saying, “Hervé came to see me
a few weeks ago. He wanted to tell me in person he wouldn’t be selling the Café
after all.”
    Cassie grinned just at the mention of her boss, mentor and
friend who had recently, and totally unexpectedly, found happiness with a man
from his past. “Isn’t it great?”
    She’d been devastated when Hervé told them he’d be selling
the tattoo parlor and entertainment venue he’d made such a success of, despite
knowing she wouldn’t be around to continue on as a part of it for much longer.
    Xbal’s lips quirked at her enthusiasm. “When he offered it
up for sale, I was tempted to buy it. Actually, I was going to ask if you’d be
interested in going into partnership with me.”
    That rocked her and Cassie stared at him, shock stealing her
breath and voice for a long moment. As far as she knew, Xbal’s businesses were
one-man operations. The thought of him being willing to partner with her was
somehow both amazing and flattering.
    Xbal chuckled, obviously amused by the expression on her
face.
    “Why so surprised? I think we’d make a great team. You
handling the tattoo side of the business and me taking on the entertainment
side. Maybe hiring someone to manage the day-to-day operations so neither of us
got too bogged down in the minutia.”
    He paused as the waiter came with their meals, neither of
them having opted for a starter. Once the waiter left he perused his plate for
a moment, seemingly with appreciation if his expression of near-lust was
anything to go by. Why wasn’t she surprised he’d ordered a thick steak, rare,
with sweet potato fries and a melange of mushrooms on the side, or that he was
clearly a man who loved his food?
    “Ula,” she said absently, still watching him as she picked
up her fork, preparing to dig into her pasta.
    Xbal looked up, knife and fork now poised over the plate.
“No. Not unless she were willing to remain an employee. I wouldn’t take her on
as partner.”
    It didn’t surprise her when he immediately understood what
she meant, but she was a little miffed by his dismissing the suggestion without
considering it. No matter that it was all hypothetical at this point. “Why not?
She knows that place inside and out. It would make sense.”
    He shook his head with a firm, decisive motion. “Just you
and me. No one else.”
    And while she was trying to digest that, strangely warmed
and gratified by his pronouncement, he turned his attention back to his food.
    Neither of them said much for a while as they tucked in to
the delicious meal. Partway through Cassie realized how nice it was to feel so
comfortable with a man there was no pressure to make conversation, allowing her
to enjoy eating the way she liked to.
    As she was sopping up the last of her sauce with a heel of
crusty bread, Cassie glanced up and found herself once more the focus of Xbal’s
considered stare. Immediately, between one heartbeat and the next, her body
went from contented to red-alert as a rush of awareness prickled across her
skin.
    “What?”
    She knew she sounded both defensive and a little breathless,
but there was nothing she could do to quell the knee-jerk reaction.
    “So my ability with atraspa is what made you decide
to proposition me today?”
    It was just a bonus, a happy happenstance, but Cassie wasn’t
going to admit that to Xbal—not in a thousand years.
    She shrugged slightly, quirking an eyebrow at him, letting a
hint of a sultry smile tip the edges of her lips.
    “I’ll admit to being curious about how a master practitioner
uses it. There aren’t that many around, are